the greener bee

Hiatus

2010-11-28T17:04:00.000-05:00

I think it's safe to say that I've gone on hiatus and I have no idea when I will be back. I love this blog, and love what I have learned and shared along the way. However, I just don't know what else I can do to be GREENER. Right now. Ha! If the inspiration strikes me, I'll be back. I am sure I will be back. But without formally saying adieu for now, the pressure of the blog is driving me nuts. So. Here we go. Until we meet again.

His and Hers

2010-08-16T22:24:00.000-04:00

My new favorite thing right now is over night oatmeal in a jar. I'm hesitant to call it oatmeal (even though it is clearly made from oats) as you don't cook it and it's served cold. It's more like how I imagine porridge. But don't be dissuaded by either name because whatever you choose to call it it's delicious.

I started out making this dish with banana. The ultimate variation would be peanut butter and banana. But tonight I made a peach version to use the beautiful fresh peaches we picked up from a local orchard this weekend.

Overnight Peach Porridge (cause "porridge" just sounds better here)
The basic:
1/2 cup raw oats (I use traditional Quaker Instant, because that's what I have)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (regular milk or half and half would also be delicious)
1/4 cup yogurt (I've been using Fiber One Vanilla and it's wonderful! The perfect amount of sweet.)
1 tbsp ground flax seeds

The add ons:
1 tbsp. peach butter (like apple butter, dark and tangy, but I bet peach preserves would work too)
1 fresh peach, diced

Combine first 5 ingredients in a jar or resealable container. Mix well. Top with fruit. Cover and refrigerate over night. Eat and enjoy! I just can't express how fresh and delicious this is. I've been taking it to work for lunch and look forward to it all morning.

And like I mentioned above, you can vary your add ons - like, 1/2 banana mashed into the oatmeal and 1 tbsp of peanut butter. Or honey and walnuts. Or blueberry preserves and fresh blueberries.

Tonight- I made one for me and one for my husband. For his, I doubled some of the portions- the oats, milk, and yogurt, and peach butter, but left everything else the same.
Mmmmmm. I'm already excited for tomorrow!

Summer Harvest

2010-08-16T22:03:00.001-04:00

I never got to use any of the cilantro I planted this year as I was too inexperienced to know that it didn't last long. I looked up, "how and when to harvest cilantro leaves" only to learn that they had already bolted and I was better to sit tight and wait for seeds. Who knew. Tonight I googled, "how and when to harvest cilantro seeds" and learned that how was pull them off, and when was right now.

Cilantro seeds, for those of you that may not know as I did not, are ready as soon as they start to turn brown. That seemed a little abstract to me but when you look closely enough there is a definite lightening of some of the seeds and those lighter ones come off much more easily than the bright pea green seeds.

I am sure I will smell like cilantro for days. But I did get a little bag full, and there is still at least half as much that was not ready to come off. Those stalks I placed in a vase with some water as I had already chopped them down.

New Developments

2010-07-14T23:40:00.002-04:00

Renovation Teaser!

2010-05-29T21:16:00.002-04:00

Got a new light installed today (thank you loving husband!) This will go above my art table. Yeah! Step by step we are getting closer.

And On SECOND Thought

2010-05-17T14:07:00.003-04:00

Since I'm feeling on the defensive about the great city I live in, and I was, indeed, horrified by the Forbes ranking (boooooooo FORBES!!) here is a list from whattheforbes.com explaining just a few things that make this city so great. (For the full list please visit Happy in CLE by clicking on the blog title.)

The Burning River:
The burning of the Cuyahoga River was not the first industrial river to burn and certainly not the last. It WAS however, the one the got the most attention and led directly to the creation of the Clean Water Act of 1972, still the most “influential water improvement measure on the books.” “The water quality of the Cuyahoga River has improved dramatically since the late 1960s,” says Tinka Hyde, U.S. EPA Regional Water Division director. “More than 40 species of fish were found in the river in 2008, including steelhead trout, northern pike, and others. This shows how powerful a tool the Clean Water Act can be when the public, government, and industry are committed to restoring an important waterway.” Today the Cuyahoga River is one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in the United States and the centerpiece of Ohio’s only national park (the Cuyahoga Valley). It runs through beautiful rural burgs like Cuyahoga Falls and Kent, provides water access for rowing clubs, boaters and commerce.

The Market:
Cleveland’s West Side Market was name one of “10 Great Public Spaces in America.” Its collection of handmade pastas, crusty breads, spicy falafel sandwiches and fresh fruits and veggies makes for a singular Cleveland culinary experience.

Restaurants:
The Greenhouse Tavern is the first green-certified restaurant in Ohio with a rooftop greenhouse, reclaimed wood, high-efficiency lighting and, of course, proteins and vegetables obtained from local farms or grown by chef and owner, Jonathan Sawyer.

Beer:
Our beer says something about us. Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland was Ohio’s first microbrewery. The brewery is an eco-friendly business that explores alternative fuels, recycling, vermicomposting, organic gardening and energy efficiency. A Cleveland favorite, the pub in Ohio City operates a “fatty wagon” run on fryer grease offering safe, $1 rides to and from big games at Progressive Field (and, occasionally, Quicken Loans Arena). They name many of their beers in honor of Cleveland.

An Economic Engine:
The Cleveland Plus region is home to 13 of Ohio’s 88 counties, but our 13 counties generate approximately 40% of Ohio’s economy.

We're Smart:
The Cleveland Plus region has more than 30 universities and colleges that produce more than 27,000 college graduates annually.

We're Growing:
The City of Cleveland has had $7.3 billion in infrastructure development completed or underway since 2006.

Location:
Northeast Ohio is situated within a 500-mile radius of half the population of the United States. This region reaches the largest number of consumers within a 250-mile radius of any metro market in the United States. A central U.S. geographic location provides easy access to Midwest, East Coast and Canadian destinations.

Rapid Transit:
Our “HealthLine” (new rapid transit line) not only connects to our hospitals, but it is actually healthier for us and for the planet. The RTA’s HealthLine vehicles are powered by hybrid technology, resulting in 97% lower particulate emissions and 75% better fuel economy.

Theater:
PlayhouseSquare, the second-largest performing arts center in the nation, (only second to New York's Broadway) draws more than 1 million theatergoers a year.

Art:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, one of the world’s premier art museums, is visited by more than a half-million people per year, all of whom get in to the permanent galleries for free. The museum has opened the second of three new wings designed by architect Rafael Viñoly. The 139,200-square-foot East Wing marked a major milestone in the museum’s renovation and expansion project.

The Cleveland Orchestra:
Consistently ranks as one of the top 10 orchestras in the world.

Film:
The Cleveland International Film Festival is a ten-day festival acknowledged by Time magazine as a "must-see" and by the Academy Awards as an automatic qualifier for shorts.

Parks:
Northeast Ohio has more acres of parks, rivers, streams and lakes. In fact, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the sixth most visited national park in the nation. The Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation features 325 acres of parkland. Towpath trails along the historic canal offer scenic links to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Those are just a few things. And if I had to add on my own, I am sure I could come up with a few hundred more. Did you know that kayaking is a common sport here in Cleveland? And fly fishing? And hiking? Ok people. We have a guest bedroom. Come and visit any time.

Oh Forbes

2010-05-17T13:40:00.000-04:00

Forbes ranked Cleveland the Most Miserable US City.

Here are the other 2009 lists that Cleveland made:

• Cleveland was ranked among the “Top 25 Most Fun Cities in the Country” (Ritz Cracker FUNomenal Places Study)

• Cleveland was 14th in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s “Business Travel Index”

• The Greenhouse Tavern on East Fourth Street was named one of the “Top 10 New Restaurants” by Bon Appetit

• Cleveland Clinic was #1 in the nation for heart care for the 15th year in a row as ranked by U.S. News & World Report (and number four in the list of best hospitals overall)

• Cleveland was on the list of best cities for new college graduates compiled by Apartments.com and CBcampus.com

• Cleveland was recognized as one of “the most affordable cities for dating” by Match.com and the 14th best city for singles by Forbes.com.

• Cleveland was included in Forbes.com’s list of “America’s Safest Cities” (#10)

• Cleveland made Travel & Leisure’s “America’s Favorite Cities” list (ranking particularly high for theater, museums, classical music and affordability).

• The Cleveland suburb of Lakewood was recently named by Business Week magazine as “Ohio’s Best Place to Raise Your Kids.”

Composting Cleveland

2010-05-17T13:27:00.002-04:00

Rust belt, Steel City, Burning River... all names that conjure up a decaying and disintegrating city. In the 1920s, Cleveland stood in the ranks with New York City and Chicago and boomed with industry and promise. But nowadays, she has a world wide reputation for being a joke and a hot bed of pollution of decline. Even Forbes ranked her as the #1 most miserable city to live in. (Clearly no one from Forbes have ever visited this city.)

However, all of these rumors couldn't be further from the truth. Few outside the city limits, and even limited numbers here recognize that Cleveland is a constantly evolving city that continues to reinvent herself. She is on the front lines of becoming a leader in green city building and environmentalism. It's shocking, I know.

Take a look at this most recent article from Cleveland.com in city wide development: (for the full article, click the blog title.)

Large-scale downtown food-waste makers like The Q, Tower City and the Browns, along with restaurants like the Great Lakes Brewing Co. and the Greenhouse Tavern, are heading a new effort to keep tons of biodegradable food scraps out of the landfill.

Instead, they dump their own unique combination of post-meal slop into biodegradable bags (often made out of potato starch) and a composting company hauls them away to be turned into a high-quality soil additive.

And there's plenty of compostable waste to be had: A recent study by the waste industry found that organic materials made up half of all household solid waste -- and up to 75 percent of that can be composted and re-used.

In a three-week pilot program in November 2009, eight downtown businesses, with the help of the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District and sustainability group Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S), combined to collect 9 tons of food waste.
Most of that came from food preparation work in their corporate kitchens or restaurants, not from the vast amount of leftover fan food at the sports venues.

That's the next level: The Browns and Cavaliers expect to be collecting and composting fan food waste -- possibly including biodegradable plates, cups and cutlery -- by next season. The Indians are also working on a plan for Progressive Field but haven't yet settled on a contractor to pick up the material.

All of this makes Cleveland a part of the new movement toward zero waste, said Beau Daane of the county waste district. "We're very excited to see the number of companies downtown and elsewhere who are taking the lead on this," he said. "This is a movement catching on here and around the country."

Carpet Be Gone

2010-04-29T09:17:00.000-04:00

Oh, Andrea!

2010-03-15T22:20:00.001-04:00

This is pretty amazing, I have to say:

"ANDREA is the first award-winning designed air filter capable of absorbing toxic gases, such as formaldehyde, from home and office environments by enhancing the natural absorptive properties of living plants."

The air filtration properties of plants are widely known, but by using the ANDREA, gas removal rates are increased more than 1,000 times faster than by using plants alone. It is completely natural and requires no replacement filters. Instead, it has a fan system that pulls dirty air in through the holes at the top of the plastic unit, swirls the air around the leaves, and then sucks it down through the soil, roots, and water. Cleaner air is released through the vent at the back. And any type if household plant can be used. ANY. Which means you can pick your favorites.

Transforms any household plant into an
effective air cleaner for your home or office
Cleans air locally and rapidly, therefore can
be turned on and off throughout the day
Uses any household plant (sold separately)
Absorbs and metabolizes noxious chemicals
Biochemically transforms waste
Ozone-free operation
Low power consumption
No replaceable filters
Complements any décor

ANDREA Air

Earth911 Write Up

Amazon.com to purchase

Earth Day Cometh

2010-03-14T22:47:00.006-04:00

Earth Day this year is April 22nd. It is a day in which we celebrate our beautiful Earth and take part in activities that are beneficial to the environment. At the heart of it, it's about creating an awareness and an involvement in greener practices and environmental policies. The more we know, the more we can do to initiate change and the bigger a role we can each play in shaping our own futures! It's deep, I know.

Many of you may have memories of planting a shrub in grade school or picking up liter as a high school student. I do. It's a wonderful thing that our schools have done over the years to get students involved in Earth Day. However, few of you may know that this is the 40th Anniversary of the original Earth Day, which was conceived in the early 1960s and organized in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. A Senator. One politician who looked at the state of the environment and knew that a change had to happen. He took the necessary steps and started a grassroots movement that organized over 20 million demonstrators, schools, and communities around the country to stand up and say for the first time, "We care about the health of our planet." That was a pretty big deal.

