Checking out at the grocery store recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.

• I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.”
• The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today.  Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
• She was right about one thing — our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then…? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day here’s what I remembered we did have….
• Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. So they really were recycled.
• We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building.
• We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.  But she was right. We didn’t have the green thing in our day.
• Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers because we didn’t have the throw-away kind.
• We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts — wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.
• Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
• Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house — not a TV in every room.  And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
• In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us.
• When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
• Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.
• We exercised by working so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
• We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.
• We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.  But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
• Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
• We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

 

And that is just the tip of the iceberg.  Can you remember things our parents and grandparent’s did when we were growing up that would now be considered “green”?

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• 2 cups Soap, grated* See Below
• 1 cup Washing Soda (or Baking Soda)
• 1 cup Borax

Mix well and process in the food processor with the chopping blade until you get the soap shreds fairly fine.

Store soap in an airtight plastic container.

Use 2 Tbsp for each load.

Soaps I recommend:

Fels Naptha
Zote
Octagon

I like to use a mix of both Fels and Ivory.

Note: if you use Fels Naptha or Zoat soaps, they are already heavy duty laundry soaps so the borax and soda are not necessary.

The washing soda is a degreaser and water softener (Baking Soda CAN be used for a milder version) and the Borax also softens water as well as brightens and deodorizes.

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1. My Favorite Spray Cleaner

This stuff cuts through all kinds of grease and other yucky stuff.  In fact, I used it to clean down a set of cabinets I got from someone who was remodeling their kitchen.  The dirt and grime just melted off.
*I would not recommend using this on wood surfaces unless they are painted and you plan on rinsing with a damp rag.

1/2 tsp liquid dish soap

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp of washing soda

1 tsp of Borax

2c warm water

A couple drops of essential oil (optional)

Dissolve borax and Washing soda into the warm water then add dish soap and lemon juice.  Mix well and pour into spray bottle.  Excellent degreaser, but be careful on wood surfaces.

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WARNING!: If you have a heart – this WILL make you cry!

A group of professional people posed this question
to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?”.

The answers they got were broader and
deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what
you think:

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t
bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my
grandfather does it for her all even when his
hands got arthritis, too. That’s Love.
Rebecca – age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name
is different. You just know that your name is safe
in their mouth.”
Billy – age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy
puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell
each other.”
Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody
most of your French fries without making them give
you any of theirs.”
Chrissy – age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.”
Terri – age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy
and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to
make sure the taste is OK.”
Danny – age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you
get tired of kissing, you still want to be
together and you talk more. My
Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross
when they kiss”
Emily – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas
if you stop opening presents and listen.”
Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better, you should
start with a friend who you hate.”
Nikka – age 6

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt,
then he wears it everyday.”
Noelle – age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old
man who are still friends even after they know
each other so well.”
Tommy – age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I
was scared. I looked at all the people watching
me and saw my daddy waving
and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I
wasn’t scared anymore.”
Cindy – age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t
see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”
Clare – age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of
chicken.”
Elaine-age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty
and still says he is handsomer than Robert
Redford.”
Chris – age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even
after you left him alone all day.”
Mary Ann – age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives
me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy
new ones.”
Lauren – age 4

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and
down and little stars come out of you”
Karen – age 7

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and
she doesn’t think it’s gross.”
Mark – age 6

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you
mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a
lot. People forget.”
Jessica – age 8

And the last one — Author and lecturer Leo
Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked
to judge. The purpose of the
contest was to find the most caring child. (Now
this will melt your heart.)

The winner was a four-year old child whose next
door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had
recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry,
the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard,
climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When
his Mother asked him what he had said to the
neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just
helped him cry.”

How do you know love when you see it?

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Mix yeast, oil, and warm water until yeast is dissolved.
Let sit 5 min to bloom.
Add flour sugar and mix until a dough forms.
Put into an oiled bowl, turning to coat and let rise to double. (approx 1 hr).
Form into 2 loaves and place into
Well greased bread pans.
Let rise to double.
Bake @ 350 for 35 to 45 min.
Cool in pans slightly, then remove pans and cool the rest of the way on a rack.

*note: my loaf pans are huge. I make 2 loaves plus 9 4 1/2 oz rolls for dinner or sliders.

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