We had a chance to put together a Way Basics shelf recently. It really was as easy as they represented - at least it was for Woody the wonder dog and my two daughters Mary and Jessie.

I read about Way Basics and was intrigued. I needed some simple book shelves and figured I’d just go to a garage sale and find something, but it just hadn’t happened yet - didn’t realize how prized these things were! So, I was thrilled when they sent me a sample to play with.

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It was an interesting week to say the least. By the time the Lexus pick-up team arrived to retrieve their prototype, I was clear that I would likely measure all hybrid vehicle test drives by this first one. This was not my first hybrid test ride, nor do I hope it is my last, but I found myself more attached than I wanted to be as I saw its sleek yet short silver body reflect brilliantly for the last time. Yes, I am waxing (or waning perhaps) poetic for a car . . .

I come by it naturally as my father had a love for cool cars and gadgets - the Lexus HS 250h hybrid presented a satisfying blend of both.

A few of the ergonomic and gadget-type features that I loved had little to do with the hybrid or eco-factor. However, a couple of things in particular stuck with me and I suspect will be incorporated to some degree in most hybrid cars - or they should be for at least one model generation:

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On day 4, I was inspired to actually lift the hood (or bonnet, depending on what type of english you speak) to see if the engine was as new and space-age as the interior of the vehicle and to see what a 187  horsepowered hybrid engine looked like.

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Day 3 was painful because I had to go to work and my ability to drive was severely limited for most of the day.

Still loved the ride.

Hooked up my phone to the built-in bluetooth, hands-free system, which was a fairly painless process, but friends on the receiving end of these hands-free calls complained about the volume and my sounding ‘far away’ (which could be attributed to my lack of height – perhaps I am at a greater distance than the average person who would be driving the car?).

Using the USB port, I hooked up my iPod and prepared to rock myself to work. While it seemed to play okay, it locked up the device controls and I was unable to make any changes from the iPod itself. It seems I have to preset the music and then plug it in. Perhaps it is better with an auxiliary plug, which is also available, but I don’t have one of those cords handy. Will have to work on that one more.

Otherwise, the sound system is very good and as you can tell, a priority to me. I’m kind of superficial in being less concerned about what is under the hood than I am about the ergonomics of the experience.

Speaking of ergonomics, I read in the press release that some of the materials used for the dashboard are made from natural castor seeds and renewable kenaf plants, rather than petroleum-based sources. VERY cool.

I promise I’ll get into what is under the hood . . . that’s tomorrow’s post.

eat. blog. be merry!
gd meg

Sorry about the blue tint . . . even photoshop couldn’t fix this one! Anyway . . .

Day 2 was Sunday. It was a gorgeous day - a good day to have the sunroof open as I found more reasons to drive around and play with this new shiny eco-toy. While cruising on a major interstate bouncing in our seats to the rather good sound system, my daughter noted with alarm we were going 80 mph. Yikes. We gently applied the breaks and discussed how smooth a ride the vehicle was. We also noted that when the music was off or very low, there was not much exterior road noise. You are kind of cocooned in your own little peaceful, sci-fi environment.

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I don’t do this ‘green diva’ thing for the financial rewards (slim pickins these days), but there are times when a special event or product review opportunity comes along and I experience a sense of purpose and well, it is just flat out fun!

This week is one of those times when I love being a green diva. The smart PR folks for Lexus found me and decided I should test drive this beautiful not-available-till-2010 HS 250h hybrid sedan. Unfortunately, I’m on lock-down at my office most days and couldn’t get to the event in NY back in June. I whined a little by email with this sweet PR rep about how my man, Wayne drives a Lexus 400h and he rarely shares it.

She indicated that the cars would be back on the East Coast in July and she could hook me up with a ONE WEEK test drive! I asked her to repeat that message and she confirmed that they were offering to drop off a car anywhere I needed them to and let me play with it for a week and then pick it up at my convenience at the end of a week. Hmmmmmm? I played along, but expected a catch, like a huge deposit or ransom to include one of my children or something.

Apparently there are no catches and it’s all real and I aim to give you a daily account of my experience in fostering this car that I will want to adopt at the end of this week . . .

