Awesome reasons for not driving

Surprises.

Yesterday, I meant only for a quick bike trip to the library for some new books (I got Salman Rushdie's newest novel!) and a little browsing.

But then ice cream sounded great. After some chocolate cones, we strolled through the town's farmer's market.

On the way home I thought, "Why not stop at the playground?" And what a treat when two little girls, the same ages as my little girls, showed up. The little quartet played together, as my4-year-old would say, "The whollllle time."

Child's play

I was jogging about a week ago when I noticed a particularly windy storm had knocked one of those backyard playsets down in a nearby neighborhood. Yesterday, I was running along the same route and noticed nobody had bothered to fix it.

It's part of the problem with DIY playsets. I see these overpriced kits (a very small set excluding lumber starts at a few hundred and the sky's the limit on high-end equipment) constructed all over town and see kids playing on them less than 1 percent of the time. What a waste.

I think the monotony is part of the reason for backyard playground failure. Kids like the park because there's always a chance other kids will be there. Sure the swings and the slide are fun, but it gets old after about the hundredth time.

It's also not uncommon to see these sets bordering community parks. That just screams, "We're too important to mingle with whatever commoner might be frequently my neighborhood playground." Also, they fall into disrepair from lack of use, or when a wind storm blows them over.

And people have blight issues with clotheslines.

I say the playground's biggest benefit is it's community building. Kids want to play with other kids! And if you're a stay at home parent, don't tell me you don't crave adult conversation, even if it ends up merely being about your 2-year-old's reluctance to eat anything but bread.

So stop the backyard madness, get out the bikes and ride to the park. You might be surprised what (and how many friends!) you might find there.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I've got nothing against the traditional grilled cheese sandwich. Who doesn't love butter, bread and cheese slices, maybe some ham if you're feeling fancy?

But I definitely prefer a more grown-up variety, especially in the summer. And both my kids, even my picky eater, love it.

Today is one of my favorites. I got some good Ciabatta bread from the bakery. I could have made my own rustic version if I had the time and inclination, neither of which panned out.

Then I layer fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and some shredded mozzarella. I brush both sides with olive oil and cook over medium heat on the stove top until both sides are golden brown, about four minutes each.

Add and subtract veggies and cheese to find your favorite combo. I'm also partial to sautéed spinach with goat cheese.

Hurry up and wait

That was our day yesterday after a very long, very stressful trip on the city bus. I know, I know... I'm always saying things like, "Sell your car and ride the bus. It's fun!" Well, it's fun sometimes, I think.

We don't use the bus much in the summer. I really only take it a few places (transferring with two kids can be a little like trying to pull two kids off the monkey bars and one of the kids is kicking you in the head) and the bike is just an easier option. Mostly that's because I can come and go at my leisure, which I enjoy.

A bus is a whole different story. It only comes by our house once an hour. That requires us to be at the bus stop at 45 minutes past the hour and, more importantly, be at the downtown stop at 35 minutes past the hour. Missing the bus means either waiting an hour for the next bus or walking the mile home.

Ever try to get two kids under the age of 5 out the door is 3 minutes? Well, it's tricky. It's even harder in the winter with coats, hats, mittens and boots.

But when I made an ambitious trip to Meijer yesteday, I broke the cardinal rule of riding public transit in a small town — wear a watch. If you're constantly worried about the time, it's stressful.

To my kids' credit, they were extremely well behaved on the bus. Well, except for my 2-year-old pointing and laughing at the giant Vietnam Veteran wearing a beret, a hat she apparently found hilarious. But all this waiting serves as good opportunities for running around, which at a bus stop, isn't a great spot for that. We did find a nice little spot with steps and some grass.

But while the weather is nice, the bike is definitely better.

Summer favorites

Someone recently asked me about the cost of a CSA v what I'd spend at the grocery store.

We pay about $14 a week, which is slightly more per week than we paid last year, but our farmer this year grows more "backyard garden" kind of stuff, which is a bigger hit with the fam. This cost obviously differs among farmers, regions, items grown and how organic the farmer is.

One green pepper; two onions; two tomatoes (yeah! tomatoes); three cucumbers; three pickling cucumbers; four banana peppers; one eggplant; three Japanese eggplants; up to four zucchini (I only took two because, frankly, I don't want any more zucchini); one head of leaf lettuce; one bunch of basil; one bunch of carrots; one head of garlic.

And music please.

A dozen ears of corn!!!
After several months of the constant mantra "I don't like it" from my super-picky 2-year-old, this was indeed a welcome addition to the dinner table.

(note* I checked at Meijer yesterday and calculated $14 without counting the zucchini, garlic or tomatoes. I definitely feel like I got a deal.)

Getting from A to Beta

Beta Walking Google that is. Google Maps now makes it possible to map your walking route. This totally rocks, especially when visiting cities where one-way streets might make regular mapping unpractical.

Here's a blog (Google LatLong: Pound the pavement)that explains all the benefits of walking better than me. But one thing I noticed, Google gives you plenty of time to get somewhere with one mile taking about 19 minutes.

