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Kingsbridge Initial Teacher Training has been TWICE
judged an outstanding provider of both Primary and
Secondary initial teacher training - Ofsted, 2015 & 2012
Kingsbridge School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) is a dynamic, high-quality teacher training provider which offers a range of school-based routes into teaching.
Proud to be Wigan's largest SCITT We believe that every success story starts with a great teacher and great teachers start at Kingsbridge. We are a dynamic teacher training provider with a proven track record of excellence.
Kinsgbridge currently offers three routes into primary and secondary teaching through the following phases:
- Primary Programme (3-7 phase)
- Primary Programme (5-11 phase)
- Secondary Programme (11-16 phase) with optional post 16 enhancement
Route 1 School Centred Initial Teacher Training – a 12 month programme that combines in-school experience, centre-based training and online tuition.
Route 2 Assessment Only – a route which takes into account an individual's past and present work experience.
Route 3 Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship – an employment based apprenticeship programme running over 4 terms which integrates academic, centre-based learning and on-the-job practical training in schools.
Why Study with Kingsbridge Teacher Training from Kingsbridge SCITT on Vimeo.
At Kingsbridge you will:
Want to know more on how every lesson can shape a life through Kingsbridge Teacher Training? Come and see us...
You'll only get a real feel for the energy and enthusiasm at Kingsbridge if you visit us in person.
We have open days throughout the year or you can arrange a personal tour.
Interested in becoming a Primary phase teacher?
Get in touch if you would like to train and become a primary school teacher with our outstanding Primary Schools Direct programme.
If you are an instructor working in school or you originally trained abroad and would like to gain Qualified Teacher Status, you might wish to look at our Primary Assessment Only Route.
Interested in becoming a Secondary phase teacher?
Get in touch if you would like to train in a secondary school and learn more about our outstanding Secondary Schools Direct training courses.
If you are an instructor working in school or you originally trained abroad and would like to gain Qualified Teacher Status, you might wish to look at our Secondary Assessment Only Route.
Contact us...
If you feel that you have got what it takes to shapes a child's life then contact our SCITT Administrator Mrs Trish Sexton.
Call on: 01942 487999 Option 6 or
email: email@example.com
We can also provide advice to prospective Teachers about making an application and also finance too while you are training.
It would be helpful if you have recent experience with children and learners to confirm your career choice, but this is not a prerequisite before applying to Kingsbridge. We look for the potential to train to teach, for example excellent communication skills, team work, responding to feedback and flexibility.
We would be delighted to talk to you and discuss any questions you might have so please contact us or come to one of our many free recruitment information events across Wigan which you will find listed on our Events page.
To find out more about bursaries and funding please click here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview
To find out about teachers' salaries please click here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/teacher-salaries
To apply for a student loan please click here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance
Click here to read our OUSTANDING OFSTED report.
Latest News
- 10 tips for trainee teachers
Are you starting your teacher training in September? Don't panic! These tips will get you off to a great start.
- DfE announces new approach to professional skills test for teachers
The DfE's plans to implement a new approach to the professional skills test for trainee teachers
- Mark Lehain - Building a Knowledge Rich Curriculum
This fully funded event will take place on the morning of Tuesday 25th June 2019 at The Edge, Wigan, WN3 5AB at 9.00am to 11.00am.
- Free - Get into Teaching Event
Our next - Free - Get into Teaching Event - takes place on 24th April at Shevington High School
- Professor Daniel Muijs - Deputy Director Ofsted
Kingsbridge Teacher Training together with Forward Together and Westbridge Teaching School Alliance proudly present Professor Daniel Muijs – Deputy Director - Ofsted.
Latest School Events
There are currently no events.


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Maple Shade's Yellow Submarine has been serving the area for over 30 years. Our award winning food and personable staff is what assures you a great experience. From our nationally acclaimed cheesesteaks, award winning burgers and hoagies (as featured on The Food Network) to our authentic hand tossed pizzas and homemade appetizers; we use only the finest ingredients in all our food. Our staff...
Be the first NJ.com user to add photos or videos of Yellow Submarine
"Huge" cheesesteaks (as well as "very good" subs) are on offer at this Maple Shade take-out counter; the digs are "simple", but service is "friendly" and prices are "reasonable."
Great cheesesteaks here. Can get them with whiz and onions like you get them over in Philly. I prefer this place to both Pat's and Geno's because of the way they slice the meat. A little expensive, but the sandwiches are pretty big. Service is friendly also.
Had the large cheesesteak with fried onions. It was HUGE. Easily four meals, or two very large ones. I wish they had wiz instead of mozzarella but it was still great. The steak was juicy, even...
Yellow Submarine can be found at N Fork Landing Rd 710. The following is offered: Delicatessens. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Maple Shade there are 2 other Delicatessens. An overview can be found here.
Yellow Sub Pizza is located at 710 N Forklanding Rd, Maple Shade, NJ. This business specializes in Pizza.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in overtime in Game 7. The Kings advance to the Stanley Cup Finals where they will take on the New York Rangers.
It appeared that the Blackhawks were going to win the game easily in the first period. Brandon Saad put the puck in off Jonathan Quick at 5:06 off of a pass from Patrick Kane from behind the net. On the power play a short while later, Jonathan Toews would have an easy tap in for his ninth goal of the playoffs at 8:36. But the Kings would come back when Jeff Carter tapped a rebound out of mid air keeping his stick level with the crossbar at 16:31. Just 51 seconds later the Kings would tie the game when Justin Williams beat Corey Crawford at 17:22 to tie the game. However, the Blackhawks would take the lead twelve seconds later as a shot by Patrick Sharp dipped, ducked, dived and dodged Quick at 17:34 to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead after a wild first period.
The back and forth continued as the Kings would tie the game when a puck pinballed to Tyler Toffoli who put the puck into a half empty net at 10:31. It would be the Blackhawks who took the lead again as Patrick Sharp beat Quick again with a slap shot from the point at 18:25 to give the Blackhawks the lead again heading into the locker room.
In the third period both teams would have chances. The Blackhawks had two breakaways and failed to convert. A short while later the Kings would tie the game as a rebound kicked to Marian Gaborik who scored his 12th goal of the playoffs at 12:43. The Blackhawks had a golden chance with five seconds left but a shot by Andrew Shaw trickled to Quick who barely pounced on the rebound in time. In overtime, it wouldn't last long as Alec Martinez would tip in a Justin Williams shot past Crawford at 5:47.
What it means
The Blackhawks season comes to a bitter end as they lose for the first time in Games 5-7 in two years. This was also the first series that the Blackhawks lost when they had home ice advantage under Joel Quenneville. The Kings become the first team in NHL history to win three Game 7's on the road before the Stanley Cup and are 7-0 in elimination games this year.
3 stars of the game
3. Dustin Brown- The captain of the Kings showed up again as he recorded two assists including on the game tying goal in the third period. Brown was a plus two and had eight shots on goal.
2. Patrick Sharp- It took 19 games for there to be a Sharp sighting. He scored two goals to finish with five goals in the playoffs. Sharp was flying up and down the ice and finished with three shots on goal.
1. Justin Williams- Mr. Game 7 showed up again for the Kings as he recorded one goal and one assist. It was Williams who had the game winning assist and had three shots on goal. Williams now has the most points in Game 7 in NHL history with 14.


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Another Thursday is here! We are sort of busy for the next couple of days. Trying to fit in runs while I can!
Thing #1
There was a photo hoax going around on twitter/facebook regarding a Back to the Future photo saying that yesterday was the day that Doc set the DeLorean to. I fell for it, and so did many other people. The actual date is Oct. 25, 2015.
You know what that means? THREE MORE YEARS TIL HOVERBOARDS
Thing #2
I finally got my $100 gift card from Apple for the iTunes/App store. I've already made a small dent in it by buying the new Smashing Pumpkins album, and a few Metallica tracks. I already have the apps I want on my iMac (iPhoto, Pages, Keynote have all been updated previously), so I think I will primarily be buying music with the card, maybe a few iPhone/iPad apps. I also got an email to fill out a survey from Apple – it asked how many Apple products I had……checked off almost every box (don't have an Apple TV).
Thing #3
Remember yesterday I mentioned what I had for dinner on Tuesday? Well the chicken breasts we had were huge and we really only ate one. I saved the other and decided last night to make fajitas for dinner. I made some homemade guacamole, shredded some cheese, got out salsa and sour cream and some tortillas. I sautéed the chicken breast with onions and green peppers and dinner was done. It was really really yummy. Funny thing is – I still have leftovers!
Random Pictures:


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K9s For Warriors is committed to pursuing excellence while providing our program at no cost to the warrior. We welcome a new class of Warriors each month and never require a fee. Our generous partners help us every step of the way through contributions, fundraisers, and volunteer support.
There are so many different ways to give back to rescue dogs and military heroes, such as donating your time, your talent, and/or your treasure. At K9s For Warriors, we do our very best to help you be part of our important mission that focuses on saving lives, both furry and human. Together we can help STOP the 20 veteran suicides that occur every single day.
There are many ways to give to K9s For Warriors
Recurring & One-Time Donations
Host A Community Event
Sponsor a Service K9
Corporate & Small Business Sponsorships
Donate A Dog
Donor Advised Funds
Foster A Dog
Gift in Kind/Program Enhancements
Planned & Legacy Giving
Qualified Charitable Distributions
Raise A Puppy
Stocks & Securities
Vehicle Donation
Volunteer Opportunities
Workplace Giving


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I am not an authority on suffering. The woman whose picture you see is.Joni Eareckson Tada has been sitting in a wheelchair for 43 years. She suffered a spinal cord injury in a diving accident when she was 17 which left her severely paralyzed. For the last ten years she has battled chronic pain. Recently she discovered she has breast cancer.
In an interview for Christianity Today, Joni shared some of her thoughts on suffering with Sarah Pulliam Bailey. The title of the article was telling: "Something Greater Than Healing." Take time to read Sarah's interview. It is excellent.
When asked, "How has your perspective on suffering and healing changed since your breast cancer diagnosis?" Joni replied:
"Even though it seems a lot is being piled on, I keep thinking about 1 Peter 2:21: `To these hardships you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.' Those steps most often lead Christians not to miraculous, divine interventions but directly into the fellowship of suffering. In a way, I've been drawn closer to the Savior, even with this breast cancer."
When faced with suffering it is only natural to cry out to God: "Why, God?" "Why me?" "Why now?" "Why this?" That's okay! Giants of the faith have been voicing their frustrations to God for centuries. We can too. However, what Joni hints at and what the Psalms remind me is that the answer to "Why?" is "WHO." Notice Joni's words, "In a way, I've been drawn closer to the Savior."
In Psalm 121, the psalmist writes,"I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1-2 ESV).Then in Psalm 80, Asaph cries out, "Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved" (Psalm 80:19 ESV). Like Joni, both psalmists were declaring their need for God. Sure, answers are nice, but God is necessary. This is the teaching of the word of God. Reread the familiar and much loved Psalm 23. Notice how emphatic David is about WHO must come to his aid.
It is great to get an answer to life's enigmas. But there is something better -- it is getting God. It is receiving a fresh sense of his peace, his power, and his presence.
The answer to "Why?" is "WHO."


