Did I run to work this morning? Nope.
Did I walk to work this morning? Nope.
Did I tram it to work this morning? Nope.
Did I ride a donkey to work this morning? Nope.

Did I ride to work in an massive car/tank this morning? Yes. Argh. Let me bury my un-eco-friendly head in the sand. My ride in style was actually something I enjoyed, allowing me to lug a load of stuff from home to school - heavy books, pillows and other assortments, that would have only added to my usual heavy turtle-like lugging in the morning. I admit that I didn't purchase this snazzy little (and apparently eco-minded) diesel swilling mode of transportation. It is a rental - procured mostly for the dual purpose of a mid-week move and a Great Lake Swimmers Thursday night concert in Brughes, that if left to the train will see me looking like a sack of sweet potatoes on Friday morning.

Why the narrative on my morning travels? It is worth it to celebrate the glories of car sharing models in this oil hungry (and yet starving world). There is the 'member approach' - whereby, one pays a fee for a membership and is thus entitled to borrow a car at a preferred rate, picking up and dropping off at selected sites around your neighborhood. The likes of Zip Car and Flex Car are making profits off this fairly green endeavor. This is model is really picking up in urban centres, where, even in Europe I have spied a number of zipp-ish companies out and about. It works really well if you want a car, say once a week to do the heavy grocery shopping - you can reserve a car for the same time every week and still have the option to grab it for extra time when you need some smokin' wheels.

You can still go the old AVIS, HERTZ, Budget route (ohhh...excuse the pun - I think J. Healey would love that one), which works if you need a rental for a longer period of exclusive car + you time. The upswing of worrying about where to park your big lug, and filling up a whole tank after a weekend of wine tasting tours is that you get to meet some pretty cool people who have to put up with cranky tourists all day while they work like dogs to manage a fleet of company cars.

And then there is also the share with a friend/partner/work mate/room mate option which is always a great way to save the environment and spark arguments. Go for it!

Quickly - here is the recipe that was almost good last night - my blender didn't want to whiz through too much last night - so the consistency was a bit more like sludge, then the desired soup.

Pea and Zucchini Soup

1 1/2 cups of green split peas
1 zucchini (cut into coins and then quartered)
1 onion - sliced
5 cups of water
lemon juice (to taste)
Herbs Provence

I let the onions cook down for quite some time in a large pot (and got a preemptive start on the peas - boiling them in about 6 cups of water - after giving them a good strain). I added some balsamic vinegar and the Herbs to the onions after about 7 minutes. Next I plopped in the zucchini and let them brown a tiny bit. I restrained the split peas, added water to the soup pot and through in the peas. I let the whole lot bubble for about 40 minutes (whilst boiling the soup I decided to cook up some basil and pepper covered tofu). I blitzed the soup as best I could and added a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh pepper to the top. It was acceptable fare - I think it could have been loads better....I will get back to you on that.