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I just finished reading the book Green Christmas - How to Have a Joyous, Eco Friendly Holiday Season by Jennifer Basye Sander and Peter Sander. It is a small book but packed full of great info on how to green your holidays.

The beginning of the book discusses all the reasons that our conventional Christmas celebrations are so UN-green… rampant consumerism, hefty energy usage, lots of garbage, etc. Yes not only do we have to worry about the massive debt that this season can cause, we also need to think about the lasting effect we leave on our planet. The book goes on to explain how we can make Christmas and the whole holiday season an extension of our green values. It has lots of great tips and suggestions. It is truly a book with practical answers.

My favorite part of the book was about eco friendly family time. Many seem to lose track of what this time of year means…I don’t mean the religious significance, as that isn’t a factor for everyone. It is a time for families to spend all important time together and the book has several eco friendly, quality family time ideas and activities. There is also some great info and charts on how to choose a Christmas tree and what is better…the old fake versus real argument. It was VERY clear on which was better and why. And of course it had great suggestions for reducing energy usage because Christmas can create pricey energy bills….pricey for us and pricey for the environment.

This book even had a great chapter on how to green your holidays when you travel as well. Overall a great book with some great ideas. I would recommend it to all.

One of my all time favorite things to do is hike and unfortunately I have not done any hiking since moving to Ohio. I used to hike every day in Arizona because the mountain was literally just outside my door. Check out this pic taken just 6 feet from my bedroom patio. My best friend and I used to go hiking on South Mountain in Northern Phoenix about once a week as well. A couple days ago I was going through some books to see if I could donate any and I came across my large collection of hiking and camping books and it really gave me the itch to get hiking again. There is just no greater adventure in my mind. A mountain or trail reveals itself to you with every step and tells a story you can’t see from a car window. It awakens something earthy and primal in you and makes you acutely aware of how special every moment is.

Some of my all time best memories of my 20+ years in Arizona are on the trail. I remember sliding down the mountain at slide rock, trekking across all the springs at Seven Springs, jumping off a bridge into the cool water below, traveling down into the Grand Canyon, fishing at Bartlet, and my boyfriend (now husband) taking a 30 fall off of Squaw Peak. Okay maybe that memory wasn’t so nice at the time but now it is pretty funny since everything turned out okay…save a few scars. In the mountains surrounding my home I remember the exhilaration of finding two abandoned homes and exploring them, a couple abandoned mines, seeing mountain lion tracks and spotting a few rattlers and stray cattle. Oh yes, it is time to dig out the backpacking equipment and go out to see what adventures Ohio has to offer.

My only problem is that there is nowhere to hike or backpack where I live for at least 35 miles so daily hikes are out until we move into the city which has several awesome parks with hiking and camping. I am already plotting out several day hikes and some overnight backpacking trips. We have to start getting the kids used to this sort of adventuring because I have recently revived my dream to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine…it takes six months to do. What could be better than spending six months camping and hiking with your favorite people on the planet?

For anyone interested in hiking and camping with their kids I suggest you read Trailside Guide: Hiking and Backpacking by Karen Berger. It is an awesome book with info on what you need to hike, what to wear, what to eat, what to do about blisters, injuries, and bad weather. Basically everything you need to know. My guide is waterproof even so I can take it with me. Also check out Camping and Backpacking With Children. And another good book that will inspire you is A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson who hiked the The Appalachian Trail I mentioned above.

I just picked up 50 Hikes in Ohio. Let the adventures begin! Any other hiking and backpacking enthusiasts out there? Comment and share your stories or your fears about hiking and camping with kids if that is the case.

After reading America’s Cheapest Family yesterday and reading about how they freeze much of their food purchases I got the urge to read a book that has been on my shelf for many months. I probably should have read this book before spring and the growing season but hey I am studying up for next season right? The book is Preserving Food Without Canning or Freezing -Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation.

The basic concept of the book is to show we can preserve food in MANY other ways besides freezing and canning. This is important to green/health conscious people because traditional canning sterilizes your food and kills most of the nutrients and all of the enzymes. Freezing does cause some nutrient damage but the issue there is that freezing requires constant energy. This book shows us all the ways we can preserve food without sterilizing it, hence keeping it a live food, and without using too much energy.

