my new airport makes my fre-
quent flier status almost
meaningless. Do I really have
to start over from nothing
with another airline?
a:
No need to worry, says
Andrew Yang of @ex-
patriatedays: “If you have any
level of status with an airline,
you can apply for a status
match with any of the major
airlines in the West. For exam-
ple, San Francisco is a major
West Coast hub for United Air-
lines, so give United some
proof and they’ll grant you the
status for three months. If you
want to retain it for the rest of
the year, you’ll need to fulfill a
certain mileage quota.
q:
Cactus are awesome.
Spines, not so much.
How can I (and my kids) keep
from getting stuck?
a:
You could wear those
chainmail gloves for
shucking oysters...or you could
get your hands on Opuntia ca-
canapa 'Ellisiana', a spineless
prickly pear that will grow to
a 3-foot-tall, 6-foot-wide deer-
resistant mound in about five
years. (Plant it in well-draining
soil where it will get lots of
sun.) If that’s too big, look for
Opuntia subulata cristata or As-
trophytum myriostigma, which
do well indoors in cactus mix
with lots of direct sunlight.
Check shopaltmanplants.com.q:
I’ve been drinking nat-
ural wines lately, but
the clerk at my local wine store
told me that all wines contain—
yeesh—sulfites. Seriously?a:
Seriously. Sulfites
occur naturally in all
wines, but producers have
traditionally added them to pre-
serve and stabilize their vintag-
es. The natural wines you love,
however, contain no added sul-
fites. What’s the difference?
“I feel better when drinking
them,” says winemaker Alex
Pomerantz, of Oakland’s Sub-
ject to Change Wine Co. “I
don't get the foggy buzz that I
get from other alcohol—it’s
more of a sustained and lucid
intoxication. Second, it's the
purest way to express terroir.
A naked wine reveals the place.
Last, it’s more fun. They're of-
ten hazy, chilled, and work with
or without food.” There you go:
serious fun.q:
Finally,
my girl-
friend and I have
a house with out-
door space. How
can we make it
inviting?a:
Think of
your out-
door space as a sty-
listic extension of
your interiors—a
living room in your
own private park.
First, make a mood
board based on the
hues and textures of the garden
or landscape (or even the exteri-
or color of your home). Keep
the seating intimate: Scale
couches and chairs to the size of
the garden and arrange them
face-to-face for conversation.define the space with a rug, a
coffee table and side tables, pot-
ted plants, and plenty of throw
blankets and cafe lights to keep
the party going long after dark.q:
I’m about to spend a
week hiking Zion—
how do I water my houseplants
while I’m gone? Simple, please.a:
Ah, Zion—lucky you.
Let’s share that luck
with your plants. For a shorttrip, try watering
stakes such as Aqua
Globe. You fill the
blown-glass globes
with water, insert
them into the soil,
and your plant
stays hydrated for
about three days.
For longer trips, or
if you travel fre-
quently, invest in
self-watering con-
tainers, which have
integrated reser-
voirs to sustain
your plants while you're away.
Lechuza (lechuza.us) has optionswilderness, then opening a great
bottle of wine. There’s nothing
more annoying, though, than
lugging that heavy empty bottle
back down the trail. What to do?a:
Can it! Canned wines
are lighter, cool down
quickly, and, at about 250ml, are
just the right amount for one
person. Plus, they pair beauti-
fully with both sweet and salty
hiking snacks. Just drink, crush,
and bring home to recycle. Our
current fave: West + Wilder,
whose bone-dry rosé blends So-
noma County Pinot Noir, old-
vine Mendocino Carignan, and
Lodi Zinfandel. Not only are
their canned wines portable,
but also the company donates a
portion of its proceeds for the
conservation of public spaces,
ensuring you can hike and drink
for decades to come.3 Mood-Board Tips
from Sunset Home
Editor, Chantal
Lamers- Get the app: Mood
Board, Evernote, or
Pinterest. - Get organized:
Create a dedicated
board for each
space—colorful bath-
room ideas, edible-
garden inspo. - Get offline: Scour-
ing the web is one
thing, but don’t dis-
count your own pho-
tos. Dig into your
photo albums for
inspiration.
Spineless
prickly pearCONVERSATIONSSUNSET JULY/AUGUST 2019 11 --