I'm so excited about this! We are getting a wine barrel to collect rain water.  There is a gutter that leaks water onto the path to our kitchen door, so were going to fix that by collecting the water instead.

As for planting, right now just flowers and hopfully anything that deers and other animals won't eat.  We have no grass on the property. So nice cause then we don't have to use the electric lawn mower which we are letting my parents borrow for now.

We have natural A/C - TREES!!!!!  When we were having that heat wave a few weeks ago it was 104 outside and a cool 84 inside.

There is also lots of windows so no need to turn any lights on during the day.

We don't have a garbage disposal. Well, unless you count the cat that lives outside.  I hope to compost, but have to figure out where and keep it animal safe.

We are on well water and have a septic system. The well water is yellow. We have a filter, but the water still tastes gross. I know it's not green, but we are buying water for now.  When we moved in the owners had the well inspected and it needs to be fixed/replaced.  So for now we are drinking bottled water to stay safe until it gets fixed.  With the septic system, we really have to watch what goes down the drain now.  I'm using organic soap for the dishes and clothes.

I'm so proud of myself. The other day when I went food shopping, I brought all 10 of my reusable bags and used them.  Now I just need to remember to bring them all again.

And since today is "Bike to work day" Dan road his bike to work today! Woo Hoo!!!  We also have some nice walking trails, so I don't have to drive somewhere to go walking.

Since this is public, if you want to know where we are now, please e-mail me. Thank you!

http://ebfarm.com/aboutus/SustainYourselfSustainThePlanet/index.aspx

I found this:

http://ecoadvantageusa.com/index.html 

They are also hiring. 

I came across this website, thought you might want to check it out. 

http://www.ecostiletto.com/

So, we've had ants in our pantry. The ants disappeared while we were in Oregon and then came back a few days later after we got home.  So, yesterday while at Costco I found a company that makes food storage containers in the USA!!!!

http://www.snapware.com/index.asp

So I bought the 12-piece set for our cereals and other misc food that I don't want the ants getting into.  Mind you I also have ant stakes set out that they are going after, but still, I need something to keep them out of the food.

It feels so good to buy something Made in the USA!

The Planet Green Channel.

I've been watching, "Living with Ed" - It's kind of funny, but cool to watch how he green's his home.  Another one is "Stuff Happens". Very educational.

I discovered a new one today "G-Word"

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/g-word/ 

I learned that they are taking old tires and recycling them to make new tires or doormats, etc....

I also found out about these guys:

http://www.greengurus.net/index.html 

http://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?p=75142#post75142

I need some green gift giving ideas that would be under $15 for a family gift exchange at Christmas. I was thinking a reusable bag and fill it with green, eco-friendly things totaling $15 or under.

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/discovery-project-earth-raining-forests-in-a-nutshell.html

Check out that video. 

I'm really liking the Planet Green Channel. 

My Sister-in-law gave us 2 booster seats to use.  Well, I looked at the date the seats were made, and they have expired. One was made in 1999 and the other in 2001.  Car seats expire after 6 years.

I was searching the internet to see if there was a place in California that does that. I found 2 websites that I thought would be of interest to you.

http://www.momgogreen.com/2008/05/recycle-car-seats.html

http://www.enviromom.com/2008/05/critical-mass-f.html

They have a recycling program in Portland, Oregon. 

As for California, right now the only thing to do is either break apart the seat yourself or take them to your local CHP.  If you do throw away the car seat, make sure you cut the straps so it can't be used.  Since the ones I have don't have straps, I find it best to take it to the CHP, since they have the proper tools to cut them up. Also, if they need to, they will use them as demostrations in their car seat safety classes. 

http://www.doubledeckerlanes.com/solar.php

Baby Loves Disco (BLD) is coming to Santa Rosa!  Sat, Oct 4, 2008 from 1pm to 4pm at The Last Day Saloon.

http://www.babylovesdisco.com/

The host, Jessica, is also the host of the South Bay BLD.

Please check out the website.

We use "Clean Well", promote local businesses, and have fun! 

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/

It's on channel 201 thru Comcast for me. 

Solage Calistoga.  We got to stay there Sunday night.  They are a "green" resort and spa. We had the couples Mudslide treatment. That was nice. I want a facial the next time I go though.

Each cottage has 2 bicycle's for the guests to use. They encourage the guests to save gas and the environment and use the bike's to tour Calistoga. 

In the cottage, the first thing I noticed is they don't use the individual small soap's, shampoo's, hand cream's, etc.... All they have is a small container of q-tips and cotton balls, and then they have refillable bottles of hand soap and lotion for the bathroom sink, and refillable bottles in the shower with conditioner, lotion, and body wash. All made by Sumbody.  

You know how some hotels and resorts have alot of  "stuff" to fill space and make it look decorative??? Well, this resort doesn't do that. Which I think is great! If it's not going to be used, why buy it. Pictures are a different story. The reception area, where you check in was very plain and simple. I found that to be very earth friendly. There was no "extra stuff" to distract you from the reason why you went there in the first place.

Dinner was great! But I think there needs to be more Vegetarian choices. Although, I guess you could order the dish with out the meat or fish.  Loved the dessert too! Next time I go, I'm going to order the donut's. I got to try one, and it was delicious!!!

For the turn down service they left a bottle of water and a glass by the bed side. It was Calistoga water. I mean they are located right next to the Calistoga water company. If your going to drink bottled water, might as well be local! 

Room service was excellent!!!! I had the French toast and hash browns, which was awesome!  I also had hot chocolate.   They brought the hot chocolate in these eco-friendly containers.  Oh! I also had left-overs from dinner. That was put in a box that is made of recycled post-consumer paper.

Here is a pic of the water bottle and hot chocolate cups.

The cleaning agents used by the resort is Method.

I know they also use geo-thermal water heating. But, I need to get more info on that.

If you would like to see more pictures that I took, just e-mail me a request.

I saw something on the TV today. Can't remember what news program it was.

Anyway, they were talking about CFL's VS LED light bulbs.

We all know CFL's contain Mercury which is bad for the environment. Yet, there are so many things out there with the LED lights. Clocks, stop-lights, etc....  The CFL's use 8 watts and the LED uses only 5 watts. The big thing though is the LED's cost $40 for a bulb, and the CFL's are like only a buck.

 What is your opinion of the LED light bulbs?