Newsletter - April, May, June 2004

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This Spring I will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand for three weeks. I leave on March 25 and will return on April 15. During the first two weeks of my trip, my husband, Jim, will fill mail orders for me. He will not be able to access the website during this time, so I ask you to mail or call in orders if you cannot wait till April 20th for them to be shipped to you. The week of April 7 through April 15, Jim will join me in New Zealand. Orders received during the weeks of April 6 through April 16 will be shipped April 20. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

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Spring is here. Thoughts of things green and growing fill my mind. I recently learned some facts about trees that I would like to share with you. Perhaps you might like to join a local movement to plant trees in your community!

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For every dollar a city spends on planting and maintaining trees, it gets back $3.80 in total benefits.

With trees, commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers, business parks lure more clients, apartments rent more quickly and tenants stay longer.
Well-positioned trees reduce noise pollution, screen unsightly views and reduce soil erosion. By slowing storm water run-off, trees reduce the amount of pollutants reaching streams, including phosphorus and potassium.
Shade trees can extend the life of asphalt paving 10-15 years. Without shade, oil-based binders that hold paving together vaporize more quickly, weakening the asphalt.
Trees shading parking lots and roads can keep entire cities cooler. Sun-baked asphalt makes cities „heat islands‰ that are 5-9 degrees hotter than surrounding areas. (Think about the benefit to car owners, who could park in shade. Longer life of the car interior, cooler temperature upon reentering the car, less sun on the paint, etc.)
The cooling effect of water evaporating from a healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-sized air conditioners running 24 hours a day.
By shading roofs and walls, trees can cut daytime air conditioning costs up to 58%. By blocking cold winter winds, trees can cut heating costs. Homes surrounded by trees save between 20-25% in energy costs, compared to homes in wide-open areas.
Healthy, mature trees add 10-20% to a home's market value.
For every 5% of tree cover added to a community, storm runoff is cut by about 2%.
Trees remove air borne pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, ozone and nitrogen, as well as trace toxic metals including cadmium, nickel, chromium and lead.
Urban trees can cut street level air borne soot up to 60%.
Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water and controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion.
An acre of trees absorbs enough carbon dioxide in a year to equal the amount produced by driving a typical car 26,000 miles.
Recently my community widened several of its city streets and removed old, established trees in the process. The above list of cost benefits will help us to make the case for replacing those trees, as so many of the points affect the dollars in our own pockets as well as those of the businesses and the city governments.
Perhaps you know of a plan to widen streets, or build a parking lot, where you might make a good case for working a plan to include the established trees in question. We need to approach developments with a view to working a building plan to suit the land, rather than making the land suit the plan, as we have been doing in recent times.

Are you a workaholic? Do you feel guilty when you make plans to do something just for fun? We live in a society that places high value on cost-benefit ratios. While it is very important to be responsible and earn a living, it is also important that we take care of ourselves. This means we need to make time for play as well as for work. Studies have shown that while a little stress can be a good thing, too much stress can shorten a person&Mac226;s life. Hobbies and exercise are wonderful stress relief, and can make us all much nicer persons for our families to live with!

If you are a workaholic, try to organize your life to allow for a little fun. Join a book club, a spinning or knitting guild. Find a line-dancing group. Volunteer in a community service organization. Join a group whose focus of interest appeals to you. The feel good benefits will make you a better mother, father, citizen, and lengthen your life in addition to enriching the lives of those dear to you!

My husband, Jim, has joined an Antique Power Club. That's where men who love tractors get together and "play" with old farm machinery. They plant a few acres of grain together, using machinery from days gone by. Then they plan a show for the public, where the harvesting is done using old implements to demonstrate how things were done many years ago. They cut cedar shingles and lumber with a belt driven sawmill run by a steam engine more than 100 years old. They harvest oats, wheat and corn, grind grain into flour, bale the straw, all using outdated machinery. There are displays of every kind of machine you can think of, from washing machines and spinning wheels to cotton pickers and ploughs. There are foot treadle-driven tools such a wood lathe that will be demonstrating the making of baseball bats by hand. Horses and mules tow the loads of grain and lumber from the fields.

Each year the club features a particular maker of a line of tractors. This year the feature is International. There will be a display of hundreds of red tractors made by Farmall, McCormick and IH as old as 90 years. All lined up for you to walk around and inspect at your leisure.

The Dodge County Antique Power Show is always held in Burnett, WI the first full weekend in August on 40 acres of farmland belonging to the club. This year the dates are August 6, 7 & 8. The public is welcome. Admission is under $5 per person, children under 12 are free. Lots of food is available throughout the day.

Planning a visit to Wisconsin this year? This a great family activity to put on your "things to do" while visiting our state!