Without the advent of Earth Day in 1970, environmental issues would likely still be in the background, and the mess that the planet is in now would likely be ten times worse. I know it's easy to think that Earth Day is just another calendar day and doesn't really matter, but today, in 2010, it matters now more than ever.

Forty years later, what will you do to recognize this symbolic day? I encourage you to check out your own local communities to see what events are being held and participate! Get involved!

Here are 50 little things we each can do to start, that actually make a difference:
(from the Department of Environmental Conservation)

Set the refrigerator temperature between 38 F and 42 F.
Set the freezer temperature between O F and 5 F.
Microwave whenever you can.
Don't wash dishes with the water running.
Use napkin rings and cloth napkins.
Use washable plates, cups and silverware.
Serve condiments from recyclable containers.
Provide personal glasses for soft drinks.
Wash and dry only full loads.
Wash with warm water instead of hot.
Rinse with cold water instead of warm.
Hang wash out to dry.
Shut off the sink while brushing your teeth.
Shut off the shower while soaping or scrubbing.
Install a low-flow shower head.
Reduce the volume of water in your toilet tank.
Switch off unnecessary lights.
Dress warm: don't turn up the furnace.
Dress cool: don't turn on the air conditioner.
Raise shades on winter days; lower them in summer.
Reverse your fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.
Compost leaves and grass clippings.
Avoid pesticides, use nontoxic alternatives.
Apply only as much fertilizer as the lawn needs.
Water the grass early in the morning.
Plant a tree.
Recycle motor oil, antifreeze and car batteries.
Drive at the speed limit.
Avoid sudden starts or stops.
Don't overfill the fuel tank.
Check the tire pressure monthly.
Change air and oil filters regularly.
Send electronic copies whenever possible.
Copy reports and memos on both sides.
Circulate rather than copy paperwork.
Reuse tubes and envelopes for mailing.
Recycle.
Carry out what you carry in.
Hike, row, sail, ski or paddle - don't motor.
Build campfires with care.
Observe, don't disturb wildlife and plant life.
Share books, cds, magazines and dvds with friends, hospitals and prisons.
Copy bulletins and exams on two sides, make notes and drafts on scrap paper.
Reuse textbooks and school supplies.
Serve reusable trays, dishes and silverware.
Compost cafeteria vegetable wastes.
Recycle!

Sneak Peaks!

2010-03-14T22:00:00.001-04:00

What I Did Today...

2010-03-03T17:50:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all of you, my dear friends and family, and friends of friends, and family of family. (I don't think my readers stretch far beyond that, but if they do-- Happy New Year to all.)

2009 ended up being a decent year, not one to brag about or write down for the books, but definitely not one we are joyous to see gone. Life doesn't seem to get much easier in our neck of the woods, but we do seem to be happier and happier with our selves and with our lives. So, lemonade out of lemons? Not that we even have lemons of a life. I am sure many of you know what I mean. Anyhow.

This year, I feel like a lot of lessons were learned, some growing up was done, and now... drum roll!! It's time for some New Year's Resolutions. (I LOVE resolutions!)

1. Plastic water bottles be gone! My biggest concerted effort this year will be to STOP using, buying, ordering, or in any way shape or form supporting plastic water bottles. I carry a reusable bottle, but if I don't have it with me, I fall back on bottled water since water is my preferred drink. Option A is of course to be better prepared and have my water bottle with me. Option B is NOT to fall back on the plastic. Period. Right now this is for water.. I need to monitor what else I can get rid of and then I may amend this post and resolution to be ALL plastic bottles.

2. Dedicate one plastic clam for lunches. At work they have these hard plastic to-go containers for salads, sandwiches and what not. I don't regularly eat at the cafeteria, but when I do, I have to get the plastic "clam." I have lately been bringing them home, rinsing them out, and then recycling them, but from now on my new game plan is to bring them home, WASH them, and then take the same one back to use again and again. It's worth a shot. I think I'll even put my name on it. Maybe even a star or two.

3. Sleep. On a more personal note, I just plan need to sleep more. I don't know what it is about me, but I require immense amounts of sleep. I feel that if I could get regular amounts of quality sleep, then I would on the whole be much more productive and happier.

4. Exercise. Yuck. I mean really. But I get these ideas in my head- these big lofty goals (like running a marathon) and now if I don't succeed then I have let myself down. So in this case, regular exercise, 4x a week is a must.

5. Renovation Resolution. Last January I started renovating my orange room. It's the room intended to be my new (only) studio. And until I complete the project, everything else is on hold. MUST FINISH.

And 6. Get my new project off the ground. I have a little something I've been working on for a while now that is getting closer and closer to fruition. Eventually... I'll announce it, so keep checking back. That's all for now, just know that this is the year.. 2010.

Again, Happy New Year to all of you! May each of your years be filled with only the best that God has in store for you, and all the happiness that will fill your hearts.

Merry Christmas... from above!

2010-01-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Right now, Northeastern Ohio is covered in snow.

Some of it is beautiful and soft and other parts of it crusty and gray. No matter which type of snow you are getting here the cold blanket of winter has definitely set in.

I was driving home from work the other day in this dreary after-Christmas-before-New-Years-no-man's-land. The roads were sooted and iced over, and the clouds were dark and threatening more snow, when I happened to look skyward and notice for the first time something that truly made me smile.

High above the whistling cars on the interstate, that towering windmill stood still (as it sometimes does,) and almost camouflaged white against the wintry sky. But twinkling ever so quietly was a tiny green Christmas wreath complete with tiny colored lights strung along the topmost railing.

I still haven't figured out the origins of the windmill, nor has there been any press. But someone up there, or down here, and occasionally up there, was wishing me a Merry Christmas.

I thought about the many cars zipping along beside me, in front of me, and behind me, and how many times a day we all take this road to and from wherever we are going, and I wondered how many of them happened to look up and see this wish of merriment in the sky, this sign of goodwill to the city and interstate below. Seeing as I drive that road every day and had only just now seen it, I doubted that many others had.

But for me, one tiny person in comparison to the traffic and numbers along 480, what a wonderful and surprising Christmas moment.

The Truth about Pizza...

2009-12-08T12:43:00.001-05:00

It is delicious. That's a fact.

But I learned something else today about pizza that is worthy of sharing. (Because we all already know truth #1!)

The box that your delicious, steamy, cheesy, gooey goodness comes in is in every essence, completely and totally recyclable. However, the stuck on dried cheese, grease stains, and sauce drips are not. Not in any way shape or form.

In fact, any paper product that you try to recycle that has left over food on it immediately becomes a contaminate to the paper recycling process. And that is bad. Very bad.

When the paper goes into processing, it is mixed with water to reconstitute the pulp. But water and oil do not mix, so the oils from food and grease rise to the top of the pulp mixture making it impossible to mix properly thus destroying the entire batch.

Things that are therefore not recyclable include: used paper napkins, used paper towels, used paper plates, newspaper with food on it (fish and chips?) paper hamburger wrappers, food stained paper hot dog trays, etc. etc. etc.

There are really two issues then. The first being to educate the public that food and food stains are not recyclable, and a simple rinsing, or tearing away of the soiled area are simple solutions to making their recycling efforts viable. (and by "public" I mean "me.") The second issue is that by not removing the food contaminates, not only are the paper items not being recycled, they are causing hundreds of thousands of other paper recyclables not to be recycled. Our little pizza boxes.

Here's an excerpt from Earth911 (where I learned all this information!!)
"(Contamination) in the recycling business is a big problem. Some estimates put the costs of irresponsible contamination in the neighborhood of $700 million per year industry-wide. Gellenbeck (Terry Gellenbeck, a solid waste administrative analyst for the City of Phoenix) estimates that for the City of Phoenix, contamination costs them around $1 million annually, because of damage to machinery, disposal costs for the non-recyclable material and wasted time, materials and efficiency. With the City processing 129,000 tons of materials in 2008 (around 7 percent of this is cardboard), money is an important factor as to why residents should know what their municipalities do and do not accept."

It's probably good practice to clean off your recyclables anyway- paper, glass, and plastic. After all, recycling is an effort, and what's the point of making the effort if it's not doing any good and is instead just doing harm.

That's totally counter productive. And that's bad. Very bad.

The Winds of Change...

2009-11-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

The coolest thing happened in Cleveland a couple of months ago. Just like any other day, I was driving along on the small stretch of highway in between my house and my office, when I looked up and noticed that someone was erecting a giant pole. Seriously. A giant pole right on the edge of the highway in what appeared to be someone's backyard. On my way home later that evening, the crane had moved up the giant pole and had begun attaching blades.

That's right.

Giant, humungous, blades... of a fan... to collect wind energy. In my neighborhood.

How cool is that?

Over the next few weeks the completed windmill just stood there. Occasionally the blades would be facing a different direction, and my husband and I nodded knowingly that "they" were collecting "wind data" and getting "reads." But nothing other than that happened. We drove around one evening, hunting down the base of the windmill to find that it was in fact off an alley behind the neighborhood, in a small tract of land just before the interstate. There were no banners, no signs, no fan fare... just us. Gawking lovingly up at it's statuesque figure.

And still. Nothing happened.

I tried looking up information on the windmill, but the all knowing internet was shy with me. According to it, there is just one windmill in Cleveland, which we all know is lakeside next to the Great Lakes Science Center. It shines as a beacon of hope and future promises in a city of steel industry. There have been lots of talks of wheels and deals to bring more windmills to Cleveland, 1. to improve the environment, 2. to improve Cleveland's environment, and 3. to get this city some jobs! But we had always been told that these additions would be along the shore of Lake Erie, collecting the almost everflowing winds from Canada.

I am still shocked that the second tower went up in Old Brooklyn, at least five miles inland.

Then, this week, Monday to be exact, the most amazing and beautiful thing happened. The blades started turning! Driving westward to work in the morning, I looked up in awe to see them whipping through the air. Gracefully, silently, powerfully. Each turn one step forward in a ceaseless battle towards clean energy. On my way home they were still turning, and two more trips past the blades today prove that the windmill is ON.

For a city that has such a poor reputation for it's environmental faux pas (we have a BEER named Burning River...) it is surprisingly on the forefront of quite a few environmental and biological research projects and movements. Almost Phoenix like, ... life, and in this case progress, rises from the burned ashes.

Where has the time gone?

2009-11-11T15:20:00.001-05:00

Don't you just hate bloggers who sit down and blog about not blogging? Geesh. I know. Right? (So we won't do that.)

But, the last couple of months have been harrowing here in Cleveland. A cold fall moved in before summer had even started. Then, once all hope of fresh veggies and days of sunning by the shore were gone, it warmed up again-- just in time for that cross-seasonal flu/funk that follows the changing weather. And don't get me started on the Swine Flu. Knock on wood, it's missed my house so far, but I am doubtful of being able to ward it off forever.

I've continued my household green efforts, but have admittedly slacked on my bike riding. (I am ashamed, but it's true.) There was some drama for a while with the garage holding my bike hostage, but the truth is, I lost some motivation. Fall is always good for getting motivation back, so I am looking forward to that spark to get me going again.

My biggest green news is that Physician's Formula, Organic Wear is now making mascara! Not a big deal to you dudes out there, but pretty huge for us ladies. Mascara is pretty nasty tar-like stuff, and to have that in and around your eyes is just not good. The new Organic Wear mascara is 100% natural, extends lashes beautifully, and stay soft all day long. I was doubtful at first, but am a believer now. The only drawback for me is that you have to put a few coats on to really get that wow effect. Small price to pay for health and happiness.

I also use their loose powder daily (and have for the last year and a half) and LOVE that.

If you haven't already, check em out.
http://www.organicwearmakeup.com

Oh Tom

2009-10-05T14:36:00.004-04:00

Toms Shoes has been a long time favorite of mine. Not only are they great looking, Toms has a One for One policy that for every pair of Toms shoes purchased, the company gives away another pair to a child in need. I can't remember how many years ago I first came across their website, but I know that since then they have grown by leaps and bounds. I've even seen Blake Mycoskie, Toms founder, on an AT&T (I think it was AT&T) commercial talking about world wide service and how important that is to his company.

The cool thing I learned today is that they are expanding their reach, once again, by trying a new marketing direction. Bridal wear. Sort of. Green weddings are huge now, and if you are a young Eco conscious bride or groom to be, this may be the way to go.

