A Veggie Adventure

There are several reasons to visit the blog A Veggie Venture.

First, we all seem to be having a SLIGHT problem with the Kale included in our CSA boxes. Have no fear. Kale is just one of the many, many CSA box oddities that veggie evangelist Alanna tackles in her blog that began innocently enough (don't they all) when, she writes, "For a year, I cooked a vegetable in a new way every single day. Now A Veggie Venture delivers veggie inspiration from Asparagus to Zucchini, from simple sides to vegetable salads to soups and even desserts." So that in itself is reason enough to add A Veggie Venture to your links to like.

Secondly, see that adorable little tomato to the left? Alanna commissioned that "badge" for all of us farmer's market frequenters to use as we please! As that crazy Molly Shannon used to say on SNL, "I love it I love it I love it!" Thank you, Alanna!

Books We Like

In my humble opinion, there is really no better gift for a child than a book. Sure, they won't go ga-ga over it in the thrill of the unwrapping moment - they will play with the battery-operated flotsam and jetsam first. But in the quiet hours, after the party-goers have gone home and things have settled down, they will time after time crawl into your lap and say, "You read this to me, Mom?" If you read it, they will come.

There are so many books for children that focus on the outdoors and the natural world, but my particular favorites are all illustrated by a very talented artist living in Massachusetts, Leslie Evans. She is owner and operator of Sea Dog Press "the production studio for Leslie Evans Illustration. The Press in question is a Vandercook #4 Proof Press, an ideal machine for printing relief blocks, such as linocut, woodcut and wood engraving. The press was formerly used to proof linotype." Her work is done entirely by hand and need I tell you how nice it is to support a woman owned and operated business?

Of all her work, my favorite is actually a series: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, feature clever alphabet acrostics written by author Steven Schnur. Leslie's hand-colored linoleum-cut illustrations are so evocative of the seasons they represent and capture their essence so precisely, that after reading Winter you may actually pine for those colder days even in the midst of summer! The glossy pages are beautiful to look at and are wonderfully detailed.

I purchase all four books at once and give them as a complete set for birthdays, holiday gifts, and even to newborn babies. I also own a complete set for my children. These books, and others illustrated by Leslie, can be purchased directly from Amazon. You can never start reading, and appreciating beautiful art, too soon! I leave you with an acrostic from Leslie's book, Summer:

Millions
Of tiny
Stinging insects
Quick to strike
Unsuspecting victims
In the
Twilight
Of mid-
Summer

Dora Goes Green

Next month is Sprout's birthday and I am as much a slave to "themed" birthday parties as the rest of us...actually...scratch that. I LOVE THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTIES! There. I said it.

As much as I would just like to call her birthday "green" and call it a day, the girl is in l-o-v-e with that cute little explorer Dora. Remember the Backpack who we found at the yard sale for $1.00? It has now become her handbag. Did I mention it talks? If you do not have a child who is a member of the pre-school set, this post may read like "Blah, blah, blah, blah, green, blah, blah blah, blah blah." I apologize in advance.

But I digress.

So, I have decided that Sprout's birthday theme this year will be Dora Goes Green. Although, have you noticed...Dora is already very green?

1) She almost always walks everywhere.

2) When she and Boots do not walk, they either carpool (Tico's car) or take the train (Azul).

3) Her cousin Diego works at his parent's animal rescue center and Dora has helped him rescue baby bears and baby jaguars on several occasions.

4) Her Map recycles himself.

5) Dora fixed Backpack with duct tape (aka sticky tape) when his strap broke, thereby eliminating the need to purchase a new one.

6) Dora rarely, if ever, wears a different outfit. I can only imagine how eco-friendly this is. And Boots only wears boots! Now THAT'S saving on water and laundry detergent!

7) Dora seems to get A LOT of exercise and rarely eats. Not sure if that is entirely healthy, but I am sure she has great HDL levels.

8) Dora is bi-lingual.

9) Dora hair is a nice low-maintenance bob. I'm sure this saves time in the bath and on shampoo consumption (okay, these are getting weak, I realize that).

10) As far as I can tell, Dora does not use plastic grocery bags.

Okay, okay, things got REALLY lame at the end there - but in any case, I'm on my way to plan Sprout's Dora Goes Green birthday party!! Can you help us plan a Dora Goes Green birthday party? GREAT! Thanks for helping! Gracias!

The Not So Green-Related Perfect Post

When I first starting cruising the Internets, trying to find my way in the blogging world, I happened to stumble upon a mom who writes. Don't know what made me stop at Mom Writes seeing as there are so many other moms out there doing the exact same thing - but I believe it was because, as I once told her, her blog seemed sunny and bright. I will confess that I read every single one of her archived posts. Yes, Mary, I was the one that totally messed up your stats for approximately two weeks. Mary was the first blogger who replied to a personal email of mine and she even wrote a post just for me (I like to tell myself that anyway) about how to manage Tots on Trips.

I've never nominated anyone for a perfect post, the brainchild of Suburban Turmoil and MommaK, but I thought it would be perfect to nominate one of Mary's for the month of June. I know she has been having her ups and downs over the past few months which is why I nominate "When the worst that can happen is nothing at all" It's not really a green post, but sure, healthy living both physically and mentally is very green. So there.

Keep on writing, Mary! You are still bright and sunny.

When...(as an aside)

When you put your 3-year-old down for a nap and when you go upstairs to check on him and when he's not in his bed and when you know he's not downstairs because he can't open the safety gate and when you check under his bed and when you check in your bed and when you check in the closets, out the window, in the bathtub, in the toilet, when you wake up his sister from her nap and probably the neighbors from screaming his name, before you call the police, check the dirty clothes hamper. You know, the upright one with the lid on it. He might be in there. Asleep.