new napkins

i was talking to my sister, miss m., a few months ago about a friend of hers that doesn't use paper napkins. at first, i thought, "i could never do that. there are some things i just want to throw away!"

but i couldn't stop thinking about our conversation -- and my reaction. what i terrible thought, i realized. a wasteful attitude.

i do believe that we are stewards of the resources we've been given on this earth. and i decided that i could do a little more to reduce my footprint.

so i bought some fabric and planned on making napkins. the fabric sat untouched for months. i had mentioned to my mom about my plan to replace paper napkins with cloth ones, and she donated a few to my cause. that gave us enough to get started, and i finally sewed my first batch of napkins.

one step closer to being a little kinder to our world.

being green

i heard a story on npr about how summer icebergs in the arctic are becoming smaller and farther a part. this is putting polar bears in jeopardy, because the bears use the icebergs as a resting place when hunting in deep waters.

after hearing the tragic plight of polar bears, i felt helpless. i wanted to make a huge iceberg in my freezer and airlift it to the arctic. if only that was really possible. stories like these remind me how fragile our environment is. and mr. pike and i are trying to be more environmentally conscious.

my sister, mrs. jones, gave us a book -- the green book -- and it gives great every day ways to be a little more green.

we've changed our light bulbs to the energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. i try to bring my own bags to the grocery store. and i changed our plastic shower liner to a cloth one.

every month or two i take it down and wash it. i just did laundry yesterday, and put the liner in the wash with a little bleach. it's now beautifully white -- like brand new. it made me feel good that i wasn't throwing away this huge moldy plastic sheet.

while all of these efforts are small on their own, i think every bit helps.