food

  • Challenge Update,  food,  frugal,  green,  sustainable living

    Shoppy Shop Talk, Part II

    Yesterday’s shopping adventures included the purchase of several personal care or cleaning items. I made the leap and purchased a wooden comb and a wooden-handled toothbrush, both by Bass, silk dental floss, tea tree oil toothpicks, and a box of baking soda. Why baking soda? Because, in addition to the many other uses of this amazing ingredient, from cleaning the sink, toilet and floor to washing your hair, brushing your teeth, washing clothes, and eliminating odors, the 1-pound box is about $1, and it’s cardboard. A pound of anything for $1 is a good deal, if you ask me, but this stuff is truly miraculous. And unfortunately, I found almost nothing else for…

  • Challenge Update,  family,  food,  frugal,  green,  My World and Welcome to It,  no waste,  plastic,  recycling,  sustainable living

    shoppy shop talk, Part I

    I’m back from a full day of grocery shopping and exploring non-plastic items. I went to three stores today as well as the farmers’ market and a small cheese shop. I have good news to report almost everywhere, except at the bank. There, the news is scary. See that shopping cart in the photo? Those two bags of groceries cost me $98. (falls over in dead faint…) There’s so much to tell that I’m gonna spread this over two days. Because who doesn’t want to talk about food prices and plastic, ad nauseum? I do, I do!! Today I went to Lucky, CVS, Alameda Natural Grocery, Farmstead Cheeses and Wines, and the Alameda…

  • Challenge Update,  family,  food,  Food Stamps,  frugal,  green,  My World and Welcome to It,  plastic

    Sunday musing

    One of the pleasures of a Sunday morning (besides a tasty bowl of cereal) is the newspaper, that fat bundle lying like a gift on the front step. I (heart) the Sunday paper. The nice delivery person, a mystery visitor to our home once a week, leaves the paper on the front step, so close to the door that I could fetch it bare nekkid and still be OK. So why does s/he feel the need to wrap it in plastic? Not just on rainy days, but every week? Note to self: contact San Francisco Chronicle and have the plastic bags stopped. The worst thing that could happen without the bag is…

  • food,  frugal,  garden,  green,  My little city farm,  plastic,  sustainable living,  work,  writing

    Modern Muse = Green Scene

    We (Modern Muse) went live this week on Alameda Patch, a local online “newspaper” that is part of the much larger AOL-Huffington Post media family. Doesn’t family sound so cozy? It’s a business — what can I say? — to which I contribute mostly voluntarily, and occasionally on a paying basis. Mostly I just wanted to let ya know that I’m cross-posting and you’ll see the same posts on Alameda Patch as Green Scene, although I will also post on non-green stuff here as well. Clear as mud? Yeah! In the meantime, today I’m doing about 6 things at once. Some guys from the rental company came to fix the…

  • family,  food,  garden,  My World and Welcome to It

    two-week whirlwind

    This is a fortnight of open doors. Sharing my home with an open heart creates connection. I am a peaceful water lily. I am saying these things to myself to stay focused and calm during these coming days. Tomorrow, Isa arrives from Germany to live with us for a year. Thursday, Fabi’s parents arrive from Germany to take her home after 5 months with us. The parents are staying for 10 days, during which time I will have two German students, one leaving and one getting used to America, plus tour-guiding the folks around…and one of my own daughters is moving out at end of the month. Not to mention the rest of…