In our consumer world, there is a lot of attention on the giving of material gifts. But Valentine's Day is about LOVE, so what better gift to give than a gift that is an expression of love? A love letter or poem, a drawing expressing your feelings, doing something the other wants to do (even if you don't want to do it!), preparing a favorite meal, even something that seems insignificant but is very very important--simply spending time together.

Though there are many reasons to give the gift of flowers, they are especially appropriate for Valentine's Day and as gifts of love throughout the year.

In Nature, the flower as a single function: to attract the bees to pollinate the plant, which is necessary for the plant to reproduce. Plants produce the most beautiful flowers simply to call the bees to come to them. Flowers are inherently symbols of attraction.

Organic flowers help restore the fertility of the land with sustainable growing practices. They are completely renewable and biodegradable, in addition to being one of the loveliest of Nature's gifts.

There's still time to order...

Where to purchase organic flowers
Why Buying Organic Flowers is Important
Caring for Cut Flowers Without Chemcials

A wedding is one of life's major rites of passage. It is certainly something to celebrate! Today, wedding books and magazines in our consumer culture promote large weddings so that more and more wedding products can be sold. Wedding expenditures run into many thousands of dollars. And after this major outlay of money, most of what is purchased is never used again.

On the Spring Equinox 2004, my ex-husband Larry and I "recycled" our marriage and got married again. We had been together for almost seventeen years at that time and had divorced several years prior when our relationship problems seemed impossible to resolve. But we still loved each other (and Larry wouldn't give up!), so we figured out what to do to make things better and are now happier than ever. [Larry says we have a permanent marriage, and had a "temporary divorce." :-)]

In planning our wedding, we wanted to keep it simple, sustainable, and full of meaning. You are invited to visit our on-line wedding album and see how we expressed our love not only for each other, but also for the Earth.

Here are just a few of the links I've added to Debra's List in the last two weeks:

* Two sites with organic hemp products. Hemp Sisters carries primarily clothing and bags made in a women's cooperative from wild harvested hemp. Rawganique has an amazing selection of fair trade clothing and home products made from certified organic European hemp and other organic fibers.

* Purely Organic sells luscious-sounding organic food products imported from Italy.

* Two organic dairy farm sites. Horizon Dairy Farms and Organic Valley Farms dairy products are well known--sold in many natural food stores and even supermarkets--but I learned much more about the practices of these two companies by reading their websites.

* Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors uses a unique nontoxic preservative process for their wooden windows and doors (read also my article About: Preservatives on Wood Windows).

Dear Debra ~

I have a question for you on low/no VOC paints. We've used Glidden "Lifemaster2000" a couple of times and it works fine. Stronger smell than I thought it should, but better than regular.

My attention has now come to Pittsburgh Paints-"Pure Performance". It sounds very good, "Green Seal" and all. So many paint companies now have low/no VOC paints, I guess it's just preference and colors. PIttsburgh had really nice earthy colors, which is what I was looking for.

I guess, I'm just wondering if you have used "Pure Performance" or know anything about it good or bad?

Thanks sooooooo much for all your info and quick responses.

D.T.
Wakefield, MA

I don't have experience with Pure Performance. I've used...

Dear Debra ~

I just bought a water filter and I'm not sure I bought the right one. What should I be looking for in a water filter?

J. L.
Chicago IL

This is a big question. There is a whole chapter on choosing water filters in Home Safe Home, and I'm also in the process of writing a how-to guide for the website.

Here's a simple place to start...

Dear Debra ~

What is the best wood finish I can buy at a local store? I don't have time to order on-line.

L. H.
Nampa, Idaho

Any water-based wood finish will contain significantly less toxic solvent than oil-based finishes. Most water-based finishes still contain glycol ether, which is toxic, but considered "less hazardous than most chemicals" on Scorecard Chemical Profiles.

If you don't have time to order AFM AcryGlaze, which does not contain glycol ethers, you can use...

By popular demand, I will continue answer your questions in this newsletter. If you have a question you would like to submit, please send me an email with your question. It may take two to four weeks or longer for your question to appear in the newsletter. Usually I send an immediate short answer to email questions, but then give a more detailed answer in the newsletter.

Want a quick, personal answer to your question? Call me for a paid telephone consultation during normal business hours, Eastern Time.