Shiny, Happy Worms!

Whew! Worm crisis averted! A month or so ago I noticed that my little worm commune wasn't doing so well. Their home looked "funky" for want of a better word. They looked puny and they weren't producing worm water (worm pee for those of you uneducated on worm composting).

Well, they look all shiny and happy and slippery and satisfied now. I pulled off their old cardboard covering, took out the old egg shells they hadn't finished and recirculated their bedding. Then I searched through my refrigerator for delicious worm treats. They got strawberries, apples, green beans, zucchini and other delectable foods. Then covered them with nice strips of Stillwater Newspress. I checked a week later and they seemed to be no worse, just not a lot better. Each week however, they got bigger, stronger and FASTER! Now, I will pit my speedy worms against anybody's worms.

It's amazing how attached I have become to the little guys.

Political Green-ness

I tease because I care, really.

When I was young, I was known to have quite a funky shoe collection. I was the first person in Bixby, Oklahoma with checkerboard Vans (made popular by Spiccoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High) and wore gray, suede, fringed Pixie boots nearly every day of my senior year of high school (ala Stevie Ray Vaughan).
So when RJ shows up to work wearing some goofy-looking, flat-as-a-pancake shoe, I have to call her out. But now she has outdone herself...



And she claims that the shoemaker, Tom's, donates a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair purchased. Okay, I can get behind that! Just click on the blog title to go to their website.

I have a vision of little Ethiopian kids running through their village wearing Republican/Democrat shoes and wondering what a "vote" is...

Size Matters!

Ha! I thought that title would catch your eye! Now that I have your attention...

Yesterday I was catching up on my Tivo'd tv (since when is "Tivo'd an adverb?) programs and caught one of my favorite new authors, Sara Gilbert on Oprah. Ms. Gilbert wrote the incredibly eye-opening book "Eat, Pray, Love". She was talking about her life, now after the book's release. The video of her walking down a tree line dirt road and her words "I just want a bigger-smaller life" really resonated with me. What she meant was that she wanted a bigger life as in bigger spiritually, bigger in family closeness, bigger in lasting friendships, bigger in awareness of the world around her while maintaining a smaller material life as in materialism.

Wow!

I had to rerun this a couple of times to let it sink in. She spoke the words that have been running around in my head for a while now. I just haven't been able to articulate them. I have been striving, needing, coasting towards something but until now, I just assumed it was a mid-life crisis.

I'm going to take the next few days to really contemplate what I have and what I want, spiritually, socially, intellectually and materially. I must admit, through circumstance, I had become less materialistic but there are a few things that I hang on to. Once, long ago, I lived in a large home, with a new luxury car, money in the bank, a closet full of clothes, a well-paying job that I traveled for and all the trappings of a happy life. In reality I was miserable - with my self, my home, my possessions, my lack of friends and my husband. Fast forward to today - I have a lovely tiny cottage that I own and can do anything I want with. I have a much more grounded sense of who I am and what I can accomplish. No outside force causing me doubt or shame (husband). I have a few, strong friendships that I value immensely and treasure and finally, I have cleaned out that closet of useless clothes and possessions that bring me no happiness. There is still work to be done but as I look back on what was, living simply suits me.

Some time ago I was having a conversation with someone about what she wanted in her life. I could see myself 15 years ago in her wishes. She said she wanted "beautiful things" and to go to "nice places" and to basically have more. I tried to explain to her that those things may make you happy in the short term, but have no lasting power. For example, I have this little red, hobnailed lamp with a funky cone shaped shade. The light from it is awful and bulbs for it are impossible to find (forget energy efficient bulbs) but this little thrift store find that cost me only $4 makes me smile every time I see it on my bookshelf. I don't know why, maybe that mental decline is setting in early but what matters is how it makes me feel. I think it's pretty. It makes me feel lucky to have found it hidden in the store and the reddish glow it gives off makes my small living room so comfy. All that for $4! What a bargain.

I challenge you to strain through your life - possessions, goals, ideals and beliefs to determine what makes your home comfy.

It really are the small, quiet things in life that last.

And always remember these lyrics from Pink Floyd "All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be".

This is brilliant!

I saw this in the Los Angeles Times today. Enjoy!

Sometimes it's just impossible to find someone who's willing to clean up dirty lots on steep slopes. Perhaps it's the hot sun or a lack of interest in a weed whacker. What's a redevelopment agency to do? Send in the goats, of course. The Times' Bob Pool has more:

The hills were alive with the sound of munching.

In fact, the only things that seemed missing Monday when a herd of goats climbed up a weed-choked lot in the Bunker Hill high-rise district were Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp family singers.

Leaders of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency hired 100 goats to nibble away thick weeds on a steep slope at the corner of 4th and Hill streets, next to the Angels Flight funicular.

Agency officials said the goats were cheaper and more environmentally friendly than two-legged brush-clearers armed with gasoline-powered weed-whackers.

And they are much more fun to watch, downtown office workers and other passersby quickly decided, as the animals fanned out over the 45-degree slope and chowed down.
Commuters emerging from the Red Line subway who came face-to-face with the goats reached for their cellphones and snapped pictures.

"My friends won't believe this unless they see it," said Vicky Bravo, a student who lives south of downtown.

Photo: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times

Burnt to a Crisp or "How I celebrated a Green Labor day...

I finally got a big crew of friends together to celebrate the last days of summer. Everyone is so busy that it's hard to get everyone together but I accomplished it by nagging, slinging guilt and whining - things I'm REALLY good at.

We met over a Heyburn Lake State Park. It's just past Kellyville on SH66. Nice little lake, pretty smooth, clean and centrally located. I reserved the covered pavillion and rather than firing up the grill (carcinogens, you know) we decided to bring picnic lunches - Green of course!

I opted for some gorgeous, giant seedless green grapes and jumbo strawberries. Then I made this pretty awesome chopped salad and finally some luscious truffle brownies. The green part was that I took no paper or plastic that needed to be disposed of. Everything that became trash at the end of the day was sorted in "real trash" and "recycleable". Finally, we left the beach and picnic area cleaner than we found it.

We had a great time playing in the water, getting sunburned (only me) and just visiting with no sense of urgency or negativity. Good friends, kids, dogs, good food and the lake - what a nice way to end the summer!

Put the lime in the coconut...

As promised, I am passing on a tidbit of useful information that I have learned. For the past two years, I have suffered, and I do mean suffered, from dry skin and hair. Yes, it's part of growing older and yes, it's part of the sun damage from youth and yes, it's partly hereditary and diet. All of those factors are working against me definitely. I have spend many, many dollars on all sorts of lotions, potions, oils, and conditioners but none seemed to work. I had a quarter-sized spot on my left cheek that just wouldn't go away.
Finally, my good friend Subha suggested using coconut oil. WHAT?!?! It seems that in her native India, pure coconut oil is used for lots of things - cooking, moisturizing, conditioning, cleaning etc. We were at the Taj Grocery store in OKC at the time and quickly located a 3 ounce bottle for around $2. Not too much of an investment if it didn't work out.

