Green reflections of 2009

Gluten-free vegan Christmas dinner never tasted as good as this

Here's the spread!

The best raw apple pie for dessert

Unwrapping the flyer

What a year 2009 has been (and since I don't have a clock, it may well be 2010 as I type).

What we did in 2009:

• grew our first family vegetable garden
• ate from our vegetable garden
• started composting in our backyard
• continued to support local farmers at the Farmers' Market and avoid grocery stores if possible during the growing season
• used the water from the dehumidifier to water plants
• purchased a dehydrator
• started making raw crackers and other raw treats
• entered into a gluten-free and casein-free diet
• attempted a low phenol diet, but let it go
• entered into a rotation diet
• got a shower water filtration system
• wrote a few times in this blog
• moved the office closer to home so that the car wouldn't have to be used every day

Goals for 2010:

• find a way to install solar panels
• insulate the house better
• get smart devices to conserve energy
• start green business(es)/initiatives
• write better blog entries

A big thank you to those of you who read and accepted some of my suggestions in the gift-giving post. I really appreciate the flyers wrapping paper for the kids' gifts! ;)

All the best to you in 2010!

Season's Greetings... Unwrapped

Happy holiday season, dear friends and family! I hope that you are all enjoying the new change in weather; we have only 29 more days of 2009.

I went to the grocery store last week, and there were already big red and white signs up encouraging people to buy, buy, buy! There were "gift" ideas displayed almost aggressively, and wrapping paper and gift bags had their own display. As you know, we started sending out electronic Xmas greetings last year to decrease the amount of waste that we traditionally
accumulate at Christmas time.

Today someone asked me if I celebrated Christmas. My response was that we do celebrate but perhaps not in the traditional sense that we would have a big decorated tree and a turkey (or any meat, for that matter). The other person commented that she just wanted to spend time with people; she didn't want any gifts that were not needed. That's what I find most important too, is enjoying quality time with the people we love - and I hope to be able to pass this very important message on to my children.

Of course people want to give, and sometimes people really do need things so there's nothing wrong in giving gifts. I do have some gift-giving suggestions that aren't the traditionally advertised.

1. Give the gift of time or service
If you have time to spare, you could offer to babysit, dog walk, cook, do some housework for someone who has no time for herself. This really is invaluable! And this sweet gift has no wrapping paper to throw away ;) (more on wrapping later)

2. Give home-made food
I find it really special that someone would spend the time and care to prepare preserves, bread, soup, etc... then give some to me! This is really thoughtful, and it makes you feel special too.

3. Give home-made crafts
How long do you think it takes to knit a pair of mittens, or sew an apron? How much sweeter is it to receive a hand-made card than a commercial one? These are gifts from the heart made especially for the person.

4. Give something a new home
I know that many people have made it clear to me that giving a "used" gift is just not right, that it's not the tradition. Well, did you know that real candles used to be used on real pine trees? Most of them are artificial now (trees and lights) - still carrying on tradition, just altered a bit to make it a little safer. What's the advantage of giving something previously enjoyed: there's probably no packaging and you're making use of something that might just be someone else's clutter or landfill. Of course you should probably give something used to someone like me who really dislikes excess and irresponsible packaging - and not to someone who thinks you're being rude or cheap.

5. Plain money (not gift cards - do they recycle those?) is very liquid, very useful. I've also been told that this is not a good gift idea, that it shows no thought. Well, really, I think it's the most practical - or just ask the person what they want, and get that. But if people are far, you can send money, and your recipient can get what he wants with that money. I find that this creates less waste: no receipts, no time waiting in line to exchange/refund.

6. Donate to the food bank or other charity in the person's name.

7. Just a phone call would be nice - especially long distance. I get really excited to know about friends far away.

A few suggestions for gift wrapping:
1. reuse children's artwork (that you don't intend to keep or hang up), flyers, old big calendars, newspapers - and decorate a bit
2. reuse a gift bag, or even make a reusable gift bag (it's a gift in itself)
3. wrap the gift with a part of another gift (example: use kitchen towels to wrap up a toaster)
4. no gift wrap at all - hide the gift, and make the person find it ;) - I love games!
5. if you have collected too many gift bags, boxes, wrapping (I am notorious for unwrapping gifts neatly and slowly to reuse the paper), consider giving it away to someone else like Value Village

Happy Holidays!

Comment Scents

As you know from reading this blog that our family has been transitioning to a friendlier life-style for our Earth. In addition, we have also embarked on a biomedical journey toward recovery for Little R. As a part of transition, we have been cutting down and eliminating scents from our home.

Why are we avoiding synthetic and strong scents? A few months ago I took Little S to the Ajax hospital, and was pleased to see signs up everywhere that the hospital was a scent-free environment. As well, Little R's doctor's office (because of all the scent sensitive patients) was also scent-free (if visitors did not wear scents). Personally, certain strong smells irritate my sinuses and cause me headaches, stingy eyes and other physical discomforts. If these scents bother me this much, I can only imagine how my children, who are not able to verbally express their discomforts, feel with every inhalation. What bother me most are cleaning detergents (such as Mr. Clean-like solvents) and air fresheners. Potpourri and incense also bother me. These are most troublesome because they are put specifically into the air so every time you breathe in the room, the scent is impossible to escape. However, personal scents (please read the article that I have linked) are also diffcult to escape especially if you do not wish to escape the people who are wearing them ;)

Of course, just the personal dislike of most fragrances (synthetic and natural - yes, I also dislike many smells from flowers), would not be enough for an elimination of them from our home. However, there are more factors to consider: our environment, our health and our dollars. Here's a link to an article about the harmful effects of synthetic fragrances: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?91

For your convenience, here are a couple of paragraphs from the article:

Human health risks aren't the only problem. Fragrances that are washed down the drain from laundry, shower and household cleaning activities may not be removed in waste treatment plants, and so they can stick around to contaminate animals and ecosystems. Synthetic musk chemicals in particular may be ecologically harmful "due to their high bio-accumulation potential in animals and in the aquatic environment, their general persistence, dermal permeability and insufficiently assessed toxicity," says Dr. Gerhard Rimkus of the Food and Veterinary Institute in Neumunster, Germany.

