Every day offers new possibilities. For my honey and I 2010 begins where 2009 leaves off. Does this justify a celebration? Of course, especially for romantic reasons.
Who we’ve met – humans as social beings enjoy connections with others to share ideas and enjoy camaraderie. Our acquaintances expanded from attending a wedding, reaching out to new neighbors and regular visits to the public library.
What we’ve done – we share our accomplishments. We’re both looking to the future and everything we’ve done individually or as a couple is a joint effort. This year publications increased and I’m especially proud of inclusion in Cern Zoo (and it's top secret which story is mine until next year - perhaps you can guess).
Where we want to go – we prefer to not make resolutions though we do set goals. Our romantic destinations for the coming year include a moonlight picnic by the lake, toad hollow to learn more about ecosystems and human effect on them, to the top of a mountain (any mountain) and at least one public lecture.
How we plan to get there – laugh a lot. Rocky patches become less tragic when we take them less seriously. We enjoy collecting humorous anecdotes and share our memories. This year we’ve added to our “inside jokes” with a heart to heart with a monkey, the draw of our magnetic personalities to draw others to us at concerts and going up a tree and out on the limb
Why we choose to go forward together – Our commitment to each other is our absolute and to that end we make time together a priority. As situations arise we adapt physically and philosophically. May you take advantage of many opportunities in the coming year and joy in the ability to share them with someone you love. Join us as we find new dating possibilities that are environmentally friendly. Thank you for spending this past year with us.
THE END
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Season of Gifts – Family and Friends
A commitment to sustainable lifestyle doesn’t mean eschewing all things commercial during the holiday season. My honey and I aren’t lavish givers, though we do enjoy a little shopping as eco-elves. Shopping during the holidays makes a beautiful date especially if you love being around other people like I do. Choosing gifts is harder and we’ve come up with a few guidelines we use.
Know the recipient – make gifts personal and don’t bother giving something that will be returned for a refund. If the recipient loves hot chocolate how about two mugs, a jar of organic, rainforest friendly or fair trade chocolate mix and maybe a comfy blanket or quilt. We also love to give trees for planting and books.
Hand-knit socks – so, knowing how to knit is a must, but choosing the wool yarn from small, local producers and spending time making the socks adds something special to the gift. And the socks seem extra warm and cozy
A craft – artists and crafters can create one-of-a-kind gifts for family and friends. Some artists hesitate to give this type of gift afraid it makes them look cheap. Have no fear, this gift becomes ever more precious throughout the years. I painted a picture for my wall of a waterfall; my grandmother loved it so I gave it to her. She kept it through two moves one to assisted living and then to the nursing home. The painting is now back on my wall and is more precious because my grandmother loved it so much.
Tickets – entertainment is expensive and providing tickets for two and offering to baby sit if the couple has children allows for a needed evening out for them and an evening of fun with borrowed children for you.
Fill a need – if someone you know really needs a set of dishes, a kitchen table or to have windows washed, go ahead and grant the wish. For bigger items check out thrift stores and second hand to find one that can be refurbished. For recipients of fixed incomes consider, slippers, warm sweaters and sweatshirts, lap blankets or a few good books on tape (if they have something to play them on). Don’t be afraid to re-gift or buy used and let the recipient know of was to pass them on if they are interested.
Gift Bags – Fill a reusable canvas shopping bag with non-perishable food, favorite snacks, a bottle of wine or sparkling cider or perhaps eco-friendly soap, lotion and massage oil as well as spa tools. Be creative as you show that living environmentally friendly can be a pleasure
THE END
Know the recipient – make gifts personal and don’t bother giving something that will be returned for a refund. If the recipient loves hot chocolate how about two mugs, a jar of organic, rainforest friendly or fair trade chocolate mix and maybe a comfy blanket or quilt. We also love to give trees for planting and books.
Hand-knit socks – so, knowing how to knit is a must, but choosing the wool yarn from small, local producers and spending time making the socks adds something special to the gift. And the socks seem extra warm and cozy
A craft – artists and crafters can create one-of-a-kind gifts for family and friends. Some artists hesitate to give this type of gift afraid it makes them look cheap. Have no fear, this gift becomes ever more precious throughout the years. I painted a picture for my wall of a waterfall; my grandmother loved it so I gave it to her. She kept it through two moves one to assisted living and then to the nursing home. The painting is now back on my wall and is more precious because my grandmother loved it so much.