I love that!

Doing what works

I recently considered the possibility of going back to work. Now, all you SAHMs out there, don't get all hot-headed and bitchy with your "raising children IS work" argument. Sure it's work, but not the salary kind I'm thinking about.

But after some serious thinking following my initial interview, I called to cancel the second interview. In my pros/cons lists, the side came out nearly even, not nearly enough to ditch the tan, buy a car and go suit shopping.

Here's what I learned in my silent deliberations.

• Buying a car would be almost a necessity. That means a car payment, insurance, gas and the probability I'll actually use this car (unlike the clunker sans working air we currently own which I avoid at nearly all costs) meaning more money on gas. This wouldn't be very Mothering Earth-like behavior.

• Homecooking would take a backseat to sleep. Cooking good, wholesome, inexpensive meals at home is time consuming. In fact, when I went on the interview I called my husband and asked about lunch. He asked if I could just pick up Taco Bell. Taco Bell?! I haven't eaten this kind of low-grade food in months. It was delicious, but I had to run an extra mile just to justify it.

• Speaking of running, that would be the end of that. Again, sleep has to take priority. I run in the morning when everybody's home. I can't very well go for a run at night when the girls are in bed before Steve gets home. And darn it all if I don't want to spend at least 30 minutes with my spouse everyday.

• Childcare. This is a biggie. I'm not opposed to childcare, but it's expensive and it really goes against this whole simple life we've concocted for ourselves. One more year before my oldest starts kindergarten and then it's all over but the teen-age angst.

• All the little things. The line drying. The garden. The homemade cleaning products. These are the products of a person focusing on the home. I realize it would be nice to communicate with adults on issues unrelated to potty training, but potty training will come and go. Jobs will come again. This simple life of using less, wanting less and loving almost every minute of it, this could come and go.

But I'm going to hang on as long as I can.

Like peas and carrots

I just returned from a second, less eco-friendly, vacation to Minnesota. I realize driving 45 minutes to get to the Mall of America is probably a true tree-hugger's worst nightmare, but seriously... how could you go to Minneapolis and not go there?

When we returned home to a pretty tidy house and an empty refrigerator, I felt pretty good about myself for scrounging up a decent stir-fry meal using some stuff from my garden. My carrots didn't seem orange enough, and peas not abundant enough, but that's why stir-fry is so awesome. Just throw in what you have and hope for the best.

And just for the record, I've never trusted baby carrots. They seem really wet and taste weird. So when we bought a bag for the car, my 2-year-old ate a bunch and later threw them up in their nearly original state, I have to think I'm right on this.

Give peas a chance

I hate peas. Yuck.

That was until last night when I picked fresh peas from my garden, barely boiled them and served with butter and salt. Delicious. I read that frozen peas, because they're flash frozen just after picking, generally taste better than grocery store "fresh." It's surprising, but apparently peas quickly (in about a day) lose their nutritional quality and flavor.

But just out of the garden? Heaven.

My only complaint, and this is a problem with everything from my garden, there just wasn't enough. I don't have adequate room to grow the number of plants needed to provide a satisfying pea side dish. Even the most prolific plant is just one plant.

It's true, I do have a decent-sized yard, but we also have two giant shade trees that keep things nice and cool around here in the dog-day summer months. They also keep the chilly wind out when things around here get more blustery.

So what's a Gardner girl to do? Well, herbs are something that grow pretty easily and don't need a ton of room. I cut what I need and it always grows back. I also have some pepper plants that aren't as square-footage hungry as say cucumbers, zucchini or melons.

Besides, I have my CSA and that provides our four-person clan with plenty of veggies to go around.

Suburban free fall

It was innocent enough, I swear.

A rainy morning and a eco-husband who says, "Where's the umbrella? I'm going to take the bus," and you've got yourself a simple temptation to take the car two blocks to your daughter's swimming practice. So that's exactly what I did.

And so what if after practice I run to the bank. And then there's the traffic jam and my stomach reminds me about lunch. What's one McDonald's drive-threw in the grand scheme of things? And Target shopping?

Wait... Regain senses. Go home and make a delicious lunch of homemade chicken nuggets from the leftover tenderloins on the cutlets. Make a salad. But what a reminder of how easy it is to slip back into easy.

Save money. Save my waistline. Save the environment.

Photo by Snappybex on Flickr

Back to real life

It's been a week since my trip. That's how long it's taken me to recover. And yes... seriously. A commenter said smoothies with bananas, honey and milk cure hangovers. I could have used a kiddie pool filled with that concoction for the bad-boy I brought home.

The trip was great, except Amtrak ran into pretty major delays on the way back. Many people on board complained that this is why nobody takes the train.

But I'm reminded of a two-hour traffic jam during a vacation because an acid truck overturned. Or spending more than an hour on the runway waiting for a plane to depart.

Sure it's frustrating when a train stops for apparently no reason (they could do a better job of communicating delays), but I'd much rather be on a roomy train with a dining car stocked with wine and veggie burgers than circling over an airport during a storm.