Next time you reach for that bottle of perfume or cologne, remember that you're using powerful chemicals regulated solely by the industry that sells them. Remember that just because they don't affect you now doesn't mean they won't affect someone in line next to you, or that you'll always be immune to their effects. Think about where they might end up once they've disappeared down the drain. If you do have a reaction to scented products, take action. Complain not only to the producer of the product, but also to the FDA (for cosmetics) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (for other fragranced products).

Here are some more links of interest:
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/fragrance_in_perfumes_and_cosmetics/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hCQOO-cM9g
http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/ecoholic.cfm?content=159984

If you don't feel like reading, the above youtube link is quite helpful and simple to watch.

About Phthalates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICaUTRXn9P4&feature=related

There are, of course, still scents in our house. I cook and prepare food all the time, so there are always those kinds of odors floating around. Some things, although they may be organic and natural, still contain scents: shampoos (we do not use conditioner), hand creams/lotions, soap, dish soap and sometimes detergents. And, I find that even though I buy "unscented" products, that they will still contain a certain smell to them.

In order to assist us in our pursuit of a friendlier environment for Little R (and everyone else), please be mindful to avoid wearing any strong scents when visiting us. These include but not limited to: baby powder, hand lotion, face lotion/cream, make-up, hair-spray, hair gel, hair mousse, strong scented shampoo or conditioner, hand soap, fabric softener, detergents, deodorants, aftershave, perfume/cologne, cigarette smoke and air freshener.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter. And, please do email me any comments you may have, or if you have suggestions for good products (such as shampoos) that do have contain fragrance. Thanks!

Leaving on an airplane

To Maternal Grandmother:

You're leaving on an airplane
Don't know when I'll see you again
Twenty years have come and gone
All this time was not that long
Can't believe it was already yesterday
that we said "good-bye"

Over the Pacific you will fly
Fighting nausea, fighting tears
Fighting thoughts of yesteryears
You will return again to a home,
To a home that is always yours

Twenty years, was just like a dream
shorter than what it may seem
Yet many memories and stories to tell and retell
So tell them so you may remember us well

Drive to the airport, wait for the flight
Depend on Gravol, wave until we're out of sight
Though physical distance makes us far apart,
We will always be there close at heart.

-Neigenuage

My maternal grandmother came to Canada with my maternal grandfather twenty years ago to seek out a new life, to find a job so that she could send money back to her children and grandchildren back in China.

Ten days after landing in Canada, Grandmother landed a job at a Chinese bakery/coffee shop about an hour away. Although Grandmother did not speak any English or read (she's illiterate), she managed to take a bus, subway train and another bus every working day. She had courage as strong as steel! At 65, she just started working in a new country for very little money. She still had the energy and resilience of a 30 year old to prove that she could work.

Although most of her twenty years have been good, Grandmother did suffer a mugging (a couple of young people knocked her unconscious and snatched her purse one evening while she was coming home from the bakery) and a broken arm. These events were difficult, but I hope that it will be the fond memories that will be travelling back to China with her. I think what she looked forward to least was saying good-bye to Little R and Little S. Luckily, one of my cousins had twins last year just 40 days after the birth of Little S. I told Grandmother to spend lots of time with them so that she can be happy. She said that they will make her think of Little R.

We can just hope and make effort to live a long, happy and healthy life.

Eat, drink and be merry with all your loving family, Grandmother. I hope that we eat with you again soon. And seeing that twenty years was just a blink of an eye, then soon should be sooner than that.

Buffet World

I've just come home from eating at Chinese buffet in town. As I was eating and looking around in the quiet restaurant, thoughts scurried in my head about the "buffet effect."

DH's father has been visiting us since last week. Since he was going to be returning to far away Quebec City (but such a beautiful place!) tomorrow, we wanted to do something that he enjoyed: eating all you can eat.

Since the implementation of our vegetarian diet and Little R's special gluten-free and casein-free diet, we've really kept our eating at home. Eating out is tricky, especially at a Chinese restaurant since they have soy sauce in most of their dishes if not all. Chinese restaurant food also contains too much salt and MSG (mono sodium glutamate); these are not good for one's health, so it's been better to avoid these places. But since we wanted to just enjoy time with the kids' grandfather, we thought that it would be all right to go and see what our experience would be.

The most convenient attribute of an all-you-can-eat buffet is that you don't have to wait for your food. As soon as we found our table, I went into the buffet area to get some food that Little R would be able to eat: plain steamed white rice, boiled eggs (thank goodness for the salad bar), watermelon, orange wedges, honeydew, canned peaches and mango salad. I asked the manager what things did not contain soy sauce, and the response was not very many. Little R did very well at eating all he could eat, though. I think he ended up eating 3 or 4 eggs (just the white part after two whole eggs), 3 helpings of rice and lots of fruit.

Little S stuffed herself as well as wore much of the food. DH and his dad had several platefuls without me even knowing what was on there. I definitely ate too much as well. During our feast of salty food (the taste was actually okay), the waitresses refilled our glasses, brought us more napkins (for Little S) and took away dirtied dishes. So thoughts entered my mind: buffets are very wasteful.

Personally, I would eat everything (that's why I take small portions at a time) that I take onto my plate or bowl including sauce. However, my observation of bussed buffet plates tell me that much food is wasted. Some people just take more than they can eat, so the excess is toss into a garbage bag. Paper napkins are mindless "used" and tossed. I bet if we had to pay for our paper napkins that we would be more conscientious about how much and how we used them. Personally, I prefer a reusable and washable wet cloth or napkin. Aside from material waste, there is also the unnecessary washing of used dirtied plates. I don't understand why everyone doesn't just use the same plate (I've always done this, and people keep telling me to take a clean plate) for their subsequent helpings. This would greatly reduce the amount of bussing, water, detergent and electricity for washing the dishes before the sitting is complete.

