Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Positive Eco-News -- I was re-reading a selection from the book titled: Diet for a Poisoned Planet and found that furniture polish, which has all kinds of undesirable stuff in it that can be absorbed through the skin and lungs (for the pressure-spray varieties).  One way to reduce the exposure is by spraying a semi-moist rag first – rather than aiming at the furniture and spraying a big fog of stuff out. So take a rag, let a few drops of water fall in the center of it wring it tightly to spread the water around… then spray the rag, holding the rag sort of cupped and out just far enough from the spritzer to get the optimum amount on it. This reduces a lot of the waste involved here and will make the can last longer – reducing your costs. But also, because it isn’t being sprayed into the air and on a hard surface, the spray is less likely to get in your lungs. Spraying the rag, also reduces direct skin contact during the application process. Buff your furniture with the ra...

 -- Quote of the Day -- I love reading, and there are times when life just gets so crazy that I have only a few precious moments snatched in the day for reading... The last two days however I was able to get a good reading fix in - lol - having just finished a book by  Thomas Block titled Skyfall and now reading one called The Camerons by Robert Crighten. Dave just finished a book by Dick Francis titled Longshot - and he's about to choose another  from our pile of un-read books. Anyway it has been wonderful to have had some time to just disappear in a book for hours at a time. And this is the reason behind the quote of the day: "It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop." ~ Vita Sackville-West ...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be ."  ~ Groucho Marx   -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Amy Tang and Eileen Oliva are the co-founders of a FREE online educational portal for finding purpose and awakening destiny: called Lights On . Since it’s launch in ’09 – this organization has grown to reach 85 countries – offering tips, hints and shortcuts designed to help individuals discover who they really are. This is one of the most difficult questions in life, discovering who we really are… and is one that is constantly changing due to circumstances and experiences in life. We can often become so lost in trying to fulfill the “ shoulds ” in life, or to just get by without attracting negative attention – and in doing so we can easily lose sight of ourselves. Some of us are so lost that we don’t even know where to start looking, or w...

-- Quote of the Day --  " What I like in a good author isn't what he says, but what he whispers."                                     ~ Logan Pearsall Smith -- Literacy in Middletown -- Today we are featuring Lora Wiedenheft, of ReadForYourFuture.blogspot.com - This site is owned by Lora and run with the help of Mechele, Sarah and Patti, the team takes turns publishing book reviews while Lora manages the author interviews… among other related posts – with a focus of “ fighting childhood illiteracy one book at a time ”. Q: How did you first become aware of the unique literacy issues that your area faces? A Lot of people including my parents migrated here to Middletown Ohio from Kentucky. With little or no education brought with them. So I think the problem has always been here. Our school district isn't very good here. The teachers are overwhelmed kids fall thr...

-- Quote of the Day -- " What lies behind us and what lies before us  Are tiny matters compared to what lies within us " ~R W Emerson -- Prize Draw Winner Announcement -- Dave and I were thrilled to participate in this years Easter Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not a Writer blog, who has partnered with Once Upon a Twilight blog - and put a lot of work in to make this event happen. Over 200 blogs  were involved in the 6-day event ...and it is now time to announce the winners from our blog. First, I've just got to express how cool it was to have more than 60 entries in this latest contest... and the winners in the random draw are (insert drum roll here) :) # 17, Chelsea   - and -  # 25, Brittany All entrants will receive a brief email expressing appreciation for their entries - and the winners will be asked to send their mailing address our way so that we can mail the bookmarks to them.  *Watch for more chances to win prizes on this blog...

 -- Quote of the Day -- " Strive not to be a success, But rather to be of value ." ~ Albert Einstein -- Defining "Zero waste" -- The Zero Waste International Alliance has developed a peer-reviewed, internationally accepted definition of “ Zero Waste ” www.zwia.org: "Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary, to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use. Zero Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them. Implementing Zero Waste will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health. " This includes phasing out organics from the landfill and sending them to the com...

-- Quote of the Day-- “… If someone wanted to start a project I think the best advice is to make connections and network… we would not have had the success that we have had if we did it on our own. We partnered with 10 other non-profits and Nelson Hues (publicity agent) and all kinds of other people. …Things almost always take longer than you think they will and …there will always be malfunctions, things will always go wrong. …but just get involved, do something physical and something that has a direct impact . ” ~ Alex Darrow – Picture the World Org.  This quote you see here today was taken from an interview that aired back on March 8th this year on the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio Show ... The direct link below will take you to the full interview: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/03/08/picture-around-the-world-org -- Positive Eco-News -- You know that I just love to feature interesting new recycling technology especially when it means th...