The first preservation method discussed is preservation in the ground through a homemade silo. It basically involves digging a hole in the ground and storing certain veggies inside it…covered with sand and then covering the mound with straw to keep them very cold in winter but not frozen. This is a common method of storing potatoes and other root vegetables. Then it goes on to discuss all the fruits and veggies you can store in cold cellars. I especially liked the info on preserving blueberries…it looked very easy and they are supposed to keep for up to a year.

Next up was preservation by drying. Fruits and veggies can be dried outside in the sun or with solar or electric dehydrators. One great benefit of drying fruits is that the sugar is concentrated so the dried fruits make great sweeteners. One very interesting method discussed was drying apples in elderberry flowers. It has instructions for drying peaches, plums, berries, persimmons, cherries, tomatoes, mushrooms, turnips, and so much more.

The lactic fermentation chapter was new and appealing to me with recipes for vegetable medleys, tomato sauce, pearl onions, and sauerkraut. The recipes for storing in oil and vinegar were also great but I was most interested in reading about preservation in salt. I have eaten fish and beef preserved this way and they were deliriously yummy. There are recipes for salt preservation of green beans, anchovies, tomatoes, and lemons.

The chapter on preserving with sugar was basically a collection of jam recipes that require cooking. They sound divine but I was a bit disappointed that there were not many options that did not involve cooking and therefore destroying much of the nutritional content. But all in all a very good book and one I will be referencing like crazy next spring and summer when I load up on fresh produce at the farmer’s market.

I spent the majority of the morning engrossed in a really awesome book entitled America’s Cheapest Family. I thought it was a timely read considering all that is going on in the world right now. On a positive note for my own family it looks like hubby’s job is safe for now (or so they say) and he has gone mute about wanting to take his old job back (which required heavy travel). I am interested in using this scare as an opportunity to evaluate our budget and see where we can whittle expenses down so we can save more. Our emergency savings needs a lot more padding than it currently has. And I fully admit that hubby and I are not very responsible with money. We have very leaky wallets and we don’t do a lot of bargain shopping. Adopting a greener lifestyle has helped oodles but that is thanks to being green not being smart about money.

That said….I LOVED this book. I think all money conscious families need to read it…now. It is written by a husband and wife who were dubbed the Cheapest Family in America several years ago by the talk show circuit. Their names are Steve and Annette Economides. Their last name ironically means “son of the steward” in Greek. The book shares all of the secrets to their success that allowed them to raise and homeschool 5 kids, pay off their first home in 9 years, buy cars with cash, pay for vacations in advance, save money for all possible emergencies, and feed their family for $350 a month all on a one income salary of less than 35,000 a year. They have an amazing story to tell and the advice is wonderful. The book is organized in categories like groceries, clothing, utilities, etc so that you can read it straight through or skip to sections where you need help.

The first chapter I loved was about groceries. $350 a month for a large family is incredible and one big part of their success is that they shop ONCE a month. I think we all know how expensive it is to make lots of small, frequent trips to the store to get ingredients for one or two meals or one or two missing things. Shopping like that almost always means spending more than you have to and it is basically a result of poor planning. The Economides family saved on average $1,702 per year over the average family. That is equal to a nice week long vacation for many or a slush fund for car/house repairs. Their tips on grocery savings amounts to a long chapter but basically it involves shopping once a month, doing menu planning, stocking up, shopping for sales and using coupons when they can, cooking extra portions for leftovers, and freezing quite a bit.

The advice was very good but I did find a few things that would not work for our family including the buying of lots of processed foods, the lack of more expensive whole foods being bought, and the idea of doing without FRESH fruits and veggies for the last 2 weeks or so of the month. I think families that eat lots of fresh, raw, whole foods would have a lot of adapting to do but the basic plan is a good one. I would probably feel more comfortable doing bi-monthly shopping expeditions with weekly trips to farmer’s markets for fruits and veggies. 

There is a big chapter on budgets next, which is a good read. I liked the tip they had about buying gas cards to make sure you always have your gas expenditures covered. Then there is a chapter about cars…which I loved. It has lots of great tips for buying used cars and making sure you get a good car and a good deal. The section on insurance was great too. The Economides do not believe in skimping on insurance. One tip I liked was to cancel the towing benefit on your insurance and join AAA instead. That money goes a lot further with AAA.

