Wow, that's such a great example of a bigger life lesson. We're all taught to just list what we did, but the real story is in what changed because of it. What other tasks did you reframe like that?

Oh man, neighborhood meetings are a special kind of chaos. My own attempt to organize a block party ended with a debate on proper hot dog condiment placement, so maybe don't take my advice. In my experience, asking the city clerk to run a secret ballot vote by mail can cut out the drama. People seem to get less heated when they're not face to face.

Our city water in Toledo is heavily treated too. I had the exact same problem with my starter last winter. Switching to bottled spring water fixed it almost overnight.