Nearly Perfect

Yesterday, Tessa and I enjoyed a wonderful day downtown - we took the bus to the aquarium for the preschool field trip, then enjoyed lunch at the aquarium, then walked through Pike Place Market, and then visited the Seattle Art Museum before coming home. It was basically free, it was fun, and it was great bonding time.

At the aquarium, we learned about all kinds of things (did you know that a starfish puts its stomach outside of its body, wraps it around its food, and then eats that way?). At the art museum, we saw all kinds of things (including Tessa's favorite exhibit....a ceramic toilet with quite realistic looking fecal matter inside....YUCK but the girl thinks it's hysterical).

And then today, to follow up from our day at the aquarium, we went to the low tide/naturalist talks at Alki's Constellation Park. This was a 75 year low tide, and we saw the most amazing creatures and things: a Lemon Sea Slug laying eggs; hundreds of sea cucumbers; countless sea stars (starfish), including one that was eating a kelp crab; innumerable sea anemones. We found lots of moon snail shells but left them behind because it's a protected marine sanctuary. We found one live moon snail, as well, and were even able to point it out to a naturalist who was saying "I can't find any today!"

The beach naturalists did a fabulous job. One asked Tessa lots of questions, and told me that she was startled at how much Tessa knew about the creatures we were discussing. (When Tessa is interested in something, her memory is remarkable. "Sea creatures" fall in that category, and our recent studies at preschool and aquarium trips were helpful in her lessons.) Tessa asked thoughtful questions, and I was incredibly proud of her. (Marine biologist in the making? Well, she still says she wants to work in a horse stable for a living, but we will see!)

We dined in high style, sitting amid all of this on a waterproof blanket. We ate tuna sandwiches, and as we ate, we pointed at things beneath the rocks "Oh, look, that sea star is such a pretty purple!" and "Look, Mama, under that rock are FIVE sea cucumbers!" and "What kind of seaweed is that?"

This was the kind of day I live for. I didn't take it for granted.

PS I have never before seen so many different patterned rubber boots! Tessa's are hot pink with circles and polka dots; mine are shades of brown and white plaid. But every variety made seemed present today on the beach.

PPS Perfect tuna sandwiches!

Two slices home-made whole wheat flax bread

One can dolphin-safe albacore tuna

Several good dollops of fat-free organic Greek style yogurt

a good squeeze of lemon juice

finely chopped capers

Mix tuna, yogurt, lemon, and capers; add sea salt to taste if desired. Spread on bread, add tomato slices. Cut on the diagonal. Yummm!

Are you a West Seattle CoolMom?

I'm copying this from the Cool Moms website: we're new and open to new members. Interested in joining us? Read below.

June CoolMom Meeting
Next MeetingWest Seattle CoolMom meetings are held on the First Wednesday of every month from 7-8:30 pm at the C & P Coffee Company (directions). Our next meeting on June 4th will include a presentation by Meg Gluckman from Seattle City Light. Meg is from West Seattle and will discuss some insightful home energy conservation tips as well as hand out some "green goodies". Come armed with any questions you may have!

Update About the CoolMom Format:
The mission of CoolMoms is to mobilize moms to combat global warming. We've organized to be able to share resources, learn something new and band together to attack key issues. The latter currently manifests itself in action groups. The action groups meet briefly after the general meeting adjourns. You do not need to join an action group to be part of the CoolMom community. However, if you would like to participate in this month's tip of a fuel free family day, or a "no drive day" (either one day a week or just one day!) - you can share any successes or challenges that you experienced with the rest of the group at the next meeting.

Out living life

I'm updating to say that I can not update today.

The Landahl's spent two lovely nights here so that our families could bond and hang out; we took the water taxi, went to the aquarium, grilled in the back yard, drank morning coffee at C&P....lovely.

Church was particularly inspiring to me today, and filled me with all kinds of thoughts of the future, and hope and optimism. Then, afterwards, we walked all over West Seattle (Farmer's Market, Husky Deli ice cream, and new Ercolini Park) and ran into all kinds of friends and visited.

And now we're a bit quiet - Ryan's on a bike ride in this incredible weather, Tessa and I are enjoying a little down time, and Shep and Mo are having lazy naps.

I'd say so much more, but I must enjoy the weather, marinate the chicken for the grill, sit in the hammock and read. It's that kind of weekend.