 -- Quote of the Day -- "To the world you may just be one person, But to one person, you may just be the world." ~ Brandi Snyder -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Today's episode features Gail Small who will be joining us for a discussion on joyful living and volunteering. Gail is a Master Teacher, the author of 6 books, a speaker and more... Join us today at 10-11 AM  & drop in the live chat room if you can - Or you can access the archive of today's program later on at your convenience - via the link below: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/04/21/joyful-volunteering   -- Conscious Living Events -- Today!...   April 21: Grand Forks Annual April Poetry Cafe Time: from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. (Pacific) Location: Grand Forks Library,  Grand Forks BC - Canada Info : Drop in to read your favorite poem, and share your  own poetry.  And coming up... April 22: Plastics Lecture Location : Paul Ecke Central Scool ...

-- Quote of the Day --   " Self-pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world ." ~ Helen Keller  -- Chatter -- Wow! It has been an incredibly eventful April with something going on every single day - from interviews and media appearances, blog features, contests and all kinds of encouraging information released on our blog.... and still more to come before the month is out. The most recent interviews happened just yesterday with a guest on my radio show ( Anjuelle Floyd ), a featured guest on my blog ( Stacy Juba ) - I also was interviewed for 1.5 hours on a fantastic radio show ( Online With Andrea )... and we joined a huge contest along with some 200 or more other blogs ( Easter Hop GiveAway )... and that was just yesterday! lol - Today is a little lighter, so I'd like to take a quick moment to encourage you to scroll through the recent posts and visit the links on our sidebars here on this blog. A mountain of dishes, ...

-- Radio -- Just a quick note to let you know that we are doing a World of Writing i nterview today at 10-11 Pacific AM - with Anjuelle Floyd on the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show... Also later on today at  4:30-6:30 (pacific) I'll be appearing on the Online with Andrea Talk Radio show. You can access the live or archived episodes via the links below: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onlinewithandrea/2011/04/19/trash-talk-its-easy-being-green http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/04/19/world-of-writing-with-anjuelle-floyd  * Don't forget to enter the Easter Hop Giveaway (see post below)  Congratulations to the winner from Stacy Juba's blog: Mysteries, Murders & More blog contest - Janet - who will receive a copy of Jump Start for Writers today!

 -- Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop -- We are thrilled to participate in this years Easter Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not a Writer blog, who has partnered with Once Upon a Twilight blog to make this event happen. There are over 200 blogs involved in the 6-day event that you can visit to discover the prizes they are offering and how you can enter to win some of them. *You can enter as many of the blogs' individual prize offerings as you want by leaving a comment on their blog - via this link: http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/p/giveaway-hop-page.html Our contest details are:    Wednesday, April 20th to Monday, April 25th We will be offering 2 sets of 8 bookmarks  For 2 winners of the draw here on this blog Enter by leaving a comment (include an email address)   These bookmarks are produced right here in the province of BC, Canada and are created using: 100% recycled content 100% all veggie ink (some soy inks h...

  -- Quote of the Day -- “ …A good play is liberating because it takes you out of your own voice - and forces you to speak in your character's voice. …There are two pleasure points in play-writing. One is the writing - and the other is sitting in the audience and watching the audience respond to what you’ve done. But in between these two pleasures, is some pretty nasty stuff (he laughs) called auditions, rehearsals, design meetings…”  ~ Gordon Osmond Today's quote comes from the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio interview that aired back on March 1st with Gordon: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/03/01/world-of-writing-w-gordon-osmond  -- World of Writing Interview -- We have a World of Writing interview with children's author Bruce Lawley, his site is:  www.animazings.com Q: How have your books gotten published? What was your path to publication? This is my first published book; I have self-published it. I chose this route as...

-- Positive Eco-News -- I learned from the Recycling Product e-news bulletin that each year 6 billion pounds of carpet waste is sent to landfills across North America.   If properly recycled, carpet can be reused into composite lumber, roofing shingles, automotive parts, railroad ties and stepping stones. New carpet, even carpet remnants can be donated to numerous organizations such as Habitat to Humanity , or a local reuse center in your area. Chevrolet offered some ideas such as using carpet pieces to line garage walls, preventing car doors from getting scratched. The same idea can be applied to muffle the sound from washers and dryers. Some innovative people have used carpet remnants to protect tires from the sun and to insulate a compost pile. Some other ideas to consider might be to use pieces in entrance and carport or work area (i.e. by a work bench).  Stop weeds in garden paths and keep your feet clean by laying the carpet upside down in the pathway. Anoth...