And I'm back from the unannounced summer hiatus. (In the podcasting world it is known as pod-fade. I wonder what it is in the web world.) It is amazing how the whirlwind of life can come and grab you. Taking you along whether you want to go or not, then drop you off in a place you never thought you would be.

Oh never mind with that..... So in this summer's whirlwind we did continue to do our best to live green and save some green in the process. Here are our experiences:

Gardening

Master Gardener I am not. But hey, I tried. And I kept trying. Never gave up, though some of the plants did.

Some are still on life support others died a tragic death. Let me explain.

Due to poisoned ground around our house, a level of lead in the soil I am uncomfortable with, we have decided to only garden in containers. Who knew that plants don't water themselves? And that container gardens need frequent watering? Ok, I did. But then again I was lucky to feed and water the children this summer. They are doing better than life support :)

Lucky enough the tomatoes faired as well as could be expected. No one in our area has had a good crop of tomatoes this year; unseasonable weather. The Tomatoes had bigger pots so more soil to hold water and a better caregiver, my spouse.

As for my experiment of the upside down tomato plant; well not sure which did it in more. Remember, there wasn't regular watering on my part AND the poor weather conditions. It grew, kind of. It never did flower. We'll try again next year.

Now, as for my herb containers (Ok I did one, because I never got to the others) has been hanging on for dear life. I don't know how many times it has come back from the brink of death. First, some creature attacked it. I tried to reseed it once. I was just going for a simple basil and oregano container. There are two types basil and oregano and I can't tell the difference just looking. It is a good thing they go well together in the cooking I do. Then my watering issue again. Then my 5 year old decided to help me out and over watered the plants. Then... well you get the idea. But it keeps hanging on. I guess there is a lesson for life for me in this container.

Living Locally and the Stay-cation

No family summer vacations this year. As many other people, we had to make some choices.

Instead, we took the opportunity to support our local attractions. We attended free plays and concerts in our parks, visited local museums and galleries. It was much calmer than spending hours in the car to get somewhere and cramming a whole bunch of things in a short period of time. Not to mention the saving money on hotels and flights.

That is not to say we didn't leave town. We did, but it was a short distance drives for us. We sent the kids to family (individually of course) to stay for a week. And for a grown up getaway, my spouse and I drove to Chicago. Where we hit the galleries and museums on free days and another free concert at Grant Park. We did stay downtown and we WALKED everywhere. Something we decided we need to get back into regularly.

We tried to attend the local farmer's markets regularly. That turned out to be a hit and miss. But we keep trying.

We also have another goal to support locally owned businesses more from farmers, to restaurants to the small grocers. This can get difficult because of prices. So we are more selective and if it is close we will go with the locally owned business. You do what you can with what you got. We have met several of the owners who are really appreciative and love when you offer to spread the word to others by passing out cards and flyers for them. Each member of a community has to help others in the community. I do believe what goes around comes around.

So what's next on Living Green...

• I owe you an article on Cleaning Green 2. I know that for sure.
• Green Holiday ideas and we have a few coming up here fast.
• I will also be posting short blog posts/introductions of "green" websites I come across that may be helpful to you.
• As well as, some neat green ideas I have run across.
• And maybe a guest blogger or two. This ought to be interesting.

Well here we go. I hope all is well out there. Hope to hear from some of you. Your contributions are welcome anytime. Just contact me and we'll work together to get it up on here.

Peace.

Technorati Tags: Living Green