Written on
February 9, 2010 by
Amber
I live in suburban Vancouver, BC. This week the 2010 Winter Olympic Games will open in my region, and people are excited. The Torch is making its way through local communities, people are wearing their Team Canada gear, and dozens of cultural events are kicking off. The city is ready to celebrate and capitalize on the international attention that we are receiving. As someone who has lived in this region my whole life I am proud of the show we are about to put on.
At the same time, we cannot forget that a major event such as the Olympics comes at a cost.
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Because I make them.
It’s as simple as that. Just like I make them turn off lights when the leave a room and make them turn off the tap water while brushing their teeth and make them place empty cereal boxes in the recycling bin.
They don’t like it much. They say the bus smells (it does!) and sometimes, kids are rowdy. Often, they tell me, the bus driver is grouchy. If I drove them to school, they argue, they could sleep in a bit later (not that they would!) and would get home a bit earlier in the afternoons.
It’s true.
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Written on
January 25, 2010 by
DianaP
I’m a food writer and a gardener. I never thought I’d say that — even to myself, let alone out loud — and yet, here I am. Late January is blowing in with wind and ice and seed catalogs galore are gracing my mailbox — and I am itching to dig in the dirt.
I want nothing more than to get outside, feel a warm breeze on my skin and to sink my hands into the dark, heavily composted soil that will (hopefully) nourish a large part of our sustenance in the coming year. Unfortunately, I was born, raised and continue to live in The North; a frustratingly cold place where such wonderful endeavors cannot be undertaken without engaging in epic futility until well into April or May.
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Written on
January 20, 2010 by
Amber
My daughter, Hannah, is almost 5 years old and she loves to draw. She’ll use whatever’s on hand but her favourite drawing tool, by far, is a marker. I can see why – they have the most vivid colours and they don’t become dull with use. As long as you remember to put the tops back on they hold their own for quite some time.
I have concerns with markers, though. For one thing, markers are all made of plastic. This means that when we’re done with them they head to the landfill where they’ll spend tens of thousands of years.
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A number of years ago, an acquaintance of mine belonged to a dinner co-op. The concept was simple: four friends (living on the same block) shared the burden of the evening meal. Each friend was assigned one day of the week (Monday through Friday) and on her assigned day, cooked dinner for all four families. The other three days, she sat back and waited for her family’s meal to be delivered.
At the time, I thought it sounded like a convenient idea–even an ingenious idea–but I didn’t consider it to be necessarily a ‘green’ idea. I realize now I was wrong: dinner co-ops are a great way to be environmentally responsible while enjoying the awesome benefit of cooking only once or twice a week.
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Written on
January 18, 2010 by
Amber
I consider myself to be pretty environmentally responsible. I work hard to reduce my consumption, to re-use items I already have and to recycle the things that I can’t re-use or re-purpose. I garden and shop at farmer’s markets, and I buy local and handmade whenever I can. Of course, I am far from perfect. I don’t think anyone is, try as we might, but all the same I really do try to consider the impact of my actions.
How well am I doing? I don’t think there’s an easy answer to that question, but I decided I would look to the internet to see if I could find any clues.
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Written on
December 28, 2009 by
Amber
There was a time when I wouldn’t dream of drinking tap water. I’m not even really sure why that was anymore, but I think it had to do with my perception that it was somehow less than. Bottled water just seemed more appealing to me. However, over the past 12-18 months my perception on water has changed significantly.
What caused the change? I became concerned about some of the chemicals that are found in plastic water bottles when the Canadian government decided to prohibit the use of bisphenol A in baby bottles due to possible health concerns. I am not a baby, but at the time that these announcements were happening I was pregnant and then breastfeeding.
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Written on
December 16, 2009 by
SusanC
The air is crisp, and there are (almost) daily visits of “Jack” frost. The trees are just about completely barren and in town there’s the buzz of holiday excitement. This past weekend we had our first local indoor Winter Farmer’s Market. All the signs indicate the holidays are around the corner!
The end of this week marks the beginning of the Christmas “consumer” season, the holiday parties, cookie baking, travel, decorating…. and the to-do list gets longer and longer. So, here I am to offer a gentle reminder on the importance of simplicity… even in December!
I recently started re-reading Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv and am deeply moved by the words of a fifth grader interview for the book.
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Written on
December 16, 2009 by
Amber
My grocery buying habits have shifted over the years. Once upon a time (in a long forgotten age) I was a single university student living alone. Most of the food I bought came in small packages. In the first place, there just wasn’t much cupboard space in my tiny apartment. In the second place, there was no way I could get through the economy sized tub of mayonnaise before it spoiled. But then I got married and had one baby, and another. And suddenly we were going through food at an alarming rate. These days I do opt for the economy sized mayonnaise , because we will eat it and it’s, you know, economical.
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