It’s been over a week since OUC, our power company, wrongfully shut off our power while we were away for a week and a half. (It’s a long story that I won’t bore you with.) We returned on late Sunday afternoon to an incredibly hot and stinky house. I got it straightened out, but they would not be turning on our power until the next day. Luckily, I knew how to open the garage door so we were able to go get dinner and hung out at a bookstore for several hours, but we had to sleep in our humid house. Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep that night and I felt bad for my husband because he had a crazy day ahead of him at work on Monday. (*Thank goodness we have headlamps in our hurricane stash!)
While it was irritating to have to deal the with the heat, the thing that really inflamed me was the fact that I had at least $200 worth of groceries in my refridgerator that had to be tossed. What a complete waste of food when there are people starving around the world! I didn’t mind having to clean the biohazard that was my kitchen (not that it was fun!), but it really broke my heart as I tossed my once beautiful wedges of cheese that were now moldy, perfectly packed steaks and shrimp, all the condiments that were still over 80% full, several cartons of OJ and soy milk that we always stock up on, and much more. Argh!
I can't wait until I buy a home so I can start living off the grid! E and I have always talked about how we plan to install solar panels (even back when we lived in NY where it's not nearly as sunny) and say sayonara to OUC and all the other power companies! In fact, since we now live in FL, we'll probably even generate enough power to sell back to them. Ha!
I got up at the crack of dawn this morning even though I was up at 1am last night writing my last blog entry. After all, I had a very important appointment that I didn’t want to be late for. It’s garage sale day and the early bird gets the good deals! K and I are both shopaholics that are also concerned about the environment, so this allows up to help recycle things to keep them out of landfills while also helping us to save money on the things we need (or just plain want!).
In the spirit of thrifty fun, I made healthy snackies to take on our adventure. We each for a whole wheat tortilla with organic peanut butter (the store was out of almond butter, drats!), raisins, and bananas. I also packed a few cereal bars and my own granola trail mix into a Winnie the Pooh lunchbox that I had found while unpacking earlier this week. K picked me up so that we could carpool, and she had mapped out a super efficient course that allowed us to hit about 10 garage sales, estate sales, and church rummage sales!
Some of my fave finds of the day include:
* banana tree for $1 – the market by me seems to only sell green bananas, so I always have to wait a few days before I can eat them. I like them with a few spots, so now I don’t have to wait as long!
* Colorado coffee table book for 50 cents – E has always wanted to live there (even though he’s never actually been there), but I know he’ll just love these gorgeous pictures.
* Spain guidebook for 50 cents – I’ve always wanted to visit Spain, so now I’ll be ready when the opportunity arises!
* brand new Paul Frank pjs for $1 – Even though this fits me, I got it for Georgeann because it’s sooo her, plus she’ll look so cute in it!
* new bag of the faux spider web stuff that you put up for Halloween for 50 cents. I’m hoping to have my home in shape for a party by Halloween! =)
* Canasta Caliente card game for 75 cents – I have no clue what this is, but the box explains that it’s “hot, hot gin rummy.” Dan loves all card games, so I picked it up for him. I love sending him care packages!
* adorable reindeer napkin rings for $2 – if I can get my house ready for a Halloween party, then I’ll also be ready for holiday parties too!
And there were so many other great deals, such as a 10 cent sewing hand book, brand new zippers for 25 cents, and wonderful Christmas crochet pattern books for 10 cents… can you tell I’m on a crafting kick?!
K had some amazing bargains too! I’d say her best find was a set of 10 funky glasses that looked almost new for only 25 cents each! Honestly, if she didn’t get it, I would have snatched them right up!
While I wouldn’t say that we absolutely *needed* everything we bought, but they’re all certainly useful – and if I find that I no longer need it anymore, I’ll sell them at my own garage sale! That’s right, K and I were so inspired by our green shopping adventure today, that we’ve decided to join forces and host our own in two months! You can bet you’ll be hearing all about the planning efforts soon!
**Side note: we found out that surprisingly, Friday morning is the optimal time to go to garage sales! Turns out a lot of the good stuff was gone before we had a fighting chance at it! This is good to know for our future trips since we both have our own businesses and can decide when we want to take off for green shopping trips! ll in the name of recycling of course!
In my never-ending quest to learn how to save the world, I joined an environmental meetup group and met them for dinner tonight. It was such a great experience!
The people I met were true environmentalists that devote their lives making a difference in the environment by getting down and dirty in regular clean up activities as well as educating others on how to be green.
I learned about an Audubon Society project called Eagle Watch that I'm very interested in volunteering for. I've already emailed the coordinator and am bummed that I'll have to wait until Monday at the earliest to get more information. I guess everyone deserves their weekends!
I also met a man that's running for the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District and got the scoop on the history and inner workings of eco-politics. It was my first true glimpse into the life of a politician working to pass eco-friendly initiatives against the powerful developers with deep pockets. Fascinating!
Needless to say, I enjoyed the discussions (I admittedly did more listening than talking, but I'm learning more!) and the venue was one that I will definitely revisit! We went to Dandelion Communitea Cafe which serves up healthy, organic food with organic libations (that range from loose teas to beer) all in a funky atmosphere that reminds me of my beloved East Village! I had the hearty chili with a curry cashew quinoa pilaf and my tummy was very happy!! I also enjoyed a berry elixir tonic--don't ask me what it was because I just know that it was yummy! If you're in the area, I highly recommend you stop by... they also have live music and lots of community events. You may even see me there with my new environment buddies!
I've been away for quite some time now... but I assure you that I've been very productive!
I spent almost a month this summer in China and Thailand to visit family, but I learned a lot about their green practices -- which I'll share in future blog posts.
I also started the mission:POSSIBLE! team for the Florida Relay For Life event in honor of my grandpa-in-law that recently passed away. Here's a link for more info or to donate: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/mission__possible
A lot of my time has been spent redesigning the website, and I hope that have that completed soon... so stay tuned!
In the meantime, check out this addictive word game that helps end hunger! http://www.freerice.com
Smiles, lily