Tickets – entertainment is expensive and providing tickets for two and offering to baby sit if the couple has children allows for a needed evening out for them and an evening of fun with borrowed children for you.
Fill a need – if someone you know really needs a set of dishes, a kitchen table or to have windows washed, go ahead and grant the wish. For bigger items check out thrift stores and second hand to find one that can be refurbished. For recipients of fixed incomes consider, slippers, warm sweaters and sweatshirts, lap blankets or a few good books on tape (if they have something to play them on). Don’t be afraid to re-gift or buy used and let the recipient know of was to pass them on if they are interested.
Gift Bags – Fill a reusable canvas shopping bag with non-perishable food, favorite snacks, a bottle of wine or sparkling cider or perhaps eco-friendly soap, lotion and massage oil as well as spa tools. Be creative as you show that living environmentally friendly can be a pleasure
THE END
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A Season of Gifts – Couples
Preparing for the winter holidays means thinking about gifts, whether to give or not and what to give. My honey and I have an agreement; no stocking stuffers or impersonal gifts for each other. This means less stress on the budget and no gift returns. (SIGH! – that’s relief) we don’t have to move mountains of wrapping paper, figure out what to do with non-recyclable packaging, hunt up packages of batteries or head to the store for additional rechargeables. Any gifts given are truly wanted though usually not a surprise.
We found a way to kept the holiday excitement and spirit while banishing stress with Sweetie Days. We wrote 30 personal requests on the back of repurposed paper and placed them in two bowls. Each evening (choose your own interval two/per weekend ‘til New Years, or one every night for eight or twelve days) we draw a slip of paper and fulfill the request. Below are some of our favorite suggestions to inspire your holiday fun.
Pose for a couple’s portrait with me.
Snowball Fight (we didn’t have snow when we drew this request and used rolled up socks instead)
Neck massage
Light Candles and Share your favorite memory
Write me a poem
Dance with me to ‘our’ song
Bake cookies
Give me Seven Minutes in Heaven
Take a walk with me
Lap dance for me (PS – a great resource is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Exotic and Pole Dancing by Wendy Reardon)
Tickle me and make me laugh
Talk about giving – fulfilling a wish for the one you love and having a wish granted in return is a romantic way to spend the season. And it’s a great idea for sparking relationships any time of the year.
THE END
We found a way to kept the holiday excitement and spirit while banishing stress with Sweetie Days. We wrote 30 personal requests on the back of repurposed paper and placed them in two bowls. Each evening (choose your own interval two/per weekend ‘til New Years, or one every night for eight or twelve days) we draw a slip of paper and fulfill the request. Below are some of our favorite suggestions to inspire your holiday fun.
Pose for a couple’s portrait with me.
Snowball Fight (we didn’t have snow when we drew this request and used rolled up socks instead)
Neck massage
Light Candles and Share your favorite memory
Write me a poem
Dance with me to ‘our’ song
Bake cookies
Give me Seven Minutes in Heaven
Take a walk with me
Lap dance for me (PS – a great resource is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Exotic and Pole Dancing by Wendy Reardon)
Tickle me and make me laugh
Talk about giving – fulfilling a wish for the one you love and having a wish granted in return is a romantic way to spend the season. And it’s a great idea for sparking relationships any time of the year.
THE END
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
To Woo or Not to Woo
"I need to be wooed."
My honey is a stickler for details. "But you're already caught."
Not the average evening starts with the dictionary and discussion of wooing. The traditional meaning as my honey pointed out is to seek someone's affection with a goal toward marriage.
"Hmm I see the point, but I'll make a second. Relationships need to be nurtured and wooing is one means."
Can I give tried and true a twist?
Every good tradition can benefit from new experiences and knowledge. We've made some environmentally-friendly suggestions, however you know your sweetie better than anyone so go ahead and personalize.
