December 17, 2004

Hi,

Hello again to you all, and a special welcome to all you new members!

Tis the week before Christmas and all through the land

I’m hearing much groaning about tasks at hand.

Slow down, I keep saying to myself all day long

But what about finishing? The reply is so strong!

Now wait just a second – just take a deep breath

Hear the carols, smell the greenery

Don’t beat it to death.

For now is the time for relaxing with friends

For taking a moment to dream, not to spend.

There, that’s better I hear myself say

Have a Merry and Peaceful and Relaxed Holiday!

And speaking of peaceful. I recently came across this website:

http://worldpeaceemerging.com

World Peace Emerging is an online resource directory. Here you can find true stories on such subjects as fair trade, green technology, food and farming, the people next door, cultural preservation, and even festivals and events. They welcome input and have a newsletter. Here are a couple of examples,

Did you know, for instance, that McDonald's Sweden runs 75% of their 233 stores on renewable energy, serves organic ice cream, cake and milk, and recycles 90% of all restaurant waste. In addition, the company has dramatically reduced the amount of heavy metals used in restaurant construction and toys, eliminated the need for over 1200 tons of packaging material, cut waste by 85% and boosted the morale of it's employees - which has led to better service and happier customers. http://www.naturalstep.com

And that Italian school food laws passed in 2002 are now coming into effect. Before 2005, 100% of foods served in schools to children age 3-10 must be organic. For students in advanced schools, 35% of cafeteria foods must be organic. Eventually, 100% of the nation's school fare will be organic.

Speaking of fun and educational, if you haven’t yet gotten your own website like this, I highly recommend it. Instructions are at the bottom of this newsletter. Don’t forget to email me if you have any questions about any of the programs or websites, or if you just want to say hi.

Articles, archived newsletters and information about recommended programs can be found on my website. I’ll be adding some new articles over the holidays, including an excellent one called Tips For Starting a Home Business by fellow publisher Mal Kenan and yes, the links now all work. In my haste to finish a couple of weeks ago, I managed to end up with a bad link on one of the newsletters archived, but I fixed it. Anyway here’s my link.