We Want Your Yard!

I just heard about this great organization taking off in Canada.  It's called Sharing Backyards, and it matches folks with gardening instincts but no space with folks with space but no time/resources/interest to garden, or perhaps they garden, but have space left over to share.  If you think about it, this idea is incredible on so many levels: 

1. Unused garden space is utilized for food (and/or flower) production
2. Community members are put in regular contact with each other - you get to meet new folks who have yard space, or you connect with old friends regularly as you use their yard
3. It beautifies the neighborhoods
4. It lessens the greenhouse effect with increased production of produce and vegetation, and less need for produce to be trucked cross-country
5. A stronger message is sent to the 'BIG Grower' that we want more variety, more organics, and more locally grown produce
6. It offsets the economic crisis at hand by lowering the cost of food
7. It gets more people outside in the fresh air to move their bodies as they grow their food/flowers
8. As the typically manicured yard space is used for garden, less gasoline hogging lawn/yard tools are necessary for maintenance
9. It helps people of all ages become more aware of how they nourish their bodies, and how much energy is necessary to produce their food

Oh yes.  I can think of so many great reasons for making use of such a program.  Currently, I believe the bulk of Sharing Backyards' programming is in Canada, with a smattering of connections in Portland, Oregon, Washington DC and Boise, Idaho.  But they are looking for others willing to offer their yards, and will assist in connecting them up with eager gardeners.  According to the Sharing Backyards website, 40% of our communities have no access to soil to grow their own food, while a full 60% have access but do not always make use of it.  

Do you have space for gardening that you are willing to share with others?  Below are the considerations from the Sharing Backyards website for becoming a land partner, which is free.  They do support organic practices, and are looking for those who do the same.

Considerations for Sharing your Backyard Garden

There are no restrictions on how you might choose to share your space - however there are a number of issues that you might want to consider when making arrangements to share your gardening space with another member of your community.

Time Considerations

• How many hours per week will the garden space be available?
• On which days of the week?
• What time(s) of the day?

Tool Considerations

• Do you have tools to share?
• Where will they be stored?

Soil Considerations

• Is there enough soil?
• Who will pay for soil amendments?
• What types of amendments or additives are acceptable?

Seeds / Transplants

• Who will provide the seeds and/or transplants?
• How will decisions be made about what is grown?

Water Considerations

• Can the gardener use the hose and water?
• Who does the watering?
• When?

Harvest Considerations

• Who will harvest the food?
• How will the harvest be distributed?

Privacy and Security Considerations

• Who can enter the garden? (children, partners, friends, pets)
• What space can be used? (shed, basement, bathroom)
• What about locks and gates?
• Emergency contact numbers?

Make sure you check out their website if you are interested: Sharing Backyards.

Hobbies and My First Giveaway!

It is so challenging to find extra time to do the things I love to do.  Making music for children all day definitely gives me a creative outlet that most folks do not enjoy on a daily basis, but I still yearn for time on my own to do what I want, just for me.  My sister-in-law, Lisa, recently began making the most beautiful jewelry with beads.  It made me think of my grad school days when I sat around at night, not knowing a soul in NYC, entertaining myself while making sweet little anklets and bracelets with tiny beads and stones.  One look at my sister-in-law, and I was bitten by the beading bug again.  I have spent the past few weeks making my own necklaces, earrings and such, having a wonderful time.  Going to second-hand stores has taken on new excitement (as if it needed any!), as I peruse old jewelry for pieces that can be repurposed in my beading.  

So I thought I would share my joy with you all, and offer a piece as my first blog giveaway.  This necklace is made of glass leaves, blown glass and amethyst beads.  The length is approximately 20 inches.

In order to qualify for the giveaway, comment on your favorite hobby, and how you find time for it.  The random drawing will be held on Wednesday, June 3rd, 10 pm EST.

Good Luck!

A Day of Reflection

What does it mean to be mindfully simple in today's world?  In looking back at my reasons for starting this blog, I revisited my vow to make life for myself and my family a bit more thoughtful, more kind and more generous in a non-financial manner.  I wanted to find ways to give of our time and energy without leaving us exhausted and broke.  I wanted to find ways to involve our children in our community, to help them feel firmly planted in something real that you didn't have to turn on with a switch.  What I find challenging is balancing all that good thinking with the actuality of raising a family, holding down a couple of jobs and trying desperately to keep my head above water at all times.  (How do other people do this?)

First, I took a hard look at my habits for time management.  Knowing I wanted to retire early, I have been making plans to hold on to as much money that we bring in as possible.  In order to bring in more with little time spent, I have had to piggy back a few jobs, working harder for shorter periods of time rather than spreading work out over the whole week.  In this way, I can spend more time in the afternoons with my kids and feel that I am a steady presence in their lives.  After that, I looked at how I keep our home.  A while back, I complained that I am a rotten housekeeper.  I hate wasting my time on keeping our messes cleaned up - always have.  There's always something more exciting to do than fold laundry.  However, I really do love a clean house, and hate the embarrassment of friends stopping by unannounced, so we have jumped into super organized mode at our house for the past 4 weeks.  We have pulled out the stops to get the house and yard pulled together - not bad after living here for 10 years.  Where there were no curtains, we now have lovely and colorful cloths that shade our rooms.  Where there was a pile of styrofoam and packing materials, we now have a clean and clear closet.  Our camping equipment is within easy and organized reach for our inexpensive summer jaunts.  Our dressers hold only seasonal clothing, with the rest packed neatly away for the next turn or New England weather.  Coming home to less clutter makes me want to (gulp) vacuum.  I'm serious.  

