Tread Lightly on Earth Day 4

Chicken.

That's what I am. I was at a wine party on Wednesday night when I noticed that the hostess was tossing all the wine bottles in the trash. I saw it happen, I thought, "Just ask her if you can take the bottles home."

I didn't. I chickened out. I feel bad.

Tread Lightly on Earth Day 3

Geeks can be greenies too. Before AfricanKelli's challenge, I was very envious of my office mate's trash can. Now hear me out before you think I'm over the top strange.

I noticed that there was never anything in his trash can. I on the other hand had to have the crew clean mine out by mid day to make room for more crap.

As part of my challenge this week, I also wanted to see how little I could toss out this week. I'm doing really good so far.

There's a tie into geeks...just wait for it.

So, we (he and I) have been talking about different eco things we do. He mentioned that he had read about the energy used for white screens (ie, the white search engine screen on Google).

I'll let you be the judge on if you want to make the switch or not. Read up on it for yourself here.

Tread Lightly on Earth Day 2

Which has less impact powder or liquid laundry detergent? I haven't given it much thought until this week. I've found a few different forums discussing the pros and cons of each.

I decided to go with the powdered on this trip because of the information point I found on the ClintonFoundation.org web site. 

I also found a homemade laundry soap recipe, sounds interesting. I'll let you know if I'm able to try it.

Homemade Laundry Soap

3 pints water
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1 quart hot water
cold water
Mix fels naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of [w]ater. Heat on low until barely dissolved. Stir in borax and washing soda. Stir until thickened, then remove from heat. Add l quart hot water to 2 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture to bucket and mix well. Pour soap mixture into the bucket, mix well. Fill bucket with cold water and mix again. Let set for 24 hrs. If too thick or separated, stir before use. Use 1/2 cup per load of laundry.
I can make this in the US for about 75 cents a gallon. It works great. There are no sudsing fillers so your clothes won't get stiff and need fabric softeners. I use it as a pretreat on stains, too. It has saved me a lot of money. If you'd like to put this on the money saving tips forum I'd be flattered and it might be helpful to somebody on a tight budget.

Tread lightly on Earth Day 1

That's the challenge AfricanKelli.com gave to her readers last week. I've been doing small things, but like a lot of us I could do better. I took those words to heart and this week, I'm going to see if I can break some habits. Check out the Flickr group to see what other ideas people had.

 

Blue sky and Blueberry Iced Tea

Iced tea got a lot of discussion this past week on Andrea's Recipes. I can see how it is one of those things where everybody has their own secret or technique for brewing tea.

I found this Blueberry Iced Tea recipe in a Southern Living magazine. It was very refreshing. I used less blueberries and half the sugar and the result was a milder blueberry taste.

 

Have you heard the advertisements on Food Network for Ingrid Hoffmann's new show Simply Delicioso. I hope her show in English is a success.

I used the basic tamale casserole recipe and added and subtracted a few things to get what you see below. It's yummy.

Dance as if no one is watching

Dance as if no one is watching. Yesterday on my flight home, some very interesting people sat around me and the thought of dancing as if no one is watching went through my mind.

The person to my left across the isle, a heavy metal kind of guy, black steal toe boots, HD t-shirt and listening to music loud enough where I could hear it. Let me tell you, he was playing every air instrument you could think of; Guitar, drums, keyboards. Sometimes all three at once.

The person sitting to my right was a quiet crossword puzzle guy. Button up short sleeved shirt, brown belt and khaki pants. Every so often, I spotted him conducting to an invisible orchestra.

The couple behind me were on their way to a cruise. They were having a discussion about what birds they were going to see in Alaska. If the lady knew the bird sound, she would start imitating bird sounds and he would either confirm or deny the accuracy of it.

Dance as if no one is watching. I was so moved by these people all engaged in something I hope they were passionate about.