Sweet potatoes – thank you for joining me for this month’s edition of Tell Us About 12.2024. Our December prompt comes to us from Rosie Amber who suggested we write about going green. Somehow, I missed the word ‘going’ when I first began thinking about the post, instead focused on the word GREEN. Which is the best color in the world. Just ask me!!
Tell Us About
Tell Us About (TUA) is a global writing challenge where bloggers from all around the planet respond to a different prompt on the third Thursday of each month. Have so enjoyed writing these posts each month, even when I completely misunderstood the prompt!!
You can find my other TUA posts here:
Tell Us About –
- Play
- Scent
- Gardens and Gardening
- Ways I’m a Curiosity
- Travel
- Imagination
- my theme choice for September, Legacy
- Hometowns
- Laughter
- Music to my Ears
- Beauty in my World
- Blah-blah-blogging
- Vacations: That Trip with the Tick
- A Few of my Favorite Things
- School Days
- Confidence or Lack Thereof
Before we wade in, just a reminder: Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links which are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
Please find the places and posts where I link-up on this page.
The Tell Us About Gals
Before heading out to their blogs, here are the summaries of the girls’ posts below.
- Gail from Is This Mutton recalls the green initiatives of her childhood, which were more closely linked to frugality, and outlines her current approach to Going Green.
- For Penny, at Frugal Fashion Shopper, thinks that Going Green is very much about changing one’s lifestyle to be more environmentally aware to reduce one’s personal waste and carbon footprint. However, if she was younger she would definitely be acting in a far more radical way. However, there is still much one can do and maybe 2025 is a year to make some changes!
- Suzy writes about her love for the colour green and shares practical ways she incorporates sustainability into her life, from recycling and shopping second-hand on Vinted to embracing the charm of pre-loved furniture.Find her at www.suzyturner.com.
- Marsha at Marsha in the Middlehas a couple of things recycled by her dad way before recycling was a thing. One of them is a treasure. The other lives with her son. In the early days of recycling at her hometown, Marsha was definitely a hands-on recycler!
- Debbie, the host at Debbie’s World, goes green in a slightly different way with fashion and native flowers. She also shares some eco friendly products.
- From her blog, Grown Up Glamour, Jill is focusing on the impact appreciating the natural world can have in our every day lives.
- The host of MK’s Adventures in Style, Mary Katherine is traveling but will rejoin us in the new year.
Tell Us About 12.2024
I was a blue girl growing up. Never really liked red or pink much. Thought they were too girly for my taste. Contrarily, my sister’s favorite color was red as a little girl, I think she liked pink, too. When we moved to Memphis and had our own pretty bedrooms in our ‘someday’ house, I picked out a blue and aqua floral bedspread that hada smattering of small pink flowers for accent. My sister picked out a spread with larger flowers in reds and pinks and maybe a little green.
But in college a switch flipped and I discovered the glory of green. I think my first green encounter was a pale yellow and green bedspread I bought to match my college roommate’s. It was so opposite of anything I had ever had. Kind of grown-up looking which was a new experience for me, too. The satiny fabric, too, was more adult than the cotton comforters and quilts I had had at home. My dorm bedspread looked something like the one below but in more muted shades.
My next favorite green purchase probably clinched things making green my new favorite color. It was a wall hanging. Actually just fabric stretched on a wooden frame something like an artist’s canvas. The fabric featured the large image of a house or barn, I think, surrounded by lots of trees but they were more like the lollipop-looking trees children draw than realistic ones. It hung above my bed in place of a headboard. Looking at it always made me happy. Then I realized that of all the colors in the rainbow, it was green that always made me happy.
Going Green
From then on, I went green and never looked back. I can’t help myself, I pick green everything. When I subbed at school last week, I selected the pen color I would use on the interactive whiteboard and without hesitation selected green. I do it without even realizing what I’ve done.
Everyone in my family knows how much I love green. For a number of years, PC bought me only emerald jewelry. Usually emeralds in a heart shaped necklace pendant or earrings. When I am shopping for clothes, or just window shopping, I am always drawn to pieces that are green. If not green, then green with earth tones like coral, peach, and brown.
So, I am going to wind up this post with just a few pictures of green things I have photographed, simply because they were green.
