posted by jax1215 on Mar 22
I have been a crafter for more years than I would like to admit. I was a “green” crafter before I knew what it was. I save everything. (really) Everything I see, I see a craft project. I drive friends and family nuts. But I love turning other-wise garbage into something useful.
Today I went on line looking for green crafters and found out I am not alone. I may be a lot older than the average “green” crafter but that’s OK. I found a FREE, online craft magazine http://www.creativetimesmagazine.com . It has many good articles. Still haven’t checked out all of it but enough to see it’s something I don’t mind getting emailed to me. I like the idea of free downloads, too.
This is one of my favorite re-purposed crafts. I found some old pallets and turned them into neat pumpkins. I made the leaves from some pine left over from another project.
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Mar 16
It’s surprising how your outlook can change in seconds. I am ever diligent in the lights off, don’t let the water run, keep the wood stove burning, etc. Well…..last Friday my husband had a massive heart attack and stroke and things have changed. I’ve had company, I’ve been driving a 3 hours (one way) to see him, even resorting to fast food. I cringe as I do some of these things. I follow my daughter around turning out lights. I pull recyclable materials out of the trash that friends toss away without thought.Maybe focusing on being green is helping me cope with what has happened.
I have learned to let the water run while I help my husband brush his teeth. (he lost the use of his left hand) I leave a light on so the trip to the bathroom will be safer for him. Right now I’ll just have to be “As green as I can be” . As he improves, so will I. I just want him well.
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Feb 26
Green As You Can Be is sponsoring an Earth Day celebration on April 25 and we are still looking for “green” vendors. The celebration will take place at the Shoppes of Brasstown Village in Brasstown, NC. I would love to find some more local vendors from the building trades.If you are interested, please leave a comment and I will get in touch.
It’s going to be a fun filled day with music, food, green vendors and arts and crafts. Mark you calendars and come to Brasstown for the day.
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Feb 23
We got our electric bill today. I had been looking forward to it, this time. Last month we added extra insulation, plugged up holes, closed off the uptairs, put up flannel curtains on windows that leaked cold air, used the wood burning stove to keep the great room heated and some things I know I’m forgetting. Did it pay off???? You bet it did. We saved $77. That’s BIG to me. Gives me more incentive to do even more. I know Winter is almost over (please???) but there is always next year.
posted by jax1215 on Feb 21
Spring cannot come soon enough for me. I’m tired of cold weather. This part of North Carolina is mild compared to some places. We don’t get a lot of ice and snow but the cold seems to go on forever.
The daffodils have poked their heads out of the ground so there is hope. The birds have begun to sing so Spring IS on the way.
My friend Dan has started thinking ahead. He had some scrap lumber laying around and some branches he gathered in the woods and came up with some really neat homes for the birds this Spring. Any bird would be proud to call them home.
Reuse, recycle, renew and re-purpose.
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Feb 14
I am a huge tea drinker. I hate heating up the stove every time I need a cup. I don’t like to make it in the microwave. I was OK with it when I had a gas stove but when we moved to the new house I was back to electric and wasting energy. On a trip to a big city (2 1/2 hours away) I discovered this hot water kettle. I LOVE red. ( I love Ohio State football) I love this kettle. I can heat enough water , just to the boiling point and then it shuts itself off. No wasted energy. So even though I love red, I love being green more.
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Jan 26
There are many places cold air can sneak in. Your wall sockets are one of the sneaker ones. We bought a box of insulators to take care of the problem For less than $5 we sealed all the outlets that were on outside walls.
Maybe by the time Winter is over, we will be “weather proof”
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Jan 7
As we know, heat rises. When we went to turn on the ceiling fan we discovered, like everything else in this place, the fan did not work properly. First of all, the pull chain was missing. We fixed that, then we noticed that the fan wobbled. After much swearing, my favorite handyman got it balanced. After cleaning years of dust off the blades it worked. Now we can pull the warm air down from the ceiling and keep our room toasty warm.
What have you done this winter to save energy???
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Jan 6
There is not one window in this house that does not need to be sealed. (Can you buy caulk by the pallet) Finding the right color of caulk posed a problem. But we lucked out and we went right to work. We ran out but at least we did the north and west sides. Most of our cold weather comes in from the west. On the next trip into town we’ll buy some more . It’s been raining for days so we can’t do much outside anyway. The weather is warm right now but we may have snow later in the week so I must get moving on making my “Winter” curtains. I’ll post them when the are done.
Jax
posted by jax1215 on Jan 2
I needed to start the New Year right with my green pledge, so I dragged my not so green husband down to home improvement store and bought some insulating materials. My electric bill at the new place is horrendous and I am out to fix all the leaks and other problems. 
We put insulation on the pipes exposed to the weather.
More soon.
Jax