So what is this "buffet effect" that I'm talking about? Just from today's experience and previous buffet experiences, the effect is wasted food, water, paper napkins, overly full bellies, tummy aches and a general bloated feeling afterward. I think that if done responsibly, an all-you-can-eat buffet is a good idea. If people can learn to responsibly decide how much they should eat, eat slowly and sip water (guzzling water or any liquid while eating actually hinders digestion), reuse their plates, use reusable clothes instead of paper napkins, a buffet can be a very pleasant outing; you can choose what you want to try by looking at the prepared food, take more of it later, and you don't have to wait to order.

We did have a pretty good time out despite the overflowing bellies. Little S was in cookie heaven! Unfortunately for Little R, he couldn't have any because they all contained gluten. The manager felt bad that Little R couldn't eat the fortune cookie after it was presented to him. DH and I should be more on top of that. Then again, we really don't go out much so we didn't expect that someone would hand our child a cookie... poor guy, he really wanted it watching Little S eat hers and his.

Enfin, mon jardin a moi

I truly do not recall the last time the house was this quiet with the baby (yes, I know she's a toddler now, but she'll be the baby for quite some time) sleeping and Little R away with his dad and grand papa. Perhaps this is the first time ever! I'd better hurry up and type before Little S wakes up.

In the last two months I've been virtually absent from the Internet and away from the screen of a computer. Logistically it's been difficult to be able to come online and then write because of the location of the computer(s), what the computer(s) is/are doing, my lack of time and fatigue. However, I have been able to spend time outside in the fenced off yard digging up sod (literally tonnes - a tonne is a thousand pounds, I believe), turning it, amending it, double digging it, sowing and planting in it. Now that most of the hard work is done, I just go out to water, pull out weeds, harvest (snow peas and greens), stake plants, and just spend time adoring the fruits and flowers of the plants.

How wonderful it is to be in touch with nature albeit in "civilized" nature not wild nature. So far the experience has been very rewarding and enjoyable. But, I do seem to have a bit of a problem with slugs mostly in my front yard where I planted most of the herbs and flowers in a bed where a cedar once ruled. I feel bad about spraying 1/2 and 1/2 water and vinegar and causing the slugs to shrivel up, but I'm not sure how else to save my plants. The fenced off area where all the tomatoes, melons and squash, peas, Chinese leeks, onions, lettuce, chards, cilantro, etcetera are does not seem to be so infested by the slugs. I would just like to find a way to make sure they don't go there.

In sprouting news, the organic avocado pit I poked three toothpicks into and submerged into a baby food jar of water has finally set down a couple of roots! I started this project back in November 2008. I actually had two pits sitting on water held by toothpicks, but I accidentally split the other one open and destroyed the embryo :( I wanted two avocado plants to see if I could actually grow avocado fruit in Canada. Well, I did give one pit to Dana, and she put hers in her worm bin; perhaps if our pits do grow into nice plants we could bring them together to see if any fruit would grow.

I am trying to upload a few pictures, but so far it seems that I've exceeded my daily upload alotment. I'll have to upload the pictures next time... when in the world will I have this much time (which is just enough to write one blog) and quietness again???

Take out the take-out!

What does our garbage chez-nous consist of these days? The bathroom's garbage is mostly from disposable diapers (boo on us for this one :<). Our kitchen's is mostly of pieces of packaging that can't be recycled or composted. I think that since doing take-out (DH decided that we had to do this in order for me to have a break from cooking with a crying crawler attached to my leg and a noisy preschooler howling and running around, slamming the fridge and freezer doors and drinking from mylk and juice cartons). Unfortunately, there really aren't any good places to take out from!

If I'm thinking coherently while ordering some Chinese food on the phone, I would ask them to leave out celery and any extra packaged sauces (do people actually add extra soy sauce and chili sauce to whatever is already too salty???) as well as not give us a menu. Our take out experience hasn't improved since beginning this weekly routine. The pros of taking in: no stress in preparing dinner so that I can play with the children and wait for dinner to arrive home with DH; not too many dishes to wash afterward. Cons: poor quality food, cost, waste and guilt of putting unhealthful food into our bodies. We usually order from an Asian place (Chinese or Thai). It's hit and miss whether they will put your food in a styrofoam container or an aluminum one with a cardboard lid line with foil. The Thai place in Oshawa (yes, there's also the mileage that you have to pay for picking it up and bringing it home) uses plastic reusable containers. I used to love them because I could pack food in them without having to buy proper Tupperware. Well, we're trying to reduce pastic containers for liquidy or hot foods, so I tried recycling the containers. The recycling guys didn't take them. The only things I reuse are the brown paper bags. I'm able to recycle the aluminum containers but not the lids, styrofoam and the plastic. That's a lot of waste for one week. It's annoying bulky waste!

There must be a way to by pass this unhealthy take-out routine. If I had a dream restaurant to order from, it'd be like this:
This restaurant would be accessible to walking as well as driving customers. It's a place that welcomes their customers to bring their own containers for the food that they will bring home. For customers who do not have their own containers, the restaurant provides reusable containers that can be returned later. For customers who are from out of town, they can either choose to purchase reusable containers (mostly stainless or glass) or a compostable ones. Customers can bring their own bag or choose from compostable/reusable paper bag or a reusable cloth bag from the restaurant.
The food is made fresh daily. Choices range from organic salads, soups, noodles, stews and casseroles consisting of seasonal local ingredients. This food is so delicious that there is no need to add extra sauces.
Maybe I should open this restaurant... for now I'll just keep dreaming. But I am going to figure out how to prepare meals without stress so that we can drop the garbage that take out brings in. We'll be healthier, and we won't spend so much money.

