6footsix

greening your home one room at a time

Greening Your Home One Room At A Time:

Part 1

Certainly not the most glamourous place to start but a place that every one of us uses and cleans: the bathroom.  When finding cleaning agents to use in the bathroom, we need strong, fierce products that are going to cut through gnarly toilet muck and goopy toothpaste stains and be environmentally friendly at the same time.  

Introducing: my favorite cleaning products!  A multi-purpose cleaner from Trader Joe’s, a glass cleaner from Simple Green, and a toilet cleanser by J.R. Watkins.  First off, our multi-purpose cleaner, which has the pleasant scent of cedar wood and sage.  My favorite part about switching to environmentally friendly products a few years back is that they always smell good.  They come from nature and what do you know in nature that smells bad?  Trader Joe’s makes a wonderful multi-purpose cleanser that I use to clean my bathroom sink and countertop.  It also happens to be the product I use to clean my shower tiles and tub...and it smells fantastic.

Moving on to the mirrors and sliding shower doors.  Glass is not always the easiest surface to clean.  Many of the products I have used in the past leave streaks.  And when I try to get rid of the streaks, I leave more streaks.  Simple Green has a new line of products termed “Naturals.”  Their natural glass cleaner smells like a forrest and leaves a streak free surface.

Moving on to the throne.  I choose J.R. Watkins Toilet Bowl Cleanser.  Yet another product that can be used on your shower tile, however, I would rather be thinking of my toilet while showering despite its pleasant lemony scent.  It gets the job done and that’s all that we ask for, right?

Not only do all of these products work well on the surfaces that they clean, their bottles are also recyclable.  Now that is what I call green!

The general rule I use when finding products to clean with is to read the ingredients.  If there is one or more ingredients that I cannot pronounce, it is not an environmentally friendly product.

Feel free to send me your favorite cleansing product!  Perhaps it will make my top 10 list!  

  

trek is here!!

I’m pretty sure that I am not the average athlete that Trek creates their amazing customized bicycles for.  I use my bike to have fun, to take me to and from work and in most recent plans, I am using it to severely reduce my carbon footprint during my Big Green Road Trip scheduled for this summer.  

My new bike is not only big enough for my tall frame, it is fast, smooth, and oh so beautiful.  And the most wonderful part is that is it 100% recyclable.  Can you believe that?

I am so thankful to the awesome team at Trek for building me such a sweet bike.  Eric “Hootie” Bjorling, Marketing Director at Trek, was the communication behind the whole project.  He saw the project beginning to end and coordinated all the spokes that completed the wheel.  Michael Leighton is the man behind the bike, literally.  He took the specifications of what I wanted in a bike, combined them with my long legs and came up with the original blueprint.  He then put this into action and built the bike.  The talented artist behind the custom paint job that represents my free and adventurous spirit is Stacey Carnell.  She took my story of living life as a journey and captured it with thousands of little birdies.  

I would also like to extend a HUGE thank you to my dear friend Steve Crandall who has been my biggest promoter since the beginning of 6footsix.  Had it not been for him randomly conversing with Steve Baumann (chief designer at Trek) on an airplane, I would not have been presented with a wonderful custom bike from Trek.

I am so excited to go explore with my new bike.  Never, as a full grown female, have I been so comfortable while riding a bike.  In the past my legs were scrunched up for the entire ride or my seat was raised so high that my center of gravity drove the rest of my weight into my shoulders and wrists clutching handle bars much lower than my raised rear.   Neither of these uncomfortable situations made for a pleasant ride.  But as you can see, I never will have those worries again; and That’s Colleenification!

Get ready for my next video:  High Fives on Bikes!

welcome martha stewart viewers!

Check out my colleenification page for information on items for tall people and stay tuned for important information from Trek Bikes.   

