Pajama Gardening and Plastic Bags

The rising gas prices have really forced some changes around here. When I have to go out in the car, I do multiple tasks on that one trip rather than waste gas going to that neighborhood more than once.

One thing that causes us to do too much driving is searching around for healthy food that won't put us in the poorhouse in the process. We are not strict health food adherents by any stretch, but we're very wary of pesticides on our fruits and veggie. In foods, we avoid high fructose corn syrup and trans fats, and in meat and dairy, we avoid hormones and antibiotics. That right there could tack a lot of miles onto a shopping trip!

We like Whole Foods for some things, but the drive from Worcester to Framingham is just too taxing on our conscience and our wallet these days, so we rarely make a special trip that way. Living Earth in Worcester....well....that's always been cost-prohibitive but now, with gas at $3.60 or so per gallon, I wonder if staying close and shopping there might be cheaper than driving to Trader Joe's. This is awful.

Anyway, I digress. One day recently, as I mused about how little cash my art was generating these days, and how high the cost of fresh organic vegetables (and the gas to drive and get them) is, the proverbial "light bulb" went off over my head. Instead of leaving the gardening to my already overworked husband, I would do it. Heck, I'm here all day homeschooling the little one anyway....what a great educational opportunity! Honestly, when I saw how many hours my work was taking me away from my family and houseworking and other important jobs, and how little profit I was reaping in return, it really made me see the need for this change. By maximizing the capacity of my yard to grow food, I am "earning" in another way. Rather than bringing in money to buy food, I could be bringing in the food itself. After all, my work on Freecycle allows me to bring in many of the items we need or want (and unload them when we're done)...why not bring in food too?

Of course, I have never gardened and don't know a darn thing about it. Thank goodness for the internet! Anyway, my son (age 5) and I have invented a new ritual called Pajama Gardening. Right after breakfast we charge outside in our sleepwear (usually sweats and a t-shirt anyway) and get right to it. I do the work; he's in charge of running around the house waving his rake. In his mind, that's gardening. LOL!! Anyway he sometimes takes loads of yard waste in his little red wagon to dump out back. It's great fun and great exercise. I used to make the mistake of waiting until we got dressed, but by the time THAT was accomplished (those of you with young kids will get this), the sun was too high in the sky and I was, frankly, too exhausted and demoralized to tackle a weedy and unruly yard which sometimes resembles a rain forest!

Anyway, back to work for me. I just wanted to tell you about Pajama Gardening and this cool thing. A nearby town recently voted down a ban on plastic bags at several of the larger offenders...er....I mean stores. That caused quite a debate, or should I say shouting match, on some of the message boards. Don't get me started on what a bunch of babies I think people are when they freak out over a plastic grocery bag ban. For heavens sakes, we're Americans and should be quite resourceful. Bring a cloth bag! Case closed. Anyway, speaking of alternatives, look at this thing I found while Googling the whole plastic bag issue. It's a reusable tote bag that is MADE from old plastic grocery bags! Check it out:

http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/Plastic%20Bag%20tote.html

So clever!