I'm back

Ok, ok, I know. It's been a while. I suck at this regular blogging thing. In case you only get your Amber news here (in which case, I'm sorry), you probably missed the news that my family and I have moved to Ashland, Oregon. We moved here so tht I could take a job with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. My husband has been able to keep his job and is able to work from a home office. We reduced our driving considerably because Eric no longer commutes at all and my commute is only 3 miles. I only drive it because I drop our daughter off at preschool on my way and I don't yet have a trailer for my bike. We're loving our new hometown and praying that we don't have to move back to CA at the end of my contract in June. I'm expecting that I will get another season's contract that would begin in the fall. I'll have to wait tables or work retail until that happens. Also, there is still the problem of the house we own in Mission Viejo which is sitting empty. It is up for rent, but so far no takers. We checked the comps this past week and we currently can sell it because several units of the same floorplan have recently sold or are on the market for much less than we bought ours for. We know we won't get back our full investment, but we need to sell for enough that we will have something to put down on a house here. But enough of the depressing stuff. Oregon is great and here's a brief list of the things I love here, in no particular order:

1. Everyone here brings their own bags to the store. Most of the stores also expect you to bag your own purchases. So, I'm just one of the normal folks here, not some tree hugging hippie control freak who wants their groceries bagged according to where things go in the kitchen.

2. Pumping your own gas here is not only discouraged, but is actually illegal.

3. In a related note, I only have to put gas in my car every 6 weeks or so. A lot of things are within walking or biking distance from my house, so I don't drive much.

4. There is a limit to the number of drive thru type businesses allowed in Ashland, so we only have 3 fast food restaurants. It has to do with limiting the number of idling cars in town at any one time.

So, please send some good thoughts my way hoping that the house rents soon and that we will be able to stay here without any problems.

Catching up

I've been lazy in my posting duties as of late. I traveled quite extensively this summer visiting family on opposite sides of the country. And when I say that I do mean it quite literally. My husband, daughter and I flew from our home in southern CA to visit family in North Carolina. After my husband returned to CA for work, the little one and I went to Oregon to visit more family. Thankfully, other family members who lived in the regions we were traveling to were willing to come to us so that we could see them. My aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin's wife and their two children drove to NC from the Atlanta area to see us. My brother flew to Oregon from Wyoming to spend a few days with us. It was a long trip, including a lot of flying and driving and we're all exhausted. I just checked on www.terrapass.com and it will cost $41.65 to offset our carbon emissions for the airline portion of the trip. Terra Pass is a company that calculates the amount of carbon emissions you are generating and translates that into a dollar amount. You can then purchase a carbon offset. The money goes to producing green energy and helping farmers and landfills to capture (and in some cases use) the greenhouse gases that their operations generate. I'm not sure how long this type of operation is feasible and to me it sounds like by purchasing the carbon offset, you can buy your way out of being green. If used in combination with making changes in your everyday like, I think the Terra Pass is a good idea. I hope it is understood that throwing money at the environmental issues can help, but only action will solve the problem. To that end, I am working on building up my stamina so that I can cut down considerably on my driving. I bike daily and try to get a little bit further everyday. Once I can foresee that I will make it out of my neighborhood, I will invest in a trailer for my daughter and start running my local errands by bike. I know that sounds pathetic, but I live at the bottom of a pretty steep hill. I've considered driving my bike to the top of the hill and then running my errands from there. At least it would cut down on some of the driving. I was catching up on my television watching this week while I wait for some work to begin at some local theatres next week and I started watching one of my favorite "green" shows, Greensburg. The show profiles the town of Greensburg, KS that was almost completely wiped off the map by a large tornado in May of 2007. They are attempting to build the town back in a sustainable manner and be the greenest city in America. They've faced a bunch of huge obstacles, but they keep perservering. They are a real inspiration. Many of the residents are still living and working in FEMA trailers over a year after the storm, patiently waiting for their town to rise from the rubble. When you consider what they are going through, it makes it seem really silly to complain about sorting your recycling from the trash or cutting a minute or two off your shower. I am confused by two actions taken by the city of Greensburg. One episode centered on the redevelopment of both a GM and a John Deere dealership. I understand the businesses are owned by citizens of Greensburg and they want to rebuild for their livelihood. I understand that Kansas is a largely agricultural state. I also understand that GM is a sponsor of the show. My question is why would you want to rebuild a business in a "green" city that sells a product that runs on gasoline??

All things lead to Prince Edward Island?

I find it interesting how things come together in our lives. I've decided to make a lifestyle change, making choices to lead a more sustainable life. I don't just accept the first option given to me. I do some research and then make an educated decision.

