If you've never tried "detoxing", let me enlighten you somewhat. Over the past several years after moving several times & being under some challenging stress (w/my mom's illness & subsequent passing), I found myself not feeling very well overall. Exercise was very difficult as I didn't seem to have the energy to go very far... and I always seemed to be rather tired with very little effort.
I had blood test after blood test done... and nothing was showing up. Thought it might have been my heart and arteries, and had various tests done there -- nothing wrong with the heart. Had MS testing done... nothing. My sister thought it was my thyroid... nope it wasn't that.
You can imagine how frustrating this can be if you've ever had something wrong in your body, but couldn't quite put your finger on it, and regular doctors can't find anything! But I was determined to find a way to feel better overall, even if how I felt didn't have a name, and especially to get back to exercising! I tried a few detox programs that lasted a month here or there... and, with the exception of losing about 7 lbs and feeling better for just a few weeks, didn't feel like those programs were helping me overall.
I mentioned something to my massage therapist who said her husband is a Detox Specialist. After doing a series of tests that measure the organs through the acupuncture meridians, he can determine if my organs are healthy or not, and then with the use of herbs & a change of diet to Raw Food, start to heal these organs and the illness. I was told this detox program takes 9 mos to help heal the organs... not one month! So I decided to give it a try! '-)
I wanted something that would make me FEEL like I was making progress in healing my body, and not have a program that just lasted a month, and temporarily made me feel good, only to come back shortly after... similar to all the diet programs of my past. :-/
In March, I had the test first which is done by touching an electrode to the fingers & the toes (both hands & feet), then got a printout of how my organs were doing (not so well... no surprise). I was also given a one hour discussion about how the body works, what foods are best for it, and how it can be healed. I was then given (2) bottles of Gods' Herbs and proceeded to add drops to water/juice, 3x per day and changed my diet to eat more raw food, and eliminate food & cooked foods that are harmful to my system.
After 2 months, I was feeling BETTER than I had felt in a long time! :-D So of course I decided to "test" it by having some "naughty" food, thinking it was "oK" to go back & eat the way I used to eat. I also had friends in town and found myself not eating properly because I didn't want to speak up for my own needs. So, I paid for it... I became VERY VERY ILL over one or two days... and this taught me that I had to stay on the raw food diet & continue with the herbal drops if I want to feel better!
It's definitely a BIG change for one's body & lifestyle to go to a raw food diet!! It definitely makes life rather challenging especially while away on vacation. I cannot eat typical local fare as it will make me ill. And since I don't like that feeling, I eat what I'm supposed to eat. It's definitely a choice... Fortunately there's a lot more raw food & organic restaurants popping up, as well as organic fruit & veggie shops appearing around the world. But if you're like me... you might just have to bring what you like to eat, and supplement with other local organic & raw food.
So, if you have something awry in your body, and you're not sure what the problem is... consider a Detox Specialist who can help determine what's wrong in your body & help to heal it. You may not find out EXACTLY what the problem is... but you'll understand that chamges need to be made in order to feel good & enjoy life again! :-)
Check out: Massage Therapist, God's Herbs, Raw Food, Detox Specialist
This past weekend, while doing a walking tour of the wonderful & beautiful Historic Inns of St. Augustine, I stopped into the Old Drug Store at the corner of Orange Street & Cordova Street to visit Old City Remedies. I had visited their shop in the past just prior to moving here & purchased some soap, but this time decided to purchase an ounce or two of Tea they have available (in addition to other handmade bath & body products)! They have a huge selection of teas... black, red, green, white, rooibos, organic herbal, oriental... you name it, they have it!
First I tried their sample tea, I think it was Red Berries Fruit Melange, which was a melange of different fruits including blueberries (great antioxidant). I was very VERY surprised at how deliciously thick this tea was and enjoyed it's naturally sweet flavor which was not overpowering!After drinking the sample, I got busy sniffing all the samples of tea, and decided on two: Cocoa Cardamom: black tea, cocoa chips, cardamom, & cinnamon. Smells like cocoa tea! :-D Lemon Chiffon Rooibos: South African rooibos, lemongrass, marigold flowers. This truly smells like lemon chiffon, but the rooibos & a hint of lemon shows through when enjoying the tea!I'm looking forward to trying some of their organic herbal teas as well. They have a website that includes a large selection of their popular teas in a variety of areas and all their handmade products as well, but it doesn't include the flavors I mentioned above! Be sure to ask them for those flavors or... you'll just have to visit St. Augustine to find them! '-DVisit: Old City Remedies
I've discovered a whole world of *new* natural & organic products in the natural food markets after moving here this Fall! One particular product that really stands out is Ecover. They use plant-based ingredients & fragrances, it's biodegradable, and their containers are recyclable. I haven't had any irritation issues with the product either... which is a nice plus! 