Things need to be made fit people and not that other way around! -- that's colleenification

I have videos on the amazing AWP cutting board (mention my name if you call them!) and no matter if you are tall, average or not tall give my high five project a look.

and thank you for visiting!

new place in socal and what's happening soon

My apologies for being M.I.A. the last few weeks.  I have been moving from New Mexico back to sunny California. Unfortunately, when I left SoCal last October, I was forced to give up my wonderful home and garden, so I was not sure what kind of place I would find when I got back.  After a thorough search, I have found a nice studio apartment with a big balcony so I can at least have an herb garden.  It won't be the same as growing tomatoes and cantaloupes and pumpkins and eggplant and peppers like I did in the last place, but I am confident that I can make this new place my home.  

In other dimensions, I have 2 very exciting announcements:  First of all, Trek will be coming out to my neck of the woods next week to give me my new custom bicycle as well as photograph me for their upcoming catalog.  Hurray!

Also, on a Colleenification front, I am teaming up with talented furniture designer Tracy Steele in creating furniture for those of us of “exceptional height” as Tracy so whimsically states.  I am very excited about both of these upcoming events and will be sure to give you all full reports on both.

Also, stay tuned for new high five videos.  I am working towards campaigning for a National High Five Day and will need your help in the future!

chris and bikes

Most people ride their bike for exercise.  Some people, mostly kids, ride for fun.  Even fewer ride their bike for transportation.  I ride for all of these reasons.  As a kid in my purely fun days, a Trek Antelope 800 carried me on my journeys.  Growing up near Washington DC, that hybrid bike took me anywhere I wanted to go: to and from school, up and down the C&O Canal, friend's houses, basketball courts and soccer fields.  It gave me freedom at a young age.

During my undergrad years at Ohio State, I rode my bicycle to classes as well.  I vividly remember riding to school in the rain, with my notebook safely zip-locked and arriving to class just in the nick of time.  My dripping pant legs formed a massive puddle during the 50 minute lecture.  It was also during those college years that I learned the importance of always locking up my bike and taking it in at night.  Bicycles are commodities regardless of the condition they are in, which brings me to another point: regardless of the condition your bike is in, it doesn't take much to fix it up for riding condition and take it to work or school.  After I graduated, I moved to Arlington, Virginia and rode my bike to work, moonlighting as a high school teacher.  You can pretty much say that my bicycle has been my main source of transportation throughout my life.

These days, mountain biking is one of my favorite ways to stay in shape.  Living in Southern California, near the hills, there are miles and miles of trails in close proximity to my house.  This means I take a loop from my garage to Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park, which is about 14 miles round trip.  Thus, not requiring the use of a car.  Convenient, given that I don’t own one.  And sometimes, I see the most epic sunsets.  In the one below, you can see a snow capped Mt. Baldy in the distance.

I will be taking many trips to the beach this coming year.  One of my goals will be commuting via bicycle.  Yup, Riverside to the ocean.  The annual 'Smog to Surf,' leisure ride which now goes by the more playful name, 'Riverside to Surfside' is the route I plan to take.  I am hoping that Colleen will occasionally follow my lead, riding behind me on her new custom made Trek FX.  We will see how 60 miles treats her spirit, her bike, and her butt.  When was the last time YOU rode your bike for over 2 hours?  Do it! Tomorrow!  It gets easier after the first 45 minutes.

high fives for happiness!

I was listening to a podcast the other day in which a science journalist named John Horgan was walking around Hoboken, New Jersey asking people one simple question:

“Will humans ever stop fighting wars once and for all?”

More than 9 out of 10 replied no.  The reasons stated for their answer all revolve around human nature.  This brought up the question of change.  Can we as a human race change our ideas about war and transform them into peace?  

I am hopeful that the answer is yes.  So now the question to ask becomes: HOW can we change?  

Happier people make more positive decisions.  Happier people interact more with each other and through this interaction a snowball effect can occur.  Through small steps, we can begin to understand other cultures, different upbringings, and the beauty of diversity that shapes the world.  We can embrace other people rather than ignoring them.

