>A trip to the French place

Posted on March 22, 2008 by Daisy

>Amigo needed underwear. How’s that for a boring excuse for a trip out of the house? Well, he’s a growing teen. So I headed out to the nearest Tar-jay and picked up his necessary items.
Typical of my shopping trips, though, I made a side trip through the bargain aisle for some Easter basket goodies, stopped and thought about a tote bag to replace my broken purse, looked at the latest in Brett Favre commemorative t-shirts, gazed at the rack of spring-fever Milwaukee Brewers shirts, and then went to the checkout. On the way there, I decided to spring for the tote bag. I’ll use it for our trip this summer, if not all summer. Then a bag of peanut M&Ms in spring pastel colors jumped into my cart, and I headed to the checkout for real. I had exact change (yippee! get rid of pennies!), and then I loaded my bags in the van and left.
Next stop: the thrift store down the road. I bought jeans for Amigo and then (does this sound familiar?) got distracted on the way to the checkout by a garden display. I bought seeds in a brand I’ve never used before. Most look usable, but I didn’t bother to put on my glasses, so any fine print escaped me. I hope they grow! Next, I noticed the book aisle right next to the checkout. I bought (gulp) three. Then I felt guilty for buying used books because the authors don’t get paid for resales, so I checked out. Finally.
So instead of coming home with just one bag of underwear, I carried in two bags from Tar-jay and one heavy bag from Goodwill. And I didn’t bring my own bags, either, darn it. I’ve got to do better on that count.

Next job: fill minivan with gas before prices go up again. What else will I find there? Coffee, perhaps? Mmm. That sounds like an errand for me.

>spring fever

Posted on March 18, 2008 by Daisy

>I want to plant my garden. Unfortunately, it’s still snow-covered. After that stage, it’ll be a mud puddle for several weeks before I can even set foot in it to spread the compost and convince husband to run a rototiller through the ground.
That doesn’t stop me from thinking, though. Husband came home from the grocery store with a small squash, reminding me of his personal goal to eat more vegetables, and also reminding me that if he likes squash, we could plant more than zucchini this year.
I also found a great recipe for the crockpot that includes spinach — lots of spinach. I could grow that, too. There’s a nice little connection between the pet rabbits and my garden: if I grow too much, they’ll eat it. If I don’t grow enough for the humans to enjoy, the rabbits will still eat it. It’s a win-win. The parsley and the lettuce I grow primarily for them, even though I enjoy adding it to my own salads.
So I hinted to the Husband that he and the kids could make me happy on Mother’s Day by getting everything I need for the garden. I suppose I need to make a list, then. Lists R Us, here goes.
Tomatoes. Always. Big ones and little ones.
Peppers. Green bell peppers, red chili peppers. I wouldn’t turn down red or yellow peppers, either, if they’ll grow in our rather dense soil.
Broccoli or cauliflower. We’ll eat the “fruits” and the rabbits will eat the leaves and the stems.
Lettuce. Parsley. Spinach.
Stringless Pole Beans, green! And how about yellow bush beans to provide ground cover and give us the pleasure of Packer beans when the pre-season starts?
Zucchini. It seems like I either have feast or famine with this squash. We gave them away at our rummage sale in August, free with any purchase. People thought we were kidding until we handed them a squash on their way down the driveway.
Carrots. They don’t grow well in our thick soil, but the rabbits love the greens. Every time I thin them, the bunnybuns get a treat. To them, it’s like candy.
The green onions and chives will come up on their own. So will the rhubarb around the corner. The wild raspberries? The birds beat me to them last summer. Maybe I’ll have better luck this year.
All this makes it sound like we live in the country and have a huge yard. Nope. City house, less than a mile from downtown in our lovely small metropolis, with a small but decent backyard. Right now that backyard is covered with melting snow, and lots of it. I can glimpse the mud and brown grass at the edges, which means there is a growing season on the way.
I love our Wisconsin winters, but I’m really looking forward to spring.

>Simplify? Easier said than done.