Over the past few weekends, I have made sure I found time to garden. I find it so meditating, it is imperative that I get out in the yard regularly, no matter how chaotic our lives feel.  It is also so important that I be able to add to my family's diet by providing nutritious, organic vegetables.  My yard is not quite suitable for all this growing what with all the shade and such, so I am investing all my gardening energy into the new deck as my canvas.  With some coaxing, I think I can produce enough produce to keep our food costs low this summer.  

Beyond this, I am finding more time to consider community service for my family.  There are wonderful websites that offer connections to get started in volunteerism, even for children.  It takes some time to get started, but it is well worth the wait, I am sure.  I notice that just about every magazine I pick up these days has some article (or more) about living green.  It bothers me that our current economy situation has fueled a craze to 'go green' - bothered me because although it is high time someone notice the condition of our global economy, I know these things tend to blow over when the next fad bows in.  I suppose I have the same fear about my own new habits, but I hope they are all unfounded.

What are your reasons for living mindfully?  What makes you choose to be more careful each day with your purchases, diet, thoughts?

Fixin's

Warning!!  The following pictures may be disturbing.  You will get to see some of my very messy and not too clean basement.  For those afraid of clutter and mess, please avert your eyes and scroll on down...!

Our dryer broke last week.  This is the dryer I was so happy to get for free back... uh... only 4 months ago.  I was torn between wanting that cherry red front loader or looking for another free one, knowing that I'd probably be taking on someone else's problem again.  Ohhhhh.  What to do??  I felt like my right arm was cut off as the dirty laundry started piling up.  My teenage son was miserable that he had to wear something virtually spotless, but not having been through a recent wash meant it was hideous and gauche - Yikes!  Unfortunately, we really don't have that super flush savings account to buy new appliances - nor would that be our first choice (all in the effort to be mindful and such), but I really didn't want to add to my appliance cemetery in the basement (this dryer would join the one that died in January that I just haven't moved yet - I have a really big basement that has tons of space) and get another 'free' one - to have that break down in a few months as well.  So I had to do some research and find some courage to fix the darn thing myself.  

First, I had to take off the front cover (after unplugging it, of course):

Yes, folks.  That's what the inside of your dryer may look like.  You too can get the gumption up to fix your dryer - even with clothes still inside!  It sure does get dirty in there!

And this is the part I though needed fixing - the blower wheel:

As you can see, it looks pretty worn and dirty - but what did I know?  I started getting nervous with my hands in the belly of my dryer, so I called in my husband for moral support when going to the appliance repair place.  The guy behind the counter - very knowledgeable -only talked to my husband even though I was the one asking the questions.  I hate that.  But anyway, we replaced the blower wheel, and started putting things back together.  Here, my husband is putting the face guard back on - because I was taking pictures:

And here it is all back together - and oh my.  It works.  Like a charm.  And so quiet, too.

Don't throw that old dryer away!  I encourage you to look your model up online when it breaks down - there is so much information for repairs.  One posting said - do these 6 things and your dryer will run for another 20 years!  Imagine that.  All this just in time to begin line drying for the summer.  But it will be ready for the colder weather!

But... I just received notice that our tenant's washer is broken.  Something tells me I need to change my line of work...!

I Think I Figured It Out!

I have to celebrate.  I have made a revelation about my time and my expectations.  Typically, at this time of year, I make a list, either mental or physical, of all the things I 'need' to get accomplished, it being Spring and all.  Most of the time, it included clean up the yard, plant the garden, clean out the basement, etc, etc.  I would then get overwhelmed and exhausted, just considering my list, and quit.  This year, tired of never getting past the first thing on my handy list, I decided to take things much slower.  It wasn't really a conscious decision, more of an accident, then the revelation.  I went to the garden store last weekend and vowed not to purchase more than a couple of flowers and maybe a tomato plant.  You may recall from this post, that I love to go to the Gore Estate sale, but I have not yet been able to make it (coming up this weekend - hurray!!).  Knowing that I would have time to plant this past weekend and not having been to Gore yet, I snuck off to the local garden store to grab a few lovelies to tie me over until the plant sale this weekend.  And instead of coming home with armloads (and trunkloads) of plants as usual, I came home with what I said I would: a patio tomato, some foliage plants and a petunia.  I was able to get them all into soil that afternoon without feeling overwhelmed.  

Last weekend, as you may recall from this recent post, we were able to score some old chairs from a 'free' pile after a yard sale.  I promised a post on the project I had in my head, and here it is.  

I have seen this idea a few times in gardening magazines, and I always said if I found one of these antique chairs without a seat, I would do this project.  And of course, this past weekend gave me the exact tools to proceed.  I gathered my chair, weathered beautifully, some organic potting mix, a basket planter I had lying around, and assorted plants.  I chose to go with only foliage plants, with interesting color, but you could use anything that caught your eye.

It was SO simple - put the plants in the basket with extra soil, place the basket in the seat.  But although simple, it makes a dramatic impact - don't you think?

Here are a few other things I have planted this week:

These are the baby bush cucumbers in an old washtub-

These are more foliage plants in an old cooking pot (last year I put tomatoes in it as a little joke.  I may have been the only one who noticed...).

And here is my first attempt at basket and moss wall planting, with a planter picked up for .50 at a yard sale last year.  It will be interesting to see if the petunias live all summer as when I water, the water comes running out the sides.  They still look good, though, four days later, so they must be getting something!
Perhaps as the season progresses, I will update you all on how these projects and others are coming along.  I have plans to go to the Gore sale this weekend - do you think I can stick to my small is better approach at a once a year heirloom plant sale??  Time will tell.

