Yesterday turned out to be a pleasant enough day outside. I got to enjoy it in many parking lots, walking from my car into the stores and back again. My son joined me and we managed to spend some good one on one time with each other, he got use some of his gift certificates that he got for his birthday last week and we even stopped at the park so he got to play on the new playground equipment for a good while. I sat at the newly installed Picnic Tables, which are a bit more comfortable then the hard Park Benches that have been there for way too long and I got to read a little more of my book and he got to use up some energy on the playground.
It is supposed to be unusually warm this up coming week, but cloudy and rainy, but that is O.K. we really need the rain and it is better than being freezing cold and snowing! I a so ready for spring, I am not a winter loving person at all.
I am looking forward to spring so that hubby and I can start preparing our veggie garden out in the backyard again. Last year wasn’t the greatest, we learned a lot from it and hope that we will do much better and that our harvest will much more plentiful. My favorite was the cantaloupes, they take up a lot of space in the garden, but if we do it right this year it will be wonderful.
It seems like it was just a few months ago that I found the perfect garden arbors and brought them home to put in the yard. I have always loved the look of those old fashioned wooden arbors so when I found a great “too good to be true” deal online I jumped on it and got me some real beauts.
As much as I love the autumn weather, it is a constant reminder that winter, and all that goes along with that each and every year, is right around the corner. I don’t like the cold and the wet and the wind, ugh. I like spending time outside, not being stuck inside with layers of clothing on and constantly trying to keep warm without turning up the heat since heating oil has become so darned expensive.
Waiting until next April or May to be able to spend time outside and in the yard, especially my garden, seems like light years away. I have bought some seeds for a great vine to plant next spring that I hope will grow up and down and all around the one arbor and I’m looking into finding a great flowering vine to grow on the other one.
Is it Spring yet?
Now is a good time to have someone come out and see just how energy efficient your home is. The cold weather is hitting us harder with each waking day and it will only get colder and colder from here. The cost of heating our homes has sky rocketed and having an home energy audit is a great way to find out what you can do in order to make your home less costly to heat, as well as air conditioned come the hot weather months.
I had my home looked at last year and they were the ones that prompted me to purchase and have installed my energy efficient windows that I am so happy with. And I got a good tax break from getting them as well, so it was well worth the time and money that I spent on them, especially when I get my heating and a/c utility bill now. There are lots of companies that will come out and do this service for you. I used the Homeenergyteam.com website and it worked quick and easy like for me so I feel comfortable passing this information along here today.
I have always hated the plastic bags that retail has been forcing us to use for most of our purchases. I’m so glad that there is such a push for folks to purchase the reusable cloth bags. I really like it when you can find one that is made of recycled items. Just these small things will make a big difference in the whole scheme of things.
I understand that some places are making these plastic bags against the law for stores to use and some places have even started folks 5 cents per bag right at the cash register. What a hassle, but I really think that it is a step in the right direction. It isn’t easy being green, as Kermit The Frog was so well known for singing about.
My oldest sister is always sending emails out to us with tips that she has found and has tried herself to be true. The latest one sounded a bit wacky but come to find out that it works. Instead of using expensive fabric softener in your washing machine or the dryer sheets to keep away the static cling that inevitably happens, you can use distilled white vinegar that will do the same thing. All you have to do is fill the place in your machine that holds the liquid fabric softener with the vinegar and let the machine run it’s normal course and you are good to go. It’s cheaper and better for the environment, both good reasons to switch.
I’ve decided to take a look around at the various website hosting providers that are now joining in on the green movement. I have always tried to do what I could to help the environment, recycling has always been a big deal to and I tend to get on my recycling soap box more than some people would like me to, but I really feel strong about the cause and I really wish more people would take it a bit more seriously. I mean it really isn’t hard for heaven’s sake and it is well worth the little bit of effort that it takes to recycle.
So when I found out that their were green options out there for web hosting I really want to do my research and see what that is all about. I found a great web hosting rating and directory site at Webhostinggeeks.com and I’d like to urge others to go there as well and see all that they have to offer in reviewing the ones that have gone green. I think that I’m going to switch to GreenGeeks which is number 5 on their list of their Top Ten Eco-friendly Web Hosts and are only $4.95 month. You can’t go wrong with that now can you?
It’s interesting to read what is going on in the web hosting industry. We all have the opportunity to choose what web hosting provider we think will do the best job for us for the money that we pay out to them for their important services that they provide for us. So just like anything else that we purchase, some type of research only makes sense and there are some good tools available for us to use to do just that. So I’ve spent some time at webhostingfan.com checking out what they have to say about the various web hostings that are out there for us to use. I had no idea that there were providers out there that are going “GREEN” and was happy to read what all these particular providers are doing in order to become a brighter shade of green with all of the concerns going on these days with our environment issues.
The leading providers in the industry that are offering eco-friendly services are GreenGeeks, FatCow, iPage, Hostgator, Hostpap and SiteCloud, something that you should consider next time you decide to sign on the dotted line for your web hosting needs and wants. I really wish that these companies got more attention paid to their efforts in the industry. It would be a really good thing to see a story on the news informing the public about this important issue. We are always hearing ways to get greener in our every day lives, but I have never once heard them say that we can help out by choosing one of these companies to handle our web hosting needs.
For more information about this subject I would urge you to check out webhostingfan.com and read for yourself and then hopefully pass the word along to others and help get the word out for more people to learn about these efforts and options. Not only do they have all the latest news in the web hosting industry but they have ratings and reviews a plenty and their blog, I found, is most interesting and was helpful as well, not just a bunch of advertising mumbo jumbo that so many sites are offering these days on their blogs.
The only place that I have seen these garden rain chains that I have fallen in love with is online. I haven’t seen any type of rain chain in any store that I have been in, nor have I seen rain chains in any one’s yard or garden which is just weird. But I do have to say that I don’t get the chance to frequent many people’s back yards, but still. I’ve shown several people the web site rainchainlink.com that I have found that has tons of these beautiful arts of work that are perfect to place around outside just about anywhere, and no one has seen them around anywhere.
So not only will I be the first one to have a bronze address plague installed but it looks like I’ll be the first one to have some of these lovely looking and working rain chains adorning my back and side yard. I’m thinking that these would be great Christmas presents for several people that I always have to buy presents for each year and struggle to find the right gift to get them. The prices for these pieces range from around $60 to just under $300 and that works well for me at this point. Check them out and see what you think.