Flowers - how about an organic bouquet, picking a posy in the garden, edible bouquets made with fruit, plant a tree together
Chocolates or candy - consider fair trade, organic and minimally processed chocolate, regional favorites (whoopie pies, moon pies, fried dough, funnel cakes etc.), kettle corn is a tasty sweet too (to make your own add a little sugar to buttered popcorn and maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon or another favorite flavoring. I add vanilla to melted butter)
Love notes - written on garden path stones, printed in chalk-substitute on the sidewalk, set to music and sung to your sweetie
Steal a kiss - sneak up behind your sweetie during chores, in a private arbor or after climbing to the top of a mountain.
Dinner - skip the restaurant and go on a picnic or if you aren't normally the one who cooks and cleans surprise your sweetie with a meal on the table even if it's takeout.
Laughter - my honey used the word 'woo' as the basis for the sound a train makes, the sound a rider on a bucking horse makes, as a howl at the moon and finally as in 'woo baby, I'm exhausted'.
THE END
My honey is a stickler for details. "But you're already caught."
Not the average evening starts with the dictionary and discussion of wooing. The traditional meaning as my honey pointed out is to seek someone's affection with a goal toward marriage.
"Hmm I see the point, but I'll make a second. Relationships need to be nurtured and wooing is one means."
Can I give tried and true a twist?
Every good tradition can benefit from new experiences and knowledge. We've made some environmentally-friendly suggestions, however you know your sweetie better than anyone so go ahead and personalize.
Flowers - how about an organic bouquet, picking a posy in the garden, edible bouquets made with fruit, plant a tree together
Chocolates or candy - consider fair trade, organic and minimally processed chocolate, regional favorites (whoopie pies, moon pies, fried dough, funnel cakes etc.), kettle corn is a tasty sweet too (to make your own add a little sugar to buttered popcorn and maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon or another favorite flavoring. I add vanilla to melted butter)
Love notes - written on garden path stones, printed in chalk-substitute on the sidewalk, set to music and sung to your sweetie
Steal a kiss - sneak up behind your sweetie during chores, in a private arbor or after climbing to the top of a mountain.
Dinner - skip the restaurant and go on a picnic or if you aren't normally the one who cooks and cleans surprise your sweetie with a meal on the table even if it's takeout.
Laughter - my honey used the word 'woo' as the basis for the sound a train makes, the sound a rider on a bucking horse makes, as a howl at the moon and finally as in 'woo baby, I'm exhausted'.
THE END
Friday, November 20, 2009
Bedtime Story for Two
We’re caught in the in-between season, a tease of warmth during the day, temperatures sliding below freezing at night and the occasional unexpected but not unusual snowstorm. My honey and I have become a touch more judicious about our dating activities. Ok, so it’s me; I want to stay warm and nothing feels quite as cozy as smooth sheets, soft pillow and handmade quilts.
Add an energy conserving bedside lamp and a good thriller and we’re good for over an hour. Reading is yet another reason we are compatible, I love to read aloud and my honey loves to listen to my voice. I get practice modulating for public speaking and my honey loves the variations.
“When there’s dialogue and your accent changes from Irish to French to Russian I feel like I’m right there.”
Here I give kudos to the writer we both agree writes a great novel. My honey said, “I wonder if Jack Higgins writes in accent.”
I have to say with respect of a fellow writer, “I’m awed by how real the dialogue is written; it just begs to be read correctly.”
My honey and I are also in the habit of reading snippets to each other when we each are reading to ourselves. Try sharing a good book, a magazine or even the news.
THE END
Add an energy conserving bedside lamp and a good thriller and we’re good for over an hour. Reading is yet another reason we are compatible, I love to read aloud and my honey loves to listen to my voice. I get practice modulating for public speaking and my honey loves the variations.
“When there’s dialogue and your accent changes from Irish to French to Russian I feel like I’m right there.”
Here I give kudos to the writer we both agree writes a great novel. My honey said, “I wonder if Jack Higgins writes in accent.”
I have to say with respect of a fellow writer, “I’m awed by how real the dialogue is written; it just begs to be read correctly.”
My honey and I are also in the habit of reading snippets to each other when we each are reading to ourselves. Try sharing a good book, a magazine or even the news.
