UPDATE in 2016: This trusty recipe has now carried me through seven summers, another low-blood-pressure pregnancy, another two years of breastfeeding (which increases the risk of dehydration), and several digestive illnesses! Today I've updated some references in this post and linked up with Real Food Friday, where my recent post on using up the vegetables … Continue reading Homemade Electrolyte Replenisher (Sports Drink)
Get your Dawn Scarab T-shirt today!
Daniel recently started using a small digital picture frame as an alarm clock, to help him slay the snooze-button sloth by awakening him with a glowing image as well as music. (Yes, this picture frame plays an MP3. As a picture frame, it's absurdly fancy. As an alarm clock, it's pretty cool.) It's working!!! He … Continue reading Get your Dawn Scarab T-shirt today!
FREE Earth-friendly Snack Plates!
Simply wash and reuse those plastic trays from frozen meals. If you are so environmentally aware and/or thrifty that you never buy frozen meals, I bet you know somebody who does and could ask that person to save some of the plates for you. Personally, although I try to plan home-cooked meals that we can … Continue reading FREE Earth-friendly Snack Plates!
Tips for a Tiny Kitchen
I saw this article on how to make the most of a small kitchen--with over 200 helpful comments!--and realized I have learned some things about this in my years of making do with smallish kitchens. The 3 places we've lived in the past 15 years all had kitchens under 100 square feet, but we were … Continue reading Tips for a Tiny Kitchen
Spaghetti Sauce, May 7 Version
Well . . . I decided last summer that I was going to write down what I put into every batch of spaghetti sauce, to give better inspiration to readers learning the sauce-making skill set . . . and then for various reasons I didn't do it with the next 3 batches. But here's another … Continue reading Spaghetti Sauce, May 7 Version
Simple Solution to Six-year-old’s Sleep Situation (coming into parents’ bed)
(I had to add some words that don't start with S to help search engines find this article!) Our son is six years old and still kind of wishes Mama would stay with him all the time he's sleeping. He understands that grownups don't need as much sleep as children and have other things to … Continue reading Simple Solution to Six-year-old’s Sleep Situation (coming into parents’ bed)
Spring Sale Vegetables for Supper…and Breakfast!
The sale items in the produce departments of our local supermarkets for the last few weeks have included kale, Vidalia onions (at half the typical onion price--must be a bumper crop!), mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. We have favorite recipes using all of these ingredients, but I came up with a new one on the spur … Continue reading Spring Sale Vegetables for Supper…and Breakfast!
A family trip to Wheeling, West Virginia
Today is the backwards edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, when writers get to ask for help, so I'll start with a question: We are planning to visit New York City this summer. Our son is six years old. What are some things we should be sure to see, do, eat, etc.? I visited my grandparents in … Continue reading A family trip to Wheeling, West Virginia
A Half-Fast Lent
Happy Easter! Despite my positive past experiences with changing my behavior for Lent, this year I didn't give up anything for those six weeks. Frankly, I kind of felt like I couldn't handle any more self-discipline, since my schedule was so packed with work, meetings, household errands and projects, and trying to be some kind … Continue reading A Half-Fast Lent
7 Things You Oughta Be Able to Do at Your Age
The idea for this article came from a friend of ours who is fifty-one years old and is becoming increasingly disgusted with twentysomething guys who are in worse physical condition than he is and, when he comments on it, mumble about how they can't afford to join a gym. They seem to be totally blind … Continue reading 7 Things You Oughta Be Able to Do at Your Age
Easy, Earth-Friendly Way to Clean a Microwave Oven!
Today is the Spring Cleaning Tips edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, and I'm hardly an expert cleaner . . . but I actually went on a little kitchen-cleaning binge last night and utilized a tip that I want to share! I believe I originally saw this in "Hints from Heloise." When the interior of your microwave … Continue reading Easy, Earth-Friendly Way to Clean a Microwave Oven!
Things Not To Do: Cooked Fruit Edition
Don't cook cantaloupe. Most other kinds of fruit can be cooked and will still taste good, maybe even better. Cooking is an ideal way to use scraps or fruit that's too old to eat fresh. But not if it's cantaloupe. Cooking makes cantaloupe fragrant in a bad way. It doesn't smell like food anymore. It's … Continue reading Things Not To Do: Cooked Fruit Edition
Important Word to Teach a Toddler
When our son Nicholas was just beginning to talk and simultaneously expanding his interests in climbing on things and stacking things in tall piles, his father Daniel taught him an important word. This word summed up a major reason to be cautious about climbing that thing or stacking that way, in one word instead of … Continue reading Important Word to Teach a Toddler
Two Weeks of Meatless Menus for Late Winter
It's Lent, which means that a lot of omnivores are keeping meatless Fridays, and some have given up meat for the whole six weeks. Daniel and I used to eat a lot more meat than we do now, and giving up meat for Lent in 2002 was one of the biggest steps in our journey. … Continue reading Two Weeks of Meatless Menus for Late Winter
An Eagle Landing on the MOON!!!
Sometimes a fact that's been right in front of me all my life nonetheless fails to penetrate my consciousness. This particular fact may be one of which all my readers are already aware. In fact, you may think it's quite unremarkable. But it just now came to my attention, and I am flabbergasted, so I … Continue reading An Eagle Landing on the MOON!!!
Religious Education with Ramona Quimby
I'm an Episcopalian now, but my parents joined a Unitarian Universalist church when I was seven years old, so I was raised in that denomination. There were many things about it that weren't compatible with my spirituality, but I did learn at least one valuable lesson there: Some secular books contain wisdom and moral dilemmas … Continue reading Religious Education with Ramona Quimby
It’s high school musical season!
No, no, I don't mean those tawdry movies--I mean the musical theater productions put on by many real-life high schools every spring. My family sees at least one every year, and we always have a great time, for just $3 to $10 per person with all the profits going to a good cause. The amazing … Continue reading It’s high school musical season!
7 Continuum Concept Experiences
For years now, I've been meaning to write something about how The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff relates to our parenting style and a lot of my life experiences. It's a big idea, and I have a lot of scattered notes stashed in a draft post, but so far I haven't even gotten around to … Continue reading 7 Continuum Concept Experiences
Costco vs. Gordon Food Service
It's Works-for-Me Wednesday! It's also Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, so you might want to check out last year's suggestions for Lenten fasts that help the environment or my musings on vanity and seeking help. I've been a member of Costco for some time, and the money we save by buying some things … Continue reading Costco vs. Gordon Food Service
Vain is the Deep of Man
About 14 years ago, when I was new to the church where I'm now a well-established member and new to living with my boyfriend, I walked into church on the first Sunday of Lent with the dry mouth and raw eyes and heavy heart of a person whose Saturday night had involved too many tears … Continue reading Vain is the Deep of Man
The Earthling's Handbook 