Category Archives: family life

>Inch by inch, Green is a cinch.

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>BlogHer asked members to comment on ways they’ve been “greening” their lifestyles. The post has a sponsor, of course. Doesn’t everybody? I started to comment, realized I’d forgotten my password, and vowed to come back. As time passed and life went on, I couldn’t help but think that my recent Green Growth couldn’t possibly fit in a comment box.

You can tell from my blogs’ names that I’m an environmentalist at heart. Compost Happens, A Mother’s Garden of Verses… no doubt about this blogger’s philosophies. Not at all. Then look through the archives: start with Mom’s Playing in the Dirt Again! and then check out others under the labeles of garden and It’s not easy being green. Green isn’t just a color; it’s a way of life.

I’m not “crunchy” green in the hippy sense, though. I gave in to Husband’s desire to hire a lawn service. We use a clothes dryer, not a clothesline. Our home is air conditioned, although in our part of Wisconsin we are fortunate not to need it often. I drive a minivan, too. Hey, I’m a mom of a teen and college student. We’re always filling the back of the minivan with someone or something.

The pale olive comparison (see above) is here so readers will know that green, like any lifestyle, has limits and levels. Seriously, it’s easier than many people think. Teacher friends like to say “Inch by inch, learning’s a cinch. Yard by yard, learning’s hard.” Incorporating environmental actions step by step, inch by inch, can be easy.

I garden. This section of lawn doesn’t grow grass, doesn’t need mowing, doesn’t need any chemicals. It provides delicious and fresh vegetables for much of the summer.
We compost. Composting is easy, it cuts down on our family garbage, and it produces a nice soil additive each spring for the garden.
We conserve energy by using a programmable thermostat, minimizing the use of the clothes dryer, washing clothes in warm or cold water, and more.
There are more, many more, environmentally friendly practices in my home and family. Really, it’s quite easy to bring green living practices into everyday use.

Back to the top. It would be cheating to simply list the above practices in the comment box on BlogHer’s question. These are not new; they’re habits we’ve built into our lives for years. New and recent additions in my family’s eco-conscious behaviors do exist. For example:

We stopped buying paper napkins last fall. I keep them on hand (well, we haven’t used up the package that was in the pantry when I set this goal!), but we have switched almost 100% to cloth napkins. This was a frugal choice: I bought the first set from a store’s going out of business sale, and picked up a set of holiday napkins in new condition from a thrift store before Christmas. I wash them with the rest of the dirty clothes and towels each weekend – no extra laundry, no additional water/ heat energy used. This decision was so easy I wonder why I didn’t start years ago!

I set a goal last fall of buying No New Wrapping Paper. My family resisted a little, so I didn’t push it on them, but I predict they’ll come around. I reuse gift bags, make tags from last year’s cards, and collect rather than recycle packing material. It worked; I bought no new wrapping paper, and (don’t tell them I noticed), my family didn’t come home with any new paper, either.

My husband and I make a conscious effort to pay attention to buying local, especially in foods. That’s tough in a cold climate like ours, and we’re hoping to freeze more of our garden produce in order to avoid buying produce imported from out of the country. This is a nutrition decision as well as a commitment to minimizing our carbon footprint, as well as noting that local and fresh simply tastes better.

So, BlogHers, are you satisfied with my contribution? I almost hope not. I’m committed to living lightly on the earth, and there are many easy ways to lighten my footprint. In my future I predict a second compost bin, a rain barrel or two for the garden, and possibly a food dehydrater to make the most of my garden yield. Spinning the rabbits’ shedded fur into yarn might not be possible, but I know that inch by inch, my family and I will weave the green consciousness into action.

And action, after all, is what environmentalism is about.

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>It’s not easy being clean and green

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>Simple weekend pleasures.
A long shower, warm water, not needing to rush to get ready for school.
In winter, showers are usually short so as not to over dry my skin. Today I took my time, breathed in the humid air (good for my recently healed sinuses), washed and moisturized. Don’t worry, this is not a TMI (Too Much Information) type of post. I’m just reveling in the simple pleasure of being able to take my time.
I like to buy decent shampoos, salon products, but they cost more than the drugstore variety. This often balances out, however, with the quality. The EcoStore shampoo and conditioner in my shower are good quality, and therefore I only need to use a little. There are no fillers (their company goal is No Nasty Chemicals) so the small amount of shampoo I used was plenty to clean my hair.
Conditioner is a little harder. I have dry hair, and it’s winter. That’s not just any winter, but a harsh Wisconsin winter which equals dry, static-filled air and drier, static-filled hair. I ordered EcoStore’s vanilla shampoo and conditioner because they’re designated as being good for dry hair like mine.
I’ve been using Ecostore’s vanilla shampoo and conditioner for a week, and the results so far are good. The conditioner is light and rinses out easily, yet detangles and smooths my thin fly-away locks. Poetic enough for you? It’s all true.
Back to simple pleasures. A somewhat longer than usual shower, steaming up the mirrors, wasting water – I don’t do this often. A little body butter afterwards, and I felt like a whole new person. I’m not the grungy mama in her sweats doing laundry any more; I’m the clean, green mama ready to plan the garden.
If only the garden weren’t still covered by two feet of snow!

