Spring into January
I don't know what is happening at your house but I have trees that are budding and that should simply not be happening in January. It seems like the trees keep blooming earlier and earlier each year.
Although I am not the biggest fan of rain, we need lots of it to pull us out of this drought. I hope those weather folks are right about the rain coming this week.
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Eco DIY
I am not much of a do-it-yourself kind of person but all that might change with this new product. This up-cycled wood product is the brain child of a Sacramento company and from the looks of it, pretty easy to install. The company is Stikwood and they reclaim wood and make it into planks. You peel and stick the wood according to your own design. Of course, the cool factor all depends on the installation.
Photo used with permission of Stikwood
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Toxin free furniture - Coming to a store near you
Years ago (1975) a regulation was passed that was well intentioned but ultimately caused our furnishings to be covered with some pretty toxic chemicals. The regulation was TB117 (aka Technical Bulletin 117). This fire or flame reduction requirement was often achieved through the use of flame retardant chemicals like chlorinated Tris. These flame retardants have been linked to a variety of maladies including cancer and the chemicals are showing up in human and animal blood tests. Sadly, we all probably have some level of them in our own blood.
On January 1, 2014, TB 117-2013 became effective. This bulletin updates the standards of the original bulletin with a "smolder" test. Although this bulletin does not technically forbid the use of flame retardants, it does create a different ways to meet the requirements without the use of toxic chemicals. Hopefully more furniture manufacturers will take advantage of this and create toxin free furnishings that will be safe for our family and pets. Look for the TB 117-2013 label and ask if the furniture has been treated with flame retardant.
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Out out damned phone books
I don't know about you, but I really despise the sound of the phone book as it slaps my front porch as it did this weekend. It is usually tossed by someone running by before you can stop them or worse by someone driving a car and throwing them out the window. I haven't used a phone book in years and would prefer not to receive them. Finally there is a way to stop the delivery. Click here to opt out of future deliveries.
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Welcome the rain!
Marie L. Brown, LEED AP ID + C
Eco-Chic Design 
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