I know that people love to complain about the post office so if you are a post office basher, you might not want to read any further.  But I have to say, the majority of the people I encounter at my local post offices go out of their way to be helpful. 

Whenever I bring packages to the back of the post office, any postal carriers that are unloading their trucks immediately come over and help unload my car.  They always have a happy greeting for me and are THRILLED that I have shown up with my packages.  Usually at least one of them with thank me for bring my business to them. 

I’ve had the post master call to ask how their service is and if there is anything they can help me with.  If I don’t have my packages early enough for a scheduled pick-up, my local carrier will swing by again later. 

Any time I go into the local post office I’m always greeted in a friendly manner and the clerks do their best to take care of my needs.   I was there today and was asking if the evening truck was coming earlier.  It is and is just one more budget cut.  She too thanked me for bringing in my buisness and said that often it is what’ s making their paychecks. 

As John Stewart was saying last night, it’s an incredible bargain that you can have someone come to your house to pick up your letter and have them deliver it anywhere in the nation for a mere $0.42!  (oops!  Amy Tangerine corrected me — the postage went up last month to $0.44!)  And seriously, is there anything better than retrieving your mail and discovering an actual handwritten letter amongst the bills and junk mail?  Thinking about that today inspired me to jot off a quick letter to a friend.

This is a love letter from my grandfather to my grandmother during their courtship.  

I’ve blown up another one of his letters to her and framed it.   It hangs in my work space and I love looking at it every day.  A letter written close to a century ago is still treasured. 

Will we feel the same about emails 100 years from now?  I seriously can’t fathom that.  So, if you think of it, pull out a pen, a sheet of paper or a card and write your mother, your best friend, a soldier or whoever you can think of.  Bring a smile to their face and help to support your local post office!

We announced in the newsletter sent out last night several exciting things we have going on here at Cocoa Daisy!  If you did not receive a copy of the newsletter and would like to, please email mailbox@cocoadaisy.com and we’ll get that right out to you.

First, we are having a design team call!  We are looking for two fresh faces to add to the Daisy Divas!!!  I’m so excited for this — I have to admit I really enjoy looking through all the amazing submissions we receive for design team calls.  If  you are interested and would like more information, you can find it here.

Second, we will have a very special guest as our September Guest Designer! 

We will be doing our 2009 version of Ali Edwards favorite products!  We  love having the opportunity to share these special exclusive kits with our customers!

And last but not least,  we are having a  SALE!!!  All of our previous project kits in our store are 20% from now through July 5th.   If you are a subscriber you can request that they be shipped with your July kit and we will adjust your postage.  ***Quantities are limited to kits on hand and the June 2009 Project kit is not on sale.

This is one of the project kits still available

And in other news… the Pottery Barn bulletin boards I had wanted are on sale too!

Now I’m going to have to give serious consideration to getting them! 

Here are a couple other things that I’ve found interesting lately…

I love this line of fabric from Sweetwater (yes, another scrapbook company is crossing the divide into the realm of fabric).

They will be released in September — how fun would they be to use in scrapbooking?

I was going by a candy store the other day and they had the cutest display that I think I can translate to work in my living room (the next room to finish).  They had a few branches with a dusting of white spray paint with pattern lanterns hung on it.  I have a cathedral ceiling in my livingroom so I need something a bit dramatic to fill up one corner.  I think this might be the trick — especially as I keep managing to kill the large plants I tried to put there!  I think I want to get these eyelet paper lanterns for it.

I hope you have a good weekend!

Congratulations!

To Audrey!  You are the winner of the $50 giveaway!!!

1. I used a nalgene water bottle every day. not only do I save by not buying plastic disposable ones, it has measures on it so I know how much water I drank today (trying to get in the 8 glasses).

2. We recycle everything we can!

3. We turned down the temp on our hot water heater. We realized that when the temp was higher, we were always turning on the cold water to “cool it down”. DUH!

4. Here is a site to share: This is called “My Footprint”. It is a meausre of how much impact you make on the earth. Basically, it calculates how many earth’s it would take to sustain humans is everyone on earth lived like YOU! You would be amazed at the factors that affect your footprint. One of the biggest is how many miles you travel each year, speciafically by plane. http://www.myfootprint.org/en/visitor_information/

Thank you to everyone for all the great tips on how to be a bit more environmental friendly!  In reading the tips I forgot of many of the little things we do around our house that help to make us a bit more green.  Several people mentioned using old t-shirts etc., as rags instead of using paper towels.  As seems as if  my kids are ruining a new set of handtowels ever month or two (anyone have any ideas on how to actually keep those white?) so Iconstantly adding those to my rag pile and using those around the house.  Believe me, with a puppy that wets the floor everytime a new person walks in, I need a LOT of rags (and club soda — I find that to be the best method of removing pet stains). 