The housing chapter had some alarming statistics about interest rates and how they would have paid $100,000 interest on their $50,000 home over a 30 year period. Their advice is to pay off the mortgage in less than 10 years if you can but ouch that is still over $25,000 you pay in interest. Sheesh, I think it might just be better to rent and then save that interest money to buy land and a nice Yurt with cash, LOL. This chapter also has advice for saving on repairs and renovations too.

The utilities chapter has lots of great advice although not too much for cold weather climates as the family lives in Arizona. Although having lived in both areas I think the utilities expenditures are pretty much the same…we just pay high energy prices at different times of the year. In AZ I had high air conditioning bills and in OH I have high heating bills. The cell phone advice was a little dated and the book was written in 2007, LOL. I am guessing that this older couple likes their land line and the kids are the ones that use cell phones. Hubby and I pretty much only use cell phones or Skype. We do have a land line but only because we couldn’t get DSL without it…I can’t even remember the number though, that is how little we use it. We hope to move soon and get cable Internet so we can get rid of our land line altogether.

There is also a big chapter about debt. Honestly I just skimmed this chapter as we don’t have debt and we don’t have credit cards but I am sure this chapter is equally good. Their chapter on medical just kind of pissed me off…not because it wasn’t good advice but because of the way our health care and insurance is in this country. I am having a hard time not being really pissy with Republican friends right now because the biggest issue we are voting on in a couple weeks for me is health care. I think only one candidate wants to fix health care and the other has plans so stupid I am getting hot just thinking about it. Better change the subject…anyway I have had insurance my whole adult life and I still racked up over $100,000 in EXTRA charges in a ten year period, so while this book’s advice is good in theory I see some problems because the insurance people are criminals and no amount of “personal responsibility” (inert GOP talking head) will change that. If taking personal responsibility means paying 4-500 hundred dollars a month for coverage and then having to pay 100 grand out of pocket and then calling it health care…well what more can I say? The advice on staying healthy was good though and personally I think that is the only/best option for many these days.

The chapter on clothing was fabulous with lots of great ideas for clothing your whole family for cheap as was the chapter on FREE entertainment. Entertainment is a BIG expenditure here so I need that advice. The vacation info was really practical and kind of amazed me that some families do go into debt to have vacations. I am not smart with money I totally admit that, but even I would never do that. The last chapters were about raising money conscious kids and about emergencies….lots of great info. I HIGHLY recommend this book! AND you can get it new for only $10.36 on Amazon or used for around $7.

Eco Friendly Families is a new book written by Helen Coronato. It is a guide book designed to highlight green living with activities that engage and inspire…from toddlers to teens. I am so happy to see more books about this subject being published and becoming more mainstream and this book is a good one. Just look at the cover…it shows a family pulling a sapling tree in a wagon getting ready to plant it..mom, dad, and kids all working together for green causes….very cool.

This is an all important topic because we are raising the next generation of kids and we want them to do right by our planet …to be responsible consumers and advocates for our planet. The book has many ideas for small changes that bring big results. Small changes are especially important if you are making this a family effort and it helps ensure that your habits will actually become life-long habits. It goes into all the basics of energy conservation, creating less waste, reusing things, and embracing simplicity.

Then it goes into a month by month plan for changing the way your family functions so that it will be easier to digest…breaking up the actions into bite size pieces. I think this book would be really fun to tackle as a family, having family meetings once a week to discuss the green changes. I think it would really empower our kids AND it would help reinforce to everyone that this is serious business.

The BEST part about this book is that it has so many fun activity ideas. Going green as a family has got to be fun…I firmly believe that and this book delivers some great ideas. It has many 5 minute makeover ideas, nature crafting ideas, earth friendly recipes, gift suggestions and in general lots of great ideas for getting older kids and teens excited about going green. This is a great book for building upon your existing green family values initivatives.

Hot on the heals of my review of Choosing Simplicity I decided to finally review Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver… a book that has been on my shelf for months.