Little R and Little S developments - a new blog

It's been difficult keeping up with green concentration because something else of great urgency is consuming my energy right now: autism and how to treat it effectively. Please see my new blog: neigenuagers.blogspot.com. I plan to update it more regularly than this one so that I can track the developments of Little R and Little S.

An "eggs"-hausting day

Little S still cries to get me out of bed about 3 times a night. Since we've been sick (it all started with Little R) all last week, I couldn't just let her cry in her crib. I made sure to get out of bed to give her some breast milk. Well, not sleeping enough is making me very tired during the day now, but particularly today for some reason.

I kept yawning all morning while making breakfast, feeding breakfast, cleaning up and playing with the children. Unfortunately, what we ate probably didn't help with the low energy I was experiencing. I made white rice congee that we ate with some deep fried brioche that my mom had brought over yesterday. We also had some frozen vegetarian steamed buns (yes, I did steam them before eating) from No Frills. They weren't very good, but the kids ate the white bun part. It was basically a very low nutrition breakfast. Don't worry, I usually put together adequate breakfasts to start off our days; today was just a very exhausting one right from getting out of bed.

Luckily after lunch Little S decided to fall asleep on her own in her crib during some silent reading time. Lately, since being sick with cold, she has been only falling asleep while I carry her on my back. While she slept, I took Little R downstairs to literally run from wall to wall using the stuffed animals to chase him. He loved it! We were able to warm up and get out lots of pent up energy. Since it's been so cold we haven't been able to go out much for the needed exercise. But as soon as I sat down, I was tired again. I lay down while Little R played with some cars. I rested... until he jumped on me!

While Little S napped, I was even able to chat on the phone with a friend. After chatting I felt a bit more energized to prepare supper. I needed to make something very easy but good to give me back some energy. Potatoes, it was. DH loves potatoes; and the kids seems to like them too. I also decided to make a quinoa salad. All I had to do was prepare the sauce, cook the quinoa and chop up the veggies... and I also let Little R help with putting the chopped veggies into the big bowl.

Things were going well. Then Little S started to cry; she wanted to get out of her crib. I picked her up and changed her diaper. But before I could finish dressing her Little R ran into the room biting on an egg with the shell on. Eeks! I quickly took the raw egg from him, picked up the baby from the change table and followed Little R into his bedroom. There was no sign of eggs there. Then I hurried to the kitchen. Little R had slid the door closed. What was behind the door? I opened it to reveal the cracked eggs on the floor that DH has just mopped yesterday. I put Little S back into her crib, and went back to the kitchen to take a picture for evidence.

How would I clean this mess up? Of course I thought about how much money was just wasted, how much salt and paper towel was I going to use to clean up the mess. I do not like using paper towels unless it's for something like this. I was also worried about salmonella poisoning since Little R was actually trying to bite into the raw egg that hadn't cracked. As I was trying to pick up the eggshells to put back into the carton (this is how we compost them here), Little R came to the kitchen with his pant crotch all wet.

Sigh.

I took him to the bathroom to change him. Little S was crying more now because she did not want to be in the crib. I called DH to ask where the paper towels were. When I finally got them the cat was sniffing at the egg mess. Luckily he didn't get any on his paws to muck up more of the house. I poured some salt on to absorb some of the gooey eggs, spooned what I could into the carton then used the paper towels to soak up the rest. Of course washing with soap and water then spraying with vinegar came after.

Finally, "eggs"hausted, I took the kids downstairs to watch Diego, and waited for DH to come home before doing anything else. Luckily, DH came home early. We went upstairs, put together some salvaged eggs, peas and bean burgers with the potatoes. It was rather satisfying, and I wasn't exhausted anymore.

My grandmother's views

I love my grandmother; however, many of our views clash, and I really don't know how to make her understand why I do the things that I do.

Since embracing this plant based diet for my young family, it has been very difficult to make pleasant conversation with her. And since I try to call her every day (or at least Monday to Friday) with Little R and Little S, it's hard not to talk about what we eat and how the kids are doing.

Little R has been sneezing, coughing and wiping his mucus from his nose all over his face since last Friday at lunch time. On Wednesday I had made plans with my second cousin and his family to go visit my great uncle (his father), whom I had not seen for several years, on the Saturday (3 days from that Wednesday). I called my grandmother on Thursday and asked her what I could bring my great uncle. She suggested a cake.

Now since Little R was obviously sick on Friday, I called my second cousin and told his wife that we wouldn't be able to make the anticipated visit to the nursing home the next day. They were fine with it, and my great uncle would understand why we would have to cancel.

Saturday morning I spoke with my mom and updated her about the kids. I told her that we weren't going to visit my great uncle anymore because Little R had a little cold. Immediately she chastised: "ah, you mustn't visit the nursing home with kids. See? Your child is sick. Don't go just any where... You must have made him cold. You have to check that your children's hands are warm..." This is typical that if my children get sick because it's cold outside, and I bring them places that I shouldn't.

Today Little R and Little S are both with runny noses and a little miserable. So I decided to make them some hearty and comforting vegan miso soup. My grandmother called while I was cutting up vegetables and making the soup so I didn't answer her call.

