and the green grass grows all around all around...

Except the grass isn't green, and it's not growing. My apartment complex doesn't water the grass (yay water savings!) so the open areas are covered with patches of grass, some of it brown; patches of dirt, all of it brown and patches of clover, brilliantly green. Now that I think of it, clover is green, its soft, it feeds the bunnies and it clearly is capable of living in the New England environment far more independently than grass is. There's even the added bonus that some clovers are lucky, so it provides hours of entertainment for industrious children (and maybe some adults) looking for the coveted 4-leaf variety. With all this, clover seems like the perfect ground cover. So, how did we end up with grass? It can be prickly, requires tons of water, you have to mow it and it is the exact same color as clover. I've decided that if I ever have a lawn that isn't entirely covered with edible and decorative plants, I'm putting in clover. The landscaping companies make think I'm insane (can you even buy clover?) but at the moment it seems like an entirely viable option.

Also, if you ever doubted the cleaning power of "green" laundry detergent, doubt no longer. My Arm and Hammer Essentials got out an ink stain, without me doing anything! I always hear about people applying hairspray immediately afterward and a number of other urgently applied remedies. I, on the other hand, happened to notice a slightly faded ink stain on my shirt as I put it on one day (after having washed it) and when I mentioned it to my mother I was informed that the shirt was doomed since the stain had set. Not worrying about it, I threw the shirt in with the rest of the wash and as I was hanging it up to dry, saw to my amazement that the stain had disappeared! So, no pre-treatment, no extra detergent, just two regular washes and the ink was faded and gone. I must say, I'm impressed.