Ever since I saw An Inconvenient Truth, I have been really working on the ways that Wilson and I can be more environmentally friendly. We have:
- wrapped our hot water heater in some sort of Al Gore approved wrap. It is supposed to make it so that heat stays trapped and we can lower the temperature of the water in the tank. I
- wrapped our pipes so that we don't lose heat there
- we recycle just about everything that we can
- we have a green bin and all other foodstuffs go in there
- we would have a composter but I really hate the bugs and racoons that come with one of those so that is where our green bin picks up that slack.
- when they finally move me to our downtown office, Wilson and I will carpool and I will be taking transit home. For those of you that know me, this is a HUGE sacrifice on my part
- I am trying to make sure that I don't buy products with wasteful packing
- I think I am going to take our produce organic so that I am buying locally and saving the carbon emissions from stuff that is trucked in from around North America
- My next car will be a hybrid - but that won't be for a few years as Wilson and I tend to keep our cars for a long time
- I know that I need to start taking cloth bags to the grocery store but when you have a dog, you need the damn plastic bags for picking up the refuse. Not pleasant but who wants to walk in a park that smells like poo.
- We changed our light bulbs to CFLs - even though they make it hard to read as I find them not as bright.
- I am going to check with our local butcher to see if his meats are procured locally as well - more of the not contributing to the carbon emissions
- We are going to phase out our household cleansers and begin using green prodcuts
- and our last and I think biggest sacrifice of all is using 'green' facial tissues and toilet paper. I am totally a Kleenex and Facelle Royal girl but when I read how many trees this would save, I realized that we had to start this as well. We use cloth napkins all the time except when we are serving canapes before a dinner party - so this helps save some trees.
I realize that this a good start but I believe that we all have to do more. If anyone has any other ideas for me - bring it on. As long as those ideas do not mean that I have to give up pretty shoes, chocolate or red wine - I will give it a whirl.
Green kisses to all,
DiDi
Ah, Easter has come and gone and my waistline is ever expanding due to the vast quantities of food consumed over the entire weekend!
The best thing ever about Easter is Good Friday and that it is a holiday. Long weekends absolutely rule and ours was good. We drove 3 hours to my parents' farm and hung out until Sunday morning. Our entire weekend consisted of eating, standing to let the dogs out, eating some more, watching TV, eating and then going to bed. I think everyone now had a clearer picture of why I am ever increasing in size.
Dinners at my parents house were carb fests and I love that about them. Friday dinner was roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with all the appropriate trimmings. Saturday was turkey, stuffing and the appropriate trimmings. And my mom made pies for dessert - YUMMY!!!!! Wilson makes my mother so happy because he eats her food until he can no longer move.
We drove home, unpacked the car and thought - "hey, we have no food in the house, let's go grocery shopping." We are idiots as it was Easter Sunday and everything, and I mean everything was closed up tight. We scrounged ourselves a healthy dinner (salmon, quinoa and wilted spinach). Thank heavens for the pantry!
All in all, a lovely long weekend and I wish that we didn't have to go to work!
Easter bunny kisses to all,
DiDi
ReRe did it again! She cooked for 2 entire days and created a wonderful passover dinner for all. 7 goyim and 2 Jews celebrated Passover together again. In attendance were Wilson, DiDi, Mellie, Jewemy, ReRe, iPod man, Mary, Graham and their happy son Miles.
ReRe out did herself with all the fixin's of salad, gefilte fish, chicken soup, roasted turkey with matzoh stuffing, carrot tsimis (not sure if spelled correctly) and 3 kinds of dessert. Much wine and I mean MUCH wine was consumed. 8 bottles apparently - and thank God that Wilson was driving home as I drank more than my share.
So many laughs, so much fun and we have begun lobbying for ReRe to do Goy Hannukah. Wilson and I are joining in the fun this year and having the ReRe clan over for Jew Easter. There will be food, wine and everyone leaves with some chocolate.
Thank you ReRe for being the good Jewish mom that you are and giving us goyim our annual Passover experience.
Kosher kisses to all,
DiDi
