Getting rid of junk mail

I had read somewhere (actually it was here, in the comments section I believe) this really great idea about getting rid of junk mail for good. Simply take all offending junk mail in hand, write this short clear instruction on each piece and send it back to the sender. So very simple.

I printed out the labels and Owen dutifully put a sticker, sometimes three, on each piece of mail. We then went to the post office. The post office, because we didn't want to offend or trouble our very kind mail carrier lady whom we all love dearly. And why shouldn't we love her she's wonderful, she even gave us our very first chickens from her own batch. Well, the eggs from her own chickens that we incubated but still, you get the point. So yes, to the post office to send off these nasty little demons that are cluttering up all horizontal surfaces of our home. We put them in the box and said, " Ha! Good riddance! Yes take that, all ye senders of offensive mail! And we drove off with our chins pointing up and feeling quite victorious. At least I did, Owen and Carmel were just gazing longingly at the playground that sits next to the post office and wondering why mama might be laughing strangely with her fist in the air again. Anyway, it felt good. It felt as if we did our part in saving maybe a few trees that were to be used uselessly. And it isn't even just the trees, but the fuel and all the other resources used to deliver something that will only be tossed in the recycling bin, which will only use more resources in an attempt to turn it in to something else. Ah yes, the good we did that day. Saving the world, one piece of junk mail at a time. That's us....

Can you guess what we found in our mail box the next day?

Oh yes, only every last piece we had just sent off.

And wow, delivered with such speed.

oh sigh!

I'm taking suggestions...anyone?

The Story of Cosmetics

I just watched The Story of Cosmetics and wanted to share the link.

Enjoy.

Making buttons

There have been all sorts of tiny knitting projects happening around here as Baby Smiley Finger's arrival nears. Have I mentioned this name before? Yes, this is what our son has named our small soon-to-be family member, he or she. He said it, it stuck. Smiley Finger it is. Anyway, one of these tiny knitting projects required tiny buttons which I didn't have. Instead of running to the store we hunted around the yard for a stick that would be small enough in diameter to fit through some little button holes and then cut out the number we needed with one of Owen's saws. His tools and tool bench really come in handy around here, and not just for him. Some sanding, some drilling, some light polishing, and Ta DA we have buttons! It was a fun and fast project, not to mention useful. There are some tutorials out there on the web. In fact, this one is about exactly how we made ours with only a few exceptions.

Unrelated:

The night before last I watched No Impact Man. It's a documentary about a family that spends a year trying to do what they can to minimize the impact they have on the earth. I found it to be very inspiring as I often do with stories such as these. I always feel a renewed commitment to reducing our family's consumption in whatever small ways make sense for us. Watching this also led me to something I had watched about a year ago that I found quite impressive which is called The Story of Stuff. It's a 20 minute film, and in my humble opinion, definitely worth checking out.