SUSTAINABLE MOM

It's been awhile ...

2010-08-08T21:44:00.005-04:00

Not sure if the need to reconnect or the two glasses of wine are behind this, but I decided I'd post something on the blog tonight after more than a half a year. It's that part of summer that I love in the Northeast -- when the nights are cool enough to sleep without air conditioning and mornings require a blanket on the porch. It's been a good summer so far -- filled with friends, relatives, amazing produce from the farmer's market and some serious beach time.

Motherhood is consuming, you know, especially in the summer if you've got kids home. You're constantly taking care of people and details, and it leaves a small amount of time for yourself. I find the best way for my time is a morning run. Each day since Memorial Day, I've gotten up and gone out. Mostly running, but an occasional walk when I've been too drained to run. Either way it's helped. And here's a really weird phenomenon -- after years of complaining about my husband's heavy metal music, I've downloaded a bunch of AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Ozzy.

This is what I blast when I run through the streets of our suburb each morning. Who knew? I find the music gets my blood pumping. Some days, I opt for silence. Other days, I crank it. I come back ready to take on the day and whatever tantrums, spills or work issues come my way. It's the one constant in my life these days.

Helping Haiti

2010-01-21T15:26:00.003-05:00

I was going to blog about Haiti, but I don't think I can do it better than my friend Silvia, also a mom, did on her new blog: DelSo.

Please donate to help Haiti -- even if it's just a small amount because it all adds up.

stopping

2009-12-19T01:07:00.004-05:00

Spent a good portion of yesterday stuck in holiday traffic. I was heading to my favorite art supply store to pick up a few stocking stuffers for the kids (and myself). The road to get there is a main artery between three major shopping malls in our area, but I like giving this store business. I probably spent an hour on the road just waiting it out. I was in a good place, though. My husband was home to get my daughter off the bus, my car is a hybrid so I wasn't wasting much gas and I really had no other place to be other than the grocery store on the way home. I also had finished my holiday shopping some time ago, so wasn't under any real pressure.

I turned on the Christmas station and just sat. It felt nice giving myself a license to not be impatient. After I picked up my art supplies (and spent another 20 minutes in traffic), I decided to treat myself to some lunch at new Japanese restaurant. It was 2:30 and not many people were there. I relaxed. The grocery store was packed with people who were not so relaxed. Didn't care. I just smiled and continued my shopping, shrugging her bad vibe off. I highly recommend it.

Food for All

2009-11-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

The headline in today's paper was about the vital role food pantries are playing in keeping families fed during difficult economic times. I had just been thinking about ways we could up our contributions this year, not just by writing a check, but starting to educate our children about community service and giving. Our plan is to take the kid's grocery shopping, usually something most of us dread, and as a family put together a donation to drop off at our local pantry.

One really easy way to make your own dollars go further at the grocery store is to take advantage of the "Buy One Get One Free" promotions that I see in almost every grocery store I have been in this month. You may not always stock up this way for yourself, but maybe this winter (and not just around the holidays when more people do supply food pantries) get into the habit of getting that extra free box of pasta or tuna or beans or whatever it is that you buy. You can fill a grocery bag without any extra dollars spent. Also, search out items that you may not eat but are offering the extra freebie to stretch your donation dollars. And remember that many pantries also disperse diapers, shampoo, low-fat and low-sugar foods for elderly and diabetic clients, soap, paper products, and other non-food items that families need but are not always available at pantries or covered by food stamps.

Food plays a starring role for many families over the holidays, bringing everyone to the table to share a meal and spend time together. This year, help put food on someone else's table too; they'll be thankful you did.

Tuck it in and say goodnight

2009-11-13T16:45:00.004-05:00

There are not many leaves left on the trees in our little northeastern town, and as the clock's hands creep towards five o'clock, the sun has already left the sky. All of this is a strong indication that it's time to put the garden to bed for the winter. There are die hard gardeners out there who have fashioned covered boxes and planted hardy crops to last several more months, if not until spring, but I'm leaving the winter gardening to the professionals this year and will reap their bounty at our new indoor farmer's market. There is still work to be done at home, however, to ready things for a winter's nap and the eventual spring renewal.

Flowers and plants in your yard typically have their own requirements for pruning and feeding. I may touch on a few of those in another post, but today I'll just focus on what I do for my vegetable garden and my strawberry and asparagus patch. Lots of people have their own routines, but the overall goal is to get the leftover weeds and plants out of the soil before it freezes, perhaps plant a cover crop of winter rye if you want to till it under in the spring for extra nitrogen, mulch in some compost that has been cooking all winter, and then decide if you need to cover your soil or not. The main reason to cover the soil is to prevent erosion (or it least that is my understanding), so if this isn't an issue for you (not too much wind, animals, or sloped grade playing their parts) you may not need to cover the soil. Last fall I covered some beds, including the strawberries and asparagus, with straw to protect the plants, but I think I over-covered and killed some of the baby strawberry plants. It never hurts to lightly mulch a vegetable planting area with leaves or straw. I mowed up a bunch of leaves with our last mowing this year, so that delicious mix of brown and green mulch went on the strawberry bed this year and some parts of the garden. You can always rake it off in the spring or till it under into the soil to add nutrients.

I find my other main goal is to make it easy to get outside in March and get the early crops in the ground like peas, lettuce, and radishes. So even if you get just one bed ready to go, you'll thank yourself when you don't have to pull out half-frozen weeds or last years plants. Especially with the blight this year, it is really important to pull out all of this year's dead plants, and I would keep all tomato plants and potato vines out of the compost pile. Toss them elsewhere or send them to the dump with your regular trash. This goes for any other plants that may have been diseased over the summer. Lastly, think about saving seeds from some veggies you may still have on hand. Pumpkin seeds, decorative squash, butternut squash, anything that your still eating and has seeds inside can be saved for next year's garden.

And don't forget it's time to plant the garlic. It winters over and you'll have garlic scapes in the early summer and full heads of garlic by July!

baby berries put to bed

Our leaves, their leaves

2009-11-05T16:26:00.004-05:00

My daughter talked me into raking leaves the other day, a job I generally stay away from because of my allergies. But it was unusual for this daughter -- who usually prefers inside play -- to be asking to do something outside, so I agreed. We only had one rake (I ran over the second rake last autumn with my car), so we went next door to borrow one from our neighbor.

My daughter and I began raking and she was doing really well for a 6 year old. I didn't even have to bribe her. And when I stopped, she reprimanded me. Apparently, breaks weren't allowed -- unless of course it was to test out a pile by jumping in them.

I did stop to show her the different leaves that were carpeting the yard -- the elongated tear-shaped magnolia ones from the two trees in our yard and the pointy yellow maple leaves from our neighbor's tree. Mostly, the yellow maple leaves blanketed the yard. We talked a bit about how the leaves end up in different spots. Since we'd borrowed their rake, it seemed only fitting that we were raking some of their leaves up, too.

We weren't the only ones taking care of the leaves. Around the neighborhood, the sound of leaf blowers could be heard all week. And others were dragging tarps laden with leaves out to the curb. Of course, the sound of the town's trucks sucking up lawn debris to be taken to our compost center was also in the air.

I was grateful for the physical labor with my daughter. We laughed and talked as we raked -- especially when a stiff breeze blew some of the leaves back into our yard. And she was clearly proud of herself when I told her father that it was all her idea. While it wasn't a perfect job, it was a perfect moment. And even if we were doing a chore, it didn't feel like it because we were enjoying each other's company.

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

2009-10-18T20:16:00.002-04:00

I love vegetables. Love growing them. Love cooking them. Love eating them. But, yes, to be sure, there are some vegetables that I cannot stand. Green peppers. Spaghetti Squash. Dark red beets. In the spirit of adventurous eating, I try to retry a vegetable every year that I had previously not enjoyed. To date, I have added from the "gross" to "delicious" lists: tomatoes (raw and cooked), raw onion, brussel sprouts (how did I ever not love these?), mushrooms, acorn and butternut squash, and red/orange/yellow peppers. Not a bad transition period, if I say so myself. However, there are clearly more vegetables to be explored and this summer I finally broke down and roasted some rutabaga (sweet with an earthy taste) and finally, finally, finally, peeled that ridiculous looking kohlrabi and discovered a gem inside. Simply peel, slice into matchsticks, boil and toss that bad boy with some butter and Parmesan cheese. Even my children ate it, and those of you who know my children can attest to their fear of new and different foods.

So why should you care about my personal taste evolution in the world of vegetables? Not sure, actually, except that perhaps it will remind us all that tastes evolve over time, and an adventurous eating spirit can start at any age. As the primary chef in my family (and that means planning, buying, prepping and cooking most of the meals), my tastes tend to dictate what everyone else eats, so I need to remember to introduce certain foods that I may not like so at least my kids can get the chance to not like it too. Just kidding (except for the green peppers).

New York Moments and free apples in the Big Apple

2009-10-14T14:14:00.005-04:00

So, my husband loses his Blackberry while we are in New York City this past weekend. He ran outside at 7:15 a.m. to search because he had just moved our car and thought he might have dropped it. I started calling it, hoping it was still in my brother-in-law's apartment where we were staying. The second time I try, a cabbie picks up. He found the Blackberry on the street and was hoping we would call. We made arrangements to meet and I gave him a $20 tip. He told me it happens all the time and he had no use for it anyway.

Afterward, when we'd packed and left the keys in the apartment as instructed thus locking ourselves out, my daughter decided she had to go to the bathroom -- in the worst possible way. Of course, that's despite my request while we were inside for our children to visit the facilities. We dashed into a diner on 14th street and the owner gestured downstairs, no problem. And they gave us free apples on our way out. I love the Big Apple.

I like to think that this was some sort of karmic payback for something we've done. However, I now feel that we should pay the goodness forward. Whenever we do go to New York, something like this always happens. I've left my ATM card in a machine and a man called after me to come back. I dropped a lipstick in the subway and a woman ran after me to give it back.

Farm to You Fest in our Schools

2009-10-08T15:16:00.007-04:00

This week has been busy... My school district's Healthy Kids Committee, in which I'm very involved, is celebrating its first annual "Farm to You Fest". Farm to You Fest, which we have lovingly dubbed "F2YF", is a week-long series of school and community events, classes and experiences that will help our kids build stronger connections between the food on their plates (at school and at home) and the farms where it grows.

Among the activities our committee planned for this week is a Farm Fresh Recipe Contest where kids submit their favorite recipes using local, seasonal fruits and veggies to our district's Food Services Director. He will then choose several of these kid-inspired recipes to feature in school lunches in the upcoming months (winners will have their menu items named after them!).

Additionally, we are working with a local organization, Capital District Community Gardens (www.cdcg.org) to support their Squash Hunger produce donation program. Through this program, instead of bringing cans and boxes of food to school, we have asked students to go to their home gardens, their local farmers market or their grocery store to donate fresh fruits and vegetables that will be taken directly to soup kitchens and pantries in a day or two. It's wonderful to see the boxes in the school lobby brimming with apples, zucchini, squashes and cabbages. We hope this reinforces the message that everyone needs to eat fresh.

Finally, our district is participating in a Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt at our new Saturday Delmar Farmers Market which is located at our very own middle school. Students received checklists at school and they are invited to visit the farmers market and answer questions like: "What fruits and veggies are not found here at the market, but would be found at a grocery store and why?", and "If you chose one item to bring home today from the market, what would you cook with it?". Completed checklists will be returned to school and kids can win coupon prizes donated from vendors at the market - an 8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella, a bag of fresh apples, etc... farm fresh rewards!

In addition to these three larger activities, the school lunch program featured fruits and vegetables grown on local farms (we have a long way to go with improving school lunch, but it has come a long way this year..). Also, individual schools have organized Visiting Farmer classes, in-class taste-testing workshops, and a walking field trip to a neighboring dairy farm to visit the cows, calves and kittens. Our middle school spent the summer cultivating our district's first Organic Kitchen Garden and the new Garden Club harvested greens, carrots and other veggies to create salads for their fellow students this week - yum!

It was a lot of work to organize this week and it took a lot of passionate parents many hours. So, why do we knock ourselves out for these kinds of things? Because, as Heidi so eloquently said in her recent entry: " if our kids can make a tactile and emotional connection to their food, it will imprint on them the importance of healthy eating and understanding of where and how food grows". In my opinion, this is one of the most important lessons we can learn in life - and in school.

Happy harvest, everyone. For more information on Farm to You Fest in New York State, go to: http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AP/PrideOfNY/farm_to_school.html

Coins for Kids

2009-10-07T09:33:00.004-04:00

I've written before about how I'm coin jar advocate. I never spend my change, opting to throw the coins in one of many jars I have around the house. This saving technique has helped us with vacations and bolstering our savings account. This month, however, I've decided to put all our extra change in a "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" box -- a program created by kids in 1950. When I spotted the boxes at a local Hallmark store, it evoked memories of collecting for UNICEF when I was a kid. I couldn't remember ever having a trick-or-treater asking for change in the last 11 or so years we've lived here. I grabbed two boxes for my kids to take out on Halloween. And I put one on my kitchen counter and slowly it's been filling. The back of the box says that just 6 cents can help provide water for a thirsty kid.

