Monthly Archives: June 2008

>Oh, Canada – you’re so green.

Posted on by
7

>

Canadians are much more environmental than we are Stateside.

Garbage is automatically sorted, even at public rest stops. Garbage, recycling, and organic (compost) for everyone. Everyone. At home I sort that way, but only the basic recycling (and regular garbage, of coures) are mandated and carried out by the local waste management folks. We compost in the backyard. It’s quite simple, really. We in the U.S. could learn from our Northern neighbors.

At the Lunenberg Farmer’s Market, I noticed that all the shoppers carried their own cloth shopping bags. If they weren’t carrying one, they were carrying two or three! That’s a personal goal I’ve undertaken; now I’m even more determined to make it a habit.

Nova Scotia laws prohibit smoking in restaurants. I don’t know all the particulars, such as whether bars/pubs are included in the smoking ban, but it impressed me that we never needed to specify the non-smoking section of any restaurant. Now when my home-sweet-home Wisconsin figures out that a smoking ban can go statewide with minimal economic ramifications, maybe our legislators will finally pass a comprehensive law making our indoor air smoke-free.

People here have been fantastic. Amigo is (most of the time) outgoing and social. He has told everyone where we’re from (Wisconsin, U.S.) and why we’re here (for Husband to work on his geneology research). While listening to a guitarist at the Farmer’s Market, he announced that the young man’s play reminded him of Chet Atkins. This gained an ear-to-ear grin from the musician, and a conversation with a new friend.

Meanwhile, I was off buying my coffee du jour, a blend by Laughing Whale Coffee called Wind in your Sails. Their decaf was dubbed Boat out of Water. Ah, Nova Scotians, with that sense of humor, you’re my kind of people.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Reasons to love a Farm Market in any locale

Posted on by
7

>

  • Often fresher than the supermarket
  • Less fuel burned to transport food grown locally
  • Supporting community economy
  • Eliminate the middleman, producer gets a larger percentage of the profit

As long as we were traveling (on the south shore of Nova Scotia), we found a Farmers’ Market in the nearby town of Lunenberg. It’s too early in the growing season to buy fresh produce, but we found other reminders why we enjoy marketplaces like this.

  • Live music, local musicians.
  • Fair trade coffee: an eight-oz. drink, and a half pound of beans for later.
  • Hand-tooled wooden utensil to add to Amigo’s collection
  • New bag, perfect size for my laptop, made from salvaged sails. This bag is fabulous. It’s water-resistant, strong, lightweight, and it’ll last beyond the projected lifetime of the technology. I kept wandering past the Seadogs Bags booth, enjoying the workmanship, but not buying. I don’t need a new purse. I don’t need a lunch bag or schoolbag. La Petite has her bags all settled, too. Then Husband reminded me: “Honey, you wanted a better bag for your new laptop.” Yes! That’s it! He helped find the right size, and I picked my favorite. No easy task, that; each bag was unique, and each one had its own story. I finally narrowed down the selection to two, then picked the one with the interior lining I liked best.

Sigh of relief. Deep breath. I picked up Amigo before he could decide to go home and form a band with the guitarist, and we headed for the minivan and then off to lunch. What a morning! Note to self: when out of town, seek out Farmers’ Markets and Craft Markets. It’s worth it.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>What if?

Posted on by
2

>

What if you were accused of neglecting or harming your child?

What if the Disease of the Week suddenly jumped off the lifestyle pages and entered your life?

What if your family were subjected to a trauma that left your marriage rocky and your spouse’s love severely tested?

What if secrets in your family history suddenly forced you to make decisions you’d never even considered?

What if your distant past became public in a very negative, defamatory, even racist manner?

In More than it Hurts You, Darin Strauss takes these questions and weaves a plot that traps its characters in tangled nets that will twist and shape their lives forever.

Josh and Dori Goldin rush their baby, Zach, to the ER after Dori sees blood in his vomit. Dori, a phlebotomist who speaks Hospital Language like a native, notices an omission in the testing. Bringing this to the attention of the doctors in pediatrics has an unwanted result; the doctors over test in an apparent effort to overcome their earlier mistake. When Dori and Jack object to the invasive procedures on their eight-month-old, an all-out battle begins that escalates into a war that none of the participants could have imagined. It’s not a spoiler to let you know that a court case, Child Protective Services, and Munchhausen’s by Proxy are just a few of the many twisted and knotted threads of this tapestry. Surprises await the reader at around each corner of the hospital corridors, at each turn of the page.