From their website:

Wear TOMS in your wedding, and help children in need with the first steps you take toward your new life together. TOMS will offer a special deal for couples who outfit their entire wedding party in TOMS to help make an even bigger difference in the lives of others around the world. Shop our wedding TOMS, and as always, with every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.

Ups and Downs

2009-07-21T21:35:00.003-04:00

Day two of biking: This morning's ride-in was smoother than yesterdays, and on the whole rather uneventful. The morning is still quite cool here, and the streets are fairly quiet at 7am. Most of the ride is through residential neighborhoods, and it's only every few blocks that you run into any real traffic.

This evening's ride home was a bit more notable. It was my first solo ride, and it rained. I was more prepared this time and had rain jacket with me but even covered I still got considerably wet! There were drips and puddles, splashes from passing cars, and low hanging branches to whap me in the face! The more rain there is, the lower the tree branches fall, and the sidewalks here are a mess-- very jagged and uneven. It was very much like running an obstacle course complete with hurtles! Over! Under! Around! Stop! Go go go!

There was also a road closure-- complete with fire trucks and police officers, that required a rerouting that took me into the uncharted lands of Brooklyn!

However. With all the wet and mud and sweat and humidity, it was still a great ride home.

On the last leg of the journey, I paused for one of the traffic lights. There were several cars that passed me, a couple that pulled up next to me, and then a large city bus that drove by-- just making the light that I was waiting on. As the bus passed, the driver looked me in the face, honked the big bus horn twice, and then solidly, strongly, gave me a salute.

I was too stunned to really reply-- I may have managed a smile, but inside I was overcome. Did he know why I was biking home in the rain? Was he saluting me for my greener efforts? This total stranger Mr. Bus Man? I have no idea what he was really thinking, but I choose to think that in an ever so brief moment of time someone else got it. And we got it together.

It was a proud, albeit silly, moment for me, but one I will take with me if I hesitate and think it's too cold, or too early, or too grey, or too physical to get up and get on that bike. So far, so good. And so good, is great.

New Day Part II

2009-07-20T18:26:00.003-04:00

Just an update on my Biker Commute Day One. I have had two small set backs.

First: As I was riding in this morning I hit one of Cleveland's many uneven sidewalks (which usually would be fine albeit ever so slightly uncomfortable..!) I had a travel mug full of hot freshly brewed coffee riding snuggly tucked away in my bike bag's cup carrier, and when I hit the bump the cup (and coffee) went flying out and crashed onto the sidewalk. Not only did the coffee spill everywhere, but the plastic to-go mug broke all to pieces.

Second: Random off the radar thunderstorm! It wasn't supposed to rain today. It wasn't on the forecast at all. This morning it was perfect and cloud free. And here I sit, listening to the thunder roll overhead. Luckily for me, on my very first day of being a bicycling commuter, I will not have to face the elements. My husband has volunteered to come and get me.

We will try this adventure again tomorrow!!

New Day!

2009-07-20T09:13:00.004-04:00

So the Madsen contest is officially over, and I officially did not win a new bucket bike. However, my efforts to be greener continue and today was a huge day for me!!

As many of you know, I have talked and talked and talked about riding my bike to work for over a year now. Biking to work was even one of the incentives of buying a house closer to my office! But there has always been an excuse, and it just seemed like such a huge change that I was never willing to actually get up early and take the leap.

But biking continued to be something I talked about -- all the time!

The weather has been so nice here in Cleveland this summer that every day that I didn't ride seemed like a huge waste. With the Madsen contest coming to a close, I just knew it was time.

This morning started a new schedule for me at work, and with that I thought a new mode of transportation as well. I loaded up my bike bag, strapped on my helmet, rolled up my jeans, and off I went!

I recently read a quote that said something like, "You have the power for change, but do you have the courage?" That's pretty big for me. It's easy to take on the small things, and easy to talk about the bigger ones, but for me, it does take actual courage to step out and do something different.

A big thank you goes out to my husband who road with me on the maiden voyage to keep me company.

Pretty is...

2009-07-16T21:56:00.005-04:00

...seeing these picturesque flowers through your window every day.

Summer Lovin

2009-07-16T21:07:00.009-04:00

Cleveland has had a remarkably cool summer this year so far. (Knock on wood!) I was chilly on July 4th, and have come to ridiculously dread the "high of 85" that the weather girl gives me on occasional mornings, only to live it and remember that even 85 is not so bad.

I waited a long time to plant any summer gardens as it was just so cool I was afraid of a late frost. It wasn't until late May that anything finally made it into the soil.

This year, I am back to growing tomatoes. However, I veered from last years Big Boys and instead planted something called a Supernova. The big difference is that they are already blooming and starting to fruit, however the fruit doesn't look incredibly healthy. My neighbor told me that it is ill advised to plant tomatoes in the same place every year (even though family members of mine do) so we will just wait it out and see what happens.

My major focus this summer is a spiraling cluster of cucumber crops that we planted in a homemade cucumber box! Fed with lots and lots of yummy compost, the cucumbers look and act out of control! I had no idea they would grow so big and climb right up and out of their box. Right now they are covered in yellow blooms and I've seen bees buzzing around trying to help me out. I hope to have little fruits soon!

I do have two concerns when it comes to the cucumbers. 1. My neighbor said hers once got eaten by tiny hard-to-see bugs. (I am now out there every day looking for invisible intruders.) There are bugs out there, but the leaves don't look damaged and the plants continue to grow. 2. Just in the last few days some of the leaves are turning yellow, and some of the blossoms are wilting. I am not sure if it's too much water, too many plants (over crowding) or just the natural state of cucumber life.My emotions swing back and forth between being very concerned, and really ok with the plants living and dying the way nature intended.

I will research it all and get back to you as these are clearly very important topics!

No News is Bad News

2009-07-16T20:52:00.003-04:00

For those of you who know me, this statement can be applied to a couple of different aspects of my life. Tonight, it is in regards to the Madsen Cycles.

Yesterday they announced the top 20 web/blogs that had given them the most hits. They then randomly chose one from those 20 to win a bike. (I didn't quite make the 20 list!) Then today, they gathered together ALL of the websites that had participated, and then randomly picked a winner from that batch. They have not officially posted it yet, but seeing as I have not been contacted, I don't think it was me!!

I am saddened. I feel like my former eight year old self who desperately wanted the giant neon green scooter that the elementary school was raffling away. I truly, with all my heart, believed that if I wanted it badly enough I would win- without even buying raffle tickets. And I would stand, dreamily outside the office window gazing into the handle bars of the green scooter, just willing it to be mine. (FYI-- I didn't win the scooter.) That being said, this was not quite the same experience as my adult self did participate, and so did you!

Thank you to all my friends and family-- including all the facebook friends, who clicked to help me compete! It was a wonderful dream.

Stayed tuned next week as I attempt to ride not a Maden Cycle, but my own cycle, off to work.

Mad for Madsen

2009-07-14T19:13:00.002-04:00

If you are here to support the Contest Cause-- click the image of the bike to the right to be directed to the Madsen website and get your tally in on my behalf. If you are here just visiting, click the picture of the bike anyway and then come back!!

The contest winner is announced tomorrow, and I am dreaming of daily commutes on my baby blue steed of steel. Oh yes, my friends, this crush is serious.

Madsen Cycles!

2009-05-12T13:56:00.005-04:00

Ok-- so this has to be one the neatest things I have seen in a while. Or-- as my husband would say, "a-wHiLe." (That's a shout out.)

Presenting the new Madsen Cargo Cycle. Available in two styles: Rack & Bucket, and in three fantastic color choices. As many of you know, I fantasize about becoming a serious biker. Not like, the athletic kind, although there IS that, but the "instead of car kind." Last year I did a trial run from the house to my office to see how it would go and decided it was totally doable, but then I took forever considering the logistics of carrying a change of clothes, my lunch, my purse, and on and on. Apparently I am not such a light traveler.

However, I also love the idea of biking for errands. My husband and I frequent our local market at least biweekly with our handfuls of cloth and reusable bags. We have some regular vendors now (shout out to Joe!) and love the ritual of the whole thing. In my daily efforts to be greener, this is right up my alley.

Here's a small blurb on the Bucket version from their website.

Load up the kids and head to the market. The kg271/BUCKET model will carry your precious cargo and help you complete all your errands in style. The BUCKET comes equipped with a removable seat and two seat belts.

Click on the link to the left (See BIKE!) for pictures and more information. They are also having a contest and a free bike giveaway to 1. people who post about them and 2. the most hits they get from other sites! Help me win! Check out the Madsen today!

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T15:36:00.002-04:00

It's late in the day to be posting this, and I have to apologize to everyone for getting so far behind on my big "Happy Day," message. I was pretty excited earlier on in the year about celebrating Earth Day, but then somehow I fell completely off the radar.

No pictures, no links, no food to share. All I have is a big "Happy Earth Day" to you. Go out and hug a tree today and plant some tomatoes.

This Bread is Bananas!

2009-03-28T21:02:00.002-04:00

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!! That's all. It's just banana bread. Mmmmmmm. Banana bread.

Shelving!

2009-03-28T20:37:00.005-04:00

The "Before" and "Afters" of my kitchen wall.

The entire kitchen got painted, the two windows got new curtains, and this wall, this wall got the old spice cabinets removed, a new added cabinet for extra work space, new drywall installed, new paint, and now-- new shelves! We are so excited. The storage capacity of the kitchen just increased by 15 more feet of space, and the wall seems to finally "fit in" to the function of a kitchen.

These elfa shelves came courtesy of The Container Store, one of my favorite places in the world (I used to be a full timer.) If you need me to sell you on this high quality system I'd be happy to, as they are the best-toughest-strongest-never break-never rust shelves you can get anywhere. No joke. I even offer installation lessons. The Container Store is having a 30% off elfa sale now though May 10th. (Can you hear the man in the background chanting... "hurry, hurry, hurry!")

The whole thing makes me want to sigh in relief... "Ahhhh..."

Coolest Laundry Hamper Around

2009-03-26T17:18:00.003-04:00

Check out these amazing, extra large hampers! These are by Jenny Hurth at Elbow Grease Designs in San Francisco and are made from discarded vinyl signs and banners. Check our the website to see lots more great products out of these materials.

Elbow Grease Designs

Green Coffee Sleeves!

2009-03-26T16:53:00.007-04:00

... Since I mentioned it below I thought I would go the extra mile and do a quick update about the "insulation rings" for coffee cups. (But if you google them don't search it that way! Try "green coffee sleeves" instead.) Here's a great website with some very trendy sleeves retailing for about $12. If you drink coffee regularly it can really add up to a worthy investment. Plus they are just plain cool.

Check it out! These are from Wishing Fish.
http://www.wishingfish.com/cupcouture.html

(Take a look around Wishing Fish. They also sell some great Envirosax Reusable bags and the Not a Paper Cup! Yeah!)

Not a Paper Cup

2009-03-26T16:31:00.007-04:00

Like me, you may have seen this product for sale in a number of places. I had seen it and thought -- Wow, what a great idea! But not being too much of a shopper left it at that. Then, back in December, one of my friends gave it to me as a birthday gift! As I like try out new and exciting green products and report the skinny, I thought I'd share.

This is called, "I'm not a paper cup," and is in fact NOT a paper cup but a porcelain cup with a silicon, heat resistant lid. The outside of the cup is matte (to look dull like paper) and the inside is coated to repel stains and odors like a regular coffee mug. I already have a slew of to-go coffee mugs in my attempts to be-greener, but somehow this little lidded mug had the perfect spot in my life as an in-office afternoon tea cup. It's nice because it's easily washable, non disposable, cute, readily available, and --- has a lid! (Unlike other coffee cups.) The only con I have found so far is that it gets very hot, like mugs will, and there is no handle and no insulation ring a la Starbucks. They do sell reusable insulation rings though, so maybe that will be my next purchase.

All in all, the cuteness wins here. It's ideal for me, where there is coffee and tea readily available at work throughout the day, (we have a Starbucks here, in the building) and it's a nice way to refuel without the waste.

The bottom image I found online when searching for extra info about the cup. Someone had decorated theirs to give it a little extra "personality."

Make Over March

2009-03-24T09:02:00.003-04:00

Ever since I started this blog I wanted to do my own header (above.) I finally figured it out. Either that, or blogger finally made it so easy I could figure it out. Regardless, I was finally able to post my own header, and I decided to try out a new template as well to incorporate more green!! Right now there are things I am trying to tweak, but I am liking the overall feel. What do you think?

