Every little bit

Today is Earth Day (the 40th!) and I have to admit that I'm not as conscientious as I should be about saving the planet. Especially considering that as a grandma, I hope the planet will always and forever be a good home for Bubby and all my other grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and so on to come.

But there are a few things that I do. And it's my understanding -- or at least my justification -- that every little bit helps.

Here are some of the environmentally responsible things I do:

• I turn off the water while brushing my teeth.
• We have low-flow toilets in two of our three bathrooms (the third is a non-standard size and low-flow isn't an option there).
• We have low-flow shower heads in two of the three bathrooms (again, low-flow won't work in the third).
• I take showers instead of baths. FYI from the EPA: A full bathtub requires about 70 gallons of water, but taking a five-minute shower saves water by using 10 to 25 gallons.
• We have absolutely no grass that needs watering on our property. I could pretend we chose to xeriscape, but the home came that way. (Well, we did remove the smidgen that was in the back yard, so we did do our part. Yay!)
• Because we have no grass to water, we also have no grass in need of mowing, so we help out there by not using fuel and not contributing to air pollution.
• Another benefit of having no grass is that we don't fertilize it. EPA FYI: Fertilizer runoff can pollute rivers, lakes, and bays, and cause problems in recreational areas or fishing grounds.
• I don't use the car every day of the week. Okay, it's because I work from home for the most part, but it still counts in my book. EPA FYI: Leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year.
• We use Energy Star appliances ... and take advantage of any e-cycles on any of them, such as for the dishwasher and clothes washer.
• We recycle electronics by sending old cell phones out for use by deployed military folks, bringing old computers to an electronics recycling center, etc.
• We poop scoop, disposing of the dog (and cat) doo in places that won't contaminate stormwater ... unless Mickey has an accident on our walk when he's not supposed to and I didn't bring scooping gear. EPA FYI: Leaving pet waste on the ground increases public health risks by allowing harmful bacteria or organic material to wash into the storm drain and eventually into local water bodies.
• When we travel, we opt out of daily linen changes. We hang our towels to reuse a second time and we don't have the sheets changed each day.
• We pay for a recycling service to pickup our recyclables instead of throwing them in the garbage.
• We unplug appliances and such (can opener, lamps, etc) that aren't in use as plugged-in appliances still use energy even when they're off.
• We're slowly but surely migrating from regular light bulbs to compact fluorescent lighting throughout the house. EPA FYI: If every American home replaced just one conventional light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes a year.
• Our thermostat is on a timer so less heat is used at night. (Unfortunately we no longer have A/C but when we did, it was also on a timer.)
• Although I don't use reusable market bags for grocery shopping, we do re-use all of our plastic grocery bags -- to line our wastebaskets, for holding the doo when poop-scooping is done, and more.

Now that I look at it, it seems like I do a lot, which just goes to show that it's not that difficult, costly or time-consuming to do your part. Like I said, every little bit helps -- and adds up.

Today's question:

What's one or two environmentally responsible things you do around your home?

The next Grilled Grandma

It's funny how doing this Grilled Grandma feature introduces me (and you!) to grandmas with similar names. I can understand having multiple Ninas and Lisas and such, but having double Grandma Cats was something I never expected. Awhile back, I featured Grandma Kat; this week I feature Grandma Cat.

Like the former grandma with a similar name, this Grandma Cat is one of the lucky ones: She gets to see her grandchildren every single week. I envy that more than I can put into words.

So what does Grandma Cat (aka Jeannie) do with her little ones when they get together? "Just play. We play lots of things, blocks, dolls, chalk, picnics in the livingroom, walking the dog, reading. I love it all."

Read all about Jeannie and how she became known as  Grandma Cat HERE.

And if you know of a grandma you'd like to see grilled, be sure to let me know HERE.

Today's (totally unrelated) question:

Do you have a tattoo? If yes, what and where? If no, what and where would/have you considered?

My answer: I don't have a tattoo, but I've considered getting a thin ankle bracelet.

Pivotal pics

Brianna and her boyfriend, David, came for dinner Sunday and conversation turned, as it often does, to movies -- what we've seen, what we can't wait to see, movies we've loved, movies we were scared by. Because David is a relative newcomer to the family, our movie mania probably made it seem like we all do nothing but watch movies. We do other things ... occasionally ... but movies are a large part of who we are.

Since that dinner conversation, I've been thinking about how movies really are a big part of my life, have often helped form the person I am.

In that vein, I've come up with a list of movies that have had great impact on my life ... so far:

Lisa's 12 Pivotal Films

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1965) -- Not a theatrical release but a made-for-television production that aired each Thanksgiving for many years so, to me, it signalled the beginning of the holiday season. It's the first show I remember being my escape from the turmoil we called family, especially as it reached fever pitch during the holidays. It also may be responsible for my obsession with chairs; I've collected lots and lots of chairs in my house in search of THE one to go with the lyrics "in my own little corner in my own little chair ...".

The Birds (1963) -- Scared the hell out of me as a child and set the bar for my lifelong taste in scary movies: lots of suspense with minimal gore.

Doctor Zhivago (1965) -- Omar Shariff ... need I say more? Except that this one set the bar for my taste in romance films: heartbreak, heartbreak and more heartbreak.

A Star is Born (1976) -- The first movie I wanted to see again and again and again. It also was the first movie to which I bought the soundtrack ... and was deeply disappointed upon learning that movie soundtracks didn't include the dialogue. I loved (loved!) the songs, but had hoped to relive the film again and again as if listening to a radio production.

The Elephant Man (1980) -- I saw this film as part of a psychology class field trip. The teacher, Mr. Marr, was the man I admired most in the whole entire world at that point. After the movie, Mr. Marr cried in front of the class as he lamented the horrors endured by John Merrick, most of which were inflicted by society. Mr. Marr's tears were my first lesson in what true empathy looks like.

Christianne F. [Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo] (1981) -- It was my turn to pick the movie for girls' night out and I picked a gloomy foreign flick about a teen drug addict living in Berlin. My first subtitled movie ... and the last time I got to pick the movie for girls' night out. I still enjoy offbeat foreign films.

The Big Chill (1983) -- I was recently married and scared and disillusioned about being a grown up. This film made it clear that everyone is scared and disillusioned about being a grown up ... and that it all works out okay if you've got the right soundtrack.

Terms of Endearment (1983) -- Shirley MacLaine begging for pain meds for Debra Winger ... Debra Winger saying goodbye to her sons ... . Oh. My. Gosh! Motherhood at its most heart wrenching.

The English Patient (1996) -- Affected me much like Doctor Zhivago, only this time I was an adult -- and still a fan of heartbreak, heartbreak, and more heartbreak. Plus, Ralph Fiennes ... need I say more?

Boys Don't Cry (1999) -- This absolutely broke my heart, so much so that I was impelled to make my girls watch it. They really probably weren't old enough for its graphic violence and theme but I wanted them to see what sheer hate can do in hopes of warning them against ever associating with anyone carrying -- and acting upon -- such hate.

Amelie (2001) -- Brought the realization that foreign films aren't just gloom and doom but can be light and lovely. Also, the first subtitled film I made the girls watch ... and they adored it (which redeemed me a bit for the forced viewing of "Boys Don't Cry").

Moulin Rouge (2001) -- The only movie that, as an adult, I watched again and again ... in a row ... in one weekend. Four times in one weekend, to be exact. I thought I was a much more seasoned film-goer than that. But with heartbreak, heartbreak, and more heartbreak plus song and dance, how could I possibly resist?

Today's question:

What are some of your pivotal films?