Ecostore sent me the small bottles of shampoo and conditioner to sample and review. The products are good quality and they shipped quickly; I’ll definitely buy more from their company. Good variety, reasonable prices, effective products, and environmentally sensitive? Works for me.

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>Almost a Normal Saturday

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>A “normal” Saturday:
I get up first, start coffee, start schoolwork, start laundry, stay in pajamas as long as I can.
Amigo sets his alarm for 8:00 so he can listen to his favorite shows on NPR while relaxing in bed in his pajamas.
Husband might actually get up and get dressed — or he might stretch out with the newspaper and listen to Public Radio with Amigo.

This week was different. Amigo’s high school music festival was today, and he was scheduled to sing at (gasp) 8:00 AM. A teenager! Singing! For a festival adjudicator! At the ghastly, uncivilized hour of 8! AM! So this morning:

6:30 – I got up, fed rabbit, cleaned up, got dressed, warmed up on piano because I was accompanying Amigo’s solo.
7:00 – Husband got up, got dressed, got himself looking human, joined us in the strange Saturday morning routine.
7:00 – Amigo dragged himself out of bed, got dressed, got a little juice to drink, then joined me at the piano to warm up his young cambiata tenor voice. Yes, this young tenor had to reach a high F at the peak of the song “Shenandoah” at 8 AM.
7:25 – Grandma arrived, we piled into the minivan, headed for the festival held on the other side of town at my very own alma mater.
7:40 – We got lucky for parking. Husband dropped us off on a plowed sidewalk (Yippee!) directly in front of the school and then backed up into the handicapped parking stall and placed Amigo’s parking permit on the mirror. This was a concern; the high school is in an old neighborhood, and there is very little parking near the school itself.
7:47 – We found the room in which Amigo was to open the day, warmed him up again, let him hear the room’s acoustics and the difference in pianos, and then took off in search of a water fountain for a quick wetting of the whistle before his actual performance.
8:00 – He sang well. I know I’m his mom, so I’m biased, but he sang well. Whatever he earns in a rating, he did himself proud.
8:10 – We were back in the minivan and headed for breakfast at a local pancake place, Blueberry Hill. Amigo’s excitement spilled over literally in the form of a little pineapple juice on his pants and a bit of syrup on the table, but he didn’t mind. He gave Grandma a hard time about ordering only one pancake and decaf coffee (“Come on, Grandma, it’s a special occasion!”) but the food was all good and we enjoyed the mini-celebration.
8:55 – We were back in the minivan and on our way home, a USA Today in my hands for a special treat. Yes, I like reading a print newspaper. It’s a simple pleasure that I’ll miss if print newspapers ever go away – and I don’t believe this particular media will ever completely disappear.

And now, with the exception of the usual pajama attire, we’re all back at home doing laundry, schoolwork, cleaning the bunny cage, and listening to a little public radio.

Normal can handle a few glitches once in a while, especially in the form of a special performance and breakfast out with family.

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>Not a pandemic, just a bother.

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>Evidence that I’m feeling under the weather:

  • There’s a beverage bar at my side: a cup of coffee, a half-full can of Fresca, and a just- started bottle of water.
  • I have two boxes of tissue within reach: one plain, one with lotion.
  • It’s 2:00 on a weekend afternoon and I haven’t logged onto Plurk yet. No energy.
  • The floor is a mess with stuffing from the footstool cushion (rascally rabbit), and I don’t care.
  • One hearing aid is out because the ear is so fluid-filled it hurts.
  • I’m curled up on the couch next to a vaporizer, and I actually watched a cooking show. Now I know some new tricks for cracking and separating eggs: if and when I get the energy to cook or bake.
  • I haven’t opened my schoolbag to take out the spelling tests or other goodies I have in it. If I rest enough today, maybe tomorrow.
  • It’s snowing heavily outside, and I don’t really care. As long as I don’t have to go out, all is well.

