Wrapping with fabric

In an effort to reduce paper waste, I decided this winter to try wrapping presents with fabric (called furoshiki).

Here's a picture of my mom's birthday present:



I also wrapped all the teacher gifts for N-man and B-man's teachers/specialists:






I wrapped a number more, but these turned out the best, probably because of perfectly easy box shape of these gifts.

What's my final call?

Pros:

• Pretty! Don't these just look so special and interesting?
• Surprisingly easy! There are plenty of sites online that give directions. I especially liked this one. You can even find youtube videos.
• No paper waste. Fabric can be easily reused.

Cons:

• Fabric is far more expensive than gift wrap.
• I bought some flannel fabric because 1) it was half-off and 2) it had super-cute kid-friendly designs. I can use it, but it's not nearly as easy as the thin, silkier fabrics. You'll notice none of the pictures here are with flannel wraps!
• While fabric can be easily reused for crafts (or for wrapping future presents), you never know if the person who receives the gift will end up reusing it, or if it'll just end up in the trash like wrapping paper would have.

So I guess in the end I'm still kind of up in the air about this one. What do you think?

NaNoWriMo, I miss you!

Do you see how I'm not apologizing for my lackluster posting schedule? Come on, 1 post a month? Geez, even if I don't post again in November, I've now officially doubled my monthly posting. You're welcome.

Anyway, it's November. It's National Novel Writing Month. I love NaNoWriMo. I've done it twice now, and loved both experiences.

I'm not doing NaNo this month.

I'm kind of sad about that, though truthfully, with little Z-man still not sleeping through the night, and still not quite up to entertaining himself, I don't think it would be much fun to try to force in time to write a novel.

Plus, I have two novels from past years that I could work on.

What is it about writing novels that the goal, the expectation seems to be that you're writing for others, to publish and to share? If I spent a month writing a journal, I don't think I'd feel the same pressure to rewrite and let others read. Though oddly, here I am, sitting on two novels I'm not sure I want to share, but I write on a blog, essentially self-publishing a journal for all to see. Is it weird that I consider my fiction writing more personal than my blogging???

Anyway, anyone else doing NaNoWriMo? If so, what are you doing reading my blog? Get back to work!

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Green tip for the day: Use both sides of paper, including things like shopping lists. Just cross out the stuff you already bought and start a new list underneath it or on the other side.

Great Books

There are also books full of great writing that don't have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story, Bobby. Don't be like the book-snobs who won't do that. Read sometimes for the words--the language. Don't be like the play-it-safers who won't do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.

That quote is from Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. I'm not sure why I stopped reading Stephen King. Sometime in college, I just kind of moved on. Recently, though, I've picked up a few of his books at library book sales, and I'm having a bit of a Stephen King renaissance. Anyway, I stumbled across that quote and it got me thinking. I try to read broadly, but I tend to fall in the "read for the story" group. I can forgive, or ignore, bad writing for the most part, but bad story--forget it!

It's so personal, what makes that combination of great story and great writing. Here's my (I'm sure partial) list of some of the books I've read that were really a combination of outstanding prose and terrific storytelling:

Margaret Atwood is a wonderful writer...I'd say pretty much all her books are examples of great writing. But her stories that really resonate with me, that I truly love, are The Blind Assassin and The Handmaid's Tale.

Kurt Vonnegut is the only other writer I've read who was so consistently strong in his writing. Cat's Cradle is outstanding, and Blue Beard is my other favorite by Vonnegut.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon was another perfect book for me--great writing, great story. After I read that, I got every other book by Chabon. While I enjoyed many of the others, unfortunately none resonated with me the way Kavalier and Clay did. Oddly, I was just reading I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron, which contains an essay titled "On Rapture". It opens with the lines:

I've just surfaced from spending several days in a state of rapture--with a book. I loved this book. I loved every second of it. I was transported into its world. I was reminded of all sorts of things in my own life. I was in anguish over the fate of its characters. I felt alive, and engaged, and positively brilliant, bursting with ideas, brimming with memories of other books I've loved.

She's talking about The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and it was like she had peeked into my brain to write that.