Fast forward to 2 weeks later - I was dry skin free! The pure form of coconut oil isn't oil at all, but more of a solid. It very quickly become liquid from the warmth of your hand. I put the coconut into a very small canning jar to store it in (a great reuse of a glass jar opportunity!) and keep it in my bathroom. Also, once a week, I melt some in my hands and massage it through my hair before bed. I do wrap my head in a light towel but it really isn't oil at all. In the morning it washes right out, no residue at all just wonderful soft shiny hair.

And do I have to mention the glorious aroma? Practically everyone loves the smell of coconut so it's a win-win situation! I can tell you that you could buy pure coconut from health food stores but it is so much cheaper at an ethnic grocery. Either way, try it out, you just might become hooked!

A Thousand Apologies...

I hate excuses but sometimes that's all that will cover what's happening. So here is my list of excuses for "Why I haven't Posted in WAY too long".

1. the first 2 weeks of school are treacherous and I am swamped
2. Out of Town family celebration
3. My Schnauzer, Gracie had to be hospitalized for 3 days (she's much better now)
4. Cleaning up the aftermath of the roofing fiasco
5. Lack of inspiration

It's that last one that is bothering me the most but I think I may have beaten it. I have lots of great ideas swirling around in my ol' noggin that I will be writing about over the next few days.

I also want to give some updates on previous posts. The "30 Days of Food" post bears another look. I was cleaning out my freezer in preparation to do another day of cooking and found that I don't need to! I still have enough food to last another week or so. That means that my one-time, day-long cooking experiment actually filled my freezer (and my tummy) for over 2 MONTHS! I will definitely change some of recipes next time, I'm getting pretty tired of Spinach and Pasta Bake.

The "Stillwater Collection Center" post also deserves another plug. I have been faithfully dropping off my recycling every week and have seen my garbage pick-up reduced to less than one small bag per week. NICE! I am currently recycling paper (newspapers, mail, magazines)cardboard (food boxes, soap boxes, hair coloring boxes yikes!) tin, aluminum, glass and plastics. That covers just about all of my trash!

Finally, the "Day of The Worm" post. Sadly, my worm babies aren't fairing very well. I'm sure it's the heat and not my tender loving care. I have been giving them all sorts of tasty veggie treats and grass clippings but they just don't look "happy". If you have any ideas, I am open to any and all suggestions.

Tomorrow, I promise to write something GREEN!

Gotta have a roof over my head...

I need some support here. I have been struggling for over 3 weeks now with roof woes. First, it's my neighbor's roof. Great lady, perfect neighbor. She hired contractors to put a new roof on her house, kindly let me know when they would be working (yard sale weekend of course) then asked if they could put "part" of the refuse dumpster on my yard. No problem. I wanna be a good neighbor too. Fast forward one week - the roofers drag out the full dumpster across my yard and driveway, trenching the you-know-what out of it. Lovely. But they did come back later and spread a truck full of topsoil, so maybe it will work out.

Now, on to my roof woe. I finally decided to suck it up and have my roof repaired. What was originally going to be a 2-day project is now entering it's 3rd week. Not completely the roofers fault (he's got bad knees, drop-in guests, stomach problems, rain for the first time this summer etc) but having scaffolding across the back of my house and blocking my lovely fenced yard is becoming tiresome. When I hang out my laundry (and I do it every weekend) I must take the long way around the house and yard. Bah! I realize I am whining and I will eventually stop. Probably after I have to write the monstrous check to pay for all of this.

By the way, the picture in this post is NOT my house, but the former home of Frank (Pistol Pete) Eaton who gained fame as OSU's mascot. It's kinda sad to see it in such disrepair. Maybe I could recommend some roofers?

Finally!

I think we might be getting a small break in the heat this week. 90 degrees really feels good after a week or so of 105+ doesn't it? The only good thing I can say about the hot weather is that my grass has begun it's hibernation hopefully.

And now on to more pressing concerns - I think I may be a failure at vermiculture! That's raising composting worms for those of you new to the subject. The last 2 weeks have been pretty hard on my little buddies. Their habitat looks (sweaty) and they don't seem as cheerful as they once were. I gave them new cardboard and paper and some juicy, cold red grapes. Tonite they will get a shiny Fuji apple. Hopefully, it's just the oppressive heat and not my nurturing.

Is it really possible that I have become attached to WORMS?!?

Green with Guilt

Okay, I have a confession to make (gulp)...I'm not feeling so green lately. I know, shockin' isn't it? But I'm finding I'm not the only one.

Let me digress.

I finally decided to finish cleaning the mess from my yard sale (was it really 2 weeks ago? yikes!)and automatically dumped my signs in the GARBAGE CAN!!! Yes, they were reused computer monitor boxes and yes they were perfectly recyclable cardboard and YES I DID IT - I TRASHED WHEN I SHOULD HAVE RECYCLED! At the time I felt like it wasn't so bad, I recycle hard every day. I talk about living green-er to everyone I meet. I look for ways to live simpler and better. But I finally hit my limit. Let's blame that yard sale, huh?

Now after the naughtiness has worn off, I feel bad, really bad. Talk about green guilt. So I thought I might take a stroll around the internet to see what other guilty greenies were doing about their shame. I came upon a website called "True Green Confessions - Because Saving The World Ain't Easy". Click the blog post title for the link.

My People.

I have arrived.

Here are some statistics to further grind in my point:

•A survey by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. in Atlanta recently found that 20% of Americans experienced so-called green guilt. Most felt they should do more, especially recycling.

•A Catholic priest in England is reportedly taking green confessions at environmental festivals.

•And a website recently sprouted solely for the purpose of letting the green guilty confess — anonymously.


And as I always say on New Year's day "This Year I'll just try to do better".

Cleanliness is next to Greenli-ness

I noticed the other day that my little house could use a good scrubbing. If you are one of the lucky ones that happens to to live in an antique house, you understand the different cleaning chores that old houses require. Dust just seems to ooze from the floors and walls. My wavy window panes always need a little shining and the cast iron pipes lend a bit of "deposit" to all of my sinks.

So I was searching around for some "Greener" cleaning ideas and came acros this article from the people at M.E.T. Recycle (Metropolitan Environmental Trust). Enjoy!

With food and gas prices soaring, everyone is looking for ways to cut back. There is a simple way to save money and make your home, community and the planet safer -- use natural cleaning ingredients instead of expensive and potentially hazardous products. Your home will shine! All you need are combinations of six basic ingredients - baking soda, borax, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and white vinegar. Don’t forget to use newspaper,reusable towels or old t-shirts, instead of paper products.