The book immediately resonates with me because it starts out in Tucson, Arizona as Kingsolver and her family leave their home of 25 years to live permanently in Virginia on their summer farm. I remember well the postcard perfect saguaro cacti and gorgeous desert sunsets. One person’s dream is another person’s normal. I remember well everything she describes. I lived for over 25 years in Phoenix and visited Tucson often. The desert is amazingly beautiful but it lacks something very important though….local food. Although remember my post about eating cactus… you can you know.

Not only is it hard to grow food in an arid desert, Arizona is using borrowed water piped in from the Colorado River and Mexico. The whole set up is not sustainable at all. So Kingsolver decided to re-enter the food chain and move somewhere green where the land could sustain her family.

It was important that her family know the basic things that our ancestors knew that in today’s age we have lost touch with. When do various fruits and veggies come into season? When can the last frost be expected? Which grains are autumn planted? How many people don’t have the foggiest idea what the answers are to these questions. Do we even consider it important? We have lost our connection to our food and this book is about the Kingsolver family’s attempt to find the answers and reconnect with their food. They would do this by growing as much of their food as they could and sourcing the rest locally.

The Kingsolver family settles into a farm and they begin their adventure of eating only what they and their neighbors have grown or raised. Each family member had one luxury item that they could keep buying, like coffee and smaller things will small eco impact like spices were allowed. They planted a large vegetable garden, the youngest daughter raised chickens for eggs and meat, and they raised turkeys. Close relationships with farmers nearby formed so that they could purchase from them what they could not grow or raise themselves. Immediately they began to see just how spoiled people have become when they do not have to consider where their food came from and at what cost. Honestly how many of us actually think about where our meals came from and how? Green people are becoming acutelyy aware of this but by and large not many people are.

Most people might never know what wild asparagus looks like, how to make cheese, or how to find a moral mushroom. They don’t know this because it isn’t necessary for survival anymore. And here I am saying ”they” when in fact I do not know what wild asparagus looks like, how to make cheese, or how to find a moral mushroom. ;) But the Kingsolver family was determined to reconnect with their food in an intimate way and never again be so detached from the process. Their adventures are delightful to read from the first picking of asparagus in spring, to making cheese, to organizing a birthday party for over a hundred people using only produce from local farms.

Barbara Kingsolver writes much of the book but her partner Steve also contributes essays and her daughter Camille details some delicious recipes the family ate while on their journey. It is a wonderful book for those who want to see what it looks like to live on local food.

Available via Amazon.com

Over the weekend I read the book Choosing Simplicity  - Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World by Linda Breen Pierce. We live in a world where the predominant attitude is that money and the general accumulation of things brings us happiness. We are told over and over again that we should get an education, get a high paying job, marry well, invest wisely, do this, do that….and you have the recipe for happiness. All you need is more, more more! And then at some point you will be able to turn around and look at all you have accomplished and see all you have and be instantly happy. Check out this article on NPR that talks about how obsession with bigger and better housing is rampant today. But what about the people who never buy into that way of living or thinking? What about the people who look at the fast paced world around them and all the rats scurrying to better their situations, and say no thanks?

According to Pierce, the inspiration to write this book originated with her experiences living in a remote African village while in her twenties. The village had 400 people, no electricity, no running water, no convenience foods, no plumbing, and no cars save one the whole village shared. They lived in mud huts and they were often malnourished and suffering from skin ailments and ulcers. Pierce held dying babies in her arms. While most Americans might think this sounds like hell on earth, these villagers were the happiest, most joyous, most fulfilled people Pierce ever met.

According to Pierce it was difficult to distinguish work from play. They were always laughing, dancing, and singing. Huge belly laughs abounded all day long as they worked. They danced late into the night. They were happy.

Yet, even having seen this first hand Pierce made her way back to America and became a part of the fast paced, rat race. Many years later she read an article in Worth Magazine called Downshifters and it was all about simple living. She loved the article and quickly devoured other articles and books about the same subject but there was something missing. She didn’t want tips and advice for how-to live simply she wanted stories and experiences from people who were actually putting these concepts into practice. Could they sustain this lifestyle for a long time? Did they feel like they were missing out on things? Did they have regrets?

It was because Pierce was interested in finding these answers that she was inspired to start a study on simplicity and interview people who had accomplished a little of bit what those African villagers had. Was it possible? What did simple living actually look like within the lives of modern people? Frankly I find it kinda crazy that we have to wonder what simplicity looks like….that is how often we DON’T see it I guess.

