Waste not, want not.

  I have to giggle sometimes when I hear young folks chattering about how they are "Green".  They go on to tell how they use only "organic" products, recycle their water bottles and even REUSE some items!! Wow! Reuse items?  Now that is a novel idea!  Yeah, right.  What makes these whippersnappers think they are doing something so grand? I even had one young lady proudly tell me "You are the greenest person I know!" She meant this as a compliment, I am sure.  

  Think about it for a second, though.  Is this whole "new" movement actually new?  Nope.  As far back as folks can remember, things have been this way.  Most of us "older folks" still do as our parents and grandparents taught us. We do not see it as a cutesy little conversation starter but rather as a lifestyle.  We grow our own food, we can/preserve that food, we sew clothes and reuse or repair things until there is literally nothing left.  It is just something we do.  We do not toss any usable item in the trash.  It is upcycled (the fancy-schmancy  new term for using what you have on hand in a new way).  

  One of my brothers describes my youngest son as the "oldest" young man he knows.  Now that is a compliment!  Although Michael is only in his twenties, he has a lot of wisdom and has a certain calmness about him. Recently, he has been in a "building" mood and has been using a lot of reclaimed items to create fantastical pieces.  This all started with my greenhouse.  Yes, it does have a lot of new wood in it and has a beautiful new "greenhouse" roof but these all came about because of my husband. When he saw what Michael was doing, he took it upon himself to purchase the items.  He wanted Michael to learn to use the tools of the trade and figured that to do this, he needed to at least have decent lumber.  It was a good learning experience for our son and he has since moved on to creations of furniture using the reclaimed lumber.  In the greenhouse, however, he did use reclaimed windows.  Most of these came from my in-laws' home.  We had them stored since a hurricane destroyed the house.   Michael wanted to make use of these and some old doors. Since the doors were quite rotted, he remade them and he redesigned the windows to fit the greenhouse.  Overall, he did a remarkable job. I now have a lovely greenhouse!  

  With his building and furniture creations, my son is following a tradition set long ago.  Both sets of his grandparents were committed to not wasting usable items.  I can remember on the farm that tools, clothing, furniture and most all items were repaired or reused is some way.  One of my favorite quotes from Granddaddy was "You better hang on to that! You might need it some day."  With this, he was trying to instill the lesson of reuse.  To this day, I save string simply because I hear him tell me that I might need it.  (And I usually do!)  Ours is not an unique idea.  Simply put, do not waste.  It is not some new, profound idea that this younger generation has created yet one that they should have had instilled in them from childhood.  The old maxim of  "Waste not, want not." should be a household rule.  Not just because it is the current fad but rather because it is the right thing to do.  

I am Green!

My sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna, once told me that I was the "Greenest" person she knew.  For a moment I was a tad concerned as the term was new to me.  After a bit of explaining from her, I understood and well, to be honest, had to agree.  I did not realize that I was being "Green"..I just thought I was doing the right thing by Old Mother Earth.  I had no idea at the time that this notion even had a name attached to it.  At the time, she was referring to my method of doing the laundry, my organic gardening (another new name for me!) and  my habit of recycling or upcycling items.  Well, I think I might have reached a new level of this "Green" thing..just a hunch but something tells me that I might be taking this upcycling thing a bit too far!

Mark bought me some more cutting plates for my die-cut machine.  These small flat items were packed and shipped in a rather large box.  The rest of the box was filled with yards and yards of packing paper.  Usually, this is brown paper or unprinted newspaper but this time the paper was the loveliest shade of green!  Before even looking at the cutting plates, my mind was racing with ideas.  The possibilities of this green paper made my head spin!  Michael was sitting there when I opened the box and he snickered at my elation!  "Mom, you are the only person that I know who gets more excited over packing paper than what is in the box."  I informed him that I WAS extremely excited over the cutting plates but the paper was green!  "I can see that." was his only remark.  Hmmm..was I carrying this too far?  Should I just toss this paper in the trash and be done with it?  No way!  I could never do that!  I reuse the ordinary packing papers!  Why would I not do that to this one?

Out came the iron and ironing board and I set to work smoothing the wrinkles from my new art medium!  After I ironed the entire length of paper (twenty-two feet to be exact!), I rolled it for storage.  My brain is still whirring with ideas and as soon as I finish my current three projects, I will be ready to turn this lovely, green paper into some awesome art project!  Now..that is the "Green" way!  There is no way that I am trashing something that can be useful!  Oh...and I do love my new die-cutting plates!

Frankie makes an appearance!

Each year at Halloween, I try to send a "happy" box to my kids that live away from here. Several years ago, there was a suggestion on a candy website of how to "Boo" your neighbors so I "Booed" my kids. Now it has stuck and each year I try to think of some different way to do this. The original idea (for those who have not been "Booed") was to make a ghost from an orange juice jug, fill it with goodies and leave it at a neighbor's house. There was a cute little Halloween poem attached that instructed the recipient on how to construct the ghost and pass it on to another person. The ghost or "Boo" was to make its way around the neighborhood bringing cheer to all. I try to change the idea a bit each year so I am sending something different and not repeating myself. This year was hard. I seemed to have a brain block..I am not sure if that is a real thing but it describes my predicament well! I needed a new brain! If only I could get a new brain then I could... Ohhh! That was the answer! New brain.. a few body parts.. I could do Frankenstein's monster! Now, how do I make a monster. When I create these things, I try to use items that can be recycled. Actually this falls into that category of "upcycling"! (Making something out of things that are normally discarded.) I wandered around the house peering at possible materials. Body parts..I needed body parts! Ahhh! This could make a head..oh, and this might be good for the eyes.. great!.. here are some "bolts"! I was like a mad doctor hunting for body parts to create my monster! Then a thought hit me..isn't it funny how the monster is now known as Frankenstein and not Dr. Frankenstein's monster. In Mary Shelley's novel the monster has no name..the mad doctor is named Frankenstein. So I suppose in this instance, I was being "Dr. Frankenstein" creating my "monster". An oatmeal box, green and black paper, a bit of white "fun foam",thread spools, glue, and paint was transformed into a cute "Frankenstein's Monster". The box was filled with candy and sent on its way to my kids houses. Frankie will make his appearance at their houses very soon carrying a cute poem and lots of love. Hopefully, he will bring a smile to their faces.

We had a great "Halloween" moon this week! Every evening when I would make my way up the hill from the pier, the pathway gleamed in the moonlight. There was no need for a flashlight. Ezzy and I would always stop for a few moments just to appreciate the beauty. Then again, maybe I paused to do this and she just was being an obedient dog staying by my side. Either way, it was nice to share it with someone even if that someone was an dog! I could not help but take a few photos of the moon with my favorite old dead tree in the foreground. It just seemed fitting for the season!