Going Green
Sometimes a few days to yourself are exactly what you need to feel better about things, and with the last few days being astoundingly gorgeous, I’ve taken advantage of some of that proverbial ‘me time’ to recharge my batteries, unplug from cyberspace, and stop and smell life’s roses. It was warm enough this past weekend to get outside and start walking again, and since I’ve spent the winter looking at the inside of a gym, I decided that some fresh air would do me wonders! It was so nice to just grab my iPod and head out the door and feel the warm sunshine rain down on my head, and it’s been so nice to be able to open a few windows during the day to air out my house too, tho spring cleaning is right around the corner.
We live in a small town. We don’t have a mayor, we have a town manager. We don’t have a city council, we have town selectmen, but we do have a recycling department, and a rather militant bunch at that. All of us homeowners got letters last week from the Town Recycling Führer informing us that because the town exceeded the limit of raw tonnage of trash to our area landfill that the town was penalized and had to pay an additional 57 thousand dollars (which means property taxes or water rates will be going up again…), but because of this, the town was now going to enforce strict recycling rules starting, now. So in accordance with the new rules; every resident must place a blue and a green recycle bin out on the curb with their weekly trash in order to continue to receive collection services from the town sanitation department.
Of all the pain in the ass things to deal with!
Let me first say that we are very green, tho I suppose like anyone we could be a bit greener. We recycle every week, tho we’re not fanatical about recycling, and we do have a small compost pile in the corner of our backyard that I use for fertilizer for my flower beds in the spring and summer, but we’re not looking at every piece of paper or every can that eventually makes its way into the trashcan under the kitchen sink, but maybe we needed to rethink this. Maybe we could be greener.
I suppose part of the reason that we’re not fanatical about recycling is because it is a lot of extra work, but it’s more about habit and conditioning yourself to remember to do it. Plus, the recycling industry is in fact a big business for-profit industry in this country. Nevermind saving the planet; like all good capitalists, someone figured out how to make a buck on recycling and reuse, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. Saving the planet may be an afterthought, and a good one at that, but recycling is nothing so noble anymore. And yes, I did see the Al Gore movie, but while recycling is a good and socially responsible thing to do, it’s not global warming.
So yesterday I went to the town recycling center and picked up four new recycling bins; two blue and two green, so we can adhere to the town’s new mandate.
It’s an interesting bit of synchronicity that one of my favorite magazines showed up in my mailbox yesterday with a big headline on how this issue was their ‘Green Issue’. I read a lot of magazines, and I find it easier to just subscribe to the ones I like, and one of my faves is Domino. It’s a home and style magazine that fits my tastes pretty well, but this month’s issue has their ‘125 seriously cute eco-makeover ideas for every room’! Ooo! Makeover? Home improvement? Where’s my baby and his power tools?
It then dawned on me that not a day goes by where my mailbox isn’t filled with either a magazine or two and a handful of catalogs from one of the many places that I’ve shopped online, in fact, it seems as tho once you buy from anyplace that has a catalog, you automatically get put on their mailing list and continue to receive their catalog, for like, forever? I mean, I get Victoria’s Secret, J.Jill, The Republic of Tea, as well as dozens of others that I can’t even begin to find the time to read; hmmm, there’s something for my new recycle bin! All my magazines and catalogs!
Tho this month’s issue of Domino has a fabulous layout for a bathroom, and I’ve been simply aching to redo the master bath upstairs! I’ve been saving this picture from a hotel I stayed at and I simply just loved the bathroom fixtures.
I think I’d love to do something with lighting like this up along the walls. It’s surprisingly cheap too if you can do the work yourself, and aside from any plumbing or major electrical, we’ll likely wind up doing most of it ourselves. It would be great to just hire contractors, but there’s something about putting a little sweat equity into your home that makes it your own, so I’m thinking that any renovations we do decide on will become our pet project!
What Else Is New?
I received a wonderful surprise from my friends at OhMiBod on Friday! Yes, a new OhMiBod vibrator, and a new model too that I can’t wait to try out! The new packaging is fantastic and the new vibe looks really cool too! Hopefully I’ll be able to get some write ups on those soon as well as the rest of the sex toys in my ‘yet to be reviewed drawer’.
There have also been some other personal situations which seemed to have worked themselves out during my short hiatus from cyberspace, and that’s all good news to me.
I’m still trying to adjust to Daylight Saving Time, not only because my Stay Naked Sunday was shortened by one full hour, but because it really throws my body clock off. Hopefully by this time next week I won’t even realize the difference. It’s wreaked havoc on my sleep and my energy levels as well as making me exceptionally cranky. Probably for the best that I decided to take a little break.
Enjoy your Tuesday!
