Garden Update

I have tomatoes and peppers! Sadly, my squash and cucumbers went kaput. I've learned a few harsh lessons in this foray into container gardening. You have to be very vigilant in watering. I don't mean you MUST water everyday, but you have to keep tabs on the soil moisture and I failed at this. I did manage to not get the dreaded hornworms, so my tomato plants are very healthy. I also have other smaller tomato plants that I hope will produce well into early fall. Yum!

I have decided that the front porch is not the best place for container gardening, so I'm going to work hard to have a raised bed in my back yard for next year. I've had a wonderful garden there in the past, but with the seasonal flooding, it was not an option this year. We have decided to raise the bed to three feet, so to prevent any future flooding from damaging my prospective garden. If I can pull it off, I'm adding a raised mulching bed too. This will help to cut back on my trash production, as well as add some awesome enriched fertilizer to my garden.

I handed off some of the heirloom yellow pear tomatoes to my friends a few streets over and they agreed with me on the awesome flavor. I think I will plan to incorporate more heirloom varieties on my next go around. You really just can't beat the flavor. I've got lots a beautiful basil growing, so I'm thinking about making a beautiful tomato/basil salad today. I'll also prepare some of that lovely sweet corn Ms. Jane was so generous in sharing with me and some if that wonderful squash from Mom's garden. Life is good and my meal today will be superb!

My landlord finally ridded me of that Yucca plant that went all alien on me. If you don't know the story, I have a Spanish style stucco house that had this gorgeous Yucca plant in front of the big windows. Unfortunately, an ice storm in 2006 ruined it. The plant was so damaged that I thought it was dead. It cloned its self into four new plants that where off shooting from the main plant and completely overtook my flower bed. It now no longer resembled the beautiful plant that was here when I moved in, but looked like some alien strain of cactus. It was hideous. Luckily it is now just a bad memory and I have the opportunity to start something new in that space. I'm thinking a butterfly bush and some other great flowers to attract butterflies. I think it's time to change the energy of that part of the yard. Maybe add a bench or two and hopefully a glide swing. I really want an inviting area, where you just want to sit and enjoy the outdoors. Hmmm to Craig's list I go to see if anyone wants to get rid of some lawn furniture. Yes guys, still sticking to my "NOTHING NEW" vow. I can tell you it's been really tough, but getting easier as time passes.

I've been reading a lot about using ladybugs to help control pest in your garden. I have found a place to purchase some, so I'm going to order a couple of gross and will keep you guys updated on my progress. I'm kinda excited about the prospect of having more butterflies and ladybugs in my garden. What could be more inviting?

Yoga.........Smogah

Okay, so when someone mentions yoga, most of you get that glazed look and tune out, right? I know, I know, yoga makes you think of super thin, bendy people, who are most likely vegetarians, who have this weird ability to be peaceful in the most stressful of moments. Plain and simple, those SCARY people! Well, I'm one of those scary people. Well, not really so scary, definitely not thin, but somewhat bendy. Although I eat pretty healthily, I can't let go of all meat to become vegetarian. Let's face it, steak is pretty freaking good. Unless the doctor tells me tomorrow.... "If you eat another piece of red meat again you will die!"..... I'm gonna indulge occasionally. I am an omnivore and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Still I applaud my vegan and vegetarian friends and I do try to be more like you guys everyday. ;)



I love yoga. I really do. After being one of those people that secretly laughed at the bendy ones, I was encouraged by a friend to give it a try. I was in my late 20's and looking for something to relieve stress after my divorce. After much eye rolling, and snarkisms, ssurprisingly, I fell in love with yoga. I felt soooo good when I did yoga. I felt stronger, more graceful, centered. I can honestly say that one of the most balanced times in my life, emotionally and physically, was when I was meditating and doing yoga. I continued this practice for many years, but when I hit the last few years of my late 30's, I picked up considerable weight. I didn't feel like I had the right body for yoga and let's face it, some of the positions were near impossible for me, I became discouraged and abandoned it.