The story is outrageous, yet believable. I’ve had contact with CPS in my work as an elementary teacher. The social workers in this field are caring yet overworked professionals. They do their best with the tools they’re given. But an accusation, true or false, proven or unproven, can shatter a family’s emotional balance for years, if not for life.

Strauss tells the story through the character’s emotions more than through their actions. Their inner traits, the manner in which they approach emergencies, their skills (or lack thereof) with personal interactions, all contribute to bringing the reader deeply into the sticky web of a complex story. With this character focus, however, comes the potential for confusion. A few character names are too similar, making it essential to interrupt the flow to stop and think, “Who is this?” before continuing on. Darlene vs. Dori in particular lead to confusion where clarity would be more valuable. But don’t let this small glitch stop you from reading More than it Hurts You by Darin Strauss. Strauss knows his characters well, and by the time you finish the book, you’ll know them, too.

Looking for more on this book? Look here.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free of charge in order to read it and write this review. After my family of readers finishes it, I will share my copy.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Best and Worst Awards

Posted on by
3

>Compiled with help from the “Review Academy,” a.k.a. Husband and Amigo

Best rest stops: New York (with one exception, see below) and Maine. Lots of choices for eating, food court style. Clean tables and rest rooms.
Worst rest stops: Ohio. Grungy buildings, high prices, few choices. I didn’t even buy postcards.

Best bumper sticker: “What would Scooby Do?”
Best personalized license plate: BA HA BA (hint: think of a location in Maine)
Most confusing roadside sign: “Balloon parking next right.” Huh?
Most random roadside sign: Programmable flashing sign on Massachusetts Turnpike: “Test 1,2,3. Blah. Test 1,2,3. Blah.”

Worst surprise: flat tire outside of Yarmouth.
Best moment within worst surprise: Strangers stopped to help; service staff gave us a ride to McD’s while they worked on tire.

Highest gas prices: Canada. It took me a while to figure out the price per gallon, since Canadian stations measure in liters (Yes, it’s we in the U.S. who are backwards and insist on using the old-fashioned system). But all in all, filling the minivan tank in Canada definitely induced sticker shock.
Lowest gas prices: Back home in Wisconsin! $3.86 when we arrived home. The low cost of living is one great reason to live here.

Best hotel wi-fi: Portland, Maine, at the Eastland Park Hotel. Easy password, reliable service.
Worst hotel wi-fi: La Quinta. First night, we spent twenty minutes on the phone with the tech line. They rebooted the entire system, then we had to wait another half hour to get service. Next night? No wi-fi at all. Tech folks blamed the problem on my brand new laptop computer.

Best breakfast: toss-up between tea biscuits at Tim Horton’s and the breakfast on board the Cat ferry. Both had good coffee. Dunkin’ Donuts and their munchkins made a pretty good opening to the day, too. No, I didn’t eat (and drink) all of those on the same day!

Worst tollway: New Hampshire — the only state that couldn’t get our I-Pass online. Our tolls cleared later, but it was a bit nervewracking going through the booth and see it not function.
Worst highway conditions: Michigan I-69. The highway in Ontario was so much smoother; I-69 was like a collection of poorly-made patches.
Prettiest stretch of highway: It’s a toss-up between New York State and Massachusetts. My inner science geek kept saying, “Look at those rock layers!” The drive along the coast from Lockeport to Lunenberg was very picturesque, too. The farms reminded me of home, but with more hills.

Best meal: Grilled salmon in Portland, Maine. Or was it the seafood chowder at the Stone Soup Cafe in Ipswich, Mass.? Then there was that fish cake in Shelburne, Nova Scotia…and their chowder was delicious, too.

Worst meal: Ohio rest stop. See above. Overpriced, poor quality, and I’ll stop there. We skipped Ohio on the trip home in favor of going through Ontario.

Best seafood? Come on, we were on the Atlantic coast. Every bit of fish we had was delicious.

Best customer service: Pontiac dealer in Yarmouth. Those people were wonderful. I wish we lived there so we could give them more business.
Worst customer service: Rest stop restaurant in New York where the teenage staff were so busy on the phone talking about their lottery tickets that they made customers wait and then realized they were out of wings and had to make more before they could serve the aforementioned customers.

