I have to thank my dear husband for his inspiration and assistance – especially with the kudzu piece.  That Friday that was a sprint to the finish line, with me cranking out 4 articles and Pat finishing up his boat before heading to DC started out with us heading over to McIntire Park to harvest kudzu as the sun was just coming up through the trees.  I had never before harvested kudzu for craft projects – he’s always been the talent behind those projects, so he took a few minutes to show me what to do, pointed out poison ivy (because yes, I’m almost 43 years old, highly allergic to it and still not completely sure what it looks like), started me off and then went off to do his own job. 

Although really, he is far more inspiration than a few articles I could write.  He’s worked environmental non-profit his entire career and I like to say that it’s not just a job, it’s a lifestyle.  It’s walking the walk, so that you can teach others, so that you set an example and not just talk about it.  This is not to say we are the greenest folks on the block – there are certainly things we could do better and he is always challenging me to be thoughtful in my approach to our enviroment.  I like to think that a good bit of what we do around this house is just supporting what he does for a living, which pays for this house.  We are used to complete strangers stopping by to ask about our rain barrels, our compost bins, our boats, Edie’s bamboo playhouse and more, so the reality is, I do talk about these things, I might as well get paid to write about them too.