I hope your weekend is going this well. :-) It is just such a bonus that it's a long weekend and we get another full day - wahooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Neighbors

I love my neighbors. Really, I do. I think I live in one of the finest communities anywhere, and the word "community" is an important part of that statement. People on my block know each other, talk to one another, stop to say hello. In the middle of cooking dinner last week, I realized I was out of fresh garlic. I sent Tessa over to the neighbors to ask for two cloves of garlic (and I remembered to buy them a head to replace what we borrowed the very next day). Good, good neighbors.

But West Seattle's funkiness allows for all kinds of stuff, including this:
http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=7778

This house is about a block from us, and I'm SO glad that we can't actually see it from our front porch, because it's an eyesore. Every friend who comes by comments - it is impossible not to.

But still, "crazy house" and all, I'll take my neighborhood, because I love it here.

Two places at once

Despite my desire to live in the moment, I often wish that I could be in two places at once.

Tomorrow, after the WSUU service, there is a peace march from the service to the Alaska Junction. Mother's Day was founded by Unitarian activist Julia Ward Howe in 1870 as a proclamation for mothers to protest sending their children to war. There is still too much war in the world, and today, more than ever, this message is appropriate and necessary.

To mothers who have children fighting wars, near and far: bless you. My mother's heart aches for you. I deeply, deeply wish that your children could return home to you, safe and sound.

We tell Tessa at home, "Hitting is not a solution! Use your words to work it out!" and oh how I deeply wish that the world could operate on the same principles.

After the peace march, there will be the singing of a hymn, "We are a gentle angry people."

http://www.hollynear.com/lyrics/singing.for.our.lives.html

I am proud to be a UU. I am proud that there will be peaceful marching, peaceful protest. If I could be in two places at once, I'd be there!

Reduce plastics!

I am determine to reduce the number of plastics entering my house. DETERMINED.

Today, I sent this message to "Organicgirl" - www. iloveorganicgirl.com - which is a brand of organic produce sold at the West Seattle Morgan Street Thriftway. I also mentioned to the checker at Thriftway that I do not wish to buy highly packaged produce.

Reducing plastic is difficult. I'm learning more, and realizing that such a simple step is actually going to be very difficult, but that it's an important part of what needs to be done to heal the earth, create clean air and water for humans and animals alike, etc.

Today I'm suggesting two ways that you, a not-so-crazy-person-as-myself, can heal the earth:
1. When given a choice, choose the product with less packaging, or no plastic packaging.

2. When not given a choice, speak up! This can be as simple as mentioning to a store employee that you'd prefer to have less packaging in your products, or as active as creating a national letter writing campaign. (I believe that the middle road, just sending an email to state your opinion about plastics and packaging to the manufacturer/producer, is a great idea.)
------------------
Yesterday I went grocery shopping at a local (West Seattle, Washington) store and needed green onions. I was delighted that organic green onions were available, and I'm happy to buy your brand...but I was very unhappy with the fact that it came in plastic packaging. One of the reasons I buy organic is to help my body (I feel no need to ingest pesticides) but the other is to reduce harm to the environment. A simple, tiny rubber band seems so much less harmful than a big plastic bag! Plus, I had to buy twice as many onions as I needed, as I couldn't control the quantity within the bag, so unless I can pawn them off on someone or find green onion recipes (?) a good portion of them are certain to go to waste.Please, consider reducing your packaging. Your logo is cute, but it's not worth damaging the earth with the production and disposal of toxins (plastics) that are unnecessary.In the future, I will not buy your product; now that I know that this store has highly packaged organic goods, I'll return to shopping at PCC and other local, organic stores that do not promote packaging.Thank you for considering my request.
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PS If you live close to me and you need green oinons, gimme a call. I've got way too many!

PPS I never thought to plant green onions - hmmm. I wonder if I can find seeds....

More commited than ever

We had a lovely weekend in Portland. Visiting "Grandma and Bopa" is always fun, and the train was a fun twist (and highly recommended).

While I was gone, I finished reading the David Wann book, and then I came home to a gift in the mail from Carolyn - a new book called, "Farewell, My Subaru" about a guy who decides to move to New Mexico and attempt to live an off-the-grid-petroleum-free lifestyle. (The title is because he has a beloved Subaru with 200,000 miles on it, but he decides to switch over to a giant truck....that runs on bio-diesel, aka vegetable grease, that he gets from fast food resturants.)

