Breathing Earth

This is interesting. Turn your sound on, too.

CLICK PICTURE and watch for awhile.
I'm not saying it's good or it's bad. It is simply something interesting.
Different actions occur to indicate carbon emissions, births, deaths, etc.
Thot: Mind boggling to think of the blinks that would show
if every aborted baby was also shown.

Going "green"

I have written a bit about living frugally here on the blog. Many frugal life styles are actually good for the environment. So you help your pocket book as well as the environment.

Most of the years while I raised my family, I did not have a dryer so the clothes were hung out to dry in the sun or in the snow or in the house when it rained. With a large family, you were washing and "drying" all the time. However, when we were finally able to get a dryer, I found that MY ENVIRONMENT had changed in that I NO LONGER HAD A COLD/CROUP all winter long.

Something helped and we really think it was the dryer.

Anyway, I do use my own shopping bags most of the time. I dump the coffee grounds in the yard. I do not really compost. I buy green cleaning products when they are affordable. I share my magazines with others. I recycle my printer cartridges and earn $3 for each. We recycle all that our recycle service will pick up (and we pay to have it picked up). We save and reuse containers. I save bread bags and roll them. They store better when rolled and they are convenient to use. Saves a bit on buying plastic wrap or plastic bags.

I do indulge in buying plastic baggies - aren't the zipper bags great! I do worry about the plastic and other debris in the oceans of the world. I love a clean earth and the beauty of it. But I do not believe that man has caused global warming. I do believe that man should not "strip" the earth of its forests (be sensible here, folks), nor do I believe that man should strip-mine the mountains.

I love a warm house and don't know what the best source of being able to maintain that warm house really is. I am delighted to live in a nice house and not a cave or a Soddy. We've come a long way here in the civilized world, we just need to know how to keep it nice without trashing it.

Chat With Vera's frugal posts: Here is one or you can "search this blog" by typing in frugal in the search box in the top right hand column.

Having your say

If you have looked over my blog in its entirety, you have seen logos for websites of various types. I have encouraged you to investigate the areas where you can stretch your money a bit by using coupons when you shop. The coupon links are listed in the side bar.

I have also encouraged you to investigate the area of sharing your OPINION on various topics through confidential and dependable survey sites. Sometimes they want your opinion on how you shop and what you like to buy. They sometimes want your opinion on a new product that a company is about to launch. (This can lead to the occasional product-test which is nice and fun.) Those of you who have families at home will find that you are given the opportunity to share your opinion on more topics and more frequently than I am given.

Why not take advantage of it? You can do "your opinion sharing" while you are relaxing with that cup of coffee or tea, coke, or whatever you like. But do take advantage of the opportunity. Simply click on the links I have provided and have fun. You can have a "voice" in what is in the market place or simply what is going on on the economic and political scene. And while you are doing it, you can pick up a few dollars here and there. And who knows? You might get that product to test and keep.


Survey sites: SurveySavvy, MySurvey, OpinionOutpost, Buzzback,
Product testing: InHomeProductTesting, VocalPoint

Heirloom Heritage Blooms

Pictured is a lovely azalea that is the result of a "sprout" that came up from the roots of a large azalea bush in my parent's yard in Wilmington, NC. The home is no longer in the family and my parents are both deceased. However, a little history on the azalea. My parents were determined to have a beautiful azalea garden. (The Azalea Festival in Wilmington, NC is famous and long-standing as a celebration of the beautiful area azaleas and gardens.) Mom and Dad collected cuttings from specialty plants that area gardeners shared with them. They had a wide assortment and a show-case garden.

When we closed the home and sold it, I was determined to have a bit of their garden for my home. So I found two tiny sprouts and brought them to my own home. What you see is one of them in bloom. Isn't it lovely.

Heirloom - treasure

The lovely jonquils (or whatever you want to name them) that are pictured at the top of Chat With Vera are a family treasure. These were taken from my husband's home-place nearly 50 years ago. His dear mother wanted to share them with us and dug a cluster up for us to plant at our home. I moved them to our present home five years ago. They are lovely and bring back so many memories of a lovely lady.

How about sharing with me (comment, please below) your memories of home and flowers? I'd love to hear from you and will post your comments unless you designate otherwise.

Come sit a spell with me

Chat With Vera is really just a "bloggy" means of sitting down with this Southern Lady and chatting about whatever strikes our/my fancy. I'm a lady. I'm Southern. I love family and friends. I love America. I love bargains. I love coupons. I love learning about new things, ideas, products, and ways to do things. I'm a seasoned senior southern sweetie that invites you to grab a cup of tea or a cup of java and sit a spell.

How about becoming a "follower" (see the side bar) or grab a "feed." I'd love to have your comments back to me about any of the things you see on here. Just click "comment" and leave your comment for me. I'll get an alert to check the comment. As long as you don't leave a comment that I feel is inappropriate, I'll leave it for any and all to see. You don't have to agree with me, either. Though I do, like most ladies, like a little praise.

Be my frequent "flyer" follower and join me. See ya soon!

The Time. . . .

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land (Song of Solomon 2:12 King James Bible)

Here in North Carolina we are seeing the bulbs pop up and bloom, birds cavorting, trees beginning to swell with buds that will soon burst forth with beautiful spring green leaves. It's getting warm. Today it was 70 degrees here. A trifling breeze was reminding us that winter is not yet gone, but enough sun shine to tell us that spring is just around the corner. In fact, there are only about three more days before it is officially here.

What can I say that poets and gloriously gifted authors have not already said and said it much more eloquently than I can even begin to express? But let's do say that spring is a glorious time of the year. It is a time of new beginnings. A time to burst forth with joy and newness. A time of color and warmth. A time to smile. A time for your heart to dance and your soul to rejoice.

Solomon says simply that "the flowers appear" and the "singing of birds is come." Simply said. But profound in impact and implication. How many flowers appear and in how many colors and how many shapes and sizes? How many different types and sounds of song come forth from the birds? We can not humanly imagine how diverse these two are - flowers and birds. The variety simply goes on and on and on.

But what we can as humans do is to rejoice at the sight of a beautiful flower as it unfurls its petals or feel in our heart the joy that resounds with the lilt of bird song wafting on the air.