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Online retailers and Colorado consumers may receive some clarity Friday on whether the state's so-called Amazon-tax law has any teeth.
A Denver judge is scheduled to review a request by a trade organization for a preliminary injunction to temporarily block the law while he determines whether it's constitutional.
In 2012, a federal judge tossed out the law, which aims to compel out-of-state e-tailers to collect Colorado's sales tax on purchases. The law was recently reinstated after an appeals-court panel ruled that such tax issues should be left to the states.
The Direct Marketing Association, a trade organization that represents thousands of businesses, filed a lawsuit in November asking the Denver District Court to rule that the law is unconstitutional.
The group cites the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, which says that "state laws may not discriminate against or burden interstate commerce."
In its response, Colorado argues that the Commerce Clause "was intended to foster an open national market, not … to shield retailers doing substantial business within a state from reasonable state laws."
The 2010 law requires big out-of-state retailers such as Amazon that don't collect Colorado's 2.9 percent sales tax to send comprehensive purchase reports to their consumers and the state Department of Revenue.
Federal law prohibits the state from mandating the tax collection from online retailers that don't have a physical presence in Colorado, so lawmakers figured that requiring extensive reports from noncollectors would push them to start charging the tax.
"Shortly after passage of the (law), the Department's Tax Policy Director stated publicly that he believed most affected retailers would choose to collect Colorado sales tax to avoid the unpleasant option of having to send tax notices to customers," the DMA's lawsuit states.
Under the law, e-tailers face penalties ranging from $5 to $100,000 for failure to send or file consumer purchase reports. Online retailers with less than $100,000 in annual sales in Colorado are exempt.
The Revenue Department said in a statement that because a permanent injunction had previously been placed on the law, e-tailers would not face any penalties for failure to comply from 2010 to 2013.
"Should the law become subject to an injunction, the Department will review the scope of the injunction and, if necessary, provide further guidance regarding enforcement," the department said.
Andy Vuong : 303-954-1209, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/andyvuong


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If you've never heard of them before, the Moth is a group that puts on wonderful evenings of live story-telling, with local events happening across the country. At Moth StorySlams, anybody can put their name in a hat, and 10 individuals are randomly selected to tell their stories in front of the rest of the audience. The stories are tied together by a common theme for the evening.
This week, there was a Moth StorySlam in St. Paul. The theme: heat. I put my name in the hat.... and I was called!
The first two stories I felt were really good, and I was incredibly nervous in my seat as I was listening to the storytellers, almost hoping that I would pass the night without getting called to the stage. But, alas, I heard my name and basically lost consciousness for a moment as I made my way to the stage.
My story? How I met Am- this year.
I'm so, so happy I did it, and it was a very cool experience. The crowd at the Moth is always incredibly supportive, and it ended up being really fun up on stage, listening to people laugh with you and hang in there with you for the ups and downs of your story!
In the end, I actually got the 2nd overall highest score of the night, which I was incredibly proud of. It's definitely something I would do again, and I highly recommend to anyone who is interested!


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Author of "The Cook's Oracle," "Observations on Vocal Music," "The Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life," "Practical Observations on Telescopes, Opera-glasses, and Spectacles," "The Housekeeper's Ledger," and "The Pleasure of Making a Will."
"I rule the roast, as Milton says! "—Caleb Quotem.
Oh! multifarious man!
Thou Wondrous, Admirable Kitchen Crichton!
Born to enlighten
The laws of Optics, Peptics, Music, Cooking —
Master of the Piano — and the Pan —
As busy with the kitchen as the skies!
Now looking
At some rich stew thro' Galileo's eyes —
Or boiling eggs — timed to a metronome —
As much at home
In spectacles as in mere isinglass —
In the art of frying brown — as a digression
On music and poetical expression,
Whereas, how few of all our cooks, alas!
Could tell Calliope from "Callipee!"
How few there be
Could leave the lowest for the highest stories, (Observatories,)
And turn, like thee, Diana's calculator,
However cook's synonymous with Kater!
Alas! still let me say,
How few could lay
The carving knife beside the tuning fork,
Like the proverbial Jack ready for any work!
Oh, to behold thy features in thy book!
Thy proper head and shoulders in a plate,
How it would look!
With one rais'd eye watching the dial's date,
And one upon the roast, gently cast down —
Thy chops — done nicely brown —
The garnish'd brow — with "a few leaves of bay"—
The hair —"done Wiggy's way!"
And still one studious finger near thy brains,
As if thou wert just come
From editing some
New soup — or hashing Dibdin's cold remains;
Or, Orpheus-like — fresh from thy dying strains
Of music — Epping luxuries of sound,
As Milton says, "in many a bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out,"
Whilst all thy tame stuff'd leopards listen'd round!
Oh, rather thy whole proper length reveal,
Standing like Fortune — on the jack — thy wheel.
(Thou art, like Fortune, full of chops and changes,
Thou hast a fillet too before thine eye!)
Scanning our kitchen, and our vocal ranges,
As tho' it were the same to sing or fry —
Nay, so it is — hear how Miss Paton's throat
Makes "fritters" of a note!
And how Tom Cook (Fryer and Singer born
By name and nature) oh! how night and morn
He for the nicest public taste doth dish up
The good things from that Pan of music, Bishop!
And is not reading near akin to feeding,
Or why should Oxford Sausages be fit
Receptacles for wit?
Or why should Cambridge put its little, smart,
Minc'd brains into a Tart?
Nay, then, thou wert but wise to frame receipts,
Equally to instruct the Cook and cram her —
Receipts to be devour'd, as well as read,
The Culinary Art in gingerbread —
The Kitchen's Eaten Grammar!
Oh, very pleasant is thy motley page —
Aye, very pleasant in its chatty vein —
So — in a kitchen — would have talk'd Montaigne,
That merry Gascon — humorist, and sage!
Let slender minds with single themes engage,
Like Mr. Bowles with his eternal Pope —
Or Haydon on perpetual Haydon — or
Hume on "Twice three make four,"
Or Lovelass upon Wills — Thou goest on
Plaiting ten topics, like Tate Wilkinson!
Thy brain is like a rich Kaleidoscope,
Stuff'd with a brilliant medley of odd bits,
And ever shifting on from change to change,
Saucepans — old Songs — Pills — Spectacles — and Spits!
Thy range is wider than a Rumford Range!
Thy grasp a miracle! — till I recall
Th' indubitable cause of thy variety —
Thou art, of course, th' Epitome of all
That spying — frying — singing — mix'd Society
Of Scientific Friends, who used to meet
Welch Rabbits — and thyself — in Warren Street!
Oh, hast thou still those Conversazioni,
Where learned visitors discoursed — and fed?
There came Belzoni,
Fresh from the ashes of Egyptian dead —
And gentle Poki — and that Royal Pair,
Of whom thou didst declare —
"Thanks to the greatest Cooke we ever read —
They were — what Sandwiches should be — half bred"!
There fam'd M'Adam from his manual toil
Relax'd — and freely own'd he took thy hints
On "making Broth with Flints"—
There Parry came, and show'd thee polar oil
For melted butter — Combe with his medullary
Notions about the Skullery,
And Mr. Poole, too partial to a broil —
There witty Rogers came, that punning elf!
Who used to swear thy book
Would really look
A Delphic "Oracle," if laid on Delf—
There, once a month, came Campbell and discuss'd
His own — and thy own —"Magazine of Taste"—
There Wilberforce the Just
Came, in his old black suit, till once he trac'd
Thy sly advice to Poachers of Black Folks,
That "do not break their yolks"—
Which huff'd him home, in grave disgust and haste!
There came John Clare, the poet, nor forbore
Thy Patties— thou wert hand-and-glove with Moore,
Who call'd thee "Kitchen Addison"— for why?
Thou givest rules for Health and Peptic Pills,
Forms for made dishes, and receipts for Wills,
"Teaching us how to live and how to die!"
There came thy Cousin-Cook, good Mrs. Fry —
There Trench, the Thames Projector, first brought on
His sine Quay non —
There Martin would drop in on Monday eves,
Or Fridays, from the pens, and raise his breath
'Gainst cattle days and death —
Answer'd by Mellish, feeder of fat beeves,
Who swore that Frenchmen never could be eager
For fighting on soup meagre —
"And yet, (as thou would'st add,) the French have seen
A Marshall Tureen"!
Great was thy Evening Cluster! — often grac'd
With Dollond — Burgess — and Sir Humphry Davy!
'Twas there M'Dermot first inclin'd to Taste —
There Colborn learn'd the art of making paste
For puffs — and Accum analyzed a gravy.
Colman — the Cutter of Coleman Street, 'tis said
Came there — and Parkins with his Ex-wise-head,
(His claim to letters)— Kater, too, the Moon's
Crony — and Graham, lofty on balloons —
There Croly stalk'd with holy humor heated,
Who wrote a light-horse play, which Yates completed —
And Lady Morgan, that grinding organ,
And Brasbridge telling anecdotes of spoons —
Madame Valbrèque thrice honor'd thee, and came
With great Rossini, his own bow and fiddle —
The Dibdins — Tom, Charles, Frognall — came with tuns
Of poor old books, old puns!
And even Irving spar'd a night from fame —
And talk'd — till thou didst stop him in the middle,
To serve round Tewah-diddle!
Then all the guests rose up, and sighed good-bye!
So let them:— thou thyself art still a Host!
Dibdin — Cornaro — Newton — Mrs. Fry!
Mrs. Glasse, Mr. Spec! — Lovelass — and Weber,
Matthews in Quot'em — Moore's fire-worshipping Gheber —
Thrice-worthy Worthy, seem by thee engross'd!
Howbeit the Peptic Cook still rules the roast,
Potent to hush all ventriloquial snarling —
And ease the bosom pangs of indigestion!
Thou art, sans question,
The Corporation's love its Doctor Darling!
Look at the Civic Palate — nay, the Bed
Which set dear Mrs. Opie on supplying
Illustrations of Lying!
Ninety square feet of down from heel to head
It measured, and I dread
Was haunted by a terrible night Mare,
A monstrous burthen on the corporation! —
Look at the Bill of Fare for one day's share,
Sea-turtles by the score — Oxen by droves,
Geese, turkeys, by the flock — fishes and loaves
Countless, as when the Lilliputian nation
Was making up the huge man-mountain's ration!
Oh! worthy Doctor! surely thou hast driven
The squatting Demon from great Garratt's breast —
(His honor seems to rest! —)
And what is thy reward? — Hath London given
Thee public thanks for thy important service?
Alas! not even
The tokens it bestowed on Howe and Jervis! —
Yet could I speak as Orators should speak
Before the worshipful the Common Council
(Utter my bold bad grammar and pronounce ill,)
Thou should'st not miss thy Freedom, for a week,
Richly engross'd on vellum:— Reason urges
That he who rules our cookery — that he
Who edits soups and gravies, ought to be
A Citizen, where sauce can make a Burgess!
† Hood, for obvious purposes, slightly departs from the true spelling of Dr. Kitchiner's name. He was an M. D. of Glasgow, who, having been left a handsome fortune by his father, abandoned the active practice of his profession, and devoted himself to science, notably to that of optics, as well as to gastronomy, being himself eminent as a gourmet. He was the author of a once famous Cookery Book, The Cook's Oracle; and an improved kitchen range still bears his name.
Last updated Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 11:55