Evidence that Husband is a tolerant soul in the face of illness:

  • He cleaned the rascally rabbit’s litter box – without being asked.
  • He brought out the perfect blanket so I could make myself at home on the couch.
  • He bought me a box of tissue with lotion. He hates tissue with lotion. This is purely for me.
  • He carried all the laundry baskets down to the basement. He knows he’ll probably have to carry them back upstairs. With my complete lack of energy, folding is as far as I’ll go.
  • He is willing to go to a hockey game with Amigo and leave me home. It’s Teddy Bear Toss time, and they’ll have a blast, but it is more fun with all three of us. I’m sure they’ll come home with stories for me — if I’m awake, that is.

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>A Phone for Amigo

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>Amigo is ready to have and use a cell phone. When La Petite and I got our first family plan, we had simple Panasonic phones with slightly raised buttons. Amigo learned to use mine, knowing which numbers in the phone book needed an up arrow and which needed down. Whenever we traveled, I put him in charge of answering and making calls while I drove.

Then phone technology got fancier, and the buttons became smoother, feeling like one with the phone. Cute, aren’t they? Not so much for Amigo, who is blind. He needs to be able to feel the buttons and find the right numbers to dial. He doesn’t need texting, games, or a camera in his phone. He would, however, enjoy a decent ring tone.

We looked into the Jitterbug. It has a nice handset, operator assistance, and other features that would be useful to him. No cool ring tones, though, a disadvantage for a teenager.

We took him to the AT&T store to check on adding him to our family plan. None of the phones were ideal, with an easy keypad for a tactile user. The clerks knew nothing about speech activation options, and they kept trying to point us toward phones with what they thought were “large” screens, even as we said, “He reads Braille. He can’t see this.”

This seemed to make our decision: the Jitterbug. Then we asked Amigo’s mobility teacher for his opinion, and things got much more complex. He sent us comments and suggestions from blind travelers. Consider the following:

  • “Owasys 22C, a screenless phone with audible caller ID” (and more) which might work with our current provider
  • A fairly ordinary Nokia with Mobile Speak screen reader from AT&T. Mobile Speak was $89 if ordered with the phone, a discount compared to buying the program on its own. The Nokia N75 is not difficult to use and it can be used with voice dial if you prefer.
  • Another visually impaired traveler suggested that a standard cell phone “…can now be set up so that the person wanting to call can push one button and say for example “call Joe Grow” or Call “444-4444” and a digital voice will respond “Did you say Joe Grow” or “did you say 444-4444. When you answer yes, the digital voice responds “calling Joe Grow” or “calling 444-4444″ and the number is dialed. No need to voice train the thing at all.”

Now what? We’ve been sitting on this information since August, hoping something would jump out at us in suggesting “This! This is the phone for your blind teenager!” No such luck; we’re still dithering.

Ideas, people? Links for us? Amigo is very articulate, a good communicator. I know he’ll use the phone and use it well, and he won’t text while driving!

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>I want to ride my bicycle!

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>I don’t have an entry for Scribbit’s write-away contest this month, but the topic, My First Bike, is intriguing. I searched my archives just for fun, and even though I didn’t find anything suitable for this month’s contest, I did find these bike references. Ride on, and enjoy!

(From Shoulds are bogus: The Sequel)
I should use the minivan less, for both financial and environmental reasons.
Reality: I use the city bus with El Grande occasionally, but I could walk more or ride a bike. I don’t have a bike – yet.
End result: I will buy myself a bike with the money I saved by ending my YMCA membership.

(a few weeks later, from No More Excuses)
We (Husband and I) now have “matching” his and hers bicycles!

In a later post, I talked about how close we lived to Lambeau Field when the kids were young, and how La Petite learned to ride a bike in the stadium’s parking lot. She still tells that story, and she’s in college now. It’s part of why she lives, breathes, and bleeds green and gold.

Amigo rides a recumbent three-wheeler to accomodate his vision impairment. We took his three-wheeler and our his ‘n’ hers bikes to Canada last June on our lovely new trailer hitch mounted bike rack.

The same bike rack got in the way and had to be removed as we changed a flat tire on the highway between Lockeporte and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

No, I don’t have time to write about bicycles, mine, Husband’s, or otherwise, but there are plenty of posts that include bikes as part of their stories. Go on, enjoy!

