It's Earth Day and I am working from home . . . my small contribution to saving the air quality. JP and I have long been making eco-friendly choices going back to the days when we lived in Colorado and had to keep our recyclables separated and then drive them ourselves to the recycling center. It kills us now to see people here in our neighborhood who do NOT recycle . . . there is a huge blue container in the alley RIGHT behind your house AND you don't have to separate anything out.
There was also the time we went on a camping trip and carted all our plastic water containers back to Phoenix because we could not find a recycling center in Colorado that accepted plastic. Actually we do this every year now when we go to Colorado but everyone has consciously brought and used less plastic when we are there to limit what has to be driven home.
Our house is equipped with only CFL bulbs and we have fabulous windows that have done a tremendous job of decreasing our electricity needs. This past fall we had more than the required amount of insulation blown into our attic. We try to limit our water usage, we are growing some of our own food, and we compost everything we can.
The point is we choose to do what we can and I encourage you to do your part. I grew up in a world where A/C was part of life and lights were left on all the time. Now I cringe if I see a light on in a room where no one is using it. The simple things will add up!
My latest push is to buy items with little packaging and/ or the packaging has to be recyclable. This has meant a change in shampoo as the John Frieda products I was using did not come in a recyclable bottle. We are also moving from body wash back to bar soap because it is a consumable item. Give this some thought the next time you are in the store. And while you are at it think about the little plastic bags you use for produce . . . they really are not necessary. I laugh when I see someone with a conveyor belt full of plastic produce bags and then they are put in the reusable canvas bags. Trying . . . but not quite getting it.
I will now get down from my soap box . . . and of course re-use it for something!
Happy Earth Day!
Pickle walked in (with her purse of course) and thought I was taking her picture so she stopped to smile for the camera. Our construction time line got a little out of whack when we went to "order" our cabinets last week and they were in stock . . . so we have quite a pile of boxes waiting to be assembled. We were not quite that ready yet but I'll take them!
Here is an "after" shot of The Little Guy's haircut and behind him is Pickle pushing the wheelbarrow. I guess she thought we needed another wheelbarrow in the house. This morning she had her "purse" (a little duck pouch left over from Easter) on her arm but it got in the way of driving the wheelbarrow so as any smart woman would do, she hooked her "purse" onto the handles!
Here is Pickle giving me a smile. I was trying to take a picture of her playing in her "indoor sandbox" but she saw the camera and started walking toward me with her big grin. The "indoor sandbox" is the pile of thin set that has been swept up in the dining room. She spends a lot of time filling tupperware and cups and transporting thin set around the house.
Sunday was Race Day and we all packed up to spend a few hours down town. Even with the 90 degree temperatures it wasn't that bad in the shade of the buildings. The Little Guy raced first and rode really hard the whole time. 
JP raced as well and it seemed to be a little harder . . . certainly longer and hotter! 
Pickle and Baden enjoyed sharing the wagon, their sippy cups, and whatever food we had on hand!