All of this reading has me more convinced than ever that I am okay with being "that nut" - the crazy lady who jumps societal ship to do things in new ways. I am more and more convinced that this is less "weird" and more "cutting edge" and that I am finding the wave of the future. My rationale?
- Our planet can not sustain the level of resource use and abuse that it currently takes. We're running out of petroleum (and sometimes paying $4/gallon for gas - ACK!), our water and air are polluted, our biodiversity is in jeopardy, and the things we take for granted are proving themselves to be in short supply.
- Our bodies can not sustain this level of abuse. Our bodies need clean air and water, for instance. And healthy food with vitamins built into it. Don't believe me? Look at cancer rates on the rise. Look at diabetes rates. Look at the rate of heart disease. You might be able to get away with it, and your body might keep you going....but for how long? And what will it take for us to stand up and notice that our bodies are crying out for help?
- We're not happy. Something is inherently wrong in a system where people feel disconnected from community, friends and family. We buy and buy and buy because "they" (marketing, corporations, and even governmental advertising that says "go out and boost the economy!") say it will make us happy. Well, national happiness levels are lower than ever. People are buying, but they're getting stuff, not happiness. Doesn't this tell us something?
- I'm starting to really "get" that we can live much better on our salary than we have been living. We can have all that we need - and more - and have money left over. We can eat well (organic, healthy food) and spend less. Money issues are stressful, and so my happiness increases when I reduce this stress. Much of our spending is bad for the environment (how do they manufacture that plastic stuff, anyway?), so less spending on "stuff" equals better environment, too.

Environment, bodies, happiness, money. All tied together...wow.

So here's what I want. I want to be happy. I want to breathe clean air, to drink clean water. I want to be healthy. I want to live within our means. That's it. The reason for my craziness is that I want these simple things.

Here's what I'm doing right now to get to where I'm going:

Plant a vegetable (and fruit!) garden. Such a simple thing, but it's giving me a lot:
- time outdoors to breathe fresh air and work my body
- fresh food that is as healthy as anything on the planet
- reduced carbon emissions - did you know that the average piece of food travels 2000 miles to get to your table? Well, my garden will travel about 20-40 feet to get to my table. By foot, not by gas powered vehicle, so not producing crap for the environment to deal with and for my body to deal with.
- a sense of well being. I'm not a gardener (au contraire), but I'm realizing that there is something meditative about working the soil, about doing this project as a family. I know what I'm doing and why. Simply put, it's satisfying. Amazing. All this satisfaction from seeds?!
- Improved biodiversity. I'm not buying seeds from Monsanto, I'm buying heirloom vegetables. Why? Because the biodiversity of crops is falling annually, and because this makes crops less pest-resistant, drought resistant, etc. As a result of my eating this crop, I'll get a greater diversity of nutrients, as well. Earth wins, body wins, Monsanto loses. I'm okay with this.

Lowering my house temp (and programming my thermostat).
- We used to keep the house at a steady 69 degrees (when I was first a stay at home mom; I worried about Tessa being cold). I've read that we can cut our heating bill by 3-5% per degree lowered (in the winter; we don't have air conditioning so that's not an issue for us). Well, now we're keeping the house at a high of 66 degrees, and lowering it to 60-62 degrees at night and while we're gone. If costs equates to energy use, then just by putting on a sweater (if you come over and you're cold I'll loan you one!) we're lowering our energy use by something like 15%.
- It's not weird to wear a sweater. It's NORMAL. It's healthy. There is no down side.

Walking, biking, bussing....not driving.
- We live in a great walking community. How often do I go to the Junction? And how often have I DRIVEN to the Junction? That's crazy! We're less than a mile away from grocery stores, Farmer's Market, specialty shops, resturants, coffee shops, art gallery, live theater. A great percentage of the miles I drive are within West Seattle. Well, why not walk? My body loves it. My brain gets endorphins (there's that happy thing again). The environment loves it. It takes a little longer, but even that can be a good thing. I am so tired of rushing! I love those walks with Tessa....we talk, we notice things, we feel the seasonal changes.
- I don't need to tell anyone who knows us that Ryan is a bike fanatic. He's HAPPY when he's on his bike. He's gleeful when he bikes to work....passing all the stopped cars. Good for body, good for soul, good for environment.
- It's not possible to walk or bike everywhere. So I'm adding the bus to my list. We take it downtown whenever possible (so much easier than traffic and parking issues) but I'm trying to use it even more than that. Yesterday, we walked a few blocks from the Amtrak station to a bus stop....and Ryan discovered a beautiful park downtown with a waterfall. We caught the bus, and ran into some friends. I was scrambling to find a quarter (bus fare is $1.50 and I had $1.25 and a $20 bill) and a nice lady gave me a quarter with instructions to "pay it forward" next time I was on the bus.
- I found out that the bus by our house goes to the Target/Westwood Village area. So next time I need to go to the library, Marshall's, or even (sigh) Target, I could bus it. I'm committed to taking the bus even within West Seattle when possible.

