Earthday Celebration ~ 2009

In celebration of Earth Day, we went to Centennial Park in Nashville, TN. And as we strolled by the booths of earth friendly patriots, I couldn't help but be inspired at how we ~ the most destructive creatures on this planet ~ are working to change our habits and preserve the environment for all living things.

Green Home Practical Sustainable Design
hellogreenhome.com
Friendly Arctic Printing & Design
FriendlyArctic.com

Friendly Arctic's shirts and prints were very appealing to me and many others.

Volkswagon Jetta TDI Clean Diesel
VW.com

VerdeGoh & VerdeGoh General Store
VerdeGoh.com
VerdeGoh's electric cars offer clean transportation and freedom from the dependency on fossil fuels. The electric cars are considered to be town cars, because they go around 40 mph and their distance is limited because they are battery powered ~ these are huge pros when it comes to considering a car for Captain Awesome.

Kilowatt Ours
KilowattOurs.org

Smile Mommy ~ Nashville's Diaper Service
SmileMommy.com

10 Ways to Save the World
Throughout the park, signs were posted with 1 to 10 ways to save the world. This one, in particular, spoke to me. I have been longing for a rain barrel for many a summer day. Most rains here, are torrential downpours and then nothing but hot, hot sun beating down ~ drying the earth until it cracks open. When the water bill comes, you would think that you are paying for liquid gold. For these reasons, and certainly many others, I long for a rain barrel. It is well overdue!


The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
Elephants.com
Outside of Nashville, there is an elephant sanctuary that cares for retired or injured elephants. It is a fascinating place, in fact, you can take a peak for yourself with the Elecam. Pippi is very fond of elephants and wants to show her support, along with her support for the Sierra Club.

Baby Bear Shop ~ Organic
BabyBearShop.com


Creamy, dreamy butters and glosses ~ perfect for my baby's skin and my skin

The Green Wagon
TheGreenWagon.com
A one stop shop for going green ~ the green wagon.

Sparkling Creek Farm
We had a taste of the organic oatmeal raisin cookies ~ yummy!

Extremely Fun and Fresh Exhibit
Pippi is serious about her investigation into the world of fresh water creatures. Magnifying glass and swishing stick in hand.
So being a crawdad automatically makes her a man?! Not so, this crawdaddy is carrying some crawbabies under the trunk. Congratulations crawmommy ~ wishing you and your babies many fresh and clean mud holes to live and grow in!

Gardens of Babylon
GardensofBabylon.com
Organic gardening ~ ahhh, so lovely

Avalon Acres ~ Fresh, All Natural Poultry Products
Avalon-Acres.com

Cool People Care & Cool Moms Care
CoolPeopleCare.org
CoolMomsCare.org


Cool People Care and Cool Moms Care had set up a scavenger hunt, which was very simple and very rewarding. The hunt required that you take one Cool People Care or one Cool Moms Care card and visit 4 non-profit booths. At the booth, request that a star be placed in one of the four corners of your card. Then, return to the Cool Moms Care booth to collect treasures: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb, Bubbles and this colorful and inspiring poster:

Today is a New day! You can wipe the slate clean & begin again. Today you can embrace kindness. Practice compassion. Stand up for justice. Talk to strangers. Ask for help. Offer hope. Listen with your whole heart. Work for the common good. Love well. You can be the change you wish to see in the world.


On our way out, we stopped by the pond in front of the Parthenon to see the geese. Some children saw us coming and quickly embraced kindness by offering Pippi a piece of their bread. Thank you, friends ~ you made our day even sweeter!



xoBeau

Earthday IX

When I was a child, the New River was my backyard to play in. A swimsuit (boys or girls) and bare feet were my attire. It held many underwater tea parties, mermaid chior practices, and cannonball contests. On it's sandy banks, in the warm sunshine, we built dams, constructed water canals, baked mud pies and mixed moss milkshakes. On its grassy banks, under the glow of the moon and the sparkle of the stars, we would play hide and seek, catch lightning bugs, build campfires, pitch tents, eat smores and play spoons (the game, not the music). It was always there to catch us as we jumped from the wooden docks, swung from the ropes, flipped from the seesaws (inner tube of a car) and wiped-out from skis (skiing behind a fishing boat with a 25 horse power boat motor? yes, it can happen). It introduced us to many of its inhabitants, muskrats, water snakes, turtles, crawdads, Jesus spiders (you know, the kind that walk on water), minnows, muskees, trout, sunfish, catfish, one fish and two fish.

