This vegan, gluten-free soup has an interesting flavor, different from most lentil soups yet not too sweet and fruity. It's easy and inexpensive!
Parents of teenagers are still parents!
Last week's Parade magazine feature article summarized some of the scientific findings about adolescent brain development. None of it was news to me, but I work in developmental psychology and read lots of research articles; I thought it was a pretty good article for typical mainstream readers. But this part got me steamed: The phone … Continue reading Parents of teenagers are still parents!
Practical Stocking Stuffers
In my family, Christmas stockings are not just for children! Everybody has a stocking, and we play Santa to each other by stuffing the stockings with little treats when nobody's looking. It's no fair to peek into your stocking before Christmas morning--when we open stocking gifts first thing, before breakfast or even coffee! For the … Continue reading Practical Stocking Stuffers
Recycling Christmas Cheer
Christmas is coming, so now is the time to plan your strategy for setting out less post-Christmas garbage than any other family on your block! (We often achieve that goal, and we're in a mostly Jewish neighborhood.) Reusing things not only saves you money and helps the environment but also creates a treasure trove of … Continue reading Recycling Christmas Cheer
What’s the grossest thing you’ve done to help the environment?
A while back, I got into an online discussion on the topic, "What's the grossest thing you've done to help the environment?" started by someone who thought it was really, really gross that she had swished her smelly dish towels in a mixture of hot water, vinegar, and tea tree oil with her bare hands, … Continue reading What’s the grossest thing you’ve done to help the environment?
How to Do Everything!
This article is linked to the greatest tips edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, where the hostess explains how to get a human on the phone when you call customer service, and more than 178 people have linked to their own helpful tips on how to do all sorts of things. Here are my own greatest tips: … Continue reading How to Do Everything!
Links
Here is my new list of links. Here are the previous ones: September 2008 April 2008 January 2008 November 2007 August 2007 I make no guarantees that any of these links still works. All of them are things I found worth reading at the time, and I hope you'll enjoy them, too! Visit the surreal … Continue reading Links
This Crowded World
Today is the entertaining tips edition of Works-for-Me Wednesday, but I don't feel very well equipped to give advice on entertaining since we don't have guests nearly as often as I'd like; I'm one of the people who needs to read the host's article "Entertaining Even When You're Reluctant" and possibly the book she mentioned, … Continue reading This Crowded World
Running Things into the Ground
We often buy used stuff. Sometimes we buy new, high-quality stuff. Sometimes we buy new, low-priced stuff. What all our stuff has in common is that we wring every last drop of usefulness out of it! If we feel unable to do all the wringing ourselves, we pass it on to someone who can use … Continue reading Running Things into the Ground
Reflections on a Bathroom Renovation
(I really, really want to say "Restroom Renovation" just for the alliteration, but I know this article will be more relevant to people searching for "bathroom renovation," so I'm stuck with this title!) We had our house's main bathroom completely renovated last month. We are thrilled with it and learned some things in the process … Continue reading Reflections on a Bathroom Renovation
Precocious Infant Stories
Another post from the past, written in March 2005. My son will be 3 months old tomorrow and usually sleeps all night except for nursing, but this morning he was awake and complaining 3:30-5:00. When the alarm went off at 7:00, he (sleeping on his side) flung his top arm above his head and began … Continue reading Precocious Infant Stories
my baby in the World of People
Here's a post I wrote on a discussion board on February 17, 2005, when Nicholas was just seven weeks old. It's not like this anymore, but back when I was a Girl Scout the badges were divided into main topic areas called "Worlds". I was reminded of this yesterday as I watched my baby interact … Continue reading my baby in the World of People
Important tip for Liquid Paper users
If you need to use a lot of Liquid Paper (or other brand of white-out or correction fluid) in a short time, particularly if it is the variety that says FAST DRY on the label, you will soon find that it is all gummy and impossible to spread and it seems like there isn't any … Continue reading Important tip for Liquid Paper users
Favorite Fall Recipes
I'm the sort of person who hates being cold. You might think I would choose to live in a warm climate instead of Pittsburgh, but I like it here for other reasons, and I like having four distinct seasons even though three of them can be chilly and the coldest one often seems very long--it … Continue reading Favorite Fall Recipes
Autumnymity
Autumnymity is the situation in which you can't recognize a tree because it has lost its leaves. I suddenly thought of this yesterday. Google tells me nobody else has used this word on the Internet. Hooray! A new word!
Thinking Out Loud
I talk to my kid a lot. He's five-and-a-half years old now and has some interesting things to say, but long before he was capable of conversation I talked to him quite a bit. It wasn't really a conscious strategy, just that I like having a companion sharing my experiences. In my own childhood, I … Continue reading Thinking Out Loud
7 Quick Takes on 1 Dream
1. Pittsburgh has the topography of my dreams. By this I don't mean, "I always wanted to live in a place with steep hills and confusing street layout!" (I do enjoy it, but that was a gradual discovery after I moved here, not a reason to move here) but I mean that Pittsburgh when I'm … Continue reading 7 Quick Takes on 1 Dream
Thrifty, Earth-friendly Hand Soap!
I'm a longtime fan of Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap, the amazingly versatile, yummy-smelling, totally natural stuff in the bottles covered with interesting philosophies in tiny white letters, now made with organic and fair-trade ingredients in a 100% recycled plastic bottle! It's great stuff, but it seems expensive. The thing is, you're supposed to dilute … Continue reading Thrifty, Earth-friendly Hand Soap!
Christian Children’s Television
I am a liberal Episcopalian now, and I was raised Unitarian in small-town Oklahoma, so I've never felt like part of the mainstream of what's called Christian in America. I've seen a lot of "Christian" media productions that were painfully hokey, heavy-handedly moralistic, hateful, and/or boring. I never in a million years expected that I … Continue reading Christian Children’s Television
Spaghetti Sauce, August 29 Version
Some people have complained that my Marinara Sauce recipe is too vague. They're right--it's more like general guidelines for making sauce, not very helpful if you've never done it before. My sauce-making technique is constantly evolving, and every batch is different. I decided to write down what I do each time I make a batch … Continue reading Spaghetti Sauce, August 29 Version
The Earthling's Handbook 