If you'd rather donate online or want more info about how to get the boxes, check out www.unicefusa.org/trickortreat

Backyard Bounty

2009-09-25T10:50:00.003-04:00

September has flown by (sorry loyal blog readers for our absence) and the end of the backyard garden is here. There were some high points -- 50 pounds of Yukon Gold and Red Potatoes -- and some low points -- rabbits cleaned out the entire crop for the summer. We weathered the tomato blight and actually still had fruit through most of the summer, and grew a few zucchini and carrots and onions. All in all, a successful and educational year.

The rabbit fencing is already going in for next spring, and the garlic is ready to be planted once we have a good frost. And I am already making plans for more blueberries and some TLC for the asparagus and strawberries, which did not do too well this year.

The highlight of the summer, however, was my children learning how to truly help in the garden. They love to weed, loading up their mini-wheelbarrow and dumping it in our unofficial compost pile. And they can identify most of the vegetable plants, even if they still won't eat everything that we grow. This kind of education is so important to me, and I love the new momentum behind community gardens and school gardens that involve children in the process from start to finish. If our kids can make a tactile and emotional connection to their food, it will imprint on them the importance of healthy eating and understanding where and how food grows. Will my kids still want ice cream everyday? Of course, but at least the balance of treats and healthy choices will be a little less skewed.

Wearing Your Issues on Your Car

2009-09-22T14:44:00.004-04:00

I have always been against having a bumper sticker on my car. It just seemed limiting at best and a bit preachy at worst. You have this captive audience behind you waiting for the light to turn green and you just have to shout out this one thing to them to change their minds, make them think, help you change the world... How do you choose that one thing anyway? What is so important to you that it is the one thing you would say to a stranger in passing? "Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty", a lovely sentiment that needs remembering. "Coexist", using symbols from various world religious - nice. "Imagine Whirled Peas", I have grown to like the ones that actually mock themselves. When it comes right down to it, it's hard to choose your one car mantra.

Despite my anti-bumper sticker feelings, I AM sporting one on the back of my Subaru these days. I'm trying it out. Seeing how it feels to speak out from the quiet of my car to unknown passers by. My sticker says "Eat Local Food, Stop Eating Fossil Fuels" and then gives the name and address of my local food co-op. It's a message I do truly believe and wish people thought about.

I'll be the first to admit, however, that I feel pretty confident pulling into my local farmers market, but pretty slimy loading up groceries from the Price Chopper.

One day, while picking up my daughter from camp, a man saw me coming out of my car munching on an apple (in the early summer). "Is that apple local?", he asked, chiding me in a friendly way. I mustered some lame response, like "yeah, if you live in New Zealand! I try!", as I laughed it off with a smile. It was a friendly exchange, but a reminder of how when you shout your issues out from the back of your car, you are asking to be scrutinized. And I think that's pretty fair.

I just signed our household up for the "Green Up" energy program through our utility company. It's something I've been meaning to do for years. Our electricity is now powered by wind and hydroelectric. They gave me a bumper sticker telling people to "choose wind". I put it on my car above my Eat Local sticker. Just going to see how it feels...

Back to School

2009-09-09T10:15:00.004-04:00

The kids in our neighborhood returned to school today and that collective sigh you heard was from all of us moms. Actually, it's a mixed emotion. I miss them, but really relish the time to work, write and establish some order to the household. First mission is the mounting laundry -- a lot of it still left over from our trip to Cape Cod.

But first, I took a look at this great article from the New York Times about Japanese Bento Boxes. A terrific way to create lunches for your kids in an environmentally friendly way. I'm soooo looking to order a few. My kids are completely bored with my sandwiches, baggies of pretzels and lack of imagination. Might get one for my husband and myself, too!

So much for the Staycation

2009-08-16T19:14:00.004-04:00

So our plan was to not go anywhere this summer. Take day trips, relax at home, go to the town pool. Save money. Big yawn.
We usually go to Maine, but our little community there has become ridiculously expensive. Then I stumbled upon a website called homeaway.com. Apparently, so many people were doing the same thing that there were all these great deals. I sent some inquiries for Wellfleet on Cape Cod and got a great deal. After I sent in my payment, there was a lift in my step and I started getting some things done that I've been putting off all summer.
Vacations are important to us, and I forgot that while trying to be a frugal mom. There's a cost, though, when you don't have something to look forward to and you don't have that family time. And this will be true family time -- just the four of us -- which we desperately need.
We've never been to Wellfleet, so I'm looking forward to learning about a new place.
As for the other sustainable moms, they're off on vacations, too. So we are signing out for a few weeks, and I'm leaving my computer home. Perhaps we'll post some vacations shots when we get back, but not much more. Time for a breather. See you in September.

Community Supported Agriculture

2009-08-09T16:37:00.007-04:00

My family and I joined a CSA farm 4 years ago and love every aspect of it. The idea is that you pay a local farmer up front the cost of your veggies (and sometimes fruits, eggs, meat and flowers) for the whole growing season. I think this set our family of 4 back about $450 this year, which when you add it all up, is not more expensive then buying veggies in the store (and these are local and organic!). Then, from June through October, much of your grocery shopping is done for you with a delivery to a nearby pick up location once a week. For 6 months of the year, we know exactly where our veggies are coming from (only about 35 miles away) and they are fresh and delicious.

The best part of this experience, I think, may be just making that connection from our dinner table back to the land. My kids (and I, quite frankly) are learning about what vegetables and fruits grow in our climate during what month and are enjoying comparing the tastes of fresh-picked produce compared to days-old store-bought stuff. There really is a difference.

I heard a saying from an avid gardener once that sticks in my head and I recently shared it with my kids: "A vegetable eaten 7 minutes after picking is like medicine, 7 hours is food, 7 days is basically worthless". If this has a shred of truth, then we really did ourselves a favor by making a stirfry with our farm share this week with tatsoi, swiss chard and string beans picked at our farm only 7 hours before. These veggies were even picked by our own hands at our farm's "Harvest Your Own Share" day.

An informative newsletter, "Notes from the Pea Patch", comes with each share and tells us about how things are growing this year on the farm (this year, with 7 inches of rain in June alone, there was flooding of some crops; last year, all the deer ate much of the lettuce!). The farm family also shares with us recipes for certain veggies in our share that we may never have encountered (or chosen to encounter) like kohlrabi, tatsoi, and lemon balm. Additionally, our CSA has 5 family events at the farm during the year that bring member families to the farm to enjoy planting, harvesting, camping and of course, eating.

If you have the opportunity to consider joining a CSA near you, I recommend checking one out. For a great example, check out Foxtail Community Farm at www.foxtailcommunityfarm.com in Greenville, NY. We love being a part of a local farm CSA and I think it's going to be one of those experiences my kids grow up expecting for their own kids

Recycled Golf Balls

2009-08-08T17:24:00.011-04:00

Here's a quick and easy present for a special guy in your life. My brother, who will turn 40 this week, will be getting 40 recycled golf balls in the mail. Shhh, it's a surprise.

I found a set of Nike balls on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Nike-Assorted-Mix-Recycled-Balls/dp/B001SEZBGU

http://www.cybergolf.com/golf_news/recycled_golf_balls_are_big_business

Give Life

2009-08-03T14:46:00.003-04:00

My dad has been a blood donor since he was in college 48 years ago. He and I share the same blood type, O-, which is a universal blood type and can be used for any transfusion. Obviously this blood type is very valuable for the American Red Cross and the hospitals it serves, so my father's regular contributions were always appreciated.

Five years ago my father was diagnosed with cancer, putting and end to his blood donation days. Although many cancer patients can resume donating after a year off chemotherapy, my dad will be on chemo for the rest of this life. I carried this thought with me last Saturday when I went to donate blood. I had tried to donate several years ago but was too anemic. And then it became several years of being pregnant or nursing. But now was the time to try again. It is a simple procedure, and I was happy to see so many other people donating that morning.

There is always a demand for blood donations, so if you can find the time and see a local blood drive happening, go in and see if you are eligible to donate. They need everybody to try. https://www.givelife.org/index_flash.cfm

Nice-up Your Napkins

2009-07-30T21:41:00.004-04:00

Certainly, there are reasons to have disposable paper products around the house, but I truly recommend converting to cloth napkins for everyday table use if you haven't already. They're softer, prettier, always available and you're always doing the laundry anyway, aren't you?

I keep about 16 lime-colored cotton napkins in a bright yellow wire basket on my kitchen table. After use, I simply toss dirty napkins into my laundry basket and they go into the next load. The result? The kids never have to ask for them - they're right in front of their eyes; everyone stays a bit cleaner at the dinner table; and they actually serve as a staple centerpiece when there are no fresh flowers around. And, of course, they are much less wasteful than throwing away a paper towel or paper napkin after each meal.

Treat yourself - get some cloth napkins. And choose a fun color (or even an eclectic mix of colors or patterns) because spaghetti sauce is no fun to get out of your whites! Enjoy!

Ultimate Holiday Decoration Recycling

2009-07-28T13:37:00.004-04:00

Here's what happens when you forget to get rid of the Halloween decorations: A pumpkin patch in your front yard!

This little guy fell off.

Free To Me

2009-07-26T21:00:00.002-04:00

Summer is keeping me on my toes. Our days on the calender don't look too busy, but something about active young children, sunshine (occasionally), and 12 straight hours with my kids is enough to leave me exhausted every day. But luckily there is always something that gets me excited to start each day anew: free stuff to do.

Today we ventured up to our local horse race track to give the boys a handicapping seminar, all for free! Just kidding about the gambling lesson, but we did enjoy a horse drill team, a steeplechase, and some ubiquitous bouncy bounce fun, all for free. We have also enjoyed a children's singer in concert for free, music at the farmer's market for free, and have plans to see some theater in the park for free. I even personally enjoyed a 1980's glam rock festival. Who would turn down a free power ballad? Not this girl. So if you can gather up the energy and courage to get out into a crowded summer venue, do it. Embrace the free and save your money for the ice cream truck.

Re-usable "Baggies"!

2009-07-23T13:43:00.007-04:00

When I was a kid, most of my friends brought their lunches to school in simple, non-descript brown paper bags and little plastic baggies that would get thrown away.

MY mom, however, a quintesscential 70's mom, was already hip to the Tupperware scene. My sister and I would sport these big, clunky orange plastic boxes with smaller plastic boxes inside for our sandwiches on whole wheat and our carrot sticks (you get the picture...). Were we trend-setters? Well, at the time, we were just slightly embarrased...

Now, reusable lunch containers are much more cool and mostly the standard, so my kids don't flinch when I introduce a new reusable device to hold their vittles. It's been an exercise of trial and error to find things that work for kids - e.g., stainless steel water bottles that are too hard for little fingers to open, plastic containers that get stained and stinky, too many klunky boxes that don't fit in a small lunch bag, etc.

Pictured above is a container - the snackTAXI - that I've really loved (http://www.snacktaxi.com/) and my kids have enjoyed using. It is a re-usable and fashionable "baggie" sewn out of washable, but water-resistent fabric on the inside. The liner is a nylon with a polyurethane coating that is free of heavy metals, phthalates, PBBs and PBDEs. They are not the cheapest items in the world (a sandwich-size bag is $8.95), but there is a wide selection of mod, fun fabrics to choose from and they claim that you could reduce your waste by 1,000 baggies in the lifetime of one snackTAXI! You can either hand wash or pop them in the dishwasher or washing machine.

SnackTAXI offers lunch bags and smaller snack bags, too. Better yet, it is a family-run biz that is commited to keeping their business local. Check them out - school lunch-packing is just around the corner!

Sustainable Summer Reading

2009-07-21T09:37:00.000-04:00

Here's a brief list of some excellent green books to sustain you and your family this summer.

"The Family Kitchen Garden: How to Plant, Grow, and Cook Together" by Karen Liebreich, Jutta Wagner, and Annette Wendland. This beautiful book could become THE book for those creating a sustainable kitchen garden. Broken up by months, it tells you what you need to do and what you should plant each month -- even through winter. There are recipes and crafts, as well as info on herbs, veggies and fruits.

"The Future of Life" by Edward O. Wilson. The famous Harvard naturalist starts this book out with an imagined conversation with Henry David Thoreau.

Speaking of Thoreau ... "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. Required reading every year for me.

"Plenty: One Man, One Woman and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally" by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. This young couple were inspired by having to forage for a meal. Then, of course, they went the distance. This is a realistic look at the trials and tribulations of sticking to your values.

"Help Your Parents Save The Planet: 50 Simple Ways to Go Green Now!" This book is aimed at kids and urges them to become environmentalists. It gives easy-to-understand missives on how to save the planet, like start a compost heap, turn off computers and drinking tap water.

Wait a Minute Mr. Postman

2009-07-16T20:44:00.002-04:00

We get a serious amount of junk mail each week, not including the stacks of catalogs that arrive despite a concerted effort last fall to call at least a dozen publications and ask to be taking off their lists. There's the credit card mailings (which I thought might evaporate with the recession), magazine offers, coupons, mail for people who used to live here, etc, etc, etc. It piles up and, in a good week, I stand at the counter, sort out the plastic window envelopes for the trash, glossy paper for the recycling, and white paper to be recycled as well. But today inspiration struck!