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>Colorful Crockpot Stew

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>Adjust amounts as needed for your family. Tricky, eh? Then I don’t have to be exact.

Vegetables:
carrots
potatoes
onion
celery
peas
corn
spinach

Herbs and spices:
garlic
thyme
parsley

Water or chicken broth (enough to cook veggies, no more)

Chicken breasts, whole, on top

Simmer the entire concoction all day long. Upon arrival home from work, pull chicken out and cut into small stew-sized pieces. Add gravy and/or crm of chicken soup. Mix bisquick biscuits or slice refrigerator biscuits (I used Grands last time, I was lazy); drop on top for dumplings. Let simmer for about an hour. Serve.

Number of people served? That all depends on your amounts. See above.

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>Measuring Up!

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>

Earth Muffin sent me a virtual award. I Measure Up! Since she’s from Illinois, I’ll presume I measure up in the Standard measuring system, not metric. My Canadian friends would measure otherwise. But I digress. Accepting the award requires three steps: here they are.

1. Say something special to the man in your life.

Honey, thanks for putting up with my football fanaticism and my growing green goals. And most of all, for making me laugh when things are down.

2. List six ways to measure success in life.
a. In this economy, keeping the bills paid and food on the table. I feel very fortunate that we’re not struggling when so many others are.
b. Keeping the family intact. We argue, we rant, and then we all hug. We make time for each other and spend time together. That’s no easy feat when one kid is in college and the other in high school. It’s worth the effort.
c. Maintaining a driveway free of snow. Oh, wait, Husband does that. See number one.
d. Slowing down. I’ve been working on dropping responsibilities and commitments instead of taking on more (see note b).
e. Caring for the earth, acting locally in order to make a difference globally. It really is easy being green, taking environmentalism seriously and integrating it into daily living.
f. Seeking that elusive life balance, and maybe someday finding it.

3. Assign this award to five other bloggers.
Passing on awards is always a challenge – not because I don’t know enough deserving bloggers, but because many of them have already been recognized. I’ll give the list a whirl and hope I’m not doubling anyone. Then again, being awarded twice is a good thing!

Margalit at What was I thinking? She faces more challenges than I can imagine with twins the age of my Amigo, she did a great job designing the template for Compost Happens, and she is even more liberal than I am, if that’s possible. I read her every day.

Susan at Farmgirl. Her blogs show the beauty of a life that many of us only dream of, and most of us wouldn’t have the energy and enthusiasm to maintain. She has a wonderful guard dog named — Daisy! How can I not love her?

Kelly at Mocha Momma. We connect over our mutual loves for coffee and for teaching and our respect for Barack Obama. She reminds me that I do make a difference. I hope my students find a mentor like her when they reach high school.

Michelle at Scribbit! Awarding an A-list blogger is a risky business because she’s so busy and so popular, but she’s also very deserving. I enjoy her sense of humor and her unique Sunday recipes. Her tundra is really frozen, not just a metaphor like my Lambeau Field, and she shares great stories of living in the truly frozen north.

Janet, who writes at The Planet of Janet. We chat through Plurk, we contribute to Mid-Century Modern Moms, and we commiserate about the challenges of raising kids who got out of diapers long ago but find other ways to make us clean up their messes.

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>A Friday too strange to be fiction

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>Amigo knew the answer to final jeopardy. Neither of his Wise Old Parents did. The category was Music Legends, and he knew that the People Magazine obit for Johnny Cash was titled “Fade to Black.”

The principal can take one look at me and ask, “What did (insert name here) do this time?” She knows my class so well that I can leave a note on her whiteboard saying, “Wardrobe Malfunction” and she’ll know what’s going on – or what had to be turned inside out.

Two kids kept telling me they had to go to the office because they got in trouble the day before. Problem was, they timed this strategically so that they’d miss music, then math. They never said, “Let’s go to the office at recess.” Uh-uh. Tricky? Not.

I was the only intermediate teacher gutsy enough (or crazy enough) to sign up for the Teacher Act of the talent show…until my neighbor in 6th grade joined me. Don’t tell me to break a leg, though; I’m very literal.

Husband woke up with a rather severe backache and tummy ache. He, um, managed to clear it up before leaving for work. He arrived at the station’s satellite office to find that the sewer was backed up and he needed to call Roto-Rooter to come in and fix it. If this isn’t coincidence, it’s mighty scary.

Honestly, it was the week from you-know-where. Monday is coming much too soon, and carries with it the trauma of a full moon! I hope the upcoming week brings relief – of one type or another.

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