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|« Back to calendar
|« Previous Event | Next Event »
The Greater Killington Women's Club is now accepting requests from local charities or non-profit organizations for donations from the club. Know a worthy local organization who could benefit from our support? Requests must be submitted in writing and received or postmarked by Monday April 30, 2018.
Applicants must indicate in writing the specific purpose of the funding request and how it will benefit the Greater Killington community. Any local non-profit group or organization who would like to be considered for a donation should mail their request to the GKWC/SWC, P.O. Box #68, Killington, VT 05751 and indicate attn.: Charity Donation Application. Please keep in mind that the club's resources are very limited.
The Greater Killington Women's Club is a civic organization founded in Killington over 50 years ago by Susan Smith, the wife of the resort's founder Preston Smith. In more than a half century of service to the Killington community, the club has given away over $100,000 to local organizations, schools and non-profits.
If club members or persons from the community wish to support the club's local charity fund, please forward donations to the GKWC/SWC, P.O. Box #68, Killington VT 05751. Contributions may be tax deductible, please check with your financial advisor.


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Via Roma 47, 18038 Sanremo (IM)
WEB www.paolobarbara.it
MAIL firstname.lastname@example.com
Sanremo langoustines marinated in Ospedaletti mandarin elixir
Raw Sanremo prawns, julienned artichokes and quince juice
Carpaccio of whiting with chicory in extra-virgin olive oil, anchovy and chili pepper sauce
Fried marinated red mullet with garden vegetables
Brandacujun (cod prepared according to an old Sanremo recipe)
Sautéed baby squid on creamed Pigna beans, scorzone truffle and cavolo nero
Wild herb raviolini with walnut pesto and "prescinsea"
Brill with crunchy garden vegetables, and a lemon and chili sauce
Beans, Vegetables and Oil.
Paolo and Barbara Masieri have been running their restaurant since 1988 with great dedication, becoming an international benchmark in the enhancement of local cuisine. Their philosophy is based on quality, authentic and fragrant ingredients. Using local produce, chef Paolo Masieri offers strictly traditional dishes.
Open evenings Monday to Friday. From October to May, open also for lunch on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.


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We finally took a short road trip on Saturday to visit Birchwood Farm in Dover. The month of July is the absolute best time for daylily viewing everywhere in New England, but a trip to Birchwood Farm is just spectacular if you love Hemerocallis like we do! Anna Kay is the very welcoming owner and gardener.
We walked through rows and rows of colorful well-tended blooms. In every row we woul find a cultivar that seemed really special or a must-have for our own daylily spiral.
Ultimately we selected just one: Persian Ruby. We are on a quest to add more reds to our spiral of orange, yellow, peach, and purple.
Our own spiral has some beautiful flowers that decorate the days from mid June through September. Below is a sampling of Lichenwood's daylily display:


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September 10th Dress of the Week | Plus Size Alfred Angelo Wedding Dress/
Hi friends and blog stalkers! This week we've got another fabulous wedding dress of the week we're featuring for 10% off our already discounted price! And unlike most of our bridal gowns, we currently have this dress in two different sizes! This week's Dress of the Week is an
a-line plus size Alfred Angelo wedding dress.
This wedding dress features lace and rhinestone straps, rhinestone details at the waist, a sheer lace overlay, corset back and a sweetheart neckline. Currently we have this dress in sizes 22W and 26W in ivory.
Original Retail $1,400 | Brilliant Bridal Price $995
With the additional 10% off for our Dress of the Week feature, your price for this gorgeous bridal gown is just $895.50 this week only!
Schedule your appointment or come in today to try this beautiful bridal gown on before it's gone!


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Periscope App Down
Periscope App Down Issue & Status - Current Day Reports
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Is Periscope down at this time? Check the current issues and problems with Periscope app with the outage graph given here. Periscope is a mobile platform to view the online video streams and for other broadcasting. It allows you to broadcast videos and also to discover latest and breaking videos streams. You can select a topic or location from where you want a live stream. If ever you missed a video stream, you can see the highlights of video.
Periscope allows you to share the videos on social networks, you can also broadcast a video privately. Periscope allows you to broadcast a video to a specific list of friends or followers. The application is available for iOS and Android platforms. Moreover the app have many functions to block a specific user, Or watch it over Apple TV. On the other side the common reports we receive are related with error while broadcast. Unable to broadcast using cellphone data, unable to block a person etc.
If you get any issue, be sure to submit that here. You can check out the common issues and problem from other visitors of this website. Furthermore the Periscope outage reports graph above shows you the current status of application.


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Walter Stanley Monroe
Walter Stanley Monroe
|9th Prime Minister of Newfoundland
|In office
June 9, 1924 – August 15, 1928
|Preceded by
|Albert Hickman
|Succeeded by
|Frederick C. Alderdice
|Bonavista Bay, today a combination of Trinity North and Bonavista South
|Personal details
|May 14, 1871
Dublin, Ireland
|October 6, 1952 (aged 81)
Newfoundland, Canada
|Irish, Newfoundlander, Canadian
|Political party
|Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party
Walter Stanley Monroe (May 14, 1871 – October 6, 1952) was a businessman and conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1924 to 1928 as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party.
He was born in Ireland in 1871, the first son of John Monroe, a distinguished lawyer who became Solicitor-General for Ireland, and his wife Elizabeth Moule. He emigrated to Newfoundland to join his uncle, Moses Monroe, in 1888.
Monroe was a successful businessman who briefly served in the government of William Warren. He emerged from the political crisis that destroyed the governments of Sir Richard Squires and William Warren as leader of a new party, the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party, which had been cobbled together by Warren and the opposition Conservatives after Warren's government fell. The party was essentially a conservative party and swept to power in the 1924 election, weeks after it was formed.
The Monroe government saw a successful settlement of the Labrador boundary dispute with Quebec after Newfoundland successfully argued its case at the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Monroe returned to private life and resigned on August 15, 1928[1] passing the leadership of the party to his cousin Frederick C. Alderdice who became the new Prime Minister.
- ^ "Hon. F.C. Alderdice dead in St. John's". The Gazette. February 27, 1936. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
External links[edit]
|Political offices
|Preceded by
Albert Hickman
| Prime Minister of Newfoundland
|Succeeded by
Frederick C. Alderdice


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ConTechTrio Podcast Episode 31 – Construction Tech News Including A Prototype Mars Colony, Medicine Carrying Drones, Job Site Safety Tools & Interview w/ Yves Frinault from Fieldwire
Starting Off: Last Friday, the #ConTechTrio aired episode 31 of the podcast in which James Benham (@jamesmbenham), Rob McKinney (@conappguru) and Josh Bone (@bim2thebone) discussed the latest construction tech news. Headliners last week included a prototype Mars colony, medicine carrying drones, a tool that makes construction sites safer, 7 new Android features and much more! […]Continue Reading →
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I think I could make something like this...eventually!
Free decorations? Count me in!
Oh. My. Goodness. Pure Love.
I bought Oreo's for the first time today in a long time (just a sleeve) because I
think I am addicted to them.
How cute is this table number?
This just makes me want to marry a romantic even more...
How creative is this? Scrapbook covered Jenga pieces
A cheap and easy way to store your ribbon!
I love the way all the words bend and fit together!
Hard to believe Spring Break is officially over :( I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with friends, family and crafting!


