This is my entry for this month's Green Moms Carnival.

The theme is about gratitude and the three green things that you absolutely love the most.

Look for the entire gathering of gratitude posts next Monday. Hosted by none other than...me!!

I don't know why autumn brings me to a space of flowing thanks, but it does. Is the annual season of death swirling color of leaves, dips in temperature and the comforting cocooning of winter meant to have us pause and reflect??  Well if so, it works for me every time.

Thinking greenly there were indeed three things that struck me that I will be forever grateful for...

The shining beautiful green eyes of my daughter speak to me. Her love, her reflection of me, her spirit and her youth inspire my very day. She started out blue eyed, equally beautiful and I have a picture of her then to remind me that once they were blue. I don't know when they went green truthfully. That they are. Greenly

She and I are close. I treasure that immensely.  We both are taking strides for a different more separate closeness as she prepares to leave for college. I don't feel anxious about her leaving my nest, as I didn't when her brother moved out on his own. He was ready. She will be too. As will I


Summer 2008


Once upon a time a remarkable forward thinking man pioneered a revolutionary green cleaning product created in his personal lab from soy. It was organic, it was non-toxic, it was bio-degradable  AND it was WAY before bio-degradable was even in the dictionary. His 1956 premise was to ship concentrate.  You add the water, and save on ooodles of plastic bottles in the landfills.  What a green visionary he was!  Two drops of this liquid concentrate cleaning wonder in a 16 oz spray bottle of water is all you need for a product that makes windows sparkle.  Two drops!  Take that one bottle of concentrate and apply it to just making window cleaning and it will make thousands and thousands of bottles of glistening window wonder.  Thousands! Think of the plastic bottles NOT  going into the landfills.  A product with over 1001 uses - you barely need anything else. I simply adore this product. I marvel at it's cleaning capacity and I am in awe of how long one bottle lasts me.

As science has the ability to move forward the original recipe has shifted from soy to corn. DOUBLING the concentration!! Seriously Cool Greenness.


glorious greenness flickr image

This summer my landlord opened up her rolling composting drum to me and said have at it - dump your veggie scraps away.  New to the idea I saved what I'd normally throw away in the garbage and put into composting instead.  My garbage at the curb reduced by about 75%! 

It occurs to me that composting is an absolutely huge organic multi-function solution to our landfill concerns. Rotting fruits, veggies , eggshells, tea and coffee grinds can be put to use to create a purposeful nutrient rich mulch that can be used again and again and again. I had no idea of the personal impact composting would have not only on reducing MY personal contribution to the garbage pile, and to the reduced costs of garbage stickers but on the planet.

Why isn't community composting the norm?  


the beauty of scraps flickr image 

K a r e n     H a n r a h a n
Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant
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