I even received my first ticket on this river. For a month of Sunday's (as my great-grandfather would say), I had begged to put the boat motor on the wooden raft, which was normally motorized by a long pole and my girlie biceps. And one Sunday, it actually happened, the little 10 horse power boat motor was popped onto the back and away my friends and I went ~ two houses down to park alongside the cross-tie reinforced bank. This was certainly within poling distance. Not 15 minutes later, the game warden pulled up. A ticket was issued and needless to say, I never asked to break the rules again.


Fear never entered my heart, in regard to this river. Not when the waves were high, we were far from home, the motor had disassembled and my friends and I dove over and over until the missing propeller and pin were retrieved. Not when torrential rains would force it to break it's banks, raging through the tree limbs that were meant for climbing, growing wider and wider until it seeped through the doors and occupied the basement only able to escape through the side windows.

It calmed my soul, consoled my broken heart and gladly welcomed my tears into it's own body of water. One day, so broken-hearted ~ betrayed ~ angry, I walked straight into this river fully clothed. The river was the only place that I had left to turn. It wrapped its big gentle arms around me and held me like no mother could.

Now, that I am older, I know that I owe this river for the confidence, peace and strength that it has given me. For this reason, I will work towards changing my harmful habits, raising awareness about its needs and supporting organizations like www.internationalrivers.org. And since, the river always flows into the ocean ~ www.savethewaves.org

Thank you ~ my beloved river

xoBeau

Earth Hour

Don't forget, lights out from 8:30 - 9:30 tonight! This is in celebration of Earth Hour, which the WWF began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, as a way to raise awareness of climate change. Just imagine all the fun that you can have in the dark for one hour!

1. light candles and eat dinner, enjoying the flavor and the company, because your senses aren't overwhelmed with all of the usual distractions
2. light candles and tell family or scary stories in the sweet quiet of the night (I know, sometimes family and scary are synonyms, so in that case, perhaps read one from a book)
3. light candles and sing "We are the World"(my 5th grade graduation song), "Down to Earth" (by Peter Gabriel from Wall-E) or your favorite earth song
4. play hide and seek with your kids
5. play hide and seek with your partner ;)

These are just a few suggestions, but I know that if you use your imagination, you can come up with the perfect one for you ~ remember, it is for a very good cause!

xoBeau

Earthday VIII

How I miss the days of composting! The satisfaction of not wasting good rich nutrients. The delight of harvesting rich black gold. The joy of watching the earth's bounty flourish from such a healthy diet. But now that we live in a more structured neighborhood, erecting a compost barn out of 4 reclaimed pallets would definitely land a cheerful little note from the homeowner's association in our mailbox! So, what is an earth-friendly gardener to do?

These products from Green Culture might be good solutions:
I like the idea of this Stainless Steel Compost Scrap Keeper. A stylish container for keeping eggshells, coffee grinds, and veggie scraps from smelling up the kitchen.
Also, at 40" high and 23" square, this compost bin is small enough to hide in between the house and the bushes. It is called the Outside Gourmet. Perhaps because it is preparing a fine meal for the garden!

Do you practice composting? What do you recommend?

xoBeau

Earthday VII

I drink a lot of bottled water. Why, you ask? Why, when bottled water has been scientifically studied and the results show it has an almost identical makeup to tap water? Why, when teams of people have conducted taste tests, scoring various types of bottled waters and tap waters, cleansing their palette with wine in between each taste, only to come to the conclusion that just one person could identify the tap water and that, overall, the bottled waters tasted the same?

Here are the reasons that I drink bottled water:
1. I must be that one person who can tell the difference between tap water and bottled water. Tap water actually makes my stomach ache!
2. Our tap water does contain lime. It collects at the base of the faucets and on the shower heads. It can only be removed with lime-away. Our realtor stated that his doctor gave tap water as the reason for his kidney stone. Yikes! Kidney stone?
3. It is convenient. I always grap a few as I am heading out the door. We keep a large supply in the garage in our pantry area.
4. Bottled water always tastes good at room temperature, unlike soda pop, etc.
5. Bottled water certainly is healthier than soda pop, etc.

