Salvation Sacks

Lots of women are shoe-a-holics...not me, I'm a purse-a-holic!

So I was extremely excited to learn about Salvation Sacks.

These handmade bags in several styles are made from vintage clothing, leather, jewelry, and even shower curtains!

What's really cool is that the creator/designer is a former corporate attorney who left the rat race to make these fun, eco-friendly bags.

They're a bit pricey, but if you join the club you get $35 off!

Check out the website at http://www.salvationsacks.com/! I'm saving my money for a red one with vintage men's neckties!

Baby Steps

Well...as previously reported, I had been forgetting to use my brand-new reusable bags from Wal-Mart.

Friday night, though, I turned the corner. Steve and I dashed down to WM for a couple of frozen pizzas and remembered to carry the bag into the store!

Of course, when we were at the self-checkout, I almost forgot to use it! We had to take the pizzas out of the plastic bag and put them in the reusable bag, thus confusing the computerized checker as to whether our items were bagged or not...but it was worth it.

Another baby step...since my hair is so thick, I also decided this morning to turn the shower off while I soaped and washed my hair, and it worked well. For some reason, I got a little dizzy when the water was off so I just grabbed onto the grab bar.

I'll keep doing it!

Are You "Putting Up"?

Back when I lived in Mississippi, my closest friend, Larry, was a third-generation farmer.

A bachelor, he lived in the original family farm home with his mother, Miss Anna Lou, while his brothers and their families lived down the road.

Every summer during July and August, when I called the house to talk to Larry, Miss Anna Lou answered the phone.

When I asked what she was up to, the response invariably was, "I'm canning (fill in the blank)"

Being from The Depression generation, and a lifelong farm/country dweller, canning everything in sight in the middle of hot summer weather was a way of life for Miss Anna Lou.

I was interested in canning myself; however, I worked full-time and commuted 2 hours a day, and by the time the weekend came I was just too lazy! Plus, a friend of mine said he and his wife got fired up about making homemade jam, but reported that it was a hassle and everything was so expensive that the jam wound up costing about $5 a jar. I guess you have to be committed, organized, and do a lot of canning to make it pay off.

I did go so far as to attending a class on canning and buying a water bath canner and a case of jars, but they remained unopened in my cupboard for several years. I wound up giving them to my neighbor when I moved to Nashville.

But now that I am working at home and even partly taking this summer off, I am considering doing some canning.

What to can?

Probably mostly tomatoes and tomato products, like salsa or maybe even homemade ketchup.

Maybe some green beans. Corn, I would probably freeze.

It's all just a matter of getting organized, not my strong point.

How about you? Do you "put up"? as we say in the South? Will you this year, given rising food costs?

Do you have a favorite canning memory from childhood? (no one in my family canned while I was growing up).

For some canning tips, here's a great article from Radish Magazine:

http://radishmagazine.com/stories/display.cgi?prcss=display&id=302583

Letting Nature Takes Its Course--Amazing Wind Power

Steven has been busy this week, helping to secure funding for a Colorado-based wind farm. Energy production from wind farms is up 45 percent from a year ago, and wind power is being used to power 4.5 million U.S. homes.

It's been interesting to learn more about the process of starting a wind farm. The wind farm is to be built on acres and acres of previously unusable land in Colorado. Since wind farms are becoming more popular, there is about an 18-month wait to obtain the wind machines.

And they are quite costly, with larger ones taking tens of millions to construct.

The government has been providing tax credits for wind farms, but an article in today's Tennessean (view it at http://www.tennesseegreen.com/), noted that the current program expires in December and the new the bill has stalled in Congress. The House passed the extension in May, but the bill has failed the Senate three times, probably because it's part of a larger package bill.

I don't want to get on a rant about politics, but...wind power is vitally important to our future and I hope the future of some of these farms is not jeapordized by political posturing, disagreeing, and back-scratching.

It's Just a Matter of Time...

It's just a matter of time before I begin to use my reusable shopping bags...

Monday when I went to Wal-Mart to purchase the week's worth of groceries, I grabbed three of their reusable shopping bags and added them to my cart.

At 99 cents each, they're a great bargain as well as a great way to be more green.

I felt much more peaceful about using them...I really don't like coming home from the store with zillions of plastic bags that I feel like I can't really throw out, yet...they become clutter.

I have to admit, they do come in handy as "free" liners for the small bathroom garbage cans, or for a few other household uses.

But still...they are clutter in my house and clutter in the environment.

So...I was all excited about my reusable bags.

I took one to Nashville with me on Tuesday when I stopped at Kroger to get my mother some blueberries they had on special...and forgot to use it.

I also forgot to use it Wednesday when I went to Rite-Aid, and even worse...forgot to use it yesterday when I went back to Wal-Mart to get some ice cream!

Is this old age, or what? I guess sometimes it does take time to teach an old dog new tricks, but this dog eventually intends to use her reusable bags everywhere! And when I do, I'll feel really great about it!

Guilt-Free TV

Finally!

Guilt-free television!

Planet Green made its debut June 4, but I did not get around to discovering whether we had it on Directv (www.directv.com) until this weekend.

Yes!!!! If you're in the Nashville area and have Directv, it's channel 286.

I thoroughly enjoyed the programming.

I watched a couple of 30-minute shows about homeowners doing green renovations (one couple was expecting a baby and wanted the new addition to their home, plus the baby's crib and all, to be healthy, organic, and environmentally friendly), and I also watched a program by Bill Nye (remember the Science Guy?) on breakfast foods.

Did you know that pig farmers feed fishmeal to pigs? This has led to overharvesting of sardines and anchovies, leaving lots of penguins and pelicans without enough to eat.

He also discussed shade tree coffee, orange juice (squeeze your own like our mamas used to do when we were kids), and eating fruit seasonally instead of having an apple trucked 3,000 miles from Washington, or worse, New Zealand (I don't plan on eating any Braeburn apples after watching this show).

There's plenty more good programming on Planet Green including a documentary on Greensburg, the Kansas town destroyed last year by a tormado that is being rebuilt as the world's first all-green community.

I'm planning on tuning in a lot this summer, in between my two favorite summer shows, So You Think You Can Dance? and America's Best Dance Crew.

I do have to put in a plug for those dance shows, because they showcase the talent, charisma and commitment of many of our young people. I love to hear how dancing has changed some of these kids' lives, ie, got them out of gangs.

Now that I think about it...how green is that?

Recipe for Refreshment

I have always loved water, even before it was hip to drink it, but for some reason I don't find it as refreshing in the summer.

In summer, I like lemonade, tea, or other "flavored" beverages that sometimes contain high fructose corn syrup...like the Minute Maid Limeade and Pomegranate Tea sitting in my fridge.

So I was delighted to find a recipe today for homemade flavored water.

Basically, just add some lime (or lemon, I prefer lime) slices, cucumber slices, and mint, to a pitcher of water.

It's delicious...and refreshing.

Because I've had some digestive problems today, I also added a splash of aloe vera juice and Ok---a bit of the pomegranate tea for color. It's quite pretty as well as tasty.

I have an abundance of mint in my garden so I added both pineapple and lime mint. The flavor that stands out the most is the cucumber, since those mints are subtle.

It made me remember a beauty tip my mother taught me when I turned 16: use a cucumber slice to cleanse and tone your face.

So after I made my water, I took an extra cucumber slice and ran it over my face. Wow! It made my complexion look fresh...and young! Very important when one has turned 51!

And you can't get much greener than that! It even comes with its own natural packaging, and best of all...no animal testing.

Cheers!