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I read Vishen Lakhiani's Code of the Extraordinary Mind last year, and it rekindled my flame in self-help literature. If it weren't for Amazon Unlimited suggesting Lakhiani's book, I'm not sure if I would have read Designing Your Life or any of the other self-help and psychology e-books populating my Kindle.
Now I read self-help more than fiction.
And I really love to read fiction.
So while watching self-help YouTube videos, I found Lakhiani again, and I bookmarked a few of these treasures in my parrot's newspaper, Meeper, such as…
I wanted to tackle the three questions he mentions:
What experiences do I want to have? What family do I want to have? Where do I want to travel?
For me to be the woman who has these experiences, how do I have to grow? We are growth-driven machines. How can I learn to be a better lover? Better wife? Better mother? What do I want to learn? What languages do I want to speak? What music do I want to perform?
To be that woman who has these experiences, who has this growth—how do I give back to the world? How do I contribute to fellow souls? How do I give back to the human race? How do I inspire people? Your contributions become your steps to give back to the world, from happiness to fulfillment.
Experiences. Growth. Contribution.
This is your list. Everything else is just a means goal. Your true goals are buried in this list.
- I want to see the pyramids.
- I want to give birth to a child, then adopt a child. We'll have a daughter and a son.
- I want to be a loving, playful, and accepting wife and mother.
- I want to see glow worms on a deep cavern tour. I want to photograph the fine details of a glow worm at just the right angle.
- I want to publish hybrid genre books. I want to publish e-books that make travel possible, that pay off college, that enable my children for college, and I want all those e-books to have autistic main characters, but in different genres.
- I want to make a browser game: a CYOA visual novel.
- I want to fall in love with a cockatoo.
- I want to learn as much as possible about Hatshepsut, fifth pharoah of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.
- I want to learn more about how to be a successful foster parent. I want to educate myself.
- I want to learn more about how to be kind, uplifting, and forgiving.
- I want to learn how to photograph with a good camera, in the dark.
- I need to read every genre. I want to grow as a reader. I want to relearn the joy of a hardcover in sunlight.
- I want to learn advanced HTML and CSS.
- I need to learn more about animal intelligence. I have to read more about parrot behavior; bird behavior; bird watching.
- I want to encourage female leadership. The books I write will have female leaders. The succeeding artificial superintelligences will be the ones that create children. I'll create models for women to follow to become strong leaders.
- I am going to raise children who want to build the world; not take away from the world.
- I will write a book about animal intelligence and birds. I will write another book about animal intelligence and cats.
- I'll share how I see the universe in these glow worms through photography.
- I'll write books in lots of genres:
- high fantasy/science fiction;
- science fiction/romance;
- romance/thriller;
- thriller/post-apocalyptic;
- post-apocalyptic/cyberpunk;
- cyberpunk/memoir;
- memoir/spirituality;
- spirituality/education;
- education/poetry;
- poetry/family;
- family/urban fantasy;
- urban fantasy/steampunk;
- steampunk/young adult;
- young adult/horror;
- horror/mystery;
- mystery/cookbook;
- cookbook/humor;
- humor/music;
- music/science;
- science/creativity;
- creativity/speculative fiction;
- speculative fiction/how-to;
- how-to/slice of life;
- slice of life/mathematical;
- mathematical/paranormal;
- paranormal/nature;
- nature/historical fantasy;
- historical fantasy/erotica;
- erotica/experimental;
- experimental/mythology;
- mythology/self-help;
- self-help/visual novel;
- visual novel/fairy tale;
- fairy tale/satire;
- satire/magical realism;
- magical realism/western;
- western/subterranean fiction;
- subterranean fiction/(wo)men's adventure;
- (wo)men's adventure/prehistoric fiction;
- prehistoric fiction/quantum fiction;
- quantum fiction/children's lit;
- I'll gamify all my websites. I'll create fun spaces on the Internet; or fun spaces in virtual reality; because I want my stories to reach people today, not people from yesterday.
- I'll share the journey through animal intelligence on YouTube. I'll also share the journey of finding your writing voice; I seem to inspire my students, but I can do this for more than 15-30 people at a time. I want everyone to believe in the potential of their voices, then put their ear to the ground to listen to the voices of nature, to translate for nature, just as scientists translate nature's language into mathematics…for us to understand.


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Friday, 7 October 2016
1826 Before the Pie
20 x 25 cm / 8" x 10" oil on panel, framed in custom made, limed wood frame, ready to hang.
A bag of apples from a friend from his many fruit trees gave me the idea for this painting. (I made a French apple tart with this one along with some of his mates, yum!)
1 comment:
- Carol Flatt said...
Great title, Diana! Lovely reflections, and the way you showed the burnishing on the pitcher is masterful!
- 8 October 2016 at 21:04
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Poliquin maintains wide lead in money race ahead of his four Democratic challengers
AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Maine's 2nd District steeply outraised the rest of Maine's congressional candidates by March's end, but one of his Democratic opponents used ties to a rising congressional star to widen a money lead over the rest of the primary field.
Poliquin, a Republican from Oakland going into his second re-election race in a district being targeted nationally by both parties for the third straight time, took in more than $2.6 million as of March's end, according to documents due Sunday to the Federal Election Commission.
Just under half of Poliquin's money came from political committees. His haul is $1 million more than the combined totals raised during this cycle by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine's 1st District, and the five party candidates running to oust both incumbents.
Four Democrats are running in the June primary for the nomination to take on Poliquin, with Assistant Maine House Majority Leader Jared Golden of Lewiston and conservationist Lucas St. Clair of Hampden distinguishing themselves in the money race so far.
Golden raised more than $618,000 by March's end, and St. Clair raised $425,000 over the same period. But the two Democrats have $308,000 and $196,000 left unspent, respectively, while Poliquin has spent only about 15 percent of his money and has more than $2.2 million left.
Golden, a second-term state representative and a Marine veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, received more than $53,000 from a fundraising arm of the Serve America PAC. That group is led by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, a Marine veteran who helped recruit Golden and is boosting veteran candidates across the country.
The Fiddlehead Focus/St. John Valley Times is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of "Poliquin maintains wide lead in money race ahead of his four Democratic challengers," an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Michael Shepherd, please follow this link to the BDN online.


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Wireless Charging Technology and The Future of Electric Transportation
- Book
- English
- 224 pages
Around the world, the major automakers are developing their strategies for conductive and wireless charging technologies, with concerted efforts to establish technical standards on wireless electric vehicle charging, mainly focused on the safety considerations and inter-operability. Wireless Charging Technology and the Future of Electric Transportation covers the current status of wireless power transfer (WPT) technology and its potential applications to the future road and rail transportation systems. Focusing on the applications of WPT technology to electric vehicle charging and the future green transportation field, Wireless Charging Technology and the Future of Electric Transportation was written collaboratively by nine experts in the field, led by Dr. In-Soo Suh, a professor and researcher from the Korean Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST). This book brings an in-depth analysis of the most important areas of interest in this new area, such as: • Working principles of wireless power transfer technology • Current technology and its projected future impact on electric vehicles • Comparison between conductive and wireless charging of electric vehicles • Introduction to dynamic wireless charging systems • Technological challenges and international technical standards activities • Applications in consumer electronics, rail, aviation, marine, and off-road transportation • Long-distance electrical energy transfer


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I feel like I start off every Meet a Book Blogger post by exclaiming that yet another month has passed. What can I say; time flies! It's December now, and Toronto has had its first major snowfall (though other areas have had it much worse). For this month's edition of Meet a Book Blogger, I interviewed The Book Muncher (who remains anonymous).
1. When did you start book blogging, and what was your motivation?
I started my book reviewing blog in December 2007. I had always been an avid reader and had become very active on a book discussion forum called BookDivas. It was there that I stumbled upon my first book blog, The Page Flipper. I took a look at her blog and realized that it was something that I could do. So I did!
2. How often do you post?
I schedule my posts in advance, so I usually have something go up every other day or so. I like to have new content up frequently, but not so frequently that it becomes overwhelming.
3. Which kinds of books do you like to review?
I prefer reading and reviewing young adult books, but occasionally, I stray into middle grade or adult fiction.
4. Where do you get the books you review?
I get a little bit from practically everywhere! When I started out reviewing, most of the books I reviewed came from my personal collection, the library, or my friends. Then I started getting books from authors, publicists, and agents. In addition to that, I also get books from reviewing programs such as Amazon Vine.
5. Where do you find out about new books?
Sadly, I'm never as up to date about new books as I'd like to be. If I'm lucky, I'll get an ARC of an upcoming title that I haven't heard of yet. Oftentimes, though, it's a combination of skimming other book blogs, chatting with other book reviewers, and browsing the new release sections in bookstores.
6. Do you read other book blogs? If so, which are your favorites?
Once in a while, I'll have the time to skim other book blogs, and when I do, I make sure to visit The Compulsive Reader, The Page Flipper, The Story Siren, and La Femme Readers. Unfortunately, I'm generally too busy to closely follow other blogs, and generally visit only if something particularly catches my eye in Google Reader.
7. What's one of your favorite books? How about the best book you've read in the past six months?
Ooh, that's a tough question, and one that I always try to avoid answering! I never like naming my favorite book because I feel like I don't have just one or even just a few. My favorites list is always growing and includes everything by Siobhan Vivian, Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series, Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien, and Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, among over a hundred others. As for the best book I've read in the past six months, there's a tie between Nightshade by Andrea Cremer and Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
8. What's the most enjoyable part of book blogging? What's the worst part?
My favorite part of being a book blogger is being able to interact with other book people, whether they're authors, other book reviewers, or just another teen bibliophile like me. The worst part would be the general maintenance of the blog, because it can become tedious to update my review archives every time a new review gets posted.
9. Do you have an eReader? If so, do you like it? If not, do you want one someday?
I don't own an eReader, like a Kindle or a Nook, but I do have several ereader apps on my iPod Touch. I have the Kindle app, but I don't use it very much because I don't usually buy ebooks. However, I am in love with the Bluefire Reader app. You can transfer practically any ebook file to this app, and it makes reading on the go so much easier, because I already carry my iPod everywhere!
10. What do you do when you're not reading?
I'd say I'm pretty obsessed with books, and reading and reviewing take up a large part of my life, as do other book related things. For example, I frequent book signings and hope to work in the book publishing industry. So understandably, books take up a lot of my time. In my (rare) spare time not spent on school, you can find me chatting with friends about everything and nothing, from fashion to movies.
Thanks for stopping by, Book Muncher, and have a wonderful holiday season!


