Let go Green this Weekend.

I thought I would have some fun this weekend. I watch Green Acres in the 60's and just thought that show was so funny. Since this is a green blog, a Green Acres minisode is in store. running time about 5 minutes.

From Crackle: Green Acres: Jealous, English Style

the photo and Video from Crackle video matters

Aloha Friday-Food Plans.

Kailani over it An Island Life is the original host of Aloha Friday, A day to take it easy a surf the air waves answering question. Because there are so many linked on her site I have a Mcklinky so I can visit those who visit me.I try to visit all links on her site however I found that some do not like to visit others. Therefore I visit those who have visited me in the past and those who leave their link.


Here is your Question:
Do you follow a food plan?
Some people are on the Adkins or SouthBeach food plan. There are so many out there; Jenny Graig, Weight Watcher, Nutrasystem, and others. My hubby wants to start the Adkins again, I'm more of a SouthBeach person. Then again I like to watch my amount and sugar intake and just wing it..
So which one are you?

Safety on the Roads.

Wow, it's Thursday already! The week just flew by. Have been listening to the Hearings on Toyota.The two day hearings were very interesting to me. On Tuesday Mr James Lentz, President US Toyota Motor Sales(TMS), spoke about how he really knew nothing about the sudden accelerator problem until December 09. He has been with the company since 2005. James Lentz III served as executive vice president of TMS since 2006.Served as Toyota Brand Manager of Toyota Motor Corp., from June 1, 2005 to November 2007. Thought is was odd that he had been with the Toyota company for that long and still did not know about the Sticky pedal, as they called it,problem. His statement was profound "We lost sight of the customer". Explaining that they grew too fast, both by volume and product. Then went on to say they out grew their engineering resources. Mr Lentz stated they did not take in consideration that the customer would be double stacking the mats. These statements painted him and Toyota in a bad light. Was he blaming the customer for the accidents/problem? Sometimes it seemed so. Mr Lentz did say there are several changes in process now. Hoping that will satisfy the Toyota customer and the Government.
Wednesday we heard from Mr Akio Toyoda, son of founder as well as President of Toyota Motor Corp(Japan). We also hear from Mr Yoshini Imaba, President and CEO of Toyota North America Inc. It seemed that the problem first started in England and Europe around 2004. they thought it was a problem with the pedal and had to do with the right hand cars only. Said Cars are made differently for those countries. Toyota corporation never thought of notifying the US they thought they had fixed the problem. There is a big communication problem between Toyota Corp in Japan and the Toyota Divisions in the world. This they are working on making better as of today.
It amazes me that these sudden unexplained acceleration can be happening since 2001 and none of the Toyota Company represented knew about it. Some of the letters the board members had dated back to 2001. All these letters were from Americans who had been experiencing the sudden acceleration problem. They had been taking their cars to the dealership for repairs. The dealership found nothing wrong and blamed it on the drivers style of driving. A Letter was sent to some of these customers from the corporation stating that this just can not happen, it is impossible, the brake system would over ride the accelerator. We all know now that their belief was wrong. This is a very serious problem, in my opinion.Toyota will suffer greatly because of this. They might even fall as other auto companies have.

For me, Every time I see a Toyota or Lexus I tense up. Will it stop, will it accelerate and will the driver know what to do to stop it? That is why, in my opinion, it is important to take all the cars off the road until the problem is found and fixed. I realize that not all cars have this problem however, do you know when it could happen to you and could you risk your life and families on a probability of numbers. A family of four died due to this problem, and now we are holding hearings. Many more have died previously and we will never know have many, due to the cause was deemed, speeding. There must be a common factor in all these cars, Toyota must find it. In my mind I really think it is an ETCS, electronic throttle control system, problem. Since it started about that time they began installing it. The current problem affects all driver no matter what type of car you drive. We all are at risk.

