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Green Thumb Sunday over the Holidays

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I just wanted to let all GTS members know that those of you who are around and able to blog on Sunday December 23rd and Sunday December 30th are welcome to participate in Green Thumb Sunday.

Since neither of the Sundays fall on an actual holiday date we’ll continue as normal.

I do realize that some of you might be out of town for the holidays or might have a house full of guests. So if you are not able to make your regular GTS post during this time that’s fine.

A tip – if your blogging platform allows you to post date your posts you could make a GTS post in advance and just post date it to the 23rd or 30th of December so that it will automatically post for you. I know WordPress has the ability to post date posts (just be sure to save it as published with a future date and it will automatically post on the date and time you set) and I’m sure some of the other popular blogging platforms have this ability as well.

As for the rest of the winter months … I noticed last year that some GTS members slowed down in their postings over the cool months of winter. Please remember that picture of your garden in the winter can be just as beautiful as pictures of your garden and plants during the growing season. Landscapes, older photos of your garden or plants, and photos of house plants are also welcome during this time. So keep on posting!

I must also apologize for my lack of regular posts over the last month or so. I’ve been quite ill and on top of that I have a new sick puppy at home. We got her on November 23rd and she’s been sick since we got her. As a result I’ve had to cut down on my blogging as it takes quite a bit of my time caring for her and treating her various ailments. Hopefully things will return to near normal soon!






This Canopy Chair would make a fantastic gift

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If you’re still doing your holiday shopping for that special someone I might have a fantastic gift idea for you.

It’s the Canopy Chair by Renetto. This is a brand new type of outdoor chair that’s just come on the market so there’s little chance that your friends or family will already have one.

The Canopy chair is basically an Outdoor Chair that includes a canopy that will protect you from the hot sun when sitting in the chair. It’s a very well designed outdoor chair. Every single feature has been made with the users comfort and convenience in mind.

It’s a portable chair with a canopy that turns into a backpack for easy carrying.

The very best way to tell you about the chair is to simply show it to you:

fullcanopychair.jpg

As you can see it’s made of water proof material, a sturdy yet light frame, and heavy fabric to give the person seated in the chair good support.

The seat is oversize so it’s bound to be comfortable for just about anyone to sit in, and there’s a beverage holder on each of the chairs arm so lefties and right handed folks will be be able to choose where to place their drinks. I’m a lefty myself and I prefer chairs with two holders as the ones with only a single beverage holder tend to have them on the right.

When the chair is folded into a backpack you’ll discover that it has comfort padded shoulder straps. If you take this chair with you when you’re camping or on a long hike I’m sure the padded shoulder straps will be appreciated.

Here’s an example of how easy it is to fold up:

canopychair.jpg

I think this chair would make an ideal gift for anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors.

The Canopy Chair would be ideal to bring to sporting events, outdoor family gatherings, picnics, barbecues, used as extra seating in your backyard garden and of course it would be a perfect Camping Chair for those who enjoy getting away for the weekend to the great outdoors.

I’m sure you can think of even more uses for this innovative chair. It’s affordable and comes in five colors. Visit the site to learn more about the Canopy Chair and perhaps purchase one for yourself or as a gift for someone special.

Cut your energy bill this holiday season by switching to LED Holiday lights

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We had our first snow last week. That’s a little early for Toronto, especially to have snow that actually stayed on the ground for a few days.

I was taken by surprise by the early snow and it made me realize that we’d better get the Christmas lights out and start decorating the house before it snows again and makes it difficult to get the lights up.

Have you started decorating your home for the holidays yet?

We’ve pretty much switched over to LED Christmas lights. With the cost of energy these days it’s nice to know that LED lights are 90% more efficient than standard incandescent lights.

Did you know that this past Spring Toronto’s CN Tower, one of the tallest free standing structures in the world, got new lights? Yes, they equipped the tower with thousands of LED lights. Now at night the CN Tower is lite up with a variety of colors or pasterns. I think they change the colors and patterns daily. By patterns I mean that on Canada Day the tower might be light up with a flag totally made of LED lights or on the 4th of July there could be an American Flag showing. It’s beautiful. Plus, it doesn’t cost the city very much to light the tower. Only $1000 per month! That’s pretty good for a gigantic public building and tourist attraction.

So … if even cities are starting to use LED lights maybe you should too if you haven’t already made the switch.

A few other things that I like about using LED Holiday lights is the fact that the bulb is encased in a very hard plastic which makes them extremely durable. I’m sure you know how easy it is to break glass incandescent bulbs – especially the ones you use outdoors! LED lights are also long lasting. They’ll operate for 50,000 hours or more! That means years and years of use before you need to replace a string of lights.

As you know we try to be as green as possible with our gardening and the products we use around our home. I consider LED lights a green product because they are energy efficient and also because they last so long.

How many of you already use LED Holiday lights?

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