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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Green Frustration
Now fast forward a few months and while I still get excited every week when I put my bins out, I'm also frustrated. See, each trash morning I look around my neighborhood and see a tiny handful of people have their bins out and even those that do have very little in them, but their trash cans are full. This makes me sad.
Tomorrow morning is our trash day and while trash cans are slowly making their way out tonight I counted only 5 bins out on two blocks and this is an improvement. From what I have heard around town I think people are still confused about the new trash system and that more education is needed. I do plan to bring this up at the next local recycling coalition (which I'm a member of) meeting.
My other frustration this week is the fact that a neighbor has fluorescent tubes sitting in their trash can. I don't know if I should go get them out or leave them. The house is up for sale so the owners are never there so I can't talk to them about it. There seems to be a fine line between being a good citizen and getting into other people's business. Around here the line is even finer.
So do you ever have green frustrations like this? If so, what do you do about them?
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Muppets, Environmental Literacy, and Brainwashing
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Pimp my pooch
Growing up, I always considered my dog part of our family. And she thought she was people too.
Today, it's taken to a whole new level.
Our pampering and giving ourselves what we "deserve" doesn't stop with us. Our four-legged friends are getting better treatment than you'd believe. Manicures. Massages. Bling. Imported wool sweaters to keep them cozy. And being medicated with their own flat-screen TV to alleviate boredom while at doggie day care.
Spoiled pooches are nothing new. But I was shocked to read yesterday that pet owners spent $51 billion - yes, that's with a b - on pet stuff last year. That's far more than meals and a cozy bed or house to sleep in.
In fact, "That's more than they spent -- combined -- on movies ($18.5 billion), video games ($25 billion) and digital music ($5.2 billion)," the reporter wrote.
Have we lost so much of our senses and become so obsessed with crap that we need to overwhelm our pets as well? Where does it all stop?
What if we took one tenth of that excess and gave it to supportanimal shelters or programs to stop animal cruelty? Or heaven forbid, help people in a time where at least one in 10 of your neighbors is still out of work?
So today, I'm pitching an idea: Hold off on a tiny piece of excess. Maybe it's the designer doggie treats. Or a people treat if you're a non-pet owner. Take that $5, that $10, that $20 and use it instead to make a difference. Just imagine the impact we could make!
Readers: I'm challenging you to do this - and share how this little change helped our world!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Five Life Lessons I Learned From My Car
Back in September, I traded in my minivan for a Prius. Almost immediately, I went through withdrawals - as evidenced by this post. I missed the ability to schlep dozens of kids and some random piece of furniture picked up at a garage sale. I missed the cavernous interior which put the kids out of kicking the back seat and hitting each other range. Heck, it nearly put them out of ear shot which, depending on the day, was a good or bad thing.
A few months later and you couldn't pay me to get back in a minivan or SUV. My driving habits and outlook have done a 180. What follows are life lessons that I learned from driving a Prius:
1) Small Is Beautiful. Size does matter and bigger is not better. Bigger means less parking spaces and more dings and dents. It means that fire hydrant is closer when you are backing up. Smaller means I can squeeze in just about anywhere. I can have a meaningful conversation with my kids or ask them to do something with them actually hearing me. It means there is more space in the garage and that nothing goes to waste.
2) Life is a Journey. Not a Race. My Prius (and I believe most hybrids) has a handy monitor that continually displays miles per gallon (MPG) and whether you are in gas or electric mode. I confess that I used to gun it off the line and when getting on to the freeway. No more. I ease on the accelerator from stoplight or stop sign, watching just how much gasoline is being used. That may mean that I don't make it to the fast lane if I'm on a short freeway trip. That's cool. Life in the slow lane is sometimes more interesting anyway.
3) Silence Is Golden. At stoplights these days, I often look around. Who is making all the ruckus? Seriously. I'm over here enjoying a song on the radio or a conversation, cruising in electric mode. Which means I'm enjoying the peace and quiet.
5) Coast When You Can. Going up hill can burn some serious gas and, let's face, life throws us some hills now and then. So coast when you can. Take it easy, take your foot off the accelerator, and just cruise.
6) Try No to Lose Momentum. Sometimes, we hit road blocks in life and on the road. And, as we all know, once you've lost momentum, its hard to get up and moving again. Same goes for our cars so I hit the brakes way before a stop light and coast in, hoping it will change for me.
7) We All Are a Bit Granny, A Bit Race Car Driver. I take the straightaways at 25 and the curves at 30. I finally understand (kind of) hypermiling thanks to the MPG display. Just ease off the brakes and take that curve like a mad woman. You'll come out of it faster, with momentum, not gasoline, propelling you.
You Don't Need to Own a Hybrid To Learn These Lessons. Sure, the MPG monitor is super nifty. And I really think we'd all drive a lot more fuel efficiently if every car had one of these. Hypermiling, though, is something anyone can do as is coasting, taking it easy off the line, and just watching your foot on that accelerator. And size? After years of bigger, bigger, bigger, I think we are finally coming out the other side.
We only need what we actually need. What we'll use. Efficiency feels awesome!
* Note the "Best" MPG. Prius has this feature too so that those of us competitive sorts can compete with ourselves and trot our our numbers with other hybrid drivers. I do quite a bit of city driving and very little driving on the freeway, which results in a lower "best" MPG than the advertised 51 MPG. Still, much better than the 16 or so MPG I used to get from the ole van.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Plastic-Lite Bread Storage Hack
I started making my own whole wheat bread about a year ago.
At first, I stored my bread in plastic bags that I'd kept from store-bought bread. One of the benefits of homemade over store-bought is that you can use reusable rather than disposable packaging.
But I didn't like using the plastic bags. For one thing, they aren't really made for long-term use and aren't particularly durable. Also, it's actually a bit of work to undo a twist tie and untwist a plastic bag to take out the loaf so you can slice it. And then you have to put back the loaf, twist up the bag, and put on the twist tie again. So I started looking for a container. Eventually, my sister gave me a plastic CD container (#5 polypropylene) to store the bread in. It was the perfect size and the lid was easy to take on and off. I could easily do it one-handed.
But after a while, I started to wonder about the plastic. Almost all plastics have mysterious undisclosed additives Plus it seems like they are adding triclosan to all kinds of stuff these days. And my bread container wasn't even intended for food storage, so who knows what it had in it. So I started looking for alternatives, hopefully something plastic-free or almost plastic-free.
I checked out My Plastic-Free Life to see what solution Beth Terry had come with. She puts bread in a cloth bag and then puts the bag inside a metal popcorn tin. That's a great idea, and it's plastic-free, but way too cumbersome for someone slicing bread lots of times in a single day with hungry children waiting.
Ideally, I was looking for a glass or stainless steel container -- a plastic lid was fine with me. But no one seemed to make a container the right size. I thought about a steel bread box, but it seems they aren't air tight at all, and are more for looks (keeping all bread products neatly tucked away in their respective plastic bags) than for utility. Eventually, I found a glass container with plastic lid at our local container store that looked promising. Sadly, it was just a little too short to work.
I was feeling pretty stumped. I even asked the other Boothers for advice. And then one day, the solution just came to me.
Now I store my homemade bread on a wood cutting board with the old plastic CD container inverted on top of it. So I'm still using plastic, but the plastic isn't touching my bread at least. Not plastic-free, but perhaps we could say plastic-lite. When the loaf is partly used up, I'm able to turn the loaf cut-side down. This is not an airtight system, but it keeps out enough air to keep my bread fresh and yummy for nearly a week, which is as long as a loaf ever lasts at my house anyway.
P.S. I bake bread 4 loaves at a time. I freeze 3 of them.... in plastic bags. No solution in sight.
How do you store your homemade bread?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Homemade VapoRub!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Taking Money from the Enemy
This is not a new story, this has been happening for a long time. You have cancer organizations taking money from products that are linked to cancer, the Sierra Club has joined up with Clorox, and in my own town a cement plant is funding a green expo. This seems to be going on everywhere and the latest one to come to light is the National Wildlife Federation joining up with Scotts Miracle-Gro.
Yes a group that's mission is to stop climate change and "safeguarding America's wildlife and wild places" has teamed up with a corporation that makes billions of dollars a year selling pesticides and other chemicals, including Roundup, which is owned by Monsanto. How is this going to "safeguard" our "wildlife and wild places"?
So is what Scotts has to offer worth the price? According to Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of NWF, it is. He had this to say in a press release from Scotts.
"National Wildlife Federation and Scotts are committed to getting millions more children to play outdoors on a regular basis. This relationship is a win for American childhood, because together we will help families raise healthier and happier children who have a lifelong commitment to protecting wildlife and the natural world."
Sounds nice, I agree that kids should be outside more but do you want your kids playing in a yard that was sprayed with Roundup? And how can a company that makes products that harms wildlife and "the natural world" be committed to protecting it?
Let the National Wildlife Federation know how you feel about them teaming up with Scotts.
- Call NWF at 1-800-822-9919, they are open M-F 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST
- Post a comment on NWF's Facebook page
- Leave a comment on their website
- Tweet a message to @NWF
Scott's reply on one of the comments-
"I work for ScottsMiracle-Gro and can assure you that this partnership in no way means that NWF endorses our products. I can also tell you that we have no intention of influencing NWF's Certified Wildlife Habitat program, which we greatly respect and support."
I feel people will take this as an endorsement and how can Scotts support something their products couldn't be apart of? Seems like a classic case of greenwashing to me.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Lentil Barley Risotto Recipe
Remember last week, when I put my desire to lose weight and eat better (no Slim-Fast shakes here!) out there in print, to keep myself a little more accountable?
Well...it's going fine so far. I've found myself craving big crunchy salads, eating less of everything but what I'm eating has a really high percentage of Good For My Body stuff, drinking tea by the liter. Gallon, practically. It's good. (Except that my body is telling me I need a little more animal protein; I'm starting to feel that "off" way I did when I was completely vegetarian for a few months. But I'll do it right.)
I'm in the middle of a nasty virus, and last night I totally didn't feel like cooking anything at all. But we were hungry. And Saturday night we'd caved and gotten Chinese (mostly because, diet or no diet, our local place has this amazing hot spicy noodle soup that hits the spot when I'm sick--clears my sinuses right out), so I didn't want to do crap again.
So I threw some things in a pot. And ignored them for 40 minutes. And dinner was amazing.
You gotta try this:
Lentil Barley Risotto/Soup
- Saute a small onion and some garlic in a little olive oil
- Add a few ribs chopped celery and a couple of chopped carrots, saute a little longer
- Add a can diced tomatoes and 1 quart vegetable (or chicken) broth; bring to boil (Toss in a teaspoon or thyme or a bay leaf if you want.)
- Throw in half a cup each pearl barley and rinsed green (or brown) lentils; bring back to boil (use less of each if you want a real "soup."
- Lower heat to slow simmer.
- Stir every so often to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom, over the next 40 minutes or so. (Stir more as it gets thicker and closer to done (you may want to lower heat even more).
- Correct seasonings, add a little salt and pepper if it needs it, and serve with a little Parmesan if you want.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Cell plan searching
My "dumb phone" is dying.
As it approaches its third year of life, my phone - which can barely receive my Twitter repsonses for my work account, let alone send photos or surf the web - is dying, making the sound of battery death more and more frequently and dropping off the the network completely. And my work duties really mean I should have a data plan. (I suspect, too, that my husband would like an upgrade too!)
And so we've started the hunt for a new smart phone.
My biggest issue about smart phones - other than the much higher costs - is that I'll likely use it far more frequently, and our exposure to radiation, however small, could be a concern. I realize that the jury may still be out on the link between cell phones and cancer, but I recognize that the device would be tucked in my pocket or purse for hours a day, and there's no harm in limiting risk.
So I checked out the Environmental Working Group's list of top 10 safest phones, which to my dismay wasn't updated since December 2010. Since new phones are released all the time, I'm surprised this hasn't been updated in more than a year. I was also able to find a list of smart phones (undated), which I may be able to cross-reference once I find a finalist or two from the functionality end.
With no clear answer on what my next phone will bring, how can I limit my exposure? The Environmental Working Group has some ideas:
