Monthly Archives: June 2009

Looks Like We’re Moving

My husband has been job hunting for a while. He’s had a job, but just an adequate one.

Now he’s landed a better one, but we have to move for it, just a couple hours north of where we are now.

I’m happy and sad about it. Happy that he got a better job with room for advancement. Sad that we have to move, which means leaving friends, family and even my garden.

We’re hoping to hand the garden down to someone who will care for it. We have a few friends who have admired it, and the containers could possibly be moved. We’re also letting a few friends know in case they want to change where they’re renting. We’re also going to try potting some of the tomatoes to take along with us.

As I told my husband, we can keep in touch with friends and family, but losing the garden we’ve put so much work into really stings. Especially since we can’t start another one for the summer, although we may be able to do something for fall.

These next several weeks will be really busy for me. They want my husband to start on June 22, so he’ll be spending weeknights at my sister’s house, who lives about an hour from the new job. Better than driving 2 or more hours to get home, sleep and leave again, hardly seeing anyone.

I’ll be packing and researching places to rent while he’s gone, so that we can minimize this whole mess.

I’ll post when I can, and hope that we can get internet service quickly in the new place!

There’s still a slim chance we won’t move. If the local job he applied for wants him and calls this week, all these plans will change. Best of all, the local job might be at a location with an express bus stop practically at its front door. But for now we have to assume that we’re going.

What’s Happening to the Fish?

I’ve been coming across a lot of articles lately on how overfishing is running rampant. From the bluefin tuna being in danger of extinction to California closing the 2009 salmon season. And the situation is a lot worse than than.

Just read this article by Johann Hari on whether we could be the generation that runs out of fish. Ouch.

Then try Tree Hugger’s article on 10 fish you shouldn’t be eating.

The problem is quite simply overfishing. Too bad the solution isn’t so simple, as there’s too many big businesses relying on heavy fishing to survive, and they keep managing to keep the quotas too high for the stability of the population, and will no doubt fight the closures that need to happen.

Even though such moves would keep their businesses running for a longer time.

It’s one of the biggest problems we have, that so many people don’t want to take the steps necessary to preserve, well, anything, until it’s just about too late. We see this time and again. Pesticides and fertilizers and dead zones in the ocean and pollution and plastics, and, and, and….

It doesn’t stop.

These are the things that go beyond saying “well, I just won’t buy any.” That’s not good enough. Someone else will buy it. It’s not even enough for one government to say “stop.” That helps one area, one country, but more needs to be done.

As Johann Hari says in his article, at least 30% of the ocean needs to be closed to fishing, with strict quotas in the remaining 70%. That would take some incredible policing, but it’s what needs doing if we want fish in the ocean.

6 Ways Cutting Back is Good for Your Family

Like a lot of families, we’ve had to cut back this past year and a half or so. Not that we were extravagant in the past, far from it. But like a lot of families, our income is down this year, and the need to save still more has hit pretty hard.

Really, it’s good for us. Even if you’re lucky enough to not have to cut back, it’s probably good for your family too.

1. More time playing as a family at home.

Family game nights have long been a good idea. When you don’t have the money to spend on going to the movies or taking vacations, they’re a good way to still have some family fun.

Games can be active too. Tag, hide and seek and so forth don’t have to just be for the kids.

2. You find out just how great deals can be at thrift stores.

This has been gaining in popularity as more people realize that great clothes and other things are available for low prices through thrift stores.

This can also help if you have kids who are really into trendy clothes. You probably won’t get the most trendy stuff, but you can often find the right names at thrift stores. If you find clothes that are clearly barely worn or even still have their tags on them, it’s a lesson on how much people can waste just on wardrobe.

There’s no rule saying kids have to have the trendiest clothes, after all. That can be a painful lesson for some people, especially if all their friends are really trendy, but it’s a great lesson to learn.

3. Gardening is good for you.

Especially organic gardening. Once things are going, you can earn back your investment in fresh, better than from the grocery store produce. Plus you get exercise working in the garden.

Try to get the whole family involved. My kids have an absolute obsession with planting seeds, most of which don’t come up because they start forgetting to water them.