Plain Janes

2009-01-15T21:41:00.006-05:00

I can't remember now how I first happened upon the Plain Janes website. I am sure it was after I decided to start changing the small things in my life to become a greener Me, but I don't remember when or where I was. I do know that as soon as I came across the website, Plain Janes became an instant and permanent addition to my "Get Green" links.

I am so excited and proud to announce that now, I am not just a fan from a distance, but I am also a qualified, bon-a-fide, for-real-fan. (i.e. I bought the stuff!) It was a semi-birthday, semi-Chrismas present to Me, from Me, that I had to talk myself into buying about three times before I finally placed the order. It was a big decision for me because I didn't just want the shower spray. Or the glass cleaner. Or the plush micro fiber rags and mop heads. No. I wanted it all.

What's the saying? If you're gonna go, go big?

So I ordered the large starter kit. AND The Tool, which is like a swiffer mop (used for wet and dry mopping) but oh so much better.

And. It all arrived in the mail today! Marta, at Plain Janes, even added in some extra goodies for me to try (like smell good sachets for your linen drawers) as there was a mix up at the Post Office and the packages went back to her to be sent again. (I am convinced our mail man just didn't want to deliver them in the snow... see my post below!)

Ironically, in the weird twist of fate that is life, my husband cleaned the whole house today. So when I got home later, it was sparkling and clean, and my Plain Jane packages were sitting there waiting to be opened and begging to be used!

So I did. I couldn't resist. My husband was sweet enough to leave me some bathroom "surface" cleaning, and I went to town with my new Glass and Mirror Spray and new Glass and Mirror Microfiber Cloths. All I have to say is: AMAZING.

First of all, all of the products smell fantastic. It's almost aromatherapy. It's almost edible. It is so much better than trying not to breathe and choking back the fumes of the other toxic brands. Secondly, I have used everything under the sun to try to clean the beautiful glass doors in our downstairs shower. They are actually doors that when I first laid my eyes upon them (with my realtor) I thought to myself, "Hello, Trouble." I have used foaming spray, glass cleaner, mildew remover, squeegees, shammies, and finally, an every day after shower spray. The shower spray does help, but only after I scrub and scrub and scrub with one of the other foul-smelling-ruin-my-clothes products.

The Plain Janes spray (mmm lime) and microfiber cloth were just that. Spray. Wipe. Sparkle. Done. Yeah! I was so impressed that I proceeded to clean all of the mirrors in my house, some so old and grimy I never thought I'd see myself clearly in them again. Plain Janes worked on them all.

So. I am sold. Hook, line, and good for the Earth sinker. I am especially excited about the good for ME part. It's OK to be selfish every once in a while.

Dining Room Diner

2009-01-15T21:15:00.005-05:00

In our big "remodel" push that started a few weeks ago, we went ahead and bought a gallon of paint for our gray dining room. In our last house, all the rooms were yellows and golds and warm tans (or red) and it was small and cozy and very home-y like. While this new house is in every way a vast improvement from our last, we hadn't really done much (color wise) to make it feel all warm and cozy. So we painted. The dining room is now a beautiful warm yellow. It's amazing how quickly the feel of a room can change with just a can of paint! And it's also ridiculous how long it took me to decide on yellow since yellow is THE color to match everything in that room. Dishes, curtains, pictures, etc.

We once again used the Home Depot Fresh Aire (bought at the same time as the kitchen paint) and I now have this to add to my previous glowing review: This paint must be used over primer. I know any professional painter will tell you-- of course you use primer first! But we had really convinced ourselves that because the walls were light (light gray) and the paint had gone on so easily in the kitchen (over primer!) that we would not NEED primer. So we didn't prime, and it was a nightmare. It seriously took us three coats of paint-- which meant we had to go back to Home Depot and buy another gallon of paint-- of which we used the whole thing. (And this is not cheap paint.) So. While I still hold to my original comment, "Wow-- what great non toxic non stinky paint," I will also add, "MUST PRIME."

Now that we are done... the dining room is wonderful. It reminds me of some romantic little bistro, or even the basement wine cellar in Cortona where we would eat our Wednesday night brick oven pizzas... almost. Without the rows and rows of wine. Or the brick oven pizza. But you get where I am going.

Winter Cometh

2009-01-12T22:26:00.003-05:00

The first big snow storm of the season comes to Ohio. Sigh.. with it still forecasted to snow the rest of the week. I was really ok with the cold, and the snow on and off, and the big piles of snow are pretty... but TERRIBLE to drive in.

I think I can...

2009-01-12T22:22:00.002-05:00

So fresh and so clean! The kitchen, almost done. All we need now are the shelves (for the empty wall) and a new floor rug. Anyone know where I can find one to match my new curtains?

Kitchen!!

2009-01-05T22:57:00.004-05:00

That's almost all I have to say. Just... "Kitchen!!" Once it got started, we got excited, and away the whole thing went!

The new wall was finished today. The antique cupboard got a new, fresh, bright white coat of paint, all new pull handles, and a new magnetic clasp / closing device to keep the door shut. (We feel so fancy.) And. We bought paint.

We had a gift card to Home Depot to spend and inquired at the paint counter about the new "Low VOC" paints everyone is talking about. What a sweetie Mr. Paint Man was. "They are all low VOC, but if you are really interested in that sort of thing, we sell some stuff now that is NO VOC." Exactly.

So here's my review of Home Depot's Fresh Aire.
(http://freshairechoice.com)

Colors that will take your breath away. Paint that won't.

The Freshaire Choice™ Paint contains no volatile organic compounds — commonly known as VOCs — harmful chemicals that contribute to poor air quality. Although other paints may claim to have no VOCs, what they don't tell you is that these chemicals are put back into the paint once the color is added.

Our paint leads the industry with an innovative, eco-friendly solution that contains no VOCs in the colorant — the exclusive, pre-measured ColorFresh™ delivery system.

Now you can choose from 65 gorgeous colors and feel better knowing that the cleaner air inside your home is good for your family because our paint is certified by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI), a well-respected industry-independent, non-profit organization that provides verification for low-emitting products.

Fresh Aire delivers rich, true shades that apply flawlessly, dry fast and wash up beautifully.

Now you can tackle indoor painting projects all year round and enjoy freshly painted rooms immediately without sacrificing the air inside your home and the safety of your family — because clearing the air shouldn't mean compromising.

It's almost twice as expensive as the other stuff, but it comes in beautiful, stunning colors-- all "earth inspired." At first I didn't think I was going to be able to find the bright aqua and yellows that I had picked out on the Glidden wall, but they were there. Sure enough. Also, the color comes in a powder, which comes in a plastic bag, which comes in a foil pouch. You pick out your powder, the base paint can (which is made of a recyclable plastic and is recyclable, the label is printed with soy ink on 75% PCW paper, and the chips and brochures are all made from recycled paper and can be recycled) and the Mr. Paint Man takes the powder out of the foil, and tosses the whole thing, plastic bag and all, into the base and mixes it all up.

And now, after having used it, I am seriously impressed. Seriously. Low odor, no toxicity, MUCH easier to clean up, and if you opps and get it on the ceiling or floor, it comes right up with water. And. It's gorgeous on the wall. Did I say I was impressed? It also dries extremely fast.

Back to the kitchen. So the wall was finished today, so we primed, and painted the trim and the first coat tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have pictures of the new, finished kitchen, sans curtains, which I have still not decided on.

Updates!

2009-01-02T22:55:00.005-05:00

Here are just a couple of photo updates of the ongoing work being done in the house. The wall in the kitchen is almost done...

And the wall(s) in the studio are no where near being done but are coming along nicely. I forgot to mention my fabulous experience at Home Depot recently that occurred when I went to buy my spackling supplies. I had about five different men stop and ask me if I needed help-- none of which worked at the store, and one of whom proceeded to yell at me because I wasn't doing it right, "didn't know what I was doing," and decided in the end not to do it his way at all. Needless to say I was a little ruffled and have decided not to do my hardware store shopping in the middle of the day (with the professionals) and will stick to my usual evening strolls. At least for the time being.

By the Way...

2008-12-29T22:55:00.006-05:00

So, a few months ago now, we bought a new sofa. This alone is not blog worthy, but in my continual attempts to be greener, I bought my sofa second hand. Eww, right? Only it's darling and antique and doesn't quite have the same gross out factor that most second hand sofas have.

I looked and looked and looked online for a sofa that would compliment my two wood and gold velvet captains chairs that I got from my parents. I grew up with these chairs, and when Mom and Dad decided their tastes had matured past this elegant style, I decided mine had hit the mark.

It took me months of patient internet shopping to finally come across the one sofa that was 1. the right type, 2. the right price, and 3. in decent condition. We plan on reupholstering the piece eventually, but in the mean time we hit a big number 4. The right color. It almost matches the gold chairs perfectly. And it certainly has completed our room.

Kitchen Reno-Vation

2008-12-29T22:22:00.010-05:00

We are also doing some slight remodeling in our kitchen this week as well. As if the studio spackling wasn't enough! However, this work isn't being done by us. A friend and mutual friend (same person) "does walls," so he came over today and ripped out the framing for the so called spice rack cupboards that came with the house. (The picture above is old-- before we moved the microwave and added the antique cupboard-- but it was the best shot of the spice racks I could find.) The idea of the cupboards wasn't bad, it was the cardboard shelves that did it for me. Out! It was a wonderful sound hearing that framing coming down! The job should be done by the end of the week. Keep watching the blog for more pictures!

Also-- since the spice rack cupboards (that are now gone!) had the same hardware that the rest of the kitchen cabinets has, I now have a couple of extra and have decided to replace the handles on the wooden cupboard that we added. Now everything will be consistent. Love it.

Putting the Tomatoes to Bed

2008-12-29T18:15:00.003-05:00

Snow came early to Ohio this year, but it was still probably well past the normal season for Ohio tomato crops. I don't know why I held on so long! The good news is, I learned a ton from growing my own tomatoes, and I am really looking forward to doing it again next year. I am even considering expanding my crops to include other vegetables. I am also now armed with an entire arsenal of canning equipment, so you should all expect wonderful jams, jellies, and salsas for Christmas presents in '09. Just warning you. I'm going to be a Canning Monster!

Renovation Among Us!

2008-12-29T17:51:00.006-05:00

I am so excited to announce that I have finally begun remodeling my studio! One of the big draws to buying this house back in March was that it had a Man Basement for my man, and a "4th bedroom" for my studio. I have never had my own studio before, except if you count the tiny loft space in college that all the seniors were assigned.

This room was designated mine for it's shear lack of potential to be anything else! It is covered with knotted (holey) wood paneling, has low dingy ceilings, orange shag carpet, one old window, no heat, no air, and built ins that will not let go. For the average person this room would be called "the pits," and I am sure that the previous owners thought just that. I don't think they ever even used it-- maybe for storage, but when I first saw the house with my realtor it was indeed staged to be a 4th bedroom (complete two little twin beds tucked into the built ins.) I saw beyond 60's facade and recognized all those built ins would nicely hold my art supplies, that the weird sectioned walls would give me "nooks" for rug hooking, painting, and there was space enough for my desk and maybe even room for my computer. The possibilities are endless.

The big problem of course, was that all of these dreams of mine would require hard work to get the room where I wanted it to be- and there would be no creating anything in this room until all that hard work was done.

So. Again. I am proud to announce that the hard work has begun! The first step is to fill in ALL the knotty holes in the wood paneling. Two jugs of spackle and several hours and sore hands later, one wall is done! Yeah!

Keep checking back over the coming week for more updates. I'm now having dreams about this room so I am finally highly motivated.

New Year New

2008-12-29T17:47:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to drop a quick post to all of my friends and family who follow my blog. We just celebrated a fabulous Christmas 2008, and are about to embark on the wonderful adventure of 2009. I can't tell you all how excited I am about the upcoming year and the unnamed possibilities of health and happiness that it holds. I always see the new year as a time for setting priorities, reevaluating life, and refocusing on the things that are most important. For me, that is my husband, my family and friends, my girls, and my creative work. I look forward to sharing upcoming developments with all of you over the coming months. Cheers to you, and Happy New Year!

Now News is Good News

2008-10-20T09:18:00.016-04:00

It has been such a long time since I last posted an entry on my blog that I am finally sitting down to post just to post. I'd rather have something earth shattering and wonderful to share with the world, but as it is, all is well and calm and stable (regardless of the economic crisis) in our lives. (For the most part!)

