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Dishwasher, How would you pick a new one?
As I write this post, my hubby is working on the dishwasher that has been pulled out and sitting in the middle of the kitchen. At some point today, this appliance will either be fixed and back working or it will be ready for replacement. Either way, the idea of choosing an environmentally smart dishwasher is on our minds. Energy Star has a slick website that is aimed at helping in these kinds of decisions. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_dishwashers There are two spreadsheets you can download at the right column of the site, Qualified Dishwashers and savings calculator. These are the first two files I looked at. The qualified dishwashers is a long…
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Martini Glasses, What color is your glass?
Martini Glasses came up while on the Indie Cafe with my peers. We talked about how we should blog about things that we like and we were encouraged to tell our story so to speak. I made a joke about martini glasses since one or two of us like to drink Martinis. Back before kids and hubby and I had time to go on dates, we went to an event called Martinis and IMAX with his parents. We had a lovely time roaming the fernbank science center as we sipped or martinis and passed the time before our scheduled Movie start. They had live music and free gifts and well…
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Could growing stevia help your Organic garden?
Though nontoxic, stevia (stevia rebaudiana) plants have been found to have insect-repelling tendencies. You didn’t know it would be a good companion plant! Their very sweetness, in fact, may be a kind of natural defense mechanism against aphids and other bugs that find it not to their taste. Perhaps that’s why crop-devouring grasshoppers have been reported to bypass stevia under cultivation. Growing this fabulous plant in your garden also suggests a statement of protest for the banning of this plant in the past by the FDA. I find it quite interesting that this past spring season this lovely plant was actually available at garden centers even in Georgia! Does this…
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Where have you been today? How are those Doggie bones?
Where have I been today? I’ve been working on these lovely Doggie bone type cookies that I blogged about last week. We didn’t have doggie bone cookies cutters so we just went with the Christmas ones! Even the pooch deserves festive bon bons! Our lil white fuzzy dogma taste tester was all about these goodies! She’s now even investigating play doe to see if it’s those yummy doggie cookies! Thanks again Left Over Queen , the recipe was absolutely fabulous! Happy Washing! ~Regina
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Here's ONE way to get folks to use soap! HA!
Well it seems a bit blurry but that’s Dr. Flower’s Lavender Clay Soap on each of those pictures! Work with me! Here’s a few more… My Mind’s Eye is ALWAYS about handmade Soap! and IF my kitties used handmade soap… My soap in the news and on billboards! These were all created with a cute program on the site, Photofunia. Thanks Alison for first playing with it! I might have taken a bit of a U-turn with it! Nothing like the dream of Product Shout outs!
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The health of red wine, is it hype?
We’ve all heard that red wine is the healthiest of alcohol drinks we can consume. How true is it? I’ve been doing a little bit of reading at the MayoClinic. It seems that alcohol, no matter which form has the following good effects on the body: Raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol Inhibits the formation of blood clots Helps prevent artery damage caused by high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol Now that’s NOT to say that drinking any alcohol doesn’t have other adverse effects that could out way these “good effects”. Otherwise, why would surgeon general post messages about pregnant women risks etc. Red…
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Stevia as sweetener, a threat?
Stevia Plant and Flower My Blog Tweet this morning: “Stevia may be linked to genetic mutations in lab animals.” In its natural form? My doubt provokes research http://tinyurl.com/6k82ha In this linked article, it was stated that “Stevia may be linked to genetic mutations in lab animals.” This statement provokes this blog post that has required a little bit of research. I’ve read for several years now that stevia failed the FDA as a safe sugar substitute and was then approved only as a dietary supplement. Herbie folks (those that follow and study herbs) all asked the question why? Most answered the question that it was really politics and money. We…
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Organic Lawn Care
We all want beautiful yards to help our homes look nice. How do we do that in a “green” manner? I am still in the midst of determining the best plan of action. I’ve used several yard services that are all too willing to spray insecticides, poisons, and fertilizers on the lawn. We all know those are bad things for our environment. Want to know why? Pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time. These effects depend on how toxic the pesticide is and how much of it is consumed. When these lovelys are sprayed…
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The story of stuff, needed now more than ever!
I’ve blogged about the story of stuff before. Here we are at Christmas time with gifts on our lists and decisions on what to purchase seem a lot more relevant than this past summer. Folks are beginning to ask questions like, “How is the current economic situation affecting our attempts to “live greener”? If you’ve not played the video on the story of stuff site, It’s worth the 20 minutes to get the picture of our current system. We can evolve, re-evaluate, and adjust how we do things in our community, country, and world. It all starts with understanding where we stand now. Once we have a clear picture without…
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Composting! It's not as hard as you think!
If you have followed anything related to gardening or green environmental news, composting is one of those things that you can do along the lines of “think globally and act locally”. I can understand that some folk might be a bit intimidated by trying to compost. I’ve been reading on organic gardening boards how you really shouldn’t till your garden dirt and composting should be done right there among the plants in a “sheet composting” manner. Sometimes the idea of dumping my scraps directly in the garden just doesn’t get me excited! If the dirt really cooks, It makes great soil that is disease free. I’ve used my own compost…