Since it was a Stephen King quote that got me thinking of this, I'll throw in a Stephen King novel. When I read King, it's really usually a case where I'm reading for story. But, I think he is an author who is not given his due--he's not just a hack. Some of his books also have incredible writing (if you like a long drawn out, overly descriptive type of writing. Which I happen to. Drives TK crazy, though.) I'll put The Stand on my list. Really great story, great plotting, great writing.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Geez, I love that book. Perfect combination of good writing and great story. I've been pretty disappointed with Card's more recently published works, but I'll always love him for writing Ender's Game.

Well, I've run out of time and want to get this posted. The list could never really be done...I can always keep thinking of more, so here it is in its unfinished glory.

What are your examples of those amazing books that pair up wonderful writing and wonderful story?

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Green tip of the day: Use your library! Buy used books, and donate your books you don't want to keep. I like to donate books to my library, because I know they'll sell them to raise money that goes right back into the library.

That said, I still buy a number of new books--hey, I also think it's important to support authors :)

The Hunger Games

About a month ago, I finally got around to reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I don't know what I was waiting for. YA book? Check. Dystopian novel? Check. You've just described my two very favorite classifications for books. I think I was just so disgusted by the Twilight series that I lost all faith that any other popular YA books would be any good.

But I'd heard so much about The Hunger Games, and then there I was, walking through Target one day when I'd just finished my last new book in the house, and happened to see The Hunger Games on an endcap. So I picked it up. And I'm glad I did.

The writing in the book is okay...a bit rocky at times, but it's really the story that grabs hold and pulls you along.

I was a little annoyed. A few times, I've read books and said "I could have written this." This was one of those books. Both novels I've written have been near-future dystopians. Both could have been YA novels. So as I'm reading, I kept kicking myself, saying "this could have been *my* book". But here's the thing: even if I had had this idea, I would have dismissed it as too derivative. The idea of the book kind of riffs off Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, with a healthy dose of Stephen King's The Long Walk and The Running Man and throws in a touch of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. I would have tossed out the idea in a minute.

So as an aspiring writer, I learned some very important lessons: 1) write a good story, and it really doesn't matter if it's derivative. I enjoyed all the stories I mentioned above. It should be no surprise that I liked this so much. 2) At least for readers like me, a strong engaging story is more important than perfect prose. That's very heartening as I struggle with writing "perfectly", though I find that I enjoy writing much more when I just let go and let the story flow rather than worrying about how well it's actually written.

Also, this trilogy has reignited my hope for YA fiction. I mean, so many people being in love with the Twilight series made me seriously worry for the future ;)

So if you haven't read it yet, get out there and get a copy of The Hunger Games. I really enjoyed the story--it's dark, bleak, and just the right hint of hope without being cloying or fake.

If you have read it, leave a comment and let me know what you thought.

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Green tip for the day: If you have kids and like to go out to eat, carry some crayons in your purse. Then turn down the crayons they give your kids--if you leave them, they just get thrown away! We only take new crayons when our old crayons get too broken or lost and we need new ones to replenish my purse-supply.

But he doesn't like my cooking???

Well, I hate to call it out in public, but we're working with our little B-man about a very gross problem: nose picking. I'd love to hear if anyone has a solution to that gem. But, this isn't a vent about nose picking. Instead, it's a funny story. About nose picking.

Yay for mommy blogs!

So, the other day, I caught B-man picking his nose again. I told him to stop, and like always, he asked why.

With a distinct tone of frustration in my voice, I said, "First, it's disgusting."

He stopped me and said with that same tone of frustration, "Mom, first, it's delicious."

Yeah, now we're working on not eating our boogers...

Snack bags and garden pickings

N-man and B-man start Kindergarten tomorrow. I'm finding it hard to believe, though I suspect that's normal.

Our district only has half day kindergarten, so I don't need to worry about lunches. But they do need to have a snack every day. I asked what they wanted for their snack the first day, and they chose strawberries and blueberries (N-man) and cottage cheese (B-man). Weirdos! Anyway, since both of those need an ice pack to stay cool, I decided to make the kids a reusable snack tote, something I had in mind for a while anyway.



Here it is. A pocket for an ice pack, a place to hold a fork or spoon, and room for a small reusable container. It was pretty easy to make, and if I actually knew how to use my sewing machine, I'm sure it would have been far quicker.



