Rain, Rain, Go Away or Rainy Days and Mondays

The rain barrel is full (40 gallons) and my yard is a swamp. The weatherman says we're lined up for three more days of rain before we start to dry out. Really, three more days of rain. Our dog, Marley, runs downstairs and hides every time the thunder starts. You would think that someone told him how to ride out stormy weather as he  hides out in the shower in the downstairs bathroom. It's cute and sad at the same time. With three more days of rain on the way, I might as well move his crate downstairs as that is where he will be living till the sun comes out again.

American "Urban" Gothic...

Kinda looks like "She and I" to the right.

I have started reading "The Urban Homesteader" by Coyne and Knutzen. It is billed as the "bible" of urban sustainability. They discuss everything form cleaning your house with dangerous chemicals, growing seasonal crops in the backyard, and how to raise bees in your yard so that you can make mead.

The book seems to be written in easy conversational tone with a gentle sense of humor. I'm looking forward to trying some of the projects in the book and will keep you posted.

After having thought about it for a minute, I wonder how hard it will be to convince the neighbors, who already have a problem with our dog that barks on occasion, that I really need to keep bees and that they are absolutely safe. Probably easier not to just not tell them.

Breakfast On The Run.

If you haven't heard of breakfast cookies you have lived a sheltered life. Erin Baker's Breakfast Cookies are the best way to get a healthier start to a busy day.

These cookies manage to mix great flavor with whole grain, nutritional value. There are eleven outstanding flavors (caramel apple is my personal favorite). Erin also does "limited edition" flavors like pumpkin spice and gingerbread during the holidays.

A little background information about Erin Baker, she and the company, are an official sponsor of The Ironman Competition and they also sponsor their own triathlon team.

Coffee and cookies, there is no better breakfast on the go.

Coffee Lowers Risk of Cancer.

I am a coffee fanatic and the best news I heard yesterday was that drinking coffee can greatly reduce a persons risk of getting the deadliest form of prostate cancer. National Public Radio reported that 6 cups of java per day can lower your risk by 60%.

So I fired up my favorite machine in the kitchen and brewed up a wonderful cup of "Newman's Own". The best thing about k-cup machines is the wide selection of Fair Trade and organic coffees you can buy and the single serving brewers don't waste water or electricity keeping a huge pot warm.

A Little Background Information.

I am a middle-aged guy who has developed this itch (no penicillin needed) over the past 5-10 years to find some way to leave his mark on the world. It is the want to be more than a bleep in the grand scheme of things that is driving me.

I am married a women who truly loves me and pushes me to put my words into action. Although she will never admit it to her self, she does an amazing job raising three children while pursuing her Doctorate.

We have three children that I am very proud of because they make me smile, frown, snort, and on the rare occasion yell at and sometimes with them. They are each wonderfully unique and challenge us to be the best parents we can.

It is because of my family that I have decided to set out on this journey. I want to teach our children that life is not the ultimate winner-takes-all reality show. Sometimes the best gift received is the smile or tear given in gratitude. Gratitude for something as simple as a drink of clean water.

Let's get started.

In The Beginning....

I have decided to start living a more "sustainable" lifestyle. Now before any of my family starts to panic, I am not going "Eco-Terrorist here. What I am doing is trying to make sure that the things that I do and the purchases that I make are friendlier to the planet and those who reside on it.

I wish I could say that I came this idea twenty years ago, but that wouldn't be true. Over the last couple of years I've really began to develop a want to have a lower impact on this world that we all share. I've done all the easy things; replaced all the light bulbs with compact fluorescents, installed a programmable thermostat, made sure that there is plenty of blown in insulation in the attic, and even installed a rain barrel to catch the water off the roof.

What I'm doing now is trying to make sure that as many of our everyday purchases as possible are planet friendly. Fair Trade, sustainable, and organic are the newest editions to my vocabulary. The challange is how to do this without having a huge impact on the pocket book. After all, money doesn't grow on trees.

P.S. Sorry if the title is a little over the top.