- Text instead of talk, as it emits less radiation (and data use).
- Use headsets or speakers.
- If you have fewer bars, limit your use, as it takes more radiation to make it to the tower!
- Limit children's cell phone use - ideally to emergencies only. Is Angry Birds really worth it?
Friday, January 20, 2012
Giving Up Kraft Dinner: Life Change Check-In
Two weeks ago Andrew and I decided that instead of the typical "New Year's Resolutions" that always make me feel guilty and inevitably fail (mostly because I forget about them), we carved out one small lifestyle change (and I art-ed about a few Life Journey stuffs I wanted to realize).
Previous to that we were averaging about four of these bad boys a week, and my dry compost pile (and ridiculous amount of gross preservatives and unhealthy nutrition) was piling up. It was just so much easier to have a meal in 10 minutes (KD) than 45min. That and a few other obstacles (check out the post for details) meant it felt like a daunting task.
Surprisingly, these past two weeks have been a fabulous success! We stuck to our 1 pre-made meal (ordered pizza on Sunday) and we've survived. A few things that I feel have helped so far:
- Sitting and chatting about this life change together. Sometimes I get excited and make all these changes or plans without consulting Andrew. As a result, they often feel like "my" goals or plans, placing the onus solely on myself. I feel burdened, stressed and guilty and ultimately it fails. This time we sat down around coffee (fair trade organic!), chatted about what we'd BOTH like to change and made a decision together.
- Meal planning. So far each Sunday we've sat down and planned what we'd like to eat for the week. Then (after some coffee) we head out to the market and grocery store to purchase what we need.
- Choosing some easy meals and some more involved meals. Tonight we had chicken quesadillas. Easy peasy that I used to make during my undergrad.
- We make our meals together. I can't emphasize enough how much easier cooking healthier meals can be when I have a cooking partner. We both take on important roles and do our fair share of the work. Then we thank each other for the lovely meal. :)
EcoYogini's Ginger Beef (modified from Chef Michael Smith's "Chef at Home" recipe)
cubed beef (if you can find grass fed beef that would be ideal- confession, we didn't...:S)
1 knob of ginger, thinly sliced
1 cup of organic beef broth (or broth you made yourself! we are not that crafty yet, small steps!)
1 jar of orange marmalade (again, if you made this yourself that is seriously fab)
1 cup of orange juice
1 tbsp of 5 spice powder
1 clove of garlic, chopped.
Kosher salt
Prior to searing, salt the beef (Andrew used Kosher salt). In a large-ish pot (we used our awesome Green Pan dutch oven-y thingy), heat the pan and using tongs sear the beef (Andrew flips them once to sear two sides: "It's a lot of beef").
Take the beef out and put it aside.
Add the ginger with the beef juices (ick) until it softens, then add the garlic.
Re-insert the beef and add the liquids (and marmalade and the spice powder).
Put on a tight fitting lid and let simmer for about an hour.
Serve with rice and veggies of choice! It tastes so deliciously like yummy spicy citrus. We had enough left over for my lunch today as well. Here's to hoping this meal planning, sans boxed healthy eating lasts past the one month mark!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Why Backyard Chickens are Good for the Earth
The Kelly Green Giant has a fairly brownish thumb, but she knows how to raise little boys, rosemary plants, and backyard chickens.
When I found out that I was going to need a risky brain surgery early this summer, I asked my husband if we could get chickens if I made it through the surgery. Needless to say, he couldn't really say no to my poultry desires, and we have been enjoying our seven Easter Egger chickens ever since. Any day now, they should begin laying multi-colored pastel eggs. In addition to being fun, they are also good for the environment. Why?
1. Chickens can eat a lot of food scraps and food that would otherwise be wasted.
2. Chickens make their own compost!
After chickens eat all that delicious food, they make lots of great compost. Don't apply chicken poop directly on your garden beds, though, because it is a little too potent. Put it in your compost pile, let the compost pile work its magic for a few months, and then shovel it onto whatever garden bed needs some serious nutrient enrichment.
3. Backyard chickens create high-quality, complete protein that is about as local as it gets.
Eating local food, and especially producing your own food, is great for the environment, because it takes much less energy to transport the food from its origins to your plate. And even if you don't have a green thumb or don't have enough sunshine for a successful vegetable garden, you can easily produce a lot of eggs and trade with your friends and neighbors!
What are you producing in your backyard?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Changing for Climate Change
Some of the Booth bloggers are targeting food as a way to lessen their impact on Climate Change. Retro Housewife Goes Green has resolved to reduce food waste and, both she and Eco-Novice, plan to make more food from scratch this year.
Eco-Novice and Emerald Apron both take aim at energy use. Emerald Apron resolves to line dry some laundry this year, as she and her family have been making excuses about using the dryer for a long time. Similarly, Eco-Novice swears to turn off the power strips at night - something she's been meaning to do for years.
The HomeGrown Mama plans to "get her act together" and remember her reusable grocery bags. That, of course, might mean that she does not attempt to grocery shop with two children, sale flyers and coupons.
Green Bean resolves to move beyond personal environmentalism to activism - whether on the city level, at a Keystone Pipeline action or even just talking more about Climate Change amongst those in her personal circle.
What actions do you intend to take this year to address Climate Change? To read what the women of the Green Moms Carnival are doing, check out Strocel.com on January 23.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Healthier Banana Bread
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sucanat (could cut this a bit and/or replace some with honey)
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 3 medium ripe bananas (1-2 cups mashed)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup hot water
- Mix the melted butter, sugar, mashed bananas and eggs very well.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flours, salt, and baking soda.
- Add dry ingredients to banana mixture, alternately with hot water.
- Oil the pan.
- Scoop the batter into the pan.
- Bake in a preheated 325 degree F oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- Test with a toothpick (or cake tester) to make to make sure it's done.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Eco-conscious weight loss?
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Circle of Friends
When I first began my eco-journey, I was certain I was alone. After all, I had grown up in a home with cloth napkins, homemade bread, line-dried laundry and almost no processed foods with no friends like me. I had heard my mother complain how difficult it is to be different. I knew first hand how many conversations can go awry when someone doesn't understand your need to eat locally produced foods. Since I knew that no one in my immediate circle of friends was going to want to spend time discussing pesticides in conventionally produced foods, I turned to the internet.
Through the internet and the wonderful world of blogging, I've made friends, learned new skills and am now actually becoming connected with other mothers who as I've started to talk and ask questions I've found are actually from the same town as I am! Can I just say how refreshing it is to actually be able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with another mom who is on a mission to improve their family's life? Finding these real life friends is akin to that first bunch of asparagus from the Spring farmer's market for me. Thank goodness for Facebook, right?
In the meantime, if you're waiting for your new eco best friend to show up, here are a few places I like to frequent for reference, answers and support:
- http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/
- http://naturemoms.com/blog/ (bonus for me: this blog is written by a mom in Ohio)
- http://www.mothering.com/
- http://www.treehugger.com/
- http://sarasnow.com/
- http://healthychild.org/
- http://www.grist.org/
- http://www.localharvest.org/
- And, of course, the Green Phone Booth and all the wonderful Eco-Super Heroes personal sites!
Friday, January 13, 2012
No winter blahs in *this* garden!
Despite what the calendar year tells me, my "new year" felt like it began back in October. After the summer harvest, my attention turned to starting over. My lofty goal: to make our property more productive. Here's a progress report:
Step #1 = Construction of berms and swales, the planning of which began back in July, and for which the supply-gathering happened in September.
I'd thought about where to site the swales, but before we dug anything out, I had to determine the yard's contours, and mark them. I identified the contours with little A-frame which Mr. Truffula made me from scrap wood.
|Bricks, rocks, and stray mugs were all pressed into service as swale and berm markers
Next, it was sandwiching time! I soaked newspaper in rain barrel water. I then covered each berm with generous, overlapping layers of paper. The wet paper went down with satisfying plops!
I covered the newspaper with several inches of composted manure. Another layer of wet paper went down on top of that. This second installment of paper likewise received a few inches of manure on it.
Finally, I covered the finished mounds with a nice dose of straw. The straw had gotten rained on (torrentially!) right after I got it home. That actually made it easier to slap onto the sides of the berms.
|A "cut-away" of my berm construction = soil + manure + newspaper + manure + straw
Coarse wood chips went into the swales. (In the future, I hope to inoculate the chips with mushroom spore.)
I intended to allow the berms to rest over the winter. But, I visited a friend doing a similar project in her yard, and saw her adorable kale and arugula seedlings coming up, I had to follow suit.
Step #2 = Low tunnel construction
I moved on to my next research project: figuring out my season extension. I immersed myself in Eliot Coleman's books, the finer points of floating row cover, and the how-to's of making low tunnels (or hoop houses).
In the end, I bought Agribon-19, a fairly light-weight fabric. Coleman points out that you want light, air, and moisture to pass through your row cover,and that it is the soil which stores the heat in those chilly times. That made me decide against heavier fabrics. They would have afforded a few degrees more of frost protection, but have blocked out more light from getting to the soil and warming it.
My frugal inner gardener also debated whether I should install row cover alone, plastic sheeting alone, or a combination of both. Coleman convinced me to try one low tunnel of row cover only, and one combined one.
The hoops for the tunnel are 10-foot lengths of 1/2-inch metal electrical conduit. A friend has this hoop bender, and Mr. Truffula and I used it to create hoops.
There are a few options for setting up the hoops. I put them directly into the soil, sinking them in as far as the clay would allow (read: a few more inches in would have been helpful).
We did the hoopin' last week -- it was a family affair, with all TruffulaBoyz and TruffulaParents on deck. Of course, we did this on what was until then the coldest day of the season. It was also windy, requiring choreography to avoid a full sail imitation on the part of the plastic sheeting. The bad part of this weather situation was that our hands so became so chilly that we could hardly move them. The good part was that we could immediately feel the difference provided by the sheeting + row cover combo on the second tunnel. It felt downright balmy in there as soon as body parts were out of the wind, and benefiting from the passive solar heating.
|My finished low tunnels.
The left one has only row cover on it. The right one has plastic sheeting with an inner row cover layer.
So far, the plastic sheeting is staying in place just from the tension I put at either end of the tunnel. I gathered the plastic, tied twine around it, and attached it to a stake.
Sorry, I could not resist showing off my precious kale seedlings... aren't they cute?! Ideally, they would have been near maturity before the short winter days kicked in. Nevertheless, they are holding their own, and some will find their way into the pot very soon as thinnings.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Book Review -- Plastic: A Toxic Love Story
Eco-novice gets educated.
Interested in learning more about plastics?
Pick up a copy of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story.
I checked out a copy from the library a few months ago and was planning to mostly browse the book (I mean, how much does anybody really want to read about plastics, for heaven's sake?). But I ended up reading almost all of the chapters in their entirety. Through the lens of iconic plastic products (the Bic lighter, the frisbee, blood bags, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bags, etc.), each chapter explores the history and issues surrounding a certain aspect of plastics. I found the chapters on plastics in humans, plastic in the oceans and the rise of disposable products, and plastics recycling especially interesting. A few favorite passages from the book:
Are Plastics Really Toxic?
Almost invariably, when an epidemiological study reports a risk associated with phthalates, the group [the American Chemistry Council] counters with a press release pointing out that the study shows a correlation only, not proof of a causal effect. Which is true – that's precisely what epidemiological studies do. Still, the correlations highlighted by epidemiological studies have long been the gold standard for assessing risks to public health. The insistent focus on the flaws of each individual study ignores – and obscures—how each may be contributing to an increasingly disturbing body of evidence. . . It's a strategy taken straight from the tobacco industry.Plastic in the Oceans
[M]ost worrisome of all is plastic pollution of the oceans…One expert estimated as much as 1.6 billion pounds of plastics ends up in the oceans each year…A key question researchers are now asking is whether that plastic – and the toxins it can carry – is getting into the food chain. Is our plastic trash winding up back on our dinner plates?The Rise of the Disposable Society