Posted on March 14, 2008 by Daisy

>Save, share, simplify. It’s a little like reduce, reuse, and recycle: it’s a good slogan, but it takes effort to put it into practice.
Our school holds a sale of used books to help fund their trip to camp. The books are donated, so the sale is 100% profit, and the kids and parents who buy are happy because the prices are low. It’s a win-win.
We swap DVDs with friends and family instead of renting. Yes, it means we buy our favorites (or receive them as gifts) in the first place, but we only buy movies we really like. The best part? No overdue fees.
The simplify piece is the hardest for me. I’ve been cleaning out rather than saving lately. Old books go to my classroom collection or to the school sale. Children’s toys went into the rummage sale last August, and since then more have gone to Goodwill and the thrift store.
Lack of storage space gives us trouble when saving. Our aging Victorian home was built with few closets. We’ve added a linen closet and revamped our own bedroom closet spaces. We tuck a few things in the attic, but it’s not very big, either.
So I might look into the new Zwaggle, a site for parents who want to do their share to give back, both to the environment and to others. My question will be: are there other families with teens, especially disabled teens? I’ll be looking for Braille items this time around or a source that would like some of the Braille books Amigo has finished. They’re too good to throw away, but they take up enormous amounts of space that we just don’t have.

This blog blast suggested by Parent Bloggers Network and Zwaggle. New members who sign up through the invitation link (above) will get extra Zoinks, or Zwaggle points.

>shoulds are bogus, or good intentions pave to road to you-know-where

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Daisy

I should compost year round.

The reality: it’s too cold in our lovely winters. A banana peel placed in the bin in December will still look like a banana peel in April.

The end result: I feel mildly guilty throwing away coffee grounds, orange peels, and other biodegradables. Sigh.

I should have taken my own bags to the bookstore last weekend.

The reality: I didn’t. I had the bags sitting out on my dresser, and then I got caught up in my search for gift cards. I left without the cloth bags.

The end result: I left without the cloth bags. I realized it when we were checking out. Fortunately, I only needed one plastic bag. All in all, that’s not bad, but I really intend to make a habit of turning down the one-use plastics.

I should be exercising regularly.

The reality: I’m not. I was all set to start and then I got sick.

The end result: This too shall pass. Amigo has set a goal of exercising weekly, and I’m going to join him. Just — not today.

I should be eating healthier foods.

The reality: I’m feeling lousy and reaching for comfort.

The end result: I continue to pretend that lemon bars have enough vitamin C to have some nutritional value.

I should be resting and drinking herbal tea.

The reality: I’m wasting time blogging and drinking diet orange soda.

The end result: liquids are liquids, and they’ll help rehydrate my aching body and drippy nose. (More than you wanted to know, eh?)

Knowing that Husband missed three days of work with this virus, I should have made sub plans in advance.

The reality: Monday is a relatively easy day with a decent amount of prep time. I used my time to write sub plans for Tuesday and rest then.

The end result: It’s true. I saw the doc on Tuesday, and she told me I’d be sick for the week. Maybe I should have … no, let’s not start that again. I think I’ll reach for more ice water and yogurt.

>Making the healthier easier

Posted on February 1, 2008 by Daisy

>It’s a little like Supermom meeting her Kryptonite: time. If time is money and money is time, families rarely have enough of either.
Healthy Living vs. Easy Living is like that; it’s easier said than done.
Last night, even though I’d vowed to cook from scratch more often, even though I’d declared I would make more nutritious and low fat suppers, and even though there was a package of tilapia in the freezer, I gave in to my exhaustion and threw a package of breaded chicken patties in the oven instead. Oh, it was was easy, but it was a guilt trip in the making, so I ate a homemade cookie for dessert to make me feel better.
When Parent Bloggers Network announced their blog blast this week on the topic of healthier living, I thought about posts I’ve already written in the first month of this brand new year. SMART goals. Locavore food choices. “Me” time. Even safety on the ice! Well, sort of.
The most likely way to encourage me to cook and eat healthier is to make it easy. Despite having tilapia in the freezer and knowing it doesn’t take long to cook, I didn’t do it. I wimped out, as my kids would say, based on the time and energy necessary to make healthy side dishes. With that experience in mind, here’s my plan.
*Keep healthy sides around as well as healthy, easy-to-cook lean meats and fish.
*Plan ahead more often.
*Bake (Homemade bread! Good cookies! Yum!) on weekends to prepare sides and healthier snacks in advance.
*Cook vegetables for the adults, even though the teen often refuses to eat them. He might grow up and eat healthy some time. A mom can dream!
*Check out the site Parent Bloggers Network suggested, Kroger online, for recipes, guidelines, safe preparation habits, and more.

