ringo's Profile

I hate to be a killjoy, and Asian bittersweet (celastrus orbiculatus) is lovely, but it is a serious invasive plant. It climbs up trees, out-competes with the tree's leaves in the canopy, and eventually causes its death. It is a food source for birds, but there are other native alternatives (including American bittersweet). If you have Asian bittersweet growing in your backyard, the best thing to do is cut it at the its base and apply a coat of Roundup. (Feel free to pick some first for decoration, but don't throw any in the compost pile.)

How to tell the two apart: Orbiculatus has rounded leaves and fruits prolifically, while Scandens (am. bittersweet) has tapered leaves and not as much showy fruit. When in doubt, just leave it there.

Either cherry-mango with a little crystallized ginger or banoffee pie. I first had banoffee in Gibraltar on a long weekend vacation from Morocco. It combines bananas, toffee pie and whipped cream. Sounds weird, but it is so good.

Any idea where the carafe/cup combo is from? Also, the tree hatrack?

We're possibly moving to Evanston. What's it like? Are there smaller, more affordable areas still close to the university?

Ok, if anyone is still reading- this is slightly off topic, but remember those ugly brown simple biographies in elementary school libraries? I LOVED reading those- so did my husband when we were kids. I always keep my eyes open for them at used bookstores, but so far haven't found them. Does anyone know what they are called, or have any idea how to find them.

-bring bags to grocery store
-buy used, not new clothes, furniture, toys when poss.
-library instead of bookstore
-cancel catalogs
-share magazines with friends
-no car
-wear more clothes in winter indoors, less clothes in summer= -less ac and heat
-don't flush toilet every time
-clean with borax and vinegar
-read newspapers online
-eat local where possible
-can/freeze veggies and fruit
-eat seasonally
-eat less meat
-live near work
-use clothesline, not dryer
-bring ziplock bags to grocery store and buy bulk, not packaged, items

This looks like a long list, but actually these are the easy things (except the no car one). I learned most of these watching people in Europe go about their daily lives.

Thank you very much site. I have enjoyed it almost daily for over a year now and have learned so much about "homemaking" (if you will).

I also appreciate the green products and issues you have made us aware of, however, I would like to issue a word of caution about a blog dedicated just to environmental issues: the best thing one can do for the environment is to significantly reduce consumerism. Not a popular position, but I think few would argue with the logic of it.

I wonder if having a "green" blog connected to a design blog that constantly introduces new products might look a little shallow at best, hypocritical at worst.

You might want to consider the environmental impact-- if you're not going to be there forever, and your next owner probably wouldn't mind much one way or the other (esp if the location and other features are good), go with staining it a darker color or finding another way to live with it. That's a lot of wood to throw out, and a lot of wood that has to be cut down to put in.

The most ingenious way I ever saw was at when a friend's mom washed the greens, wrapped them in a clean dish towel, and put them in the spin cycle of the washing machine for a minute!

We just wash them all at once, lay out on dish towels and dry, and store in a half-sealed ziplock bag. Seems to work great- they last around a week.

Thank you Mark Bittman. Some of the best meals I've had were cooked on the most basic equipment, including one cooked over a fire in a mud hut in Morocco.