Earth Day 2018: Using Less Plastic, and Videos to Make You Think

Earth Day was started April 22, 1970. This year, we continue to celebrate the gifts of the Earth, our home, and try to be less careless about how we treat it.This year's theme is End Plastic Pollution. Consider...

• Re-usable cloth bags for shopping mean less plastic in landfills or recycling
• Use a washable and re-usable cup or water bottle instead of using disposable plastic ones
• Re-think that six pack of pop with the plastic ring device holding them together: They choke birds and animals when found in landfills or water
• Wash and re-use a glass container rather than buying something new in a plastic container
• Wrap sandwiches in butcher paper  or waxed paper instead of a plastic sandwich bag

• Donate to Goodwill...but buy from them as well, instead of getting something new
• Dispose of that last bit of paint at a waste-disposal location, don't throw it in the trash
• Challenge yourself to create less trash and recycling
• If you see garbage in the street (or anywhere), pick it up
• And don't simply toss something out a window or throw it on the ground. Throw it away!
• Use it up, wear it out, or do without 

Here are some videos that may make you think about what you can do to pollute less and cultivate more.

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=earth+Day+2018&&view=detail&mid=BBCE723B88468D68B0BBCE723B8846AB8D68B0&&FORM=VRDGAR

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=earth+Day&&view=detail&mid=651D5DA904BE91E4F269651D5DA904BE91E4F269&
Give Earth a Hand:  https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=earth+Day+hands&&view=detail&mid=6230388156EF924AC7CA6230388156EF924AC7CA&&FORM=VRDGAR

My Favorite Things

Some of the things we like best about life aren't always things. Give some thought to what your favorites are this holiday season, and how we're all wealthy in small ways.

 

Here are a few of my favorite things....

• The smell of rain
• Thunderstorms

 

• Puppies
• Kittens
• The first tulips in spring

 

• The sound of wind chimes
• Going barefoot on soft grass
• Singing
• Cupcakes
• The Library!!!

 

• Children with their front teeth missing
• Snow that falls in clumps
• A blizzard
• Soup
• Receiving a letter or a package in the mail
• Holding a baby as she sleeps
• Hearing a great song for the first time
• Cheesecake
• Rainbows

• Having a day all to myself
• The sound of snow crunching under my feet
• The smell of a campfire
• Small town parades
• Hot apple cider
• Being unable to stop laughing about something

 

• Oboes
• A full tank of gas
• A sound sleep
• Otters

 

• Butterflies
• Taking one perfect picture
• The entire season of Fall
• Most of Winter
• Sitting on a dock in summer with my feet in the water
• Completing a project and knowing it turned out well
• Plays and concerts
• Smores
• A great haircut

 

• Sitting with a quilt tucked around me, reading a great book
• Walks
• Warm cookies from the oven
• My grandmother's pocket watch

 What are your favorites?

Veterans Day: Did you know?

Originally, the name for this holiday was Armistice Day (armistice is an agreement to stop making war), the end of World War I,  and was held on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

 

• Great Britain, Canada, France, and Australia, all have similar days to honor veterans. In Great Britain and Canada, it's called Remembrance Day. For these countries, it is not necessarily on the 11th of November but is usually close to that date.

Of veterans in our country,

• 7 Million served in Viet Nam
• 5.5 Million served in the Persian Gulf
• 16 Million served in World War II
• 2 Million served in Korea
• 5.2 Million Veterans have served the country during peacetime; all veterans who have served in any capacity are honored on Veterans Day.

 

• 2.9 Million veterans have been disabled while serving their country
• 2 Million Veterans are female
• There's no apostrophe in the term Veterans Day

Interestingly, the term "war" is up for debate. What is 'war,' versus 'conflict,' 'Operation,' 'or 'intervention'? An interesting paragraph from MPN:

 

World War II was the last time Congress officially declared war. Since then, the conflicts we’ve called “wars” — from Vietnam through to the second Iraq War — have actually been congressional “authorizations of military force.” And more recently, beginning with the War Powers Act of 1973, presidential war powers have expanded so much that, according to the Congressional Research Service, it’s no longer clear whether a president requires congressional authorization at all. We could be considered to be currently involved in 0 wars or 134, depending on your definition.

 

Read the whole article here:  http://www.mintpressnews.com/us-now-involved-134-wars/196846/

 

The branches of the United States Military and what they do:

• Air Force: defending the country by air; also, space exploration
• Army: The oldest branch, and the largest, they supply troops on the ground
• Navy:  Defenders of the seas
• Marines: Ground forces supported by the Navy. The Marines do not have their own medical support as do the Army and Navy.
• Coast Guard: Defenders of our coasts

If you see a veteran today, offer a Thank You for their service. They don't hear it enough.

 

 

Summer Essay Series #1: Gratefulness Journal

Things I Am Grateful For Today:

For the sun, shining warm and bright, making everything clear and positive-looking
For the residual scent of the rain that fell last night, gentle thunder announcing itself

For the ability to see. Birds, grass, water, flowers, and most importantly, people
For my little car, dependable and fun to drive, it gets me where I need to go
For music....what would life be without it??
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=funny+music+car+sing+sister+shape+of+you&&view=detail&mid=A04F8D7D2C5F89D14F16A04F8D7D2C5F89D14F16&FORM=VRDGAR

For being able to walk. For having shoes to wear--lots of them
For the changing seasons, which I love so much

For clothing, so much that I could clothe several other people, and a warm coat for winter.
For a roof over my head and a place to rest at the end of the day

For electricity, clean running water, heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.
For not only having enough to eat, but having so many choices

For being safe at home, in my city, in my country.
For the people I care about, and because they are doing well.

For interests that fulfill me and challenge me
For having access to good medical care when I need it
For having a say in who governs my country, and when I disagree, the freedom to express that
For various kinds of help that's only a phone call away


And, I am really grateful for work that has purpose: I get to see people succeed.

What are you grateful for today?