Right To Dry

This week the state of Connecticut discussed whether all residents should have the right to air dry their laundry. Many residents who want to help the earth and their pocketbooks are being told that their clean laundry is an eyesore. This seriously boggles my mind.

I taught my former second grade students that "water travels in a cycle...it goes up as evaporation...forms clouds as condensation...then then comes down as precipitation...yes it does" (were you singing too?) Simple right? Not so simple when you add homeowners associations and landlords in the mix.

There was only one neighborhood in my childhood hometown that had a homeowners association. It was rumored that in all of the homes only white curtains could be hung in the windows and truck were not allowed to park in the driveways. I can't imagine that clotheslines were allowed. It all sure sounded crazy to me as a kid.

I am the first to admit that I am the official crazy lady in the neighborhood. The broken down car in my neighbor's driveway almost drove me to drink (more than I already do). A broken street sign will cause me to call the town's highway department. (friendly Maureen now knows me by name) And you know how I feel about Christmas decorations being left out past January 1st. Still, a clothesline looks beautiful to me.

Clotheslines evoke memories of summers on Cape Cod. Towels flapping in the warm wind. Going into Boston and seeing clogged clothes lines stretched above my head. Visiting my grandparents and watching Grandma Dot hang her laundry in the back yard. These are happy memories.

Back when my little ones wore their cute cloth diapers, I sunned the diapers on a drying rack three times a week. After moving to CT with my south facing front yard, the diapers sunned themselves in the front. No complaints from the neighbors.

Let's hope that Connecticut follows states like Florida and protects the rights of all residents to save energy and money. Protect your right to dry.

The Great Outdoors

Somehow I had the thought that I hate the winter stuck in my mind. Shoveling, car accidents, snow, cold weather, coats, boots. You get the picture.

Brilliant eighteen year-old me even decided to go way north for college. My pink jeans and flats didn't cut it up north. The day that I saw a dog walking next to me in the snow and his feet were at my eye level was the day I called my mummy up and begged her to send hiking boots, a flannel shirt and a heavy winter coat. Luckily for me, my college years coincided with the grunge movement. Those four years didn't change my mind about winter.

This season was a snowy one in Connecticut. My Little Guy really likes to be outside, so I signed him up for an outdoor adventure class at the local recreation area that we belong to. One week Little Guy went cross country skiing. He was over the moon!

Why couldn't the entire family embrace the snowy winter and all go cross country skiing. The trails are five minutes from the house. Skiing is free to members and they even offer rentals. No excuses.

The four of us went. And guess what? It was amazing! We were outdoors exploring the quite woods together.

The family went skiing the next day and a few days later and a few days after that. On Monday morning I even went by.

Now I'm hooked! (Disclaimer; you will never, ever catch me in one of those sprayed-on skiing suits complete with fanny pack) I treated myself to an early birthday present of a pair of skis, poles and boots. (only three more shopping days left)

Today my skiing dreams were crushed. This morning stared with lots of rain and the temperatures in the low 50's. The snow is melting fast and furiously. People are smiling with thoughts of Spring. All I can think about is the disappearing snow. I used to be a spring-lover. I can't be turning into someone who loves winter. I can't!

Those Brits

I have a great friend named Kim. Kim and I met back when we both had sweet baby girls and were living in the same Rhode Island neighborhood. Kim has always been a great resource when it comes to books, recipes and TV shows. We have similar taste.

Kim called me up this week and asked if I had heard about the BBC America Channel. I hadn't. With all of the endless reruns coinciding with my endless colds and flu's, I was willing to watch anything once.

I programmed my best friend, the DVR, and waited until I was stuck on the couch clinging to my tissues. Here are my two favorite shows;

How Clean Is Your House is a great show staring two thick-accented British women who find people who live in have dirty houses. Not just clutter, but actual flesh-eating, stomach-churning filth.

Aggie and Kim (the show's stars) arrive at the flats (that's British talk for apartment) complete with high heels and pink, feather rubber gloves. The ladies send samples from the bathrooms and kitchen to a lab. You should hear the gross bacteria that are found.

What I really like about this show is that the ladies use lots of natural cleaning solutions that really work. Meat tenderizer for nasty pots and pans. White toothpaste to wash silver. Washing soda in a tub for disgusting, old grime.

You Are What You Eat follows a no nonsense Holistic Nutritionist, Gillian McKeith. Gillian tracks down unhealthy couples and does things like look at their tongues for health clues (cracks in the tongue are bad) and she give the overweight guests colonics and diagnoses their poo. In either eight weeks or just one half hour in our time, guests are on the road to good health.

Gillian is hysterical and talks straight about s**t. (S**t must not be a swear in England) She advocates lots of fresh organic fruits, veggies and whole grains. She shuns proceed foods. She is a straight talker.

WARNING: Do not eat while you are watching either of these shows you will feel sick because the shows can be graphic and odds are, whatever you will be eating will not be included in Gillian's plan. My handful of chocolate chips were for medicinal purposes. Yeah, that's true.