They have a variety of products available, but the products I've used most often since I've moved here are their fabric softener which comes in several nice soft scents, this one being "Sunny Day". I also like that they print the ingredients on the bottle as well as on their website. This is something that I myself feel is important especially with skin sensitivities... and people have a right to know what's in the product their buying for their own bodies! :-)My clothes & towels come out so much more softer now as compared to other organic fabric softeners, and I can tell you I've tried them all!! To me, it's worth it to pay a little more for something that works -- as the saying goes: You get what you pay for! '-)Visit: Ecover
I found a wonderful store just two doors down from my favorite organic body products shop on St. George St, here in St. Augustine... Scents of St. Augustine! A nice variety of soy candles greet you as you walk into the shop... but these aren't just your average soy candles! The owner, Carol, creates her "unique" candles by adding a variety of butters to the candles so they can be used as a lotion on your skin as well -- Moisturizing, nourishing, & healing! So, after lighting the flame, and the wax melts... you can dip your fingers in (since soy wax isn't that hot), and smooth some on your skin at the same time! Magic to your senses as well as your skin! '-D 
One thing I've found is that it's hard to find a REALLY GOOD candle that uses essential oils and still smells great! But, Scents of St. Augustine has a variety of essential oil scents as well as fragrance scented candles. I've already tried the Peppermint Eucalyptus (essential oil) and Sunflower (fragrance). Both smell wonderfully while burning, and just as nice when not burning -- leave the lid off to scent your room! In fact, the peppermint eucalyptus had a very nice soothing & relaxing scent. I have to say that these candles are just as wonderful to burn & have as long a lasting scent as the others I used to sell -- but of course the fact that they can be used on the body is even MORE of a bonus! :-D And they're double wicked too, which means that the candle burns evenly down the jar until there's none left, so then you can reuse the jar! '-) The candles come in a variety of sizes as well from 4 oz. to 12 oz. She also makes an "Odor Eaters" candle which I'll be ordering soon... and am looking forward to trying! Be sure to check out & order from their website, unless you'll be up here sampling them yourself!! I know you won't be disappointed!Visit: Scents of St. Augustine
... with some of Jackie's new Old Fashioned Laundry Soap, that she'll shred for you too! :-D After unpacking many boxes, I finally found the laundry soap I purchased from her before I moved! As you may already know, her laundry soap is handmade and is scent & color free! I ordered mine pre-shredded, which means she shreds it for you... makes it lighter to ship that way too! And when it arrives, the package smells SO Fresh & Clean! There's a REALLY EASY recipe that comes along with the soap, so be sure to buy a bottle of orange essential oil* from her too... and don't forget the handmade bar soap!Visit: Handcrafted by Jackie Turbot*Orange essential oil is recommended as a degreaser. Have Fun!!