Mild abrasive -- Baking soda and table salt make a great abrasive for tough stains on pots and pants, sinks, counters and more. Mix into a paste with a little water, vinegar or lemon juice.
Window cleaner -- Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar in a spray bottle to clean glass, appliances and other surfaces. Add lemon juice to make a degreaser. Use full-strength vinegar to fight mold and mildew. Vinegar is also a natural deodorizer.
Stain remover -- Mix Borax with three parts water to make a paste to apply to carpet stains. Mix it with 1/4 part lemon juice to clean stainless steel and porcelain and to pretreat stains on clothes.
Wood polish -- Mix two parts of olive oil with one part lemon juice to clean unfinished wood.
Drain cleaner -- Pour 1/4 cup of baking soda into drain followed by 1 cup vinegar. Let stand for 15 minutes, flush with boiling water. Add lemon juice to deodorize.

Yard Sales aren't for sissies!

 

Ugh, I'm finally finished with the weekend's yard sale. It sure was a lot of hard work and I want to thank everyone who helped along the way. Especially Pistol Bill who came over and helped my dad put up a new fence around my yard. It was brutally hot on Saturday but they both worked up until 5:00 and the fence looks awesome! My girls (Gracie and Minnie) are in shock with all of the open space they now have to roam around in. This picture is of Gracie getting to know her doggie neighbors across the back alley.

Now, I just have to finish cleaning up the sale aftermath and figure out how to fill up my empty garage!

Reducing, Reusing and Recycling

Whew! It's finally here, YARD SALE WEEKEND! I have been stumbling over the mountain of stuff in my dining room for 2 weeks now. It will feel so good to get rid of it all, either by selling it or donating it to Habitat Restore and Elite Repeat as soon as the sale is over.

Last week, my Mom, Sister and Nephew came over and helped clean out my garage. For those of you who don't know the story - my house is over 105 years old and I bought it pretty full of furniture, artifacts and stuff, including the garage. I have gone all the way through the house but I have parcelled out the garage cleaning as my own personal treasure hunt. Every year or so, I get the urge to go spelunking and what a better place but my own garage! I have found wonderful things such as an ancient metal grinder, dozens of empty (and some not so empty) Wild Turkey bottles, all sorts of unlabeled chemicals and paints and even some random window frames, picture frames and plumbing fixtures. Yay!

But now it's time to part with some of my findings and the beneficiaries will be those early risers on Friday morning in Perkins, Oklahoma. I'm almost jealous of the wonder and awe they will feel when first seeing the mountain of minutia that has inhabited my little home for 100+ years.

Stop on by if ya get an urge!

30 Days of Food!

 

I have always tried to cook once for the whole week. It usually happens on Sundays and I try to prepare a few meals for lunch at work and some options for dinner. I just wing it for breakfast (I know, back off!). Anyway, in my endless search to simplify my life and "green" it up, I searched the good ol' internet for ideas on accomplishing a bigger cooking/prep day to possibly cover an entire month. I came across a cool book and website called "The 30 Day Gourmet". The website offers a few recipes and tips but the real goldmine find was the book. Tons of recipes, ideas, solutions, encouragement and worksheets for putting together a prep session for individuals, pairs or even groups.

So I took off work on Friday to set about my new task. I got up early, created my shopping list (the book and website have downloadable/copy pages to simplify this) and headed out to the local Piggly Wiggly. I rant on the Pig, but it is local and in order to live up to my soapbox speeches, I need to support the local economy. I also took advantage of the Stillwater Farmers Market for homegrown veggies (I bought 2 tomato plants and 1 pepper plant too). My grocery bill came to less than $60 since I had such a wonderfully stocked pantry.

The big investment has been the freezer bags and rigid freezer containers. I haven't gone "green" on those items yet. I wanted to see how this little experiment pans out first.

I put 8 pounds of chicken into the crockpot for Italian Chicken. Then set upon the cube steak for 20 servings of Swiss Steak. Finally, I started the 2 pounds of pasta and spinach for the 12 servings of baked Ziti (meatless). I chopped onions and peppers, squeezed frozen spinach and prepared labels. When it started coming together, I realized that I had not cleaned out the freezer so I quickly rearranged and fit everything in neatly. Organization is a key component of the 30 day Gourmet but it's all laid out for you, so it really is simple.

At the end of the day, I had a fully stocked freezer, meals in the frig' and even some homemade, sugarfree strawberry banana ice cream that I decided at the last minute to make.

Yay!
Click on the post title for the link to 30 Day Gourmet

The Day of the Worms

 

 

Yay! My worms finally arrived yesterday. When I got home from work, they were waiting on my porch. It's a good thing that they don't have little feet or they would have been stamping them in frustration from waiting for me all day. Luckily my wrap-around porch is mostly shady so they didn't get too hot.

They were packaged in some sort of soil (worm poo?) in a white mesh bag then in a post office box padded with newspaper. I was curious how they would arrive but they did just fine, all wiggly and wormy as soon as I dumped them in their new home. For their welcome meal they had some savory garlic stem clippings (dried), a handful of fresh Rose of Sharon leaves and finally a side of yummy zucchini bits. The instructions said to put in their munchies first, followed by worms then their cardboard packaging soaked in water.

When I checked on them this morning, they were wiggling and nibbling away!

Yay!

8 Ways to Green your Independence Day

Written by Trey Granger, courtesy of Earth911.org

The Fourth of July: summer’s most famous holiday. Fireworks, barbecues and a day off to enjoy the sunshine. But can you make America’s birthday Earth Day as well? Here’s eight steps for an eco-friendly Fourth.

1. Celebrate Outdoors

Whether you’re traveling for the three-day weekend (the Fourth is on Friday this year) or celebrating at home with family, have an outdoor celebration to minimize energy use. Better yet, check out a large gathering nearby where your personal energy use will be negligible.

2. Drink Lots of Water . . . In Large Containers

Depending on where you live, temperatures could reach triple digits on Independence Day. It’s important to stay hydrated, but plan ahead. Buy a reusable container to fill with water for your family so you won’t be buying and disposing of individual water bottles. You can also refill these containers at drinking fountains.

3. Know Before You Go

The beach may be a popular spot for your Independence Day getaway, but make sure it’s open before you head out. Use Earth 911’s sister site Beaches911.com to monitor the beach closures in your area. This will save you gas on a potential drive down the coast just to picnic in the parking lot.

4. BBQ With Propane

Wood and charcoal may seem like more natural fuel sources, but propane burns cleaner. You’ll get less smoke and you’ll have less of a challenge keeping a fire going. Make sure that you refill or recycle your propane tank once it’s empty using Earth 911.

