Happy Friday — we’re back with more Hot Bones and an amazing piece of news.

This is the last newsletter edition for many many months when the sun will set before 6pm in Charlottesville. After that, it’s smooth sailing into summer twilight, lightning bugs, and twinkle lights. Naturally, all of our problems will be solved by then too.

Do one long thumb scroll for more Cville-specific updates like local events, cool houses, and pets to adopt.

🐶 Speaking of: St. Andrew! All dogs eventually achieve sainthood in our lives, might as well say it upfront. This guy wakes up with a virtuous smile, ready for his next adventure (shepherd x anatolian x poodle mix, 1 year, 54 lbs).

When we were kids, my brother and I had our Saturday morning routine dialed in:

Wake up before our parents, grab the Cap’n Crunch box hidden in the back of the pantry, pour the whole thing into the biggest bowls we could reach, and then creep into the playroom. I was younger and smaller, so my job was to crawl under the family desk and turn on the baseboard heater. My brother was tasked with booting up the family computer, a beige Dell monster, all 20 pounds of which I could hear buzzing to life above me.

And then it was time to play Warcraft.

Being older, my brother would start things off. He’d sit in the office chair with the padded seat and the swivel function. I’d pull up the plastic camp chair, cold to the touch, no swivel. I’d eat my Cap’n Crunch spoonful by spoonful, saying little words like “good job there” and “nice move” to my brother, whose eyes looked straight ahead, glued to the orc pixels and flaming villages.

Eventually, when all that remained in my bowl were a few waterlogged squares and purple-tinted milk, I’d make my younger sister pitch: “Hey when can I have a turn?”

I know my brother will object to any version of this story I tell, but this is as close to objective dialogue as I can get: “Hmmm.”

“Just for a minute.”

“Mmmmm.”

“Maybe when you go to the bathroom next?”

“Hmmmm.”

“When you get to the next level?”

“Mmmmm.”

And then what felt like a few more fidgety hours would pass, our parents would wake up, and we’d be shuttled off to baseball practice or playdates or piano lessons or other activities vastly inferior to the ever-illusive Warcraft screentime.

Eventually, though, my brother got his own computer and a new set of computer games. And I got The Sims.

Instead of learning from all those Saturday mornings, I inflicted the same agony on my best friend, Emily, whenever she’d come over. “Want to hang out and play Sims?” actually meant “Want to hang out and watch me play Sims?”

I’m pretty sure we only remained friends because not long after that she got The Sims: Livin’ Large expansion pack, which we would only play at her house.

The point of all this is that more often than not, it’s good to share the controller. Or wired computer mouse in this case, the one that collected dust and stopped functioning unless you stayed on the mousepad or took out the egg to clean it on the edge of your shirt. Ha! We’re so old.

I’ve been playing Sims at Hot Bones for a while now, and I think it’s high time to let the real stars of the show — the readers — jump into Player 1 mode.

So I’ve decided to start a new section called Humans of Hot Bones that showcases what everyone else in this community is up to.

It’s a little like Money Diaries and a little like Humans of New York, but with more sustainable living tips and less stories about rats, ideally.

It’s also a chance for everyone to tap into the larger reader community for guidance on their own sustainability journey — the hangups they’re having, the solutions they’re seeking, the wins they’ve made. So please don’t hesitate to respond at the end of each section with your own experiences.

Erin, Ryan, and Ray, here’s the computer mouse. Get at it.

Name: Erin

Writing in from: Charlottesville

Work: Communications Director at Southern Environmental Law Center

Favorite food these days: I have Petite MarieBette’s avocado breakfast bowl at least once a week (always for lunch, never for breakfast). And have you tried the coffee balls from Corner Juice? It’s also hard to beat a glass of the featured bubbly and the cacio e pepe popcorn from the wonderful Crush Pad.

Recent sustainability win: My new year’s resolution was to give up my crippling Amazon.com addiction. I haven’t ordered anything from Amazon since and it feels so good. I want to say it’s all about sustainability, but it’s also been a cathartic way to channel my rage at Jeff Bezos about a number of issues, especially for dismantling the Washington Post. I was as dependent as they come, so I’m proof you can live without all those Amazon packages invading your house.

1-sentence rant: I think I started the rant part of this early (ahem, Bezos), but to put it another way: Invest in and support quality journalism, because it’s a critical sustainability and climate solution!