We have been continuing with our efforts to live "greenly," but have not really taken on any new challenges here of late. I did finally purchase the Doggy Potty-- the pet septic tank system, but I haven't gotten it installed yet. It requires a post hole digger, which we do not own, to create a four foot deep hole in yard, and now that it has started getting cooler here in Ohio-- that hole may just have to wait until spring! It is a great idea, though. Instead of leaving poop on the ground (which is not even an option in our tiny yard,) and instead of using plastic bag after plastic bag to pick it up and throw it away, the doggy potty breaks it down into a safe, non toxic material that can be reabsorbed into the earth without contaminating ground water. It's the best thing I have found to deal with the "problem" of pet poop.

Well. Enough about that. In other news, I am still picking tomatoes off of my two huge plants. Yesterday I pulled 12 good ones off and about 8 bad ones (ones that were left too long!) I then made a delicious homemade marinara out of the good ones that will be used later in the week to make homemade pizza. Yum! What a good feeling. To grow your own vegetables and then be able to enjoy the benefits. I have eaten several of the tomatoes already, but I have not made anything out of them until now. I will have to post pictures of the pizza when it is done!

My husband and I finally had our first camping trip of the year! It was really late for us as we usually camp in the spring as well as the fall. But moving across the country this past spring kind of derailed our usual plans. This fall trip was not only our first camping trip of the year, but it was also our first adventure into the great wilds of Ohio! We had gorgeous Indian Summer like temperatures, but the color and look of autumn on all of the trees. I'd like to go again before it gets too cold, but I may already be out of time. My husband keeps asking about snow camping.... !!!

Right now, my efforts and stress levels are focused on Christmas. I am the person who strives to have all of her shopping done by Thanksgiving. As that holiday is only a month away, I am ready to get things started and done with! I would love to give green, recycled, earth friendly gifts this year, but that simply may not be possible. I also played with the idea of giving homemade gifts, as I consider every year, but that always ends up being so much more stress than I can handle. Right now I am in research mode. If anyone has any good ideas, don't hesitate to share!

That is all for today. Hopefully there will be more to share as the month goes on. Thanks for staying tuned in through the lull.

Seeing Red!

2008-08-11T21:16:00.006-04:00

The tomatoes are taking over! Grown from 6 inch little baby plants-- these two tomato plants are now taller than me. It must be the warm Ohio days... fertile soil? I have never seen anything like this! (Granted, these are my first tomato plants-- my first vegetable plants at all.) I am continually impressed by these beauties. They grew tall fast, but took their time producing buds, then took their time producing fruit, and then I never ever thought they were going to turn red. I almost thought they were a fluke and that somehow, instead of buying regular tomato plants, I had bought Green Tomatoes... only good for pickling and frying. But this week-- finally! finally! A little gold has started to grow.

I feel like a proud a mother. Three good sized fruits started to turn, and one looked so good and ready that I couldn't help myself and plucked it down. Unfortunately, and this is the lesson that I learned this evening: looking ready and being ready are not necessarily the same thing! The sweet little tomato was ruby red on the bottom but golden yellow on top! Oh well. It looks beautiful in my kitchen window.

Now that "summer" is finally here, i.e. my tomatoes are coming to fruition, the weather is starting to turn ever so slightly towards fall. I think it is fair to say that my first growing season in Ohio has been very educational. Next year I will start earlier, start indoors, and plant more variety! I can't wait!

(I also can't wait to eat some tomatoes -- the whole point of me growing my own! I am dreaming of tomato, mozzarella, and basil salads... fresh salsa.. tomato soup! Yum!)

Tomato, Tomahto

2008-07-08T22:31:00.005-04:00

I think it must have been back in May when I first purchased my two little tomato plants. It was one of those love at first sight moments-- I saw the little sprouts from across the aisle, looked upon those scrawny stems and knew instantly that they had to be mine! At 6 inches tall they were anything but impressive, but I have wanted desperately to start gardening produce, and tomatoes seemed like the perfect place to begin.

There is a little corner of dirt that wraps around the side of our garage that gets full, hot sun most of the day. So I had the perfect spot. However, as soon as I brought them home I realized that I knew nothing about growing anything. But with a little internet research and ingenuity (if I do say so myself) I got it all pulled together. I knew that they would grow tall, and in doing so, would need some type of support. But being impatient, I refused to put off the planting in order to go out and buy something proper. Instead, I found (what I later learned is a "for sale" sign post) a metal "H" that was perfectly 24" wide, and what I thought would be the perfect height. (They have now outgrown my "H") With a little love, water, and fearlessness (oh my word, there are a LOT of WORMS in Ohio!!) I got the little ones growing.

In any case, I am thrilled to be the proud parent of two, gigantic tomato plants. Today I counted a whopping 8 little green fruits on their way to deliciousness! What more could a woman ask for.

Aiding and Abedding

2008-06-23T17:16:00.007-04:00

One immediate issue that we faced in our new kitchen was a lack of space. Our kitchen is MUCH bigger than the one we had at our old house, but somehow there was still a considerable lack of counter space and storage. We managed to find a place for all of our things, but when it came to recycling, we just couldn't figure out where to PUT the stuff.

There are lots of containers out there, but we had no room to place one. We have nice, large, cans outside to contain the recyclables before they head off to the centers, but we needed a spot INSIDE too. So. Wall-ah. We figured it out. Not only did we add more counter space which helped the entire kitchen feel bigger overall, but also, since we already had a place for pots and pans, the new under storage became a fantastic little recycling center for us. So far, it's working out great. And, I will proudly boast that this little piece of furniture was sold with love from a woman who owned it for 20 years, and it smells perfectly of antique furniture. So it, is itself, recycled. Yeah!! I feel like such a do-gooder, plus the bonus that I actually like the look of this little cupboard. The base is wood-- paint and natural, and the top is enamel.

There's room for a large tub (that we already had) to hold mixed containers (glass, plastics, odd sized paper) and then a top shelf and a hanging basket on the door that are working perfectly to hold paper, magazines, and newspaper. Oh, and it's also provided us with a new drawer for clean cloth napkins, and a drawer (hamper) for "used" cloth napkins, and a drawer for potatoes. Everyone needs a potato drawer, right? Hmmm... and speaking of potatoes... stay tuned, I think I will post my new, fantastic and healthy baked potato ship recipe.

Do Something Drastic...

2008-06-23T16:55:00.007-04:00

Cut the plastic!

If you have been reading my blog over the last few months, you know that my husband and I are trying, daily, to cut down our use of plastic bags. We have three reusable bags now-- all of different designs and all working for varying, wonderfully handy purposes. I am going to bring it up again, since my cousin in DC was so sweet to send me some new statistics. They are pretty astounding and I think, simply worth mentioning. So here we go.

1. If you use a cloth bag, you can save 6 bags a week from going to our landfills.

2. That's 24 bags a month.

3. 288 bags a year.

4. 22,176 bags in your lifetime.

That depends of course, entirely on your personal style. (How often do you shop? How regularly do you stop in at the pharmacy, at the grocery store, at the shoe store, buy one item, and walk out with a plastic bag? I honestly think that these numbers are conservative. Especially if you watch people coming out of the grocery store with 20-30 plastic bags on each arm.)

5. If 1 out of 5 people in our country alone cut out the use of plastic bags, that adds up to 1,330,560,000,000 bags over our lifetime.

6. And it's interesting to point out the phrase "in our country alone." Here is a list of countries that have either banned the use of plastic bags or are on their way to getting them banned. Please notice which one is missing.

Canada
Israel
Western India
Botswana
Kenya
Tanzania
South Africa
Taiwan
Singapore
Rwanda
Bangladesh
China

7. Even more interesting, to me, is that Ireland started TAXING the use of plastic bags in 2002 (instead of banning them) and by doing so, in 6 years has managed to reduce plastic bag consumption by 90%.

8. There is ONE U.S. city that has banned the use of plastic bags: San Francisco. There are two more on the way: Oakland, CA and Boston, MA.

9. When you stop using plastic bags, you reduce the amount of oil used in manufacturing them (Yes-- plastic bags are made from oil. The same oil you are paying $4.00 a gallon for at the pump.)

10. China banned the use of plastic bags and will save 37 million barrels of oil each year in doing so.

In conclusion, I'll repeat a favorite old saying from years gone by:

Give a hoot, don't pollute.

Compost, Oh Compost

2008-05-25T14:42:00.006-04:00

We finally purchased a new composter to replace the one that we left behind in Georgia. The newer version is very much like the old one, except square instead of round-- and not quite as shiny! But we are already off to a great start filling it up! And just a quick sales tip if anyone out there is interested in buying a composter: We got this one from Sam's Club for about half the price of the cheapest one I've seen any where else. I've found it online since our purchase and it's selling for almost three times as much as what we paid. It is not the most high end of products, but it does get the job done.

We also managed to purchase our very own reel mower this week. Pictures to come later. It is very much like the one we borrowed and tried out from our friend, but this one came with a basket to catch the flying grass. In theory, the basket is a great idea since we have found that cutting the grass outside without picking it up creates almost as much grass inside the house as we have in the yard. In theory, a basket would catch the grass and make the whole process nice and tidy.

In practice, it doesn't quite work as well as all of that. The grass still flies every which way in a crazy flurry that is almost comical to watch. The majority of it does somehow, pile up and make it into the basket, but there is still enough grass that doesn't that I feel comfortable claiming that I am fertilizing my lawn with the left over clippings.

I think the upside to the basket, for me, is that I still get the clippings on the lawn, which is healthy for it, but I also get tons of basket clippings for my compost-- which is healthy for that! You could say it's ended up being a win win.

Spring Days

2008-05-19T09:41:00.004-04:00

The temperature is still hovering around 50 degrees here in my neck of the woods, but the flowers have come bursting forth anyway. They are stunning. I wish that I could take some credit for them, but we've only just moved into the house, and these were blooming shortly after we transitioned in.

The Reel Deal

2008-05-16T09:08:00.009-04:00

Nothing like a little light lawn mowing on a late Saturday afternoon! We borrowed this reel mower from our friend and neighbor since we haven't gotten around to making this purchase ourselves. After months of talking about it, seeing it, and pricing it, we finally got the chance to try it out. What fun! Our yard-- front and back, is rather small, so it makes mowing pretty painless. I think the tricky part will be staying on top of it, as the work does get harder when the grass is long. The mower pushes the blades over instead of chopping them off. One thing I am excited about: Our lawn has some bald spots in it, and I am hopeful that the cut blades will nurture the grass to grow back where it needs to. I can't wait to get our own.

(Video of this exciting process coming soon!)

As promised, view this video by clicking on "Reel Deal" to the left, under the "Video" title.

What I've Been Learning...

2008-05-14T09:26:00.015-04:00

About Meat...

Raising animals for food is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.
--United Nations

There have been a lot of changes in my life over the last year, especially when it comes to being more eco conscious. It has become a serious quest of mine to minimalize my impact on the planet in any way and every way that I can. My husband and I started recycling, started composting, switched to energy efficient light bulbs, started using reusable shopping bags, cut out paper napkins in our household and started using cloth instead... the list goes on. Little things, but little things that we can EASILY do that honestly don't make that huge of an impact on our daily lives. They do, however, little by little, make a GIGANTIC impact on our footprint on this planet.

It's been our goal to grow in this adventure, and as we've traveled along, looking for the next steps to take, I've been learning more and more about FOOD. It's fascinating to me in every regard to learn more about where my food comes from, and from an environmental stand point-- what types of resources it takes to get my food to me. It's our goal to eat more locally (check out the 100 mile challenge if you are REALLY interested in this. http://100milediet.org) and in doing so I have decided to finally stop eating meat. Ugh! I like meat, and eating cute little furry animals has never really been an issue for me. (Although my husband will testify that we do not eat crab because I can't handle ripping their little legs off!) Anyway, my decision is based entirely on the Saving the World Standpoint, and here to support my decision is a little bit of information.

Global Warming:
According to a recent United Nations Report, the meat industry causes more global warming (through the emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) than all the cars, trucks, SUVS, planes, and ships in the world combined. Researchers at the University of Chicago determined that switching to a vegan diet is 50 percent more efficient than switching from a regular car to a hybrid car in reducing you impact on global warming. I have been wanting to switch to a hybrid car, but am honestly not ready to go through the actual PURCHASE of a new car... so I'm very excited that there is something even more effective that I can do!

Water Resources:
More than half of all the water consumed in the U.S. is used to raise animals for food. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat based diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. Consider that when you are trying to take shorter showers to conserve water.