This blog blast was suggested by the Parent Bloggers Network and Kroger online.

>But will it grow?

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Daisy

>Winter, lovely winter. The snow softly drifting across the yard, the sounds of power snowblowers muffled by the television news announcing school closings (in my dreams, at least), and the crashing of icicles falling from the eaves.
Or the dripping of icicles from the eaves followed by the vision of puddles frozen solid on the steps and front porch, making getting to the school bus a dangerous escapade.
After Amigo survived the adventure mentioned above, I made my way back to the garage to look for rock salt or other ice-melting compounds. I was fairly certain we had run out after the last storm, so when I dug into a big bucket of sand and lo and behold, found a familiar looking white bag with red lettering. I dug in my mittened hands, grabbed a fistful, and scattered it all over the front porch and steps.
Later that day, I emailed Husband at work and asked him if we had a bucket we could keep on the front porch with a little rock salt in it. He said sure, but we were out of the stuff, so he’d stop on the way home and stock up. Until then, I should use the biodegradable kitty litter that would absorb excess moisture and provide some texture to the ice, giving us a little traction in the process.
Out of it? I replied. Then what’s in the bag that’s on top of the gray sand bucket?
He didn’t know. Neither did I.
After school, I checked on the front porch so that Amigo could get in the house without slipping. What was this stuff? It looked like — birdseed? Curiosity got the best of me, and I went looking in the garage. With the benefit of wakefulness and a full day’s worth of caffeine, I took a good look at the white bag with red print. Then I laughed out loud.
It was lawn fertilizer — an old bag of a product we don’t even use any more.
That’s what happens when I try to be efficient pre-caffeine on an early Monday morning.

>What’s a locavore?

Posted on January 24, 2008 by Daisy

>Husband, Mr. Word Person and crossword puzzle addict, was listening to a show on NPR about new words coined in 2007. We laughed at “w00t” and talked about a few others, and he mentioned “locavore.” He thought I’d like the word.
I do like the word and the concept. It makes me think, and that’s a good thing in today’s world. A locavore, according to Oxford, follows “…a trend in using locally grown ingredients, taking advantage of seasonally available foodstuffs that can be bought and prepared without the need for extra preservatives.” If you’re worried about your carbon footprint, eating local also minimizes the need for transportation that ships the food over miles and miles of roads or rails, spewing carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.
That sounds rather radical, and my inflammatory choice of words makes it more so. I like the philosophy of eating local. The reality is harder. If I choose to increase consuming locally, it’ll be tough in the winter. Summer, it’ll be easy.
Here are a few steps we’re already taking along the locavore route. We shop at a farmers’ market, I have a decent vegetable garden, we can buy local produce easily. I freeze what I can; there is plenty of diced rhubarb and little grated zucchini in my (now functional) freezer.
Meat and bread are harder. When we buy from local bakers, is that enough? Or do we need to be sure they’re getting their raw materials locally? When I bake my own bread (in my lovely bread machine), do my raw materials need to be locally milled as well?
And what about produce that doesn’t grow locally, but has nutritional value? I’m thinking of the cases of oranges and grapefruit that I buy from the local music department’s fundraiser every year. This becomes a staple of my winter diet, and I hope the extra vitamin C helps keep the all-too-common colds away.
As with all green philosophies, I’ll use this one when I can. I’m sure I won’t be a perfect locavore, but I’ll work it into my family’s life little by little. We’ll make an impact. We’ll think globally and act, or at least eat, locally when it’s possible.

>The freezer just died.

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Daisy

>Let me explain. The new, small chest freezer with a big red bow on the top was a Christmas present. No, I’m not interested in anyone telling me that a freezer can’t be a gift; I like it. It’s small, it’s energy efficient, it fits in an area convenient to the kitchen, it’s perfect. I got my husband an ice cream maker, so we’re even, okay?
And since it was my “gift” a mere two weeks ago, this lovely appliance is still under warranty.
But…it’s a weekend. It’s a playoff weekend. Husband is working sixteen hours minimum today, and will work close to that tomorrow. If the freezer needs to be moved and physically taken back to the store, my aching back and I are out of luck.
Oh, yes, and the food. Luckily, the ice bottles in the bottom are still frozen, so I’m leaving it closed and hoping nothing thaws too completely. If it hasn’t re-started by tomorrow morning, I’ll move the most perishable items to the regular freezer and park the rest in a cooler outside on the deck. There must be some perks to living in the region of so-called frozen tundra.
I’m reacting to this stress in a typical way; I did extra cleaning and housework. The rabbits are fed, their boxes are cleaned, the laundry is started, the recycling is out, and the dishwasher is ready to run. It’s like “nesting instinct,” but no one is expecting. At least, no one is expecting any guests or new family members.
I think I’m pushing myself to exhaustion so I’ll be tired enough to sleep despite the worry.
It’s almost working.