Big shout-out to:

ISO advice on: I’m a proud, certifiable cat lady. I love my guys Goose and Rooster, but I hate lugging big plastic jugs of litter home all the time and discarding plastic garbage bags of used litter. Any sustainability solutions for the feline-aligned?

Name: Ryan

Writing in from: Brooklyn, NY

Work: My official title is “strategist,” which is lowkey kinda vague, but basically I do creative work for brands and orgs.

Favorite food these days: I have my breakfast routine down pat: two hard boiled eggs, a stick of cheese with pretzels, and my favorite, a yogurt bowl with granola, banana slices, and honey. I wash it down with apple cranberry juice for fun or Liquid IV + Emergen-C for maximum health and hydration.

Recent sustainability win: I’ve been very into Trader Joe’s “impossible” meat. It’s awesome, delish, and not expensive. I’ve also cut back on paper towels and instead use washable cloth towels. I’m also a big fan of the anti-energy-vampires wave. I try to keep most appliances, especially kitchen ones, unplugged unless I’m using them (although I’m not a daily coffee drinker so it’s easier for me).

1-sentence rant: It is unthinkable that so many cities are so car-centric — if every major city had good public transit (especially subways/light rail) and closed its major streets (e.g. 18th St. in Adams Morgan) to all car traffic, we’d all be so much happier.

Big shout-out to: Walkable communities, skiing (the act, not the price), buying things in person, track pants, and every time there’s a picture of Frannie in Hot Bones.

ISO advice on:

Name: Ray

Writing in from: Ivy area of Cville

Work: Wedding photographer

Favorite food these days: The spicy creamy vegan ramen from Jinya in NoVA with a crisp Diet Coke is truly a spiritual experience. But Cville-specific? I’m obsessed with Högwaller’s burgers with their hog sauce.

Recent sustainability win: I finally shifted all my wedding photography gear to rechargeable batteries and/or USB-chargers! For far too long my flashes and lighting equipment used AA batteries, which were not only expensive, but not great for the environment either.

1-sentence rant: WHAT DOES SUMMER FEEL LIKE AGAIN?! The sunshine this week has lifted my spirits exponentially.

Big shout-out to: Rivanna River Company! The coolest humans, the most incredible experiences, and just real radness all around. Definitely looking forward to doing their sauna + river cold plunge experience again.

ISO advice on: I’d love to hear more about sustainability practices within local wedding businesses.

Thank you again to our first brave volunteers. Erin, Ryan, and Ray, you guys are awesome.

If you’d like to submit your own “Humans of Hot Bones” story, we’d be delighted. Here’s the survey.

And to be clear, you do not need to live in Charlottesville to participate, nor do you need to own a Tesla or grow your own hemp. All stories are welcome.

These, plus a few signs of spring outside, including a whole front garden full of purple crocuses right by Frat House Heights.

🕳️ Boneshakers, beware: If you’ve driven around Cville recently in anything other than a Hummer, you’ll know the potholes are a real doozy. You can report the ones you spot/hit during the city’s annual “pothole blitz,” which kicked off this week. Just call the Public Service Division at (434) 970-3830.

🏠 Historic house of the week: Admittedly, Woodstock is kinda far away and this house has just an astounding amount of doilies and figurines mounted on the walls, but my god the craftsmanship on this 1900 Victorian is out of this world too (4 bed, 2 bath, $589k with an updated kitchen).

🏡 Cool rental of the week: Cape Cod on JPA extended with a fully fenced yard and within walking distance to Durty Nelly’s and the Beach Club (3 beds, 2 baths, $2,500/month).

🤢 What you’re smelling is not just a swamp: Quick fyi if you haven’t heard. Don’t go near the Potomac on your next trip to DC. Thanks to one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history, it’s now full of poop.

📺 Watch of the week: I usually only cry during movies about dogs and when I’m stranded at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, but this cartoon short about finally finishing your to-do list also made me tear up.

🐸 Mr. Toad: FrogWatch USA is a national citizen science program that helps monitor wetland health. The central VA chapter is offering classes to help us learn and report the calls of local frogs and toads (Thurs, Feb 26 @ Rockfish Valley Community Center).

💼 Job of the week: Chief Development and Marketing Officer at the Sierra Club (hybrid in DC, NYC, etc, $275k - $325k).

💾 Remote job: Operations Manager at Greenlight America ($75k - $100k).

Have an event or rec you’d like to share? Hiring? Interested in advertising? Share any and all info here.