Thursday, March 8, 2007

Carbon offsets


Did you know there is already a growing market in carbon offsets? That is where you figure up the amount of CO2 you are responsible for emitting into the atmosphere and pay for trees to be planted to offset your carbon emissions. At work, we participate in "Trees for Travel" which offsets based on the miles we fly per year and we have a program called "Cool Commute" where we purchase offsets based on our yearly commuting mileage (which is matched by the company). I thought all of this was just wonderful, I still do, but I am a little surprised that there is already a profit to made in this arena. I guess it is better to profit from restoring our environment instead of destroying it.

I am a bit of a "Pollyanna", I believe in the innate goodness of people. Not as much as I used to, I was quite gullible in my youth! But I still give those I encounter the benefit of getting to know them before I form an opinion.

More of my truths:
I believe in LOVE, HOPE and PEACE.
I believe some of the most beautiful words in the English language are: "I love you" and "I am sorry".
I believe laughter keeps you young.
I believe my son is very handsome.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

some of my truths

Shawn's post from yesterday has me nodding in agreement. So time to pontificate on some of my beliefs:
1. The TV is not a great role model.
2. A Happy Meal is not balanced nutrition.
3. "Please", "Thanks", "Pardon me", these are not profanities and should be used more often.
4. Just because you love the song playing on your radio at the stop light does not mean that I do. Please turn yours down so that I can hear mine.
5. Moral and ethical behavior is learned in the home. Teachers, babysitters, friends can all be influences, but the environment of the home (and the love and respect demonstrated) are the greatest influences on our children.
6. I have been married for 23.5 years and I not only love my husband, I happen to like him a lot too!


Enough listing!

More truths later.

Thanks for reading ;-)

Monday, March 5, 2007

The promise of spring


This was a spectacular weather day. The sky was clear, the sun warm. I had an appointment this afternoon so I was home early enough for a nice bike ride around the greenway. There were people out walking, riding, running, practicing soccer. Very peaceful,

Here's hoping this coming week is just as pleasant and peaceful all the way around.

The man-cub had a scrimmage track meet today. He won the shot put on his last throw @ 42'4". Nice start for the season. His form was much improved and his huge legs gave him mucho power.

I am cutting this short as my artistic muse has been busy and I must create. TTFN.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

little friday

"everybody's workin for the weekend" the old Loverboy song. Seems like my life of late. I get up Monday mornings and work straight thru to Friday nights. Feels like I don't have time for personal needs, much less recreation and sleep. I am looking forward to the early arrival of Daylight savings time next week. Maybe I will have enough daylight left when I get home to ride my bike and walk my hounds.

This week has been intense. Textiles made in the USA may be on the endangered list, but we are busier than a one-legged man in a room full of rocking chairs! (I love to mix my metaphors!) I have brought my laptop home with homework every night this week and still will churn out the work this weekend. We are in a major color work phase and our customers are starving for new product. It is amazing to be creative on demand! My team is cranking our great design work, we can design it much faster than our samples can be woven! And to top it off, our new DD (Director of Design) started this week so I was introducing her to people, places and processes. Yes, I was nervous and anxious about meeting her. Design is a very personality and ego driven field (regardless of the product) and I have tolerated some real ego freaks. My most recent boss (who is still in the command chain, just a rung further up the ladder) has been the absolute BEST boss I have ever had, so losing him has been difficult for me, but this new person he has hired is awesome! She is a nice person with great energy and drive. I feel like we got very lucky with her and the new personality charges up our group chemistry.
My poor husband has been stuck on St. Simon's Island in Georgia for a class all week. As great as our weather has been, it was that much better by the sea. He knows how much I love the beach and called me while watching a pod of dolphins playing just off shore. I can close my eyes and the rain outside starts to sound like waves breaking on the jetty at Fort Macon......
Some day I will live near the ocean. and hopefully it will not be due to the melting of our ice caps!

Speaking of melting ice caps: How can people not believe in climate change? Does driving a huge carbon emitting, petroleum chugging land-yacht kill brain cells? How did our American belief of "Bigger is Better" begin? Now I am not petite, and I come from a very tall people, so this has nothing to do with body image. I drive a Honda (which I love!) and have always loved compact, well-designed, contained objects, so I just do not get it. This is such a larger societal issue. Is it just me our do we seem to be a culture of people who feel "entitled"? As in, I am entitled to use all the resources I want, I am entitled to pollute as much as I want, never mind anyone else! I think we have become coarser and ruder (?) as a culture. It is disappointing. Local governments seem more concerned with the financial costs related to effective recycling, but what about the long-term, big-picture costs? There are major arguments over inter-basin water transfers, but what will we do when our groundwater is too polluted to drink? Recycled goods currently tend to cost more upfront, but it is just the right thing to do to use, purchase and fund. If we start now, we will do well by doing good. Enough preaching and griping. Tomorrow is Friday. Happy weekend!

Friday, February 23, 2007

Friday's missive

This is a new piece. I call it "no evil". Man cub posed (not too willingly) and I put it together. I like the graininess. I am experimenting with ways to create age and texture on new works. It is fun and relieves stress.


The weather has been wonderful. The wind energizes me. It feels clean.

I had no responses to my music trivia. Maybe another clue: this same songwriter also penned "After Midnight" popularized twice by Eric Clapton. Give up? It's J.J. Cale. Listen to his original versions, his raspy voice gives a different slant to the songs.

Well, I am weary after a week of intensity. Here's to sleeping later in the am.