The sun is back out, Our solar is working great. We received our Power bill last Friday. With all the blizzards and snow on the roof, my thoughts was it will be high. What a surprise to see it was lower than the month before.
We did use the Pellet stove throughout both storms. Left it on low with the whole house fan on. Which must of really helped with the bill. All our news stations kept telling folks, "Your bills will be higher, due to the storms and every one home". Their thought was all the kids and workers home for days, not able to go out. The temps were in arctic numbers during the whole time.

We did not get any sun power for about four days. It took more than a week for all the snow to melt off the panels.Now that the snow is off the roof and Panels, we are receiving sun power again.
Hubby wants to also go Geothermal soon. Once we make that conversion then we will be using almost no electrical power from the Power company. With the Solar and Geothermal combined, we will be a very Green home.
Photo icon from SunPower, our solar company.

Olympics Games 2010

Update on curling; John Shuster back in game, Chris Plys, the alternate out of game, watching. John Smith took Shuster's Skip position, We lost. Now at 2-5 US team will have to win the next two game to possible tie in the finals.
Women curling team Lost also. Both teams are in 8th position and need these next wins. Heard there will be some line up changes for the next games. I hope their strategy works.
Today the US team goes up against Canada and China.
Update: US Men team loss to Canada (2 to 7), the Canadian team played a great game. That puts us out of the semifinals, for the men team. Tomorrow the Women team will play against China and Switzerland.
Icon courtesy of the official Olympics Games

Olympics Games 2010

Oh yes I was excited, both our curling teams won yesterday. First off the Men's team benched John Shuster, good move. He missed so many openings for a score, it was frustrating. In 4 games he had no wins. They put in Chris Plys(shown in red in photo on right) a 22 year old bartender who loves curling. Member of the Duluth Curling Club in Minnesota. He was great, had control of the rock and he worked well as a team member. The US Men Curling team scored a win. Great going Team USA.

For the USA women curling team. Finally they played a winning game. It was exciting to watch, I think they are now getting it together. Skip Debbie McCormick
(Shown on the left side on photo) seems to be placing the rock where she wants to. Looks like she is back on her game. They are playing more aggressively, the USA Women Curling team will have to continue being aggressive to make the finals in my opinion.

Photos courtesy of curlingrock.net.

Maxine on Saturday #7

click on the Maxine sign to see more of Maxine over at
Work of the Poet.

Now with this being Winter Olympic time......
I pick this one.

c John Wagner
Hallmark Inc.

Aloha Friday- Exercise

So here we are..It's Friday! A time for asking a question. Not too hard or too long, just enough to learn a little about you.
I have taken a break from talking about green things and health issues lately. Oh yeah, I had also taken a break from exercising. Need to get back on the Wii board and EA Sports.

So here is your Question:
Do you exercise with a Wii system, if so which one do you use and are you a daily or a three times a week exercising person?

Oh yes I know that is three questions, I want a little more info then Yes or No. Now if you do not use the Wii system, then maybe you use something else, you can tell me all about it. I might even blog about it after trying it of course.
for more Aloha Fridays visit An Island Life
leave you link in the comments and I will visit you.

Winter Olympics Games 2010

I have been watching the Winter Olympics the past few days. Not a fan of the Olympic per-say, however I do like the Winter Olympics. It was the first time watching the Snowboarding competition. How exciting, I was yelling along with hubby and the fans, wanting Seth Wescott to win. What a thrill to see him overtake the leader at the finish line. Winning the Gold Medal for the USA.

Seth Wescott winning the gold Medal in Snowboarding.

Still disappointed in the Curling US team. Hubby and I just can not figure them out. What is their strategy? I think even the commentators can't make sense out of it. Have watched Japan , Germany, Great Britain and France, they seem to know how to play the game well. All their game are exciting and we are on the edge of our seats til the end. We will continue to watch even though our teams are not doing well. Hubby and I would love to play Curling. I heard that some of the German players are in their 40's. Hey maybe they hope for the 50's in the Curling Olympic games. Is there a age ceiling? Anyhow those British played a great game yesterday.British Curling team.