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TerraCycle

Soyeon is a classical concert pianist, with an impressive Julliard, Carnegie Hall performance history who may be the first to bring the eco-cause into the world of classical music. In her effort to bring classical music and environmental awareness together, she turned to husband and garbage-to-gold entrepreneur Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle to help design the new CD cover for Reinvented. As it turns out, he had just come home with a sample of new composite board made from - yup, you guessed it - tossed out Frito Lay bags!

They thus created the first garbage-inspired, Frito-Lay CD cover. I have one and you can even see the name Frito on one of the tiny shreds!

The music is beautiful, but the real inspiration is the marriage (pun intended) of eco-clever re-use of garbage and musical artistry.

If there were a contest for eco-power-couple of the next generation, I would vote for these two.

Is there anyone NOT sucked into the whirlwind of earth day hype? Is there anyone that isn’t thinking of how they can get their green on? Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed by it all?

Us Green Divas area all about easy does it! If we make earth day more of a lifestyle and simply start by making one green improvement from wherever we are on the big green super highway, sustainable living habits seem to sprout like hearty organic weeds and multiply. Before you know it, you’re talking local sustainable agriculture at your favorite new potluck dinner club!

I started with food. Yum.

The low-stress way of doing this, is to know you don’t have to do it ALL. Just pick one that resonates with you and start there. It should be fun and bring you some joy. This is NOT about adding stressful activities to your lifestyle, but adding some thoughtful and hopefully more meaningful activities to the things you already do anyway.

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Back to my office, where so much of my daily life seems to take place these days. This great bag is just one of the cool green products I’ve gotten to review that has been useful in making my work routine more interesting.

I’ve been using The Better Bag as my brief case since I got it a few weeks ago. It works great, but I feel better about the story behind the bag.

There’s always a story . . .

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We had a hankerin for something different for our sunday dinner this weekend. Then I had a timely conversation with a dear friend who fell in love and moved to Tennessee and now owns and runs a restaurant called Papa Boudreaux’s Cajun Cafe & Catering Company.

I did some research and decided to try and create a vegetarian Gumbo. I had no idea what I was in for.  After getting excellent instructions from my friend and reading a few intense suggestions about creating the critical roux, I sorely underestimated how lost I would feel in my first roux-making adventure. It seemed to work out. Everyone loved it! I’ll do my best to recount what I did. I’m certain I broke all kinds of tradition and rules, but whatever I did it was delicious!

Green Diva Meg’s Vegetarian Gumbo Adventure Recipe . . .

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Did you know . . .

• Cherries are related to apricots
• Cultivation of cherries dates back to 300 b.c.
• Prunus avium, the common cherry tree is related to the rose bush!
• The name originates from Greek (of course) and in Latin means ‘of or for the birds’
• While America produces 90% of cherries today, the varieties we know and love were originally brought here by our European settlers
• The popular Bing cherry was named after the farm foreman, who happened to be Manchurian, of the farm in Oregon that developed it

The Little Healer
These little buggers offer a potent dose of antioxidants, but beyond that it is a type of antioxidant not found in most other fruit. Research shows that cherries contain anthocyanins, which protect against heart disease, cancer, and inhibit enzymes that cause inflammation.

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When GD (that’s Green Diva folks) Jen brought me a goody bag for my birthday, among the treats which included a box of my favorite organic earl grey tea, I immediately gravitated to the large candy bar with the words, ‘Nutritious Chocolate’ on it. It was all VERY well timed. Let’s face it, for women, there are times of the month when chocolate saves lives - keeping raging hormones at a dull roar and the homicidal outbursts to a minimum.

Having tried some ‘nutritious’ chocolate, I didn’t expect much, but I tucked it into my work bag and figured it would make a sweet treat after lunch.

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Roses are Red . . .
Are those roses fair trade? How far did they travel? Are they grown organically, sustainably responsibly? If you don’t have a honey to send you flowers (or are unlikely to get them from your own honey), send yourself your favorite flowers!
                  Buy ‘green’ roses from Colombian Florverde growers (not local, but for a good cause).

Skip the Card . . .
Can we get creative electronically? Or write love poems on our bodies or something? Lots of ways to send the message w/out killing trees. If you don’t have anyone to send a love message to, take some time to imagine you are your own lover and send yourself a wonderful love note and appreciate who you are!
                  Care2 has some great FREE eCards that also help highlight important causes

Keep it Local . . .