Do you have garden projects that you want to share?  If you email me your pictures, I will post them here!  And check out the makeovers on Sanctuary Arts At Home

One Person's Trash...

This weekend was the town wide tag sale (garage/yard sale to you westerners).  I had soccer-mom responsibilities, so I was unable to go (boo hoo).  However, I was able to participate in one of my favorite activities - finding the REAL bargains around town by driving by later on at night and scoping out the 'free' piles outside where the sales took place.  

Talk about fun - we had the list from the paper of all the houses having sales earlier that day, not to mention that many of the flyers were still hanging on the telephone poles through town.  We got lucky pretty early on.  I had spotted a sign that stated 'antiques' and went there first.  We found a beautiful old rocker - we passed on that as the wood frame was broken.  Then we found an old, tall dining chair with no seat - I have plans for that (will post that soon).  My husband really liked a nice old desk chair with a split seat - he's convinced we can fix that.  And then we saw a beautiful, hand carved occasional table with no top and one leg off.  I have the beginning of an idea of what to do with it that might make 2 tables out of the one (will post that soon).  I have my summer ready for projects.  I can't wait to share them all with you!

Oh Yes...I love a New England Spring

I have two absolute favorite times of year.  The deep Fall when the leaves are at their peak of color and the air is crisping - no more humidity.  And the Spring when it's almost summer, there is no sign of frost and it's time to plant the garden.  My family, out on the West coast, has been gardening for months now.  But me?  I can hardly plant until Memorial Day weekend.  This year, it looks like I might get to plant a whole week early - Oh Joyous Day!  

Above is a picture of the plants I purchased at the Gore Estate Plant sale last year.  The sale starts this weekend, and I can hardly wait to go.  They sell heirloom and organically grown vegetables, herbs and flowers at rock-bottom prices.  I have so many perennials in my yard thanks to them, and love watching them spread and flower: Thistle, bronze fennel, Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate (a victorian-era towering flower that reseeds every year), black hollyhock, sage, oregano, lemon thyme and flowering maple (this one needs it's hand held all winter and is tricky for me to keep alive).

When I worked in the greenhouse at my job, with the preschool children with vision impairment, we went to the Gore sale and purchased many different but related herbs to put in barrels.  We chose several citrus-scented herbs such as lemon verbena, orange mint and lemon basil.  It was a great experience for the kids to explore the plants, which have varying textures and scents.  Another barrel was full of different mints - pineapple, curly and peppermint.  The mints are great since they come back after a hard winter with snow, and find it challenging to spread since they are in the barrels.

What is it about plants that makes some of us so happy?  I get so jazzed about planting that I can hardly breathe steadily at garden centers.  When someone tells me of a plant swap, I clear the calendar to attend.  I start to swoon at the first smell of mulch... crazy, I know. But don't you just love knowing that the tomato on your plate was warmed by the sun, and can bring nourishment to your family?  This year, I'm pretty sure more folks will be planting their own garden with the economy in the slump.  In planning my garden this year, I vow not to be swayed by the fancy tomatoes and eggplant - I really just want the 'easy to take care of' organic varieties that will do well and feed my family.  At this point, I don't feel we have a choice - we all need to do something about feeding ourselves in order to break the pattern of putting pesticides and additives in our bodies.

My heart will be singing this weekend as I linger over the incredible offerings at the Gore sale.  I will post photos once I get back.

A Bit of Identity Theft - Or, Do You Know Where Your Money Is?

It's 10 pm...Do you know where your money is?

I thought I did, until I looked at my bank account last night and found $100 missing.  Actually, not missing, paid out to PayPal in 2 $50 installments - something I never authorized.  I'm not really one of those folks who assumes this will never happen to me.  However, I always thought I was taking precautions to keep theft at bay.  Apparently, this is not so.  I had an old PayPal account, one that I hadn't used in years.  Someone somehow accessed it and charged a couple of video games to it.  How people do this, I will never know.  I have since been able to redirect my money with the help of the fine folks at PayPal - who never let the transaction go through at all in the first place.  The money went out of my bank account alright, but never to the seller (poor thing).  PayPal told me that the seller is really the odd 'man' out here, as it's really the buyer who stole from them, not the seller from me.  I marvel at how calm the guy at PayPal was - this happens all the time.  Sad.  

I have since changed all my passwords, and will cancel the old PayPal account once the money is completely reversed and back in my bank account.  Have you looked carefully at your money lately?  Do you have any crazy money stories to share?

A Day At The Dump!

We had a great time this weekend, unloading my mother-in-law's house of it's recyclable material.  I always feel so good when I recycle, and this semi-annual event in her town is quite inspiring.  It's the 'drop and swap' day at her town recycling center, where you can bring along any number of recyclable materials to drop off.  We tossed various metal pieces and parts, lots of styrofoam, papers to shred.  We saw parts to playhouses (the nasty (but apparently recyclable) plastic kind), old, rusty bed frames, spent computer drives and monitors - you name it, we saw it.  If it had a recyclable element to it, it was there.  And the organization with which everything (except the parking) was handled was amazing to watch.  I was thrilled to see so many people out in droves to recycle everything they could.  They clearly had been saving up their items, as I watched several cars and trucks full to the brim with stuff piled on stuff -all recyclable, of course.  

