Energy Star

We're making the switch this week from a house full of standard incandescent lightbulbs to energy-saving fluorescent twist bulbs. I'm a couple four-packs away from a complete switch over.
Lowe's is making this super easy right now - as there's a "2 for 1" sale (good throughout the month of December) on four-pack twist bulbs which brings the cost down to $1 a bulb. Just guess what everyone on my Christmas list is getting? :)
I'll be interested to see if there's a noticeable difference in our power bill.


In addition to the lightbulbs, we finally made the switch to a front loading washing machine this week. All said & done, I got a sweet deal at $180 bucks off the sticker price. I installed it yesterday & literally pulled up a chair & watched it go through a wash cycle. It was a step up from watching paint dry, but I do have to admit I was tickled to have this modern marvel washing away in our laundry room. In addition to having more than double the load capacity of our old model (twice as many diapers!) & using less water, it will also reduce our power needs.

December in Wildwood

We all made our way north this weekend to Wildwood for the memorial service for my uncle, David Pratt, who died 16Nov07.

Sarah & Molly - taken by Carrie. Visiting the "ladies & gents" over at Hooker - the Neely plot - as far back as my greatgreat grandparents. I love this picture: family, sisters, not knowing, life, blue sky, death, the winter feel of home - this graveyard plot that is etched in my mind.

Levi visiting at Honey's grave - my grandmother, his great grandmother.

Lingering after the service. Talking family, land, & children.

Thanksgiving in Florida

We're home & it's a cold rainy day here in Watkinsville. We've been in Jennings, Florida visiting with the Burnam's this past week for the Thanksgiving holiday. We had a nice vacation & ate & ate! Here are some pics...

Crazy hair! finishing up breakfast

Eating! Thanksgiving dinner

Aunt Bug & Levi (with a head full of gel & his garden rake)

Levi & his great-Papa Bill, Katy, & great-Opa Burnam

Justin & Katy - out for dinner, celebrating Katy's 18th birthday - congrats!

Wildwood

It was a retrospective weekend in Wildwood - leaves changing, a death in the family, and everyone home. David Pratt, my uncle, died Friday morning. Originally from Florida - his family was in town for the weekend too.
As always, when I'm in Wildwood, I have an overwhelming sense of community that I feel nowhere else - of family - of belonging - the place I grew up - I always feel a bit of sadness as we drive away, leaving this patchwork of family & friends nestled between two mountain plateaus.

We took well over 200 pics in the 48 hours we were home... here are just a few.

Tivoli (first cuz), Beth (sis) , Sarah (sis)

Carrie (sis) & Levi visiting with Aunt Marjorie & Uncle Frank

Off for a long walk - with nearly as many dogs as people

A little extra help mulching the flowerbeds

Wildwood

Levi, Carrie, Tivoli, Uncle Scott, Mom, & me

Levi & me

Carrie, Beth, Molly

November colors

Thursday here & there's excitement in the air. We had a good rain shower last night (of course the truck windows were down) & today is really windy - a cold front moving in. Our trees are at their peak of color - the maple out front a brilliant yellow - nicely contrasting with the red dogwood. Unfortunately, with each gust of wind the leaves on the ground get deeper.

I'm cleaning & packing today as we get ready to travel - 9 of the next 10 days we'll be out-of-town. Levi & I (along with my sisters Carrie & Beth) are making a pre-Thanksgiving roadtrip to Wildwood (our homeplace) this weekend. We'll do a quick turn-around & then head south for Thanksgiving with the Burnam's.

When our friends Mike & Teddi moved to New Mexico I inherited their Thanksgiving cactus - it spent the summer soaking up the sun on our back deck & came inside just few weeks ago. It's bursting with blooms this year - a nice splash of color this time of year - & a nice reminder of old friends.

Pesticides in Produce

I always think about sharing this list when I pull it out at the grocery store. Today I actually remembered it here at the house. These items are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides - buy these organic:

apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, & carrots

These items have the lowest levels of pesticides:

asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, sweet corn, eggplant, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, sweet peas, & cabbage

First Fire

We had our first frost Tuesday night, & our first fire last night.

My collection of decorative tinder... dried flowers, pinecones, mossy branches, and fallen birdnests... as it has sat for months awaiting a match.

Kiwi craze

I've started stocking up on kiwis each time I make a trip to Publix - the organic ones are the same price as conventional (2 for $1) which rocks. They're a quick treat for Levi & the more I read up on these shabby little fruits, the more I'm convinced we each should be eating one a day. The one downer is that they're shipped halfway around the world before landing on our grocery shelves - they are a native of China, but now are predominately grown in New Zealand.

One kiwi will give you more vitamin C than an orange and more fiber than an apple; they're rich in potassium & good for the immune system.