Louisa Lubiak

I have more food items that I will donate to the CWA Union food drive at my office.

This is how nature, our mother, acts toward us. First, she gives us life. And then, as though that were not miracle enough, she revives us daily, bringing us back to life each dawn, just as she brought us into life that first time. Then she gives us food, enough to sustain ourselves throughout our days...
~Roman prayer to the earth, 3rd century C.E.

I decided many years ago that I didn't want to have children. I'm now in my 50s, have no children and have no regrets. I wonder what the long-term implications of my choice are on my carbon footprint?

I may not be doing as much as I could when it comes to reducing my carbon footprint, but I know I am inspiring others to make positive changes in their own lives.

I volunteered today at my community garden. This past fall I planted 32 garlic bulbs. I counted 31 sprouting today, each about 8-10 inches high. My chosen chore for the day was digging-up compost from the compost pile & hauling it by wheelbarrow to the raised beds. I am pleasantly tired now!

I'm donating funds to Planned Parenthood in New Jersey where I work, and I donated money to fight for reproductive rights in Pennsylvania where I live.

The food waste log I am keeping as one of my challenges is showing me that I waste very little. I'm a single person, so I don't have a family to deal with, but my boyfriend does waste more than I do. He doesn't use all the pancake batter he mixes-up, only what readily pours out of the measuring cup. He tends to overcook and burn food - he likes food "charred" and I prefer it without the extra carcinogens!

Busy day today. Checking-in late tonight.

I was off gluten for a while but lately I've gotten back into eating it again. The symptoms are starting to return, so I probably do have a gluten sensitivity. Now I have to get rid of the left-over pizza and bread that I bought this past week. I'll put it out in the backyard for the birds and squirrels, if they want it. Or maybe the raccoons will find it first. Food allergies and sensitivities must cause people to waste food that they want to eat, but find out they shouldn't eat until after the food has been brought home.

This morning I had a dentist appointment. In the waiting room was a drop-box with a sign saying one could put any used toothbrushes, toothbrush outer packaging, toothpaste tubes and caps, toothpaste cartons, and dental floss containers in the box for recycling. The Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program is a joint program with TerraCycle, a company based in Trenton, NJ, that recycles the "non-recyclable". TerraCycle is AWESOME!