Have you heard of Ta‘Kaiya Blaney? I had not until reading about her inspiring work on We Canada’s blog. Ta‘Kaiya is a Sliammon First Nations singer, songwriter and actor. She is also concerned about the environment, marine and coastal wildlife. She is also TEN years old and amazing. Have a listen…

A young person doing such impressive and unexpected things is so inspiring. It makes me more hopeful for the future.

This post is part of the 2011 Greening your Halloween Blog Tour brought to us by Green Planet Parties, Green Halloween, Green Gift Guide, Surf Sweets and A Little Bit of Momsense.  

September inspired changes regarding healthier lunches, avoiding packaging and rethinking purchases in our house.  I had another idea too, perhaps it is time to get a little eco-crazy and raise the bar a little.  How about a monthly mindful, green healthy challenge?  Something easily adapted to suit lifestyle and comfort level.  Even small actions make a difference.  

With two weeks left, there is still time to green Hallowe’en. Our family decided not to spend any money on a Hallowe’en costumes. Instead, we will repurpose, recycle, borrow or create something spooktacular. 

According to the National Costume Swap website, “swapping half the costumes kids wear on Halloween would reduce the annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equal to the weight of 2500 mid-sized cars”.  

Recycling and repurposing costumes reduces packaging, transportation, and manufacturing resources too.  This is an easier task thanks to costume swaps like this one here in Ottawa tomorrow, 2pm at Dovercourt Recreation Centre. 

Eye-rolling conversations are happening in our house with stories of Hallowe’en in the olden days.  “When I was a kid…” kind of talk about saving ice cream containers, tinfoil and boxes to make a robot. (That was my husband’s masterpiece!)  I remember a creative classmate that stuck little cars on two long pieces of cardboard attached with string at the shoulders. Her costume,  a road complete with median lines and a homemade stop sign in hand.  Ah, retro Hallowe’en…

So what do you think?  Will you join me in this challenge?  If you email me photos of your green inspired costumes, I will post them.  We can have a little fun and feel good that we kept waste from the landfill and a bit of money in our wallets. 

Waaahahaaaa! 

Please note:  Post updated October 16^th to include picture and Blog Carnival information.

My family is fast approaching a five-year anniversary of our move from Toronto to Ottawa. It took a while to call Ottawa home but we have come to love this city, its friendly people, beautiful landscape and attractions.

Over the years, as a cheeky newcomer, I have noted a few characteristics many Ottawan’s seem to share as a community.  For example…

• Forget the game six degrees of Kevin Bacon. In Ottawa, it is two degrees of Alanis Morissette, ANY Ottawa Senator (including coaches) or Margaret Trudeau. This proud game extends to include the famous persons siblings, extended family and children. Act impressed.
• Distain for Toronto, particularly the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. Never bring up past playoff knockouts. Do not go there.
• Concern for lost pets and animals that is genuine and often news worthy.  I love this.
• Here, a conversation about Meech Lake is likely a reference to swimming, the beach and fun…not a political discussion about Brian Mulroney.
• Fine dining = neon cactus.
• Surprisingly, positive personal accounts of the Ice Storm in 1998.
• Ottawan’s have incredible memory retention for the exact year Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman called in the army during one fateful winter. Often accompanied with raised arms (help, help!) followed by a good laugh and possibly a knee slap. 
• No matter where you live in the city, there is a good chance your work commute slowed thanks to Canadian geese, deer and/or wild turkeys crossing your path.  Listen for it on traffic reports.
• People do not say they are “out of work” in Ottawa; they are “between contracts”.
• Finally, most people in Ottawa have been scared senseless at Saunders Farm.

Having never experienced the last of the above points this Thanksgiving weekend my family ventured out with a group of friends this gorgeous, record setting hot temperature Sunday, to Saunders Farm.   Unfortunately, we cannot brag we were brave enough to go during the dark of night.  Yikes, that must be extra scary!  Despite the bright sun, we had enough screams, shrieks, jumps and laughs to qualify as Saunders “Scare-ees”.  Here are some photos from a fantastically fun day.

Welcome pumpkins

Amazing mazes

Our friends once spent an hour wandering this maze.

Plenty of wonderful activities for the little ones

...like giant jumping pillows.

A live show "Indiana Bones and the Temple of Brooms".

Costumes

Yummy treats

Believe the sign.

Spooky Wagon Ride and no, we didn't give the guy with the chainsaw a ride.

Saunders Farm was so much fun we plan to go again.  There is something for everyone…even scaredy cats like me.  Happy Thanksgiving to Canadians celebrating this weekend.

I feel the new year starts in September once the kids are back to school.  It is an exciting, busy time in our house with anticipation of a new grade, new teachers, new classrooms, classmates and activities too.  I find it a wistful time  as it is hard for me to let go of the summer and relaxing long weekends with family and friends, knowing that snow is just around the corner.  Well…let’s not talk about that.

Inspired by this fresh start feeling floating around in our house I am thinking of how I can make better changes for our health and the environment. With growing kids and busier schedules combined with work, school, volunteering and activities, I have less time (and energy) to devote to feeding my family. I am also scrutinizing things around our home to see how we can save some money too. 