Here they are all folded up. I let the kids choose their fabrics/thread, so while it might not have been exactly the colors I would have put together, they're happy with it. B-man chose the stars, N-man chose the dots. The only other thing I might do is sew a quick napkin from the remaining fabrics. Probably not by tomorrow, though...we have plenty of cloth napkins that I can just stick inside.

I've written about zero-waste lunches before. I'd really like to try to continue to pack snacks that don't have any packaging. I also have a couple reusable sandwich bags that I bought, and I think I'll try to sew a few more in different sizes. Those are good for holding snacks like crackers or goldfish. I just needed something that could also hold an ice pack so I can pack cold snacks, too.

(If anyone is curious to make one, the big square is 14" and the pocket is 8.5" by 5.5", though your sizes would be dependent upon the size of your ice pack.)

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At the beginning of the summer, I posted about our raised bed garden. It's done okay...I've been plagued with horn worms (did a number on the tomatoes, though I managed to rescue a few of the plants), deer, I think (bye bye beans, bye bye many ripening tomatoes), and drought (um, that's my own fault for not watering...lost a few bean plants that the deer had missed, and my only squash plant).

But we've still been getting stuff. Earlier in the year, the lettuce and swiss chard did great...I was able to make a couple meals with those before the weather started getting too hot. We've been getting a few tomatoes here, a couple fairy tale eggplant there, a handful of lima beans, an onion or two; nothing overwhelming, and never enough to make a side dish alone but stuff I've thrown in with other veggies from our CSA. Yesterday, though, I picked the rest of the onions and carrots, plus we had a few more cherry tomatoes. Not the biggest haul on earth, but a pretty respectable one day harvest.



Yum! While I didn't get great harvests this year, I learned a lot. Once the tomatoes are done, I think I'm going to clean out the bed, plant a few squares of garlic this fall, and then plant some permanent squares of asparagus and rhubarb in the spring, for future years. And hopefully add another box (or two, or three!) to plant more veggies next year! Maybe I can even add some kind of fencing to keep out the deer. At the very least, I'll try some kind of deer-deterrent (besides our awesome neighbor across the street who yells at the deer every time she sees them munching on our garden :).

How did your gardens grow this year?

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Green tip for the day: Of course I'm putting in another plug for zero-waste lunches and snacks.

What are your tips (or favorite products) for zero-waste lunches and snacks? I'm a fan of the little reusable glad or ziploc containers you can get at the grocery store. Perfect size for little guys! And, inexpensive so if they get lost at school, I don't have to worry. I looked at some metal containers, and the small sizes were upwards of $10 a piece! They're nice, but I think I'd worry my 5 year olds might misplace them.

Chocolate Chip Math and Terracycle

N-man and B-man can be so different. B-man is in love with all things math. Today, I gave him 7 chocolate chips. He immediately counts them, then picks one up to eat and says, "7-1=6". He eats the next after saying, "6-1=5". And he keeps going.

N-man looks at B-man, looks at his own chocolate chips, then says, "Seven minus one equals YUM!" and tosses a chip in his mouth.

They were both right...

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Green tip for the day:

Look for a local Terracycle drop off point. There are many different things that can be dropped off, depending on what "brigades" your local group has signed up for. For example, our terracycle group in town collects juice pouches, chip bags, used pens/markers, empty glue bottles, cereal liners, and a variety of other non-recyclable items.

Many schools organize terracycle brigades as they receive a couple cents for each piece of garbage collected so it's a good fundraiser as well as an opportunity to keep trash out of landfills. You don't need to have a kid in school, though. Call your local school and find out where the drop-off points are...there may be some in locations besides the school, such as the library or a local coffee shop. Or you may be able to bring your donations to the school office even if you don't have a child in the school.

The only thing I'm not too sure if I like is that I wonder if the terracycle brigades encourage people to buy more single-use products, since the packaging is collected and raises money for their school or other charitable organization. For example, do you think people are more likely to give their kids juice pouches rather than water or juice in a reusable container if they know they can upcycle their used pouches? What do you think?

Do you drop things off for a terracycle collection? If so, what are your favorite things to terracycle? I love the used marker and cereal bag collections, as those are things we definitely buy and used to have to toss in the trash.