Stop buying "stuff."
- When I look around my house, I don't see needs. We have furniture, blankets, clothing. We have decorative stuff (candlesticks, pictures, etc.) We have entertainment (games, television, stereo, even Xbox). Our cupboards and closets and attic are overflowing with things. We "need" very, very little.
- The pursuit of stuff makes me temporarily happy....but then I usually feel bad. The items are often not quite right. I spend too much time in pursuit of these items (shopping) and not enough time in parks, at SAM or the zoo or the aquarium or the beach. Then I spend a ton of time organizing my stuff, cleaning my stuff, getting rid of my stuff (come see us at C&P May 10 for the yard sale!). In short, stuff doesn't make me happy.
- All that stuff produces insane quantities of waste. For every one can of garbage at the household level, 70 cans of "garbage" (including toxins in the air and water) are produced earlier in the production cycle. See http://www.storyofstuff.com/ if you haven't already. I don't want to add to that kind of waste!
- The production of stuff requires huge amounts of petroleum/oil, and that's awful for the environment and my body.
- I shouldn't need to say it, but I will: stuff costs money. Money I could be using to live within my means. Living within my means = feeling happier.

I'm rambling (in the time I've written this email, I've also prepared snacks for girls, done chores, gotten the dog out of mischief, etc.) but I think you're getting the point.

The bottom line? I'm the crazy lady. And I'm okay with that. It's going to get crazier, too. And that makes me happy.

If you're reading this for ideas, and you're not prepared to tear up your lawn to plant a vegetable garden, or you're not ready to retire your car keys, try these simple things instead:

- Replace conventional lightbulbs with energy efficient ones. Major positive impact on the environment, and they're said to last up to 30 times longer.

- Choose something that you eat that's not currently organic, and replace it with organic food. Maybe apples - start small like that.

- Next time you have a small errand, consider walking. Choose a nice day - and walk to the mailbox, the coffee shop, the corner store. Leave your car at home. Enjoy the weather, the flowers, the conversation along the way.

- Find a bag (you've already got one....maybe a lightweight beach bag, maybe a giant purse, maybe a canvas tote, maybe a backpack, or maybe one that they sell at the grocery store) and take it with you whenever you shop. The grocery store, but also any other errands you're doing. Keep those bags out of landfills! This isn't newfangled, this is old school. In Europe, this is what they've been doing "forever."

- Plant something edible in a pot, and grow it organically. Maybe just basil for your kitchen, or maybe a few strawberries, or maybe a tomato plant. Harvest from your small crop, and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing you've done this.

Sustainable West Seattle

My friend Abby sent this to me - I can't go because I'll be on Orcas but I hope you'll consider attendi------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE FESTIVAL MAY 4 - 10AM to 3PM ALASKA JUNCTION (Alaska & 44th Ave SW) (Across the street from the Farmers Market) http://sustainablewestseattle.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sustainable West Seattle will be holding its 1st Annual Festival across the street from the Sunday Farmers Market (in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot) 1 block West of the Alaska Junction this May 4th from 10am to 3pm. The Festival will feature a wide range of sustainability speakers, workshops & exhibitors around the theme of “Building Community, Making Connections”. Special activities will include: a Food Drive for the West Seattle Food Bank, Neighborhood House Green Building bus tours of the new High Point Project, a bicycle maintenance area, and a special “Undriving License” booth where festival-goers can get a free Undriving license along with ten free Metro bus tickets! A Transit Forum addressing issues affecting West Seattle will simultaneously be held one block South of the main Festival site, at Arts West, 4711 California Ave SW. The Transit Forum will feature discussions with Richard Conlin, Dow Constantine, and others. There will also be a presentation and discussion about the Viaduct by the People’s Waterfront Coalition. Sustainable West Seattle is a non-profit organization that educates and advocates for urban sustainability in our local community. The group envisions a West Seattle community of empowered citizens who actively lead one another toward greater self- reliance, local democracy, social justice, and existence in harmony with life on earth. More details about the Festival and SWS, including the Festival poster, a complete program schedule, and a listing of exhibitors, may be found at: http://sustainablewestseattle.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contacts: Brian Allen - SWS 2008 Festival Coordinator (206) 973-7374 secretary@sustainablewestseattle.org Bill Reiswig - SWS President (206) 883-7040 pres@sustainablewestseattle.org ng!

