Car Free in Raleigh

So, we bought a car. And not just a car… something that could rightfully be called a small SUV. A 2004 white Saturn Vue.
It’s a bit of a long story, but the isolation was getting to be too much for me.
I hope to continue to make lots of “car free” trips and to pull my […]

[Read more →]

This week looks like it will be gorgeous in Raleigh. 70 degrees and sunny.
This morning, we played with a little friend, had some lunch, and then headed out to walk to a nearby park. It was 1.5 miles away, but the weather was lovely, and Mandy had encouraged me to get out of the house […]

[Read more →]

Sorry to go MIA on you for a while there. I’ve been struggling with postpartum depression since Malachy was born, 16 months ago, and although I had been doing very well for a good while, going car-free has pushed me on a bit of a downward spiral.
See, the thing is, you just forget how frequently […]

[Read more →]

We enjoyed a nice holiday with my parents, who came down from Pittsburgh. It was strange to have access to a car for several days in a row.
We went to a lovely Christmas Eve vigil mass, although we would have preferred Midnight Mass. But, having a toddler and lacking our own car, we made do […]

[Read more →]

(I meant to post this earlier, but didn’t get around to it.)
Last Sunday, the following appeared in our parish’s “social justice” section of the weekly bulletin.
Justice Bulletin Board
“The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom.” (Isaiah 35: 1)
Faithful Stewards of God’s Creation:
A Catholic Resource for Environmental Justice and Climate […]

[Read more →]

We ventured out this morning to do some final Christmas shopping before the mad weekend rush begins.  Our initial plan was to trek up to Triangle Town Center, then come back home after lunch, just in time for Malachy’s nap.
Instead, we ended up having Malachy’s picture taken… then bought frames at A.C. Moore… then hiked […]

[Read more →]

Confession time.
In addition to not owning a car, we also don’t have a television. We sold it about three years ago and never looked back.  We have more free time and are able to limit our (and our son’s) exposure to advertising.
Side note: By “advertising,” I don’t just mean commercials. I mean the more insidious […]

[Read more →]

As we walked back from a nearby store (1.5 miles away) a few days ago, Mark and I talked about the stranger parts of The Typical American Lifestyle.When we owned a car, I frequently did paradoxical things like driving 2 - 3 miles to walk at a local greenway…. for exercise. Or driving 1 mile […]

[Read more →]

Does anyone know a place in downtown Raleigh where I can get vegan “parmesan” sprinkles? I asked Capitol City Grocery to carry them, so we’ll see if anything comes of it. In the meantime, anywhere closer than Wade Ave Whole Foods?
(We’re not vegan, but my toddler is allergic to milk and eggs, so we use […]

[Read more →]

ser·en·dip·i·ty
2. good fortune; luck
This morning I realized (too late) that my monthly La Leche League meeting was at 10:30 am. On the other side of town.
I checked gotriangle.org but it was clear that I needed to leave by 8:30 to arrive in time for the meeting, and unfortunately, it was 9:30 and I wasn’t even […]

[Read more →]