The BEST way for me to know whether a new town that I'm considering moving to is the right place is when I find THREE (3) handmade soap & body product shops, especially when one is organic & vegan!! :-D JACKPOT!! LOLOf course, I'll share these three wonderful shops with you... they all have a website, but it's worth visiting St. Augustine to check out their distinctive little shops & smell all the goodies to spoil yourself with! The first place I wandered into is called Bath Junkie. It's an interesting shop with lots of colorful soaps, soap beads, bath salts, bath products... and empty bottles, etc. Your delite & treat is to custom create & blend your own bath & body products! Even though they have products made with essential oils, I actually found a handmade soap made by Nikki's Naturals. I tried Cranberry, and was greeted with a soap having a variety of oils with a spunky cranberry scent! It lasted a long time too... as I'm still using it! Apparently the Pet Soap is very popular on the 'net with a lot of pet shops; since I don't have a dog, I can't say how good it is. Anyway, Nikki's Naturals is a one woman soap company (just like Jackie's) out of Arkansas. Her soap is definitely one to try as it's available in a variety of scents, sure to please everyone, including your dog(s)!The next shop... Hickory Ridge Organics was definitely a TREAT! Originally when I sought out this shop, I was looking for Dead Sea Salts in particular. I found a wonderful jar of Lavender Dead Sea Salts, and also Vanilla Ylang Ylang. I decided to try the Lavender and was NOT disappointed! The first night I used it in my tub it was SO relaxing with little bits of lavender seeds floating around, I had the deepest night's sleep afterward! :-D LOL It had a very nice strong scent of Lavender; 
I'm looking forward to trying the Vanilla Ylang Ylang next! The owner, Lisa, and I had a really great conversation about organics available in the St. Augustine area. She also included a free sample of Lavender soap for me to try... that's next on my list! Next time I visit, I'll be purchasing a few bars of her soap as well as the perfume! She has a website also, and I noticed she has an interesting type of soap available also... Felted Artisan Soap! Sounds interesting, huh? :-D With an order from her website, you receive (2) Free soap samples, which is a nice bonus, PLUS Free Shipping for orders over $50! Very nice incentives for shopping online! '-D I also learned that the B&B I stayed at, the Centennial House, has contracted with Hickory Ridge to purchase their soap & body products for the B&B! A very NICE choice!! This B&B was also a wonderful place to stay... I'll elaborate more in another article. '-)The last shop I visited was in the "Oldest Drugstore" on Orange St. After looking at a variety of antique drug store products (of which I noticed they had no antique Johnson & Johnson items) further perusal of the shop in the back led to a variety of handmade soap, face, & body products, as well as large glass jars of blended tea, all made by Old City Remedies. 
I purchased a small package of Peppermint Dead Sea Salts as it smelled so minty fresh, I could imagine it clearing my sinuses while bathing with the salts! I also purchased two handmade soaps: Pear Berry and Black Licorice. It was really a tough decision... as the Vanilla Silk smelled like warm caramel, but I decided to try that one the next time, along with the facial products. I did try a sample of the shea butters -- very nice, looking forward to purchasing a container of that also!Stay tuned for more tidbits from my north FL visit to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S.!
Found a truly wonderful soap @ Whole Foods a few weeks ago, and even my friends agree that it's a wonderfully scented soap & very luxurious! 
While shopping I came upon a table with huge blocks of soap and little pieces cut off. I bought several scents to try & gave some to a Lavender-loving friend. Very aromatic & nicely priced, Hugo Naturals also has a nice variety of body products, baby hugo, & soy candles products available at their website! Go get a sample of this bar at your local Whole Foods... or just take my word for it & order it! '-D
My! It's been an awful long time since I've written... my apologies! My journeys up to NJ have taken up quite a bit of time in March & April. '-)In the meantime, I DID receive this marvelous organic soap in the mail and the essential oils used are THE MOST aromatic I've ever encountered in a soap! Obviously, I LOVED my samples & refreshing bar, pictured below. 
The smaller sampler sized bars lasted several days and you just wouldn't believe the intensity of the scents, but certainly not overpowering... very clean & natural scents of citrus & lavender, blood orange & bergamot, forest juniper berries, peppermint, and oatmeal & aromatic spices (the latter not your average oatmeal soap)! Personally, I will definitely try all of these scents in the larger bar similar to the "Refresh" (peppermint) bar pictured. The larger bars are somewhat larger than the average sized handmade bar soap.There's also a nice variety of gift sets available so you can try a variety of these aromatherapy soaps or bath products all at the same time, or order the small bar soap sampler to try a variety of scents. This is a somewhat more economical way to try all the scents rather than ordering a large bar of each scent & not being sure you're going to like it.Also featured on the Spa Goddess Etsy site are "shower steamers"... this is something I definitely would like to try! Essential oils are released into the shower steam and are absorbed into the body! We're always looking for ways to make our showers into more of a spa experience, and this could be it!So... you can bet I'm not done trying the organic spa products of Spa Goddess/Angel Face Botanicals! Let us know how you like the products!On the web, Spa Goddess is known as Angel Face Botanicals. You can order from either site.Next I'll be sampling the products of Elegant Rose Boutique on Etsy...