5. Reuse Plates and Cups

If you’re celebrating at home, just use normal tableware and napkins that can be washed. At an outside celebration, pack up your disposable cups and plates and rinse them off when you get home. You can use the same set again next year, or recycle them.

6. Eco-Friendly Fireworks

Naturally something that explodes, creates lots of light and leaves a cloud of smoke also comes with pollution. Fireworks also release heavy metals like lead into the air. Of course, a Fourth of July without fireworks seems unnatural, but if you do put on a backyard show look for fireworks rich in nitrogen. These may cost a little more, but you’ll have less smoke.

7. Be Pet Cautious
Believe it or not, dog and cat ears are not made for the loud noises of fireworks. If your pets hear these noises, they might go running off. Then you’ll be using unnecessary paper for lost flyers.

If you live near a fireworks show, make sure your pets are shielded from the sound. If you lose a pet this July 4, visit Earth 911’s sister site PETS911.com to help find it.

8. July 5 is Cleanup Day

Independence Day events will produce lots of trash, much of which could probably be recycled. Head over to a nearby area this Saturday that held a July 4th celebration and pick-up some of the inevitable litter.

Father's Day Update

it occurred to me that I forgot to post my pretty nifty Father's Day gift to my Dad. I wanted to gently move my gift-giving habits into greener pastures, so I chose what I thought was pretty cool:

A solar powered fan safari hat!

Okay, it sounds kinds silly but I think he may have liked it. At least he knows that I put alot of thought into it. I can just picture him now, riding his lawnmower, cool breeze blowing in his face...

mmm, smell my hands!

 

This morning, while waiting for my CARPOOL (yeah, I said it) I decided that it was time to harvest some garlic. It was so abundant and gorgeous smelling that I just had to take a quick picture. I didn't even nearly pull all of it up so I'm taking the day off tomorrow to root around for the rest of the bulbs and clean up the garlic bed. My hands smelled of lovely garlic for hours! Yippee!

Speaking of gardening...

A couple of days ago I was staring helplessly into my over-packed, dark and gloomy garage and decided that a yard sale was imminent. So I've got one scheduled and have began the sorting and tossing process. I came across the ugly bookshelf-type thing and headed for the garbage when I had a brainstorm (I have those occasionally). I had been thinking about planting some above ground veggies and needed to come up with something to use for the bedding frame materials. Voila! The bookshelf, turned on it's side, will be an ideal framework for some baby tomato plants and other veggies that I can think of. Wow, those brainstorms kinda smart...

Even Hippies can be Green...

RJ went to the Bonnaroo Music Festival last week (Woodstock for the new kids) and took this picture that I thought you might enjoy. She reported that there were lots of recycling opportunites and everyone seemed to be attempting to be as green as possible.

It's nice to see that even the drunk, stoned and stinky can take the time to think about the enviroment!

hey, look what I found out!

I just read this on the Habitat for Humanity Stillwater website:

We've gone GREEN...Old appliances? Remodeling? Air Conditioner go ka-put?
Bring your metals to the FREE Recyling Center.Behind the ReStore at 505 E. 18th Avenue, Stillwater, OK
OPEN: Tuesday & Thursday 9AM-4PM, Friday & Saturday 9AM - 4PM

Copper
Brass
Aluminum
Stainless Steel
Electric Wire
Washers, dryers, refrigerators, motors, automobile batteries
Virtually ALL metals are accepted FREE OF CHARGE. We even take care of disposing of the freeon in refrigerators and air conditioners safely.

and now for something completely different...

Okay, I realize that this post flies in the face of being green but I have a confession to make:

I LOVE magazines!

The whole idea of all that information cram-packed into one little, transportable unit thrills me no end. And the photographs! And the snippets of must-have knowledge. It makes me weak in the knees. My late Grandmother was also a magazine-aholic and one of my favorite memories was when we discovered this shared compulsion when I was just a teenager. Granny got all the good magazines too, the ones with tabloids and gossip and fashion all rolled into one. She would save up all of her magazines and present them to me in a Walmart bag (ugh, those darn plastic bags again) and I would spend hours devouring them.

These days I'm much more responsible in my magazine addiction. I have cut drastically the number that I receive and I always pass them on to others, donate them to Elite Repeat or the Library. The magazines that I do get I try to buy from the neighborhood kids trying to earn points or whatever for school (no, this is not an invitation to stalk my front door) but the greatest find I have discovered is a website called "Best Deal Magazines". I don't know how they do it but I have gotten some incredible bargains on subscriptions. Currently, I'm receiving Body & Soul for $4.88/year, O - Oprah's magazine for FREE, Fit Magazine for FREE, Diet and Nutrition for FREE and Cottage Living for $10/year. I can live with this and sleep easy at night.

CLick on the post title to check out their website and see if your magazines are listed. If you subscribe by June 16 and use FATHER18 in the promo box you'll get an additional 18% off.

And please don't tell me that they are subsidized by Walmart...

I can get 40 mpg out of my Toyota Echo, what about you?

I remember when I was 16 years old, driving around with my friend Tammy. She drove a 1968 Super Beetle that was missing the floor on the passenger side. We thought that we were the coolest people, cruising around West Tulsa (Peoria Avenue anyone?) and the big show - cruising Claremore, Oklahoma. Neither one of us had much money so we were always scrounging change to buy gas. I can remember putting a dollar or two of gas in the car (1980's prices) and driving around all night. Tammy would coast whenever possible and that Beetle didn't even have an air conditioner, just an AM radio. I have since wondered what kind of mileage it got and if it had anything to do with the car, the coating or the rose-colored memories of cruising.

I just read an interesting article in Mother Jones magazine about "hypermilers". It's a group of people that try to wring every last mile out of their gas tanks with astonishing results. Most of these guys drive hybrids, but a pretty good number of them drive regular old Hondas and Toyotas and can get upwards of 80 mpg. Click on the blog title to catch the link to the article.

In the mean time, here is a list of what the hypermilers suggest that we can do to increase our mileage:

• The first step toward saving gas and increasing mpg: Always know your gas mileage after each visit to the gas pump. That way you can keep track of your successful (and not so successful) gas-saving attempts.


• The second step: do you drive aggressively but not know it? Accelerating, speeding and stopping short all use unnecessary fuel. Keeping your speed in the 50 mph range is also good for a few extra miles per gallon.


• The third step: How long are you sitting still at red lights? Hypermilers say that if you are going to be idling for longer than 10 seconds, turn off the car. Modern fuel-injection engines don't use much gas restarting. Idling - 0 mpg.


• The fourth step: Keeping yourself moving in traffic congestion. Don't tail-gate. Leave plenty of coasting room between you and the car ahead of you so you don't have to brake as often. Time yourself to arrive at green lights rather than red ones.


