Holiday and Christmas Green Ideas

Get yourself into the "green spirit"...from Kim Carlson of EarthSmart and JeaneBee

1. Extra or leftover fabric? make cloth-covered gift boxes or bags instead of wrapping paper.
2. Cover gift boxes with leftover contact paper or wallpaper.
3. Use saved bows from other gifts. Make a habit of keeping bows from last year and recycle.
4. Have Christmas and holiday cards from last year? Make gift tags for this year's presents.
5. Find a pine tree and collect pine cones....use them on holiday gifts and packages.
6. Use coffee cans for shipping or as a gift boxes. A coffee can full of warm stockings, gloves or a piece of jewelry would be a real surprise.
7. Buy small items like hair bows, funny shoelaces, or small toys are a great addition to a holiday package. Plus, they are reusable.
8. Stencils or pictures from holiday cards can dress up a plain ole brown paper bag or box. Use grocery bags...many have been recycled at least once.
9. Reuse old neckties as gift box ties.
10. Dress up gift boxes with old silk or plastic flowers.
11. After the holidays use leftover gift wrap (don't rip it off the gifts!) and line shelves or drawers.

12. This is a biggie....don't be afraid to re-gift items that you received years ago, bought for yourself on a whim or don't know what to do with. Be sure its clean and in excellent condition and give it to a person who you feel would like it (and who didn't give it to you)

Car Insurance 101

We all have or should have Auto Insurance on our vehicles….but who reads the whole policy or the fine print. Do you know what you’re paying for or what you need? These are automobile insurance basics aka Car Insurance 101.

Liability Policy – This is the coverage that is paid if you are at fault in a traffic accident. If the damage is more than you are insured for, the other driver can sue you personally.

Collision Coverage – This pays for repairs or replacement of your own vehicle if you are at fault in an accident.

Comprehensive Coverage – Is similar to collision coverage but also covers damages by vandalism and “acts of God”.

Theft Policies – Reimburses you for replacing your vehicle or parts in the event some piece of it was stolen.

No Fault – Covers drivers for their own medical expenses regardless of who is at fault. Not in effect in all states and has limitations on lawsuits.

If you need insurance or want to be sure you are covered don’t just wonder about it, do something! If you want to evaluate insurance companies to get the best policy for you, its as simple as a click…..Auto Insurance ME

Cabela's....paradise for sportsmen

I love to fish! When I was growing up, my folks and I would make our annual pilgrimage from Nebraska to Minnesota for two weeks of fishing bliss. We stayed at resorts on Leech Lake, Woman Lake and finally Ten Mile Lake. Dad loved to fish for northern pike and I was "hooked" on casting for bass....Mom preferred to sit in the middle of the boat, secure in her life preserver jacket and troll for anything with fins.

We lived in Nebraska, not exactly a fisherman's paradise. At that time (1950) the only tackle stores in the vicinity were Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward. But, no more!

Cabela's has built a mega store on the outskirts of Omaha....a place of awe and wonder! Need a boat, Cabela's has it, how about a tent camper, its there. Fishing gear, guns, camping supplies you name it...you'll find it.

Any lure you can imagine has a home at Cabela's....even some that are so big you wonder what fish would even DARE to attack it. They even carry products that are considered "green"...line, weights, hooks and lures that dissolve after a period of time.

Dad and mom have been gone for many years, but whenever I enter the Cabela's store, I wonder what my Dad would think of it...no I don't have to wonder, I know....he'd be speechless.

Check out Cabela's for yourself...if you need it for outdoor fun, its probably on a shelf waiting for you!

Our Conifer Pine Tree is sick...

We are losing the 30' conifer pine which has lived in our yard for over 50 years. It has been diagnosed as having a fungus, Diplodia pinea which is most damaging to pine species native to our home state, Nebraska. Our pine is dying branch by branch, turning brown starting from the trunk and spreading to the outer branches.

The most noticable symptom of diplodia blight is brown, stunted new growth resulting in short brown needles. They look dead. Although the tree, from what we were told, had probably been infected for several years, we attributed the dead lower branches to winter damage. Nebraska has winters of very cold weather, then rising temperatures, followed by severe cold snaps. Last year was particularly bad...again, we thought the tree was slow in recovering.

In driving around our neighorhood, I've seen many, many pine trees in the same condition or worse. Some are skeletons, bare branches with no needles at all. We had been told that this fungus was working it's way from the east coast, but paid no attention to the warnings...hopefully its not too late to save our beautiful pine.

An Extension Agent from the University of Nebraska is coming to look at it, and give whatever advice he has to offer....can it be saved of will it need to be cut down.

Now What! A clogged kitchen Sink!!!

Ever have a clogged pipe, kitchen drain or other extremely important plumbing fixture stop working? First thing you do is get out the ole “plumbers friend” the plunger. (if you have one) It usually works on the important fixture in the bathroom, but doesn’t solve the problem. So, you revert to another tried and true method, the dreaded drain cleaner, Drano, lye or another commercial product.

And where does this poisonous super cocktail mixture eventually end up…in your local water supply or your septic system and eventually your own water supply.

We use a product called Bio-Clean to keep our drains clear…it’s a blend of bacteria and enzymes, a natural product.

Its non-poisonous, creates no heat, fumes or boiling. It doesn’t attack live tissue nor inorganic materials, only organic wastes like grease, hair, food particles, paper, cotton and sewage. This makes Bio-Clean safe for people, plumbing, and the environment. It changes the waste particles into water, carbon dioxide and mineral ash which run harmlessly out of your waste system and into the city sewage system.

Every little bit that we do to help the environment helps us.