Just for something a little different, I'm going to try some handmade soaps from several *new* Vegan soapmakers on Etsy over the next month or so. There's such a nice variety of handmade soaps available these days, maybe I'll find some others to add to my current favorite!Here's a list of those that seem rather appealing, and if you have any thoughts or soapmakers to share, please feel free to leave your comments! :-)*Burnt Mill Candles & Soaps -- very colorful soaps
*Elegant Rose Boutique -- essential oil soaps (plus bath salts)
*Spa Goddess -- organic soaps (plus bath salts & perfume)
*Long Leaf Soaps -- Nag Champa soap
Stay tuned for the results... '-)Guess you're waiting for the results, eh? :-D I'll be receiving soap shortly from Spa Goddess in a variety of essential oil scents: Peppermint, Lavender, Citrus & Lavender, Juniper Forest, and Blood Orange & Bergamot. Continue to stay tuned... '-)
Yesterday, the recycling efforts extended to the Bait Shop area! We'll see how that proceeds... it may take a little while to get it going as mostly men congregate back there. '-DPositive progress was also made with the Resort. The couple who runs it said they would welcome the opportunity to collect & sort guests' recycling! They've already started cleaning up the beach after I mentioned something about volunteering to do it. '-) YAY!Things are progressing nicely...! :-D
Wow... Someone nominated me for a FL Keys GLEE Award. I am very surprised and feel honored. Thank you. :-)It's definitely totally unexpected as my efforts & interests are for the good of the environment (as a whole) that we live in. :-)
Happy 2010!! I wish you all a new year filled with lots of surprises, happiness, prosperity, green living... and peace!At my new place of business, I've been fortunate to start a recycling program right in the store! I mentioned the idea of recycling in-store to my co-worker and she volunteered to take the weekly plastics/glass/cans collected home with her to be recycled. I would have done it, however, there isn't any recycling where I live... I'm working on changing that! '-DWe found an unused wire basket, approx. 2-1/2 to 3' tall, and placed it near the checkout area. We've been adding our items to the basket daily (although it's been so cold, we haven't drunk as much tea in cans lately), and the guys who work during the day have even contributed to the basket! We even have customers adding to it now as well! '-) SUCCESS!!I've found that these kinds of things/changes take time with my Supervisor. I even took an "imaginary" photo of him (with my fingers not the actual camera) cleaning out his bottle and tossing it into the recycling basket!! This was a MONUMENTAL thing to have happened!! I was SO happy when I saw that!Pretty soon... I'll suggest larger containers outside... for the guys who hang out in "Boys Club" as well as the guests in the timeshare/rentals. I just have to locate a place to put them that is accessible to both, but not unsightly! Then at some point... perhaps the Marina will become a "green" one! '-D Wish me luck!
Being an organic food lover, it's difficult at times to find a place to eat with healthy food choices... and make choices amongst the many non-organic food items. Living here in the Keys though tends to open up some of the food choices because of the wealthy abundance of fresh fish! Just yesterday one of the fishing charters (where I work) came in with a Swordfish!! It weighed 228 lbs.! I've never seen a swordfish, so it was a delightful treat to actually see one in person... it was a bit shorter than I thought it would be, with a small tail but a rather long sword. I've been told that they're THE BEST fish to eat... maybe the charter boat captain left us some samples! :-DBut besides the fish... we do have a few places in the Upper & Middle Keys for organic/vegan eating choices, although some are far & few between. One great place in Key Largo is Eco Eats. They create really delicious wraps full of chicken, fish, veggies that are large but not overly filling. I enjoy going to this small restaurant whenever I'm up in that area. I believe they're opening another (smaller) location at Froggy's, the local gym, in Tavernier.On Big Pine Key, there's the Good Food Conspiracy! Wish we had one of these up in the Upper Keys! They combine health & organic food, organic products, good-for-you products, and a snack bar with awesome smoothies and cookies made by Deer Run (a Green Lodging B&B nearby-link is to the right). This is a definite stop on your way to Key West, and be sure to make time to visit The Crystal Loft next door for beautiful crystal gifts for yourself! :-DThere's a new health food store in Marathon, Food for Thought... I'll touch on this at a later date (after I've had a chance to visit & sample)! Sure wish a health food store w/organic snack bar would open in Islamorada! It would make eating so much easier & healthful!! :-DIf you're looking for a location somewhere else in the U.S., a great online source of vegan/organic restaurants is Happy Cow. I've tried some of the restaurants recommended while travelling and it's been an enjoyable eating experience!