The best part of this even is the swap part.  If you are a town resident, you can peruse the useable items that still had life left in them, but were unwanted.  We saw all sorts of electronics: stereos, computers, tvs, appliances.  We saw all sorts of interesting looking furniture and doo-dads.  We saw luggage, pictures, fishing and sports equipment.  We even saw a man and young child making art from the 'found' objects just outside of the swap area. 

The event lasts most of the day , and is held both Spring and Fall every year.  I can't wait to go again!

Does your town have a recycle day?

The Art of Bartering

The ancient art of bartering is getting a new life.  Couldn't we all use something in exchange for something we no longer need?  For those of us in the frugalista chronicles, this is a no brainer.  But it is still a new-ish concept for some folks.  So here's a crash course in bartering 101 for those of you out there not so comfortable with the ins and outs of it.

Bartering is basically trading.  You have something I want and I have something you want - let's trade.  It's a bit like baseball cards, but on an adult scale.  I figure the following rules are pretty much common sense for those interested in bartering:

1. Make sure you have something to barter with before asking for the exchange.  Make a list.

2. Make sure your barter is worthy of what you want (and vice versa).

3.  Not all barters need to be taken care of immediately.  Remember to think about 'over time' barters - such as a loaf of home baked bread each week for a month in exchange for a couple of hours of accounting help, for example.

4. Make good on your barter:  If you say you have something, produce it.  If you are going to do something, do it.  If you are going to provide a service, provide it.  It is bad form not to come through with your side of the bargain.

The following barters may not be such great exchanges (but rank high on the learning-how-to-do-it scale):

1. A box of heirloom seeds for your best friend's uncle's old socks.

2. A new book on saving money that you received as a gift, but already had for a really bad, bad haircut.

3. A pair of used soccer cleats for a meal of sauerbraten and cabbage... no offense, but we were vegetarians at the time.  Ugh.

4. 3 lovely batches of home made cookies for a painted room, which seemed to be totally in our favor, except the room was not painted well and not the color we had chosen, nor one we liked.

What interesting barters have you participated in?  We were able to secure day care for our youngest son by exchanging a weekly music class for the whole program.  We exchanged car care one year after giving weekly music lessons to the mechanic's child.  I have made delicious meals for people who watched my children for a few hours.  I also made very sweet knitted hats for young children and traded them for a dinner out.

I am currently enjoying beading, and would love to trade handmade jewelry for something in the near future - just not sure what yet.

What I love about bartering is the feeling I get afterward - the win-win I feel and (I hope) the other person feels as well.  Everyone gets something they need (or want) and you learn a bit about the other person in the process as well, if you are lucky.  And if it doesn't work out, at least you have a funny story to tell later.

No! Don't Throw That Out - It's A Treasure To Me!

There is a 7-family house next door to me. Recently, it completely emptied of all it's residents as the owner prepares for renovation this summer. He will be constructing 4 condos where the 7 apartments stood, either to rent or sell sometime next year. While I am not looking forward to the crazy noise we are going to endure this summer, I have already become giddy with trash-pickin' delight as my moving-out neighbors began depositing their unwanted goods on the sidewalk for trash pick up. Oh my. I have already benefited from this experience - my son grabbed a punching bag, I found a beautiful, antique oak dresser which I will refurbish, we grabbed 3 sturdy drawers from a broken dresser that will be our first outdoor vegetable planters for the deck (a project blog for another time), and we are now proud owners of a motorized scooter without a key (hmmmm - not sure if that will turn out positive in the long run). And all this without one wall coming down! I spoke with the contractor and owner yesterday and admitted to my trash-picking habit. Really, I was just warning them that I will be looking through their cast-offs the minute they let go of them... They just smiled and said - You'll make our job easier. Wow. Do you know what comes out of an old New England house? Old panel doors. Real wood molding. I can just visualize my 'new' greenhouse coming from 3 floors of old 4-lite windows. I'm thinking about old doorknobs. Beadboard paneling. Old light fixtures. Oh yes. This girl's gonna be dumpster diving pretty regularly this summer. Mmm Hmmm. Can't wait. As I look outside tonight, I see a headboard that might become something else. Oh...there's a small coffee table just screaming to stay out of the trash truck.

Last Monday, I was home with a sick child. As I often do when home in the morning (rare), I watched out the window as life woke up and began moving around in my neighborhood. The trash truck comes on Monday, and my sons had diligently put out the trash cans the night before. As I dazed out the window, I looked at the enormous pile of 'trash' next door - a definite sign of someone moving: an old rotten couch, tables, lamps, trash bags galore, old phone books, old clothes strewn about. I heard the trash truck coming, and decided to sit and watch. I had already gone over the pile with a fine-toothed comb the day before, so I knew that what was left was pretty much trash (so glad I grabbed that antique dresser!). The truck pulled up and CRUNCH went the couch. CRUNCH went the desk and broken dresser. The bags of clothes and trash disappeared. The phone books (which could have been recycled) were tossed in the truck. In a poof, everything that to me represented 10 years of people living next door was gone. Gone. There was no longer any residue of anyone moving out, or living there at all. I looked over at the house, now empty, and felt so sad. Sad that the bulldozers will come soon to rip it's siding off. It's not a pretty house to look at, and a renovation is long overdue. But I felt sad knowing that the work will be done without much thought to keeping and reusing anything. So my mission is to find homes for the useable materials, to the best of my ability (it's not MY house, after all...)
I look forward to posting upcoming projects from the materials I have already gathered. Stay tuned for fun!