I take on this challenge to start taking small steps towards changing the moral of people and I invite you to do the same.  One day in the next week, when you find yourself in public, start giving out high fives.  It is very hard to walk away from a high five without smiling. If you need some motivation, check out my video: 

If you have any high five tips or Colleenification suggestions, email me!

so what is colleenifying all about?

When you're this tall, lots of things that most people take for granted just don't fit.   Finding clothes is hard, fitting in cars and airplanes sometimes doesn't work, furniture doesn't measure up and a thousand other things are just hard to use.  You can get an idea from this post.

The problem is not with me.  Six foot six is a perfect size for me and it is part of who I am.  The problem is with the everyday stuff people make.

Colleenifying something is designing and making it to fit people like me.  It is encouraging designers and manufacturers to make tall practical products that are simple and beautiful.  It is also making the world aware that there are lots of people in the world that have the same issues that I do. 

Colleenifying is breaking the  small minded 20^th century notion that comes with design for mass production - that people must conform to design rather than customizing for individuals. Now a days it is possible to make more custom products and I know that there are companies out there ready for this challenge.  

This can be for people of other sizes.  I may be fourteen inches taller than the average American woman, but flip the design switch and colleenify something that fits someone who is fourteen inches shorter than the average American woman.  How awesome would that be?

For now I'll look at ideas and products for tall people and really tall people like me.   I love to hear your ideas and comments, so send them in!

The time has come for designers and manufacturers to grow up! 

colleen-i-fication: the first video

Here is the first of a series of videos on Colleen-i-fying the world.

and here are the outtakes. I warn you that you should not be drinking anything that stains easily.

Here they are!   They can be custom made for a wide variety of heights and sizes.    Here is how you measure yourself and be sure to mention you need to get  colleenified!  

More details on my colleenify blog!

step one in:

Marcia Baugh of AWP Butcher Block is an amazing innovator and was able to construct this awesome raised counter top for me to use in my kitchen.  I cook a lot and was getting tired of bending so far over.  Check it out!

Marcia can make this chopping block in a range of lengths and widths and to fit people from about 5'9" to over 7'0".  At colleen-i-fying the world we've worked out how you can measure yourself so the vertical fit will be ergonomically perfect - after all, we're all about vertical here.  So far one has been made for me and another for Steve who is about six foot one and both are excellent!

Check out my colleenify blog if there are any chefs of altitude in your kitchen. You can see how to measure yourself here. 

Mention "colleen-i-fication" for a discount and ask her how to get measured!

'tis the season!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Glædelig jul og godt nytår from Jheri in København!

Glædelig jul og godt nytår!  

This is Colleen's friend Jheri from København and this is my guest post.  

We don't have much light this far North, so we light candles starting around the first of December to shatter the darkness and invite people to smile and dream.   I ride down the streets after dark and see candles in all of the windows.  A bit of gliding along and I pass windows with candles flickering and adding motion and warmth to my motion. It may be cold, but I grin.  Sometimes after a few kilometers of this, there are tears streaming down your cheeks from the beauty.  Something very deep is singing to you. 

Christmas here is very old and even goes before the Christmas you may know.  It is Jul and that is the old nordic for feast.  Danes are masters at feasts.  If you go into one of the houses you will see a tree with decorations like fruits, sweets, maybe little Danish flags, straw goats, drums, horns, and real candles and there will be a lot of food.  I can't imagine a tree without goats and real candles! If it is Christmas eve the candles are lit filling the room with warmth and even more if the tree catches on fire.  We are mostly careful and not that many homes burn.

This is the perfect season and I love gliding along a quiet street on my bike soaking in the candle light.  Sometimes you find a other people doing the same thing and then more and more join.  I have seen them start to sing and pretty soon there are a hundred or more bike carolers who may not know each other.  It is a very beautiful thing. 