I just ordered some soap from Jackie, and she has a *new* scent: Pomegranate Mango!! I am definitely looking forward to trying that! She's also made some new guest & bar soaps for the Christmas holidays... I decided to try the guest soaps. My order is sitting at the post office presently... I'll pick it up tomorrow, and let you know how wonderful the *new* scents are!! '-DI forgot that she also has a new Chocolate soap available also. I can't imagine using a "chocolate" soap, but if you love chocolate... you'll probably love this soap too!
See: Handcrafted by Jackie TurbotNote: The Pomegranate Mango is absolutely delightfully sparkling! :-D It gives a wonderful lift to your morning shower! The Christmas Memories soap is also very nice... I'm looking forward to receiving the larger bars for the holidays this month!
My friend, Jeanne, and I had a HUGE BLAST in Key West this past weekend! It felt so wonderful not to worry about what time we had to get somewhere on Friday! We left in the morning, stopped for mail p/u, then wandered down to Key West. We stopped in Marathon for lunch at Keys Fisheries... GREAT place to take a vegan friend! :-D We enjoyed grilled mahi-mahi sandwiches... then drove on to Big Pine Key where by sheer chance at the Visitor's Center (on the oceanside) we saw a Key Deer! I turned right around, drove in, and she got some awesome pics of this lone male deer.
I don't think we stopped again until we got to our B&B, Courtney's Place, in KW. What a wonderful B&B... GREAT breakfasts -- in fact, I think they had the most incredibly large continental breakfast I've ever seen! All kinds of wonderful & spoiling danish (time to go back on my diet!), cereals-hot & cold, french toast/waffles, bagels/rolls/bread, h-b eggs, yogurt... Wow! I LOVE breakfasts... as if you couldn't tell! '-D LOL
The room we were in was fabulous... two queen size beds side by side (hard to find in KW)... and VERY VERY thick!! I know we both slept deeply on those beds! They also had bikes to rent at 1/2 the price of the rental bike companies. On Saturday, we biked & saw as much as we could on those bicycles... and they didn't have any gears either, so you can bet that all the walking up the stairs I've been doing (to/from my new apt.) has helped my legs be in shape for THAT bike!! :-D LOL
On Friday night we decided to do the Ghost Tour! I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and finally got the chance! I haven't checked my phone camera yet to see if there are any ghost sitings on the pics. On Saturday, we started out at the Hemingway House, then... Lighthouse Museum, Southernmost Point (got a pic of Jeanne during a major downpour that lasted a good 20 min!), lunch at Camille's on Simonton St. (we were definitely very WET rats when we got there! LOL) which was really very delicious, West Martello Fort which is now the Key West Garden Club, Higgs Beach, Butterfly & Nature Conservatory... THEN we went back to the room thinking we were going for a swim before we went to see the cloudy sunset @ Mallory's dock (I wonder who Mallory was... do you know?). No swim... no time! Showers and new clothes then back on the bikes to Mallory's dock... as I mentioned it was quite cloudy, so we didn't get to see a good sunset. Oh well... then on to Turtle Kraals at the Seaport for dinner. They have THE MOST WONDERFUL Pork platter dinner! If you LOVE Pork as I do, you'll love eating it there... with a choice of 5 different sauces! YUM!
We rode our bikes back up Duval... it was wonderful, I had a dress on... it was so much fun to ride a bike with a dress on! :-D I felt so happy & free!! LOL Anyway, I wanted to buy a few things at Fresh Produce but they appeared to be closed early, rather unusual for a Saturday night we thought. But had to stop at Mattheson's for a choc. chip cookie & an oatmeal cookie, treating Jeanne to a choc. chip macadamia cookie as well! This is a tradition for me (buying the 2 cookies). :-) Then back on our bicycles to the B&B... it was so nice & cool & windy after the rain storms in the afternoon. Our cold front finally arrived... it lasted only about 2 days. Hope it's a preview of what's to come in January! :-D
As I mentioned... we slept VERY WELL with all the activities we participated in on Friday & Saturday! We left early (about 9:30a) on Sunday... I had to work that afternoon. It took us longer than I anticipated... almost 2 hours to get back home; there wasn't much traffic, so I don't know why it took so long! But of course we had to stop on Big Pine Key again and get some Key Lime Pie on a Stick... EVIL, EVIL, EVIL!! :-D And then I drove down Long Beach Road to see some more Key Deer... mostly females.