When we (Little R and I) finally finished, we went back downstairs to the play room and returned her call. She questioned where we were. "I was making soup when you called," said I. She replied, "I called you a long time ago. I thought that you went out." My grandmother is a little hard of hearing, so I had to repeat a few times that Little R was still not well, and that Little S was also fighting a cold. Again, immediately blame was shot in my ear. "I told you not to bring them out. You don't listen. You think that you can bring small children anywhere! It's cold outside. And you shouldn't bring them to nursing homes. It's a hospital. You might think you could go anywhere, but think about the children." She asked me what I was going to eat for lunch. I told her that we were going to finish off some left-overs, have some rice and the soup. There was broccoli, carrots, potatoes and some yu choi. Right away she roared: "you see?! You're feeding them choi (leafy green vegetables). Why are you doing this!? Why must you be like this?! Just because you and your DH want to lose weight, you shouldn't put your children in this position. Why don't you think about the nutrition of your children? You don't let them eat meat. They can eat only special eggs (organic free range). No one in the world is like you. Your mother evens says that you're brainwashed with books (perhaps such as The China Study)."

It wasn't a good conversation and I didn't know how to explain my reasons for my new life-style in her language. So I suggested that she fix lunch for my sister. "Why do you always tell me to go cook when I talk about this?" I didn't want her upset, and I wasn't about to do what she was telling me to do, so getting off the phone and cooking would be a good suggestion, no?

Yes, I am a little annoyed with the accusation that I don't consider my children's health, and insulted that they think I'm brainwashed from reading. I have not come to just decide I'm not going to eat any more animals and their products just like that. It's been years of thinking, reading and experience.

I'll admit that the my first attempt at being vegetarian (when I was 17 or 18) was to lose weight and to be different, that my second attempt (which lasted for about 5 years) was because I really felt better not eating animals, that my third attempt was short lived because I conceived Little R. Throughout my years of being lacto-ovo vegetarian, I did not have a clear stance on why I was that way. I wasn't sure that I would remain that way for the rest of my life. Then while I was off my vegetarian path, I always pondered, "would I eat this if I had to kill it?" Then it occurred to me that I would probably be able to catch a fish and eat it, but nothing more than that. So, what I wouldn't kill I should probably not eat because in essence if I eat it, I give the demand for someone else to kill it.

What are my reasons for transitioning my whole family to a vegan (and we're not even true vegans) life-style?

• It's better for our Earth (less energy and waste produced to raise the animals for slaughter)
  
• It's better for our health (more vitamins, fiber, minerals, less saturated fats, no animal protein that is linked to the promotion of diseases of affluence such as cancer [refer to The China Study])
  
• It's a statement against factory farming of animals and their products

DH and I have also discussed allowing the children to eat whatever they want. We have chosen this life-style for ourselves, and we are not trying to convert people (not like religion) to veganism. We will let our children chose what they want... when they are older. In the meantime I want to know that I am giving them the best possible start in life. I tried eating well while I was carrying them, then nursing them for as long as I was able (Little S is still nursing). DH asked me if it would be okay for the children to eat dairy cheese and things that contained animal products. My response was that if I had not read The China Study, and if I did not know about the high correlation between the cow's milk protein casein to cancer promotion then I might not have any objections. However, since I do have this knowledge I'd think it irresponsible of me as a parent to feed dairy to my children.

Children do get sick. Then they also get better. They don't get sick because I made them cold or brought them to the Early Year's Centre or because I feed them vegetables. I want to avoid the use of drugs unless it becomes necessary, but I'm always told to give medicine and medicine to the kids. I know that I was given medicine as a kid, and I also know how much my dad complained that I was always weak and sick. Maybe there is a correlation.

I know that my views have always been very different from my family's, but I also know that my elders wanted what they thought was best for me as I want what I feel is best for my children. I hope that my grandmother at least can understand this.

A healthy and happy way to live

Yes, it's been about a month since my last entry. Well, since my last entry we've been sick (not all at once, but then all at once, then one by one we got better). I also managed to attend a holistic nutrition seminar at the public library while I was sick. I had been looking forward to it for over a month since registering for it, so I was glad that I was still able to attend despite my stuffy nose and general unwellness.

The presenter, Russ Beverley, tried to provide the attendees with the most basic information on how to live a healthy and happy life without drugs, surgery or excess exercise. It was all common sense, but nowadays sometimes people seem to be a little taken away from their common sense. In a nutshell, he said that in order to live a happy and healthy life, one should be balanced: sleep by 22h30, get up by 06h30, be hydrated, have positive thoughts, eat right (high quality organic whole foods) and move (moderate and appropriate exercise). So, I have been trying to sleep by 11PM every night and getting up by 7AM.

The same night of the seminar, I also took out a book, that I had on hold for a while, called The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. It claims to be the most comprehensive study on nutrition ever published. Because it was on hold for someone after me, I have spent most of my "free" time reading it and trying to extract the important message from the book: eating a plant based, whole food diet can prevent or even reverse illnesses. What illnesses? Diseases of the heart, cancers, autoimmune diseases, obesity... see this link for more information: http://www.thechinastudy.com/about.html. I quite appreciated the voice of Dr. Colin in this book. He outlined and explained in language that I could understand some fascinating research. Please read the book if you get the chance. The information could be life-saving!

Well, it seems to be my bed time now. Until next time, think positively, eat right and drink plenty of water ;) ...

A lack of garbage?

A few weeks ago DH took the garbage out, noticed that we did not have enough garbage (a full black garbage bag) to take out for the two week period. He was quite happy with this, and thought that I should write about it.

Yes, it was good that after a two week period that we had not accumulated a full bag of garbage; however, wouldn't it be great to have NO garbage at all? Well, let us celebrate in our efforts and improvements thus far while making it a long term goal to create less trash. Presently, we bag on average about one black bag of garbage per month. Most of the substantial waste comes from disposable diapers (yes, unfortunately we do use disposables when we know we're out for a long time or for overnight for Little S now) then the stuff that we can't recycle or compost like plastic wrapping. I have been delighted to learn that grocery stores will take back plastic bags for recycling. So underneath my kitchen sink I have a place for the garbage, the recycling and a plastic bags for recycling. Now, I'm not sure if this program recycles all plastic bags or if it's certain types of plastic bags. I've been trying to find out. I'll let you know more when I find out.