Something To Chew On

When I have the time, I read a magazine or two. Actually, I look at the pictures, and only 'read' when the picture is engaging enough to get my attention... My brain gets that fried sometimes!

Anyhow - I came across a couple of interesting items in the April issue of Vegetarian Times that I wanted to share with you.

Palazzo Versace Dubai, the hotel and condominium complex situated in the United Arab Emirates will be opened either this year or next. Not that I am planning a trip to the Middle East anytime soon, but I have learned that due to the excessive heat, they are planning to REFRIGERATE THEIR BEACH!!. Yes - it is true. They are currently installing a 'network of computer-controlled heat-absorbing pipes under the sand to keep the complex's guests and residents comfortable in Dubai's sweltering temperatures'. Oh my. According to the article in VT, the project will add to the already enormous carbon footprint in Dubai which amounts to 44 tons of Co2 per person per year. It also points out that America's per person carbon footprint is 'only' 20 tons.

What's next?? I never thought we could go this direction. Not with Al Gore and his crusade to get us thinking pro-environmentally. It is disturbing and puzzling. If your outdoor temperature gets to 122 degrees, maybe you don't have a good spot for vacations... It is sad, in this case, to see how the backward minds of a few can alter the lives of many.




Buyer's Alert:

In the same issue of VT, I found a listing of reusable water bottles without the dreaded BPA's (bisphenol-A). The chemical is put into most hard-plastic reusable drink bottles, which have the capacity to leach into the fluid being consumed by us. BPA's are connected to a myriad of health disorders, including birth defects, cancer and other very serious issues. The following four companies make reusable bottles without BPA's:

1. SIGG's Make Love Not Lanfill $24.99/33oz. mysigg.com

2. The CamelBak Better Bottle $14/.75 liter camelbak.com

3. Nalgene On The Go Bottle $10/24oz nalgene-outdoor.com

4. Earthlust Bottle $16/13oz earthlust.com

Rethink using all those purchased plastic bottles of water. Take a hard look at that reusable hard-plastic water bottle for your workouts. Every time we put something in our bodies, don't we deserve the best and cleanest? Makes you think...

Have a great and thought provoking day!

A New Release and A Free Video!

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has just sent out the notification that the Media Education Foundation has published a video titled, "Consuming Kids: The Commercialism of Childhood".  This video looks at how our children have been the targets of marketing tactics from birth on for decades.  It runs through how advertising in the past included children, but in a much more docile way.  Today's children are basically pelted with ads throughout even educational television to such as extent that many young ones aren't quite sure where the show takes a break and the ads begin.  This film is an attempt to bring our attention to the repetitive opportunities marketers make to 'teach' our children which products to purchase, or have us purchase.  Much as the dairy council will have us think that we need milk to build strong bones, or the beef industry, who makes us think we need to know 'where's the beef?', the commercials geared toward children blur the lines between safe, conscious, nutritious choices and garbage.

From the website:

Consuming Kids
The Commercialization of Childhood

Consuming Kids throws desperately needed light on the practices of a relentless multi-billion dollar marketing machine that now sells kids and their parents everything from junk food and violent video games to bogus educational products and the family car. Drawing on the insights of health care professionals, children's advocates, and industry insiders, the film focuses on the explosive growth of child marketing in the wake of deregulation, showing how youth marketers have used the latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform American children into one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world. Consuming Kids pushes back against the wholesale commercialization of childhood, raising urgent questions about the ethics of children's marketing and its impact on the health and well-being of kids. 

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood folks are working to have folks sponsor a public screening of this important film, with a gift of your very own video to keep as a thank you for your efforts.  Make sure you contact them right away, as this offer is limited.  If you miss the offer, don't worry.  You can still purchase the video for $24.99 from Media Education Foundation.

The Conundrum of Earth Day Celebrations, and How Green is Your Wallet?

Since I have been away on a family trip for a few days, I am launching into a more in depth post that covers two separate, but related issues.  Once I get the time to download photos of our trip, I will post more on that.

The Conundrum of EARTH DAY Celebrations:

Earth day is fast approaching - this Saturday, to be exact.  Do you have your day of celebrating all planned out yet?  Do you have particular rituals to ring in another year of 'trying' to be grateful for our earth?  Or do you let things roll, participating in random activities that suit you?  Or beyond that, do you let Earth Day come and go without really acknowledging it at all? 

I have to admit, I was shocked when I recently read that Earth Day has been around since 1970. According to Wikipedia:

Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

It was not until we moved to the Boston area about 10 years ago that we became aware of various activities to celebrate the Earth, and began to take more responsibility for our environmental actions.  Although there are many different activities here in our area to participate, the one which works for my family is the Charles River Cleanup.  We spend half of Earth Day walking down by the river, picking up an enormous amount of trash.  My husband loves this day, as he gets to wade into the river to capture discarded bottles, balls, and the many odd items (one year he found a tent!).  I found him wading boots on Freecycle just for this day every year - I'll post photos next week!.  My kids love that the Cleanup organizers hand out munchies and serve hotdogs at the end - and everyone gets a free t-shirt as well.  I love that we are out doing something physical in the fresh air, enjoying friends who do the same thing every year, and beautifying our community.  None of this costs us any money, and no one is trying to sell us anything as we do it.  

