Hello Green Home, I Love You!

Today, Steven and I visited with our buddies, John Price and Ryan Nichol, of Hello Green Home. (visit their website at www.hellogreenhome.com)

A lot of Baby Boomers gripe about Gen Y, or the Millenial Generation (born between 1980-2000) but not me...I think they're great!

And John and Ryan are two of the finest examples of Millenial smarts, entrepreneurship, hard work, and heart, that I've ever seen.

Their green home at 514 S 11th Street in East Nash is a tribute to beauty, efficiency, and greenness....and...it's back on the market. Their original buyer could not sell their home in Goodlettsville so...back up on the MLS it went a few weeks ago.

We love that house, so we've decided that if timing does not work out for us to buy it, we will have "the boys" as we call them, custom build us a green home in either East Nashville or 12 South so that we can walk to cool shops, coffee houses and antique stores. After living in a rural area since 1993, that would be a real treat!

My favorite thing about the house other than its energy efficiency, is its efficiency of space. The main living area has an open floor plan; the kitchen is not huge, but it is so well-thought out that when I stood in it I enormously good feelings about preparing meals there, and having friends and family over to visit while I cook.

Also on the main floor is space for a home office, with a bay window and octagonal shape. It's designed so that you can bring clients in and they won't even be able to see if you have a dirty dish in the sink!

Upstairs is a huge bonus room, and an amazing master suite. I love the river tile in the separate shower. And the balcony off of the bedroom!

Bamboo floors, solar tubes, foam insulation, moisture-preventing black plastic in the crawl space, Energy Star appliances, energy efficient windows...and more, more, more.

This home is unique in Nashville.

Nashville is at the tipping point of "green". Metro government is on board to make this the greenest city in the Southeast within the next few years.

John and Ryan are talking about doing green rehabs, the same idea Steven and I had.

It really comes down to educating people about the benefits of either rehabbing green or building green...financial savings, health issues, aesthetics, efficiency.

So what I plan to do over the next few weeks is put together a talk I can give at Rotary Clubs, or anywhere else that will have me speak, about all the advantages green living can offer.

Grow Nashville Potluck This Thursday

GROW Nashville and Metro Parks will host a Harvest Potluck to celebrate gardening in Nashville and the growing of local food from 6-8 p.m. July 31 at East Park Community Center at 700 Woodland in East Nashville.
Please bring a dish to share and enjoy fresh food with friends and neighbors while learning about community gardening in Nashville.

GROW Nashville will give guidance on starting a fall garden, talk about community gardening, and provide vegetable seeds to getyour own garden growing. This year’s event will include the viewing of a very special community gardening documentary by director Maria De Luca titled, “Green Streets”. To register for the Harvest Potluck or for more information call 352-6299.

Summer Beauty, Summer Bounty

I'm in love with this photo of Herb Salad that I found on the website, www.101cookbooks.com. This is why I love summer (just get rid of the humidity, please!)

Here's the recipe, if you'd like to try it...I plan to make it for dinner later this week.

Hopefully, I can eat local by making it over to the Nashville Farmer's Market or the East Nashville market at Turnip Truck later this week to pick up some fresh, Tennessee-grown veggies. The basil I already have growing in my garden!

The dressing really sounds delicious!

2 ears sweet corn, husked

1 big handful lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

3 big handfuls green beans or haricots vert, blanched for 20 seconds in boiling salted water, cooled completely under cold water
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

1 handful cilantro, loosely chopped

1 small handful of small/medium basil leaves

1 handful of pepitas, toasted
fine-grain sea salt

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/3 cup Greek yogurt1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 medium avocado
Cut each ear of corn in half and carefully cut kernels from cobs. Combine the corn, lettuce, green beans, red onion, herbs, and pepitas in a large bowl.
Now make the avocado dressing by sprinkling a big pinch of salt on the garlic clove. Chop and crush it into a paste. Place the garlic in a medium bowl along with the yogurt, lemon juice, and avocado. Puree with a hand blender. Taste, add salt one pinch at a time until properly seasoned. If you aren't dressing the salad immediately, cover with plastic, pressing into the top of the dressing to prevent browning.
Gently toss the ingredients with a couple big dollops of the avocado dressing. Taste, add a bit of salt and/or more dressing if needed.
Serves about 6-8.

Corporate and Green

Follow this link to read about Nissan's new eco-friendly HQ in Franklin:

It's great to have this trail-blazing company in Middle Tennessee...plans were also announced to partner with the State of Tennessee to produce a zero-emission vehicle.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/BUSINESS01/807230423/1906/GREEN

Save Bell's Bend!?

Save Bell's Bend...what exactly does that mean?

For non-Middle Tennesseans reading this, I wish I had more time to explain about Bell's Bend but I actually need to be in the shower right now, getting ready for meetings.

I did want to take a few minutes to share that my email inbox has been filled lately with messages about "evil rich people" and "greedy developers" who want to pave Paradise and put up a parking lot...and condos...and office buildings...and retail.

Normally I am not one to speak out, but I just had to respond yesterday when I got yet another inflammatory message about saving Bell's Bend. Whanking on people who have money is just not the way to go, IMO.

I am sharing my response because I received quite a few favorable replies from people who saw my response on list servs and thought it presented a balanced viewpoint. I was surprised at the support I received, to be honest. It was suggested to me that I need to present this perspective to the group fighting the development, led by Dave Cooley, former deputy governor of Tennessee. Not being one to follow politics, I had never heard of Dave Cooley--my apologies, Dave.