Update: Freezer is online again — literally! It turned out to be an outlet that was turned off at the switch, an outlet that I didn’t know was dependent on a switch. Whew. I’m glad it was a simple solution. I’m also glad that Husband got it figured out before we lost any food. 🙂 Now we can relax and watch the playoffs. Or is that an oxymoron?

>White Christmas? Blue Christmas? Green Christmas?

Posted on November 27, 2007 by Daisy

>The tune that gets stuck in my head is the middle one, and it’s always an Elvis style voice, too. “I’ll have a bloooooo Christmas, without you…” sniff, sniff, sob…oh, the sadness of being left by his baby at the holidays!
But seriously, folks, people are already thinking about holiday shopping and some have already started. Um, yes, I have. And others have been thinking about how to make their Christmas more green this year. Leah at the Lean, Green Family asked commenters to share their own families green traditions at holiday time. I talked about getting the most out of wrapping paper in this post last year. There are other ways of being environmentally conscious on Christmas.
Shop online or combine shopping trips. Carbon Footprint may be the trendy phrase, but it’s true that using additional gas costs more money and expels more pollution into our airspace. Driving fewer miles is cost-effective and eco-conscious.
Shipping packages? Use paper from your home shredder instead of foam packing materials. If you’ve shredded it well enough, it won’t give away any personal information, and it makes a great cushion for gift boxes. It’s recyclable at the receiving end, too.
Here’s a unique story of reduce, reuse, and recycle of holiday materials. Our Christmas tree gets reused. No, it’s not a live tree that gets planted in the yard. It’s not artificial, either.
We have neighbors who hunt, fish, and remain outdoors and active year-round. In our neck of the woods, people go ice fishing and sturgeon spearing. The neighbors are part of a group that collects these trees as people put them out on the curb. The “used” trees will become a path, a guide line that marks a safer path across the ice on Lake Winnebago. By sticking to a track that has been tested for its thickness, spearers and ice fishermen can feel a little more secure as they travel to their shanties.
If our tree didn’t go out on the lake, the city crews would pick it up and feed it through their chipper, where it would eventually end up part of the park department’s mulch. The tree gives us pleasure, after which it can be put to another use, which pleases me, too.

>Is it procrastination if I’m getting other work done?

Posted on October 13, 2007 by Daisy

>I should be correcting the chapter 1 tests and analyzing the chapter 2 pretests and planning my next Social Studies unit.

Instead, I…

fed rabbit and refilled her pellet container
sorted laundry
washed four loads of laundry
hung one load to dry
put another load in the dryer
started a loaf of bread in the breadmaker
unloaded the dishwasher and put the clean dishes away
reloaded the dishwasher with dirty dishes
brought the kitchen waste (including coffee grounds and filter) to the compost
turned the compost (mmm, the compost is such a luscious deep brown…)
served lunch to myself and Amigo
made beds
got the winter outerwear from storage
put the winter gloves, hats, and mittens on the deck to air out (to get rid of the basement storage odor)

And still on my list:

bake cookies
clean rabbit litter box
finish laundry (dry, fold, put away)
give Amigo a ride to the homecoming dance
do the grocery shopping
pick up Amigo from the homecoming dance
make supper (probably grilled cheese on homemade bread, see above)

Maybe today is housework day, and tomorrow will be schoolwork. That’s not true procrastination and avoidance, is it?

Compost Happens

Taking care of family, garden, and coffee and sharing it with the online world

Tag Archives: it’s not easy being green

>A trip to the French place

>spring fever

>Simplify? Easier said than done.

>shoulds are bogus, or good intentions pave to road to you-know-where

>Making the healthier easier

>But will it grow?

>What’s a locavore?

>The freezer just died.

>White Christmas? Blue Christmas? Green Christmas?

>Is it procrastination if I’m getting other work done?

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