All photos from PA

Wednesday Words-The Thaw... all around

Last night I watched the Women Curling, I was very impressed with Japan. Those ladies really had power and control of the rock. The US team..Not so great. The rock was slow and the team seemed to not be aggressive. I hope they get their act together for today's game at 12:00 EST. USA play against Canada.
Also watched the Men Single ice skating. What going on with the ice machines. They have been having problem since the beginning. One of our speed skaters withdrew because of the ice conditions. Think the Olympic host needs to get it fixed. How do they expect skaters to do well if the ice is melting and can not be re smoothed. One would think a place that is used to winter sports could do better. I fear we will not do well in the ice events if this continues.
School is finally in. They had a two hour delay today. Hubby drove Daughter to school. Said the roads at the school were icy and still had piles of snow around. More snow predicted for the weekend. The sun is suppose to be out the rest of the week. We had over 80 inch of snow the the piles are about 3 to 6 feet tall. So that means it will take a long time to melt. I did not tough the back yard and I am finally seeing the grass peak through. Still high in some areas.
My Laundry days are back to normal, okay I admit I'm blogging and hubby is doing laundry. However I will be getting back to it soon.

Global Warming You Say

My brother lives in West Virginia on a five acre lot. He called this weekend and told me the deer could not even walk in their yard. His garage door decided to spring it's spring. Because the snow is so deep the repair folks can not get to him. Thankfully they had two cars buried out in the snow. We all here in the east coast are now digging out.
So..Now what about this Global warming? I have heard it said " thank God for the global warmer just imagine what the snow amount would be with out it". Also others have blogged about this global warming syndrome.
The global warming debate will continue to go on for years to come. People will still be blogging about it, Senate and Congress will be holding hearings on it, the former VP Al Gore will still be presenting his case to the world and people will still be skeptical.
In a world of changes, we seem to be on a cycle of nature. Who's to say this is not just a 100 year cycle of earth. We do not have very creditable information from the time of old. All the writings are mostly in question and history seem to change its self as we travel down the time line. All I know is I do remember snow storms and weather record breaking things during my half a century plus living. I have lived around the world and in every state or country there has been at least one unheard of weather event.
So as for Global Warming, I am not saying it is or isn't a valid answer. Just remember People pinned that term and created the thought pattern. For all we know it could be The Earths Hundred Plus Year Cycle. A new term pinned by me, I think unless someone else pinned it first.
Photo from First Friday Collective posted 11/10 2008 .

A Valentine's Card for you

Have a Great Valentine's Day

Maxine on Saturday #6

click on the Maxine sign to see more of Maxine over at
Work of the Poet.

All this snow I have to take a laughter break. Listening to the radio a lot over the blizzards lock-in, I thought this one was great....to the point. I am headed down to the stations to see.... as soon as I can get dug out.

c John Wagner
Hallmark Inc.

Blizzard Today

We are in a blizzard as I write this post. At times the visibility is zero. My daughter had a friend over for last night, now she will be with us for a few more. The snow drifts are expected to reach 5 foot. The winds are peaking at about 50 mph. I did get to shovel some this morning, moved about 6 inches of snow off the sidewalk and porch steps. Now of course it is all back. Our car, which was completely uncovered from snow yesterday is buried again today. This is the Second Blizzard in one week! Eventhough we had snow in Upstate New York as I grew up, I never remember having two blizzards back to back. I heard on the news they are combining the two blizzard as one storm,so we can get federal aid. Maryland is just not equipped for this kind of winter weather. We have received over 72 inches of snow since the start of winter and most of it this month!
School is out and who know when it will be back in. The kids want to play outside however the temps with chill factor is 9 degrees, so they can not. How is the weather where you live?

Can it get better?

Well the solar is half covered with snow and the sun will be out for half of today. Hoping it will melt the rest of the snow of the roof. We are staying warm with our pellet stove and I am cooking winter delights. Trying to make them healthy style so not to gain the winter weight. Digging out of the over three feet of snow was great exercise for the core and arm muscles. We are expecting up to Two feet more of snow this afternoon through Wednesday. Hubby and I will be going out to get some more pellets today. Schools are out and will probably not be back in til next Tuesday. Winter sports are nice but this winter blizzard has paralyzed our area. How is your area doing this winter?