Radio Update

After a few comments and quite a few emails I thought that I would update everyone on my radio debut.

Here it is;

Because I am such a worrywart/spaz, the kids and Hubby went out to my in-law's before the show started. The house was quiet. I even called the phone company to figure out how to suspend call waiting. I didn't need a beep right in the middle of my radio debut. (*70 if you were wondering) So I paced around the house trying not to think about the radio show. I succeeded in not thinking about what I was going to say, but my nerves failed miserably.

Greener living with Dr. G. premiered with a bang. It took me five minutes of hitting redial to get through for my chat. Gary wanted to talk about the time when my mummy sprayed furniture polish and Lysol and the carbon monoxide detector went off. I segwayed (because I am such an old pro. wink.) into talking about how my parents who rarely eat organic and use chemical-laden cleaners are probably greener then me. It's all about consumerism baby.

I was able to get through the hello fine. Hopefully the listeners couldn't hear the weird giggle/gasp right afterwards.

My time on the radio zoomed by. I maybe talked to five to seven minutes.

The show is online here. I am in the second hour about 20 minutes in counting commercials. I am not sure if the commercials were recorded too. Personally, I don't even like having my picture taken so I don't have plans on listening.

Thank you to everyone for their support! I will let you know if Dr. G. calls me for another Gruppie Girl segment.

They're Baaaacck!

It's Rectangle time at Girlie's school. Can you hear the disgust in my typing?



The Rectangle people have PTOs all over the country in the palm of their hands. "Buy our products and we will give money to your school." We need the money, so we buy their products. Oh the humanity!

The parents at this otherwise idyllic school still have not learned how to clip on the dotted lines. The picture of the scissors must not have been a big enough hint. Again, I lost feeling in my right arm while endlessly clipping.

I would like to send a big, sarcastic thank you to the parent who sent in a slimy hot dog wrapper in with their rectangles. I enjoyed having my stomach lurch. Another thank you to the family who sent their rectangles into school in a baggie that still contained snack. Yummy.

The rectangles are due to corporate headquarters on Wednesday. The school is $50 short of our goal. Think that I can beg to make-up the $50 by tomorrow?

As much as the PTO does wonderful things for all of the children at the school, I can no longer abuse myself as the official rectangle clipper and counter. I have given my notice to the PTO Grand Po Ba. Some poor kindergarten parent is in for a real surprise when they step-up next year.

I Made It Through

Just checking in to let you know that I have indeed (almost) made it through February school vacation. The kids are now taking out the trash and recycling to the curb. They still have to pick-out their clothes for the week and try to find their backpacks, then it is off to dream land. Ahhhhh.....

This week the family was supposed to be sitting in sunny, WARM Florida with my parents at their beach side timeshare. A few months ago we were uninvited and friends that my parents see twice a year were invited. I guess they are more fun than hubby and myself. Excuse me if I sound bitter, but my mother's repeated phone calls from the beach didn't help.

Over the week we have managed to keep ourselves busy. A trip to the food pantry to drop-off the food Girlie's Brownie troop collected. A just so-so movie with smuggled-in popcorn and Sigg bottles filled with water. OK, OK....So I also smuggled in a big bag of Reeses Pieces. (Don't tell the kids)

A trip to the local McDonald's with some friends before the building is bulldozed in the next few weeks. (Don't judge me. It's February in Connecticut...we were cold and bored) Two birthday parties at indoor gyms. A very bad library puppet show.

Lots of backyard sledding. Two trips to the food store. Cross country skiing. (twice!) Too many bad DVRed movies.

Here's to two months until April school vacation!


PS Spell check is back!!! I can spell again!

Olly, Olly Oxen Home and Free!

Apparently I have been tagged by one of my favorite bloggers. Erikka over at The Extra Ordinary has tagged me to write an archive meme. Basically, it sounds like I need to go through my old blogs and pull out five that fit into certain categories. What fun!

#1 Family
I Heart Squash Pie is a good example of a post about family.

#2 Friends
Field Trip talks about my friend Mary and how hard she is working to make green changes in her life.

UPDATE: Today Mary's youngest daughter had a birthday party. (Happy Birthday Sasha!) The favor was a pencil made from recycled newspapers. Who knew pencils could be made from newspapers? Mary has out-greened me.

#3 Me
This was a tough one. I haven't talked about too many personal details as of yet. I will have to work on that one. September Resolutions did reveal that I was a teacher in my past life. About that resolution. It isn't going too well...

#5 Up For Grabs
Come Visit My Compost Bin is about my love for cheesy television. Remember when there were first-run television shows on?


Now, I get to tag five more bloggers that I am interested in learning more about.
Katis at Un-Named Blog
Michelle at This is Framingham
"Bean" at Green Bean Dreams
Dolphyn at Verbose Means I Ramble
and here is a blog that is different from the rest;
Michelle at Ghost Hunting Secrets




Here are your Archive Meme Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you've written. ... but there is a catch: Link 1 must be about family. Link 2 must be about friends. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about. Link 4 must be about something you love. Link 5 can be anything you choose. I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone had written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better....and don't forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!