Pollution:
Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the run-off from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industrial sources combined. And we thought factories were bad.

All in all-- this will be an experiment for me, just like everything else has been. I am still eating fish (it's been about three weeks on the new diet so far) but minimally. And as time goes on, that may change as well. Who knows!

On a side note: while doing some research for this blog posting, I came across a LOT of information about the conditions of factory farm raised animals. It's appalling and it's horrible. I feel like I got a lot of information from propaganda websites, so I will try to take it with a grain of salt. (Hello PETA). But at the same time, knowing where your food comes from can be VERY educating. I wanted to become a vegetarian for environmental reasons, but if you saw some of the web sites that I did, you might become one yourself based on compassion alone.

Here's a quote from www.goveg.com

"More than 30 billion animals are killed by the American meat industry each year-- in ways that would horrify any compassionate person and that would be illegal if cats or dogs were the victims."

Guh.

Keys to the Castle

2008-04-29T13:12:00.002-04:00

We got the keys to our new house last night. That makes us officially HOME OWNERS. How exciting and scary all at the same time. Could it be that we are finally adults? That we have finally come of age? I hope nothing breaks.

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T15:34:00.013-04:00

Some Earth Day tips to keep in mind.

UNPLUG UNUSED ELECTRONICS AND SAVE $256 PER HOUSEHOLD PER YEAR.
Snag a book from the library or a used book store and curl up by a sunny window. Take a walk or go for a bike ride. Just spend a few hours every week electricity-free. And while you’re shutting things off, consider unplugging less-used electronics, small appliances, lamps and other gadgets until needed; it reduces standby electricity loss, which means lower bills. Or group your electronics on one of the handy power strips featured below!

PAY ONLINE.
If all Americans viewed and paid bills online, we'd save 18.5 million trees EACH YEAR. Take time this week to switch all your bills to paperless or e-statements. Consider canceling unwanted catalog and magazine subscriptions and sign up for a junk mail monitoring service, which removes you from mass mailing lists for small fee. Your letter carrier — and local landfill — will enjoy the lighter load.

Check out these websites and help STOP the garbage
http://www.41pounds.org
http://www.greendimes.com

PLANT SOMETHING
It's starting to get gorgeous outside. Get out there and take advantage of the warmer temperatures and update your landscape. Plant deciduous trees near your house. As they grow, the trees' lush leaves will shade your home from the warming sun. In winter, their bare branches let that sunlight through, which means less stress on your heating system and utility bills. Plus, more trees means cleaner air. AND-- for you composters out there... more trees means more leaves to make that rich dark compost!

CUT WASTE
Start keeping track of how much trash you generate by eating out and making trips to the store, I guarantee you'll be amazed! Yuck! All of those bags, paper and styrofoam cups, and containers really add up and are stuffing our landfills to capacity. Bring your own plastic/metal boxes to your favorite take-out joint. You'll save resources and save them money. Use reusable shopping bags whenever you go to the store. Say "No Thanks" when the pharmacist or fast food clerk tries to put your one or two items in a bag. Don't be afraid to speak up! Use reusable cups for coffee and other beverages including for soda and fountain drinks. And, reuse some of the extras at home - keep extra napkins and reuse plastic cups and cutlery.

We have actually stopped buying paper napkins at all. At Christmas when people asked me what I wanted as gifts, I requested nice, easy care CLOTH napkins. Now I have tons and they are easily washable with a regular load of laundry, look nice on my table,and surprisingly, the switch has dramatically cut down on the amount of paper towels we use as well.

Energy Saving Power Strip

2008-04-17T15:53:00.009-04:00

Ok-- Tell me this is not cool. A power strip that knows when to work, what to work, and what to turn off. It makes saving energy easy as pie. Last year, my husband I and tried to start a normal practice of unplugging our electronic devices when they were not in use, but sadly, it turned out to be such a pain that we quickly gave up on it. Our entertainment system is one of those things that all of the cords feed together onto one power strip and then get hidden behind a huge piece of furniture making it virtually impossible to daily plug in and plug out. And then there was the TiVo issue... Ahem. How can Tivo work if it's not plugged IN?? Well, I am not sure if this answers the TiVo dilemma, but it certainly is ingenious for everything else. I want one for every room in the house-- it would even be great for our computer set up-- printer, scanner, computer. All linked together!

From the Manufacturer:
Ten outlets work together, auto switching your devices on/off automatically, to save you money on your electric bills. 2875 joules of surge protection keep your equipment safe from even the harshest power spikes. Conveniently-spaced outlets and a 45-degree, angled space saver plug make the Smart Strip a friendly addition to your electronic systems.

A better write up from Grist.org:
Household gadgets often suck up electricity even when turned off. To stop these "vampires," you can plug your gizmos into a power strip that is easily turned off with the flip of a switch. The $40 Smart Strip takes this idea one step further with a feature geared toward computer and home-entertainment systems: when the device plugged into its "control" outlet is turned off (say, a TV), the Smart Strip cuts off the current flowing to peripheral devices (like a DVD player and VCR). That's smart, all right.

Customer Reviews:
Plug and Play
I highly recommend this product. It was easy to install. I'm able to shut off several devices that I used to leave constantly on by just shutting off my computer.

Great product at a great price
This vendor was fast at shipping and provided a great competitive price.

This thing is great! Effortlessly saves energy. Would have reduced usage 100% except for the devices in the "Always On" outlets. I highly recommend!

Simple Shoes

2008-04-14T18:44:00.005-04:00

Made with sustainable materials like recycled car tires, hemp, bamboo, and PET (recycled plastics.) They have several different lines, including sneakers, sandals, and sweet little earth friendly ballet flats.

http://www.simpleshoes.com/

More Info on Indoor Composting

2008-04-11T10:14:00.002-04:00

After talking with several of my friends about the Nature Mill Indoor Composter, I decided that more convincing, compelling reviews were needed to convince people that this is a fantastic invention.

Here are several posts, reviews, and ads that I found all over the web that all support me in my belief. (I did not find ANY that contradicted) The articles with the boxier, white Nature Mill are a few years older, and I think they refer to the older model, which has since been upgraded to something even better!

If you can't read the small type, please click on the picture to see it bigger.

A New Beginning

2008-04-10T13:14:00.006-04:00

In a fast and furious turn of events, my husband and I have been reloacted to Cleveland, OH from Atlanta, GA. The move has brought many new things for us: four moves in two months (thank you relocation company and the tempoary housing nightmare) a new job for me (which is actually a new OLD job, but whose counting) new job possibilites for my huband, (yeah!) and a new house for the two of us. We have wanted to buy a home since we got married and this move has finally allowed that dream to come true. We are not IN the house yet, but stayed tuned for lots of information and updates to come about making this 86 year old gem GREEN!! I can't wait!

Water, Water

2008-04-09T15:35:00.007-04:00

By making just a few small changes to your daily routine, you can save a significant amount of water, which will help you save money and preserve water supplies for future generations.

Fix That Leak!

Challenge: Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year.

Solution: If you're unsure whether you have a leak, read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a leak.

Challenge: A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day.

Solution: To tell if your toilet has a leak, place a drop of food coloring in the tank; if the color shows in the bowl without flushing, you have a leak.

Shower Power

Challenge: A full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons.

Solution: If you take a bath, stopper the drain immediately and adjust the temperature as you fill the tub.

Turn It Off!

Challenge: The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute.

Solution: Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals 240 gallons a month!

Water Wisely

Challenge: The typical single-family suburban household uses at least 30 percent of their water outdoors for irrigation. Some experts estimate that more than 50 percent of landscape water use goes to waste due to evaporation or runoff caused by overwatering!

Solution: Drip irrigation systems use between 20 to 50 percent less water than conventional in-ground sprinkler systems. They are also much more efficient than conventional sprinklers because no water is lost to wind, runoff, and evaporation. If your in-ground system uses 100,000 gallons annually, you could potentially save more than 200,000 gallons over the lifetime of a drip irrigation system if installed-that's a savings of at least $1,150!

Make It a Full Load

Challenge: The average washing machine about 41 gallons of water per load.

Solution: High-efficiency washing machines use less than 28 gallons of water per load. To achieve even greater savings, wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate load size selection on the washing machine.

Don't Flush Your Money Down the Drain!

Challenge: If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses between 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush.

Solution: New and improved high-efficiency models use less than 1.3 gallons per flush—that's at least 60 percent less than their older, less efficient counterparts. Retrofitting your house with high-efficiency toilets can save a family of four roughly $1,000 over the next 10 years without compromising performance.

*From http://www.epa.gov/watersense/water/simple.htm

The Top Ten: Saving the World

2008-04-04T12:51:00.010-04:00

The 10 most important things to do to save the earth
These are hard things. Some of them VERY hard. But they give a sense of the kinds of fundamental changes that we will be required to make in order to create a sustainable society. And they can be goals toward which all of us can work.

• Stop at two: The birth of another excessively consuming American adds a tremendous burden to the earth's life support systems. So stop at two children, or one, or none.
• Live in a modest house: The super-sized American house consumes vast quantities of resources and energy. Think about what you really need for a satisfying life. Rehab an existing house before building new. And make your house as energy-efficient as possible.
• Live close to what you need: Choose to live a "lower-mileage lifestyle" in a community where the necessities of everyday life can be obtained by walking, bicycling, and using transit.
• Drive frugally: The production, operation, and maintenance of automobiles creates huge ecological impacts. So buy a fuel-efficient car and drive it only when necessary.
• Eat low on the food chain: Meat production creates far more environmental impacts than the cultivation of grains, vegetables and fruits. So a vegetarian lifestyle can be healthier for you and for the earth. Also try to eat organically and regionally.
• Transform work: Changing the practices of one corporation can influence billions of dollars of purchases and investment. It is vital for everyone to help harmonize the human economy with the earth's natural systems.
• Buy with a conscience: Bargains are often based on exploitation. Consumer choices can support companies around the world that respect the environment and treat workers fairly.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle: Remember that recycling is a last resort — something you do when you can't reduce your consumption in the first place. Especially remember to reduce your consumption of materials, such as gold and other scarce metals, that cause a lot of environmental destruction to produce.
• Be an activist: Join in and support the work of organizations that are creating a society that makes it easier for people to do the above.
• Have fun: You don't want to be a curmudgeon or a hermit. The only reason to do the above is to create a world that is happier and healthier.

(From Health and Home, http://www.ecocitycleveland.org/health/10-best.html)

The Top Ten: Reel Mowers

2008-04-04T12:26:00.005-04:00

Top Ten Reasons to Consider a Reel Mower

10. Nostalgia: Getting back to basics. A simpler, more natural, peaceful lifestyle.

9. Big Interest: Young, old, urban, suburban, men, women. Environmentally aware. Lawn fanatics. Exercise enthusiasts. All income levels. Anyone and everyone with a patch of grass.

8. Easy to Use: Starts when you do (no rope pulling). No key to remember, no idle to adjust, no gas or oil to worry with. Lightweight, 19-34 pounds, reel mowers are easy to push, lift and store. You push; it cuts, every time.

7. Superior Cut: Better for lawn. No ripping or tearing; the clean, even, scissor-cut of a reel mower seals the grass blade, holding moisture and keeping out disease organisms. Yields a natural mulch by dispersing clippings in a fine spray (no clumping) that decomposes quickly. Left on the lawn, the clippings serve as a natural fertilizer for the grass.

6. Safer to Use: Reel mowers are noted for safety; they stop when you do and don't throw rocks or debris.

5. Low Purchase Price: All models sell for very attractive prices, especially when compared to the larger sums required to purchase powered units.

4. Better for You: One of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise; pushing a reel mower burns as many calories per hour as tennis, downhill skiing and low-impact aerobics (for an average 150 lb. Person, that's 400 to 450 calories.) Plus the yard work is done. Just be sure to check with your doctor if you have any health restrictions on exercising.

3. Low Maintenance: No engine means no tune-up / repairs, no gas, no oil, no spark plugs. Simply brush them off occasionally, spritz the blades with WD-40 and sharpen them every other season. (Yes, there's a DIY sharpening kit available too.)

2. Better for the Environment: No air pollution - no noise pollution, with everyone in tune to environmental advantages, reel mowers truly deliver; cutting grass the natural way.