But not all 'Green', Earth Day activities are like this.  I'm sure if you are breathing, you have heard, watched, become aware of the scads of advertisements for 'green' this or that out in consumerville.  I have noticed that as more businesses are jumping on the 'green' wagon, consumers get the sense that by buying their products, we are doing something wonderful for the earth.  When in reality, we are still consuming, still moving away from recycling, and still keeping big business in business.  I came across good information at the Huffington Post.  Susan Linn talks about the marketing that is sent out to children regarding being green, and referring to Earth Day.  It always makes my blood boil to read how folks are targeting kids with advertising.  But it seems ludicrous that they think kids, who understand global warming so much better that some adults, would fall for their tactics.  Unfortunately, they use so many chemicals in their foods that they are hard for a child to resist, and they end up succumbing to the ridiculous feast.  I have actually read that participating in the fast food frenzy is much like being addicted to drugs.  Ok.  That's really scary.

How Green is Your Wallet?

As I said above, we just returned from our recent family trip.  Actually, we finish our trip tomorrow as we stopped off in Baltimore to visit family overnight, so we can cut the last leg of our trip into 2 more manageable pieces.  We went down to Williamsburg, Virginia, to check out the colonial community they have there.  It was a really beautiful area, and the weather, though rainy for much of the time we spent there, was much warmer than up north.  The people were fantastic - what they say about southern hospitality is really true.  We had so many people interested in who we were, why we had come down, how our drive was, etc.  But what we noticed right away was the lack of 'green' initiatives with the Colonial Williamsburg complex.  The place is HUGE with at least 5 hotels under the Williamsburg name.  There is the actual colony and shops, numerous restaurants, and museums as well.  Now, I have had the opportunity to stay in a few hotels lately, though I would not call myself much of a traveler. However, in my experiences, there has definitely been in shift toward more thoughtful, resource-saving activities such as re-using towels, recycling bins, glasses in the rooms, and a move away from styrofoam containers.  Well, I am sad to say that where we stayed, we had quite a bit of plastic/styrofoam dishes and cups for meals, plastic cups for drinking in the rooms (which split open within the first using, and so had to be tossed (in the recycle bag to bring home)).  I was shocked that it was not until we walked all the way through the colony (about a 30 minute walk) that we saw our first (and turns out only) recycling bin for glass, cans or plastic - none for paper, outside a sandwich shop in the merchant's center - not even the colonial part.  

I was really surprised to see that here we were in this preserved colonial community, and yet no one was working to preserve the present, so we could have it in the future!!

Is this a southern thing?  A Virginia thing?  I started thinking... it really pays it forward to research how your hotel recycles and reuses resources before you make the reservation.  And of course, I will be sending a letter to the corporate offices to share my opinion, with the hopes that they will begin to think about how to better use their products and processes in order to contain some of the resources we have left.  

But do you think about this before you travel?  Do you think about what mode of transportation gives you not only the best price but the best use of mileage as well?  Do you think about bringing your own food for some/all of the trip to minimize your own cost?  Do you think about camping versus hotels?  Do you have some secrets about how to be resourceful where others (hotels, restaurants, etc) fall short?  Definitely share them here!  And don't be shy - many of you readers are from other countries/regions and we could all learn from what you have to say!

Quick But Funny

I Have a New Reason to Purge My Drawers!

You know all that mindless junk lying around in your 'junk' drawers?  How about that box of doo-dads you have stashed away in some closet to go through 'later on'?  Do you have any pile of 'have to get to that's' anywhere?  Well...

I found a new website, courtesy of Family Circle Magazine, that not only recycles your old electronics, but may pay you for them as well.  How cool is that??  Not only do you clean out that drawer full of old cell phones, but you get paid for it as well.  And the shipping is free. The program is Gazelle.  They take the following items - so go clean out your closets:

Cell Phones

Digital Cameras

MP3 Players

PDAs

Laptops

Gaming Consoles

GPS Devices

Camcorders

Satellite Radios

External Hard Drives

Video Games

Movies

LCD Monitors

Blu-Ray Players

Calculators

Desktops

Wow.  It is great to know one can actually profit from recycling their odds and ends.  I received an offer for a camera ($28), playstation ($11 - though my kids would kill me), 2 cell phones ($8 each) and an old non-working laptop ($0) for a total of $55.  Not too shabby for junk lying around.  I get to clean out the cupboards, and the stuff gets recycled, then I get to stash the cash.  Now, that's what I call being mindfully resourceful!

Check out the website.  Once you add up what they offer you, post it back here.  

My New Favorite Drink

I have been incorporating new, healthier foods into my diet lately.  Well, not really 'new' foods, but new to my diet foods, such as kale, chard, fruits, really green salads, etc.  I bought jicama at the store on friday with the hopes that I will put it in my salads this week - should be crunchy and interesting.  Every morning, as I have posted here, I start my day with a green drink using kale, chard, pineapple, tomato and agave nectar (sweetener).  I do however, sneak in a sweeter smoothie when I can.  I came up with my new favorite smoothie just a couple of weeks ago, and have now successfully kept all the ingredients in the house at all times, so I can make it any time I want.  It's really a Pina Colada, but I just call it heaven...

Mindful Mama's Smooth Smoothie

1 Cup coconut milk

1 Cup pineapple, cubed

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 T agave nectar

1t vanilla

1 large glass full of ice cubes

Put all in blender and blend until smooth.  Absolutely delicious!  

They say eating more raw foods is better on the budget.  I haven't found this to be the case just yet.  So far, I have spent much more than I typically budget for weekly groceries as I bulk up on nuts and organic fruits.  I am not so good at choosing foods that will make more than one meal possible, but I'm working on it.  I have been acquiring more raw 'cook' books, so I assume things will get easier as time moves on.

After drinking this smoothie at least 3 times a week, I have noticed my hair is silkier, my nails are much stronger and my skin is smooth and clear of any blemishes.  