So I am trying to figure out how to best do that. Have I suddenly turned into Barbara Hunter, community advocate? If so, that's definitely a new role for me and it goes to show that you never know what a day will bring...

So here is what I wrote on the Nashville Green Drinks group:

Dear All, I wanted to put out a heart-felt response to the email re: survey on the Nashville Business Journal. First of all, when my boyfriend and I opened up The Tennesseean one morning last winter and read about the Bell's Bend development we were: a) excitedb) curious as to where Bell's Bend was While we are passionate nature lovers (and I am a gardener as well) both of us moved here a few years ago from very large metropolitan areas that focused on doing business at a global level and being "world-class cities". While we enjoy Nashville, we felt it was lacking in some areas...areas which we were used to having at our fingertips, namely being a "world-class city". This is just our perspective; what we were used to and grew up with. And we did not know a thing about Bell's Bend or even where it was until April when a friend took us over there to the park, and we drove in the surrounding area. We were in awe over the beauty and serenity, and do want to see it preserved. Now that I've seen it, if I had my way I'd want it to remain untouched. But... I hope there can be a compromise since it's unlikely that plans will be totally scrapped, since the land has already been purchased and this is America; the land was up for sale, someone had a vision and bought it to fulfill their vision. Perhaps these developers will "build green" both for offices and homes. It's coming anyway that new office construction will be required to be built green. I know from attending the Green Building Council Nashville chapter meetings that our Metro government is on board with everything green. Hopefully community gardens and greenscape can be incorporated. There are lots of ideas and possibilities to bring all points of view and all needs together. Has anyone talked to these developers? Maybe they would like input from people who want to grow green, grow gardens, and grow communities based on shared values. Let's work together on this issue, and honor everyone's perspective and vision for this city. I am in the real estate field and while I guess there are some "greedy" developers out there, the ones I've met do what they do because they are visionary and passionate; the money they make is a result of their thinking and acting big. In my experience, people who are greedy usually fail over the long run so if these developers are operating from greed then there's nothing to worry about anyway! I also am a freelance writer and have written many articles for the Nashville Business Journal; they are good folks there and IMO have always presented fair and honest reporting. It is a business publication so it's natural that that's who they will write for. NBJ serves an important need in the community, IMO. There are a lot of definitions of "green" out there; my personal definition is living an aware, awake life based on honor and respect for all life on this planet. I don't think there any bad guys or good guys here, or right or wrong--just an opportunity for people of differing perspectives to come together in unity to create something wonderful. Thanks for the air time~ Barb

Quote of the Day

"A happy life is just a string of happy moments.But most people don't allow the happy moment,because they're so busy trying to get a happy life."– Abraham-Hicks

A Summer Afternoon

This has nothing to do with green living per se...yet it kinda does.

It's Friday afternoon, and as I am somewhat caught up on chores and various other activities, I am going to spend the afternoon reading a perennial summer favorite, Carney's House Party by Maude Hart Lovelace.

Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy series is based on her own experiences growing up in a small town in Minnesota at the turn of the last century.

They were my favorite books in childhood, and still remain so.

Carney's House Party is set during the month of July, so it just seems appropriate!

If I hadn't gone into the office so much this week, I would not appreciate this stolen afternoon so much. Contrast is a wonderful tool.

It's Amazing...

Nature is so Fascinating!

I have two tomato plants so of course I have the dreaded tomato hornworms. I have picked off three so far this season.

Those guys can strip a tomato plan in no time flat!

My Tennessee tomatoes are faring much better than the plants I had in Mississippi.

When I was living in Mississippi, commuting 2 hours a day, and working fulltime, my tomatoes would be totally stripped of foliage by the time I got home from work. I never did get a good harvest.

Now I am home more often (although less these past 10 days because of starting real estate training at Keller Williams), so I can keep an eye on them.

I was curious about where tomato hornworms came from (ugly buggers! and they are the same color as the tomato plant so they're hard to spot).

They are actually catepillars of a six-winged hawk moth! Who Knew? I sure didn't and neither did my mother, who probably picked zillions of hornworms off tomato plants during her childhood on the farm.

One of the three I picked off this season had weird white things sticking out of it...they made it a lot easier to see. I was curious about that, too, and learned from the internet that the white things are the eggs of a type of wasp that kill the hornworms!

Even though I'm at home more, I am glad to have some help getting rid of the hornworms!

Thank you, wasps!

What Makes You Happy?

I just read an interesting article on Yahoo! News.

Basically, a new study shows that the world is getting happier.

Scientists previously thought that happiness remained static (how in the world could someone think that???? but they did...)

The happiest country is Denmark, while the most unhappy is Zimbabwe (civil war, dictatorship government).

The U.S. ranked 16th, and the reason shocked me...

It said it was due to Baby Boomers (my generation) generally being miserable.

The researchers attribute the rise in happiness to democratization, and increasing economic conditions in countries like China...

While "money doesn't buy happiness" it can buy more freedom and more choices and opportunities, which leads to greater happiness.

What I want to know is, what do Baby Boomers have to be so miserable about? Maybe selling out and taking corporate jobs. I know that made me unhappy...

As for my own happiness level, right now it's soaring and it shows on my face.

I just got home from Keller Williams Realty where I am transferring my real estate license, and Steve commented on how it showed in my smile, demeanor, sense of humor...everything.

It's a good choice. It's nice to be able to have freedom and choices.

And to up the happiness ante, Steve's daughter just left a msg while he was on the other line, saying she loves and misses us.

As usual, my cup runneth over!