Now is a good time to mention a product sold at Loganberry you may not have seen before.  I'm referring to DIVINE CHOCOLATES.  The bookstore proprietor has a sweet tooth, and when she discovered a particularly delicious chocolate bar produced by a fair-trade farmer-owned cooperative, she wanted to share the find, and ensure herself a continuous supply.  So a small display box of Divine Chocolate bars, in milk or dark chocolate, appear on the checkout counter, and lucky customers often add one to their book and card selections.  Now for the holidays we have an expanded line that includes after-dinner chocolate mints and big 3.5-ounce super bars.  These are simply the BEST chocolate, and every stocking should have some.  Certainly mine. 

SOLAR EXHAUST
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Harriett

Here's a recent photo of one of Erika's solar installations.  It's a flat roof with lots of slightly-inclined PV panels in rows.  But the humor in this photo is the view of the Ford plant in the background, spewing its evil emissions.  Makes you wonder how much green energy it will take to even make a dent on this country's overall carbon footprint.

SOLAR TOUR 
Friday, October 5, 2007
Harriett

This weekend marks the 12th annual National Solar Tour, where you can drive around looking at renewable energy in action at homes and businesses near you.  The national sponsor is ASES, and in Ohio the Tour is coordinated by Green Energy Ohio.  I haven't seen any press on this year's tour, but GEO does have a rather cumbersome website, and that's probably the place to go for more information.  Loganberry has a single PV panel that operates our exterior sign light, but that's too small potatoes to be included on this tour. 

THORNLESS HONEY LOCUST
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Harriett

Larchmere Boulevard is not lined with larch trees, but with thornless honey locust trees. They are attractive almost-wispy trees that can withstand bad soil, drought, huge temperature ranges, salt, AND they're fast growers.  I don't know how many elm trees died here on Larchmere in the '80s, but I do know the cross-street North Moreland was hit hard with dutch elm disease, and these trees on Larchmere are quite young.  They also have these fine little leaves, now turning golden yellow and falling to the sidewalks.  I witnessed one of my neighbors sweeping the sidewalk and street and dutifully pushing all the little leaves directly into the storm sewer.  I asked why he was clogging up the sewers, and he gave me that military "don't ask me, I'm just doing what I'm told" answer.  Honestly....

ELLIE AND HER ZENN
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Harriett

Ellie of Strong Bindery (here in the Loganberry building) got some cool local press about her all-electric car, the Zenn.  The Sun Press put this groovy photo on the front page of their edition today, probably because Ellie and the Zenn look so good in color, especially with the blue Lower Shaker Lake in the background.  ZENN stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise and lives up the the name.  Although it's governed top speed is 25mph (it's not crash-rated for highway driving), it provides everything a local commuter needs.  And in Ellie's case, the extra advertising earned from all the turning heads is probably worth the price of the car alone! 

CHELSEA GREEN
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Harriett

We love getting new books here.  New, used, remaindered, antiquarian -- it doesn't matter, we do 'em all, and new acquisitions are new.  Today the treasure troves are a dozen boxes of gorgeous remaindered books (mostly British art books with titles like The Art of Botanical Illustration and The Idea of Louis Sullivan).

We also got a decadent box of new, new books from Chelsea Green Publishing in Vermont.  I try not to buy too many new books, since this is a used bookstore after all (you've heard about the competition), but some fields just demand it.  Modern ecological studies and advances in renewable energy are such a field.  Chelsea Green also publishes this groovy little set of four inexpensive handbooks that sum up our four basic ecological concerns:  energy, water, recycling and composting.  A perfect stocking stuffer kind of book, even in August.  Meaningful, applicable sound bytes you can use. 

SOLAR POWER
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Harriett

Our friend Erika is in the news again.  Renewable Energy has great popular and press appeal these days, but it's still a fledgling business.  Thanks to the  Free Times  for some publicity!  Now to get some solar panels in action...  let's go, guys...  it's awfully sunny today and I'm burning coal just to cool down (ridiculous, isn't it?).... REpower... 

FLAT TIRES 
Monday, August 20, 2007
Harriett

Ever notice that car trouble always happens in bad weather?  I thought, gee, I don't have to go anywhere on Sunday and I've got a good book (more on that tomorrow), so I'll deal with this flat tire tomorrow when it stops raining.  When it stops raining?!  Right, I forgot the heavens are trying to make up for the drought of July by raining through the entire month of August.  Silly me. 

Well, we're on the road to recovery now...  but I got lazy and didn't bother to change the tire into its crummy (very crummy) spare and limp to the tire shop - no, I called Better World Club (the enviro answer to AAA - they'll even help with your bicycle) and got a tow.  Seemed like a more efficient solution, and certainly easier for me.