More Trash - seriously?

The project: Mr. B picks up trash between our house and the mailbox.

Time:
Negligible

Why bother?
We don't much care for trash scattered anywhere, but certainly not in our own neighborhood. Seriously, folks, have you ever noticed there are never any HEALTH foods scattered, no granola bar wrappers, no 100% fruit drink containers? Cigarette butts, cigarette packages, high-energy drinks, sodas and alcoholic beverage bottles - what does this tell us?

Worth it?
Sure, but cleaning up after slobs gets annoying.

Pajama Party Planning, part II

The project: Planning for the Pajama Project

Time:
30 minutes

Why bother?
All good things take planning. To read more about this project, click here.

Worth it?
We shall see if anyone bites. More info to follow.

A VERY Early Breakfast

The project:Feed hungry teens breakfast before dawn, then deliver them back to church.

Time:
45 minutes

Why bother?
OK, I would have made breakfast anyway, and probably with all the same accoutrement. However, the girls and I aren't typically eating ANYWHERE near the 6 a.m. hour! When Mr. B headed for work, I asked him to wake me so I'd be SURE not to sleep too late to provide a scrumptious meal.

Worth it?
All four girls, my two and the visiting teens, were super pleased with the pancakes (they didn't know they were gluten-free), along with a variety of toppings from which to choose including: peanut butter, real maple syrup, fresh strawberries, fresh blackberries, fresh blueberries. There was also a variety of juices, water and, of course, milk. The only thing I forgot wast he powdered sugar! ;)

Photo courtesy Steve McFarland under Creative Commons copyright license.

Hosting Teenagers

The project:
House members of a school choir as they pass through our community on their winter singing tour of California.

Time:
Overnight, plus EARLY breakfast and delivery back to the group tomorrow morning!

Why bother?
Mr. B asked if we could host. I was shocked. He's a pretty quiet guy, and not super keen on having strangers in our home. The choir sang tonight at Mr. B's church, then divided up among church members' homes for the evening.

Imagine all the places kids could go if they could just find shelter along the way. It certainly could help save those tight (or even non-existent) school travel budgets while giving the kids countless memorable experiences.

Worth it?
So far so good. The girls we brought home opted to settle down to, of all things, Wall-E. Sure, this is one of OUR favorite movies, but how cute is THAT?

Recycling Plastic Again - Where Does it all COME From!?

Education is a great thing, but sometimes opening our eyes to an issue makes us more aware of it than ever. Such is the case with plastic.

The project:
Recycle our plastic bags n' bottles.

Time:
Negligible - we pick it up here and there, and drop it on our way by the recycling center (bottles) and grocery store (bags).

Why bother?
While we've been recycling for, well, forever, now we seem to be finding more opportunities to recycle plastic. We pick it up blowing down the street, rolled in parking lot corners, in gutters on our walks. I'm not certain we were recycling the newspaper bags (they're recyclable plastic, but they'd been going who knows where before), and with daily delivery (and double wrapping) they add up quickly.

On a side note: if you don't want to use plastic bottles for your water, you're not sure about the safety of various metal bottles, and you only plan to use it at, say, your desk, consider this option. Then again, if we're at our desks, why can't we use this one?

Worth it?
Absolutely.

Pajama Party Planning

The project:
Spend some time brainstorming and planning for a PJ Party for the Pajama Project.

Time:
30 minutes

Why bother?
This project caught my attention. We've enjoyed Project Linus and will, most likely, continue with it. But I thought we'd help give the Pajama Project a boost as it kicks off in our area. I'll post updates as they become available.

Worth it?
Too early to tell.

Praising an Employee, in Writing

The project: Write a letter of kudos to a city employee's supervisors

Time:
10 minutes

Why bother?
While researching in Santa Barbara, I met Cathy, a very helpful, gregarious, knowledgeable employee of the city's parks department. Sure, I thanked her for the information she'd provided me, but there's nothing like a little good news for supervisors about their employee's performance. Plus, in these belt-tightening times, you never know who an employer will let go. If a quick note like this can help someone who provides GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE stay on board, then that's an added bonus.

Worth it?
Yes.

Photo courtesy banlon1964 under Creative Commons License