The coconut milk in it is a terrific source of fats for your body - one that has received a very bad rap for too long.  The thing about fat is that we truly need it for survival.  Fats tell our bodies when we are satiated, give texture and flavor to foods, and provide us with necessary lubrication for our joints.  Fats make our skin glow and hair shine, and give us general health support.

Other great health benefits of coconut include:

1. goiter control (enlarged non-toxic thyroid) because of its organic iodine content.
2. Good body builder, so it is a food recommended for building up the body muscles of thin and emaciated individuals.
3. Constipation and for any build-up of gas in the stomach and intestinal tract.
4. Coconut milk has been found to help cases of sore throat as well as relieving stomach ulcers.
5. Coconut oil has been found to heal cuts, scratches, burns and sunburns.
6. The oil has also been recommended for facial massage and is reported to be good as a wrinkle remover.
7. Coconut oil is also good for the scalp and hair and makes hair dressing unnecessary.
Intake of at least 2 Tbsp. of Virgin coconut oil per day can lessen your Vitamin E requirement.
8. Coconut water is good for kidney and urinary bladder problems.

(from http://hubpages.com/hub/Health_Benefits_of_Coconut)

Pineapple is another thing altogether.  Apart from being amazingly sweet, one of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people.   While many people often take extra vitamin C or drink extra orange juice when they have a cold, few consider eating pineapple. The benefits of pineapple when you have a cold or cough are the same as the benefits of orange juice, but there is an additional benefit of pineapple. Bromelain, which is found in pineapples, has been found to help suppress coughs and loosen mucus.

from http://www.oohoi.com/natural%20remedy/everyday_food/Benefits-of-Pineapple.htm

Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of phytonutrients and antioxidants, which fight free radicals. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red.  So what are these weird free radicals? Free radicals are elements that can damage cells, and they are thought to contribute to the formation of many kinds of cancer.  In addition to vitamin C, strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
(fromhttp://www.chetday.com/benefitofstrawberry.htm)

I really don't feel bad about splurging on my new favorite drink - turns out it's really GOOD for me!!  Try it - let me know what you think!

Hippity Hop Easter's On It's Way...

How Are You Celebrating the Holidays?


We celebrate Easter in my family. But what does it really mean – to celebrate Easter? We are not a particularly religious family, my husband has been known to attend church every now and then, but not the rest of us for a variety of reasons. Somehow, though, I turn inward at this time of year and try to get in touch with what Easter, and the sense of renewal, means. As I have raised my children, I have tried very hard to bring about some sort of meaning of Easter for them – so that it means more than the Easter bunny, eggs and candy. Yet I worry that we missed the boat. My sons look forward to Easter baskets – even now at ages 11 and 13. Back when I was a consumer-aholic, I fell into the trap of ‘gifting’ at any opportunity. Even if it was only a few treats and a stuffed animal when they were younger, the pattern became set: Easter means gifts. My younger son even talked about an ‘Easter list’ last week. Yikes. I told him quite quickly that there would not be any lists generated. He seemed crushed. Oh, what have I done??
I really like the idea of Passover, where you have particular traditions for very important reasons. I suppose Easter has it’s own traditions and rituals for some folks, perhaps just not for me. If you always have ham at Easter, I guess you could call that a tradition – but not the type I am looking for. Do holidays become less holy if you do not have traditions that carry over? Is it acceptable to celebrate Easter (or Christmas for that matter) when you do not consider yourself to be particularly religious? That it has become another consumer-friendly occasion to pour out love and affection in the form of fluffy bunnies and stale marshmallow chickens makes me sad and frustrated.
So how do you undo something like training your children to be consumer-aholics around the holidays? How do you bring them a sense of understanding that at this time of year, we consider the renewal of life, rather than the renewal of credit balances?
The answer I have is to create a sense of peace at home, including nearby family members, good food and (cheap) fun. This Easter, we will spend time with my inlaws here in Massachusetts. We will have a meal, cooked by all of us – pot luck style – and enjoy each others’ company. Prior to that, I will make a special breakfast for everyone in my household – strawberry crepes was the routine when I was growing up – and we will hang around in our pajamas as long as possible. Someone will read the paper, someone will read a book, and others may make or listen to music – a wonderful laid-back Sunday. My boys insist they want to dye eggs and have a hunt in the yard, but I would love to let go of this tradition. We don’t eat too many eggs to begin with, and especially not hard boiled. I don’t mind the coloring of them, but the eating – they just rot in the fridge. I will have to see if I can get around this one.

So how do you celebrate Easter/Passover?