Best coffee: Sorry, that’s another whole post.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>coffee du jour — a vacation diary in caffeine doses

Posted on by
7

>Day One:
Hit the road, Jack. Made a big serving of instant cappuccino for my travel mug and installed it in the cup-holder. Double-checked that the coffee filters were packed in the foodstuffs box. Drove and rode many, many miles over four states.

Day Two:
On the road again! Small cup of hotel-made coffee at breakfast, not bad. Filled travel mug with Maxwell House brewed in the in-room coffeemaker. Again, not bad. Satisfying.
Refilled at the first gas stop. Weather too hot to enjoy hot coffee. Photographed Amigo in front of two football stadiums, one baseball field, and one arena. Three states today.

Day Three:
On the road again, just can’t wait to get…okay, enough already. Filled travel mug (again) from in-room machine after a small cup of basic brew from the hotel breakfast.
Took morning break at Dunkin’ Donuts, picked up mid-morning snack of Munchkins and iced hazelnut coffee. Mmm, now this is good. Staff were friendly, too, welcoming these obvious out-of towners to their little corner store.

Day Four:
One cup in-room brew before leaving for ferry.
On ferry: They serve Starbucks! W00T! Had some with breakfast and another small cup later on with popcorn. Don’t laugh — I can’t be the only person who likes popcorn and coffee together, can I? No, don’t answer that. I managed not to spill either while watching a whale breech not far from the ship. Wow!

Day five:
Made a pot of my own in cottage kitchen. The sound and smell of brewing coffee; ah, how relaxing. Note to self: a souvenir coffee mug would be appropriate. Must keep eyes (and wallet) open for the perfect item.

Day six:
Played tourist. Tim Hortons’ house blend for breakfast: hit the spot. Later on in Shelburne, picked up a cuppa from a cute little cafe called BeanDocks. Chose the blend “Jamaican Me Crazy” because Amigo was at his stubborn-teen worst. I felt much better after only half a cup. The barrista/ gift shop owner was really nice, too. Maybe the fact that I also bought a couple of souvenirs helped. But mmm, the power of a good cup of coffee. Can’t underestimate it.

Day seven:
Made a pot of my own again in cottage kitchen. Foggy outside, everything’s damp; there’s something comforting about the home-away-from-home feeling of brewing coffee warming up the place. Still haven’t found just the right souvenir mug.

Day eight:
Bought a cup of a fair trade blend at the Lunenberg Farmers’ Market; liked it enough to buy a small bag of the beans. This is a souvenir that will keep on giving long after I get home. And speaking of souvenirs: Husband ducked into a gift shop on Bluenose Lane and found a white mug decorated with a lobster. It’s a keeper!

Day nine:
Cup plus refills over breakfast at the local diner, flavored with wonderful local tales from the man at the booth beside ours. We learned when the lobster season runs, how large a swordfish can be, how the town’s population is shrinking, and why three-story houses on the coast often have staircases in their attics. No, it’s not because of flooding. What a delightful encounter!

Day ten:
Cuppa in the cottage kitchen: the last. Starbucks on the ferry. Foggy day — if there are whales around no one would know it. Hot coffee helps cut through the damp feeling.

Day eleven:
Dunkin’ Donuts, down the street from the hotel in downtown Portland. Got Amigo a coolatta, and a box of munchkins for the family. On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again….

Day twelve:
Hit the road, Jack…no coffee in hotel room? What kind of establishment is this? Oh, yeah, they have some in the lobby. No wonder their rates are so low.

Day thirteen:
Show me the way to go home! Home to my own coffeemaker, my own grinder (can’t wait to make the Lunenberg coffee), my own mugs. Aaah.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Will it buy satisfaction?

Posted on by
2

>

PunditMom Change

A while ago, not too far back, PunditMom proposed a revolution: an election revolution. Based on Melinda Henneberger’s book, If They Only Listened to Us: What Women Voters Want Men to Hear. PunditMom points out an important section of Henneberger’s book:

“As she was promoting her book, Henneberger quoted a statistic in one article that if every woman who voted in the 2006 national elections had contributed just $27 to any presidential candidate or party, we would pour $1.3 billion dollars into the political system.”

$27 = $1.3 billion. Billion, with a Big B. That’s a lot of Bucks, and a lot of support.