News Flash
We interrupt this regularly scheduled post for this breaking news. PC and I have had a couple of crazy, stressful days. Two nights ago we had to rush our youngest kitty to the ER when he collapsed in front of us unable to walk. After $800 worth of X-rays, it was determined that he has a congenital hip joint issue called Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. He needs surgery ASAP and the recommended surgeon is in New Mexico. Until then, he must be crated and kept essentially immobile. We took him from the ER to Lauren’s house as she volunteered to kitty-sit him because we were scheduled to drive to Brennyn’s house in Ft. Worth, the following day.
We were exhausted when we started out for Ft. Worth yesterday, and along the way PC started feeling really bad. Chills, feverish, terrible cough, congestion. Just all at once. We thought maybe he was allergic to all the animal hair and dander at the ER the night before. By the time we went to bed last night, he was really sick. He made an appointment with an urgent care clinic around the corner from Bren’s house and has tested positive for Influenza A. Not we don’t know what to do. Do we turn around and drive home to keep from infecting Bren and family? Did he already infect them in the short time he was with them last night? Should we get a hotel? So frustrating. Poor guy gets sick every time we go out of town. Or I break a foot!!
Lauren’s girls are loving having Purrcy at their house. He supervised their homework last night from the crate. Lauren had bought him a special bed and new litter box that keep him from doing much moving. Their dog Pumpkin was at my house the day I found Purrcy 18 months ago, so she loves Purrcy. And she is standing guard over kitty when the girls are at school.
We are supposed to take Declan to see Santa this afternoon. Just don’t know what to do. Brennyn feels like they will be okay, and hopefully won’t get sick. But they were exposed already last night so now it is too late. I am just so sad. Sad for Paul and worried for Brennyn. They just recovered from RSV, for heaven’s sake.
Back to Regularly Scheduled Post
So, that’s me and a whole lot of green. But in order to cover all of my bases, I also wrote this post earlier this fall about being more green or earth-friendly in my life.
Definitely room for improvement in my environmental awareness, but I am trying!! We have recently switched from using Walmart bags to providing our own bags when we go grocery shopping. We were drowning in bags!! Took all of them Walmart to be recycled.
For Christmas, I really wanted to buy myself some Talavera canisters to replace the canisters I’ve been using for 20+ years. Would like to change up things in the kitchen a little bit. But for now, have decided to hold off. There is nothing wrong with my present canisters. And I have several bowls, and 2 cutting boards that match them. So for the time being, I have talked myself out of doing that. Maybe if I can sell my current canisters or give them away, I will feel better about buying something new.
Oh, dear. Seeing those canisters makes me want them again.
Your Turn
What’s your favorite color? How do you feel about green? Isn’t it just the best? If it wasn’t one of your top 10 favorite colors before I hope it is now.
Just got Declan down for the night after reading 2 books – he loves books – and singing our family lullaby until he was almost asleep. Love doing that. Such special moments when the day is done and the house is quiet and my lap and heart are full.
Praying PC is feeling better tomorrow and that Brennyn, her family and I don’t get sick. There is so much illness around. Pray you and yours are well. Thanks for popping in. It’s a 2-post Thursday so hope you will check out my Ageless Style post, too. Enjoy your weekend, friends. Make some memories and have some fun.
Hugs and kisses,
Oh dear, Hope all get well soon.
Thank you. Paul is still coughing but better. And knock on wood, none of us have gotten sick yet. Amazing!! A Christmas miracle. Our kitty has his hip surgery scheduled for the second day of the new year. Hoping he recovers completely.
Oh Leslie, that all sounds so stressful, poor you and I do hope you all don’t get sick and PC feels better soon. And your little kitty too!
As to green you always look lovely! Please take care and stay well x
I loved green for a while and even one of my wedding colors was green. I really like green walls (very muted though) in my home. But for decor, I always go for blue! It’s very calming to me.
Blue is calming!! I like blue a lot, too, but always gravitate toward green. I think you recently painted a room blue that you were originally contemplating painting it green. My mother painted my parents’ bedroom a mint or seafoam green while my father was working out of town for a year. When he returned home, my dad was mortified by the green walls. He refused to sleep in their room ever again. He said it reminded him of a hospital. Funny how color effects us.
Oh what a spell of bad luck. I really hope PC is starting to feel better now. So many viruses around at the moment and it must be horrible to be so ill when you are far from home.