Now let's fast forward to 2009. After turning 42, I realized I needed to re-assess my life. If you've been reading this blog, you already know some of the conclusions I came to. I realized that I missed my daily mediation and yoga routines, so I vowed to fit them in my schedule pronto! The meditation part was pretty easy........find a quiet corner and do breathing/visualization exercises.........ommmmmmmmmmmmm, but the yoga, oh the yoga, yeah..........my body still thwarted my efforts. I was determined, I tried very valiantly to do my old routines, but I suffered and resented every moment of it. Yoga no longer felt good. So, what's a round girl to do when boobs and a belly get in the way? Well, I'll tell you what you do, you look for yoga for people without typical bodies or physical abilities.



I started researching on the net. I typed in Yoga for heavier woman *wasn't willing to put in the word FAT in yet* and I came up with all types of hits. When I pushed my research a little farther, I found yoga for heavy people, yoga for women, yoga for people with back injuries, yoga for people that are bed bound, pretty much yoga for anyone person that had to desire to practice this great art. I was ecstatic!

Now I'm not gonna go through the litany of types of yoga here. I will tell you that Bikram and Hatha are the two I practice. These two types suit my needs and it's up to you to figure out what works for you.

A great find for us fuller figured people is "Yoga: Just My Size" with Megan Garcia. Megan also has a great book called "Mega Yoga", which helps you create your modified routine. There is an awesome dvd called "Yoga For the Rest of Us" with Peggy Cappy, which is great for non traditional bodies. You think you are too heavy, too old, too out of shape for yoga? Well this dvd may just change your mind. Another good option is a dvd called "Yoga In Bed". I used this some nights when I'm really tired, but still want to do a yoga routine to be faithful to my goal. It's great and I sleep like a baby afterwards!

If you research yoga, you can find there are all sorts of yoga. Yoga for back injuries, yoga for diabetes, yoga during pregnancy, the list goes on. Find something that fits your needs. Yoga can be for anyone, the trick is to find the one that suits you. Then one day, maybe you too can become one of the "bendy" ones. I hope this encourages some of you to just give it a try. I can't convey how much it helps me overall and I think if you just give it a chance, you'll soon be a convert too. Until next time, Namaste.

Green Goodies

I'm always on the look out for great ideas to live a greener existence. Hours are spent perusing the Internet, in search for cool and reasonably priced items. Today I'll pass along a few I've found.

Recently my old lunch bag gave out. KAPUT! It had been my son's lunch bag since 2000. Since he is now closing in on 21, this bag has seen 10 years of use. Not too shabby. It's an insulated bag, which decided to disintegrate during its last washing. I sighed and looked around the house for something that I could use in its place. No such luck. The cloth bags I used for groceries are out of the question, since I needed something insulated, because many times there is no room in the fridge at work. So I went on the hunt and found this site. http://www.laptoplunches.com/

Their products contain no phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) or lead, which is what I look for in such products. In case you are scratching your heads going phtha...........what? Or bisphenal who? I'll give a brief rundown on these compounds. Phthalate is used in plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, and durability. However, once the plastic starts to break down, which it invariably will, it releases the phthalate esters into the environment. This is bad because studies have reported that high levels of phthalates can cause changes in hormone levels, birth defects, and endocrine disruption. There are current studies going on that believe that this can lead to obesity and metabolic interference. BPA is also used in plastic and studies have shown that it is also an endocrine disruptor. Along with the side effects I listed above, there is also an increase risk in cancers, such as breast, prostate, and neuroblastoma. Nothing about these chemical compounds are positive and, in my opinion, need to be kept out of our environment.

The Bento lunch boxes and their sleeves look to be exactly what I am looking for. I 'bag' it a lot these days, partly because of money, but also as a part of my "cut down on my consumer consumption" pledge. I am most excited about the little container for salad dressing or sauce. Yay! I hate hauling around an entire bottle of dressing for just one lunch salad. This will also help on portion control. The site also comes with ideas and menus for lunch, which can help liven up a boring meal. One can only stand so many sandwiches.