• The fifth step: Slowly accelerate after stops. We all know this is true.


• The sixth step: Your cruise control saves gas (but not by using it they way you might think). Accelerating (my cruise control has the label "resume") with the cruise control is between 1/2 and 1 mile per hour per click on the "accel" button. This is much slower and smoother than you would accelerate on your own.

Maybe some of these tips will help us all lessen our dependency on gas. One thing that needs to also be mentioned is reducing the amount you use your car at all. How many of the little trips that you take per week could have been combined with another trip or eliminated completely? I really think this is the direction that we all should at least take a look at.

Lory out.....

Summer GardenFest

If you are looking for something cheap and fun to do this weekend, you might consider going over to the OSU Botanical Gardens for the Summer GardenFest. They are having activities from 10:00 - 2:00 on Saturday. Click on the post title for the webpage for the complete schedule. I plan on taking my incredible new camera and testing my artistic abilities. I might even try an edible insect treat while I'm there!

Green Your Dad For Father's Day

Just a quick reminder that father's Day is fast approaching - June 15th in fact. I wanted to get my Dear Old Dad something a little different this year, something a little green. While cruising around the trusty (ha!) internet I tripped over this cool list from National Geographic of some great green gift ideas (say that 3 times fast). Just click on the title of this post for the link.

By the way, I didn't get my Dad anything from this list. I will share it after Father's day as I don't want anyone to spoil the surprise!

Please enjoy the Senior Picture of my Dad! Muskogee Central High School Class of 1957

Pretty picture and random info-toid

I didn't have any inspiring or informative words to share today but I did have this picture that I took of a waterlily to share. Maybe you can find some inspiration there!

Wait, I did have one thing to mention. Yesterday, I was playing "Tivo Catch Up" and came across a show that said that if you didn't have a low flow toilet (random, huh?) you could lower your overall water-flushing usage by putting a sand filled and capped water bottle into the tank of the toilet to it would reduce the amount of water needed by the size of the water bottle! Clever, dontcha think?

So now I don't feel totally useless today...

A Tale of Two Televisions

Sorry for the extended time between posts but I've been dealing with a crisis of epic proportions! My tv went out finally went completely out. I had been suspicious of it's overall health for a while - poor picture quality, mysterious buzzing, green spots - so I braced myself for what was sure to come.


When the end finally came, it was almost a relief. I could now test my personal theory that tv has become too important in my life. Now, I'm no anti-tv advocate but I do think I waste too much time with it when other things could be accomplished. So my first solution was to just move the bedroom tv (19 inch) into the living room and make do with that. It quickly became apparent that my middle-aged eyes couldn't clearly see the Tivo information so another solution needed to be reached.


Solution #2 - I picked up a 27 inch tv at a yard sale for $20. A pretty good deal, huh? Not so much. After it was plugged in for about 30 minutes and the entire screen turned RED! I fiddled with it, asked a few experts (tech guys around the office) and determined that I had a lemon, a clunker, I was gypped! So on to...


Solution #3 - I cruised on down to the Habitat Restore to see what they had in stock and YES - there was a gorgeous 27 inch tv that worked like new. The awesome volunteers there tested it for me and even hooked up a VCR to show me that it worked perfectly. All this for only $50 and the money goes to a great cause.

While I was waiting to get the tv delivered out to my car (yep, they even carried it out for me) I checked out some of the other offerings. I ofund a potential french door for my reading room and some coin collection boxes. If you aren't familiar with Habitat Restore, it's an awesome resale store for architectural salvage, supplies and occasionally household items and electronics. The proceeds from sales go to the Habitat for Humanity program. Habitat helps people get into houses that might not normally be able to on their own. Check out the Habitat for Humanity website at http://www.stillwaterhabitat.org/. Be sure to take a look at the Restore site and also another favorite, Elite Repeat. These are hardworking, helpful people that need our business.


So in closing this saga, I spent $70 for 2 tv's but met a lot of nice people along the way. Tomorrow I plan on dropping off the "red" tv at the recycling center for a $5 charge. Not too shabby, huh?

Low Impact Living Enviromental Impact Calculator

I came across this dandy impact calculator that I wanted to pass along to you. Just click on the title and you will be there. The website is Low Impact Living and if you are able, take a minute to cruise around. I found out a lot information just on a quick run-through. It also features a neat list of products and services that are are eco-friendly. I have been contemplating a kitchen renovation and was very happy to find one place that has a good choice of new floorings and cabinetry to choose from.

I also want to brag about my score on this calculator - 30! The average score is 100, so I'm feeling pretty green. After you get your score you have access to a list of projects that you can do to lower your score even further and for those of you with a mathematical bent - there are all sorts of graphs and charts to satisfy you. I was able to knock my initial score of 33 down by 3 by checking off some of the projects I have already done at my house.

I'm interested in hearing and sharing with everyone, ways that they have reduced their own environmental impact. For instance, years ago I was a foster parent and part of the house inspection included reducing the temperature on your hot water tank to avoid scalding the kids in your care. At first I felt gypped out of my super-hot morning shower but after I noticed I no longer had such dry skin and hair, I figured it may be due to the morning scalding I was giving to myself so I accepted the new-lower high temps.

What have you done to intentionally (or unintentionally) reduced your environmental impact?

Let's share, discuss and consider...

Email Garbage

This morning my email inbox is suffering with a terrible case of spam-itis. No, I don't want to see your webcam and I don't think you are hot. Ugh, I suppose this is the price we pay for technology.

This made me think of a cool email that I received from an old friend. He was forwarding a joke or something but in the body of the email he wrote the following:

I was asked recently why I send some things as a BCC. It is simply this. Note that if you got this email, I was thinking about you or you wouldn't be seeing it. Note also, more importantly, that the reason I send some email BCC is that I will not risk YOUR email address getting on to another person - whom you likely don't even know - as having a virus or invasion of some sort giving out YOUR email to a spamlist bot or the such on their machine. In this way, I protect you and safeguard your personal address.

Carry on and rest assured I thought of you specifically and hand pick my email recipients - every single time.

Pretty nice, don't you think? That's just the way Aaron is. I think I am going to plagiarize his words onto my email forwards to let others know that I care about them and their computers too. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you borrowed them too.

Not-so-new store in town

I realize that I may not be aware of EVERYTHING that goes on in this town, but I'm pretty good. I had not been to Nature's Supply (click on the title for the webpage) so I decided that before I went to the evil chain stores for my weekend munchies, I would hit the "Supply" and am I glad I did!

They have all sorts of stuff that I knew I needed and plenty that I never knew I needed. I was hungry for something pasta-y and found some Muir Glen pasta sauce (very good) and some rice pasta (not so good). They also had some really pretty zucchini and other veggies. The best part of all, when I made my purchase, the clerk started putting my items in a PLASTIC bag and I told her "no bag" and she said "That's good!". Woo Hoo!