Hope little Purrcy isn’t in too much pain now and that he can get the treatment needed. Thank goodness for pet insurance!
At the time of typing this I am wearing an emerald green sweatshirt and a pair of navy wide leg joggers with a similar green stripe down the sides so I guess I can join your ‘green’ gang!
Emerald green for the win!! I love that color. All colors of green. And a green and navy combo is one of my favorites.
When it rains it pours! Poor PC, poor kitty and difficult decisions for you. Hope PC recovers quickly and it doesn’t spread through the family. The kitty surgery sounds very specialized – hope it works out well.
Thank you, Juhli. The kitty is scheduled for surgery on January 2nd in Silver City, NM. I had taken a dog-sitting job so won’t be able to go with him, as it stands now. The surgery is rather specialized and much more expensive, prohibitively so, here in El Paso but more affordable in the small town of Silver City. And our local vet highly recommends the vet in NM. Paul is still coughing but so far no one else has gotten sick. Knock wood.
This has been a difficult year. Ready to move onward and upward with 2025.
I’m so sorry about your sweet kitty and your husband. I hope both are doing okay and that no one else got sick.
I do love green…especially when several different shades of green are combined in nature or art. If I had to choose a favorite color, it might be purple. That’s partly because it was my mom’s favorite. I also love red…and bright yellow. So as you can see, I’m no good at making important decisions, like choosing a favorite color!
LOL!! You made me laugh out loud. Green is definitely my favorite color, but it is followed closely by peach. And I like to wear all colors.
Thank you for your sweet words for PC and Purrcy. Paul is feeling better but still coughing a lot. So far, knock on wood, none of us have gotten sick. Purrcy is now scheduled for surgery on 01.02.2025. We will take him to Silver City, New Mexico. Praying he does okay.
Oh Leslie – I am so sorry for all your troubles and illnesses – both the kitty and PC. Loads of love to both of you and fingers crossed no-one else gets the’ flu which is a really nasty bug.
I too love the green colour btw.
Take care X
Thank you for the good wishes and love. We are recovering over here. PC is still coughing but feeling generally better. And Purrcy has an appointment for surgery on 01.02.2025. What a way to start the new year. Bless his heart.
I remember that you, too, love green. We are kindred spirits.
Oh, my goodness! I hope PC is all better now, and that Purrcy is on his way to the hospital to be fixed up. This is definitely a case of “when it rains, it pours!” I do like green, but my favorite is kelly green which I cannot wear. My favorite color is definitely purple, but I’ve been trying to buy other colors (just not brown)!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
LOL you silly!! You can wear every color so well. But you do look smashing in purple.
PC is still coughing but much better. Purrcy has surgery on 01.02. Happy new year to us.
Merry Christmas, dear friend.
Oh gosh, I’m so sorry your kitty has health problems and also that your husband fell ill in on your travels! It’s awful, isn’t it? I’ve had a nasty cold for the past five days but I’m getting better. I’ve missed the only two Christmas parties that I was invited to! But luckily one was at the neighbour’s and she sent me a little goodie bag with mulled wine and cake so I was happy last night lol!
As for green, I completely and utterly with you, Leslie! It’s the best colour in the world and I always gravitate towards it. I love the bright, emerald greens as well as the earthy tones, not to mention luminous lime greens too lol! Your photos are fabulous, I especially loved the huge doggie ‘hedge’ plant!
I hope you all recover quickly and that you have a wonderful Christmas!
Hugs
Suzy xx
I knew you were my kinda gal!! I think I remember that you love green as much as I. I can flip-flop between loving sage, olive, forest and Kelly green best. Oh, yes, and LIME green.
Thank you for your well wishes and kind message about PC and the kitty. The kitty is scheduled for surgery on 01.02. And PC is still coughing but on the mend. Hope your cold is a thing of the past.
So sorry to that your husband is unwell , hope its not too serious and he recovers well and its not contagious. I hope your poor cat can be seen soon and it goes well. Regardless , I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas. I like green on others , not so much on me unless its chartreuse green.
Ooooo, chartreuse is a great green!! I love them all. Every shade.
Husband is still feeling poorly, thank you. I guess Influenza A takes the stuffing out of you. Kitty is scheduled for surgery on 01.02.25, poor baby. We will travel about 2 hours from home for the procedure and spend the night so he can get overnight care afterward. Thank you for your well wishes.