Archive for July 30, 2016

Eco-Friendly Grilling

Buying a new BBQ to replace the one that gave out during your 4th of July celebration?  Say “no” to charcoal or wood briquettes, which cause a ton of greenhouse gasses.  Switch to an Energy-Star certified gas grill or maybe try one of the new solar grills.

Leaf 6

[For more easy, money-saving, earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Unforced WHAT?…Error???

A new buzzword this political season is “unforced error.”  I had to look it up.  It’s from tennis and means a dumb mistake (e.g., a missed point) your competitor makes in a non-pressure situation.

The more I thought about it, the better it fit.  Politicians square off, Republicans on one side of the “net” (Congressional floor or debate podium or news channel) and Democrats on the other.  They hit the ball (bills, promises, deals) back and forth and jump around a lot.  Often they get distracted (by a perceived “gotcha” or trying to guess an opponent’s next move) and, during an easy volley of words,  make a mistake by, say, missing the ball (not listening carefully enough or being too self-absorbed).

Proof positive that politics–much to the chagrin of voters–is a game.

Sticks and Stones

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” So goes the child’s defensive chant. But we all knows that isn’t true, because we’ve all been the victims of words. Today’s Thursday Thought, then, gives some excellent advice.

 

 

Solar Impulse Landing

Congratulations to all those on the Solar Impulse project, and congratulations to our making a giant step toward saving our home planet.  

(I love the fact that one of the pilots and a driving force behind the project is named “Piccard,” as in Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise.  Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg truly have “gone where no man has gone before.”)

Watch the video of the landing below or at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7jnzzx5y1c.

 

 

 

Plastic Down Your Drain

Stop washing plastic down the drain.  That face or body wash that promises to clean, exfoliate, and scrub away oil often contains little beads—made of plastic!  Read the label. Microbeads are being phased out, but you probably still have products in your home that contain them.

Leaf 6

[For more easy, money-saving, earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Un-Conventional?

I wonder if the Democratic convention next week will be as unconventional, energetic, surprising, glitch-filled, loud, verbose, or as interesting as the just-concluded Republican convention.

Queen vs. Donald Trump

Queen IS not  happy with The Donald.  That’s because his campaign continues to use “We Are the Champions” as its theme song despite repeated demands from the group to stop. Their reason is that it’s their long-standing policy not to allow what they call “Queen music” to be used as part of anyone’s campaign.

Yesterday Queen tweeted this:

An unauthorised use at the Republican Convention against our wishes – Queen

They haven’t decided what to do about the situation. However, I can see the headlines now if Trump becomes President–QUEEN SUES U.S. PRESIDENT IN INTERNATIONAL COURT OVER CHOICE OF MUSIC.
Okay, so it isn’t THE Queen, but it makes for good tabloid news.

 

35 Years of…Life (Personal Note)

Today is my 35th wedding anniversary. The years  have been filled with “for better” and “for worse,” “sickness” and “health.” We’ve shared bringing new life into this world and seeing cherished loved ones move onto the next. We’ve had some fierce disagreements and did a lot of forgiving–of each other and of ourselves. We enjoyed adventures together and are now  commiserating with the fact that, more and more often, our  bodies laugh at us and ask, “You think you’re going to do WHAT?!”  We’ve comforted each other over the  estrangement of a friend or relative, then rejoiced with each other over reconciliation with them.

We’ve helped each other adapt to severe changes in our lives, cried mutual tears of joy at our son’s wedding, exchanged laughter and knowing looks when hearing a young person’s exact, well laid-out plans for the future, and had our hearts melt at a wagging tail, four paws, and big brown eyes that say, “I’d love you even if you beat me.”  We’ve worked as a team through hardship, tragedy, heartbreak, and financial difficulties and come out closer as a result.

The “worse” and “sickness” we vowed  to get through was not fun or easy, but we got through it because we had one other. Besides,  we have  focused on the “better” and the “health,” letting the other simply fade away. That’s called Living Life.

We don’t have another 35  years here on Earth. That’s okay, though, because we’ve had these 35 and, God willing, will have some more time together.

Happy anniversary, Frank, my love.

 

 

Something to Buzz About

Bees are dying of starvation because of “Improved” crops (e.g., soybeans, corn) that don’t produce any nectar.  Plant flowers that will provide bees with nectar and pollen. We really need them to pollinate plants that support our own food chain. Pass this on to keep the message buzzing.

Leaf 6

[For more easy, money-saving, earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]

Let Children Unearth an Old Idea

Children of all ages love to discover things, even more so as they get older.  Tell your teenage son, for example, that it’s important to care for the earth and he’ll tell you how old and uncool you are; let him discover it for himself and he’ll think his generation invented the idea.  Here’s where books come in.  For young children, have environment-related picture and story books available for rest- and bed-times.  Later, when they’re ready for browsing the library, lead them to books emphasizing earth-friendly themes.  When it’s book-report time, suggest a paperback that’s interesting and easy to read, one that, incidentally, promotes caring for the earth.  The librarian at school or the public library can suggest titles.  Feel free to contact me for a starter-list of age-appropriate books. Maybe your children didn’t really invent the idea of caring for their planet, but they’ll become adults who will reinvent the world as a cleaner, healthier home for us all.