This is my concern:
Bottled water leaves behind a plastic shell. We have been improving our recycling habits, but isn't there a better way?Would it be better if I purchased water bottles ~ one for each family member? Then, to fill the water bottles, if I purchased filtered water from the local grocer. You know, one of those large 5 gallon bottles with the tap for easy dispensing?

What is your source for drinking water? Do you have any recommendations?

xoBeau

Earthday VI

Yesterday was Sunday, so lets make today Earthday!

When paying bills ~ Go Green:
cancel paper statements | sign up for recurring payments | pay bills online
I have already canceled paper statements on many of my credit cards and pay many bills online. However, when I logged in to pay my Comcast bill for cable and Internet, I saw this ad for Ecobill. One less piece of mail to shred and one less bill to worry about ~ works for me. Sign me up!

xoBeau

Organized Recycling

Let's just get real about this ~ recycling has been driving me insane! Why? Because all of the crushed 2 litter bottles, broken-down cardboard boxes, glass wine bottles, and so on were going into the floor in the garage. Making the garage total chaos and, essentially, turning it into a dump. Grrr! I really just wanted to pick up every piece and throw it away! In fact, I did a couple of times. I would feel relieved that the stuff was out of my house, but guilty that I had just taken the easy way out and increased my footprint on the earth. It also made me realize just how much trash we generate and that we really should be more responsible about it. More than ever, it was time to get the recycling organized so that it could be processed efficiently.

This is our solution:

labeled totes on the bottom shelves
5 totes in all, one each for Newspaper, Plastic, Glass, Cardboard, and Soda Cans

glass bottles neatly placed inside

Now, when a tote is full, we just grab the tote and run to our nearest recycling center!

xoBeau

Earthday V

Yesterday was Sunday, so lets make today Earthday!

Going green can mean buying Ornj. Ornj Bags is a stylish line of totes designed by David Shock. The totes are made from ~ well, can you guess? It is something that you have seen before. Think on it and I will tell you in a minute.
Ornj Bags are great for the market, beach, or anywhere a durable tote is needed. They come in many styles and sizes.
If you're worried about your lip gloss slipping through, Ornj also sells liners to slide inside your tote that are made from 100% recycled fabric.

Did you figure out what they are constructed from? (hint hint)
Ornj Bags are made out of recycled construction fencing, pulled out of abandoned fields and construction sites. Clever, huh? And that is what I love in a piece like this. It sends an earth-friendly message, strikes up a climate changing conversation, and makes going green stylish!

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them." Albert Einstein

xoBeau

Bid Green!

Just in from Earth Day Network:

Two Holly Branch Hand Crafted Belt Buckles

'Now there's a stroke of green-ness: actor and environmental advocate Chevy Chase and his wife Jayni are hosting the 5th annual Chevy Chase Green auction to benefit - you guessed it - Earth Day Network's GREEN Schools campaign. Starting right now click here and bid on exciting celebrity auction items.'

Attend the 2009 Inauguration Ceremony and Meet the New President-Package for Two (2) People

4 VIP Tickets to The Martha Stewart Show PLUS Lunch in the Green Room After the Show
and Meet Martha!

These are just a few of the items up for bid! It's a great auction. You might want to check it out.

xoBeau

Earthday IV

Yesterday was Sunday, so lets make today Earthday!

Consider buying from vendors who support fair trade.

Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between marketers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other parts of the world. A fair trade partnership works to provide low-income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work.

These are some of the things that caught my eye at the Global Exchange Fair Trade Store.

100% organic chocolate
inside each art bar is a collectible art card by an contemporary adult or international child artist

chess set made in Peru
pieces are handmade out of a combination of clay and volcanic ash

silver flower bud pendant handcrafted in Thailand
inspired by the garden


reusable bamboo straws made in Laos
in Laos, longer versions of these are used during festivals and for special occasions

brazil nut candle handmade from the pods of Brazil Nut trees in the Amazon Rain Forest of Peru
purchase of this candle helps protect the rain forest for future generations

"I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something." Helen Keller

xoBeau