My three year old loves to pretend to send mail. It usually involves a "drawing" stuffed into an envelope and stuck in our mail slot sans address, only to be removed by a parent and reused the next time. This afternoon said child found a bag in the house that looked like a mail bag and started to play mailman. He kept going out the side door to the front door and pretending to push mail through the slot. And then it hit me: we have mail. So the junk mail made several circuits from side door to front, through the slot, picked up inside, and sent out again. This kept him busy for at least 30 minutes, which is a new record in our house. Even the five year old got in on the action. And so that junk mail became useful for at least an afternoon, and unfortunately I can be confident that once it has been sorted into its future piles, there will be plenty more to take its place.

On a related note, I heard of a good idea once to send the often enclosed postage stamped envelopes back to the soliciting company empty just to make the company pay the postage. Not sure if it has any impact, but it is job security for the good people at the USPS.

The Container-less Lemonade Stand

2009-07-15T21:37:00.003-04:00

Oh, what would summer be without lemonade stands? At the sight of the first spring crocus, my 7-yr. old daughter begs to have one. She loves the sweet and tangy drink, the allure of earning a few dimes, and the party-like atmosphere of it all. Who doesn't?

The classic lemonade stand teaches some kitchen skills, some math, keeps them outside and it's social (and refreshing, no?). However it is, by it's carry-out nature, not the most sustainable of childhood games. There are the tiny paper cups and the cartons or bottles of lemonade that create quite a bit of waste. So, my kids and I are working on ways to sell our lemony swill without so much impact to our enviroment.

One of the changes we implemented this past week was mixing our own brew instead of pouring from a carton or bottle of store-bought lemonade. Keeping a frozen concentrate around for the occasion was a consideration, but I was looking to cut some costs as well as reduce waste, so we tried this recipe - and it was a big hit (and added more fun to the overall preparations)! Next time, I'm tempted to try a "bring-your-own-cup" discount policy and see what happens...

1. Make a simple syrup: 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, bring to boil until dissolved.

2. Add a few ice cubes to cool.

3. Dump this into a big pitcher and add cold water until almost full.

4. Add about 3-4 Tbsp. lemon juice to taste and more ice cubes to chill.

5. Serve and enjoy!

The Cost of Chaos

2009-07-14T09:02:00.001-04:00

Two recent missteps cost me money recently -- I forgot to tell my daughter that the library called with a popular book she had requested and the hold expired. Someone else had taken it out. That led to a rightfully annoyed 13 year old. I ended up buying her the book because I know how it is when you really want to read something and she did everything right. This one was on me. Of course, right after we purchased the book, I found it available again at the library.

The second was that I waited until last minute to mail a gift to a friend and had to pay extra for priority mail to get it there in time for her birthday.

The two incidents cost me about $25, which is not a lot, but I started thinking about all the times I've forgotten or waited until the last minute and paid the premium.

Being organized saves money. Being organized also helps you with environmental causes -- remembering the recyclable bags, planning dinner instead of ordering takeout (lots of packaging), bringing your own coffee mug when you go to the coffee shop, taking the time to check your tire pressure. Lots of little things, but like my missteps, they add up.

The Garden Wall Redux

2009-07-08T05:57:00.001-04:00

We tore up an old path leading to our front door last year. Actually, my husband tore up a path. I watched. Supervised. Cheered him on. So over a year, the concrete rubble from that project sat in a heap behind my carriage house office. It took a little while, but finally I had an idea. Actually, I copied an idea. After reading about and seeing Heidi's wall, I wondered if we could do something similar. Actually, I wondered if my husband could do something similar. I asked him to build me a garden wall. And he did: a beautiful wall made out of repurposed concrete.

The garden has two plants so far -- a tomato plant and a marigold I plucked from somebody's pile of discarded lawn waste (we put it out in our town and they take it away to compost). Not sure why they tossed the plants -- they just needed a little water. We also scored some stone urns that were at an estate sale down the street. I didn't actually go to the estate sale. I noticed the urns and kept walking, thinking I didn't need anything else. However, the urns were still there next to their garbage can a few days later. I sent Mark (he's so good to me) over to the house and he scored both for $25. I've planted lavender in them.

From a distance, my wall looks like plain old beautiful rocks. Even without plants, it's gorgeous. I'm glad we didn't have to pay for someone to haul it away where it would probably go to a landfill. It takes a little ingenuity to repurpose something, but before you throw out the old wood from a construction project or old metal from the basement, why not build something? So, thanks, honey, for the wall. And a second thanks to Heidi for the wall idea.

Cafe to Stay?

2009-07-07T05:26:00.006-04:00

Today I am blogging from (wait for it...) Paris, France! My husband has an academic conference here and I tagged along (as our 10th wedding anniversary coincides). So far, we have very much enjoyed our visit - lots and lots of walking, repeatedly challenging ourselves to practice the 5 or 6 phrases of French we learned from our guidebooks, and experiencing the culture as much as a tourist can.

When thinking about what to share with you about French sustainability, I landed on an important observation while (what else?) sipping a cafe au lait with my husband this morning. In Paris, NO ONE is seen with a paper "to-go" coffee cup (there are also no Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts or the like from which to purchase such things, thank goodness). It is certainly not that the French do not enjoy their coffee; on the contrary, their many, many sidewalk cafes are constantly buzzing with people taking their caffeine at any hour. The difference is that the French actually sit down and drink their coffee. With real dishes. (With real cream, real sugar, and real waitstaff that get paid real wages - but, I digress).

One of the results of all this sitting and sipping from cups and saucers is not only the sense that Parisians more fully enjoy their coffee as they relax and watch their world go by, but that there is a direct relationship to the amount of garbage they produce. Compared to a typical NYC street garbage can at the end of a warm summer day, in Paris, the garbage receptacles are more than half-empty. Mostly because in their culture, they do not choose "to-go", but to stay.

The take-home message, I think is one that my fellow mom-bloggers and I keep reiterating... in the US, we need to slow it down. What is it that we're doing that we need to take everything "to-go" in disposable containers? And is all that rushing while caffeinating doing our stress-levels any good? How about taking a look at the proportion of landfill space being taken up by our coffee "to-go" culture? It's so American. And pretty embarrassing.

I do understand the reality that most of us do not live in Paris (darn it!) and that many of us moms are sentenced to hours in the car transporting our kids and running errands... However, maybe we could try and have our morning coffee in a favorite mug at home before we start our day and maybe that afternoon pick-me-up could sometimes also be an afternoon sit-me-down. Less paper cups, more time for ourselves? It could happen... how very Parisian it could be.

Feast and Famine

2009-07-03T12:36:00.003-04:00

The green bean plants have turned into a skeletal graveyard thanks to my four resident backyard rabbits (a.k.a. lunch, dinner, delicious, and nutritious). One week there were beautiful flowering leafy plants, the next found spindly remains. I had already used Rabbit Scram and "Critter, Get the H$#! Out of My Garden" (names have been changed to express my mood), apparently with no success. So it was back to the garden store for "liquid fence," which any good farmer would chuckle at and suggest just putting in a real fence. I am not a good farmer, so liquid fence it is, plus new seeds and sending my children out into the backyard at regular intervals to bark at the rabbits.

Some garden success has occured despite vermin and pitiful amounts of sunshine in June; one gorgeous little new potato came out of the soil in a weeding frenzy yesterday. I'm planning to dig up a few more for dinner tonight, then save the rest for the fall harvest.

In other organic gardening frustrations, my new rose bush has some blight, the Japanese beetles are about to hatch, and the squirrels have eating all my strawberries, save two. But this has only reinforced my belief that organic gardening forces you to be more active in the garden, more aware of little bugs and holes in the leaves and creatures invading your backyard at night. Perhaps more angry at these things too, since there is some extra work involved and it feels all for naught some days. But like any healthy relationship, it has its good days and bad. Except for the rabbits. They had better sleep with one adorable little bunny eye open.

The No Crust Trick

2009-06-29T20:41:00.005-04:00

My kids won't eat bread crusts. After years of pleading with them, explaining how the crust is the best part of bread and bribing them with dessert, I finally figured out how to get them to eat the crusts.

My daughter is allergic to many things, which means we don't eat a lot of processed foods, including ready-made bread crumbs. Then I had an idea. Instead of tossing the crusts or nibbling on them myself, I began hoarding them in the freezer in a plastic bag.

When I needed bread crumbs for a recipe, I surreptitiously grind the crusts up in the food processor, along with a little olive oil and some herbs. Presto chango -- bread crumbs.

Not only have I salvaged the crusts, I have successfully tricked my kids into eating them.

One of my favorite ways to use bread crumbs since my daughter is also allergic to eggs is to spread apricot preserves on chicken breasts or pork chops and then press the bread crumbs into the preserves. Bake as usual.

Salad Dressing Liberation

2009-06-24T08:35:00.004-04:00

I have recently discovered how easy it is to make my own salad dressing and wanted to share this delicious, healthy and cost-saving alternative to the questionable half-bottles taking up space in our refrigerator doors (you, too?). I feel liberated. Although most of those bottles are recyclable, it's so much better to have fresh, vibrant dressings made to your liking in just a few minutes and with no waste at all!

Really, all you need is a vinegar or citrus juice - or both (something acidic), an oil (olive is standard goodness, or play with sesame, peanut, etc.), some seasonings (honey, salt, pepper, fresh or dried herbs), and then possibly something fun (honey, avocado, yogurt, the world is your oyster!). What I've discovered is that making salad dressing is like making soup - you can't go wrong, or if you do, just add more of something.

The fun part and new discovery for me is my trusty immersion blender - you must have one (Cuisinart makes one and it's only about $30). It is my new best friend in the kitchen for making smoothies and soups, but now I add all my dressing ingredients to a liquid measuring cup, blend away and my dressing is creamy and emulsified and delicious! (I should confess, I just learned what "emulsify" means in this realm - when you whisk or blend or shake your dressing, it gets beautifully integrated and creamy! yum...)

Here is my recipe for my newest concoction for a thick and creamy southwest dressing. It's great on fresh spinach salads and bitter greens like arugula (in season at your local farmers market now - enjoy!).

Avocado Salad Dressing (measurements very loose!):

1 part white balsamic vinegar (1/2 cup?)

juice of 1 fresh lemon or lime

2 parts olive oil (1 cup?)

chunks of a whole avocado

1 spoonful honey

sea salt

black pepper

handful fresh cilantro

Use immersion blender to puree all ingredients together until smooth. If too thick, thin out with more vinegar, citrus or oil and taste to adjust other flavors. Store leftovers in fridge for a few days.

A Frugalista's Tips

2009-06-22T10:49:00.007-04:00

Just heard on the news that the recession might get even deeper, so I thought I'd pass along some of the things I've discovered. We've been living frugally (most of the time) for about five years since I left my full-time job. Treat yourself occasionally to a latte or a pedicure or new shoes. You deserve it and if you're doing all the stuff listed, you can splurge every now and then -- with cash you've saved, of course. Please share your own tips on how you're coping with the recession.

1) Don't take kids to the grocery store. Your grocery bill will go up 200 percent. If you can, leave them home with the other parent or a babysitter (it's cheaper). It sounds a little like this when my kids come along: "Can I have this?" "No." "How about this?" "No." "EVERYbody has this in their lunch." "No." "You're an evil mother." "I'm not listening. I can't hear you." "How about this?" "No." "AHHHHHHH." "Fine. Fine. Whatever."

2) Learn about unit prices at the grocery store. It's the smartest way to shop. Sometimes a generic brand will be cheaper even when the name brand is on sale. Check out the price per ounce or pound. Stick to generics for the most part and don't be fooled by pretty, shiny displays at the front of the aisles. Only use coupons for things you use.

3) Don't spend your change. I have jars situated around the house: kitchen, laundry room, my dresser. Jar change that I have to pick up in the dryer, sofas, bedrooms floors, is mine. In fact, it helped pay for a good portion of a trip to Paris -- no kidding.

4) Invest in a freezer. Like Heidi said, it's a great tool for eating local foods all year round, and it's also great for saving money. We buy things on sale, rather than for the week, and freeze them. For example, even though it looks silly, I'll buy six whole chickens at 99 cents a pound and freeze them. I also try to freeze leftovers the night they are eaten, or else they get pushed to the back of the fridge, where I will inevitably find them when I get around to cleaning out the fridge.

5) Don't ever pay the full price for movie tickets, amusement parks or museums. AAA members can take advantage of discounted movie tickets here in Albany for the Spectrum and Regal, as well as amusement parks. Some local banks also give out discounted -- or free -- movie tickets. Do a little research and keep some on hand for rainy days this summer, or plan to go to a matinee or on a designated cheap night. Many libraries have free passes to local museums.

6) Do your own pedicure. I started doing this after getting an infection from a local salon. I'll spare you the details. I've gone back to pros (at a different place) for special occasions or a treat, but I kind of like doing my own nails when I'm hanging with my nearly teen-aged daughter as we make fun of some reality show.

