Green Options

I feel a little redundant writing about gift wrapping so late in the game; but I’m extremely proud of my own efforts and wanted to share!

For quite a few years I used Sunday Funnies and newspaper. But honestly, they are just a little too ultilitarian looking to spark an “ooh” or an “ahh” from anyone. Last year, as I was shuttling yet another seed catalog to the recyling bin, I realized I actually had an abundance of very pretty wrapping paper! I now save all my seed and flower catalogs and usually use bailing twine as ribbon. My friends and family think its great.

My sister and I have been swapping the same bits of wire ribbon for years now. As ribbon, it is extremely re-usable and can be melded into just the right bow shape. This year, I decided to purchase a bunch of red, felt bows with wire twist-ties on the back. I figure that since I give presents to the same people every December, I’ll collect them up and reuse them next year!

Last week, 46,000 revelers finally broke camp and split the scene of this year’s Burning Man festival, The Green Man. You could call it the "biggest party in the world," though it defies categorization and convention: part art, music, rave, pyrotechnics show, and costume orgy, it’s probably the only place in America you’d see a 1,000-foot-tall mushroom cloud intended for politically-minded artistic expression.

Yep, that’s right - a 1,000 ft. mushroom cloud, and no,

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