Most of our "waste" leaves us through the green bin program. We've managed to cut down on recycling as well by requesting no flyers from Canada Post and not buying bottled water. For all our usables, we either give them away to friends and family or donate. By making our meals mostly from scratch I buy less packaging. And of course we use reusable shopping bags.

Little by little we're doing our part to make less garbage, but we certain don't have a lack of it.

Little R's nursery school progress... and lost Piggy

Little R's first day by himself at nursery school didn't seem so bad. Well, his second day was a little different.

We were almost in the school's driveway when Little R realised that I was probably going to leave him again. He backed away a bit as we neared the school's entrance. There were other children crying (I think it was hard for the kids because it was just after the winter holiday and a weekend). Although he was brave enough to let me take his winter gear off and replace his boots with indoor shoes, Little R grabbed onto me in frantic tears, "Mama, Mama!" He wouldn't go into the classroom. I had to pick up the sobbing 44 pound tot. Even then the teachers had to help keep him inside as I tried to back out of the classroom. It was painful, but I knew he was just learning, and his crying was a way of coping with his separation anxiety.

I went to pick him up at 11 AM. Before I even saw him, I could hear him crying. I asked Kyla if he had been crying the the whole two hours. The answer was pretty much "yes." She thought that were was about 5 minutes when he calmed down as he stared out the window, but he continued crying until I picked him up. He was so relieved, the poor little guy. He didn't have any snack, but he did manage to make a couple of pictures from bingo dabbers. The teacher said that half the time Little R was crying without tears. So, maybe it wasn't so bad.

Day three, I dropped off Little R as usual. DH picked him up, and the teacher told him that Little R cried for only the first hour then he was fine. The teachers were so very excited about this progress that they took pictures of him as he was doing arts and crafts!

Day four, as Little R and I crossed the main street on the way to the nursery school, I remembered that I had forgotten his bear at home! What was I to do? Going back to the house meant having to cross the main street again. With the high snow banks, no lights or crossing guard, and lots of cars, I didn't want to go back. I felt bad about it all the way. I told Little R that the bear was at home, and that he would have to be by himself at the centre.

I sat him down to change him out of his winter gear. He was still knowing of the fact that I was going to leave, but he wasn't in tears. He was a little anxious, and he tried pulling me to the exit twice, but I managed to leave him with one of the teachers. I felt so bad seeing him peering from the gate's top level. He was alone crying without his bear.

DH couldn't believe what I had done. He told me to drive (yes, for a distance so close I would not normally do such a thing) to the school and drop off the bear. I got there about 9:20 AM. I didn't hear any crying nor did I see Little R. I dropped off the bear with the high school volunteer, and left. I went back to pick him up at 11 AM. I noticed that his school bag had been tampered with. Perhaps Little R had soiled himself (he doesn't do this much anymore since he wears only cloth underwear and pants). Kyla told me that Little R had stopped crying starting from about the time I had dropped off the bear. And because Little R expressed interest in going to the washroom with the other children in line, she decided to change his pull-up diaper (thus the tampering of the school bag) even though he didn't need it. Little R also had snack that day. Wow! I was excited about this. Little R cried for only the first 20 minutes (without his bear), and continued the rest of his day taking interest in what the others were doing at nursery school.

Day five. As I changed Little out of his winter apparel, I sensed less anxiety and some shy excitement from the little guy. Once I put his shoes on and gave him his bear, we got up and made our way toward the gate. Kyla saw us and opened the gate. Before we could exchange our how-are-yous, Little R had already wandered into the classroom without any nudging. Then he started to show come anxiety, "Mama!" I had to leave.

I went shopping with Little S frantically at Superstore. I was rushing to get back in time to go pick up Little R. Well, when I put all the stuff into the car, I noticed that her pink pig (TY Piggy) was missing! First Little R's bear, now the lost pig! I called DH to go pick up Little R because I just had to go back into the store to find Little S's best friend. I went back to customer service, the cashier where I had paid, and retraced several aisles, but there was no sign of the limited edition Piggy ;( I think I was sadder than Little S. Although when I explained it to her, she also expressed emotional pain (Little S signs). I left the description of the lost toy at customer service then returned home.

When DH returned with Little R, DH explained that Little R really enjoyed circle time. DH saw one of the teachers go get Little R for circle time by saying "circle" and signing circle on his face. I'm glad that the teachers are so good with the kids. This was Little R had his first no crying day!

In my rush to get home in time to pick up Little R, I totally did not notice how or when Little S's Piggy got lost. I called Superstore yesterday morning to see if anyone had returned it, but the answer was negative. Perhaps there is still hope, but as the days pass, it's looking unlikely. I've looked online, and I've found one for sale on Amazon.com for $39.99 American. It's not the same; we can't just replace a pig she knew her whole life.

Well, DH tried to replace the pig with an elephant that he picked up from Mastermind today after we had returned the mandoline. Little S doesn't seem very fond of the grey and pink plushy. I just hope somehow the original pig returns to her.

The Final Return of the Mandoline

Yes, we have finally returned the mandoline! After DH's failed attempt, about a week and a half ago, to julienne potatoes with the mandoline, I sent an email to Stoke's customer service that we were going to really return the item for store credit. Today, the mandoline is finally out of our house. I don't know what exactly will happen to it from this point forward, but I did ask in my email if they would be able to recycle the mandoline since it was mostly of stainless steel. No response so far.

After returning the mandoline, we decided to go eat in the food court. I think this is about the 3rd time I forgot to bring eating utensils with me for eating out. Well, I had packed away a pair of bamboo chopsticks with me in a bag, but because I don't eat out often (this being the third time - and it has had to do with either buying or returning a mandoline), I didn't know where the pair of chopsticks were anymore. So, unfortunately by the end of our meal we had to throw out two styrofoam plates, a pair of wood chopsticks, its paper wrapper, a foam cup with a straw, two plastic forks and two plastic spoons. This is what happens when I don't plan on eating out and then happen to eat out.