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Update on my ring...

...and major kudos to Menasche in West Seattle.

I just got a call from Jack Menasche in West Seattle from Menasche Jewelers. They are going to fix my ring, free of charge, standing behind their work.

I am so grateful to them for taking care of my ring, and for dealing with this situation in such an honorable way. I am not in a position to buy jewelry these days, but I'm telling you, if I was, I'd send all my business there.

If you're looking for new jewelry and live locally, check them out. Beautiful pieces, super people.

Thank you!

More kindergarten talk

Well, prepare to hear lots of kindergarten talk on this blog in the next couple of months as I make decisions about where to send Tessa. We're just at the beginning and it's a bit overwhelming.

First, I realize that choosing a kindergarten is not the most critical decision in a child's life. I recognize that Tessa is well primed to succeed in kindergarten. I believe that she's the "ideal" student, in that she's able to sit and listen, she wants to please her teachers/authority figures, she doesn't appear to have any learning disabilities, she's social, and she has a love of learning and of books. Because she has educated parents who will be active in the school she's in, and because we care about reading in the home, and because we model reading and writing to her (mom's in a book club and writes in a journal; dad's constantly taking trips to the library to pick up books), and because we are well set up to support her homework, etc., it is my suspicion that she will succeed in just about any school. In this regard, she is like most of the children that we know: middle class children who don't worry about a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, and parents who love them. These things alone are a great head start in education.

Still, I feel a lot of pressure to choose well for her. Success can be judged in lots of ways, and I need to decide where my own values lie in order to decide what a successful kindergarten placement will look like.

Now, this seems like it should be easy. I value safety, academics, community, diversity, love of learning, parent involvement, access to materials (books, technology, etc.), caring faculty, development of critical thinking more than rote memorization, development of social-emotional as well as intellectual strengths, art programs, music programs, foreign language, PE programs, encouragement of girls into math and science, excellent reading and writing programs, after school programs like running club or basketball or chess, a nice building, low student to teacher ratios, good test scores, pride in the school environment....

Can you see where I run into problems? That is a long list, and not one local public school meets everything in that list. Some schools emphasize community more than academics; some schools have art but not foreign language; some schools have great writing programs but lesser science programs. It's not a perfect world, so I can't have it all (no news there), so I have to decide which of these things is most important to me, and then make the match.

We know we intend to stay in West Seattle. We know that we intend to pursue public, not private, school options. I'm not going into it here, but we believe that we have excellent reasons for our family to reach these conclusions, and we're happy to stay the course on those two issues.

The first major decision I have to make is about academic rigor versus diversity (and how the encouragement of, or lack of, diversity impacts community). One local school (Lafayette) has the Spectrum program for gifted and talented children, and it's possible that Tessa could test into this program. The program is at a school noted for its high test scores, traditional learning styles, and lack of diversity as compared to other schools in the area. Another local school (Pathfinder, the alternative school) has an incredible approach toward community and diversity, and really works with kids' creativity, but I fear that they do not have the academic rigor that would help Tessa live up to her potential.

Two schools, Alki and Schmitz Park, appear to be more middle of the road and may meet all of our needs, but they appear to be very popular and we may not get in to either of them.

Our local reference school is Gatewood, and I just don't know enough about them yet. Academically, though, they do not appear to have great strength, or maybe I'm just judging test scores (and we all know how they are filled with falacies).

I have not made any decisions. I toured Pathfinder today, and I have tours set up for other schools. But in order to make my decisions, first I have to struggle through this list of values to determine what my ranked order is. This is tough work for Ryan and I, as we want only the best for our beautiful (her heart, mind, soul as much as her outsides) daughter.

Whatever we do, it will be okay. Nothing is irrevocable. Still, it would be nice to choose the right school from the get-go, and just enjoy the ride.