Berry Picking

On Thursday, the kids and I headed to Sauvie's Island (just outside of Portland) for the afternoon. We spent some time at the beach and played in the sand, stopped off for some ice cream, and then headed to the organic u-pick farm to pick some berries!
The strawberries were few, and full of prickers, but the blues were amazing! Sweet and juicy, and lots to be had. We only saw two other families out there, so it was sort of like we had the run of the place. Finn and I picked as fast as we could, and Phoebe ate them nearly as fast as we could pick them. We ended up bringing just over 4 pounds home.
So, tonight, I am about to make some zucchini blueberry bread and enjoy the bounty of summer!

Kids at the beach

Me picking blues! Finn took this shot!

My little picker..

Pin It Now!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Pin It Now!

Chemerical: A Review

Chemerical: Redefining Clean for a New Generation is a film that takes a look at the multitude of toxic products that we buy, store and use in our homes. From cleaners to personal care products, the average citizen surrounds themselves with chemicals that have not been adequately tested for safety, even though we are made to believe that these products are perfectly safe.

This film follows a Canadian family as, over the course of 2 months, they eliminate all chemicals from their home. The family first gets rid of all of their toxic housecleaning supplies and replaces them with safer, natural versions. Next task is eliminating chemicals form their personal care products. This includes shampoos, deodorant, toothpaste, lotions, make-up and more. Initially the 2 older children were opposed to veering from their normal routine.... but, after a few weeks, they were happy (or at least happy enough) with the safer alternatives that they were using. By the end of the film, the family is making all of their own laundry detergent, cleaners, shampoos, toothpaste, and even hair gel and lipstick. They found that not only were the products safer, but making their own only cost a fraction of the price.

Aside from safer and cheaper, they also found that the air inside the house was cleaner. Levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) inside the family's home were at unsafe levels before the switch, but were well within safe levels after the chemicals were removed from their home. The family also felt healthier... less headaches and less sickness with the new regiment. 

The film also addresses safety issues with these chemicals... why they are problematic and what is being done to address safety concerns (not much). But most importantly, the film shows that an average, everyday family IS capable of eliminating toxins from their home without eliminating modern day conveniences. I enjoyed this movie because the results are tangible; they show how a family (begrudgingly at first) changed their entire cleaning and personal care routine. They were eventually happy with the results, they were providing a safer living environment for themselves, they were being kinder on the environment, and they were spending much less money. This film is worth a watch-- It's like reality tv with an environmental twist....

Pin It Now!

Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny at Small Things for today's yarn along. I am just one row done with Phoebe's Helena sweater. I am sure I will finish it up tonight, although all of this warm weather has made me fairly unmotivated to knit! I promise that I will have finished and modeled pictures to show you next week.
I am reading Bill McKibbon's The End of Nature, which is an environmental classic written back in 1989. This is my first time reading it, and although I appreciate the writing, the book is focused on global warming and the information is (obviously) so outdated, that it is a bit hard to get through. It is interesting, however, to read his warning and predictions from long ago and to see how close to reality many of them have come.
I also just started The Shock Doctrine, a non-fiction about how governments around teh world use times of disaster and crisis to implement new economic regimes . I actually read the first 100 or so pages of this book long ago (almost 2 years?) but had to return it to the library before I finished. I am hoping this go-round will be more successful.
And, because these books are both non-fictioin (and pretty depressing) and I re-reading The Hobbit,  which I haven't read for many years, to have some fantasy for when I need to escape.
What are you reading? What are you knitting? Pin It Now!

Free-Cycling Chicago Style

The kids and I spent the end of June in Chicago. Well, technically, we were mostly at my parent's house, which is in a suburb of Chicago. In Portland, where we live, people don't waste much. We have excellent recycling programs and each household has a large city compost bin that takes yard waste as well as kitchen scraps. In fact, our trash is only collected once every 2 weeks... so people have to work hard at managing what they throw away.
Portland is also known as land of the free boxes. During nice weather (and sometimes not-so-nice weather) boxes of goods and furniture with free signs can be found in abundance. We do purge and take trips to Goodwill, but if we just have a few things to unload, we often place a free box outside our house, and everything is usually gone within a day or two.
I also have managed to acquire many a useful item in a free box. I have free-boxed books, toys, clothes for the kids, clothes for me, DVDs, clocks... you name it. I love the idea that what you don't need you can give to someone else, no money exchanged.
So, anyways, back to Chicago. The second week I was home, it was trash day in my folks neighborhood. Me, my mom and the kids were leaving to meet my dad for lunch, when we noticed that her neighbors had a kids water play table and a kids slide in their trash. Not with a free sign, not in the recycling, but just sitting next to their trash can. And they were in perfectly good shape. I can't imagine having these kids toys and a) not wanting to sell them, trade them in or pass them along to my friends or at least b) giving them to goodwill or c) if you are really lazy, putting a free sign on them or putting a listing on craigslist. But nope, these were headed straight for the landfill. Until my mom and I knocked on their door and asked if we could have them.
About 10 minutes of cleaning later, and the kids were set up with a summer play area. All for free. I think my dad was a bit ashamed that we took the neighbors trash, but hey- we gave it a second life and with the 100 degree weather, the kids were more than pleased!

Pin It Now!

Weekending

This weekend was:

Finally feeling recuperated after our trip to Chicago and adjusting back to life in Portland.
Finn trying out his bike without training wheels for the first time and succeeding! I am so proud! 
An afternoon swimming at the pool.
A lunch date out for Mexican food.
A night along with wine, a movie and some knitting. 
Moving Phoebe's crib into Finn's room. (Finn is so excited to have a roommate and Todd is so excited that he no longer has to maneuver past the crib and hurdle the end of the bed in order to go to sleep).
The return of a very missed good friend.
Some cleaning, organizing, and purging.
Relaxing on the back porch, enjoying the moments of summer.

How was your weekend?

Joining in with Amanda at The Habit of Being.


Pin It Now!

Chicago-Ing

Last week, the kids and I returned home from a 2 week trip to Chicago to visit my family. It was HOT, but it was wonderful to be back. The kids spent a lot of time with their cousins, as well as their grandparents (Lulu and Pappy). The days were full of adventures: LegoLand, the zoo, the aquarium, a train trip downtown to Millenium Park, the pool, family parties, sleepovers with cousins, meals out, fireworks, a carnival, a parade, live music, parks, sprinklers. libraries, and lots and lots of fun.
Below are a few pictures from our trip. I actually didn't take as many photos as I had hoped.... being a solo-parent to 2 kids, my hands were pretty full and it was just so darn hot out that I felt much more lazy than normal!
Although we were all happy to return back to Portland, it took quite a few days to adjust to being home. I now had a house to clean and a household to manage, pets to care for, meals to plan, etc. And, the kids, although they were ecstatic to see their papa, have been very needy of me since we have returned. I think it is cute, but I know that it makes Todd a bit sad.
We had a great time, and Finn is already asking when we can go back again. Hopefully, next time, Todd will be able to join us, as 2 weeks was a long time for the family to be apart.

Pin It Now!