I've been rereading books lately (including The Geography of Nowhere, reviewed here) and reading magazines, but here are two books I read with my kids in the past month. The Giver by Lois Lowry My seventh-grade son Nicholas read this book in school and then, coincidentally, was given a copy by his sixth-grade cousin who'd … Continue reading The Giver and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [book reviews]
This is Advent, the season of waiting. We wait in faith for for the light to conquer the darkness, and we wait in suspense to see what gifts we will receive for Christmas or Hanukkah and whether our gifts to others will be received with delight. The year I was six, I experienced a very … Continue reading That Time Giant Ducks Fell Out of the Shower
Earthlings have been discarding too much plastic too irresponsibly for the past five decades, and a lot of it has ended up in our oceans. Plastic never goes away. It just swirls around, breaking into smaller pieces, harming marine animals. method, a company making cleaners that are safer for the Earth and human health, teamed … Continue reading Hand Soap of the Zygons [method ocean plastic soap review]
Improve soil quality and prevent erosion without spending a cent! Just take a few minutes to collect this free resource from your neighborhood.
It's been several months since I've posted book reviews. Here's what I've been reading.... Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal This novel has an extremely interesting structure, on which is hung a story that doesn't need to be told this way, if it needs to be told at all. Each chapter is … Continue reading Time Travel, Story Structure, and Unconvincing Women [book reviews]
In our 17 summers of buying a share in a community-sponsored agriculture farm, we've developed a 5-step plan for making good use of our weekly veggie crate--but our long-range planning still isn't perfect. When I put "carrots" on the shopping list in late summer, Daniel bought the 5-pound bag because it was the best value … Continue reading Can you eat carrots that look like THIS?!
It's been a tough year for our garden. I'm going to write more about it someday, but at the moment we're busy digging, planting, laying a new stone path, building a new raised bed, and visualizing a beautiful garden next year! Meanwhile, here is an infographic to motivate us by pointing out the physical and emotional … Continue reading Gardening is Good for You! {infographic}
We Earthlings are planning to renovate and slightly expand our small, shabby, 1950s kitchen, so I'm very interested in this guest post by Sofia Lockett, a freelance writer based in Auckland, who is passionate about travel, technology and innovation. Sofia has written for New Zealand businesses such as seacontainers.co.nz. Kitchens are the heart of the … Continue reading Eco-Friendly Kitchen Renovations
We’ve raised our kids to be mostly vegetarian. We have fish once every week or two, but we never cook any other meat at home. We sometimes eat meat in restaurants or in other people’s homes. So it’s really more accurate to say we eat a low-meat diet than to say we’re vegetarian. It’s more … Continue reading I let my vegetarian kid cook a steak.
A few years ago, some people from Alumni Relations invited me out to lunch so they could ask for my perspective (about 20 years after graduation) on what my Carnegie Mellon education has meant to me. I was flattered, and it was such an interesting question to consider that I've thought about it many times … Continue reading What I Really Learned in College
Are you the parent struggling to leave your child's school each day as he clings to your legs, screaming and crying? Is every morning a struggle to get yourself ready for work and your kid ready for childcare, while she delays in every way imaginable until you're shrieking in frustration, and then she looks at … Continue reading Coping with a Clingy Child
Today is the first day of seventh grade for my son Nicholas and the first day in the new Bigger Sprouts classroom for my three-year-old daughter Lydia! Even if you're not in school and have no kids in your life, this is a great time of year to start something new. As the leaves begin … Continue reading Go Green in 2017: Something New in September!
My brother got me two books about cities for my birthday--one fiction and one nonfiction, both great books with great covers! Here they are, along with reviews of the other books I've read recently. Walkable City by Jeff Speck I love living in a walkable urban neighborhood! This book by a city planner told me a … Continue reading Walkable City, Visible City, and 4 more book reviews
This is a guest post by Justin Havre, a Calgary native and owner of Justin Havre & Associates. A home's carbon footprint is its impact on the environment, measured in the amount of carbon dioxide released in the process of operating that home. Excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere traps heat, accelerating the process of global climate … Continue reading How to Reduce Your Home’s Carbon Footprint
This is an honest review. I received a discount on this product, and if you join Grove Collaborative using my affiliate link I will receive a discount on my future purchases there, but I was not paid to promote this product. All opinions stated here are my own. For the past two years, I've been … Continue reading Acure Brightening Facial Scrub review
My three-year-old Lydia and I recently enjoyed a picture book from our local library, Jacob's New Dress by Sarah & Ian Hoffman, illustrated by Chris Case. Jacob is a preschool boy who enjoys wearing dresses from the costume box but is criticized by his classmate Christopher. His mom is kind about his hurt feelings, but when … Continue reading Every school needs a Jacob!
We save money on fair-trade organic coffee by buying five-pound bags. Larger bags also mean less garbage per pound of coffee, but those metallized plastic bags are still an environmental problem: Most recycling programs won’t take them, and they're not biodegradable. For several years, I collected coffee bags—our own and those discarded by friends, co-workers, my … Continue reading Recycling Coffee Bags with TerraCycle
I'm nervous posting this because of the freakout when Lenore Skenazy let her 9-year-old ride public transit alone. I don't want to be the next "America's Worst Mom"! But I think it's important to talk about how to approach children's independence safely and gradually so that they learn the skills they'll need as adults. Nicholas is … Continue reading Why My 12-year-old Is Riding Public Transit Alone
Years ago, Daniel and I made friends with this guy named Vinnie who lived in one of the apartments over the garages behind the cluster of rowhouses where we were living at the time. His apartment was small and shabby, but he'd chosen it because it had a large yard, and he loved gardening. In … Continue reading That Time I Bought Ladybugs by Mail
As a VIP member of Grove Collaborative, I get a free item or special deal every month or two. Recently, we've tried two new natural toothpastes. Based on our 20 years' experience trying natural and Earth-friendly hygiene products and cleaning products, here's our evaluation of these two minty mouth-cleaning options. This is an honest review. We … Continue reading A Tale of Two Toothpastes
