that was corny, sorry.

anyway, our electric bill is down another $2. i have started tracking day-to-day usage, just for a week or two to get an idea of our daily usage. so how did i get our bill from over $100 in just last year to $67 this year? i’ll tell ya. a. luke is on day shift so there are no lights on all night long.
1. we put 2 clotheslines on our covered porch, and only use the dryer when there are more clothes than room on the lines. 2. anything that doesn’t need to be plugged in, isn’t. 3. the pc & accesories, the tv, dvd player, ps2, receiver and record player are on power strips that get turned off when not in use.
so what else has changed around here?
we now have a recycle bin for cans (soda and food), glass and plastics. the only paper that gets picked up for recycling in our area is newspaper and we don’t get any so, oh well.
we use our own bags at grocery stores, and when i remember other stores, too.
***by-the-way, if you have plastic grocery bags and need to get rid of them, let me know, luke uses them for work.***
we have almost exclusively used a push reel mower this summer. the first 2 times were with the gas powered mower that i broke.
i leave lights off during the day and open the curtains and blinds for natural light.
and of course, we are growing a ton of our own herbs. rosemary, basil, chives, parsley, oregano, sage and lemon verbena. not to mention the peppers and the huge honking pumpkin, that i may have started too early.

We used to be able to buy 2 weeks worth of groceries for $100 and actually get “real” food, veggies and fruit and the like.
Today, not so much.
There is an “obesity epidemic” in the US, correct? Could it partly be that many can only afford the cheap, processed foods that have little nutritional value?
I know that it can’t be completely blamed on that but that has to be a factor.
 

Our plants are doing great, see post over at neverland express.

Our electric bill went down another $4 this month. luke rolls his eyes every time i unplug something but there is no denying that it’s working.

I took the Dog Age test at dogage.com, Brutus’ supposed people age is 38.6.
By dog standards though he’s an old fart.
The cats are 18 according to the test.

 

 

We are borrowing a reel mower from Mark and Dorie. It is harder than I thought it would be to use.

My plants are starting to grow again YEAH!

 

 

 

it was making a strange noise. the deck was all jammed up with grass, so i cleaned it. cleaning it required me to tip it on it side. when i tipped it back up i had to let it sit because it refused to restart. so i went to look for the doo-hickey that shoots the grass out the side. luke called whilest i was inside, so i talked to him. i go back out to put the grass shooter on and at the very least finish the section i started. so i prime it 3 times and go to pull. nope, the puller is now stuck. could that be from the tipping? probably. a sarah powered reel mower is looking more and more wonderful.

we get a diary DAIRY magazine every month, that i will admit is biased, but they do try to have people write both sides of an issue. anyway, this magazine and an article that i can’t seem to find on msn pointed out something that would never have occured to me. we all know that most food has to travel a fair distance to get to the grocery store (even organics) and uses alot of oil and oil by products to be made and transported. but so do locally grown foods. huh? yup. that, of course, is not say that local isn’t better, but just remember to figure that tractors were probably used to harvest the food and transport, if at a farmer’s market, was likely a gas powered car.

like yesterday

Nike Reuse a Shoe Program