What a wonderful weekend it was with her!! We're already planning to go away together on our 55th birthdays... maybe Europe, maybe So. America! :-DSee: Keys Fisheries, Key Deer, Courtney's Place B&B, Ghost Tour, Hemingway House, Lighthouse Museum, Southernmost Point, Camille's, West Martello/Key West Garden Club, Butterfly & Nature Conservancy, Mallory's Dock, Turtle Kraals, Matheson's.
...for a mini-vacation!! :-D This weekend my oldest friend will be coming down from the cool North to visit & celebrate our "milestone" birthdays... 29 & holding!! :-D LOL We met when we were 12... at YMCA Camp! She lived on the other side of the state, but in NJ that's only about 45 min. away. On weekends, we would have sleepovers. Her father was a psychologist in a nearby school district, so on Fridays I'd drive back home with him. Then my parents came down & picked me up on Saturdays. :-) We have a lot of nice memories together!! :-D She's an Art Historian... I would just LOVE to go to Europe with her (some day...) and learn about all the historic buildings & paintings!!
We're planning to spend the weekend in Key West... snorkeling, discovering, museuming, eating, walking, catching up, celebrating (that should really be first!), etc.! She's visited me just about everywhere I lived (except for Atlanta), and she's never been down here to the Keys, time to show it off! :-D
We're staying in a B&B I've never stayed at, but then again there's A LOT of B&B's I haven't stayed at in KW yet! I would have liked to stay near the Seaport, but it wasn't meant to be. This time we'll be in the vicinity of Hemingway's House. Something different... '-) There's a wonderful restaurant on that side of town called "7 Fish"!! It has WONDERFUL food! The last meal I had there was absolutely exquisite... and it's not fancy nor crowded. It's small & intimate. I definitely recommend it! '-D
Well, wish us LOTS of Fun this weekend!! :-D
Guess I've been on a "litter pick-up" mission for the last several months! My new job is at a marina... and I find it odd that they're not a "green" or "clean marina". But after eating my lunch under the little Tiki before I go to work, I can understand why they're not. There's all sorts of litter strewn on the beach plus a HUGE black tarp that washed ashore!! I can't imagine that huge tarp being out on the water... I suppose it would be a GREAT place for dolphin (mahi-mahi) to hide, but otherwise it could be very deadly for the sea life! :-/ Last week, before going to work I brought a garbage bag with me and cleaned up a good portion of the beach... probably the southern portion, and ended up filling up that entire bag! I still have more to do one day this week. I can't believe all the garbage that rolled up... and I noticed today that there's MORE that came ashore in the past week!Then I was thinking that with all the beer cans that are purchased & emptied there, we could fill a huge can (if not more) with all these wonderful recyclable items! I have to work on this with the boss! '-)So many places could be clean & green if we would all pitch in & pick up the garbage!! :-DI don't have much to report about any new products... I'm still using Shakleen cleaning products as well as the Green Works line (by Clorox) for other cleaning; I like these two product lines the best. :-D
I've been moving AGAIN for the past month it seems (I'm really getting tired of it now, but I'm very close to being done!)... and the one thing I'm really going to miss is the Oceanside park that I've been frequenting since I moved to this area of north Tavernier.
