Summer: Day One

Well it is finally here. The start of summer. Last night I fell asleep super early. I mean like 8pm in the bed getting comfy so when I drift off to sleep I will be where I want to be. Yeah, I sleep like a baby who actually sleeps ;P I am so excited to have the freedom to do what I want for a little bit. I woke up at 5:20 which was not really appreciated but on well. I went for a walk at 6 am and it was great to get out before the heat of the day, say hello to fellow walkers and look at all of the recycling bins lining the streets. You weren't expecting that huh? Now I am really glad that people are recycling but if you could see the amount of waste that we generate it is really mind blowing! My look into the recycling bins (so to peak, I did not actually look in them...moreso noticing the stuff that was overflowing):

*people consume a LOT of bottled water- bin after bin was filled with those little bottles

*Pampers/Huggies- literally house after house had those grande size diaper boxes. Yikes! That is a lot of diapers...come over to the cloth people ;)

*The Fisher Price Bubble Mower is big in the burbs...3 houses had the boxes for those on their bins.

* A box of books? Really? I always thought you should donate unwanted books. These were not tattered books from the 80's, these were hardback James Patterson type books (I admit I did a little bit closer inspection of these- I wanted to rescue these jimmies.) They certainly could have been put to better use.

*People buy a lot of convenience foods: hot pockets, capri sun you name it. Individual chips, cookies etc.

*Some little girl had a birthday party that created a lot of waste. Her folks had two bags next to their bin with all of the packaging for her gifts. She must be a Barbie fan :)

Very interesting stuff in these bins. It was my diversion from noticing the distance, my sweating or the fact that I think walking makes my feet swell. Well it was a great am walk. The overcast sky, the greetings with the fellow walkers, the folks heading off to their jobs, getting one thing checked off of my to-do list. Hello Summer! It is nice to have you here!!