Initially, [disposable] products were a tough sell – at least to the generation that had come up through the Depression…The ethos of reuse was so deeply ingrained that in the mid-1950s when vending machines began dispensing coffee in plastic cups, people saved and reused them. They had to learn—and be taught – to throw away…We learned to throw away so well that today half of all plastics produced go into single-use applications.Life Before Curbside Trash Pickup
For much of the United States' history, Americans produced relatively little trash. Packaging, now one of the largest portions of the waste stream, scarcely existed. Most food and goods were sold in bulk…Reuse was a daily habit. Women cooked food scraps into soup and fed leftovers to the pigs and chickens most households kept. Old clothes were mended, disassembled for rags, or made into new outfits. Broken objects were repaired, dismantled for their parts, or sold to itinerant peddlers, who in turn broke them down and sold the metals, glass, rags, leather, and other materials back to industry…Things that could not be used in any way were burned [for heat, cooking fuel]. ..These kinds of informal recycling systems began to fade in the early twentieth century…the products and materials entering American lives increasingly had just one final destination: the garbage can. Waste was no longer a source of potential value or opportunity; it was a problem.The Role of Plastics in (over-)Consumption
[T]he greening of Plasticville will require more than just technological fixes. It also requires us to address the careless, and sometimes ravenous, habits of consumption that were enabled by the arrival of plastic and plastic money…It means grappling with what historian Jeffrey Meikle called our 'inflationary culture,' one in which we invest ever more of our psychological well-being in acquiring things while also considering them of such low value 'as to encourage their displacement, their disposal, their quick and total consumption.'
If you haven't got the time or inclination to read an entire book on the history of plastics, try watching the documentary Bag It. I watched it after reading Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, and found that it covered many of the same topics, although with less depth of course. For practical tips on how to eliminate and replace plastic products, stay tuned for the soon-to-be-released book Plastic Free by Beth Terry of My Plastic-Free Life.
I'll close with a quote about plastics (found in Plastic: A Toxic Love Story) from Joel Tickner, associate professor of environmental health at the University of Massachusetts:
"I'd rather change the rules so people don't have to worry about this [toxins in plastics] than spend all my time worrying about it." Joel Tickner, assoc. professor of env. Health at U. of mass.In light of that sentiment, if you haven't already, please sign and share this petition asking Congress for desperately-needed toxic chemical reform. And maybe someday, we'll all be able to spend less time worrying about plastic.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A virtual playdate with the Homegrown Mama
Hello! I'm so excited to be sharing my journey to sustainability from the trenches of motherhood in Ohio! As a long time reader of The Green Phone Booth, I cannot tell you how much fun it is to don my own cape and participate with everyone!
I grew up in a home that was eco-friendly in the sense that it's often the most frugal lifestyle. I often laugh that we didn't use paper towels until I was in high school! I have a Bachelor of Science in Biology and after my graduation from college, I became a Biologist for the Toxicology department at a contract research lab. Many of the studies I worked on required that Tyvek suits and respirators be worn at all times. At some point during the first year of my employment, I experienced health problems and became curious about the studies I was working on and a possible connection to my health. What resulted was an intense desire to rid my home of chemicals and a personal need to become less reliant on conventional products.
So now, here I am, 5 years and 2 kids later. My determination is to live a natural life. This desire for a life that is as free from waste and toxins as possible is fueled by my hope to make sure my children get the benefit of a healthy childhood to be the cornerstone for their amazing lives. We cook from scratch and cloth diaper. We play outside and are a little antsy to get our garden started. We live the way we do because my husband and I truly believe it's better. Not better in the I'm-awesome-and-you're-not-sense, but better for our lives, or children and our world. And if I'm really being honest, I like living this way!
This year, I'm working my way through a list of Eco-wishes:
- Plant our garden! I'd like to produce a sizable amount of our food both for consumption and preservation, so I'm working on plans and writing out my seed orders. Since I am hoping to keep the garden producing up to the last frost, I'm going to have to learn a little bit about succession planting, too!
- What we don't produce in the garden, I hope to find from local sources. Sometimes, it takes some work, but I love knowing that the food on my table was produced within an hour of our home!
- Host another Low Impact (First) Birthday for my daughter in April. We will be hosting it at the local Children's Museum, so I will have to plan ahead since everything will have to be transported to the site.
- Successfully switch our food storage over to glass or stainless steel. This includes the containers for my freezer cooking and the kids' dinnerware.
- Since we moved to this house, there's been no landscaping and I hope to plant some native shrubs and ground cover in addition to some fruit trees!
- And finally, starting this spring, I plan to line dry all our laundry (with the exception of disaster laundry loads or laundry that gets caught in a rainstorm). Last summer, I only used the dryer 5 times in the month of August (considering that I do roughly 7 loads of laundry a week, this was huge) and the impact on our electric bill was significant enough that even though I had been running the stove daily for canning and we had fans and the air conditioner running due to the miserable heat, our bill only went up 2 dollars!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Eco-Friendly Organizing
- Purge! Most of us have way more stuff than we need, so the first step should be to try and get rid of things you aren't using. If you can donate the items, if not see if you can recycle them.
- Clean and organize before buying boxes and things, this way you know what you need.
- Use what you have. Look around for boxes and baskets you already have that can be used to organize.
- Go DIY. Pinterest has all kinds of ideas for ways to make cute organizers out of things from your recycling bin. Just search around there and Google and you are sure to find some great ideas. For example cereal boxes can be cut and wrapped in pretty paper to make a magazine holder.
- If you have to buy look for good quality containers made from greener materials like natural fiber baskets, bamboo, eco-friendly wood, or at least stainless steel or recycled plastic.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
But the bushes say spring...Enjoying our "winter" weather in the garden
Fifty-eight degrees, Indiana and January. Typically, the only way those words are thrown together in the same sentence are "I hate January in Indiana and want to go __where it's 58 degrees."
But a fortunate blast of warm air has treated us in the last day or so, going from a week starting with frosted windshields and snow-dusted lawns to a welcoming weekend where I can actually comfortably let the kids play outside without too many arguments over clothing.
Heck, the blueberry bushes and trees even think it's spring. The tiniest of buds started displaying right around Christmas.
I'm sure soon enough we'll pay the price for unseasonably warm weather, but for now I'll take advantage of it with long walks, an afternoon at the park, and even some garden work that doesn't involve me longingly flipping through catalogs or marking my favorites on Pinterest.
Yes, I figure now's the time to start thinking about some early garden preparation. There are few things more disheartening than a few hours of garden cleanup when what you really want to do is plant those spring peas, so you might as well whittle away at that list now.
So what can you do on a mild January day in the Midwest? Here are a few ideas:
- Make progress on your weeding. Those weeds are enjoying the springlike weather too!
- Clean your garden bed if you haven't already. Unless it's a perennial plant, yank it up and compost (provided it's not diseased), or you've created a haven for pests.
- Make sure your mulch is up to snuff for when the winter weather does strike. (If you've been slow to dispose of that Christmas tree, pine needles do work!)
- Turn your compost pile, if you've been lazy about it during the hectic holiday season. (And make sure to keep it sponge-like damp if you're going through a dry stretch like we are!)
- Plant bare-root trees or plants.
- Consider trying to plant short-term winter crops, like spinach, bok choy, radishes, carrots or winter lettuces. That sprinkling of extra seeds could have some unanticipated payoffs!
- Test your soil if you haven't done that in recent years, and add any amendments that you may need. (Compost is always welcome!)
As for me, while my children are racing around outdoors, I'll likely do some weeding, rework my compost pile that hasn't composted quite as well as I thought it should and probably tempt myself to plant some seeds, guaranteeing we'll soon get the first big snow of the year!
How is your weather? Are you taking advantage of warmer temperatures to get a head start on spring?
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Bonjour from Canada! Why I'm an EcoYogini
Brought to you from the snowy lands of Canadiana- EcoYogini
Hello! Bonjour! I am so excited to be writing to you all from my warm Canadian apartment as the snow gently falls outside my window. I've been a reader of The Green Phone Booth almost since I started blogging and I feel honoured to be sharing my "Eco Journey" amidst such fabulous Boothers and wonderful readers.
Recently I've had a few experiences that have made me pause and question why exactly I do all the little (and big!) things I do for our planet. You'd think that Yogis would be all a bunch of tree-hugging hippies.... but that is so far from the truth. When I first started reading blogs I was shocked at how many yogis would go on about ahimsa (non-harming) and all that woo-woo stuff then switch to all the pvc, disposable yoga-lifestyle crap they've purchased/used/want. Now with the Americanization of Yoga, I'm less surprised by all the "non-yogic" behaviours and wasteful habits that go along with the Industry Machine called Yoga.
However, just because I'm not longer shocked when a Lulu-lemming drinks her unethical, slave labour coffee out of a disposable cup while lounging in her Made in China Lululemon clothing and her PVC (or better yet, greenwashed "biodegradable") yoga mat, doesn't mean I've given up.
Yes the consumeristic industries that make up our lives may be too big for me to change alone. Yes Canada has had THE worst year yet for the environment under the ridiculously shameful reign of Stephen Harper (Kyoto what?). And yes it would be inappropriate for me to bully every single person I meet into being as eco-cool as we, us Eco-Peeps, are...
But then, cultural change never happens overnight eh? (I give you permission to superimpose a silly uber Canadian accent on that sentence, even though my accent is more "francophone" IRL :) ).
- It's the cool thing to do and we are hip
- I care about what toxins and chemicals that I put in my body. I've had too many family and friends get ill and/or die from cancer (or other illnesses) to be ok with pesticides in my food.
- We're happier and healthier living this way.
- It meshes with my spiritual and political ideals.
- This is our One and Only Planet and we plan on having children one day. These children will need a safe, healthy and clean place to live. Why would we want to trash the only place that our future children could call home? I want them to enjoy clean and healthy forests, to be able to walk outside and breathe air freely, to not worry about skin cancer, unstable weather formations or where they can find clean drinking water or safe food.
So, Un Gros Gros Merci to The Green Phone Booth for welcoming me into their superhero fold and I look forward to all the eco-fun we're going to have over the upcoming months!
Safe Snacks for Kids
My son was recently diagnosed with a severe dairy allergy, and it really made me look much more closely at the food we eat. We were never big on fast food or processed food, but now we can't even stop for McDonald's french fries in a pinch - they are not dairy free. So many processed foods have tiny traces of dairy that could make my son very sick, in addition to having many ingredients that I can't even pronounce or recognize. Most loaves of bread in the grocery store have milk. Many brands of pretzels and crackers and chips and cookies have milk. Most jars of spaghetti sauce have - you guessed it - cheese! Margarine contains milk. Even many soy cheeses and yogurts include small amounts of dairy amongst their ingredients. So often, we may not even pay much attention to what is in our food until it really matters.
In many ways, I think that our departure from eating whole foods and from spending time outside in the sunshine has made us sicker. Incidence of food allergies is rising steeply, especially among children. In one interesting Australian study, food allergy rates are correlated with latitude, suggesting that increased sun exposure seems to have a protective effect against developing food allergies.
But besides spending more time out in the sunshine making vitamin D, and besides putting more whole foods in our bodies, how can we address the existing allergies? Most importantly, as a good rule of thumb, don't serve any food to any child without asking their parent first. If possible, avoid processed foods and serve either homemade treats, or serve the best snack of all - fresh fruits and vegetables, with a big glass of water.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Book Review: Tractor Mac - Farmer's Market
Disclaimer: I have not received any compensation for this review, and all opinions expressed are my own.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Always Room for One More
Fighting Climate Change from her Canadian perch, EcoYogini uses "Yoga Fire" and other such various moves to protect our planet. By day she's a Francophone Speech-Language Pathologist, but by night her Mudras emerge to reveal an apartment dwelling, lobster loving, Kick-Asana Eco-Heroine!
fix her brain but couldn't quite get all the green out. She spends her days chasing her preschool-age son and usually another boy or two she collects along the way, hanging loads of laundry on the clothesline,
feeding compost to her backyard chickens, taking every freelance writing opportunity that comes her way, and studying to be a nurse.