Recently, while taking a break from packing (it seems like that's all I do lately is pack & work, work & pack)... I took my usual bike ride down to the park, stopped on the jetty for a 1/2 hour to enjoy the sun, listen to the wonderful sound of the water rolling up onto the rocky shore, do a chakra clearing... then continue my bike ride down the path. A few WEEKS ago the water was so high and coming onto the land past the barriers they installed (moreso to keep people off the coral I think than to prevent the water from coming onto land :-D), and of course, LOTS & LOTS of trash rolled in as well. Do you know that that trash stayed there for several weeks... people would just bicycle/run/walk/picnic by it but nobody would stop and pick it up!! I guess you can tell this is a "pet peeve" for me. I can honestly say that there are 3 other neighbors who make an effort at cleaning up this park. Three neighbors out of possibly over 200 houses in this development! :-/
So as I rode my bicycle past, I noticed there was a blue fishing bucket that was sitting there amongst the trash. How convenient that this bucket was here ... for me/us to collect the trash in this bucket to put in the trash can. I got off my bike and started to pick up the trash... I filled 1-1/2 trash cans full of ocean trash and there was still more!! But I felt like I did my share of taking care of God's land... he gave us this land and waters to take care of. It felt good to clean it up... I wonder if anybody helped to clean up the rest of it. The most interesting find this time? A ping pong ball! :-D LOL
So how is it that a person who is busy moving out of the development has time to stop and clean up the park so that everyone else can enjoy it? So many other people need to take time to notice their surroundings more and not think that "somebody else" is going to always do it. We're all in this together. I have considered writing a letter to the Editor of a local newspaper about this... but I don't have time... I'm moving!! '-) And I'd rather pick up the trash! :-) It makes ME feel good about it... and that's what counts. '-) Hope you do the same!I guess I have to add here also that I volunteered to clean up the small stretch of beach at the resort I work at. I talked with the timeshare manager and he said they had to cut back on personnel who would normally do it and "what comes in with the ocean, can roll back out with the ocean". I did my :-/ face and said I would clean the beach... in my spare time. I can only imagine what kind of a message is sent to the resort visitors when they stroll amongst the seaweed & garbage (as well as a LARGE tarp). A little volunteering can make it a nice, enjoyable place for everyone! '-)
I've always been interested in cleaning up the environment... and since I started living in this area with the oceanside park, it's just amazing how MUCH trash rolls in with the seaweed: flip flops, plastic bottles, fishing line containers, styrofoam... but it's certainly great to see that people aren't bringing glass on their boats, but nonetheless the plastic & styrofoam aren't the greatest for the oceanlife NOR the flip flops!!It was explained to me that the county is understaffed to pick up the garbage that rolls in from the ocean... so neighborhood volunteers pick up the trash. Yesterday my bike developed a flat while at the park, and lately there's a lot of foreigners (outside of Miami) visiting the Keys (this is the time for them... Sept./Oct. must be REALLY RAINY over there now!). So I just felt the trash was rather unsightly and I started picking it up and putting it all into a pile. A young visiting boy said hello to me while I was doing it. Hopefully it stuck in his mind to do this himself at some point in time! '-D I read something somewhere about "courtesy", and if you see something that fell on the ground, don't walk around it... pick it up!! It makes me feel good to give back to the county and to the visitors who visit our chain of islands, AND to the neighbors (like myself) to enjoy our beautiful park! :-D I also noticed that there are specific "groups" (noted on a sign) that are supposed to be helping to keep the park clean... I don't know that they exist anymore. It would be great if some local groups adopted it since it IS such a big park!I've always wanted to be involved with ocean clean-ups, i.e., when dives are scheduled to specifically clean up under the water. There can be a lot of junk while diving underwater like glass bottles (there they are!), rope/line, fishing line, hooks, weights... all kinds of harmful stuff! A few years ago while diving in the Bay, I found a crab with a lot of fishing line wrapped all around it. I felt like I was performing surgery on the poor thing, cutting all of it off, freeing him to move around more easily... it made me feel SO GOOD to send him on his way free of all that line! '-DTonight I went for another walk, this time down the end of my street (the first time earlier was to the park - remember I have a flat tire). My street seems to go a bit farther down than the other streets, or so it seems. Anyway, down at the end is a place to put a kayak in and paddle around a small lake, Dove Lake I think. Kids/couples go down there for "other" things as well! People fish there too... and I heard recently that there's a salt water crocodile resting in there -- so you won't find ME there!! :-O Anyway... as you can well imagine, people like to leave their their trash: beer bottles, fast food containers, etc. and there's no garbage can. Some day when I have nothing better to do (like when?) I'll go down and clean it up and LEAVE a trash can there! I'm surprised the county doesn't leave a can there... but I guess we can only expect so much!So-o-o... what have YOU done lately to decrease the amount of litter in your area? :-)
I have a *new* blog... called My Angels' Kisses. I'm still fine tuning it, but it does appear to the right in the Blogs To Share section. Just click on it, then put it in your Favorites for the next time. :-)There are several interesting links so far, and there's also a *free* Angel reading you can do for yourself, guidance from the Angels... it's rather accurate. I have some angellic items to offer in the future... so as soon as I figure out HOW to post them on the blog, it will be done! :-) I've also moved a few links over to that blog since they pertain more to Love and the Angels, and less to the "Green" life. :-) I hope you enjoy reading my new blog... feel free to post comments on either.
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