1Richard
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 9:58
Five days with no Lazy Geisha is like a lifetime. Nina, you are so sweet and my kind of woman. I do know about the winter winding down,and things beginning to look better all around. I just got a six months all clear on my cancer, and I came home and booked myself a trip to the desert. I will be leaving a week from today. Life is so short. I live in the same kind of town you write about, and I love it, the people do have a say. The new daylight saving time is raising hell with the goats and chickens, they don’t know what to think, it is so funny, to put my feet on the floor in the morning and look at four goats standing staring at the window, wondering if I’m ever going to get up and feed them. It is funny to say the least. I’m glad your back, and I will miss you while I’m in the desert sipping rum and fresh fruit picked from the trees in the courtyard. Oh well Nina, redo your bathroom, it will make you feel better, and Jeff in his tool belt will make it extra cool.
love
richard
2Redwraith
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 12:08
Nina… i hate todo this … but you are wrong about recylcing and global warming.
Take an aluminium can. Aluminium takes endless amounts of power to produce. As most power comes from Coal / Natural Gas in the US each sheet of aluminium that is produced also produces Greenhouse Gases.
At the same time Aluminium (like glas for example) is an incredible good energy reservoir meaning that once it is produced it can be reused, and reused nearly endlessly needing very little energy to put it into a new form.
So if you recylce your coke can, you are in fact saving greenhouse gases since less energy has to be produced to make more aluminium.
just my 2cents :)
(and yeah i am a wiseass sometimes .. sorry)
PS: Once you get used too sorting trash its easy :) And yeah i hate it … but well …
3pile0nades
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 14:04
Good to hear you had a nice weekend Nina. That picture looks beautiful, you should definitely do some lighting like that.
I know what you mean about Daylight Savings Time. It’s stupid, unnecessary and doesn’t save much if any energy. It should be done away with.
Hopefully that cyberstalker was one of the things resolved over the weekend. I would hope thought a threat of legal action would be enough to scare him away.
Love,
Gary
4JW
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 14:25
I don’t about going green, but I know what I like. “Zen Tech”, an article on the new Toto shower, is in my sights for my new acquisition last month. I love Toto.
Zen Tech
I notice the old lightbulbs are starting to become non-gratis in many places.
5nina
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 15:59
Hello Richard!
Awww, I’m sorry you missed me! I’ll have to send you an email about how things work here now. If you look at the calendar on the right side of your screen, it shows the days that I’ve posted and the days I took holiday. Not everything shows up on the front page anymore, only things I designate in my journal category. Everything else lives in its own separate category now. I’ll have to get you set up with an RSS feedreader so you can keep up with everything!
I’m so happy to hear that your cancer is in remission. You’re so right, life is far too short, and we must cherish every single day we have; to live, to love, to dream. That’s so funny that you mention that you’re going to the desert soon. You’ll have to email me and let me know where you’re going. One of my girlfriends just left for Joshua Tree National Park to go rock climbing! I’ve never been myself but I’d love to go someday!
Oh Good lord I can’t stand this feeling of being out of synch!
Have a wonderful vacation my friend!
xoxo,
nina
6nina
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 16:06
Redwraith,
On that note, you’re absolutely right, and I didn’t consider that about aluminum. I knew that in the back of my mind that the process of making aluminum was involved and required enormous amounts of electrical power, and yes, by recycling aluminum we are helping global warming. I stand corrected!
We’re actually very green and eco-friendly in our house. It’s just the three of us, but you’d be surprised how much ‘trash’ three people can accumulate. We do recycle bottles, cans, and papers, and we’re very good about using yard waste for composting purposes. I think what got to me was the letter from the town about this, because we feel as tho we’re doing our part; yes, it could be more, but we do our best. I suppose the town’s only recourse is to stop picking up the trash from houses that don’t recycle, but our property taxes and water bills are pretty high as it is and it seemed as tho we’re being squeezed yet again. We’ve actually replaced ‘most’ of the lightbulbs in our home with eco-friendly lamps even tho they’re a bit more expensive. This is what gets me, why it seems as tho the label eco-friendly or recycled seems to cost more. It’s actually cheaper to not care, and that’s the real problem.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me,
xoxo,
nina
7nina
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 16:18
Hi Gary!
Oh thanks so much for posting that link! Daylight Saving Time sucks!
And if the idea is to save energy by giving us more daylight after working hours, well what about all the lights we use in the morning because it’s pitch black outside? Lol! And why did they push it back three weeks anyway? ugh!!
Well, yes, that particular cyberstalker situation seems to be resolved, tho the underlying issues still remain. Here’s my question, and I’m open to ideas and speculation from anyone regarding this; why would someone create a blog with the sole purpose of harassing, parodying, or targeting other bloggers? What purpose does that serve them? What need does that fulfill? Is it one gigantic bid for attention or is it something else? The blog in question which was used to cyberstalk me is now gone (tho I suspect they’ll be back in a more virulent form, and yes, I will sue). It was apparently deleted and something else now lives in its place which is completely unrelated to blogs or bloggers. Tho, as I said there are larger questions yet to be answered; as in why a certain group of bloggers are still obsessed with me, or this blog? This isn’t paranoia speaking here mind you, all of this has been documented and it’s as plain as the nose on your face. The question is why? I mean, at this point I’m completely amused that this site is still seen as such a threat and that I’m somebody’s ‘blog nemesis’ but after all this time, it seems rather silly to me. It’s like, look, yeah, I reviewed the njoy line of sex toys last summer… GET OVER IT! hahahahahahahahaha!