Women are good at talking, blogging, writing letters, and more. We rock the cradle, but we haven’t moved into the White House, much less begun to rule the world. Legislators rarely hear us in part because we don’t have the financial backing. Face it: money talks, sings, dances, and plays the accordion. Well, maybe not the accordion. But rather than replace your accordion case, please consider donating to a candidate of your choice this campaign season.

The heart of the $27 revolution is the concept that the candidates need to hear from us, and actions, particularly check-signing actions, speak louder than words. For example: if I spent $27 in my classroom, it might by 25-30 notebooks or three sets of holiday pencils. If a pro-education candidate wins office, legislation with better funding for schools may become law. This is worth much more than a notebook and a few pencils per child.

On that note, I’ll end my pitch. Please let PunditMom know who you’re backing…or if you’d rather keep the name quiet, just let her know you’ve taken action.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Overheard

Posted on by
2

>A teacher died and went (of course) to Heaven. At the gate she was asked, “How can you be of service here?” She replied, “Well, I’m a teacher, so I’d be happy to teach here, too.” The new classroom appeared: 40 students, no materials, no books, no tech support, no clerical assistance. She reacted strongly. “This looks impossible! How can you expect me to do my best work in a situation that’s set up for failure?”

Bang. Switch venues.

Now in the opposite locale, a handsome devil asked her the same question. “How can you be of service here?” She replied with a sigh, “I’ll teach.” Her new classroom appeared, this time with a much different set-up. 15 students. Books, papers, pencils, pens, computers with current software, clerical time, useful professional development, and more. “What? How? I don’t understand,” she stammered.

The devil responded, “Well really, Mrs. Teacher, think about it. Whenever you asked your elected officials for this kind of classroom, where did they tell you to go?”

As the 2007-2008 school year ends, please consider how to make the future of education even better. Please vote for candidates who understand and support quality education for all students.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Pennywise on the road

Posted on by
Reply

>This isn’t the old “$5 a Day” kind of trip. We’re getting a few deals by booking ahead and traveling in the off-season, and that helps quite a bit.
But we had no idea that gas prices would skyrocket the way they have. Gas is always more expensive in summer’s traveling season and near holidays, but wow. To be pennywise and hopefully not pound foolish, we looked for a few ways to cut the cost of traveling and make up for the $$$ we’ll pour into the gas tank on my minivan.
Snacks: we’re bringing a cooler and a small batch of road snacks. That way we’ll pay regular grocery prices (and even save a few cents with coupons) instead of gas/convenience store mark-ups. I will make coffee in the hotel rooms to fill my travel mug whenever possible instead of (gulp) going to Starbucks.
Tolls: Husband looked into getting an I-Pass. The I-Pass works in several of the states we’ll cross, and we can set one up as we enter Illinois. The I-Pass will get us a discounted toll rate and let us drive in the faster lanes so we don’t have to stop at each toll. (Amigo calls it an “I-Pass Gas.” Grrrr…teen boys!)
Packing: We do need one more suitcase. Luckily for me, my Kohls card had a major % off last weekend, so I used it on this expense. Now the laptop case — I didn’t see a decent one. I hope to find one at a discount store before we go.
When we reach the cottage, we’ll buy food for the week. However, I am packing a box of basics so we don’t get socked at the tiny market in Vacationland. We lived in a Wisconsin Vacationland town early in our life together; we have a good idea how these things work. Buy the specialties and perishables on-site; bring the cereal, coffee, and salt and pepper along.
We already have our passports, our bike rack, and more. I think we’ll be ready. I sure hope so!

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Name or identity crisis?

Posted on by
6

>You might be a substitute teacher if people greet you in the morning by asking, “Who are you today?”

You might be an elementary student if you spend your last days of school cleaning. The cleaning list is fairly long, and I like to start early. My students returned their library books two weeks ago. They turned in their textbooks on Monday. They cleaned the excess papers from their desks almost daily. I sent home notebooks and folders each day as we finished the last science class. The last social studies class. The last math class. And so on, and so on, etc., etc.

Elementary students still get a charge out of bringing home their official laminated name tags. There’s one on the locker, there’s another on the desk, and there might be another on the desk they use in Mr. Science Guy’s room when we switch classes. Taking these home is a simple pleasure. Sometimes, they do something else with the name tags. Like, well, share them.

After I took this picture, Juan distributed the tags around the class. No one went home with his/her own name tag, but everyone went home wearing someone!

Share and Enjoy !

Shares