How Does Your Garden Grow?

I just came across this great site to help plan and maintain your garden:  Sprout Robot (sproutrobot.com)

You simply type in your zip code and they will tell you how and when to plant the food you want to grow!  It is free to join and receive email notifications, or you can sign up for a fee to have seeds sent to you when their season comes around.

You can also specify Patio Garden, Small Garden, or Family Garden as well as either container or plant bed things to grow.

Give it a try!

Holiday Shopping - Part Two

Yesterday I mentioned how difficult it was to find things not produced in the USA while Christmas shopping.

I came across an item on the ABC News website about how, if every American spent just $64 this holiday season on gifts manufactured in the United States, it would generate 200,000 jobs here at home!

abcnews.go.com/WN/MadeInAmerica/

You can go here and find peoples suggestions about places to shop and products to buy that have been Made In America.  You can even post where you have spent your $64 this season.

So far this season I have bought the following products "Made in America":
Drinking glasses from World Market ($28)
Paint supplies for craft projects from Orchard Supply Hardware ($40)

I know this doesn't really count as "Made in America", but at least it didn't end up in a landfill, and I didn't buy something from overseas - in fact, the mirrors were both produced in the USA in the mid-60's!

Mirrors, toys and books from Goodwill ($36)

I'll post the finished Goodwill and paint projects at a future date.

Let me know if there are any Local Purchases you have made and want to share!

Holiday Shopping

I have been out shopping the past few days just for some little odds and ends to add to my Christmas decorations - and possibly gifts.  What has really disturbed me is the lack of American made products for sale in the stores I visited:

Paper Source - I don't think ANYTHING was made in the USA - every item I picked up had been made in China

Sur la Table - Had great things that I would have loved to buy - a garlic rocker from Joseph Joseph, double-walled glassware from Bodum and an electric hand mixer from Cuisinart... all made in China

Pier1 - I know that "Imports" is part of their name, and I was able to find some candles and decorative tiles  (Vietnam) which I did purchase

It got me to thinking about trying to be more "local" in all of my spending - but the harsh reality is that some things that you want are only made overseas (my Silhouette SD machine for one).

I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy items made in other countries, just that if you have a choice, I believe it best to purchase those locally produced.