How can we reduce the waste in food courts? Well, I've seen at the One of A Kind Show at Christmas merchants using compostable utensils, plates and bowls. As well, there were also waste stations with three comparments: organics (for compost), recyclables and waste. I know that we live in a fast fast pace society, but I think that with some small steps we can reduce waste. Little things that we can do are to bring a reusable drink/coffee cup to the café (in the latest newsletter my diaper service advised that Tim Horton's gave a 10 cent discount when you bring in your own reusable cup), bring our own utensils and damp cloth napkin (instead of a paper one). In fact, even if we did use paper napkins (just enough of them, no more), they could be composted afterward.

Well, with the mandoline returned, I hope this means I won't have to eat from that food court any time soon. The next time I go back to the kitchen store it will be to look for a good knife sharpener.

My mother-in-law's gifts

We just had a little first birthday party for Little S on the weekend. Although there was a tonne of snow that just kept coming down and coming down, most of our guests (including my in-laws who had to drive 4.5 hours) still made it to celebrate the occasion with us. It was great to have everyone here.

I remember one time before Little R was to be born, my colleague-at-the-time pointed out that I had a control issue because I stressed my concern that I did not want certain things for my unborn baby's "shower." I really did not mean to sound ungrateful. It was wonderful that people were thoughtful and wanted to give gifts, but there were just things that I (for my children) would prefer not to receive. Well, my colleague explained to me that people are nice to get you something; don't complain. You can't choose what people give you. Also, I requested that people NOT use gift wrap/bags... or rather if people did want to wrap things up to do it with used newsprint. That was when I was called a control freak. I stopped pushing my beliefs, had my party, grinned and thanked everyone.

There was a lot of wasted paper (I don't even know if that was recycled because I didn't take care of the clean-up), cellophane, etc... I guess it really was my fault for not voicing my concern. It was politeness that caused so much waste. Or perhaps I could have politely requested a greener party... but that was my control freak issue. I wasn't even supposed to know about the shower.

People who have known me know that I do save wrapping paper (it takes me a littler longer time to precision unwrap a gift). I don't know how much I really complain about waste, but those closest to me probably do roll their eyes at me or over the phone.

Well, there is hope. In all my talking about conserving energy, reducing waste before recycling, I see that someone has been listening to me. My mother-in-law is a very generous woman who loves showering people with gifts. She also liked wrapping them so that when you opened the gifts you would give off a surprised reaction. She loved seeing the reaction on your face. Her gift giving "addiction" has seen much improvement in the last three years. She has really impressed me with some green actions: setting up a compost, reducing her recycling by not buying bottled water any more, giving vintage gifts (I still can't sell this one on DH, though) and wrapping gifts creatively.

For Little R's first Christmas my mother-in-law (M-in-law) wrapped our gift in a bath towel. she thought that it was pretty clever. I was genuinely impressed that the towel could be reused again and again after it was unwrapped. Just recently she also decided to give all her grandchildren savings bonds for their education. This is just very smart. There's virtually no waste with this, and the money will grow. Now for Little S's party she wrapped a vintage music box in a set of 4 orange place mats. How practical! And this also helped her throw in a gift for us. She also wrapped a wonderful peek-a-book that featured Little S in a small lace tablecloth.

Not only has she been "greening" by herself, she has also influenced her circle of girl friends to give vintage gifts as well. It is sheer hopeful joy when I see her cheery enthusiasm in greening her life-style. I'm very proud of her. I'm glad that my "nagging" (and I really don't think it's nagging) has found an attentive audience.

Cold, cold day, and wasted food

What a cold, cold day it has been. Today was not a good day for the furnace to stop working, but it did. Just before we bought our place there was a sewer back-up in the basement, and the furnace had to be replaced. So having a new efficient furnace should have given us peace of mind that it would function for many years to come. However, this wasn't our first experience with a failed furnace during the winter. Just a few months ago less than a month after Little S was born, the new furnace, in the place we were living in at the time, broke down. We were left without heat for a weekend plus a Monday. We learned then that nothing is infallible, even if it's new.

DH was away in Toronto for work, and I was left to take care of the children. I tried fiddling with the thermostat, but when the heat just didn't come on after I turned up the temperature, I knew that something was not right. I called the service for fixing the furnace, but I didn't want to actually order any service until DH was home to assess the situation for himself. Meanwhile my goal was to keep the children warm and fed.

Luckily, I knew very well some tricks for keeping warm (or fighting the coldness) from living in Mexico. Contrary to popular belief, it's not all tropical weather in Mexico. When winter hit, it was cold and chilly. I guess it only reached down to about zero celcius, but when there is no central heating, zero is the freezing point! Eating hot foods and taking hot liquids helped quite a bit. Aside from stuffing oneself with food and drink, I found it very helpful to do jumping jacks, punches and kicks into the air until I felt warm enough to sit down for five or even ten minutes. At night I would fill an empty water bottle with warm tap water (if it were still available - water was always an iffy thing in Mexico) so that my feet would have some warm. Also at night, don't sleep directly on the flat sheets; rather, use the blanket directly on you.

Today, I made Little S chase Little R. We went around the basement touching walls and other items again and again. We made a game out of it. This was quite the environmentally friendly way to "heat up."

Enough was enough, though. We live in Canada, and in Canada we have central heating for a reason: it is absolutely necessary! So, DH called for furnace service, as we waited, I knew I had to make something for supper.