Is anyone else feeling this way…or is it just me?

In some areas, we are doing fairly well.  We have done a good job reducing our garbage thanks to recycling and composting.  I am not doing well when it comes to packaging and unnecessary waste.  I have decided to make this school year all about the ‘Big Batch’ in an attempt to avoid certain processed foods and make mealtime easy and healthier for our family.

Big batch means that whenever I cook, I make a big batch of something so I can freeze multiple meals. It allows me to buy more of certain items and reduce packaging.  It also means that meal preparation is as easy as remembering to take something out the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator the night before. I am working on the remembering part!  It makes after school/work time more relaxing if I am not running around cooking every single night as dinner is warming.  So far, I have discovered fantastic big batch recipes for family approved soups, stews, casseroles, main dishes and muffins.   

How about you?  Do you do big batch cooking/baking?  Any tips for saving money, packaging and avoiding processed food?

What are you doing tonight?  If you have nothing exciting planned here is a suggestion for a FREE activity, weather permitting. 

It is the 2011 Perseid Meteor Shower and for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, August is the best time to watch the night skies for meteors.  It is predicted to peak on August 12^th and 13^th, fingers crossed the clouds and full moon does not hamper our view.  During perfect sky conditions it is possible to see 60 to 100 meteors in just one hour!

Meteors are born when small dust grains from space impact the Earth’s atmosphere at incredibly high speeds. The light streaks we see across the night sky are from the debris burning up from friction with the atmosphere.

Ottawa weather forecast calls for a clear night. Perhaps the meteor show is a good reason to drag out a few lawn chairs, uncork a beverage, sit back, and watch the show.  It sounds like a fun family activity or a perhaps romantic evening with your sweetheart.  Awww.

Find a location away from the city light pollution and look up to the north-eastern sky.  Do not worry, meteors are safe to watch with the naked eye.

Have fun!

A few posts dedicated to answering email questions from readers…

A friend inquired about switching to cloth napkins.  She was not convinced the effort, expense and care were better for the environment.  There are certainly arguments for both sides of the debate.

Personally, I like using cloth napkins.  It was an easy switch in our home once my husband stopped complaining. From a frugal perspective, we have saved money this year when we stopped purchasing disposables.  If you are handy with a sewing machine, it is a terrific way to repurpose old sheets, tablecloths and fabrics.  Garage sales or second hand clothing shops are a good place to find inexpensive vintage or retro sets. 

Unfortunately, composting paper napkins might make us feel good but it does not make them environmentally friendly. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council  “If every household in the United States replaced just one package of virgin fiber napkins (250 count) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees.”  If you cannot give up the disposables at least try to buy unbleached 100% post consumer recycled napkins. 

There is nothing eco-friendly about starting a hot water wash just to wash cloth napkins. To avoid this we reuse our napkins.  When we are not entertaining, we have different napkin ring holders that help us keep track of every family member. This might gross you out, but I do not wash napkins every day.  (Gasp!) Even with kids, it is rare napkins need daily washing.  When laundering is required, I throw them into the wash with a full cold-water load of…whatever.  No special loads, no special laundering.  As for stains, I pre-treat bad stains with my favourite non-toxic stain remover (I like Nature’s Clean – a Canadian Company that does a super job.) Next, I forget about it in the hamper until the next full load.  Take it a green step further and hang them to dry on the line. 

My only minor complaint using cloth napkins is wrinkles. I resist the urge not to haul out my iron to press them into folded perfection. What can I say?  I grew up with a Mom that ironed underwear.    

I find the key to managing crinkled cotton is the brilliant napkin ring!  It does not have to be expensive.  We have a set of toilet paper rings from a rainy day craft project. For fancier occasions, we have mismatched old spoons bent into circles that look funky.  Wrinkled cotton is somewhat forgivable stuffed into a napkin ring or…peaking out of a glass like a crinkled flower. (kinda sorta?)

Tacky or terrific?

If you want to purchase cloth napkins try to look for green home stores that sell fair-trade, organic cotton made with natural dyes. 

So, to answer my friend Alli’s question, I think for minimal effort cloth napkins can save money, save trees, save landfill and brighten up a table with colour and fabric.  Definitely, worth trying.   What do you think?

For the past three summers, we tried unsuccessfully to plant a vegetable garden.  Our resident rabbits and full figured groundhog thoroughly enjoyed the buffet of young sprouts we planted.  Multiple times. Nibbled right down to the soil.  I believe they appreciated the work we went to solely for their dining enjoyment.  

We tried various natural methods to deter but nothing worked.  Last year my frustration escalated and I feared I sounded like Chevy Chase’s character Ty in Caddyshack vowing we would “Channel our Toronto roots and construct a G20 barrier around the garden. There is no way they will eat our vegetables this summer!!!” After the words came out my mouth, I realized I was scaring the children…and my husband.

Thanks to helpful gardening blogs, Twitter advice and reading up on the subject I decided to dig out old unused pots from the garage (and my parents’ garage) and see if we could grow vegetables in containers.  It was a success.  Well…sort of.  It would have been a huge success if we had not left for our annual holiday to visit our family in New Jersey without arranging for someone to water our pots.  (oops!)  Thank goodness, we remembered the cat.