THE END
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wriggler Wranglers
Our outdoor vermicomposting system utilizes worms to break down our vegetarian scraps. Over the summer they doubled in population with extra food from family and neighbors. With winter approaching we made a date to build an indoor worm farm. We had two large Styrofoam shipping coolers someone discarded in our yard and we kept because we figured we could use them for something.
My honey drilled holes in the bottom and sides, cut leftover screening and prepped the boxes with wood shavings, newspaper and sandy soil (we’ve heard crushed eggshells work too for helping the worms’ digestion). I went to the backyard composter to round up worms. Seriously it takes about one pound of worms to process two pounds of table scraps in a week and one pound of worms is about 1000 of the little red wrigglers. We measured our weekly waste and planned accordingly.
One evening after we had the worms settled my honey actually said, “I’m saving these pieces of pizza crust for the worms.”
Neither one of us can tell of Fred/Frieda (worms are hermaphrodites) or Keshia/Ken is the one who is on top waiting for the freshest serving, but the soil for our gardening is beautifully aerated, moist and loaded with nutrients. Doesn’t organic soil sound almost mouthwatering? Weird.
THE END
My honey drilled holes in the bottom and sides, cut leftover screening and prepped the boxes with wood shavings, newspaper and sandy soil (we’ve heard crushed eggshells work too for helping the worms’ digestion). I went to the backyard composter to round up worms. Seriously it takes about one pound of worms to process two pounds of table scraps in a week and one pound of worms is about 1000 of the little red wrigglers. We measured our weekly waste and planned accordingly.
One evening after we had the worms settled my honey actually said, “I’m saving these pieces of pizza crust for the worms.”
Neither one of us can tell of Fred/Frieda (worms are hermaphrodites) or Keshia/Ken is the one who is on top waiting for the freshest serving, but the soil for our gardening is beautifully aerated, moist and loaded with nutrients. Doesn’t organic soil sound almost mouthwatering? Weird.
THE END
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Four Wheeling the Logging Roads
As a sport perhaps Four Wheeling (also called off-roading) is less likely to be rated an eco-friendly activity. Depends on perspective and those participants attempting to improve the sport. My honey and I chose an eight-mile jaunt on logging roads to look at the forestry and check out the flora and fauna.
The area was clear-cut and then reforested. Clear cutting doesn’t have to be viewed as a bad activity. Especially when the goal is sustainability. All the usable lumber can be used and the slash allowed to decompose for soil enrichment. The diseased trees and dense undergrowth with broken branches and litter was taken care of.
The area was then reforested, the trees are fast growing, placed in neat rows and kept thinned to make forest management easier. Nature’s chance to begin anew and it didn’t take long for the native grasses and shrubs to reseed and take advantage of the rejuvenated soil and extra sunlight.
Preservation is fine to a point. Technology is fine to a point. Instead of seeking to win an argument or compromise, we as humans need to think about our impact on the environment and those around us and then be free to make the most workable decisions instead of relying on emotions.
To get you own information in your area:
1. go to the source instead of accepting regurgitated information
2. consider short-tem and long-term goals
3. forgo philosophical trends in favor of strategic action
For additional resources and information check out the Forest Stewardship Council.
THE END
The area was clear-cut and then reforested. Clear cutting doesn’t have to be viewed as a bad activity. Especially when the goal is sustainability. All the usable lumber can be used and the slash allowed to decompose for soil enrichment. The diseased trees and dense undergrowth with broken branches and litter was taken care of.
The area was then reforested, the trees are fast growing, placed in neat rows and kept thinned to make forest management easier. Nature’s chance to begin anew and it didn’t take long for the native grasses and shrubs to reseed and take advantage of the rejuvenated soil and extra sunlight.
Preservation is fine to a point. Technology is fine to a point. Instead of seeking to win an argument or compromise, we as humans need to think about our impact on the environment and those around us and then be free to make the most workable decisions instead of relying on emotions.
To get you own information in your area:
1. go to the source instead of accepting regurgitated information
2. consider short-tem and long-term goals
3. forgo philosophical trends in favor of strategic action
For additional resources and information check out the Forest Stewardship Council.
THE END
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