Bikes are wonderful.  Here we see them as transportation rather than a toy or something for sport.  We can use them for sport, but that is not the point.  We use them all year and this season is special on one.  

They are a way to have free movement with your own body.  Many people use bikes rather than cars and I do not own a car.  I have two bikes. One is a Batavus and is made in the Netherlands.  These are sane bikes that are made for errands and commuting.  Mine goes in the rain and the snow and I use it for groceries, laundry and many of my trips. I have racks and regularly carry up to 30 kg with me.  When I need to carry something heavier I rent a cargo bike like a Christiania.  These have two wheels in front and a huge basket that you can carry a few people in if you like.  It is very common to see a young Danish woman riding a bike like this with two young children in the basket in front of her. 

I call my favorite bike Kirsebær She is bright red and fits me perfectly. My legs are not long like Colleen's but are still long enough, so she had to be specially made for me by Sögreni.   Just thinking about her makes me smile.  She is only one speed and that is my flying speed. We know each other very well and if the weather is good, we are together.  Sometimes I am am even wearing a beautiful dress and heels because I am proud to mix the beauty of my motion with what bit of prettiness I may have.

Most countries are not as friendly for bicycles as much as Denmark, but that should not stop you from using one.  Danish women have the best butts and legs in the world and that is because so many of us ride bikes to get around. There aren't many fat people either.  Come and see if you don't believe me!

But now it is December and the Solstice is soon. You don't need a bike for that, just your soul and those who are special to you.

You should enjoy this Winter holiday no matter your religion or even if you have none.   Find a dark place and watch the stars.  You can do this for your own spirit or better with other people that you love or even perhaps those may not even know well yet.  Listen to their stories and laugh and sing with them.  The starlight and their words will bless you.   With time it will get cold, so invite them in and make something warm like hot chocolate and have it with cookies and fruit and continue the stories.  Do not watch the clock as this is a special time where time should not hold.  If you go past the dawn that is fine because special times like this are rare.

Smile until it hurts, laugh too much and dance until you can dance no more. 

I will think of the people I love who are a long distance from me and I will do a special dance for them.  This is my Jheridance and it feels like a warm hug to me.  You can do your own special dance for those you love too.  It is sad to not be with them, but it is good that you will have extra chocolate and fruit to yourself.

Light some candles for me.  Ride your bike through the evening quiet or walk through it.  Leave some good things for the animals.  Look to the night sky and find some pieces of ancient light.  Cry tears of joy even though you are too old for that and smile so much that it hurts.  Dance!

Remember that candle

Jheri out

introducing the 2nd member of The Big Green Road Trip: a guest post by Chris Carlson

This is the start of my blogging adventure, but I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about biking.

At the moment, my front wheel is in many pieces on the floor of my garage.  A few weeks back, I noticed that my front axle was not spinning freely, and being a perfectionist, this bothered me.  I took it to the local bike shop, Anthony's Cyclery, in Riverside.  Anthony, the master of bike knowledge, told me I needed to take the hub apart to find the problem.  I recently purchased a full bike tool kit, so I was fully prepared.  

Cleaning was the next step.  Grease is really greasy.  It gets everywhere: all over the sink you used to clean it off and all over your hands and finger nails.  My mom would never let me clean bike parts in her kitchen, but I have my own kitchen with a perpetually dirty sink, so when I was finished, the sink was just as dirty as when I started.

After all the parts were cleaned, it was obvious which one was worn down.  It was the cone, which is the bottom most part to the axle.  Anthony ordered two new ones for me and now I'm waiting impatiently for them to arrive.  I didn't realize how much I would miss my bike, until I couldn't use it.  This is the first time since I was 2 that I don't have a working bike and it's killing me; it feels like my wings are clipped.