1. Ideal for Small Lots: Less lawn = less mower needed.

Indoor Composting

2008-04-04T08:52:00.008-04:00

I came across a really exciting new product today-- a kitchen composter, that actual composts IN YOUR KITCHEN! This handy little device stores your kitchen scraps, but instead of having to then lug the bucket out to a larger yard composter that you regularly have to feed and turn, this machine does it all for you within the actual product itself. It has an aerating mechanism that turns the scraps, and a heating element that helps break it all down into mulch. Once the mulch has been formed, it then drops down into a lower chamber for storage. You can continuously add scraps in, and about every two weeks a red light comes on that reminds you to empty the chamber. Really fantastic.

What I find so great about this product is that it makes composting much more accessible for people who aren't big gardeners, especially apartment dwellers. It doesn't take up a lot of room, and by composting your kitchen scraps you can GREATLY reduce your amount of household garbage.

Check out the website! There is a video and much more information. If you thought you might want to compost but never wanted to take on the "responsibility," this just MAY be the thing for you.

http://www.naturemill.com

Green Advertising

2008-01-27T18:33:00.001-05:00

Every Girl Needs to Feel Pretty

2008-01-22T21:26:00.001-05:00

Abby got a hair cut. These pictures are a little late in getting posted as they took place at the very end of December. But I still think they are too funny to miss. There are some before and after pictures that don't really do her justice-- how shaggy she really was versus how sleek and stunning she became. But the "during" photograph is amazing. And that wasn't even half of the hair that I took off of her. Poor thing. It's good to feel pretty. She was a much happier dog once it was done.

Lo and Behold, SNOW

2008-01-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

I live in the South. So whenever there is a flurry of activity in the sky it is major news. And fun. I didn't get out of work for this snow.. (which I thought was terribly unfair) but I did get to leave early. Ha!! We have actually gotten two snow days this week with more anticipated for this weekend. It doesn't stay long, so I just had to post some pictures. My husband took these. He was the one brave enough to go out in the cold!

Envirosaxs

2008-01-22T21:03:00.001-05:00

Some really nice, stylish, compact bags to take with you anywhere. Use them at the grocery store for a quick trip, at the pharmacy for lotion and cold medicine, or when your hands are full and you just need a little help carrying all your stuff home. These are COOL. Click on the title of the blog to be taken directly to their website. Also-- if you buy a pack of 5 (yes-- they are so cute you may just want all five) they are running a deal where they throw in a shower timer. (I am still working on that personally.. shorter showers. Must take shorter showers..)

New Links

2008-01-21T18:01:00.001-05:00

I happened upon some really great new links today. Take a moment and browse through them. (You may have to type them into the address bar as I am having difficulty establishing an actual "link.")

Especially nice is Local Harvest as it pertains specifically to the part of the country you live in, (just type in your zip code.) It can help you find local farmers markets, food co-ops, organic grocery stores, and even restaurants that utilize local farms and seasonal crops rather than mass produced chemically treated fruits and vegetables. It's really eye opening to see what's available out there-- you are not the only one looking for fresh alternatives.

I love the idea of a food co-op: you pay a set price for a set amount of boxes, then once a week drop off your empty box and pick up a new box full of fresh, seasonal, organic (in some cases) fruits and vegetables that come from a variety of local farmers. Each week's selection is likely to be different than the last depending entirely on what's ripe and ready to be eaten at that time. It's also a great way to be introduced to some new things you may otherwise shy away from in the grocery store.

Green Home has LOTS of products and information on how to be greener. Ideas for your home, ideas for your garden, for clothes --even for renovating your house. There are definitely some ideas and products here that I hadn't seen before-- like the great, easy installation tubular sky lights. I want several!Look through it all and get inspired!

Lastly is a website called Great Schools. Now, I don't have children, but I have friends and family that do, and I know how important it is to THEM (and eventually to me too.. someday) to have your children go to a good quality, safe, and wonderful school. Here again you can type in your zip code and get a listing of all the schools in that county-- both private, public, and charter schools, (although I am not sure about "all". I haven't seen any Montessori schools listed but I am not sure if that's because they are skipped or because they are simply not there.) You can click on a school in that county and learn about student to teacher ratios, testing scores, how much money was spent on what that year... LOTS of information. And there is a place for parents to write in feedback, give comments, and even rate the schools.

So if you are moving, as I know at least two families with little ones are, this may help in picking exactly which area of your new city or town you end up living in. Or at least prepare you for what's there.

http://www.greatschools.net

http://www.greenhome.com

http://www.localharvest.org

These links are listed to the right under Get Green. Get Good. Just click on the names to be taken to the websites.

A Beary Merry Christmas

2007-12-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

A Bear for Gracie. I was inspired by a posting done on Green Kitchen about a quick and easy afternoon project that resulted in a soft, lopsided, but wonderful cat for the blogger's child. She made it sound so easy that I thought I too could make something cute and wonderful. I had all the fabric and buttons on hand, which is remarkable in it's own right, and it really didn't take too long to put it all together. The biggest challenge was overcoming my lack of sewing skills. Of course. I think she turned out fine and was almost tempted to keep her for myself! Love her lots, Elizabeth Grace.

Locks of Love

2007-12-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

So I don't really have a lot to say about this posting. I had long hair. And now I don't. It's strange really, because I never intended to have long hair in the first place, but it just kept growing and I didn't know what else to do with it. When I finally realized I had more than enough to donate to Locks of Love I figured it was not only time for a change, but it was also time I step up and donate. My friend Sarah, in reply to my nerves, said, "It's a lot easier to do when you know who it's for." And my friend Lucinda said, "You're cutting your hair? But I like your hair! I guess someone else can like your hair now too."

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

So. Here are the pictures. You'll have to forgive the "before" picture. It's a little fuzzy as I did not take any official before pictures. You'll just have to make due. My hairdresser took off ten inches for the donation and then trimmed it up into this hair style. I figure I lost I good foot in the back. Amazing.

Bag it Up

2007-11-19T20:28:00.001-05:00

Introducing our Reisenthel grocery bag. When open, it is wide enough to clip over the sides of your grocery cart. (It even has little hooks to keep it in place.) You can fill it as you shop and therefore know exactly what will fit inside when it's time to bag. It holds a TON of groceries as you can see, and when you're done, it rolls up and packs away.

To be honest, it has taken us some time getting into the swing of things with this bag. I have a smaller version-- also by Reisenthel, that was easier to get used to. It is compact enough that I always have it with me, and it's is fantastic for small trips like in and out of the pharmacy, just a few items from the grocery store, or even quick trips to the mall. Although small, it still holds up to 26 lbs! Since it is stored in my purse, it is easier to remember-- "Oh, I brought a bag.."

The larger Grocery bag you have to remember to take out of your trunk (If that is where it's being stored) and you have to coordinate the shopping: filling it as you go, and the unloading/refilling at the end. BUT, if you can face that small challenge, it is a REMARKABLE, WONDERFUL bag. In all sincerity, we love it. We have had so many conversations over it and gotten so many looks, but it is such really positive attention. Which is exactly what you want when trying to save the world.

Check out these websites for your own reusable bags. I love the ones from Green Kit. Very smart.

http://www.reusablebags.com
http://www.green-kits.com/clgrba.html

So the next time someone asks you, "Paper or plastic?" Try something new and reply, "Neither."

And here's an addition:

The entire time that I was writing this blog, I was thinking-- I need to make sure and mention where we GOT our bags. And then I got so excited about how great the bags are that everything else totally slipped my mind.

SO. Here we go. THANK YOU SO MUCH KERSTIN STRAYER FOR GIVING US THESE WONDERFUL BAGS THAT YOU BROUGHT ALL THE WAY FROM GERMANY!!! WE LOVE THEM!! :)

Camping at Last!

2007-11-14T21:44:00.000-05:00

Mid November and we finally got a camping trip in. A quick trip up to see the North Georgia mountains. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend, and the perfect time of year to see the leaves change color. And cold enough for hot cocoa, but not too cold that we were miserable. We've done that trip before!! We hiked up the mountain, and then back down again. You can see from our pictures below the distance we traveled. Good times!

Saving the world...

2007-11-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

One jug at a time. My husband brought this to my attention tonight-- the fabulous little disclaimer on the back of our laundry detergent bottle. Just a friendly reminder to use less petroleum products. I am constantly surprised by the list of products made from petroleum, from scented candles, to the tiny bits of packaging that are sold with a pack of batteries. It's everywhere. Even though plastic has become one of America's greatest commodities, and some of it CAN be recycled, it is still important for us as consumers to purchase less. Both in packaging, products, and ingredients.

And here's a fun fact that I learned this weekend. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest recyclers of aluminum cans in the world. The whole entire world. They actually recycle more cans then they sell. They have also reduced the amount of aluminum in the beer cans they produce in order to better protect our natural resources. If you recycle your Bud cans, chances are, within about 60 days the cans you recycled will hit the store shelves again.

Hello! Hello!

2007-11-08T22:54:00.000-05:00

"I don't know why you say hello, I say goodbye."

O Christmas Tree (Skirt)

2007-11-08T22:46:00.000-05:00

And my big project begins. I decided that I really wanted to make something functional. For myself. For Christmas. With rug hooking. And lo and behold, a tree skirt was born! I drew it on the computer, blew it up to 40 inches in diameter, printed it out (collated) on the copier at work, taped the 20 pages together, then traced it onto a giant piece of burlap. NOW. I just have to spend the next 20 years hooking it! Ha! I went with the 12 days of Christmas theme and started hooking in the middle at "Five Gold Rings." I'll add updates as I get more done. (In these pictures, "Five Gold Rings" is not entirely finished. Just in case you were wondering.)

Fabric Mountain

2007-11-08T22:33:00.001-05:00

So as it turns out, I am a Hooker. A RUG hooker. I hook rugs, out of wool, into beautiful patterned works of art. It's something that my sister suggested I take up to make millions and millions of dollars after she saw it being done in England. It was a wonderful idea. Both the millions and millions of dollars part and the rug hooking part. The only problem is, of course, is lack of time. It takes quite a bit of time to do one rug, and I have very little time to do anything. So perhaps this is not how I will make my millions. But it is something I enjoy-- and something I enjoy doing with my girl friends. We actually have a regular Hooking Circle.

Gearing up for the holidays I decided to try and gather some supplies. A stop at Goodwill provided me with several women's brightly colored wool blazers that I have set about RIPPING to pieces. It was a lot more work that I had anticipated, but does provide a pretty good supply.

And Then There Was Pie

2007-11-08T22:30:00.000-05:00

Taco Pot Pie, that is.

I made these pies for our friends Don and Andrea who just had their first baby about a week ago. I was so proud of the way they turned out that I had to memorialize them in pictures, and then of course, on the blogoshpere. They are just so... pretty.

Busy Bee

2007-10-25T16:40:00.000-04:00

It feels like forever since I've been able to add a new post to The Greener Bee. There are many, meany reasons for my absence. First, our internet has been down at the house. Second, I have been insanely busy at work, and third, I have been so tired that I haven't had much energy to do anything new to report on! However!! I do have many things started, ideas in the works, and some craft projects lying in wait-- so please don't go too far for too long! I will have much more to share in the near future.

AND. While I am here, I just want to say a big congratulations to my friend Doni-- the Illustrator on the Loose (check my "Get Personal" links for her blog site) For winning a FANTASTIC art competition and getting her own gallery showing in San Diego. Totally awesome.

A Cleaner Clean

2007-10-02T22:32:00.000-04:00

This week we switched to a new dish washing detergent. This is something that I honestly have rarely ever thought about. BUT. In the overall effort that we are making to try to be more GREEN, both my husband and I are suddenly much more conscious of what we do, how much trash we use, which items are not only recyclable but what numbers are they and will our recycling center accept them. On this journey of "learning as we go," my husband came across this new (to us) detergent at the store one night. I had actually seen it online -- I think at Gaiam, but I wasn't aware yet that it was available in stores. (Like I said-- Dish washing detergent was not really that high on my list of priorities before.) So far, it works great. And yes, this time I have taken the time to notice.

Click on the title above to go straight to LowImpactLiving.com's page about Green Cleaning Supplies.

Fall at Last

2007-10-02T22:03:00.000-04:00

The first signs of fall have finally hit our Southern city, and the temperatures have finally begun to drop. Weather is a big deal in my house. We regularly start our days by tuning into the Weather Channel and seeing what's in store for us. Each summer day we'd watch with anticipation for even the modest amount of relief from the sweltering heat only to be disappointed when Marshall predicted temperatures upwards in the 90s and 100s. However, lately I have been elated by the somewhat sudden and wonderful turn of events that have finally brought us Autumn! Last Friday the air turned so cool and crisp, inspiration hit and my husband and I pulled out our camping tent for a fantastic night under the stars... in our back yard. We just couldn't resist. There is something magical about sleeping outdoors, snuggling down in your sleeping bag, being lulled to sleep by the sounds of crickets and, if your lucky, maybe an owl or two.

