Things Are Happening...

Check out this link to an article that shows people are waking up to being supportive of farming organically.  I'm not an advocate of lawsuits per se, but we do need to take a stand to continue to aid Mother Earth.


lhttp://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2011.08.03.15.15.archive.html

Question & Simple Request

The faeries have a question for you. 

Do you recycle in your car?

What?  You may ask.   

Here are their words and request:

“We are fairly sure everyone has a garbage of some sort in their cars (if you don’t, we don’t want to think what you do- hopefully, you do not throw the trash out the window!) 

Do you have a separate trash bag for paper that is recyclable?  We believe that if you would separate out your clean paper trash from your regular trash you will see there is much that could be recycled that is being thrown away simply because it is in your car.  A small brown paper bag would suffice to place your papers in that you wish to get rid of.  Then, when it is full, place it in your paper recycle bin at home. 

It is a simple, yet helpful thing to do.  We are grateful for your help, even the littlest of bits add up to make a difference and show us you do care.”

So, there you have it, a simple request. 

Thank you in advance for I know if you read this blog, you care enough to do whatever you can to help Mother Earth.

©Marie Boyum

5-24-11

Beautify the World

More words of wisdom from the faeries…

“Everyone has a way to see, find, and add to the beauty of this world.”

Have you found some beauty today? 

Looking within do you see your beauty? 

Can you look at your outside without judgment or criticism? 

We first need to see the beauty and love in ourselves before we can share any with the world.  And the world needs us to be able to spread both beauty and love.  The faeries work to do that by helping the plants, flowers, herbs, berries and vegetables grow, assisting the nature spirits to beautify the trees, grass and other aspects of our landscape. 

Have you added to the beauty of the world today?  The faerie realm is asking for our help to assist in beautifying the world as much as we possibly can.  Many times society looks at beauty only in the physical form and in the extreme - who has the picture perfect look, or if you have that big, new, beautiful house; whomever has the most toys wins, type of attitude. 

These attitudes can lead to pressures, jealousy, anger, frustration, fear, and a list of negative emotions that are unnecessary and do not assist in the overall energy of the planet, which needs all the positive thoughts it can get.  Finding and celebrating the simple things in life ironically, can lead to those positive grand scale outcomes; it first starts with taking small steps. 

Beautify the world by seeing and appreciating the simple things such as, you have a beating heart that keeps you breathing; legs and arms that allow you to do things, and lips to smile and share a simple hello to everyone you encounter, adds joy to the world. 

To make your world truly beautiful, you first need to see it and then share it.  We live on a giant sphere, and life is circular; what we send out will come back to us. 

So send out your beauty through your thoughts, words, and actions, and watch how much beauty comes back to you, tenfold. 

©Marie Boyum

4-22-11 (Earth Day)

More Ways to Save the Planet

Here are a few more ideas to help save the planet.  The faeries are grateful for whatever you can do to help.

Cheese slice wrappers

Food Storage

Reuse the wrapper instead of plastic wrap for small pieces of food or on bowls.  Using masking tape or a rubber band, wrap up small pieces of food in the cheese wrapper and secure with tape (masking tape works best) or a rubber band. 

For use as a bowl cover securing it with a rubber band around the rim of the bowl, again, saving the need for plastic wrap. 

Infant learning activity

If you sew, place the wrappers between two squares of material; stitch together for the "crinkle" sound that gives babies a tactile earning experience.

Chopsticks

Save your chopsticks from the Chinese restaurant and rinse the ends in soapy water.  Use to stake up small plants around the house or to grab things from tight spaces.  I once dropped a small object down the heating vent and was able to retrieve it using old chopsticks. 

Clothespins

Food clip

Don’t waste money on those breakable plastic “chip clips” you buy at the stores.  An old-fashioned wooden clothespin works great.  (The hinged ones do work better than the all wood, non-hinged though.)  Use it to seal cereal, snacks, anything with an inner bag liner that does not self-seal.

Refrigerator magnet

Glue a magnet on the back of the clothespin and you have a nice refrigerator note holder.  It can easily be made more decorative by gluing on sequins, adding puffy paint or drawing or lettering it with permanent markers. Do this to designate a purpose, such as, naming a specific store’s list or to just make it more personal, i.e., adding a name. 

Coffee grounds

Save water, use coffee grounds!  “What?” you say.  Yes, it can save hot water (thus energy and money) by using fresh coffee grounds on sticky hands.  This is especially helpful to preschool children who get glue on their hands and do not want to wash and rub under hot water for long periods of time.  Rub hands with the grounds then wash as usual. 

Coffee grounds also help take away smells from your hands (but you still need to follow up with soap and water.)  It can also be used to scrub pans from crusted on food (also see orange bags).  Rub the pan before running water or washing with the grounds.  Then wash as usual. 

Additionally, coffee grounds also make great compost; worms love them!

©Marie Boyum

4-4-11

Assisting Mother Earth

Since our state has decided to eliminate mandatory recycling (opinion to be withheld here) it is now more important than ever to utilize our creativity to re-use items that would normally be thrown away.  Regardless of what your thoughts on environmental issues are, these ideas can help save money and we all want to do that!

So, to continue on that vein, here are more suggestions.  Continue to watch for more to come!

Uses for old bike tires:

Cut in half with circular saw and screw into garage wall as a bumper stop. 

Use as a large dog toy; roll and play; carry and chew (monitor they do not eat!)

Uses for Bread bags:

“Doogie doo” pick-up bags

Place one bag over one hand to scoop up your pup’s daily duty.  Hold open the other to bread bag to deposit for waste removal.  (You may wish to use a double bag over the “scooping” hand and another single bag over your other hand just in case.)

Storage bags

Reuse bread bags to store dry leftovers, pack sandwiches for lunch or double wrap wet foods before placing in the refrigerator to avoid messes.

Box liners  (Those inner bags in cereal boxes, etc.)

Freezer bags

Because box liners are usually made of strong plastic or are wax coated, they work well to prevent freezer burn.  Place the food to be frozen in the bag allowing for enough room to twist tie or tape (use masking tape) the top portion closed for a tight seal.

Lastly (for now,) don’t forget, use cloth dishtowels and napkins instead of paper towels and paper napkins.  Save a tree and money too!

Post your comments about how these ideas are working for you and let us know what ideas you have.  Again, there are many more to come!

© Marie Boyum

3-31-11

Helping the Faeries and the Earth

To show our respect and reverence for the faerie realm, nature spirits and elementals, we are asked to help Mother Earth.

There are many simple ways to assist and I plan to give you earth-saving tips off and on in this blog.

Although some may be obvious, many times, we need to be reminded of even the simple things to actually follow through and do them.

So, next time you go for a walk, bring a bag to collect garbage.  In fact, bring two, so that you can separate the recyclables from the actual trash.  Using a plastic newspaper sleeve can be a great way to protect your hand and enable you to pick up most anything. 

Another tip is to always re-use plastic containers from products like butter/margarine and other containers that things we buy come in.  Wash, save and re-use them to store and freeze leftovers.  If you do choose to use plastic zipper type bags, spend the money on the freezer ones as they are thicker and can washed and re-used many, many times over.

Even cans from soup, vegetables, etc. can be re-used to create a planter.  Just add small stones to the bottom for drainage, or drill some small holes in the bottom and place a plastic margarine lid under it.   

That’s all for today, but there will be many more ideas to come.  Keep coming back for more faerie wisdom!

© Marie Boyum

3-29-2011