New Resource for Environmental Inspiration

Annie Leonard, the woman who brought us The Story of Stuff, is at it again. This time, her project is entitled "The Good Stuff" and brings us together with individuals around the nation who are making a difference to help our fragile environment.

The Good Stuff is planned as a monthly podcast - the first one is available now at her website and titled "Take that, Plastic Bags!" It  features interviews with entrepreneur Andy Keller, founder of ChicoBags, as well as Rose Timmer, an activist from Texas who helped ban plastic bags in her community.

The email that announced this new podcast venture explained it this way:

Every month, we’ll be releasing a new podcast, complete with inspiring stories, commentary from our own Annie Leonard, and ways for you to get involved in your own community.

 

Why apodcast focused on solutions?

 

It’s a rare day in our office that we don’t hear someone say, “I want make change but I don’t know what to do,” or “I’d like to help, but I’m only one person.”

 

We’re making The Good Stuff as an antidote to that kind of thinking.

 

The stories we’ll feature prove that the best place to start is with your passion and that by joining together we magnify our power to accomplish remarkable things. 

Check it out - give it a listen - and if you haven't watched Annie's other videos yet, check them out too. Totally worth a few minutes of your time to be inspired. We can all do something positive for the environment, every day or at least every week. It's not hard - it just takes a little thought.

What have you done for your environment lately? 

Puppy Turns Two!

Over the weekend, my big ol' Puppy finally and officially turned two years old. So I guess, finally and officially, she's no longer a "Puppy."

Except that she still acts like a big baby, but that's something completely different.

 We made a batch of plain cupcakes for her, to mark the occasion. My daughter put the hat on her and promised her treats if she wore it without complaint. Puppy is a trusting soul, and put up with the elastic band on the hat, as long as there was a plate of warm yummy cupcakes there, under her nose.

 She didn't flinch from the candles as she made her wish... but the kids did help her blow them out.

Puppy enjoyed her birthday treats, as she ate them one by one. Out of the dozen cupcakes, she let each kid have one, and let the Big Dog have two. She ate all the rest....

 ...and not very neatly, I might add. After the first one, she kind of scarfed the others down, snuffling at the plate to scoop another one up in her jowls. Then another. Then another....

...until there were none left.

Happy Birthday, Puppy!

So, what did You do this weekend?

C'est la vie

It's a short, happy life for snowmen who live near the ocean...

Snowman Day

 We finally got our first snowstorm on Cape Cod this weekend. My daughter has been waiting all year to make a snowman, since somehow she never made one at all last year. I've been hearing about her plans for months.

She spent hours outside during the storm yesterday, rolling up the balls, but couldn't lift them by herself. I told her we'd help her when it stopped snowing. Which was this morning.

This snowman reminds me of a time back in the 19070s, when we had a huge storm, and all the kids in the neighborhood worked together to build an eight foot tall snowman. We measured. Eight feet and five inches tall. We had to use a ladder to put the face on, too. My oldest son, hugging the snowman on the right, is 6'1", so my daughter's snowman rivals the one in my memory...

What's your favorite snowman memory?