In the last few years, there have been several proposals to use lots throughout the city of San Francisco that are slated for development as interim green spaces.  The idea behind this is that using land for temporary parks or public spaces while development is stalled (happening frequently in this economy) is better for the community than having a chain link fence marking off the boundaries of a lot.

Congratulations!  You may be in the process of purchasing a home or condo!  Before you start packing, consider the following:  there are ways of making your move a bit greener.  

How?  First, you can cull through all of the things that are in your home and consider getting rid of the things that you don't use often.  There are many places to take your unwanted clothing and household items, and I like the SF Public Library to recycle the books that my friends don't claim.  

The all-in-one (fax, printer, copier and scanner) finally stopped working.  I purchased its replacement, and took it to GreenCitizen to be recycled.   I also managed to find several old, partially working computers, an external disk drive and a few old cell phones.  Drop off for the computers was free (with the promise to destroy my hard drives).  The all-in-one had a per pound charge for a total of $17.  

It had been several months since I last spotted Oreo, the goat, in my neighborhood.  Oreo, a member of the City Grazing herd, can ocassionally be spotted in Bernal, at the dog park known as the Point (near the intersection of Peralta and Montcalm), and on Cortland Ave as well.  My dog, Stripe, seems both excited and petrified every time he sees Oreo.    

Watching my dog's fascination with all of the discarded Christmas trees in the neighborhood as we walked this morning...

I have been a devote of Mrs. Meyers' Geranium dish soap for the last few years because I have loved the scent. Besides, they are "aromatherapeutic"

Instead of writing about being in the red or feeling blue, I decided to write about green things.

Check out the website, Been There, Ate That www.beenthereatethat.com

One of the biggest challenges that San Francisco is likely to face is that many people in the city still renovate without using permits.