38.3 inches of snow!

That was the official snow total for our town! I Haven't recalled a blizzard like this in a long time. When I was a teenager, back in the 1960, we had a blizzard in Rochester New York. I remember having Snow-cream and helping my brother deliver newspapers. Going to see a friend at the hospital, he was there due to Frostbite. My Brother and I took the bus, we could hardly see our hands in front of us. However the buses where still running. We managed to get out of the house and down the street.
Yesterday we couldn't even get out of the house or down the street. All the transportation has ceased and our street looked like a winter snow village. Everyone was out digging out runs for their dogs, kids were building tunnels and igloos and Adults were digging cars out. Of course we can not go anywhere, our road is still under 30 inches of snow and getting more compacted. This is the north pole syndrome. We need our skis, snowshoes and dog sleds to get around. Maybe this is the time to purchase that snowmobile, it would come in handy. We are expecting more this Tuesday, about 6 inches!

this is our North Pole Look....

Maxine on Saturday #5

Mary over at Work of the Poet is hosting a Maxine On Saturday meme.

This past Tuesday was Ground Hog Day. I think Maxine and I are of the same mind set.






Here on the eastern seaboard, I woke up at 0330 to buried cars..and it's still snowing! So this one is for all of you having to go to work this weekend.....

We're Going Green Updates

We love Mr Sun.... please shine down on me........
It's has been about three months since we installed the Solar Panels. Now it has been winter, shorter light hours and snow storms. Here are the updates.
Total KwH produced to date; 1181
CO2 saved; 2007 Lbs.
I love that we can monitor it on line.
So we did well.... Our system has reduced emission equivalent to Planting 8 mature trees and driving 935 miles in a standard car.

As for the Cloth bags, we are doing really well. I have a larger bag I carry with some cloth bags folded up inside. I have a bag that is the size of the wallet I carry in my purse. Got that from Santa Last year. Oh to say last year when it was only a month ago, what a riot.
We sold a car, so now we have only two cars. Mine stays parked in the garage most of the time. I do not go to the grocery store as much. My errands are more controlled.
I feel better not wasting time or gas on needless trips. How are you doing?

Groundhog Day 2010

Groundhog saw his shadow.. 6 more weeks of winter. Read it in the Globe and Mail,

Ben Hughes, one of Punxsutawney Phil's handlers, holds the famous groundhog in the air after pulling him from his stump on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in this 2007 file photo. JASON COHN/REUTERS

Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam sees his shadow. Must be a sunny day there.The sun is not up here on the eastern seaboard. My Rabbit is out of his hole but no Shadow yet. I had a groundhog last year, but he was making a mess in the yard with his holes and eating my plants. So, we had him trapped and moved him to a different location. I should of thought about it, could of had my own Ground Hog Day prediction. Had a party and waited for Mr GroundHog to come out. However now I only have a BIG Rabbit. Maybe I could start another tradition. I hear some folk want to retire Mr Sam the Ground hog.
Now Punxsutawney Phil will be making he debut at dawn on Gobbler's Knob, northeast of Pittsburgh. Will he seal the fate? In about a few hour we will see. It is 7:45 here and no sun in sight.

Ben Hughes, one of Punxsutawney Phil's handlers, holds the famous groundhog in the air after pulling him from his stump on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in this 2007 file photo. JASON COHN/REUTERS

photo:Ben Hughes, one of Punxsutawney Phil's handlers, holds the famous groundhog in the air after pulling him from his stump on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, in this 2007 file photo.

Not For My Home, Give me the old ones back!

This is the light bulb that I used to replace the old ones in my hallway chandelier. It was suppose to last five times longer than the older bulbs. Now the older bulbs last about 1 year. Two weeks after putting these in, they quit working! I just sent hubby out to get new ones....the old kind. We so want to go green on the lights, however I have not had good luck with these types. So tell me any good ones for the chandeliers.