7) Make your own greeting cards, or make your kids make your own greeting cards. Buy a big pack of blank cards and envelopes at a craft store. Kids can draw pictures or you can glue a photo to the front.

8) Inventory your house. Know what you have to avoid buying seconds -- tools, kids' clothes, pantry items, books, etc. We have 16 hammers.

9) Find other gardeners to share plants and seeds.

10) Keep track and return library books on time. Our library rakes in something like $70,000 a year from overdue fines, and I admit, I'm a major scofflaw. I know someone who only allows their kids six books or DVDs at a time. I have not reached this level of discipline or oversight in my family. And I have a lot of trouble with bringing my own books back. Actually, I think I'll take care of that right now.

Fruits of our labor

2009-06-20T14:33:00.002-04:00

Mid-June means only one thing to my mother and me: strawberry season. For as long as I can remember we headed to the local pick-your-own fields and loaded our baskets with fresh, sweet strawberries. My mother is a life-long gardener, as well as the queen of preserving foods, so we did not just pick a couple of quarts for our own immediate eating. We picked pounds and pounds and pounds of strawberries. Most of my parent’s holiday gifts were a basket full of jams and canned tomatoes, and I have followed in my mother’s fanatical berry footsteps.

The boys and I headed out to the strawberry fields early this week before the days of rain set in to pick enough to eat and make our own jam. I attempted jam-making last year, but put the pectin and sugar in the wrong order so it didn’t set up very well. Freezer jam is a forgiving concoction, however, so it still tasted delicious. This year I was determined to make it right so we picked 16 pounds of berries (not counting the many berries that ended up in the bellies of the pickers) and I spent the better part of two days making jam. Any good cooking experiment is made better with companionship, so my friend Ann and her two girls joined us for a rainy morning of mashing, stirring, and preserving our berries. We put up three dozen jars for the two families, and it was very satisfying to see all the jars lined up waiting to set and freeze.

If I were to recommend one vital appliance for any family interested in truly eating a local diet it would be an extra freezer for the garage or basement. Extra room to freeze produce at its peak and local meats allows you to eat your local foods out of season. Often you do have to put up more money all at once (like we do for half a cow for a year’s worth of beef or our CSA fee) but then your monthly grocery bills should decrease and you know that your food was preserved at its peak flavor. I try to add one additional food a year that we freeze or can so it doesn’t feel too overwhelming to learn it all at once. I can only hope that someday I will rival my mother’s talents of stocking up for the winter, and that my own children will carry on the tradition in their families as well.

Feeling small in the big woods

2009-06-17T17:49:00.004-04:00

The other day, my five-year old son and I went for a hike in a nearby woods. He is finished with school for the year and the weather was perfect. We brought his butterfly net and a camera. Looking at this picture will tell you why we went. With utter abandonment, my son trundled down this long, big trail to the shady river where we were to search for fish, bugs and anything that would fit into our net. He was happy, he was free and he was a small part of something much, much bigger.

And that's what being close to nature does for me. I find a lot of comfort in feeling small in the big woods. I don't control nature, I am not responsible for it's ways, I don't completely understand it and so I am able to just be in it. It is freeing. I think my son felt that too.

As we strolled back up that big hill on the way home, we recounted all that we saw - a shiny dragonfly; curious orange and black beetles scuttling over these huge, odd tree fungi; and a one-eyed chipmunk who got really close to us because we were on his "blind" side and he didn't see us. And we quietly brought home with us the sense that, in the larger scheme of things, we are so, so tiny. It was good to be reminded.

The Karma of Found Things

2009-06-16T12:53:00.000-04:00

I find this time of year to be the best days for walking. Why?
Fitness, sure.

Way to get out of the house, um, OK.

Nice weather, yeah.

Actually, it's the free stuff that motivates me on Mondays, following a weekend packed with garage sales. Last week, I picked up this amazing round antique frame. We plan on using it for an old photo of my mother-in-law taken when she was a little girl. (My daughters are demonstrating how great it will look.)

I've written about this before, but it's that time again. Our town becomes a garage sale enthusiast's mecca, so when the sales are over many people just put things on the curb.

Some people forget the yard sale altogether and just put things out for free. I like the karma involved in that. I put a box of books out the other day to pay back the person who left the free frame out. The books disappeared within the hour.

Tick Check

2009-06-12T15:33:00.002-04:00

This week's post has been taking over by tick removal. Four on the 3-year-old. Two on the 5-year-old. In places you'd rather not imagine. Tis the season for ticks, deer and otherwise, so if you haven't made a tick check part of your evening or post-backyard playtime or daily routine, and you live where these little buggers are prevalent, it's time to make it a habit. Your children will thank you, just like mine did after much cajoling, a trip to the doctor, and an ice cream bribe for some serious cooperation.

"Did you wash that?!"

2009-06-11T09:10:00.007-04:00

This is what I say to my kids before they munch into an apple or some grapes. And I don't just mean run it under the tap. Use some Veggie Wash and scrub! The thought of them ingesting the potential pesticides, fertilizers, and bacteria makes me wince.

I have been washing our fruits and veggies (even our organic stuff) with special "Veggie Wash", or other brands of produce cleaners, since my kids started eating solid foods. I guess using a "wash" just made me feel like I was doing all I could do to reduce my kids' consumption of chemicals and general big-ag ickiness (not every day is a farmers market day!). So, when I ran out of Veggie Wash a few days ago and couldn't find it on the shelves at the grocery store, I panicked a little and wondered if we'd have to stop eating produce... Upon realizing that that was a ridicuous reaction, I decided to do a little research. What exactly is in this stuff that's so special? Do I really need to use it? And, if so, why couldn't I just make a potion of my own at home that does the same thing?

I looked at the bottle and read the claims: "Laboratory tested and proven to remove unwanted residues (wax, soil, and agricultural chemicals) significantly better than water rinsing alone!". Wonderful! Then, the ingredients list: "100% natural ingredients: water, natural cleaners made from corn and coconut, citrus oil, sodium citrate (a natural derivative of citrus fruit), glycerin (from coconut oil) and grapefruit seed extract." Hmmm. Sounds unneccesarily fancy to me.

So, I hopped online and Googled. Some people strongly believe that washing your fruits and vegetables with more than running water is silly. Others say it reduces the chance of cancers. Most, however, seem to agree that if you feel better using a wash, you can make some on your own pretty simply. Here are my favorite recipes so far (both from "Kittencal" on RecipeZaar.com) - one for a spray and one for a soak. Let's all try it out and compare our results!

Homemade fruit and veggie spray (for bigger, heartier produce like apples, pears)

1 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1 TBSP baking soda

1 Cup water

Directions: put all ingredients into a spray bottle (it will foam up a bit), shake gently to mix, then spray produce and allow to sit for 2-5 minutes. Rinse under cold water. Store extra spray in fridge.

Homade fruit and veggie soak (for little, fragile foods like strawberries, grapes, etc.)

1/4 Cup white vinegar

2 TBSPs salt

Directions: Fill a clean sink or bowl with cold water. Add in vinegar and salt, then swish around with hands. Submerge produce and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water. The vinegar cleans and the salt draws out any little bugs, dirt and other small unwanted things. It will also remove some of the wax.

The BIG Box

2009-06-09T15:30:00.004-04:00

My kids, right now, are inside a big cardboard box. They grabbed it after my husband bought himself a new office chair. The girls -- ages 5 and 12 -- log more play time inside cardboard boxes than with any other toys they own. That includes the certain overpriced -- yet educational -- dolls from a certain overpriced -- yet educational -- store that shall not be named. However, I do think we've spent enough money at said store to have thrown away at least a semester at a private college.

Hmmm.

So, I decided to see what the appeal happened to be. When the girls were out of the box and the room, I hopped inside the box and sat for a few minutes. The walls were decorated with all of our names, "Home Sweet Home," a mail box, blue and red dots, and pictures of us. Very cozy.

Last year, we had four such boxes from a new patio set. I didn't hear from my children for days. One of those boxes was painted and dragged outside and left in the rain. After a few days, it sort of became an abstract sculpture.

My point, I suppose, isn't a new one -- that kids don't really need a lot of stuff. Just a couple of markers and a giant box. I think I might go take a nap in the box.

Black Gold

2009-06-07T20:38:00.003-04:00

Several people have asked the sustainable moms for some advice on starting to compost, so here is my brief advice on working your own composting magic. Much of my information was learned from Tanya L.K. Denckla's “The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food,” which is, in my humble opinion, one of the most comprehensive guides to a backyard organic garden. You can learn more about her at http://tanyadencklacobb.com.

Before you get giddy about turning all those veggie scraps, fall leaves, and grass clippings into garden food, consider a couple of things: one, where can you find an outdoor space for a 3x3x3 compost pile that will get some heat from the sun (but not direct sunlight which kills the good bacteria) and rain on a regular basis; two, where in your kitchen can you store several days of kitchen scraps without attracting a horde of fruit flies. If you can answer both these questions, you’re ready to go.

Compost consists of equal parts dry matter (dead leaves, straw, sawdust – not from pressure-treated lumber, however – newspapers, clean newsprint, cardboard, or paper bags) and green matter (grass clippings, weeds, hay, old flowers, and kitchen scraps). Equal parts dry and green will ensure the correct carbon to nitrogen ratio. Make sure to avoid diseased or bug-infested plants, animal meat, charcoal or wood ash, or any food that may have come in contact with fats and oils. Veggie and fruit peelings, plain left-over pasta, breads, and coffee grounds all make great compost.

Store your kitchen compost in either a compost bin found online or in your local garden store, or any container with a lid (big yogurt containers, Tupperware, etc. all work well). A charcoal filter is nice but not necessary if you empty often and rinse the collection container. Fruit flies are inevitable in these parts – I’m trying out a nifty little fruit fly trap that I found at my garden store.

Outside you don’t need a bin or rolling composter unless you’re ready to spend a little money. Just find some land, make sure you have a tarp to cover the pile, or get creative and see what kind of wire or wood contraption you can make. You need to be able to give the pile heat and water (sun and rain) for the bacteria to get cooking. You’ll also need to turn the pile about once a week to distribute air and bacteria. If animals get into your pile, double-check what kitchen scraps are going in and you may need to commit to a box with a lid or something similar. I find covering the food scraps that get dumped in with some leaves or hay also keeps any flies at bay.

Then let the magic happen. Eventually the matter will break down into beautiful soil that you can add to your garden, potted containers, window boxes, even sprinkled over the lawn to feed the grass. Be patient, experiment, and be happy every time your kid wants to eat the apple whole and then takes three bites because now you can compost it back into something useful.

Ode to Pocket Woodlands

2009-06-04T09:39:00.004-04:00

I am fortunate to live in a small town. It's the kind of town that wants you to walk along its streets, soaking in the sweet little houses, someone's well-kept gardens, another's eclectic lawn art... So, when the weather warms up, I take to walking. When you're walking and moving more slowly, you tend to notice more. The other day, I noticed - and wanted to pay some homage to - the many pocket woodlands in our suburban town.

What is a pocket woodland, you ask? Good question. Have you ever heard of a pocket park? It's a teeny-tiny plot of land tucked into a neighborhood that is a public space - usually to serve as a playing area for children or just a resting spot for people who live nearby. Neighborhoods benefit from pocket parks because of the recreational opportunities as well as having a place to meet one another and catch up on neighborly banter. A pocket woodland (I think I made up this term, actually) is a teeny-tiny plot of land on private property where a home owner decided not to build a swath of lawn, but rather maintain the original wooded nature of their land as a peaceful, shady oasis.

Although these treed areas are not public spaces and I am not explicitly invited to swing from the branches or sit under an oak and read a book, I am still invited to enjoy the many psychological benefits of these small, but wonderful environments in our town. Pocket woodlands provide visual interest with their many layers of vegetation from ground covers, to ferns, to shrubs and tall maples, oaks and pines. Wildlife thrive in these areas, so the squirrel- and bird-watching is fabulous (and who knows who might be living in all the nooks and crannies provided by the leaf litter, ground vegetation and rich soil). On a hot, sunny day, I quicken my pace just to get under the protective and cool shade of these mini-forests. The temperature actually drops a few degrees - you can feel it - near these trees in the summer.

Which brings me to my final and broader reason to appreciate these cool, verdant places in our town - they actually help in a small way to reduce global warming. I know that is a big statement to make about a handful of trees next to someone's lawn, but if you believe in the "urban heat island affect" whereby buildings and pavement make cities and towns hotter, then you've got to feel good about the unsung efforts of these mighty woodlots that do their best to counteract our human impact. Thank you woodlands, with your leafy shade, your rustling in the breeze, your home for chipmunks... And thank you, neighbors who proudly offer them as part of your landscape and our neighborhood.

Bethlehem Wins!

2009-06-02T12:40:00.002-04:00

The kitchen garden at Bethlehem Middle School captured a $5,000 prize in a greenest school contest hosted by Westchester-based Regional News Network. It's one of a number of green initiatives in our district. Congratulations!