The next goody is a somewhat cheap and easy to install, solar panel. This panel will not power your entire house, but it can be used to power tvs, computers, and some lights. We are all told about how much our computers drain on our electric grids. I power down my laptop everyday, but I have to leave up my PC, because I have Comcast Phone and it is powered by my PC. See my dilemma? I have been talking about installing a solar power for just powering my computer and my ex hubby recommended this http://www.harborfreight.com/45-watt-solar-panel-kit-90599.html.

This panel is right at $200 and seems to be just what I am looking for. I think I will put a few bucks away and purchase this in the next few months. I'll then report how much money I saved, due to running a few appliances off it's power.

I have some more things for you guys to check out, but I'll post those in coming blogs. Hope both or at least one of these items piques your interest. If you guys have ideas you'd like to pass along, please email me at greenermusings@gmail.com.

Simple Pleasures

Although a lot of this is about being 'greener', it's not the entire purpose of this blog. In my pledge to myself, I've promised to simplify. To stop and smell the roses, so to speak. I had two such opportunities this past week.

Is there anything as simple or as relaxing as soap bubbles? A friend at work gave me a bubble wand and I have utilized it almost every day since. When I'm feeling a little stressed at work, I blow them and with the help of my fan, send them over the wall to my neighbor, who gave me the bubbles. She will then gleefully exclaim "Bubbles!" and I'll laugh and blow a few more and it just give us both a moment of silliness. You'd think we were both six, instead of grown adults, but I think that regressing to that inner kid for short periods of time is very good for the soul. I think kids have it right. When kids are actually being kids and playing their little hearts out, there is very little stress and I think we could could learn a lot from children. We often forget two of the best elements in life............to have fun and to laugh. This last five months I have made it a point to have at least one good belly laugh a day and one instance of sublime silliness. So far so good and you know what? I'm a heck of a lot less stressed.

The second goes along with the playing aspect, but it has to do with pets. Studies report that people with pets are less stressed. I don't doubt it. Phantom and I had an evening where we played on my bed, her laying on her back, paws wrapped around my bed rail, while trying to capture my walking fingers. This play went on for about 20 mins, before she gave up and came to head butt me and rub my head affectionately with her own. After a pretty stressful day, this play had me very relaxed and smiling contently. Sometimes she is such good medicine, that I completely forgive her for her 'hell' kitty days.

We tend to think that money, power, or prestige will make us happier, but these two acts gave me a lot more smiles than I've had in a quite a while. Someone told me to find my bliss in everyday things and last week I was lucky enough to find two. Take time to enjoy the moment, for that moment will never return and regret is just more wasted moments.

Review of Sergeant's Nature's Guardian Natural Flea and Tick Squeeze

I'm always on the lookout for natural ways to do things. While looking for a natural alternative to prevent Phantom's fleas, I came across Sergent's Nature's Guardian Natural Flea and Tick Squeeze. I researched it some and decided to give it a try. I really, really wish I had researched this product more, before subjecting my pet to this. I am a bad cat mama. I would not recommend this to any animal lover. In fact, I think it should be removed from public consumption.


Many reviews mentioned the strong smell. The smell did not bother me at all, in fact, it made her smell like a Christmas kitty. The problem began a week after I had treated her. Suddenly she had three oozing blisters on her and now she has a patch of hair, about the size of a quarter, missing between her shoulder blades. After carefully washing the product off her and treating the wounds with antibiotic gel, she is on the mend. I, however, am eaten up with guilt.

After the horrible reaction, I again looked up the product, but this time with the tag of blisters in the search line. I was stunned by all the things the people were saying about this product. Apparently Phantom got off lightly. Many cats have had far worse reactions and in several cases it caused seizures and even death. I nearly cried when I realized I had put her in jeopardy. Sure I complain about her bad kitty behavior, but it's all in jest. I adore her and I never wish anything bad to happen to her. In fact my search for a natural alternative was an attempt to protect her from harsh chemicals.

I have not given up on my search for a natural treatment for her fleas. But, you can bet I will research the next product exhaustively, just to make sure she doesn't go through another ordeal like this one.