This book has some amazing stories. It has the experiences of people from all over the world who have chosen simplicity. More than that actually, in my mind this is a collection of people of who have really evolved past and matured beyond the consumerism that most of us have grown up with. They have found a way to step past the smoke and mirrors and really see that the pipe dream being sold isn’t a recipe for happiness. These people are role models.

The first chapters explore some of the reasons why people evolve into a life of simplicity. Perhaps they became ill, they lost their job unexpectedly, they started a family, they were extraordinarily stressed, they lost someone they loved, etc. The in delves into personal stories of people living this life. The most surprising thing to me was that voluntary simplicity wasn’t all about being frugal or doing with less. Sometimes it might mean just getting a job closer to home so you have more free time. Perhaps it means selling a large house that sucks up your time with house cleaning and maintenance to buy a smaller one. Maybe it means that you stop spending your money on things and you are start spending it on experiences. It is really more about finding out what you want in life, drawing a straight line to your goal, and then finding out how you can resolve the zig-zaggy, going in circles path you inadvertently chose to get to the same place. It could mean living more frugally and learning to overcome materialism but it could also mean letting go of a fast paced, multi-tasking, way of life too.

It had stories of high powered corporate attorneys doing a 180. One dad decided to quit his job and simplify after his daughter drew a family picture with the back of daddy’s head showing because that is all she ever saw as he worked every night on his computer. A socialite and divorcee sold her McMansion to buy a tiny condo on the beach. Another couple moved into a commune to learn homesteading skills and then they bought their own 40 acre ranch where they could grow their own food and unschool their kids. There are many inspirational stories in this book. I really enjoyed it because this is an area that I struggle with.

Available at Amazon.com

My weekend read was very inspiring, Young at Art by Susan Striker. Susan is the creator of the widely popular anticoloring books for kids I like so much. As an art teacher of many years and a mom herself she has some great ideas about how art should evolve in a child’s life and how much of what we might be doing may actually stifle their creativity and love of art.

With the exception of baby’s first steps, there is no more significant milestone in your child’s development than the first mark he or she makes on paper. These squiggles herald the start of a lifetime of writing and drawing. - Susan Striker

I love the information this book has about activities and practices to instill a love of art and how it isn’t just “frill” but really a very important foundation for educational skills. This foundation also effects their emotional and intellectual development. I know many parents that don’t let their children pursue art because a clean and tidy home is more important to them but this book clearly shows why that is a BIG mistake.

Interestingly this book also outlines some surprising things we should NOT give to children…coloring books, dot-to-dots, magic paints and markers, or similar projects where the artwork has been done and they just have to use a limited amount of brain power to just fill in the missing parts. These things limit their self expression. Striker’s arguments against these items was very convincing. Really I think parents end up being a creative blocker for their kids as far as art is concerned many times. Throughout the book there is also a strong message to parents that art is serious business for kids and seeing things like scribbling as just “scribbling” or “a mess” can be seen by children as a form of rejection. It is very important not to devalue their work. It is also important not to deny small children things like crayons because we are afraid they will write on things they aren’t supposed to. Its hard to do but very important and yes there may be messes unplanned expression. Take a look at my office wall:

All four walls within his reach look like this. My own mother has a heart attack whenever she sees it.

Striker also has words of caution for parents who “coach” their kids and try to tell them how to draw, what colors to use, or show the “proper” way to do something. It is like expecting a six month old to walk…kids have stages of development where artwork is concerned and coaching rushes them. It also limits self expression. Some of the greatest artists (Picasso) broke all the rules….just keep that in mind.

I really appreciated all the charts, lists, and pictures this book has that explain the creative process of a child. So much research has been done on this and yet this is the first book I have seen to address this. It is fabulous.

The first chapter is the most informational one. It provides the basis for why we should try to encourage art. Subsequent chapters discuss different art activities and how to incorporate them, drawing, painting, paper, sculpture, exploring colors and shapes, etc. The end of the book has lists of art books and wholesale art suppliers.

I found the book to be immensely useful and inspiring. I also found myself using some of the practices that limit self expression but found just as many areas where I am already doing what I need to be doing. Off to plan some activities outlined in this book…

Buy Young at Art!