Sitting Down and Shutting Up on June 1

2009-06-01T10:12:00.007-04:00

Nearly every morning I try to take a look at my calendar to plan my day. Being the beginning of a week and a month, I try to get a handle on what's to come. When did June get so packed? When did it become almost as busy as September? We're supposed to be winding down from school, but we have all these school events, doctor appointments, parties, errands, tutoring and sporting events. Arrrrggggh.

Overload. Overload. I sipped my coffee and wondered if 6:30 a.m. was too early for wine. It was cocktail hour in other places, like Beijing.

Instead, I sat. I pulled out a giant pillow, plunked it down in front of the fireplace (it was freezing in Delmar, N.Y., this morning). And I sat.

I've been trying to build a meditation practice for the last couple of weeks, trying to cultivate that feeling of exquisite emptiness that I reach during relaxation time in yoga. I'm up to about 10 minutes and my goal is a half hour. Sometimes at night, I meditate for a few minutes, too.

The thoughts come in: Don't forget to blog. Did you wash Zoe's softball shirt? We're out of soap.

And I kiss them goodbye. Later. Not this moment. Then it's there -- a big hole of nothingness. I love this.

One of my favorite books about developing a meditation practice is "Sit Down and Shut Up." I had to have this for the title alone. It's by Brad Warner, a Zen priest and former hardcore punk rocker. I kid you not. He speaks in plain language -- well, with an edge -- but there's an undercurrent of discipline.

I sit in the proper posture and then I follow my breath -- which is something I learned from Thich Naht Hanh's excellent "The Miracle of Mindfulness."

Anyway, afterward, I'm ready to face my to-do list, even asking myself if some of this is absolutely essential. I stop fretting and get on with the madness that is June.

Robin in the rain

2009-05-29T13:44:00.003-04:00

There is a female robin getting ready to lay her eggs in a nest tucked into our hydrangea bush. We watched her build the nest last week, and over the last few days she has been looking rather plump and hanging out in the nest. My attempts to take her picture are making her nervous, so I got one and then stopped stalking her. I found it interesting that she should choose such an active spot for her nest; squirrels are constantly climbing on the fence near her, not to mention my loud children who bicycle, run, scream, laugh, and throw things in our driveway next to the nest.

This made me think that it is possible to create a habit for wild life even in the busiest of yards and gardens. As more and more of our ecosystems are changed for human life and consumption, we have to actively attract wildlife back to the areas we took from them. Any house, subdivision, neighborhood, apartment building, school or business can do simple things to bring back and retain local wildlife. In our yard we try to do several things: not over landscape everything to allow for natural habitats to occur – edges of brush and limbs for small animals, snakes and bugs to live, plant native plants to attract bees, butterflies, ladybugs and other beneficial insects, and most importantly, we use no chemicals or fertilizers on the grass, flowers, veggies, and shrubs. The one thing we do do is put a mosquito inhibitor in our small pond to keep the pesky biters at bay until we figure out how to maintain koi or put up a bat house. Our neighbors also feed the birds, we provide the water for them and some lovely dragonflies, and we both try and use organic alternatives to pest control such as praying mantis, milky spore for Japanese beetle larvae control, and ladybug releases to control aphids and other pesky insects. And the beauty is that our efforts are working. The yard is full of birds and butterflies, the grass is green, the flowers and veggies are thriving.

Many people do not have the time or resources to turn their entire yards into wildlife habitats, but taking a “one step at a time” approach can start the process. Plant one native plant this year. Put out one bird feeder. Do one container garden with tomatoes and basil. Plant one packet of seeds. Stop using chemicals are your front lawn where children and pets may come into contact with them. Just like Karen’s reusable bags, make it a habit one item at a time. Before you know it, you too might have a mama bird choosing your yard as the perfect place to raise her young.

Developing a Bag Habit

2009-05-27T10:53:00.003-04:00

It's been at least two or three years now that I've struggled with the "bag issue" and I'm pleased to report that I have finally developed a bag habit. For most of my purchasing life, I have been handed my newly bought items suspended in either a plastic or paper bag - sometimes an unsightly grocery bag, sometimes an attractive department store bage with reusable potential - but really, all these bags are not a good thing. So, when my grocery store chain (we've already discussed my disdain, so enough of that) began selling reusable, recycled shopping bags with sturdy handles and a moderately attractive logo, I decided to take the plunge and bought 10 of them (99 cents/pc), vowing to use these bags each time I shopped. Here's how that went. For the first few months, I would get to the store and say to myself, "Oh, crap. I forgot my bags at home" and walk guiltily through the aisles knowing the shame of my impending plastic/paper aquisition at check out. Next time, I'll remember. Well, I forgot my bags a good handful of times before I starting making myself PAY for my mistake by purchasing MORE bags at the checkout. This form of punishment clearly wasn't realistic or sustainable - and it didn't really help me to remember. After a few trips, and the aquisition of about 17 reusable bags, I realized that I had to keep the bags IN my car (as much as I dislike storing more things in my car) in order to have them with me when I shopped. So, in the car they went. And in the store I went... without my bags. "Oh, crap. Well, I'm not dragging my two kids back to the car to get my bags... too much hassle". But, oh the shame at check out. In the next phase, I tried to use my guilt for good. The next time I walked into the store without my bags, I forced myself to march back out to the car to get them - with or without kids (teaching moment opportunity, right?). I only had to do this a few times before it started to click and I would only make it half way across the parking lot before sending myself back to the car for my bags. Now, with a great deal of time and self-talk and strategizing invested, I actually have established a full-blown habit of getting out of my car, walking right to the hatchback (oh, that's another advantage of station wagons - you can SEE your bags mocking you in the way back - it helps!), and grabbing an allotment of bags for my grocery shopping. I've arrived! And I think I've come even further. Now, I've grown past the smug self-satisfaction of having my reusable bags neatly displayed in my cart while silently criticizing others who wander by without theirs. Bringing my bags to the grocery store is just what I do and I don't need to think about it. Lovely. I'm even starting to consistently bring other cute reusable bags (so many choices out these days!) when shopping at other stores for clothes, toiletries, etc. It's a satisfying habit and one that I'm proud to have worked on. You, too, could have a bag habit - don't give up on yourself - it took me years!!

Remembering

2009-05-24T08:54:00.009-04:00

Today, my kids are marching in a parade with their softball teams. The parade goes straight past our house. Veterans will also walk by our home, many marching and many riding in cars. Sometimes I forget that that's what this day is really for -- honoring those who have served the country and remembering those that didn't make it back.

Memorial Day has become a lot of other things -- the unofficial start of summer, the time you can start wearing linen and white, the day we fire up the barbecue. And that's all fine. But it's important to remember the other stuff, too.

In our house, we think of my husband's dad, William McGuire Sr., who served as a Coast Guard medic in the Pacific in World War II. He died shortly after my husband and I were engaged. I didn't get to know him real well, but what I did learn about him, I liked. He had a quiet dignity, a dry sense of humor and a flash in his eyes -- Irish charm, I suppose. And when he looked at Mark, my husband, I saw pride. When Mark talks about him, I see the same thing. Pride. And, of course, that glint in the eyes of an Irish charmer.

We keep the old Navy coat (the Coast Guard was attached to the Navy back then) in our main closet. And the other day when I was finally packing away the last of our winter things, I pulled out a few old coats from the closet to donate. I saw the Navy coat, too. I left it hanging right there where it belongs.

Percolate

2009-05-22T22:05:00.002-04:00

It takes my coffee maker about six minutes to brew a pot of coffee. It will take my tomato seedlings about 60 days until some ripe fruit might arrive. It takes my brain about sixty seconds to come up with another task, duty, obligation, desire, daydream, or fleeting notion that I’ll then feel compelled to write down on some list to possibly be checked off in the future. If you’re doing the math (come on, you know you like to) that means that while I wait for my coffee I have already thought of six things I should do, and by the time I’m slicing into a nice ripe tomato I will have generated 86,400 list items. (This math was completed by my “new” trusty Canon adding machine circa 1982 that was set out on someone’s lawn and I felt would make a good distraction for my children. I was right because what little kid doesn’t love an adding machine with a big roll of paper attached?) Awake, asleep, it doesn’t matter. My brain has a hard time shutting down. And 86,400 items is WAY too long a list.

So what’s a girl to do? As a mother of two small children, a wife, and well, let’s not forget a motivated individual with my own agenda, I get overwhelmed by the minutia of daily life but also desperate to keep the longer-term goals and ideas coming lest I drown in a sea of carpool schedules and grocery lists. I’ve recently vowed to myself to let some of the bigger ideas percolate. The morning coffee ideas can have their six minutes and be done with it: open the mail; quick to-do list for the day; don’t forget about x, y and z. But the tomato ideas, I need to give those sixty days. A rough and seemingly endless phase of five-year-old power struggles --those solutions need sixty days. Where I see myself professionally in five years – revisit again over a tomato pesto grilled cheese. Enough with the endless lists and racing brain. Some things in my life just need to percolate.

Late spring is a good time to take on this new approach. School and activities are winding down, the weather is getting consistently warm, and the days are longer and more inviting. It’s time to settle the brain, dig a little deeper into some ideas, and wait for the harvest. Wish me luck.

New Saturday Farmers Market!

2009-05-20T20:11:00.009-04:00

I generally like to cook for my family, but I strongly dislike the grocery shopping. Every week when I gear up with my long list of hopeful ingredients, I resent the many sterile aisles of packaged food I don't want, the piped in music, the cold temperatures, the guilt of buying grapes from Chile and pears from Argentina...

I would prefer to buy my food more like a French woman - stroll around the neighborhood every other day or so, buy what's fresh and in season from local farmers with carrot tops and tall baguettes peeking out artistically from atop my stylish reusable bags. Alas,this is not a possiblility in the icy cold months of winter in the northeast. During the growing season, however, finding sources of fresh ingredients that are available closer to home (and not in a grocery store) is becoming more of a possibility - and I'm thrilled. When those ingredients can be organic, from local farmers, and found at vibrant farmers markets within walking distance from my house - this is the stuff of my dreams.

Starting this spring, there will be TWO farmers markets in my neighborhood!! The trusty Tuesday Farmers Market (from 2-6 PM) at the United Methodist Church on Kenwood remains a staple for many who live in Delmar to supplement the week's dishes. In addition, starting on June 6th and continuing through October, our little town will benefit from a new Saturday Delmar Farmers Market (9AM to 1PM) to kick-start our cooking (and socializing!) on the weekends! There will be plenty of farmers, bakers, cheese and meat producers, musicians, artists, fair trade crafts and even educational activities - like cooking classes and ecology lessons - for my two kids! My fellow bloggers and I will literally be around the corner from this fabulous weekly community event and I can't wait for Saturday mornings (and to NOT go to the grocery store on Sundays!).

Watch out, kids, it's asparagus and broccoli season and Mama has a whole wagon to fill. Enjoy, Delmar! http://www.delmarmarket.org/.

Back on the Bike

2009-05-17T12:07:00.006-04:00

This bike gathering dust for two years in my garage was calling my name. I just didn't know how to answer. I wanted to ride but kept coming up with an excuse.

First, I was worried that I wouldn't know how to use the clipless pedals. Then the gears wouldn't work - or at least I forgot how to use them. The local bike shop owner gave me a quick lesson when I told him they weren't working and I sheepishly just asked him to give the bike a tune up. Then I caught a cold.

Finally, I tried on the bicycle shorts. I can't imagine a better way to jump start an exercising program.

I hopped back on the road bike this weekend. Actually, I climbed back on slowly and hoped no one was watching.

It didn't take long for me to remember why I loved this so much. I used to bike commute and occasionally would get caught in a rainstorm. Instead of feeling miserable, I felt more alive.

This Saturday at 7:10 a.m., I peddled to Henry Hudson Park in our town. I waved to parking attendants at a soccer tournament and there was dog show going on at the local dog obedience school. I passed a family of geese, the mother urging the goslings across the road - all things I wouldn't have experienced had I been in my car. At the end of the ride, I swooped down a steep hill and tried not to worry how I'd get back up.

I was nervous that the park would be empty, but the fishermen were out in droves, both on the shore and on boats, for striped bass. I sat down on a bench, drank some water and felt truly proud of myself for cycling the roughly 10 miles one way. Of course, I had to climb that nasty hill on the way home, but fueled by my elation at having made it halfway, I talked myself up that hill.

I pulled my bike into the garage before 9 a.m. Inside, everyone was still asleep and I sat on my porch with a cup of coffee savoring my small victory.

Best Laid Plans

2009-05-15T14:19:00.003-04:00

There is a sizable portion of my backyard devoted to a vegetable garden. When we bought our house last summer it was too late to get many plants in the ground, but I researched and planned all winter what the garden would be this year. Seeds were ordered. Books were read. I even purchased graph paper to lay out the boundaries and beds. Neat and tidy is not a description I would use about the inside of my house, but it is exactly how I like to keep a vegetable garden. I was also very excited to garden with my boys this year. Perhaps planting the seeds would encourage more vegetables entering their daily diet. Checking out bugs, learning the difference between legitimate plants and annoying weeds, and watching our food leave the backyard and land on our kitchen table were all part of the plan.