Be sure and give them a visit the next time you want to experiment with some organic, recyclable, sustainable or otherwise eco-friendly stuff.

It's a good kind of tired...

Back to the office after a great weekend. I don't have to tell you how wonderful it is to spend time with those you really care about. I actually hang out with some people that I went to high school with over 25 years ago. We have all been through life's changes but who better to laugh with about old age than ones that are traveling that road along with you?

Anyway, I'm super busy today but wanted to share some things that I read this weekend in a magazine (recyclable, of course). The mag is Yes! Building a Just and Sustainable World. The page I'll steal from is called The Page That Counts:

Percentage of plastic bags that end up in the trash - 99%

Percentage REDUCTION of plastic bag use in Ireland afther the government began taxing bags in 2005 - 95%

Number of dollars the US government spends annually on renewable energy reserch - 1.5 billion

Number of dollars of revenue ExxonMobil generates in ONE DAY - 1 billion.

Miles per gallon a car got in a 1973 contest sponsored by Shell - 376.59 mpg.

Wow...

Being Green This Holiday Weekend,,,

Hopefully I caught you before you left for the long weekend - Here is an informative article courtesy of USA Weekend. Have a green weekend~

It's easy traveling green
These smart, surprising tips make for eco-friendly trips.
By Natalie Ermann Russell

It somehow seems more important to treat the world well when you take the time to travel it. The greenest thing you can do is vacation close to home -- but for many Americans, that wouldn't count as vacation. Thankfully, there are smaller ways you can travel green.
Road tripping? Watch your speed. A lead foot not only decreases gas mileage, but it also adds extra CO2 to the air.
Go to Portland, Ore. Good for the environment: It was ranked the No. 1 sustainable U.S. city by SustainLane, a green media company. And it's in the right neighborhood: Four of the top five cities are on the West Coast (second through fifth place: San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Oakland). "There's a real understanding of the fragility of our ecosystems on the West Coast, perhaps because of the proximity of nature, maybe because we haven't been here as long," says SustainLane's Frank Marquardt. Good for you: "Portland has several green hotels, a variety of places to get local food," Marquardt says. "You can get around easily with the bus system, enjoy the park space, drink the water, breathe the air -- it's all part of the experience."
Stay at a green hotel. Good for the environment: "The average hotel goes through more products in a week than 100 families do in a year," says Jen Boulden, who is the co-founder of eco-lifestyle website IdealBite.com. Many eco-conscious hotels put soap and shampoo in shower-mounted dispensers (eliminating plastic bottle waste) and will change your linens less frequently at your request, saving about 5% on utilities, according to the Green Hotels Association (GHA). Good for you: Soap and shampoo dispensers mean no more fumbling with slippery little bottles. Check out greenhotels.com for a member list of the GHA.
Eco-conscious, service-oriented vacations let you have fun while you help the Earth.

Go green when you rent a car. Good for the environment: Whether you're driving the whole way or renting a car after a flight, rent a hybrid, says Wendy Gordon, general manager of National Geographic's "The Green Guide." Your trip will create less pollution. If you're not familiar with how a hybrid car works, many rental places will help you before you set out. Avis and Budget, for example, provide you with a list of do's and don'ts, plus a how-to for starting the engine. Good for you: Fewer stops to fill up translate into money saved. Plus, you'll learn to drive a hybrid -- the way of the future.

Take a vacation with a higher purpose. Good for the environment: Through organizations such as the World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, you can pitch in at an organic farm almost anywhere in the world. Or, at Wilderness Volunteers. you can learn about working on wilderness projects with environmental agencies like the National Park Service. Good for you: These vacations are relatively inexpensive (the Wilderness Volunteers trips are only $239 for a week, including meals), and the groups often are small. Many even take you places you couldn't go on your own.

Buy carbon offsets for your travel. Good for the environment: Carbon offsetting operates with a simple premise: You give money to organizations such as Carbonfund.org and TerraPass.com, and they invest that money in "clean energy" projects (like helping dairy farms turn cow waste into power). The idea behind it is that these clean-energy projects "cancel out" the bad-for-the-environment carbon emissions that were released by the 747 you hopped aboard to go on your Caribbean vacation. Good for you: Peace of mind for under 10 bucks. You can "offset" up to about 6,000 miles on an airplane at TerraPass.com for just $9.95 (mileage and prices go up from there). And any money you give Carbonfund.org is a tax write-off.

Shut down the house before you head out. Good for the environment: Even when turned off, appliances use up energy (including TVs and cable boxes). "Unplug as many things as you can before you leave," says Thomas Kostigen, co-author of "The Green Book." "Set timers for your lights, if you even need them on. If every home in the United States would use a timer for 12 hours per day instead of letting their lights burn 24/7 while on vacation, we'd save $187 million in energy costs."

Good for you: Why pay for electricity used when no one is home?

Cool Shirt, Even Cooler Idea...

So Vignesh stops by with his cool new shirt, courtesy of Cooper's Bike Shop just for participating in the "Ride Your Bike To Work Day" last Friday. Pretty nice shirt just for signing up!

Trash Talk

While out this morning walking Gracie (my miniature schnauzer) I noticed a plastic water bottle in the road. My first thought was "Hey, that should be recycled". I'm pretty proud of that cuz' it shows that my whole mindset about garbage is changing over to the recycling mode. It's sort of like taking high school Spanish class and then, before you know it, you start thinking in Spanish and maybe even dreaming in Spanish. Then I picked up the bottle and actually brought it into work to add to our Green Corner.

I haven't mentioned much about the Green Corner of my office yet so now is the time to confess. I have become more than the office bully when it comes to recycling. I sacrificed a corner of my office (48 inches by 36 inches) to contain recycling containers (cardboard ones supplied by the Physical Plant Recycling department) and info on Recycling in Stillwater. So if you happen to be in Engineering South and are carrying around your recycling, fee free to drop by!

In my quest to find out more about the recycling programs on campus I have been dismayed to learn that the webpage information is terribly out of date. It seems that the recycling committee has disbanded and hasn't met in YEARS. It also appears that the only department that I can find any info about that has an active recycling program is the Library. I plan on taking a trip over there in the near future to share some info and possible collaboration ideas. My one last hope is that ECO-OSU is still a functioning entity. If anyone has any information, please pass it along and I will post it.

Green Acres is the Place to be...

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and take the ECO-Footprint quiz. What is an ecological Footprint you ask? Well, gather around I'll tell you a story of how many acres of our planet it takes to sustain your household and what you can do to reduce it. or as it says on the Footprint website - If everyone lived like you, how many Earth's would it take to support your lifestyle?