text:
by Emily Fraser, University Of Portland
Modified by Barbara Day, Phillips Traditional School
An exploratory adventure, based on the book "The Sign of the Beaver", written by Elizabeth George Speare.
Imagine that you are living in 1768. Your family has decided to move to the undeveloped wilderness of what is now Maine. You and your dad go first in order to build a cabin and prepare things for your mother and sister. Once the cabin is complete, your father returns to Massachusetts for the rest of your family, a trip that should take about 7 weeks. He leaves you all alone to tend to the cabin and crop of corn. He promises to return by the end of August, leaving plenty of time before the cold, long, winter sets in.
In this activity you will time-travel to another era, and imagine that you are the main character, Matt, age 13. You will also encounter a new culture: the Penobscot Indian tribe. You will learn a lot about yourself, and survival in the wild. Will you be able to adapt to your new life?


text:
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County (BGCCC) largest fundraising event of the year will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at the Frisco Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center. For 12 years, this annual gala has been the single largest funding source for programs that change the lives of thousands of youth in Collin County. Last year, the gala was the highest grossing event in the history of the clubs, exceeding the million-dollar goal for gross revenue.
Capital One is the presenting underwriter for the eighth year. This year's theme is "Come Together" which expresses the importance of all of us working together with our young people to not only provide them with great futures, but to show them that with the support of family, individual and corporate supporters, they can reach their goals. The evening will emphasize the importance that volunteers, mentors, tutors and the support of our corporate partners all play in building our children to handle the future of our country.
"Each year we are amazed by the support we receive from the underwriters and sponsors as well as individual ticket holders who make this a special evening of giving and caring for the youth we serve" states Mike Simpson, CEO. "They hear a message from our children, alumni and families, on what BGCCC has meant to them and how it has impacted their lives. Attendees hear from young adults that have progressed through the clubs, graduated from college and now have successful careers and are productive, caring and responsible citizens of their communities."
The funds generated at this year's event will help the BGCCC continue to expand the number of children served, in the Collin County and North Texas area. "We saw an increase of over 20% at the end of last year, and with the continued influx of families, our ability to serve more children is critical. While the numerous corporations moving into this area bring some outstanding job opportunities for families, it also expands the need for high quality after school and summer programs where parents are ensured of a safe, nurturing environment. The same need applies to the thousands of service and supply workers needing a place for their children while mom and dad are on the job"
This year's Chrysalis Ball will again feature the red carpet walk with BGCCC kids greeting the attendees. A four-course dinner including all refreshments, a reception and silent auction, plus a Live Auction and Sponsor a Child program as well as Casino themed after party. The emcee for the evening is Kris Gutierrez, News Anchor / Reporter for NBC 5 Dallas. The Limelight Band will provide the entertainment and dancing to close out a wonderful event benefiting the children of BGCCC.
For more information about underwriting, sponsorship, individual tickets, auction item donations or general questions, contact Laura Bese at (469) 888-4620 ext. 105 or email@example.com. Information and pictures/video from last year's event are available at the 2017 Chrysalis Ball website, which is www.bgccc.org/gala
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County has been meeting the needs of children in Collin County since 1968. BGCCC's mission is "To enable to all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens." The organization currently serves over 8,500 children each year through its after-school, summer and outreach programs with branches in Frisco, McKinney and Plano and a satellite facility in Plano.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County's website is www.bgccc.org.


text:
February 28, 2016
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