Others mentioned cloth napkins.  I registered for the William-Sonoma Hotel Napkins for our wedding 13 years ago and they are STILL going strong!  They are a bit of an upfront investment, but as they’ve survived 13 years, obviously worth it.

What I need to be better about is hanging more laundry out to dry, getting to the farmers’ market more often (they changed the hours here and it’s been throwing me for a loop so far this summer) and getting Scott and the kids to turn out lights when they are not needed!

And without further adieu, I give you the July Cocoa Daisy kit, “Rhubarb Pie!”

Summer to me means hot days and sweet treats like a trip to our favorite gelatto store after playing in the fountain downtown.  And that is exactly what the July kit feels like — a yummy treat after a long, hot summer’s day!  You’ll love the brand spanking new Basic Grey Lemonade elements, the new Narratives and all the fun and funky American Crafts.  We at Cocoa Daisy can’t wait to start creating with this one!

Patterned Papers
American Crafts Craft Fair Lucy Hootski
American Crafts Craft Fair Rose Mcgrain
American Crafts Craft Fair Millie Singer
American Crafts Craft Fair Edith Fitzbolt
American Crafts Craft Fair Ida Zipperelli
Basic Grey Lemonade Dandelion
Basic Grey Sultry Elite
Crate Paper Lillian Delight
October Afternoon Hometown Main St
Sassafras Lass Vintage Yummy Daintily
Narratives Memory Ledger
Dream Street Heartsong Light Hearted
Pink Paislee Sweet Cakes Lovey Dovey
Pink Paislee Enchanting Delicious

Cardstock
American Crafts Leaf
American Crafts Coffe
Bazzill White
American Crafts Bubblegum — Damask

Embellishments
American Crafts Thickers Rockabye — Leaf
American Crafts My House Corduroy Craft Fair
Basic Grey Lemonade Woolies (2)
Basic Grey Lemonade Chipboard (1 sheet will vary)
Fancy Pants Designs Pink Pompom Trim
Collage Press Sweet Shoppe – Journaling Cuts
Adornit Tiny Alpha — Black
Teal/green stitched ribbon
Prima Brick Wall Stamp
Alexx Kesh Felt Daisy flower (pink or green)
Assorted Prima Flowers
MAMBI Green Rhinestones

I just received my water and electric bills and they have me contemplating ways to not only save energy but to save MONEY.   I thought others might be thinking the same so thought I’d do a quick post on ways to be green and save more green.  Read on for a few quick and simple steps as well as two ways to win!

1. CFL’s or better known as compact florescent lightbulbs.  I have to admit, when I first started using them I was flat out not a fan.  It took a bit of an adjustment, but now I can imagine not using them.  Before I switched them in my workspace I was seriously changing out a bulb in the ceiling fixtures every few weeks.  With high ceilings it was a total pain so frequently I just ended up working in less than idea lighting.  Since I put in the CFLs about a year and a half ago I haven’t changed the bulbs once.  I don’t use them where we have rheostats or in my storage room (I usually am just running in and out of there and without any natural light, it takes too long for the CFLs to come fully on).  Even better if you just replace your 5 most commonly used bulbs, you can save $100 a year!! And if you want to know about the green impact, if every family in the U.S.A. did this, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by one trillion pounds!  I have heard that they are developing newer bulbs that work well in rheostats and turn on more quickly…

2. A cell phone charger uses 2 watts while charging a phone, it still uses 2 watts even when the phone is fully charged, and STILL 1.5 watts when the charger is plugged in without the phone.  Simple little fix, unplug your charger when not in use.  This goes for other appliances in your house.  My sister’s house was gutted by a fire that began in a faulty coffee maker.  Talking with people in the fire industry, she discovered most fires either start with the toaster or the dryer.  My lesson from that was to unplug kitchen appliances when not in use — save money, save electricity and possibly save your house from a fire.  (Side note, I also never run the dryer or dishwasher when not at home or when sleeping.  We had a 3 month old dishwasher completely melt down inside because the heating unit would not turn off.  The repair man said he’s seen the same happen in other households and would never run a dishwasher unattended.)

2. If you like trees, plant one and save up to 25% on cooling cost when you plant one that provides ample shade.

3. I’ve been guilty of this one.  Did you know that if you only ran your dishwasher and washing machine when full you could save up to 1000 gallons of water a year?  In our municipality water is not cheap so I know that could save us a bundle!

4. If you use a commercial car wash that recycles you’ll actually be using less water (and saving yourself an hour of work!)

5. If you have a new dishwasher, you don’t need to rinse as much.  Again, less work.  My parents wouldn’t let us put a thing into the dishwasher unless every little speck was rinsed off — it’s proving an oddly difficult habit to break but I’m working on it…

6. Did you know that just by turning the water off while brushing your teeth you can save 25 gallons a month — times that by the number of family members in the house.  That will add up to some savings as well!

