Love Lifts You Up

If you have frequent flier miles you are not planning to use, give them to service members who have been injured in the line of duty and need to be flown to get proper medical treatment. This can also enable family members to visit.  Check out fisherhouse.org to discover all you need to know about Fisher House Foundation’s Hero Miles Program. Love has an enormous power to heal so sharing your unused miles stretches YOUR love a mighty long way!

Give a young woman a meaningful memory to last her lifetime

Did you know that many teen girls long to attend their high school prom but end up missing out on the sweet tradition simply because a fancy dress is not in the family budget?  Help these girls out by visiting http://www.glassslipperproject.org/

You’ll discover that you can donate your old prom dress and shoes to the delightful folks at the Glass Slipper Project, a non-profit organization that gives free prom dresses, shoes, and accessories to high school juniors and seniors.  Generosity can be very glamorous!

Think of Our Future: Be A Seed Saver

My Aunt Ruth in Flat Rock, West Virginia, raised me to save seeds. I was a preschooler, barely able to toddle along after her but I took in as much as I could. Aunt Ruth, who was a child of The Great Depression, was teaching me thrift when she showed me the art of harvesting, drying and saving seeds from veggies and flowers. Thrift an important survival skill for that time and I see thrift as a “forgotten virtue” who time has arrived once again. I remember being very impatient about how long it took for spring to come so I could sew the marigolds, alyssum, and Four O’ Clocks. 

Planting More Trees!

In 1872, J. Sterling Morton came up with the idea that every year a special day should be put aside for tree planting. Thus he founded Arbor Day and that year over a million trees were planted in Nebraska. Probably now, more than ever, we need to honor Arbor Day, which is usually celebrated on the last Friday in April or early May (some states choose different dates depending on their weather for best tree planting times).

Trees hugely improve the quality of our lives. They provide shelter and food for our wildlife, clean the air, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, they mask noise, prevent soil erosion, provide paper and wood for fuel and buildings, all this plus the joy and wonder of such a majestic and wonderful plant. Just imagine walking into a park or driving along the highway and there are no trees!

Celebrate Arbor Day by logging onto www.arborday.org and finding out what you can do in your area. Save a tree by recycling paper. Plant a suitable tree in your garden or neighborhood and dedicate it to someone special

True Love Does Not Require a Diamond

Precious gems and metals leave a horrific trail of pollution and human rights abuses. Not much more needs to be said about this one without getting into some seriously depressing territory, but we cannot discuss jewelry without acknowledging that many people pay a steep price in order to mine, produce, and export precious metals and all those shiny little rocks we coyly call “a girl’s best friend.”  There are so many ways to show your love and no suffering should be involved. Ever.

Ditch the High Maintenance Front Lawn and Plant Natives

As a Northern Californian experiencing a serious drought, I am thrilled to see more and more gardens filled with planets that need NO water. It is called xeriscaping and it is gorgeous and has enormous variety. If you’re tired of the constant mow/water/fertilize/ mow cycle of your lawn, consider getting rid of it altogether. It’s not as bizarre as it sounds. Some water conservationists estimate that up to 40 percent of a household’s water usage during the summer months is spent on outdoor watering, so ditching the lawn altogether can save you time, money, and a precious resource. One eco-friendly option is to replace all that turf with plants indigenous to your region, which will require less water and look far prettier than any plain ol’ square of green grass every could.  Start a xeriscaping movement on your street.