Challenges - Personal and Public

As you know, I'm doing everything I can think of to live more lightly, to save energy, and money, and my sanity, too! Well, last night, in knee-jerk "I've always done it this way" fashion, I was tossing a smallish load of laundry into the washer (I have small and medium load settings) and I suddenly thought: I don't have to put this in the dryer, I can use my drying rack. Ok. That seems silly right? Not when you realize I don't have a clothesline and have used a dryer for probably close to 15 years non-stop. Needless to say, the load was dried on the rack.

Now to be fair, I always dry my handknit socks that way. And I always put my tops on hangers and air dry them to keep them looking good longer. I just hadn't made the next leap that much of my personal laundry did not need the dryer! Everything was dry this morning, too, and that's with the thermostat set on 60!

Then a week or so ago, I joined a Facebook Challenge in association with The Red Tape Chronicles blog on MSNBC's website. The issue surrounding the challenge was high (and unfair) fees and charges such as those on credit cards and such.

As soon as I read about it, I joined up. I read an article on the Chronicles about cable company charges: you know they charge the same price for long-time customers with only one or two services as they charge new ones for new "promotional" bundled rate. Well, I don't have a landline phone but was paying the same price as the advertised phone/cable/internet promotion.

Today I phoned them, and very nicely asked if they couldn't do something about that. And they did! For the next 12 months I'll be paying approximately $15 less per month. And when the rate goes back up (as I expect it will) I'm going to contact them again. Of course, by then? I may decide finally to rid myself of the television, as I'm watching less and less of it (I'm not mentioning the Olympics - *wink*).

On the heels of that success, I happily headed home tonight and immediately pulled out boneless chicken thighs and one of the remaining CSA's butternut squashes. I froze about 1/2 of the butternut, but roasted the remainder of it with a touch of olive oil and maple syrup. The chicken was roasted with lots of CSA garlic, onion bits and dried rosemary. I did pick up asparagus at the grocery store, as when I saw it this week, I simply could not resist (it's like a breath of spring, and it's still awfully cold around here - we had snow last night, too!). Added to that plate down below is a small serving of Artisan olive bread and olive oil with herbs.

Weight Watchers points: 8 for the entire plate. LOVE IT!

Especially since 3 months after the CSA ended, I'm still happily eating the fruits of that membership. I have a lot left, in fact, in the freezer, and in the "root cellar" that is my unheated, closed "pantry."

Whoohoo!