From the most recent episodes of "Wa$ted" (see previous posts) it seems that most of the families run an average of 60-90 acres per family. A scary diagram is then shown of how land that really translates too. I'll be honest, I've been hesitant to take the quiz. I am truly trying to do better but I am faced with a few obstacles.

Obstacle #1 - I live in a 103 year old house. Yes, it has a heat pump (yay!) but it also has asbestos siding (boo!). Yes, it has a wrap-around porch and is in the shade most days (yay!) but a lot of the windows are painted shut and I don't have an attic fan (boo!).

Obstacle #2 - I live 12 miles from work with no public transportation to speak of.

Obstacle #3 - I really don't like fruits or vegetables :( I like MEAT!

I realize that these are just excuses and I DO have a plan for each to lessen my footprint. here is what I am proposing for #1 - get some of the windows unstuck and look into an attic fan. #2 - I have signed up for the OSU GreenRide Program (http://portal.greenride.com/OKstate/home.aspx) and have been matched up with someone so maybe that will work out a couple of days a week. And # 3 - I promise to visit the Farmer's Market at least once a month and WILL purchase and EAT the items that I find there.

And now, for my Ecological Footprint Results (drumroll please) 15.1 Acres! Not too shabby if I do say so myself! The area that I was least pleased with was the Services area. it seems that I eat too much prepackaged and non-local foods, which I kind of knew already.

If you would like to brave the quiz and get your own personal footprint go to http://www.ecofoot.org/ and then let me know your results!

The Day of the Worm, part 2

Do you ever feel like some things were just meant to be? Like that chance meeting that turns into a lifetime friendship or the lousy day at work that forces you to follow your true path in life?

Well, I think that maybe, just maybe, I was meant to be a worm farmer. Granted, I haven't even gotten my first worm yet but the stars are aligning and the the mood feels right for something great to happen. A week or so ago, I posted about worm composting and how I had wanted to start a composting program for myself but just didn't have enough "stuff" to create one on my own. Enter, the first of the cosmic coincidences: I saw an episode of one of my new favorite shows "Wa$ted" on TLC and they were teaching about worm composting for apartment dwellers. Very interesting, so I started doing a little research...

After deciding to wait until after Memorial Day (a girl has gotta get in some lake time) for my creation of the homemade bins and the purchase of my Red Wigglers, I had put the venture in the back of my brain for "composting" a littler later.

Enter the second of the cosmic coincidences: While driving along a remote area of Payne county on Saturday, I kept seeing the same garage sale sign at every mile marker. Thinking to myself "Whoever made those signs must be an avid g-saler because they are very clear to read while speeding by and they probably share another of my number of pet-peeves of a poorly created signage. Anyway, after about 6 miles of signs (gotta advertise if you live out in the sticks) I decided that I had to meet the person responsible. I followed the next turn off and found the sale. Walking up the long, long drive what did I see but a WORM COMPOSTER! Now that's what you call a COINCIDENCE! Who has worm composters just sitting around waiting to be sold in a garage sale? Well, this guy did! Yep, it was a Guy-garage sale. Very different from the better known Gal-garage sale. Much more bargaining involved and usually guys don't know what the value name brand women's items really are.

I grabbed up that composter after only a cursory once-over and asked the money belt wearing dude how much he wanted for it ---FIVE DOLLARS! Practically new and included the original instruction manual! I threw some money at him and packed it up into my little car after a few minutes of "worm talk". I asked him why he was selling and he said that it had gotten a May Fly infestation and his wife said it had to go. Good info to know so that does not happen to me.

Enter the third cosmic coincidence: "Forecast Earth" on the Weather channel (yeah, I'm a geek that watches the Weather Channel for the programs) had an episode on this guy that quit Harvard at 22 to begin his own worm poop plant. He and some buddies where raising worms for poop to fertilize their illegal plants (yep, marijuana) and it worked out so well, they decided to market it to their other friends. Three years later, this guy is a millionaire from selling worm poop! Okay, I have no illusions of great worm poop wealth, but I do see this as another sign that I might, just might, be moving in a cool, new direction. If I'm wrong all I have to lose is $5 bucks and a May Fly infestation...

Stay tuned for more worm farming updates!

Stillwater Collection Center

Well, it's about time! I finally made it over to the new collection center on Perkins Road that had it's grand opening on Earth day 2008 (May 14). I drive by it nearly every day on the way to work but haven't had the opportunity to take a peek. Let me tell ya that it was worth the stop. I gathered up a few things that I had in my recycling bin at home and left a couple of minutes early for work.







When you arrive at the site, there is a big gate and a drive- thru. To the right is the office which is actually MANNED! The guy came out to help another customer (recycler?) so I had to fend for myself. The giant bins were clearly marked for clear glass, colored glass, newspaper, magazines, plastic, cardboard, aluminum, tin and mixes waste. I put in my few items (every little bit helps!) then ventured over to the other side of the site which housed the motor oil drop off, metals, electronics, yard waste, mulch, batteries and tires. I had no idea it would include all of this! I really need to clean out my garage...








Be sure to click on the title "Stillwater Collection Center" for the link to the city page. It gives all the dos and don'ts for the center and lots of good information. Please use this service so that Stillwater will realize that we need places like this all over.




Thank you and now I will step down from my soapbox...

May 16th is Bike to work day

This Friday, May 16 2008 is Bike to Work Day. Let's turn out in force! Park your car (save some $$), ride your bike (be healthy), and show Stillwater that bike riding is a sustainable option!

You can register and get a free T-shirt by filling out the registration form available at Cooper's Bicycles. You can also register to win a $250 gift certificate (redeemable at Cooper's) at Stillwater National Bank- at the 6th and Main location or the 3rd and Main location.

More details: If you would like to ride with a group, you can meet up with others at 7:15 am at Babcock Park (19th and Western), or Whataburger, or the Senior Center on 12th St at Couch Park. Groups will then ride to Stillwater Medical Center for photos (to go in the NewsPress), and (I think) food and prizes. Festivities should be over by 8:00 am. You could also just meet up with the rest of the bicyclers at the hospital (probably in the parking lot on the east side of the hospital). If you have any questions, call Mary or Susan at 372-2525 or Stephanie at 742-5991.

This info is courtesy of Sustainable Stillwater at http://www.oksustainability.org/sstw/

Gaseous!

I just got back from a little road trip (sorry for the lack of posting) and really noticed the gas price differences along the way. I also paid close attention to the still large number of SUV's on the road that were carrying only one or two people.

As of this morning, the price in Stillwater for a gallon of regular was $3.65. I drive approximately 30 miles/day which works out to just over $74 per month in fuel costs for me and $889 per year. I used the handy calculator on http://www.drivelesssavemore.com/ (click on the title of this post "Gaseous" for a link). This calculator will also help you determine if reducing your driving will really benefit you and our world.