Other things were not part of the plan: soccer balls landing on seedlings;. short-cuts through the onion patch to the play set; a three year old's inability to remain on a path. No worries, I thought, any reasonable parent knows that the benefits of growing things with your kids outweigh the extra work and patience it requires to actually fulfill this process. Apparently I am not always a reasonable parent because the first thought that came to me was “Build a wall. Build it now. Make it out of stone.” Walls can keep out soccer balls, right? Walls provide a visual cue to children where to play and not play. Walls look nice and appeal to my anal retentive gardening style. And so, unlike other flexible parents who go with the flow, I bought some stone and spent all of mother’s day weekend building myself a wall.

Any mental health professional could clearly have a field day with this scenario, but I am at peace with my territorial choice. The wall has already, in its short time with us in the backyard, given the garden a presence. To me it feels almost sacred to step inside the wall to grow things. And I think fostering respect for this piece of our yard that is going to feed us this summer is also a valuable lesson for my boys. Besides, it’s refreshing not to have to say, “be careful of the garden “anymore. Now I can yell “Get off the wall!”

Sun tea

2009-05-13T09:38:00.010-04:00

I grew up in Wisconsin, where there isn't a whole lot of sunshine and spring took its sweet time showing up. So, when spring did come and the warmer rays shone on our front stoop, my mom religiously set out a big glass container of water with 4 or 5 tea bags floating at the top to steep in the light and energy of the sun. I remember rolling my eyes when she would be a bit too giddy bringing in the warmed jar of brownish-reddish liquid, pouring the sun tea over ice and savoring it, telling my sister and I how delightful it was.

I find that in many ways, as I get older and wiser, I am much like my mom. This spring, it occured to me that I would love a glass of sun tea. I would actually even find joy and satisfaction in the ritual of putting the container of water out in the morning and watching it slowly brew outside on my back deck. The thought of it made me feel a little... giddy. Maybe it just reminded me of my youth, maybe it's because it reminded me of my mom, or maybe it had something to do with the simplicity and honesty of using nature's heat and light to brew tea rather than turning on the stove or the microwave. I searched for and bought a great glass pitcher with a tightly fitted lid. I invested in several boxes of decaffinated green tea (to enjoy any time of day or night) on sale at the Co-op. And every sunny day now, I've enjoyed setting out my pitcher and savoring my sun tea. I'm not going to save the earth by making sun tea, but it is a small way of capturing an energy that is already out there and drinking it in. It feels good and tastes good. Try it with any of your favorite teas. (Hint: you can even make what my mom called "cloud tea" - it just takes a bit longer!)

Mother's Day Off

2009-05-10T13:27:00.007-04:00

Spent the day in Washington County at our small camp, hiking and staring at the water. A few years ago, I was angry that my husband was again playing golf on Father's Day. Didn't he want to spend it with his kids? And then I realized, he wanted a day off. Why couldn't I do the same? So, I did. For the last three years, I've spent Mother's Day alone at camp. Sometimes painting walls, sometimes hiking, sometimes shopping for plants. It's important to take a day off, I think, and what better day? We spend so little time taking care of ourselves. So, I'm grateful to my family for allowing me this alone time.

I'm also very lucky to have two moms -- Heidi and Karen -- who will begin sharing the responsibility of this blog. To be honest, I was about to pull the plug on it. I've had other obligations -- paying writing jobs -- that have been a priority. However, my two environmentalist neighbors, expressed interest in joining me. They think it will be fun. And I do, too. Hopefully, instead of pulling the plug, we can grow this blog and get it out there. Sustainable living has never been more important. Wish us luck and Happy Mother's Day!

Woke up to a big, fat ZERO

2009-04-28T11:11:00.003-04:00

A great feeling. Paid off my credit card last week with a huge freelancing check and woke up on Saturday with a zero balance. It's a better feeling than I've ever gotten from buying something -- even shoes.

I did use the credit card yesterday to buy a dishwasher. However, I've saved enough money to pay the bill off in full, which is another fantastic feeling. I don't feel bad spending the money on a dishwasher. The new ones are so much more energy efficient than our decade-old model.

Method to the Madness

2009-04-27T09:12:00.002-04:00

As I try to incorporate more environmentally friendly products into my household, particularly cleaning supplies, I've had some frustration. I purchased the Method dish washing liquid only to be met by a difficult-to-twist cap that easily clogs. It takes a lot to get the liquid out, which means more running water while I'm waiting, which sort of defeats the purpose. Yeah, I like the style of the bottle and that was what drove me to buy it -- the pretty bottle -- even though at a higher cost. I won't be buying it again. This is our second attempt at using this product. The first time I brought it home, my husband actually broke the bottle trying to open it and poured the liquid into a generic bottle. When style gets in the way of function, there's a problem.

Recycle something

2009-04-22T13:56:00.002-04:00

That's what my daughter said when she got off the bus. I'm happy the message is getting through to her at school and home. We are at a point where we've cut down on creating garbage so much that there's more being recycled than going in the garbage can. We're going to kick up composting a bit this year, so that may mean even less garbage going out of our house. And we're exploring going to a cycle where we have garbage picked up every two weeks. I'm thinking for all the gross decomposing stuff -- like chicken skins and bones, we'll freeze them in the warmer weather until garbage day.
We've changed our mentality about buying things: if there is too much packaging we're not buying it. Of course, we buy a lot of stuff secondhand so there is absolutely NO packaging.
HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Fresh produce for the White House

2009-03-21T10:07:00.003-04:00

How great is this?! Although, I think Michelle Obama might want to pick up a pair of Wellies for her Victory Garden.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/03/20/michelle-obama-how-does-your-garden-grow/

Sometimes you just have to ask

2009-02-28T06:06:00.002-05:00

We decided to cancel our alarm service, so I called up the provider. The service rep immediately countered with a lower deal. I wasn't too interested. I told her that it wasn't working properly and we couldn't really afford the $100 or so they charge for someone to come to the house. She said she'd give me a free hour of service. Then she said some magic words. She said if I cancelled, I'd have to make sure to tell my insurance company because I couldn't get the discount anymore. Discount? We didn't know about a discount and our insurance company didn't mention it. I asked if I could have a day or two to think about the lower rate and she agreed. I took a ride over to my insurance agent. Turns out, you can get 10 percent off your homeowner's with an alarm service. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Duh." I had no idea. Then the insurance agent told me that she'd retroactive the discount to when we put the alarm in. KA-CHING. I crunched some numbers -- $400. And it will mean that we'd only be paying a little over $30 a year for the service if you factor in the discount to our homeowner's.

My point is that this is a good time to ask. People are cutting back on services and cancelling things like crazy. You are in an excellent negotiating place right now. I'm going to be calling cable, cell phone providers, etc., and telling them I've got to cut back on bills due to the economy and see what they can do for me.

Pre-Spring Cleaning

2009-02-05T10:41:00.004-05:00

It's barely double digits here and we've been a bit cooped up. I'm using this time to purge a bit. I have a giant hamper in my bedroom and rather than using it for laundry, I fill it with things to be donated. It's amazing how quickly it fills up. When it is done, I bag the stuff and head out to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

Somehow this process enables me to think better.

Check out Peter Walsh's books: "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Loook Fat?" and "It's All Too Much." The first one equates weight gain with clutter. Fat is a different kind of clutter, isn't it?

2008-12-24T12:13:00.000-05:00

A somewhat organized Christmas

2008-12-24T12:00:00.005-05:00

After spending four hours in a mall waiting for my eldest daughter who was at a birthday party at the movie theater and then a restaurant last night, I was struck by the frantic nature and stress. There seemed to be fear in the eyes of a lot of shoppers. Most of our holiday shopping had been done weeks ago and without credit cards. It's really the first time we ever accomplished that.

My youngest daughter had an opportunity to go see Santa, read books at Borders and eat a relatively inexpensive dinner at Ruby Tuesdays -- $20 with tip. I'm grateful I had the foresight to pick up things since the summer and stash. Using the method of picking up something every couple of weeks, I had enough. I did leave one person out -- my husband! So, my daughter and I spent some time picking out the perfect gift without feeling overwhelmed.

Please don't mistake this as being sanctimonious, just grateful that I got my act together this year. And also surprised that my plan of pacing the holiday purchasing worked. Of course, my husband has the task of wrapping everything now. Next year, I strongly urge you to give yourself the luxury of planning ahead. It's the best gift you can give everyone.
Happy Holidays!

Generic Brands

2008-12-09T12:52:00.002-05:00

I am a big believer in generic products. That's mostly what we buy. And it has saved us a huge bundle. There are a few things I won't skimp on. Here they are: Heinz Ketchup, although my local grocery store's organic brand was pretty good, but more expensive.

Wow. Wait, is that it? Some cereal, actually, but I always try the generic first. Sometimes, however, the name brand is cheaper when it's on sale. Always, always compare UNIT prices, not actual prices. Even sale items could be more expensive per unit -- and that's where it matters. That's how you really maximize your money.

What's For Dinner

2008-12-03T18:55:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of folks talking about saving money these days in the media. And one of the things they keep mentioning is cooking. We started doing that several years ago for a few reasons -- I was planning to quit my full-time job and my daughter is allergic to everything. I really had to teach myself how to cook, and fast. It's a lot easier than you think. Don't run out and buy a ton of cook books. Check out the library and look online. Keep it simple at first and eventually you'll have you're own repertoire down. Tonight we're having Shepard's Pie, but with ground turkey meat. You can use ground beef too. Easy enough. Here's what I do: First, preheat oven to 450. Make the mash potatoes. Peel and cut potatoes and boil them until they're soft. As they're cooking, take your turkey meat (about a pound) and put it in a skillet. Break it up with a potato masher or spatula. Add 1/2 cup of ketchup and heat. Meanwhile, drain your potatoes, add milk (rice milk in our case) and butter (non-dairy margarine for us). Add some frozen veggies to the meat and heat it up. Put the meat in a casserole dish and top with potatoes. You can add cheese, if you're not allergic, to the potatoes. Heat for 10-15 minutes in oven and there you go. You can embellish with steak sauce, too.

The Best Thanks

2008-11-27T15:57:00.002-05:00

My 12-year-old daughter and I spent the morning delivering meals around rural Albany County this morning. We went to three homes and handed off a total of eight meals, logging 80 or so miles. The first house, the gratitude was palpable. The paper we were handed about the family said they were in dire need of help. As we were leaving, the elderly woman handed me a tiny box of maple and peppermint candy from a local candy maker. I think it might be the best gift I've ever received. We came home more thankful than ever.
On a humorous note, as we were driving all these crazy back roads, I became increasingly nervous that we would not get there in time -- we had two hours to deliver the meals before they went bad and I didn't think of bringing a cooler. I slowed to turn down a road I was ambivalent about and there was a big sign that said, "Turn Here Donna." My daughter and I screamed. My name is Donna and it was the right road. Since this was 100 percent anonymous on my end, it was an utter coincidence.

Clutter Weekend

2008-11-22T10:26:00.003-05:00

I'm spending this brutally cold weekend clearing clutter. I'm starting with the laundry room, which ends up being my winter office. My normal office is a carriage house with limited heat. And it's about that time that I moved inside. The laundry room, unfortunately, is where we dump lots of stuff. Of course, I've neglected keeping up with the laundry itself this week, so the first step is to fold and put away clothes. I'm listening to the "Time Traveler's Wife," which seems appropriate because it makes time go faster. I keep a hamper in our bedroom for collecting items to donate. It's full, so I'll bag the things and put the bag immediately in the trunk of the car. When I'm near Goodwill, I'll drop it off. It's tax deductible, so I'll make sure to get a receipt.

Just one thing

2008-11-17T08:01:00.004-05:00

This past summer, I decided to cut back on coffee. So, I started having just one cup in the morning in a favorite mug. I have never enjoyed my coffee more. Because there's less of it, I sit down and just drink it silently without doing anything else. And I feel better. I also have one cup of chai in the afternoon, which also feels special. I think you appreciate things when you only have one of them to enjoy. I have this favorite yogurt bowl made by a Maine potter, which I use in my afternoon yogurt ritual. I decided it would be nice to buy a few more just in case the first one broke. I bought two more and somehow the original one is less special now. I tried the "just one thing" with a glass of wine this weekend. I had one glass at a party and I really enjoyed it. I truly tasted and savored it.

Giving it away

2008-11-07T14:46:00.004-05:00

I feel like I spent half my life accumulating things. Now, at 42, I think the rest of my life will be trying to get rid of it all. I'll keep you posted.

Call it Leverage

2008-10-23T10:04:00.004-04:00

Bras are expensive. Ridiculous, sometimes. But they give you that oh so very necessary lift. After reading an article in Consumer Reports that rated Gilligan & O'Malley bras really high (Bra-vo, CR said), I decided to give them a try. First of all, the cost is amazing -- usually under $10 at Target. And they have cotton bras with underwire support, which are my favorite, in awesome colors. They survived a few accidental machine washing and drying and have held up beautifully so far. I've even ditched my pricier bras in favor of these.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/shopping/where-to-buy/best-bra-deal-5-08/overview/best-bra-deal-ov.htm

Whatever happened to handkerchiefs?