My big goal is to bike across continents, namely all of them.  My intermediate goal is to have an amazing Big Green Road Trip, and be the official bike mechanic and boyfriend, preferably in the other order. Before I do these, however, I want to know everything about bicycle repair, so starting with this repair, I am doing them all myself.  Of course, I will consult with the professional on major repairs to be sure I'm on track.  I also have 'Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance to guide me with tons of illustrations and tips.  So far, taking the hub apart was a breeze.  The tough part will be getting it all back together, as always.  That will be the subject of the next post.

a different look at the beauty of outside

I spend a lot of time outside and one of my favorite things to find solace in simply taking in the beauty.  It’s everywhere.  So here is my assignment to you: go outside sometime this weekend and become fully aware of your surroundings.  Get up close and personal with nature’s life and look at them from a different perspective.

Collect things you find on the ground that speak to you.  It might be fallen leaves, or interesting shaped rocks or a handful of pine needles.  Take a pet with you if one is available and watch them as they explore.  Be inspired by the thought of exploration and take in the beauty with all of your senses.  Take your senses places they don’t normally go.  Smell a tree.  Hug it.  Feel it’s bark.  Take deep breaths of fresh air.  Try to find as many shades of one color as you can.

After you come back inside, let your inspiration take you where it will.  Pick up some paint and create!  Pick up a pen and write.  If the artistic mood doesn’t strike you, reflect on the beauty of the world that surrounds us and make a promise to yourself and Earth to protect it, to take those few extra steps like getting a paper recycling bin in your house or teaching your kids the importance of our Earth and its resources.  

Lastly, visit this link and view artist Christoph Niemann's inspiration of nature.

be yourself ... as many yourselfs as there are!

the silly one...

the glamorous one...

 

the sporty one...

 

the animal loving one...

 

the pouty one...

 

Individuality is a beautiful thing!  

Don't ever be afraid to stand out...

colleen-i-fying the world

I tend to think of myself as invincible when it comes to doing anything athletic.  My parents taught me from a very young age to "cowgirl up" if I was ever hurting or sick in the middle of competition.  So when asked what kind of trail I wanted to ride when going mountain biking for the first time in Sedona a couple weeks ago, I didn't hesitate to take on the intermediate/advanced course.  

One of the challenges that I approach in life is being a bit too tall for modern day sporting equipment. The calf raise machine at the gym that my legs do not fit under because they are just too long, the hotel pool that I can't swim laps in because I can only fit three strokes in, and rental bikes which place my rear end at a height to accommodate my long legs that my center of gravity is at a constant push forward, which makes me so thankful to be working with Trek in fitting a bike to my non-traditional height.  

I wish I had video evidence to demonstrate how completely out of control I was when hurling down the rocky mountainside on an extremely light bike which I felt I had no control over.  No sooner than I would hit a rock as it would redirect me into a bush on the side of the trail.  I am still quite shocked I was not thrown over the handle bars as was my biggest fear throughout the "advanced" downhill part of the trail. My experienced mountain biking boyfriend instructed me to try to put my weight back when going downhill and slightly forward when climbing uphill.  Might I just say "easier said than done."

After twenty minutes of frustration and my eventual admittance to needing an easier course to ride, we relocated ourselves to a fun hour of or so of "Colleen friendly" mountain biking.  Sedona, AZ is absolutely beautiful and Chris and I had a wonderful weekend.

(The photo shows me on the largest frame bicycle at a store with a large selection of bikes.)

Other everyday matters of height:  

In the front seat of some cars, my foot cannot reach the gas pedal because my knees hit the dashboard first:

In the back seat of a "roomy" SUV, car manufacturers expect all legs to fit within this space:

 

The height of the sink I wash my face in is 30".  Also, note the length of my pajama pants:

 

The height of the kitchen counter where I chop veggies is 36":

 

And table manufacturers expect me to fit my legs under 2 feet of clearance?  And yes, there is 8 extra inches of denim sewn to the bottom of my jeans.

 

This world is about to become Colleen-i-fied, one step at a time...