		Something New! Quarterly Newsletter April, May, June 2004 Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever... Cilantro Shrimp Soup 2 large carrots, sliced thin 3 stalks celery, with leaves, sliced thin 1 medium red onion, chopped coarse 1 large yellow pepper, chopped coarse 3 Tablespoons butter 1 can chicken broth 2 cups water One 32 oz. bottle V-8 juice 2 cans diced tomatoes Fresh cilantro, chopped 1 pound frozen medium size shrimp, cleaned, thawed Melt butter in large microwave safe bowl. Add vegetables and microwave on high for 7 minutes, covered, till tender. Meanwhile, mix broth, water and V-8 juice in large sauce pan, heat slowly. Add cooked vegetables and tomatoes. Add cilantro and heat till flavors blend, approximately 20 minutes. Just before serving, add thawed, cleaned shrimp. Serve with fresh baked bread and sliced cheeses. For variety, you may add frozen peas, corn, green beans, or any other colorful vegetable you might like. Makes enough soup to serve 8, with seconds. — From the kitchen of Cate Makarewicz (The Soap Lady's sister) April 2003 Hello! The Soap Lady web site is new and improved! We now have online ordering capability. While you may continue to order soap from me by phone, FAX or mail, you are now able to place an order directly online with MasterCard or VISA. Our web site has a bold new look, featuring photographs of my products and gift collections, with all of my hints and customer feedback for you to browse at your convenience. Check it out! Sign up to receive my quarterly newsletters online, delivered free, directly to your e-mail box! Sign up to receive my quarterly Newsletter — *************************** This Spring I will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand for three weeks. I leave on March 25 and will return on April 15. During the first two weeks of my trip, my husband, Jim, will fill mail orders for me. He will not be able to access the website during this time, so I ask you to mail or call in orders if you cannot wait till April 20th for them to be shipped to you. The week of April 7 through April 15, Jim will join me in New Zealand. Orders received during the weeks of April 6 through April 16 will be shipped April 20. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. ************************* Spring is here. Thoughts of things green and growing fill my mind. I recently learned some facts about trees that I would like to share with you. Perhaps you might like to join a local movement to plant trees in your community! *************************** For every dollar a city spends on planting and maintaining trees, it gets back $3.80 in total benefits. With trees, commercial retail areas are more attractive to shoppers, business parks lure more clients, apartments rent more quickly and tenants stay longer. Well-positioned trees reduce noise pollution, screen unsightly views and reduce soil erosion. By slowing storm water run-off, trees reduce the amount of pollutants reaching streams, including phosphorus and potassium. Shade trees can extend the life of asphalt paving 10-15 years. Without shade, oil-based binders that hold paving together vaporize more quickly, weakening the asphalt. Trees shading parking lots and roads can keep entire cities cooler. Sun-baked asphalt makes cities „heat islands‰ that are 5-9 degrees hotter than surrounding areas. (Think about the benefit to car owners, who could park in shade. Longer life of the car interior, cooler temperature upon reentering the car, less sun on the paint, etc.) The cooling effect of water evaporating from a healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-sized air conditioners running 24 hours a day. By shading roofs and walls, trees can cut daytime air conditioning costs up to 58%. By blocking cold winter winds, trees can cut heating costs. Homes surrounded by trees save between 20-25% in energy costs, compared to homes in wide-open areas. Healthy, mature trees add 10-20% to a home's market value. For every 5% of tree cover added to a community, storm runoff is cut by about 2%. Trees remove air borne pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, ozone and nitrogen, as well as trace toxic metals including cadmium, nickel, chromium and lead. Urban trees can cut street level air borne soot up to 60%. Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water and controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion. An acre of trees absorbs enough carbon dioxide in a year to equal the amount produced by driving a typical car 26,000 miles. Recently my community widened several of its city streets and removed old, established trees in the process. The above list of cost benefits will help us to make the case for replacing those trees, as so many of the points affect the dollars in our own pockets as well as those of the businesses and the city governments. Perhaps you know of a plan to widen streets, or build a parking lot, where you might make a good case for working a plan to include the established trees in question. We need to approach developments with a view to working a building plan to suit the land, rather than making the land suit the plan, as we have been doing in recent times. Are you a workaholic? Do you feel guilty when you make plans to do something just for fun? We live in a society that places high value on cost-benefit ratios. While it is very important to be responsible and earn a living, it is also important that we take care of ourselves. This means we need to make time for play as well as for work. Studies have shown that while a little stress can be a good thing, too much stress can shorten a person&Mac226;s life. Hobbies and exercise are wonderful stress relief, and can make us all much nicer persons for our families to live with! If you are a workaholic, try to organize your life to allow for a little fun. Join a book club, a spinning or knitting guild. Find a line-dancing group. Volunteer in a community service organization. Join a group whose focus of interest appeals to you. The feel good benefits will make you a better mother, father, citizen, and lengthen your life in addition to enriching the lives of those dear to you! My husband, Jim, has joined an Antique Power Club. That's where men who love tractors get together and "play" with old farm machinery. They plant a few acres of grain together, using machinery from days gone by. Then they plan a show for the public, where the harvesting is done using old implements to demonstrate how things were done many years ago. They cut cedar shingles and lumber with a belt driven sawmill run by a steam engine more than 100 years old. They harvest oats, wheat and corn, grind grain into flour, bale the straw, all using outdated machinery. There are displays of every kind of machine you can think of, from washing machines and spinning wheels to cotton pickers and ploughs. There are foot treadle-driven tools such a wood lathe that will be demonstrating the making of baseball bats by hand. Horses and mules tow the loads of grain and lumber from the fields. Each year the club features a particular maker of a line of tractors. This year the feature is International. There will be a display of hundreds of red tractors made by Farmall, McCormick and IH as old as 90 years. All lined up for you to walk around and inspect at your leisure. The Dodge County Antique Power Show is always held in Burnett, WI the first full weekend in August on 40 acres of farmland belonging to the club. This year the dates are August 6, 7 & 8. The public is welcome. Admission is under $5 per person, children under 12 are free. Lots of food is available throughout the day. Planning a visit to Wisconsin this year? This a great family activity to put on your "things to do" while visiting our state!