2008-10-22T15:36:00.004-04:00

Handkerchiefs seem only to surface in black and white movies these days as a way to impress a distraught lady.
I've picked up a few recently and have used them when my nose is runny on my runs.
I drop them in the laundry when I get back. Not sure if I'm ready to cart them around all day yet given my germ-o-phobic nature. Sill, I feel good about not using tissues in the a.m.

What to do with Altoid Tins

2008-10-13T12:49:00.002-04:00

This has kept me up at night. Now I know what to do. http://www.wikihow.com/Reuse-an-Empty-Altoids-Tin

Trick to Paying Down Credit Cards

2008-09-25T14:53:00.002-04:00

Here's a trick I use to pay down credit cards when they get out of whack. It's sort of a reversal of how you ended up with a big balance. Chances are your credit balance is made up of a lot of little purchases, as well as a few big ticket items. Those little things add up fast, a trip to the Clinique counter, a couple of lattes, a bestseller here and there. ... But you can pay it down the same way. There are two ways of doing it: the paper way and the computer way.

The paper way: when you get your bill, make four copies of it. Pay your minimum (with as much extra as you can) the first week. The second week, mail in a $25 payment. Do that two more times.

If you have online banking, do the same. Pay the minimum the first week. Pick a day -- maybe the day you're paid and send in $25. I say, $25 because to me that seems like a reasonable amount -- not too much, not too little. And it adds up very fast. You can pick any amount you want. The trick is to keep whittling away.

Like nearly everything in life -- working out, losing weight, cleaning -- it's the consistency that helps you meet your goals. If you stop running, you become out of shape. If you run 2-3 miles a few times a week, you're only going to get stronger. Etc. The same is true for credit cards. Keep working at it and eventually you will have ZERO balance and that's a true feeling of peace.

financial clutter

2008-09-23T16:45:00.004-04:00

Listening to Suze Orman on Oprah right now and I'm reminded why I always liked her books. She equates clutter with debt. To paraphrase, she says that if you don't take care of the things you buy, you don't respect money. It's so true. How often do you buy something and find it on your closet floor several months later, or tossed aside? We've often bought something again -- especially a tool -- because we couldn't find it. I know how I'm spending my time as we weather this current economical nightmare -- cleaning up and getting organized. Might yield a small yard sale.

driving v. walking

2008-09-16T22:19:00.002-04:00

Our kid's middle school is a 7-minute walk. Tonight, we were running late for open house, so we hopped in the car. On the way home, my husband drove it back and my daughter and I chose to walk. Guess who got here first? After my husband walked all the way to the parking spot and battled the traffic exiting the lot, which means lots of idling, the girl and I were already settled in at home. Reminded me of when I used to bike to work four miles away and how I'd zoom past cars. When I drove, by the time I parked and walked several blocks to my office, I could have been at my desk already. Sometimes, walking or bike riding is faster.

Found Money

2008-08-01T20:42:00.005-04:00

1) Three lovely little rebate cards arrived these last two days from our new cell phones. They total $200. Always, always take time to jump through the rebate hoops ... fill out the paper work, cut out the proof of purchases, fill out the envelopes. Sure it takes a few minutes, but I suspect the companies expect people not to go through the steps and recoup their money.
2) I bought a patio set for $285 at Lowe's in early July. It was 30 percent off when I bought it. I purchased the table and chairs on a week day and asked the clerk what would happen if it was discounted further in the Sunday fliers. He said that I had 30 days to bring my receipt in for a price adjustment. At day 29, I checked and was able to have $81.65 refunded. Ooooh, yah.
3) We scheduled our trip to Boston around free nights at museums -- cost savings was $35.
My total found money: $316.65

Thirsty?

2008-07-28T09:07:00.003-04:00

Finally took the plunge and invested in some metal water bottles following all the hoopla over plastic bottles and chemicals leaching into the water. Yes, here's the part where I complain about the price. Each metal bottle cost nearly $20, probably more than twice what I paid for each of our beloved and now recycled Nalgenes. That means I'm going to use them --- a lot.

Real Waterfall

2008-07-11T11:32:00.004-04:00

I'm sure the NYC waterfalls recently created by artist Olafur Eliasson are stunning, and I hope to see them. I'm glad they're operating them with green power. However, I did feel a wee bit lucky this morning while I munched on a pastry and drank my coffee at the Cookie Factory in Troy, NY, with my daughter en route to her summer camp. This great bakery has a fantastic view of a real waterfall and a gorge right in the middle of the city. There is no closing date for this exhibit.

The Nest

2008-06-24T20:48:00.003-04:00

We have a new nest on a different rhododendron in front of our porch now. It's a robin. Not sure if it was the same bird who unsuccessfully made a nest in the other rhododendron, inconveniently situated in front of my dining room window in earshot of a noisy window-banging 4-year-old. We've had to keep it down on the porch as the mom sat on the nest for what seemed like forever and then earlier this week I heard the chirps. There were at least two, maybe three, long necks and beaks poking out. We're co-existing nicely, but I worry about cats and squirrels. Can't quite get close enough for a good photo, but I'm trying.

Honey, you rock

2008-06-15T08:36:00.003-04:00

There's a lot of whining about men who don't do enough. They don't do enough housework, they don't spend enough time with the kids, they don't ... blah, blah, blah.
Enough.
I used to whine about that too, like, yesterday. As I was reading yet another article about men who don't carry their weight around the house, on Father's Day no less, I reminded myself of something, who really does do all that stuff anyway? I'm looking around and well, the house is kinda messy. My husband's off playing golf (a Father's Day tradition; I go away too on Mother's Day), the kids haven't been fed except for a Pop Tart or two if their lucky and I planned to make a list of stuff to do only I can't find the list I started.
Soooooo, I'm goofing off on the Internet. If our house was perfect, it would mean that we weren't living in it.
OK, that was a long roundabout way of basically saying that we should just stop bashing dads. My husband does a lot. More than most, I do have to say, even if sometimes we argue about that. He makes me laugh, lets our kids tackle him, admits to accidentally not closing the fridge all the way last night possibly resulting in spoiled milk as he was, however, CLEANING THE KITCHEN. Plus, he will always, always say "NO" when I ask him if I look fat.
So, I'm just going to stop now and say: Thanks, honey.

The Moment

2008-06-02T08:07:00.002-04:00

At my daughter's preschool "graduation" ceremony Friday, a giant curtain was opened to reveal the class of 2008. The parent paparazzi immediately began snapping pictures as the kids sat there. Then they launched into song. I began shooting pics myself, only to get a severe look and hand signal from my daughter that said, "knock it off." I did and sat back to watch. Later, I asked her why she didn't want me to take pictures. Her answer: Because you needed to watch and pay attention.

I remember a particularly annoying time trying to video tape my other daughter's ballet recital. I couldn't really appreciate it or enjoy it because I was so busy documenting it.

My 4-year-old daughter taught me a lesson Friday about being in the moment. I did sit back and enjoy her singing and will remember it forever.

What We Need

2008-05-12T16:07:00.002-04:00

I caught a story on the news today about a man whose home was about to be demolished. The city had condemned it after a wall collapsed. He begged officials to be let back in, but the judge involved said it could collapse anytime and it would risk his life and the lives of firefighters who would be sent it to save him.

Yesterday, I listened to a radio show about how insurance professionals recommend that you take a video of your home, documenting all of your possessions. That way when you rebuilt, you'd have a shopping list. I wonder if the video would also be very illuminating.

It made me wonder, especially after clearing out so many things to go to the Salvation Army. How much of this would I actually replace? I certainly wouldn't run back into a collapsing building, risking lives. When do your possessions actually become just stuff? And when do they become clutter? How much of this do we really need?
My daughter and I talk about this a lot. We've come up with a slogan: "We have everything we need. We need everything we have."
That's how we've been plowing through our home, ridding ourselves of excess. And, frankly, I have no desire to do any shopping for a very long time.

Mystery Nest

2008-05-06T13:17:00.003-04:00

About a week ago, I noticed a nest just outside my dining room window. In it were two eggs. It was in a rhododendron, which are always bad places to nest around our house. A robin would occasionally sit in it. My daughter inadvertently scared it off one day, as did I when I was watering plants. I didn't notice the robin for a couple of days and I was afraid she abandoned her eggs. I went outside to check on the nest and the eggs are gone! I'm hoping she moved the eggs and that a squirrel didn't make off with them. At one point, my eldest daughter suggest we bring the eggs in and incubate them -- before they went missing. I did a little research and it turns out that's usually illegal. It's also very rare for the baby birds to make it. I'm thinking of getting some plastic owls to discourage future nests.

Free free free... uh, free. Did I mention it was free?

2008-05-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

This is my new coffee table. My daughter and I were driving home from the gym and a bagel run when we spotted it on the curb one Sunday morning. I brought it home and showed it off to my friend, who graciously took the train table that my younger daughter never played with off my hands, along with a big box of Thomas trains. The trains were bought back in the day when we were two-income spendthrifts who spent everything on accumulating stuff. And when I thought my girly-girl daughter should play with wheeled objects. The train table bought last year was an attempt to get the next girly-girl daughter to play with it. Funny how we now have more money in the bank on one income (more on that later). Back to the table: I scraped the wood off with a paint scraper, rather than use chemical stripper. Another tip from the Tightwad Gazette, the bible of thrift. The top was easy. The sides are a proving a little tougher. Anyway, when I showed the table to my friend, we pried off the top to reveal that it is actually a cedar-lined chest -- the perfect size to hide away all of our games. It just needs a couple of hinges. Did I mention it was free? I think there was great karma here. I gave away something and the thing that I really needed found its way to me.

Happy Hazardous Waste Recycling Day

2008-05-03T08:39:00.004-04:00

We always, always managed to be out of town for this day. Not this year! We've decided to cut back on traveling and are here to get rid of all of our scary basement things. Our house used to be an antique store and the owner re-finished furniture in the basement. He was in his 90s when we bought the house a decade ago. And all of his potions were still in the basement. I packed it up last night and I warned my husband that when he took it to the dump not to have one of his occasional cigars in the car. I got chills thinking that all this stuff was in my basement underneath my kids.
(Hee, hee. Just noticed the plastic milk jug someone tossed on the pile.)

Eat the Cup

2008-05-01T20:34:00.003-04:00

The next time you go out for ice cream, take a pass on the dish and spoon. No worries about recycling the plastic spoon and styrofoam cup.
Get a cone to go and walk home. That's what we did tonight.

PURGE

2008-04-30T13:21:00.003-04:00

Piling up things to donate to the Salvation Army. It's hard at first, but once the momentum hits, it's so liberating. Can't believe how much money I've spent on things I rarely use. Even my daughter now shops with an eye toward where she'll keep the items.

Realized that I need very little. I always get that sense when I travel -- that the three outfits and handful of toiletries can get me through the week or more.
There's a story out there about people selling things to pay their bills, especially because they're sinking in debt.

Most of the debt, I'm guessing, comes from those trips to the big box stores that lure you in to buy goods you don't need. Make a list and stick to it. Do not think you must buy stuff in bulk. In the end, it doesn't work. Stash only as much stuff that will fit in your pantry and come up with your own system.

We're on a mission to become a financially and environmentally sustainable family. How much stuff do we really need? How much money can we have in the bank to live on, just like the retirees?

As for stuff, for everything that comes in, two things go out of the house. For instance, I just bought a new pair of running shoes. I'm donating at least two pairs of shoes to make room.
And a friend is picking up our daughter's train table that she never, ever uses, as well as the wooden trains. She has triplets and lives right near train tracks, so the kids have a connection. It feels so great to help her out ... and clear out my stuff.

In the train table's place will go a bonafide coffee table that we picked up on the street for FREE after a nice coat of paint.

Up North

2008-04-25T17:37:00.005-04:00

Took a drive up to our "camp" in Washington County today. Swept it, cleared out the cobwebs and cleaned out a room of painting debris from last year. Sadly, we've decided to sell our little place on the lake. It's kinda hard to be sustainable with two homes, even though this place cost about the same or less than most high end SUVs. Truth is, the rest of my family prefers vacations near the ocean. I guess I'm more of a freshwater kinda gal. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, so there are more leaves on the trees now.

We did get quite a lot out of visiting this part of the world. Washington County is mostly amazing farmland. Our camp is just below a maple sugar farm. I did a hike up this dirt road today and saw: an eagle (I think. I've seen them before up there), a wild turkey, some brown furry mystery creature that ran away too fast, about six deer, a (dead) snake and a farmer's puppy which followed me most of the way. You can see both the Adirondacks and Vermont's Green Mountains from one point. We've bought veggies from local farmers, boated and roasted marshmallows. This may be our last season. Anyone interested in a sweet little camp that is very low maintenance?

Price of Rice

2008-04-24T09:51:00.006-04:00

Lately, there's been lots of news about the high price of staples, like rice, wheat, etc. A year ago, when we began our sustainability quest, we began using a price book, a system which is outlined in "The Complete Tightwad Gazette," a great book. We shopped for various products at different stores and recorded their prices, then compared. We also go to our local grocery store and buy lots of generics -- only when they're on sale, which cuts prices even more. Found out that lunchbox items, like pretzels and raisins, manufactured by the store are indistinguishable in taste.

