I miss plastic bags. They’re banned in Portland. I miss the way they got caught in little whirlwinds on dirty city streets to drift upward from the gutter, spiraling toward a cloudless blue sky with a great soundtrack and . . . oh, wait; that was a scene from American Beauty.

I have a friend who can fix just about anything. His wife once famously said, “He is especially good at changing filters.” I laughed for two days. I suspect he’s good for more than that, but changing filters is a really big deal.

I have used old tires in a couple places around my house. First of all, my roof tiles are from old tires. That’s cool. And then I have my old tire bumper. As in “rubber baby buggy bumper.” I like that my tire use is so diverse. 

Mariel Hemingway and green building go together like . . . OK, maybe the connection isn’t immediately obvious.  But to the actress, a longtime proponent of yoga, natural foods and holistic living, it feels to be a natural extension.

This week, millions of people are posting pictures of their kids with backpacks and first day of school clothes. It’s such a kick to see those eager young faces and their carefully chosen outfits that will one day serve as objects of extreme mortification, then amusement, then nostalgia and finally, inspiration for revivals. I wish I had a similar record of transformation of my kids’ rooms.