If you have a great way to go green and save, National Geographic wants to hear about it!  They’ve teamed up with Sun Chips for their Green Effects contest.  The winner with the best green idea will win $20,000!  Now that would really help with energy bills!!! 

We at Cocoa Daisy  want to get in on the action too.  Tell us your favorite green tip and you could win a $50 prize package!!!  Just post a comment to this post before June 15th and you will be entered into the drawing.

If you want to hear more on green (and white), read on.  If you’ve had your fill– don’t.

On Thursday while listening to the radio, I heard a segment on a how the US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Noble Laureate in physics wants us to paint roofs white to help save energy and reduce global warming.  I’ve seen some scoffing of this idea on the internet but I think it’s an interesting, common sense solution.  You can read the story here.   

According to Chu, painting roads and roofs a lighter color would be equivalent to take every single car in the world off the road for 11 years!  I know that some global warming skeptics find this idea laughable, but what’s really interesting is where this idea originated.  With the US army.  In an effort to save fuel and to cut down on the need for fule convoys (which account for half of all casualties in the war theaters).   The Independent reports that  it estimates that every 1 per cent of fuel saved means 6,444 soldiers do not have to travel in a vulnerable convoy.  The Army found that just by insulating tents in Iraq and Afghanistan with a layer of light colored foam,  they have saved 100,000 gallons of fuel a day.  Amazing results!

Also, anyone who has been to Greece, the Carribean or other places known for their warm climates has probably noted how the roofs and buildings are generally white or light colored as they don’t absorb as much heat.  It’s an ancient way to stay cooler that seems to have been forgot for a while. 

I doubt people are going to rush out and paint their roofs white but it will be interesting to what what direction this leads future construction. 

There are also “green” roofs an other very old concept.  I visited Norway while in college and was amazed at their turf roofs called torvtak.  People’s roofs were gardens!  This building method is now coming to a city near you.  When I first read about it I thought that it would be messy, leaking and really expensive.  Apparently that’ s not the case.  They can last twice as long as a conventional roof, cut down on the need for insulation while decreasing cooling cost by 25% and provide more garden space!  They’ve grown enormously in popularity in Europe and are starting to catch on in the US and Canada.  You can read about them here and here.  One day when we build our dream house, I want a green roof!  

Hope you are having a good Tuesday!  It is a muggy, muggy day here.  That is something you’ll rarely hear come out of the mouth of someone in the Northwest (and one of the reasons we are glad to be in the Northwest!).  Bluck!  I just got back from Jack’s field day.  There were several things that I noticed were different from the memories those of us who experienced childhood in the ’70s would probably remember.  First of all, there were no prizes.  That in turn meant that about half the kids were not into the activities at all. 

Sack race?  Nope. 

Potato roll?  Not my thing. 

The spoon on the egg?  Not going to do it. 

Were we into field day as kids because there were prizes?  Because we HAD to participate?  Or just because it was fun?  I found it strange and disheartening to see kindergarteners already so jaded.  That is, until they did the water balloon toss!  Suddenly they all found the field day mojo!  And the tug-of-war really brought out brought them to life — even more so when the moms and high school helpers got in on the action too!  Are you wondering where are the photos you ask?  Yep, forgot the camera… Oh well…

But I did remember the camera when the kids were in their former babysitter’s wedding a week and a half ago.  You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for a wedding!  The reception was held at a renovated barn about 20 minutes from us. It’s part of a park that just opened last spring and it made for the most perfect setting and great for photos!  I didn’t know about this park and now I can wait to get out there again and explore the trails around it.
I’m a bit slow getting these up but I figured better late than never — and besides, Jack and Alice looked so cute as the ringer bearer and flower girl that I just couldn’t resist sharing!

The happy couple, Kelcey and Curtis:
 

Alice and Jack after the ceremony.                                                  

Kelcey & Alice in front of the homestead house at the park. 

It was a bit chilly when we first arrived at the barn.

 There was also a beautiful little bridge just in the woods.  Alice need to hike up her dress to make the walk all the way out there.

And then the excitement began, if you look closely at the next photo, you can see Alice’s flower wreath roll right off her head and off the bridge!

This made a little girl very sad.

Fortunately it didn’t go into the creek, just right along side of it, so daddy, in his suit, was able to climb down…

and rescue the wreath!

While on the bridge, we found that saying “poo-poo head” works much better “cheese” to get the kids animated in photos.

Then a man and his tripode came along and we enlisted him to do a family portrait.  You might just be looking at the Christmas card picture for this year!

And then back to the porch for a few more pictures and one last jump!

Happy Tuesday to you!!