Yet this is still front and center in someone’s consciousness out there! And I’m not even a sex blog anymore! :biggrin: Oh they’re just so silly. I truly pity these poor lost souls at this point.
But anyway, yes, my weekend and mini-break was very relaxing and I feel really good (except for being all out of whack because of daylight saving time!)
Thanks sweetie!
xoxo,
nina
8nina
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 16:26
JW,
Oh I know what you mean! The Toto stuff is brilliant but very, very expensive! That shower is magnificent, but a bit pricey! Going green isn’t so bad. It’s the new hip you know? Being eco-friendly is way in now, as well as eastern styles showing up in western showrooms.
Lighting is sooo important in your home. We use a lot of low wattage lamps as well as making use of the natural lighting we have and as I said above, we’ve replaced a lot of bulbs in our house with eco-friendly lamps which are really nice. They’ve got a lot of new styles which fit a number of different decor.
I tend to like a minimalist Asian influenced styles. Functional, yet simplistic and elegant. I like natural fibers and natural woods too. Very sexy!
Thanks!
xoxo,
nina
9JW
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 17:46
You’ll have to write about wat your “perfect” home is one of these days if money was no object, Nina.
I get to go through all the furnishing a home now, and Restoration Hardware is on my list along with Bang & Olufsen. The bedroom will have a custom-made bed (big…maybe 12ft x 15ft?) and custom kitchen.
Also, as far as “green”, Wm McDonough’s book Cradle to Cradle, has been out for five years so at least some of us were thinking ahead.
As far as toys, here’s a new one coming out, Talk2Me. Wireless.
10nina
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 19:52
JW,
:biggrin: lol!!!! Oh you’re a brave man asking a woman that kind of question! hahahahahahahaha!!!! Good lord, “if money were no object”? Oh wow, the possibilities are simply, endless!
But, you know, we all dream about that “what if” Powerball lottery moment where we could just have whatever we wanted. The HGTv dream homes are always stunning (I do love watching HGTv), but you know, I’m not that ostentatious. I really do like simple things. Maybe a big remodled farmhouse or an old Colonial. Location would be more important to me, and having enough space and land would be important too, like there would have to be enough land to do a real Japanese garden. I love the northeast, but there are so many beautiful places in the world. The Pacific Northwest is beautiful, as is the American SouthWest, then there’s France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia! lol! :w00t: Oh I could go crazy! hahaha!
I’ve always wanted an atrium or a solarium, someplace where I could just go and read and just have some quiet time. But the house would also have to be completely modern; like a smart house, and I would want eco-friendly power like solar and wind. Oh to dream *sigh*
Thanks for the link to that book, and I’ve seen those wireless toys too! It seems as if music and sex toys are going to be the next hottest thing!
Thanks sweetie!
xoxo,
nina
ps - now you’ve done it! I’m going to be bugging Jeff to start renovations now that you’ve got me started! lol! And that will of course include some shopping trips to The Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Pier 1, Ethan Allen, The Bombay Company, Home Depot! lol!
11badinfluencegirl
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 22:49
my turn
the light bulbs cost more to buy the first and only time, after that you spend less on energy and on bulbs.
i’ve just run out of incandescents and have to start the fluorescents (the apartment i moved out of someone abandoned a carton of them there)
as for the rest of it, it’s expensive to make food when you have to weed instead of using pesticides… it just tastes better too!
:)
okay seriously, i need to make friends with ohmybod
12badinfluencegirl
wrote on 13 March 2007 at 22:50
would it help if i called them ohmibod?
*g*
13Richard
wrote on 14 March 2007 at 7:54
Good morning Nina: I sent you two e-mails. Have a wonderful day. love
richard
14nina
wrote on 14 March 2007 at 19:41
BadInfluenceGirl,
You’re so right about the lightbulbs. They do eventually pay for themselves and they do last quite a bit longer. I remember when they were first introduced and the electric company gave every family two bulbs for free; that was many years ago, but the technology has come a long way.
I’ve been shopping at Whole Foods for a while now, and I always prefer organic food to mass produced groceries. It may cost more, but it does taste much better! And it’s better for you!
lol! Well, the people at OhMiBod are wonderful! They’ve become good friends and they make a great product too!
Thanks sweetie!
xoxo,
nina
15nina
wrote on 14 March 2007 at 19:43
Hi Richard,
I did get your emails but I was out of my home office today at a seminar and I haven’t had a chance to answer them yet. Hopefully when I get home tomorrow afternoon I won’t be too tired from traveling to get to that. Have a safe trip tho!
xoxo,
nina
16Dave
wrote on 15 March 2007 at 8:43
OK i’m new here… what’s stay naked sunday?
17nina
wrote on 15 March 2007 at 20:04
Hi Dave,
Stay Naked Sunday is how I’ve spent the winter. Sundays reading the paper in bed, breakfast in bed, relaxing, naked. That kind of thing.
xoxo,
nina