I have made a conscious effort to limit my driving (no extra trips, group shopping and errands in one long trip) and I am also lucky enough to drive an awesome Toyota Echo (sadly, no longer offered int he US) that gets incredible mileage, around 40 MPG!

I often get on my little soapbox about people that drive vehicles for looks rather than practicality and economy. My friends that drive SUVs know my rant by heart. I really believe that just because you have a child, that doesn't warrant a 17 MPG vehicle to compensate for all the extra space that your child allegedly needs. Granted, I don't have children but surely they don't require that you drive a all-wheel drive, 8 cylinder, 9 passenger vehicle that can tow a playground behind it.

Whew! Sorry for that lapse...

Finally, my point for this post: here are some tips for reducing your fuel consumption. Some are obvious, but some just might strike a cord. Enjoy and consider.

10 Ways to Reduce Your Fuel Costs, NOW!

Purchase Fuel Wisely - Save up to 20%
1. Use the Right Grade of Gasoline / Don't Top Off: Most cars run fine on regular. Check your vehicle owner's manual to find out what's right for your car. Don't "top off" at the pump and make sure your fuel fill cap is on tight and working right. Regular grade fuel cost about 20-cents per gallon less than premium grade.
2. Look for the Best Price / Limit Purchases When Prices are High: Today's gasoline provides very similar engine performance (although some brands have different gasoline blends that provide other benefits), so choose stations in your area with the lowest prices. Fuel prices can vary 10% within a few blocks. Avoid filling the tank during high-price periods.

Alter Travel Practices - Save up to 30%
3. Use Carpooling / Public Transit / Non-Motorized Options: Ride the bus, carpool, bicycle or walk instead of driving alone. Sharing a ride to work with a friend or two effectively doubles your fuel economy for the trip. (see http://portal.greenride.com/OKstate/home.aspx if you work at OSU)
4. Take Advantage of Telecommuting / Telecommunications Technology: Many employers offer telecommuting as an option. Use the computer and telephone to replace vehicle trips for business, shopping and services when possible.

Drive More Efficiently - Save up to 20%
5. Don't Drive Aggressively / Drive at the Speed Limit: Avoid aggressive driving and aggressive starts. All vehicles lose fuel economy at speeds above 55 mph. Driving 65 instead of 75 mph reduces fuel cost 13%. Driving 55 would save 25%.
6. Reduce Air Conditioner Use / Close Windows: Using the air conditioner increases fuel cost from 13% up to 21%. If it's cool enough, use the flow-through ventilation instead of rolling down the windows or using the AC.
7. Eliminate Extra Wind Resistance and Weight: Using a loaded roof rack increases fuel consumption. Carry the load inside your vehicle if you can. Removing unnecessary weight is better still.
8. Minimize Vehicle Idling: Today's vehicles are designed to warm up fast. Avoid idling when you can; idling is 0 miles per gallon.

Improve the Efficiency of the Vehicle You Drive - save up to 50%
9. Maintain Vehicle Efficiency: Regular maintenance as prescribed by the vehicle owner's manual will help your vehicle achieve its best fuel economy. Some overlooked maintenance items, such as a dirty air filter and under-inflated tires, can increase your fuel cost up to 13%. When replacing your tires, replace them with the same make and model as the tires that were on your vehicle when it was new. It's been estimated that if all Californians properly inflated and aligned their tires, we'd save 300 million gallons of gasoline a year!
10. Drive or Purchase a Fuel-Efficient Vehicle: Drive your most fuel-efficient vehicle whenever possible. When purchasing, consider the most fuel efficient vehicle and save up to 50%. Consider a hybrid-electric, a diesel vehicle, or even a motorcycle. The next best option is to purchase the most fuel efficient vehicle within the class of vehicles you are considering.

Worm-alicious!

Hmmm, while watching the new tv show "Wa$ted" on TLC (also on Planet Green) I saw a show that mentioned worm composting. I've always wanted to start a compost pile but don't really generate enough waste to make a good showing. This seems like a great alternative.

What you do is put together in a plastic tub (you know, the kind you put your RECYCLING in) a bit of wet newspaper, dirt, organic matter (scraps) and then some worms - then let them go to work! What the worms produce, worm-doo, makes great fertilizer and the liquid drainage, worm-wee, makes great house plant tea. Win-win as far as I'm concerned.

I gave a call to our local Cooperative Extension to see if anyone knew anything about it and ended up talking to a very knowledgeable woman who composts and she had a couple recommendations. First, Oklahoma worms aren't REDWORMS. You need redworms to do this type of composting. She suggested that you do a web search and get about 1/2 pound of worms to start as they multiply pretty fast (all that dark, smelly organic matter makes for a romantic setting I presume). second, she said that you shouldn't pay for than $20 or so for your worms. There really isn't any such thing as bigger, stronger and faster worms.

Click on the title "Worm-alicious" for a great webpage that gives you the worm habitat recipe and instructions. As soon as I have mine set up , I will send out updates. Happy worm farming!

Plastic bags blowin' in the wind...

I hate plastic sacks. The blue ones (you know who they belong to) and white ones blowing around the streets, parks, yards and even on campus. The sound of them is like fingernails on a chalk board. In the past, when forced to go from paper to plastic, I would re-use them as garbage bags. All the while thinking that I was doing "my part".

How wrong I was.

What I needed to do was refuse them all together and use bio garbage bags. And if I was recycling the way I should, I would have at least 30% less garbage anyway.

So I made a New Year's goal, not a resolution as those tend to fail, but a goal to eliminate all plastic bags from my life. I've done pretty good. I use all-cotton washable bags for shopping. I find that if I keep them in the car and transfer my wallet to an empty bag I am more prone to remember to use it. Last week while at the Piggly Wiggly (love that name, hate the store) I forgot to take in my bag. The check out line was short so there was no time to run back to the car so I just asked the cashier to hand the items back to me and I put them back into the cart UNBAGGED! Horrors! You would have thought I had asked to go naked in the store! When I convinced her and the bag-carryout-guy that I wasn't up to something sneaky I took my own cart out (bag guy wanted nothing to do with the whole thing), placed my purchased items in my cotton bags and returned the cart to the store. Easy enough!

I found my new grocery bags in my own closet. It's amazing what you can make do with. I originally thought I should go out and BUY new bags but further thought made me realize that I would be defeating my purpose somewhat. It's all about re-use, reduce and recycle. Think that through the next time you get a bright "Green" idea and make sure that is really is what is best.

Final note: Click on the title of this entry (Plastic Bags blowing in the wind) and check out Wal-mart's reusable bag program. Not too bad if you must go to Walmart!