That being said, yesterday as I was having my lunch consisting of a salad made from organic greens and strawberries and an organic yogurt, I was surfing around the net trying to find a book to read. I went to my Amazon list which I keep regularly updated with things that spark my interest. I scanned the list and came across a set of DVDs I had put on there a long time ago, The Anne of Green Gables Trilogy.

Anne of Green Gables (and the two sequels) was a television miniseries produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Company in the mid 1980s. From it came the Disney series, Avonlea. The first two miniseries are based on the work of Lucy Maud Montgomery and follow the adventures of a orphan girl, Anne, who is sent to live with an elderly brother and sister on their farm in Prince Edward Island. They were expecting to be sent a boy since they asked for a farm hand, but Anne convinces them to keep her and entertains everyone and enriches their lives. Anne Shirley is an iconic figure in Canadian literature. She is to Canada what Laura Ingalls Wilder is to America. Except she's fictional.... Anyway, L.M. Montgomery first published Anne of Green Gables in 1908 and wrote 7 more books in that series and dozen more books, poems, short stories, songs, etc. She was a very prolific artist and was recognized all over the world for her work during and after her lifetime. And I do mean all over the world. My rediscovery of Anne led me to many interesting pieces of information. Anne is extremely popular in Japan. After WWII, the Japanese government was looking for uplifting Western literature to add to it's curriculum. A Canadian missionary had given a copy of Anne of Green Gables as a gift to a Japanese friend who just happened to be a translator. Anne is so popular among young women in Japan that many flock to Prince Edward Island to have their wedding portraits taking in front of the farm house that inspired Green Gables. The tourism website for Prince Edward Island can be read in English, French and Japanese. There are even two Anne of Green Gables musicals that play on PEI during the annual Anne of Green Gables Festival. I have no idea why I felt compelled to look into all this, but I happened to discover it all one week before the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables. I won't make it to Prince Edward Island for this year's special festival, but I will go sometime. I've ordered a trip planning guide and have the page bookmarked for the Holland America New England cruise that occurs every autumn and makes a stop on PEI.

So where's the connection, what's the green angle? Prince Edward Island has been aware for some time that it is a natural treasure. The island is windswept and has beautiful farmland and coastline. The government of this province has made every attempt to preserve the natural beauty of this special place. The island's electrical grid is powered by a wind farm. There are strict ordinances protecting land use for residents and visitors. Even simple things like carbonated beverages can only be purchased in glass bottles and the return/reuse rate of those bottles is 98%. I'm not suggesting that big government get in and tell us all to be green, but I am glad to see that there are some communities that can trust their government leaders to take steps to protect the environment. Now, I think I'll dust off my box set of Anne books and dream of what it would be like to live in Avonlea.

P.S. I encourage everyone to visit the official website for Prince Edward Island tourism at www.gov.pe.ca/visitorsguide. I tried to attach a photo of Green Gables, but I'm not so good at linking things from other website, so it didn't work.

Ta dah!

Cue the, dramatic music.... I have finally entered the blogging world. This is totally new to me on this end. Until this moment, I've been only a casual blog reader. I read my brother's blog to keep up with what is going on in his life since we don't live close to each other. I also read the blogs of a few friends for much the same reason. Anyway, a bit about me.... Professionally, I'm a theatrical costume technician and I make custom clothing for children and adults. I'm also a wife and mother.

I admit my interest in the environment did begin with seeing An Inconvenient Truth. I think the popularity of the movie has just made it easier to live green. But, I know it's trendy and I'm glad that for once a trend is not damaging to the earth or my self-esteem. That bring said, I'm not an enviro-nazi. I don't expect anyone to sit around in the dark, knitting hemp sweaters and eating lentils for months on end. If you like that, I'm sorry if I offend you. However, I do get annoyed with people who just toss paper, aluminum and stuff we all know is recyclable in the trash without really thinking about it. I've been know to pack up my "trash" to take home, knowing that I can recycle most of it. My recycle bin is always filled higher than my trash. I use reusable shopping bags much to the confusion of store clerks at every type of store. I even take my own bags to department stores. I make my own cleaning products or use eco-friendly ones. I have CFLs in almost all the lamps in my house. My most extreme green life change has been to quit my job. I used to commute 60 miles round trip for a part time job. Now, I'm freelancing at jobs closer to my home that I can get to by carpool. I'm also starting my own business making children's clothing out of recycled and organic fabrics. I really hope that will take off so that I can work primarily from home. Now, I sound like I have agoraphobia, but really I do like people! I like to socialize! I have friends, really I do! It sounds corny, but I just want to do all I can and encourage others to do all they can to leave this planet in as good a shape as we can for future generations. This photo is about a year old, but it still makes my point. Who wouldn't want to save the planet for her?