Blog Action Day 2007

On Monday, a very cool thing happened all over the internet called Blog Action Day. It is a day set aside for a mass posting about a single issue - this year it is the environment.

Blog Action Day was officially supported by the United Nations Environmental Programme. "UNEP welcomes the simple yet powerful concept of Blog Action Day and calls on bloggers around world to participate".

Over 20,000 blogs took part in the event.

"At the heart of this innovative idea is the message that by uniting the world's blogging community, we can reach a combined audience of millions to raise awareness of the environment, get people thinking and trigger a global debate. " ~UNEP

So, yes, I missed the actual day to blog my little piece about the environment, but I still want to add my small contibution and it is this:- I have started using non-toxic cleaners and soaps. I prefer the Method line of products that are sold at Shoppers Drug Mart and shown in the picture above.I will quote Method directly:

"You may not know this, but if you're using typical household cleaners, you're messing around with dangerous toxic chemicals. Chemicals that aren't just bad for your home, but for you and your family as well. Not to mention the world.* In fact, if your walls could talk, you'd probably wash their mouths out with soap. But good, clean soap, like Method. Our stuff doesn't contain harmful anythings. Just pure, non-toxic ingredients that clean like heck and smell like heaven."

So, last year, I switched all of our cleaning products to Method. Hand soaps, laundry soap, wipes, dish soap, dishwasher soap, wood cleaners, etc. I love how they clean. I love how they are not toxic to my family. And I love how they are not toxic to the environment..... our environment...... the one that we all share. (Plus, I also like the super chic design of their bottles;)

Now I'm off to clean this house....using Method, of course.

this is all that remains of....

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pie. This helpless victim, made by Grandmother on the weekend, was taken down without a fight at approx. 3:14 am this morning. This is the second victim in less than a week.

The suspect is approx. 5'10" with brownish looking fuzzy hair. Approximately 40 years old. Recently lost 30 lbs and claims his innocence. However, the trail of evidence leading from the fridge to his home office suggests otherwise. Suspect says he has no knowledge of why crumbs are everywhere on his desk & chair or why chocolate appears smeared around his lips.

The cream cheese brownies, also made by Grandmother on the weekend, have been placed in the witness protection program at a secret location. Poor Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pie.

you can leave a comment if you like...

Ijust wanted some of my blog readers to know that you can leave a comment if you like. I have opened up comments so that anyone can comment. Just click on "anonymous" if you don't have a blogger account, but please sign your comment with your initials or some other code of recognition like "friends on White Rock Road" so that I know who you are! It's nice to read comments! Thanks!

put yer apron on....

I must admit that I am a bit old-fashioned. Not only do I love to cook & bake & be in the kitchen, but I also love to wear an apron.... not only for practical reasons( I am a very messy cook), but because of the sentiment of the apron-the women in my family wore aprons on a regular basis. I can especially remember at Christmas how you weren't allowed to help in the kitchen until you donned the requisite apron. Putting on an apron means that you are about to do serious business in the kitchen and others in the family must beware to stay out of your way! The problem is that these days it is hard to find a PRETTY apron. I love the feminine frills of the aprons of yesteryear, not the big manly squares of cloth so common now.The aprons available for purchase in the store have such an industrial or utilitarian look-more like you are getting ready to go under a car to do repairs instead of preparing something delicious for your family. I like aprons that look like they are best friends with high heels & martinis..... a more "come hither" retro type of look.

One day, my dear friend Laurie & I were discussing our mutual love of things in the kitchen, when I mentioned to her how hard it is to find a pretty apron. Not more than a few weeks later, she gave me the most beautiful apron-PINK paisley with a pretty green polka dot ruffle. It was the most AMAZING gift and all the more special because she had sat at her sewing maching & made it herself. Then..... a light bulb went off in my head...& a new addiction was born. I was soon off to the fabric store myself to pick out my own pretties to sew into aprons. Thanks to Laurie, I have dusted off my sewing machine after more than 10 years in the closet, and now I have a stack of fabrics waiting to be sewn into cute aprons for Hunter, my mom, my grandmother....& the list grows. And of course, I couldn't start my projects without a cute new pin cushion, and a flower-patterned rotary cutter. The picture above is the almost-finished apron I made for Hunter... I love the funky, bold patterns together.

Ron is just shaking his head at me..... and he is not happy that he is no longer allowed to use MY sewing maching to fix those rags he calls his hockey gear.

halloween whoopie pies....

The girls got super creative yesterday... not only did they make 2 batches of whoopie pies, but they decided to make "Halloween" whoopie pies. I was upstairs reading with Tyler while the creative juices were flowing in the kitchen and they did all this with no help at all! I only had to EAT! They even cleaned up the kitchen! 11 year old girls are amazing! (And this sad little picture with the fuzziness confirms that my digital is needing to be replaced.)

love making whoopie......

PIES that is!! Many of my favorite recipes have come from my mother's kitchen, but this is the one exception. This was not a recipe made in our house-the favorites in our house were brownies, chocolate cake, macaroons, & nanaimo bars. Whoopie pies were a favorite recipe of my best friend from elementary school. I have vivid & fond memories of going to her house for lunch or after school where her mom would have a plate of freshly made whoopie pies ready for us. Oh, how I used to love to go her house for her mom's whoopie pies... they were so tender, cakey and chocolatey good! Eating a whoopie pie was such heaven and if you finished one, you could actually have another!!! Fast forward about 30 years and I have the original recipe from my friend's mom and we make them often in our house. Both kids love them as I do. I have taken to making these for the kids lunches...after a batch cools, I wrap each pie in wax paper and then put in a ziploc bag in the freezer from which I just add to lunches as needed. I NEVER buy packaged cookies-"Oreos" or "Pirates", or "Dad's" or whatever. My mother always had homemade goodies in our lunches growing up and I would like to carry on in that tradition. A few weeks ago when Hunter took a whoopie pie to school in her lunch, one of her friends commented that whoopie pies "look so good"! So we have invited that friend over today to make whoopie pies-they are not a common baked good here-you cannot find them in grocery stores-and many people have never heard of them and look rather startled when they hear "whoopie pie". I believe whoopie pies are of New England origin...although I would have to "google" that to be sure. Today, you can be sure that around 3 pm, we will be sitting down to a cold glass of milk and a whoopie pie.....