On this Memorial Day holiday, we have so much gratitude to share for our veterans and fallen heroes who've made our country such as great place to live. My Dad and his brother both survived WWII and lived to tell the stories for how they helped to win our freedom. My Mom shared memories as I was growing up of the War Rationing Program to conserve all resources. Each family received a coupon book to purchase food, clothing, shoes, gasoline, and much more. The government wanted everyone to ration goods to help the soldiers and created messages like, "Do with less so they'll have enough." Recycling programs began! My Mom described having to write a letter with only one piece of paper -- so she wrote on both sides, in the margins, and after writing the letter on two sides she turned the paper upside down to print in the spaces between the lines! Talk about being economical! So that's how my parents raised us baby boomers: to be very conservative and not waste anything.

So we began this blog website one year ago - not for commercial purposes - but to express our first amendment rights - freedom of speech. To share our lifestyle and keep learning more about how we can save and appreciate more through conservation. In coming blogs, I will share recent positive experience with obtaining a home energy audit that is largely sponsored by the utility company. We're evaluating solar panels and electric cars, The hot summer is just beginning and for the first time in Colorado it is legal to capture rain water for irrigation so we are checking into the pros and cons. Future blogs will discuss our support for wildlife conservation groups to protect endangered species including the Asian elephant. Thanks for reading this blog and sharing your ideas!