Poor planet

When the Christmas stuff is finally put away and the house is clean, I always treat myself to some fresh flowers.  Last week Trader Joe had market bunches (18 big stems) of alstromeria for only $5 each.  I couldn't decide on white or red, so splurged and bought one of each.  It's my favorite cut flower because they last so long.

We have the short stemmed pink ones in the garden (see above) and they are super hardy, almost invasive. I should just wait I suppose, and enjoy those in season.

These bunches were grown in Columbia, where most American flowers come from now.  It only takes about 48 hours for flowers to get from a field in Colombia to a warehouse in the United States, and then another day or so to reach a retailer like Trader Joes.  Obviously it's cheap growing flowers in South America, but still boggles the mind how everyone along the way made a few cents. Not to mention the jet fuel.

Speaking of large carbon footprints, I placed a online grocery order with Walmart. They carry a brand of Asian lettuce wrap sauce I can't find anywhere else, and to get free shipping, I had to bring the order up to $35.  That's easy because there's always little things I need-- like spices, corn starch, baking mixes, etc.  My $38 order arrived in three separate shipments, packed in boxes with piles of plastic packing materials!  How wasteful for a few cheap grocery items-- I felt so guilty I won't do that again.