Our night didn't actually end up being quite so magical. The ground seemed to be exceptionally hard, it turns out our yard slopes at an awkward angle, and it ironically ended up being unseasonably cool in our little tent, even with two little heater dogs curled up beside us. We ended up abandoning the entire thing about five a.m. and returning to our big, soft, king sized bed indoors.

The moral of the story is this: if you are accustomed to camping on an air mattress, don't assume your own lawn will be more comfortable than that! All that being said, the next day, once the sun had risen again, I could not help but be beckoned back out to the tent where a luxurious nap took place out under the trees. I guess you live and you learn.

New News

2007-09-17T19:12:00.000-04:00

Well, something exciting is happening in the world of Blogs today. I'm expanding! It feels strange to say this as I haven't been at my blog for very long, and I am sure that those who read and follow along are my own circle of dearest friends and family. It's a small community! BUT. Seeing as The Greener Bee has two very different focuses (my card line and saving the world) I have decided to separate the two ideas and complete my own train of thought.

Mainly for the purpose of trying to get my small business off the ground, you can now find all of my card designs at olivemylovedesigns.blogspot.com. I will continue posting to the Greener Bee with all sorts of wonderful and fantastic things, and will occasionally post some designs here as well. Keep your eyes open and check both sites frequently as I am hoping for an autumn FULL of productivity!

(You can find the new blog in my Get Personal list.)

Olive My Christmas Cards!!

2007-09-10T19:55:00.001-04:00

Baby cards are now officially put on hold until after the holidays. I didn't get as many done as I had hoped, but I do feel good about the start and will be excited to pick them up again later. It's always easier to go back to a job that has been started. NOW... We move on to Christmas! Well, Holiday cards to be exact. Neal and I decided to go ahead and offer the entire line that we developed last year in addition to the new ones that will be done this year. We want to build up our inventory, see what sells, and then eventually take out the ones that never do. (Like THAT is going to happen!! Haha!) This should be a busy week for me as I scurry to get some done before our business meeting next Sunday. Keep checking back for updates!!

Here are my first few Holiday cards for this year.

And by the way-- let me just take a moment to thank all of my wonderful sample models! Without you, my cards would just look empty. These are all actually clients of Neals at iNward Studio.

Lights, Camera...

2007-09-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

Action! Two exciting things happened today. FIRST-- our new kitchen composter came in the mail. Yeah! It is everything I had hoped for and not one bit disappointing. I guess I was afraid it would be too big, or too small... or cheap. But it is none of those things! And the place where you change out the carbon filters (used to eliminate odor) even has a pretty little die cut picture. We had been waiting everyday for the composter to show up on the doorstep, so it was quite the celebration today when it finally did.

The second exciting thing that happened today: Today was the end of three full days of charging our new solar garden lights. That meant it was time to turn them on! I have to say that these have been the easiest, niftiest little things I have run across in a while. They don't put out a LOT of light, they are just little LED lights, but they do provide some illumination and the over all effect is nice. Especially in the back yard where, for some reason, they seem to be brighter.

Fall Flowers

2007-09-03T19:14:00.000-04:00

It is now officially September and I already feel fall approaching. It's not in the air, not in the temperature per se, but in the wind! Football is here, baseball is winding down, the kids are back in school once more, and my husband and I just celebrated our two year anniversary of living in this house. It must be fall!

Labor Day weekend inspired some new things in us this year. Mainly, plants. My mother came by for a visit and we inadvertently ended up at a local "Art in the Park," festival where we came across two things we could not live without. The first was the bird bath that I have had in my mind for several weeks now. Cobalt blue with three darling little Blue Birds of Happiness perched on the edges. I had no idea that the bird bath in my mind would end up being something so nice in reality! What luck!

The second item we found is a strangely beautiful steel decorative post that hangs a pot of flowers. Mom and I each got one of these as we were so taken with them. But upon returning home, and looking around my cleanly cut but barren lawn, I felt that my new decorations deserved a little bit more color, a little bit more style, and inspiration hit and I have spent the last day and a half filling in the blanks.

My new post needed not only a pot to go in it's cradle, but a plant to fill the pot. My long desolate front garden had been begging all summer for actual life, and in my travels to gather the supplies I would need, I came across a couple of new finds as well. Yeah! I purchased a great set of steel garden fencing to frame my soon to be filled garden, and I also got a huge set of copper and glass SOLAR lights to decorate the paths in both the front and back yards. The light set is great-- they take three full sunny days to charge up the first time, but after the initial charge they simply run off of the daily sunlight. A sensor tells them when it gets dark and the lights automatically come on and stay on until they run out of energy several hours later. But the next day's sunlight starts the process over again.

My husband and I got the lights set up, got some new plants planted in the front garden and in containers on the back deck, and got the garden fencing all set up and installed. It was a lot more "yard work," than either one of us are used to, but the plants look phenomenal and we are both so pleased to have them.

Oh Baby!

2007-08-30T18:01:00.000-04:00

I have decided that there might be more creativity in me if I don't try to drain it all at once... Here's ONE addition to the growing baby line. (One design, two views.) Grow Baby, grow!

Kitchen Composting

2007-08-29T20:49:00.000-04:00

Today I took the first step to ending the daily walks out to the composter. This is all still very new to us, but one thing we have learned is that a kitchen composter (in addition to the yard composter) is greatly needed. My husband and I picked out a huge 1 and a half gallon bucket that you can mount under your kitchen sink. I toyed with the idea of buying a cute little ceramic white pot, or a snazzy stainless steal pail, or even the advertised "upscale country" jug. But in the end, we decided to go with practical, rather than pretty. I don't really have room for another object on my kitchen counter top anyway, so this should work out perfectly. Here are the website pictures. I'll give another update once it's up and running.

http://www.gardeners.com

More Olive My Love, Baby

2007-08-21T20:37:00.000-04:00

Here are just a few more baby announcement cards. I didn't get done as many I would have liked tonight, but as usual, cards with actual art on them instead of just straight design, take so much longer.

Dryer Balls!

2007-08-20T22:57:00.001-04:00

Today our dryder balls came in the mail! By the time I got home, my husband already had them unwrapped and in use. So far so good. Check out the company write up:

Nellie's™ Dryerballs are designed to reduce drying time and soften fabrics naturally without using chemical fabric softeners. As Nellie's™ Dryerballs tumble around in the dryer they lift and seperate fabrics allowing air to flow more efficiently thus reducing drying time up to 25%. Saves time and money! The unique design of the Dryerballs nodules relaxes the fibers during the drying cycle. Clothes feel softer and towels are more absorbent.

Olive My Love, The Baby Additions

2007-08-20T20:45:00.001-04:00

I finally have some baby cards that I am really excited about! I have been working in conjunction with iNward Studio as Olive My Love cards for almost a year now, and these will be our first non-holiday group. It's hard to sit down and nail down designs as there are so MANY possibilities and I have so many ideas I really can't work fast enough. And these honestly only represent a few simple thoughts. But I do feel like this is a good starting point. There are more in my head and more started on the computer... but it's late, I'm tired, it's time to go home to eat some pizza and see the family.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

2007-08-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

I am not deaf to the stream of information that abounds concerning the deteriortaion of our Earth and our environment. Nor am I a hippie, a treehugger, or any one of those other labels that get placed on people who care and ACT towards a better place to live. However, facts being what they are, I can no longer continue living in such a wasteful manner, and I have struck out on a MISSION to live cleaner, live better, and wholey, to live greener.

I am sure that this will become a laughable experience for me. Just as moving to northern Ohio was and learning not to wash my car windows in -7 degree weather. I am a novice, to say the least, at many things. I am sure that the learning curve will be gradual in some areas, and instant in others.

Our first big step was to START RECYCLING. Oh my goodness! I have been putting this off forever knowing that the small open blue containers the city provides were not condusive to my lifestyle. I needed either a garage (not happening) or LIDS which the city does NOT provide. But it's amazing what problems you can solve when you really want to accomplish something. We now have four, rather large, black trash bins with domed lids (for rain drainage) that sit on our open deck, right outside the kitchen door. They recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass. We can seperate them ourselves and then simply take them to the local recylcing center which is less than two miles away.

In one week, our paper bin is almost entirely full, our plastic bin is half full, the aluminum has some things in it, and the glass bin is practically empty. What is striking is not how full the bins are. Our kitchen trash and other trash cans around the house are empty. And what's better, it really does feel good doing it.

The next big endeavor -- and this is where the laughable part may come in as we get into it: composting. The thought was-- if we are going to recycle, then we should try and recycle kitchen scraps as well. We have a huge yard, let's COMPOST! I found a second hand composter online made by Earth Machine, we've found the "perfect" spot for it in the yard (away from trees, sure to get lots of sun) and now we are just about ready to start. We just need to find things to throw in it! I am sure there will be more to this story at a later date.

Trash Day

2007-08-18T15:31:00.001-04:00

I live in a house that is a rental. It is a cute house. A charming little cottage with hard wood floors, little cozy rooms, and spackled walls that make you question the integrity of the previous owners. But a good house nonetheless. I am almost at the two year anniversary of my relationship with this house and I just came to the realization of a soiled point between us that had to be reckoned with.

Since the day I moved in with my husband, there has been a spot in the backyard that apparently had been someone's trash heap. It was an eyesore... but knowing that I did not OWN this house I felt no responsibility to clean this particular area of the lawn. Now the rest of the yard is very well kept. Green, spacious, shaded... but this ONE area... it's really rather remarkable, sits to one side, in the glare of the sun, and is, I swear, a trash heap. Having no desire to take care of it, I never really dug around and explored what was really there. But this last weekend, something switched in my head. I walked over to the heap, looked it dead in the eye, and declared war.

Out of it I pulled two tire tubes, a light bulb, numerous broken and whole bricks, several cinder blocks (several still remain as they seam to be cemented INTO the ground) some partical board, several plastic bags... maybe some kitty litter... ropes, fiber glass... and the list goes on. But now..

I am so thrilled to have it cleaned out. I feel a great sense of pride in the hard work, sweat, and bug bites that it took to do it. I even had help from my husband who detests yard work with great passion. The spot is still rugged and dirt-- no beautiful grass, but I know. I KNOW, that it is clean.

So the question now is what to do with this spot? Does it remain dirt and old tree stumps? Do I make the effort to plant grass? Plant the garden that I so desperartly want? Leave it as it is? Try to dig up those tree stumps that are left and disentegrating? It is a question that I have not fully answered yet. Although I do think the tallest tree stump may just become the home of a charming little bird bath to go with my charming little home.

Today is only Thursday

2007-08-16T21:36:00.000-04:00

So today is Thursday and even the relief of knowing that tomorrow is the last day of the work week is only small solace as I know I have to return again on Monday. I am not griping about my job, I am just tired and anxious to start something new. In my head, I am full of ideas and looking for a way to spill out in an organized manner. So I can regroup. I need something therapeutic. Something functional. Something that will hold me together-- at least for the time being. So here we go!

My biggest project outside of surviving this fall will be a new line of baby announcement cards, a new line of birthday cards, and additional numbers to the Christmas line I started last year with iNward Studio. Neal has been very patient with me as far as my time lines, but I feel the creative juices brewing and am ready to ATTACK.

I am thinking of going very graphic on some of the new pieces. I hope this is not to speed through things but instead to appease that demon inside of me that needs clean lines and peace.... and quiet. We shall see. I wish I had all the time in the world to noodle it out. Again. We shall see. Wish me luck. Here's today's great inspiration... a quick spattering of images I collected from already existing collections. Awesome.

Photo Fancy World

2007-08-16T18:47:00.000-04:00

So a friend of mine sent my this great website of retouched photographs. Truly talented guys. Really-- It's almost like creating something out of nothing when you look at some of the images -- they are so remarkably different. Anyhow. It sparked a lot of conversations --with coworkers, with friends, with they hubby... Is it right to put "perfect" images of people out there? Who makes the decision of "too thin" and "too fat" ? What is "perfect" anyway? And we all decided that if we had our own crew of makeup and digital masters, we'd all look pretty damn good on paper too. Here's the website... and here's me... digitally remastered!

http://www.iwanexstudio.com/