During warmer months, we buy a lot of produce from our local farmers' markets and we grew a lot of tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and other staples. I only buy organic products when they're on sale -- and then I stock up. I don't shop like other moms. I got out of the habit of running to the market all the time -- it's too expensive. I restock my pantry and freezer. We do a lot of generic frozen veggies in the winter. Some day I'll learn how to can things. ... maybe. Once or twice a month, I head over to the local food co-op and stock up on flour, rice, maple syrup, baking powder, oats. I try to buy local first and then organic -- only if it's on sale. It's still considerably cheaper to buy bulk, then to buy at the grocery store. We also go to the local Freihofer bread discount place. My daughter has an allergy to soy and many breads have soy flour in them. A few of Freihofer's brands are pretty simple in their ingredients. It's not organic, but like I said, I have to do what's right financially with my family now. I freeze about 10 loaves. It's less than half the price of going to the grocery store. Someday when I have more time, I'll bake bread more.

Our grocery budget's been slashed in half. It pays to think things out and do some planning -- even if you whine about having "no time." Sorry, I think that's just an excuse for being lazy and disorganized -- a topic for another time.
Now that there are shortages and higher prices, our system is in place so that we aren't feeling the pinch as much.

Signs you're a Sanctimonious Enviro-Bitch

2008-04-23T16:14:00.005-04:00

Each time cashier bags something in plastic, slap her wrist with that grocery divider thingy.
Husband said so.
Unctuous anti-pesticide sign in front yard = you all suck.
Insist daughter walk to mall to save gas. (Mall is 15 miles away).
Better yet, make pre-teen daughter wear 1980s-era hand-me-downs.
Set up compost heap next to property of neighbor who uses pesticides.
Take keys out of idling SUVs and toss into bushes.

Scenes from Earth Day

2008-04-22T20:04:00.003-04:00

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T09:45:00.009-04:00

Our magnolia trees popped this weekend. The two trees in our front yard are nine and ten years old. The first one was bought for Mother's Day the first year we lived in our house; the next came the following Mother's Day. When the magnolias appear, we know for sure it's spring.

Here are my attempts at having a Green Day so far (I'll update throughout the day):
--THREE MINUTE SHOWER: OK, a three minute shower is really, really hard. I hadn't even conditioned when my timer went off.
--NO BLOW DRIER -- Skipped it today to let hair dry naturally.
--COMPOSTED: Dumped coffee grounds that I've been saving all week in garden. According to "Organic Gardening," they give plants a "well-rounded jolt of nitrogen." I spread some around my blueberry tree (birthday gift).
--TALKED to my 4 year old about what it means to take care of the earth (and then explained exactly what the earth is).
--UNPLUGGED TV AND STEREO: We're outside. Don't need to have the devices sucking down some electricity when turned off.
--ATE ORGANIC salad.
--READ WONDERFUL postcard from friend Kathy titled "Advice from a Tree."
--ATE ORGANIC apple with ORGANIC peanut butter.
--VISITED FIVE RIVERS, our favorite wildlife refuge that is only 3 miles from our house. Saw lots of frogs, assertive geese, garter snake (in aquarium) and turtles sunning themselves. Oh, and many, many birds. My 4 year old loved the frogs the best.
--DUG UP EARTH -- and planted some peas. Probably a month too late, but at least I'm trying!
--RECYCLED -- Put out my daughter's old plastic toy kitchen in front of the house for free.
--SHOPPED -- At our local church thrift shop. Bought a handkerchief (not used) so I don't have to use tissues anymore, two scarfs and a used book -- Anita Diamant's "Last Days of Dogtown." Hope it's good.
--WASHED -- my dishes with ECO-Palmolive. Works well.
--SLEEP -- Going to bed early, so we're turning off the lights. Being green is exhausting.

Duck, duck ...

2008-04-21T16:21:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is Earth Day and our plan is to visit Five Rivers, a nature preserve only a few miles from our home. I was there over the weekend and saw a pretty riveting scene. A male and female mallard were just hanging out in the creek when another male swooped down and started attacking. I figured it was vying for the female's attention. All three ducks began flying the route of the stream flapping their wings. The males fought in the air and in the water. They were fierce. My instinct was to intervene, and I had to stop myself. By intervening, I mean screaming to make them stop. Then it occurred to me that that was such a human reaction. Intervening. Sometimes we do it for a good reason, but more often than not it's not so great. I watched the ducks and eventually one of the males gave up, nursing its wounds right underneath the ledge where I watched.

Green Issue

2008-04-20T07:57:00.002-04:00

Do I go out and buy the NYT today, or do I read http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/index.html online??? They have a special green theme in the magazine.
This is the type of enviro question that taunts me. We do still subscribe to our local paper, which pays my husband's salary and provides me with lots of freelance work. We are, and always will be, newspaper people.
But all that paper. We do recycle. Hmmm. Must research this.

Smack Down at the Grocery Store

2008-04-11T18:24:00.002-04:00

OK, so I bring my reusable bags in with me to the grocery store and when I am checking out the clerk is insisting that she stuff my food in the store's plastic bags, pointing to the soda and telling me they're too heavy.
"No, really I have room," I tell her, grabbing them and putting them in my bag. Then she goes for the bananas. Not the bananas. She's fast for an older woman, bagging them and then setting them on the counter in the plastic bags I loathe. I take them out of the plastic and plop them in my reusable bags-- noteworthy because they are from another store. "Why is it so important?" she asks.
"Because," I tell her, "these plastic bags are so wasteful." I am embarrassed and I shouldn't be. My husband had a snottier remark for next time we have a smack down at the checkout aisle: I need the world to last longer than you need it. Ouch.
Actually, I don't think it will be an issue; I'll be returning to my other grocery store.

How to Occupy a Four Year Old in the Dark

2008-03-30T15:32:00.002-04:00

My daughter and I were the only ones home when we shut off the lights last night. Here's how we made it through the hour:
7:55 -- Find candles.
7:57 -- Search frantically for matches.
7:58 -- Find flashlights.
7:59 -- Search frantically for batteries. No batteries.
8:00 -- Find matchbox with three matches. Thank you.
8:00 -- Light candles, turn off lights.
8:01 -- Explain that you can't play Candyland because you can't see.
8:02 -- Explain that you can't read a book since it's too dark.
8:02 -- Explain how television needs electricity.
8:03 -- Explain electricity.
8:08 -- Look out window to see who else has turned lights off.
8:09 -- Note how much secondary light comes in from streetlights, moon, neighbors' houses, floodlights from laundromat behind house.
8:11 -- Stage elaborate puppet show in Oobi-like way with your hands since you can't find puppets in dark.
8:15 -- Nurse wounds resulting when 4-year-old decides to beat up puppets.
8:20 -- Make shadows from flickering candlelight.
8:25 -- Sing "Itzy Bitzy Spider" six times.
8:30 -- Meet Daddy at door and tell him not to turn lights on.
8:35 -- Nearly get blinded by refrigerator light when you get 4 year old a drink.
8:40 -- Do yoga.
8:50 -- Play dead.
8:55 -- Look anxiously at watch.
9:00 -- Turn lights on and be proud of making it through a whole hour.

Turn Off The Lights

2008-03-29T08:42:00.002-04:00

Don't forget to turn off your lights tonight from 8 to 9 p.m. EST. Take it one step further and unplug EVERYTHING in your house from computers to televisions since they leach electricity even when not in use. Keep them off all night. Light a candle and make it romantic. Go to bed early and cuddle with the one you love. I wouldn't be surprised if nine months from now we have a bunch of new Earth Hour babies!!

http://www5.earthhourus.org/

Happy Spring!

2008-03-20T08:20:00.002-04:00

It's gray, windy and rainy today, but the tulips are pushing up. After a long winter, I'm thinking of gardening and spring cleaning.

Rest areas and recycling

2008-01-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

Noticed the other day on a trip home from Boston that there's no choice for all the recyclable plastic that you use if you choose to buy food at a rest area. We used two plates from Boston Market and I considered stowing the greasy plates in the car for the 2 hours we still needed to go, and I suppose I should have, but I had a fussy 4 year old and was exhausted from visiting her doctors in Boston. I notice when I'm tired that I'm more lazy about these things. Guilty. Still, it would be nice if the rest areas put out bins for recycling so I wouldn't have to take greasy, slimy chicken plates home with me. Blech. How much waste is produced from these places? Too much. Usually, I bring food and I did, but the allure of Boston Market is too much for my girl, and she deserves some spoiling after her visit to Children's Hospital where she goes for eczema/allergy treatment. (They rock, btw).
---
On another note, after razzing husband who is off to the Superbowl this week on his packing skills (He packs like a 12-year-old girl going to a sleepover, taking tons of things), he whittled his suitcase down to a manageable load. Suggested he use those plastic sleeves that contains the newspaper for his shoes. We cut back on the newspaper -- only Sundays now. More of a cost-saving thing than an enviro thing.

Stuff, stuff and more stuff

2007-12-06T22:19:00.000-05:00

Been away for awhile slowing down and shopping very carefully for stuff --er, gifts -- for the holidays. Check out www.storyofstuff.com. This site will alter your holiday purchasing habits, I'm sure. This year, we've toned down the mountain of crap destined for under the tree that essentially ends up going to the Salvation Army about this time next year. I still have a giant load in the back of the car. Many of the gifts we're giving our kids this year were used, bought at consignment shops, thrift stores or yard sales. I'm kinda proud of that.

A new roof over a section of our house is the real gift this year. We had a metal roof placed over the existing shingled roof, which alleviates the problem of dumping the debris at the landfill. Oh, yeah, it stops the steady of stream water from coming into our house, too. I know the metal had to be mined from somewhere, but at least we're not sending more junk to the dump.

I also have been bulk shopping for baking supplies. Everything goes in the pantry in glass jars and the plastic bags and containers I filled up with flour or beans are being washed and re-used.

Slooooooooooowwwww Dooowwwwnnnnn

2007-10-16T08:46:00.001-04:00

Been reading a great book -- "In Praise of Slowness," by Carl Honore. Of course, I was jumping around and reading it quickly, in between dinner, homework help, bathtime for my daughter etc., until I realized what I was doing. It's hard to slow down. Even the author admits in his bio that he got a speeding ticket while researching the book. But it's worth doing.
You lose weight when you eat mindfully and slowly; your children get more attention and the advantages of just playing when you stop running them around to lots of activities; you enjoy life more when you do stop for a moment and just be.

I've found myself wanting to walk rather than return to running. I had taken a year off after yet another foot injury. I walked each day, getting more out of it than a run ever gave me. Now, if I miss my walk, I'm off all day long. So, I say, slow it down.

Run, Al, Run

2007-10-12T10:43:00.000-04:00

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s climate change panel won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for spreading awareness of man-made climate change and laying the foundations for counteracting it.
Gore, whose film on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," won an Academy Award earlier this year, had been widely tipped to win Friday's prize, which expanded the Norwegian committee's interpretation of peacemaking and disarmament efforts that have traditionally been the award's foundations.
"We face a true planetary emergency," Gore said. "The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

Ecolady stops by

2007-10-10T21:55:00.000-04:00

Someone knocked on the door yesterday and I came down and there was this woman in a bike helmet and L.L. Bean fleece standing on my porch. Wanted to know where we got our anti-pesticide sign. Her church wanted to give them out. Cool, I thought. I told her my neighbor had given me mine. We got to talking and it turns out that she lives in an Eco-house - JUST DOWN THE STREET. She's a retired wellness expert and passionate about the environment. I'm going to check out the house and, hopefully, post some pix on the web. What I like about her house, which I did drive by, is that it's a small ranch in the middle of suburbia. There are many people up in Washington County who are off the grid, or just about off the grid, but I feel so much hope when I see it happening in a suburban neighborhood -- granted our neighborhood is within walking distance of schools, the library, an excellent coffee shop, a book store and a market. Check back later for some photos of Eco-house.

The BIG key

2007-10-07T15:43:00.000-04:00

Stopped by a garage sale yesterday -- an estate sale actually -- and gave my daughters free reign and two bucks. The eldest didn't see anything that appealed to her, but the youngest found the big, giant key.
This key, made out of iron, cost a mere 25 cents. It's about six inches long and weighs a pound, I'm guessing. So far, she's traced it, used it to unlock every door she's encountered and carried it around with her. Yeah, she accidentally scratched my car with it, but she felt really, really bad. Forget all those plastic battery operated gadgets. She's got her giant key and that's all she needs.

No Buy Thursday

2007-10-04T15:14:00.001-04:00

Thursday is payday in our house. So it's usually the day, I run out and buy stuff that we need -- and don't need. Realized that as long as I can put supper on the table tonight, there's really no reason to hurry up and spend. I'm going to make a point of not buying anything today, and make that the norm for Thursday. I do see that we may have to run out and buy milk tonight, but we'll make sure that doesn't happen again. I think I'm doing this to teach myself some financial patience. I did walk into a shop while I waited for my daughter's pre-K class to let out. Had a few things in hand and asked myself, "Do I need this today?" The answer was "NOPE."
Wish me luck.