Despite record heat wave temperatures in Ottawa that week, our vegetable plants somehow survived. Unfortunately, they look very sad and damaged.  We still feel successful because we have a lot of wonderful green peppers, tomatoes and the cucumber and zucchini are hanging in there.  Fingers crossed they will continue to grow.

Yummy peppers

Scorched by the sun

We will learn from our many mistakes this summer and next year our garden will be even better. We plan to expand our crops to include beans and snow peas too.  If space is limited or you have smart and hungry critters in your yard I recommend giving container gardening a whirl.  Just remember to water if you go away for a holiday.

I have a book suggestion. It is the kind of book after finished; you might feel inspired to share with your friends and family too. It is not a fluffy, romantic summer novel or gripping mystery, but an eye-opening book. In fact, it is downright frightening. The book is “There is Lead in your Lipstick. Toxins in Our Everyday Body Care and How to Avoid Them” by Gillian Deacon.

Stay with me people. Please.

There is a chance you are thinking – no thanks. Perhaps your eyes are rolling at the thought of toxic personal care products preachy/feel terrible about yourself and your lifestyle kind of book? Surprisingly, it is not.

Consumers need to make informed decisions buying/using products for our families and ourselves. According to the author, the average woman douses herself with approximately 127 chemicals before leaving the house in the morning. Apparently, men are not much better. Most North Americans trust that there is a government or protective body ensuring that products for sale are safe. Unfortunately, this is not the case when it comes to beauty products.

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I considered myself decently informed when it comes to greenwashing. I am shocked to find out that many famous “organic” companies (listed in the book) are misleading consumers. It is full of surprises that left me scratching my head and angry. Why is it we require strict labelling when it comes to food and beverages but products we slather over our bodies, we trust that the ingredients inside are not dangerous. This is a mistake.

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Not all is doom and gloom throughout this book though. Gillian manages to explain our toxic exposure to substances harmful to our health and the environment in a friendly, positive way. (That sounds impossible, but somehow she does it.)

Gillian shines a well researched light on companies and chemicals we should avoid. Explaining how to read labels and uncover marketing omission and misinformation.  She offers a multitude of helpful suggestions for safe products to replace the toxic ones in your home. Since this is a Canadian book, they are easily found on-line and in shops.

Not only does she provide safer shopping suggestions, Gillian includes many easy recipes to create natural alternatives at home. This is appealing not only to anyone interested in making healthier choices but crafty do-it-yourself and frugal minded folk too. Win-win!

Long time MM readers out there might find this interesting (I did), Ottawa entrepreneur Gwen owner of Nayla Natural Care receives many mentions throughout the book as a trustworthy supplier of healthy, earth friendly products. Gwen had no idea Gillian was a fan of her business until one of her customers told her about the publication. Isn’t that cool? Way to go Gwen!

This book is about human health and eco-principles too. Under the Beautiful Face, Beautiful Place heading Gillian writes, “I hope you enjoy trying some new products and practices, and have fun experimenting with new ideas. Enjoyment is really the most beautifying ingredient after all.”

If you have the opportunity, check this book out. I am currently mixing up a batch of Easy Epsom Soak for our bathroom.  Please share your thoughts/review too.

I found this new PSA for the WWF thanks to @LisaBorden on Twitter tonight. It is so simple and beautifully done I had to share. Hope you find it powerful too.

1.  (a) : to move aimlessly from place to place  (b) : to explore idly
2. : to talk or write in a desultory or long-winded wandering fashion
3. : to grow or extend irregularly

The summer of awesome is officially off to a smashing start thanks to visitors.  One of the many reasons I love having family and friends stay with us is because it gives us a needed push to get out and explore Ottawa.

Depending on the interests of our company, we see a variety of attractions, sights and parks throughout the region.  From exploring trails and nature of Gatineau Park, running around in a bathing suit at an outdoor spa in -20 degree weather or underground tour of a Bunker, we certainly get around.

Take this week for instance. My Mom came up from Toronto and her love of gardening inspired a trip to the Rideau Woodland Ramble near Merrickville, Ontario.  It is a garden centre and display garden situated on 7 acres of lush woodland.

Dave Dunn and Rob Caron combine 25 years of collecting rare plant materials, gardening expertise and hard labour (I imagine!) to create this spectacular Garden Centre.  They turned the 1998 ice storm devastation of a mature stand of Red Pine into a magical and inspiring woodland attraction.

This is not just a place for passionate gardeners or landscapers.  I am a newbie gardener and came away with ideas, optimism and a few unique plants that will add some drama to our little plot of land. It is worth the drive to…ramble. 

Welcome!

Isn't it lovely?

Many opportunities to sit, rest and admire the plantings.

Look up.

Look down.

Wonderful plant selection.

Lake Ramble

more rambling...

If you are a gardener, an artist, photographer, admirer of nature or just looking for something different to do, I recommend visiting the Rideau Woodland Ramble. It most certainly deserves the word “awesome”.

*Merriam Webster Free Dictionary