Memories Do Last a Lifetime

Today we spent the day with family to honor a family member who passed away a year ago. I was unsure how we would spend our time together, but very motivated to get together with others to celebrate this occasion. As I often do before a family gathering, I got myself extra busy before leaving for the 1/2 hour drive. I notice that I tend to busy myself in the effort to move away from the anxiety that often comes from anticipating family gatherings. It's not that I do not look forward to these events, I do, and I typically enjoy them once we get going. But my mind seems to go on auto pilot, "Will the boys misbehave?" "Will we get into uncomfortable discussions?" "Will I say something I shouldn't?" Worry worry worry. And when I get ultra busy, I suppose I feel a little less conscious anxiety and more overwhelmed from all I am trying to accomplish before we leave. Ridiculous, I know.
Today was no different, having the need to go to the Asian grocery to find an obscure ingredient that I needed for a raw dish I was trying to make, and to get some fish to bring along. I love that store, but my time crunch this morning made it harder for me to enjoy the trip over there. Then I had to take my youngest son shopping for something he had saved up for and just HAD to have today. And then, being that the Asian store did not have what I needed, I had to traipse over to our favorite health foods store (after calling to be sure I wasn't wasting a trip) which was in the same town that we were traveling to.
Once we were on our way, I was fine. And I began thinking about this family member who passed last year. He taught me so much over the course of 15 years that I knew him. Our relationship was not always joyful, but there was a mutual respect that I will carry with me forever.
When we were all gathered around a beautiful feast, complete with gluten free offerings, thanks to my mother in law, we each spoke out about this family member: our memories, funny stories, things we want to remember, things from a very long time ago, and things from just before he died. Everyone contributed - even my boys who scrunched up their noses when the idea for sharing was announced. But they had ideas in their heads already - they too were touched gently by this family member, and wanted to share. It was a wonderful and touching display of love and tenderness that I had not experienced from our family before. I commented on how this death has brought us all closer, and I think our dear departed member would think kindly of that - that he had brought us all closer in the end, to carry on, sadly, without him, but carry on to bring peace to each other and demonstrate that devotion to the younger generation in our family.

The Importance of Setting Goals

I have been working toward improvement in several areas of my life: losing weight, gaining health, keeping a cleaner house, paying bills on time, etc.  But when I tackle all of these growth areas at once, especially without a plan, I get easily overwhelmed, and pretty much nothing gets done.  What seems to help is setting goals.  In my work with young children with special needs, we set goals annually that we work toward on a daily basis.  Quarterly reports state how close to the goal we have come, and all the wonderful things the child has learned to do in the process.  In my own goal plan, or Individualized Life Plan (ILP), I have addressed the areas needing growth as stated above, but planned small steps.  I want to continue progressing in the area of cleaning the house while I'm losing weight, so my expectations have to be somewhat low.  In this way, I am successful with little accomplishments, and can find the motivation to keep going to the next goal level.

Some people find that rewards help them stay focused.  I have found this helpful, but not for the tiny steps (losing 5 pounds, for example).  What I have done in the past is reward myself with purchased things: a new bathing suit for losing weight, a night out for keeping the house clean and tidy, etc.  However, my new mindful attitude changes all that, and I need to incorporate new ways to celebrate victories.  Here's my list:

• Music night at home with friends (playing instruments is one of our favorite things to do but doesn't get done enough)
  
• Trip to the western part of the state (2 hour drive) to check out the mountains, the museums or the towns
• Hike by the river
• Family bike ride
• Girl time with my friends over a cup of tea
• Visit to Boston to see a show or museum (with a pass)
  

Setting goals cuts work into small, manageable pieces, where looking at the whole experience would be challenging and less attainable.  We do it all the time at work without thinking about it, and we teach our children how to do it as well.  So it makes sense to incorporate it for our own ILP's.

What would you put on your ILP?  And what would your rewards be?

Do You Know Where Your Food is Coming From?

It used to be that you could feel good about purchasing fruit and vegetables that were conventional (not organic) if they had a peel to remove.  We were always told that as long as you removed the peel, the insides were pretty comparable to an organic product.  So when money was tight, I felt ok about purchasing non-organic foods such as cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, etc.  Then along came the GM farmers.  I read a fascinating article about GM (Genetically modified) foods recently.  It talked about where this all started (in 1996, farmers planted the first GM seeds which were engineered to withstand the harsh treatment of herbicides), and how they effect our bodies and ultimately the entire food chain.  I often wonder myself about the foods on the grocery shelves.  Do we really know that the produce labeled 'Organic', with the higher price tag, is really without any chemicals or residues?  How can we be sure that the packaged product listed as organic is really that?  And for those favorite corn chips, how long ago was the corn actually grown and picked to end up in those chips?

If I could, I would follow the food chain from seed to plant to factory to product to store shelf.  I would love to know how long this whole process took, and what nutritional value the food actually had by the time it reached the store - especially in comparison to the original nutritional profile of the raw food.

The FDA states that there is no proof that GM foods cause any harm to our bodies.  However, other statements suggest that they are to blame for allergies, fertility issues and super weeds.  In fact, scientists in Japan, Italy and France among other countries feel so strongly against the harmful effects of GM foods that they have banned them completely from their foods.  Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?  

And let's go back to one of my first questions: How do you know if the foods listed on any given product as organic are really that?  Especially when cross-pollination occurs readily with most crops.  Wind (or sadly, bees) carry the pollen from GM foods over to the nearby crop, which could be and in many cases is organic, pollinating it with GM pollen, spreading it's genes around willy nilly.  

The scary part is that there have been no independent studies on the effects of GM foods on our bodies or our environment.  All of the studies thus far have been done by the produce companies themselves and submitted to the government.  It's high time we get someone else in there to do some research.

So how do you get a better idea of what is in your food?  One thought is - grow your own.  However, if you live with a shady, dime-sized backyard such as mine, the growing part is a bit challenging.  Another thought is to invest in community supported agriculture.  There are always farmers markets in towns in my area - and probably in yours, unless you live in a rural area.  And lastly, buy only organic where possible.  The government says that certified organic foods must be 95% organic and GM free.

Bottom line?  Know where your food comes from.  There are several small organic farms spread throughout the world, just begging to be supported by the everyday family in some way.  Whether you join a CSA or just make it to the grocery store to pick up some organic apples, you can trust that if it is certified as organic, your food is just exactly what it says it is, with no mofdification whatsoever.