So, out of coldness, I wanted to make something warming and comforting so that my family could enjoy a warm kitchen. Using the oven at this time would have made the most sense. We would turn on the oven and the stove for cooking and close the kitchen door. The kids and DH could play in the kitchen while I cooked and heated up the room. But DH did not like that Little House on the Prairie idea. So, I decided to quickly make polenta with a tomato sauce. I had made polenta several times, and every time it always went very smoothly. Perhaps I was over confident. Perhaps I was just overly quick. I somehow put in too much salt! When I tasted it, I was disgusted. I usually leave things rather plain, but because of some experiences with making bland bread, I've been more attentive to using "enough" salt in proportion the water content of the food.

I didn't not want to waste the food (6 filtered cups of water, 2 cups of cornmeal, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkly of sliced olives and capers), so I decided to add more water and more cornmeal to perhaps neutralize the dish. Well, it was waste times two! The food was still too salty. My choices were either to subject my family to unpalatable food, and possibly poisoning them with excessive sodium, or to compost the concoction. It was clear to me that I had sinned. My DH's grandmother had told me countless times that wasting was a sin. I know that there are countless people in this world who live off of rations that might have added up to how much I had wasted this evening.

The guilt just keeps boiling up inside me. I must stop this agony. What resolution must I come to? The food is unpalatable; the harm is done. My children and husband still need to be nourished. I must continue on. The water, the cornmeal, and everything else will return to the Earth. It is futile now to lament, yet lament I do. I must bury this experience and use it to remind me NOT to over salt. Sometimes it takes great mistakes like this one to make one to stop and think. This is a lessoned learned. I have paid for this lesson with oversalted polenta, so this food was rather not wasted, but spent.

This is what I have resolved this cold cold day... and finally, the furnacing is working again too, after we paid the service guys with money and beer. I hope that it'll be be a warm night.

Vegan Xmas meal

Little R's first day by himself at nursery school

So, already 4 people have already asked about how Little R's first day at Nursery School was after Tuesday's visit.

He seemed like he had fun, but he wanted to leave after he tried, without success, to grab a car off of another little boy. He ate snack at the snack table after washing his hands (he had the soy yogurt). He had 3 helpings! After that, he continued playing by himself. I tried to just be from a distance watching him play, but when he couldn't see me, he started running around in a panic. The ladies at the centre told him "Little R, quiet feet, please. No running in the classroom." The staff there are quite patient and very good, so I'm relieved that he's in reliable hands.

Today was his first day at the centre without me. We went there at 9 AM. There were lots of boys and girls with their mommies/caregivers in the hallway taking off their winter gear and putting on their indoor shoes. Once the boots were off and the shoes were on, Little R was ready to go in with his bear in hand... except, we had to say "bye-bye" first. He walked into the classroom, through the opened gate mind by Kyla (one of the teachers). Perhaps he just thought that he was going in to play with me, but Kyla stopped him and asked him to say "bye-bye" to Mum. Then he decided that he didn't want to go in alone. He grabbed my hand, but Kyla managed gently to have him let go so that he could go play with something in the classroom.

Well, this was it. He turned his attention away from me after we said "bye-bye", and I knew I had to get away. By the time I left through the two heavy front doors, I still hadn't heard him cry, so maybe all was well.

Nursery school is only Tuesday and Thursdays from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM September to June (like a regular school year). We were just lucky that a child happen to withdraw from the program, which freed up the space for Little R in January. Otherwise, we were on the waiting list to get in for September 2009.

I left our house at 10:50 AM to walk back to the school. I managed to arrive there 5 or 6 minutes prior to 11 AM while the children and the teachers were singing in circle time. The hallway was crowded with caregivers and mothers waiting for their preschoolers. It got even crazier when the children were released one by one as the teachers saw whose parents were waiting. Kyla said that Little R did very well for his first day. He cried intermittently between 9:30 AM and 11:10 AM. This meant that he cried for the first whole half hour, but did not cry for the last 50 minutes of the programme. I was very proud of him, and also very relieved that he didn't seem traumatised by the experience.

After most of the crowd managed to leave the hallway, I sat Little R down to change him out of his indoor shoes to his boots. I asked one of the staff to see if Little R had eaten snack. She was pretty sure he had, but asked another teacher. She came back out and announced that he had eaten 5 crackers! Not bad. I thought that the kids were having trail mix today, but crackers are okay too. The centre knows about Little R's vegan diet, so I'm pretty sure they're careful with what they give him.

A few things I think that the centre could improve on are using less harmful disinfectants. Right now I know that they use bleach. I'm pretty sure it's chlorine based, but I'm not sure. I should somehow make a suggestion for them to use vinegar. I would feel better knowing that my kids put their mouths on something that has been cleaned with vinegar than chlorine bleach. Little S slobbers on a few toys here and there when we drop in. Also at snack time, disposable spoons, cups and paper towel were used. I understand that it's a time issue as well as an expense issue that disposables are used, but perhaps I could suggest for them to use compostable plates, cups and cutlery as well as paper towels. Of course the compostable things are quite costly right now, but perhaps there's a perk if they buy in bulk. If our children can learn "green" habits, it would be a lot easier for them as adults to love their Earth. What better place, outside of the home, than nursery school to learn these habits.

On the way home Little R was very quiet, but did start to babble a bit as we got closer to our house. He was also playing with the snow by walking on it (like the higher planes of snow, but not the snowbanks) and using his mittens. He didn't seem too troubled by the fact that I left him at the centre to play with the other children for two hours.

As we entered the house, Little R kept trying to ring our doorbell (Little S was sleeping in her crib when I had left), so this was normal behaviour. So, he didn't cry or show other signs of distress. He ate as normal, but seemed a little more independent. For example, he would go into the living room to play while I prepared lunch. Normally, he would open my spice rack or the fridge. He even started practising his "hello." He puts the emphasis on the latter syllable.

To add to our delight, Little R didn't soil nor wet his pull-up diaper! He's been wearing underwear and using the toilet consistently for the months that we've been at his house now :0) This is good. Unfortunately, we still use the disposables for night time and long trips.

Well, he'll be back there next Tuesday... next report to come after that.