Besides, it’s fun telling kids that yes, they may snack off the tomato vines, beans or peas. Having kids beg for something healthy is great.

Plus you can give great lessons in sharing by having the kids give the excess to neighbors.

4. Doing it yourself encourages creativity.

Whether it’s sewing, knitting, home repair, cooking, making play dough or other such things, it’s good to know how to do it yourself. Making things builds an appreciation for them. Kids especially love the feeling of knowing that they made something by themselves.

For example, I’ve promised my daughter that I’ll teach her some basic sewing this year. Not the sewing with yarn kits that she has done with her grand mother, real sewing. She’s really excited by the notion, especially since we might just haul out the sewing machine once we’ve done some basic hand sewing. It doesn’t really save money compared to thrift store shopping, but for the pride of  “I made that!” it can’t be beat.

5. Simpler family outings can be a good thing.

Most of our family outings involve hiking, a wonderful free activity. It also helps to build an appreciation for nature. If you aren’t good at naming plants, try checking out a local nature guide from the library. You might be amazed at what grows wild in your area.

6. You can save a lot of money.

Some ways to cut back will cost extra at first, such as starting a garden, but in the long run should pay off.

It’s not always easy to cut back, but both financially and environmentally speaking it’s often a great choice. Keep in mind the differences between frugal, cheap and green, so that you can focus on which matters most to you.

Encourage Your Kids to Watch Green TV Shows

TV watching isn’t the best of habits, but most of us do it, and most of us let our kids do it. One of the troubles is that the commercials encourage kids (and adults) to want so much stuff, it’s just insane.

Of course, you can use commercials as teaching moments, and help your kids to learn how to cope with advertising. They’re going to be dealing with it their entire lives, after all. They should know how to be skeptical and how to recognize needs versus wants.

Not an easy lesson for any of us. But very, very important.

On the other hand, you can help your kids pick more than the usual fare. You can avoid the over marketed popular kids shows that sell tons of plastic junk toys of the starring characters.

My kids enjoy  a lot of the usual shows, but channels such as The Discovery Channel and Planet Green really get their attention well too.

Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego Go have their good points, as they encourage kids to think about the environment. However, they also sell an awful lot of plastic junk, so it’s a bit of a toss up with shows like that. I’m much more fond of PBS shows for my kids, such as Curious George, Arthur and It’s a Big, Big World for them. Fewer commercials, even between shows, and it always seems like far fewer toys available for them.

It really is amazing just how much kids pick up from television. Some of it’s good, but other parts not so much. Help them pick  great shows when they do watch TV.

Planning for a Green Summer Break

This is it. The last Monday of the school year in my area. Oh my.

We have most a of week left of school, as this Thursday is the last day of school. But it’s definitely time to be sure that I’m ready to have the kids home all day, every day.

An important step is to be sure that we always have a good supply of safe sunscreen on hand. They tan about as easily as I burn, but I want to have their skin protected. It’s a good habit for life, although I do let them play outside without sunscreen on. There’s that little matter of vitamin D production to be considered, although that doesn’t take long on really sunny days.

I try to avoid a lot of the running around to various activities that a lot of people find to be so necessary. There’s swimming lessons, but that’s a safety issue.

Most of what we do is right in our area. Playing with the kids next door or other friends within walking distance. Taking family walks in the nearby fields or to the playground in the evenings when it has cooled off enough for everyone to really enjoy it.

We have hopes of managing at least a short, local camping trip. My husband dreams of going to Yosemite again one of these days, but the time for it just isn’t there right now, not to mention it’s extra hard to do with a baby.

And of course there’s gardening. My kids are already picking cherry tomatoes for quick snacks.

We have a serious water shortage, which means running through the sprinklers is limited to late evenings on the days we are to be allowed to water. But then it’s dual purpose, letting the kids have fun and keeping our lawn from dying all the way off.

Really, there’s not much to planning a green summer break. It can be almost completely unplanned. Just figure out what you can do in your area without driving, without buying more junk, without electricity, etc. and you have a great start.

What are you planning for your summer break?