A few years ago, my eldest daughter and I made a solar oven out of a pizza box, tin foil, some black paper and a number of odds and ends that we put together. Although it wouldn’t have safely roasted a chicken we were able to warm some soup and melt some cheese on toast. I remember having great fun experimenting with  the angles of the oven and trying to find a solution that created the hottest temperature possible.

This is a great activity and can be done using a cardboard box other than a pizza box. Different boxes will lend to different angles and hence different temperatures. It is a great idea to have a thermometer on hand to test the temperature as you experiment.

There are quite a few sites with instructions on how to make a pizza box solar oven but I liked Solar Now’s pizza box solar oven the best as it had images to let you know you are on the right track.

Maybe you could even reheat yesterdays’ pizza?

Sad. Lonely. Depressed. Anxious. Jealous. Feelings and emotions shared by men and women, teens and grandparents, dogs and cats.

Any pet lover knows their companion can experience his or her own ups and downs. However, what can you do to eliminate stress or tackle territoriality issues? One safe and bio-friendly pet option is Bach Flower Therapy.

Dr Edward Bach, British physician, bacteriologist, homeopath and researcher developed flower therapy in the early 1900s to restore emotional well-being in his patients. He recognized that negatives states, such as fear, nervousness, apathy and impatience had a damaging effect on his patients’ health. His research led to a classification of 38 negative states of mind – common to everyone – and the corresponding 38 flower essences used to restore emotional balance.

Though not widely known, Bach Flower Therapy is still practised today. Among «Bach-ists», we find a growing number of holistic veterinarians. Essentially flower, plant and tree-based tinctures, the remedies are perfectly safe for animals; based on the idea that pets have feelings too, Bach Flower Therapy is a bio-eco-pet-friendly option for treating emotional states. The appropriate flower remedy is chosen - depending on whatever ails your pet - and is heavily diluted to minimise the alcohol content. Add a few drops to food, water or a favourite treat and voilà! A happy, healthy, well-adjusted friend.

Some treatable conditions:

- Separation anxiety
- Barking
- Excessive grooming
- Spraying and urination
- Simple, stressful, everyday situations, like visits to the vet

To note, though: Bach Flower Therapy is not for medical conditions.

Although holistic vets are not quite mainstream and not readily available across Canada, Bach Foundation-trained BFRAPs (Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioners) and Canadian-based Flower Therapy practitioners are accessible via the internet, as are a number of books – possibly the best option for an informed introduction.

With evolving knowledge and wider acceptance of alternative therapies, Bach Flower Therapy may join acupuncture as the new “it” way of treating your pet. Who knows? Soon enough, kitty and you may be planning a day of manicures, pedicures and flower shots.

Summer is well under way now and if your kids are like mine, they are always looking for ways to cool down.  Sometimes we buy freezies, ice cream and popsicles, but often we make our own.

A great way to start is with plastic-free non toxic popsicle molds like those at Nayla Natural Care.

Once you have safe molds you can start to experiment with your favourite juices. Gwen from Nayla Natural Care suggests the pomegranate/cherry blend from Kiju as well as the other juice combinations that they make.

My kids like Happy Planet’s Tropical Tango with its hint of coconut. I think it would go well blended with yogurt as well so that is on my list of things to try.

Kids love to dig in and make their own. One simple Popsicle recipe includes chopping up watermelon and tossing it in the blender with some apple juice.  From there let the kids choose their favourite fruit and juices and come up with their own popsicle recipes. Even the youngest child can make his or her own popsicle recipes, which keeps them away from the high sugared and artificially coloured popsicles found in most grocery stores.

Here is another great recipe from Silk Road Tea

Earl Pink Tea Popsicle

A tart & revitalizing popsicle that looks as good as it tastes.

2 tbsp. Earl Green tea, 2 cups water
1 cup grapefruit juice, 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 tbsp. sugar

Bring water to just before the boil. Pour 2 cups water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in sugar to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with juices (*Tip: Never combine hot tea with grapefruit juice.)

Pour mixture into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving. To transform this into an adult popsicle, add up to 1/4 cup of gin or vodka to the recipe.

There are so many fabulous popsicles to be made. Tell us about your favourites!

I love jewellery. Oddly, though, I don’t wear it much. I do have some go-to pieces that accompany a few daily items, but more often than not, jewellery bought has been worn once. Still, I cannot help it… I imagine my cool, alter ego-self wearing baubles, bling and pretty things. One of my favourite all-around sites and preferred place to daydream and ogle jewellery is www.etsy.com.

Etsy is a global community of artisans and independent retailers. Their mission is to “enable people to make a living making things” by giving them a space to connect with buyers. The motto is Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade. Items on the site are handcrafted, vintage (at least 20 years old) or supplies. It is a treasure-trove of one-of-a-kind or beautifully unusual pieces you will never find in stores, from lamps to knit gloves, original art to ‘zines, vintage sewing patterns to… jewellery!

All items selected are handmade by Canadians and are under $20.00.

Junedesigns: A Montrealer who works mostly in gold and silver, she traded in her day job to focus on what she loves: jewellery. I hear ya.

Silver-plated tree necklace with 18” sterling silver chain ($15)

Minuade: French-Lit teacher and crafty jewellery-maker from Montreal, minaude’s shop is full of things you can mix-and-match for under $20.00.

Copper rim topaz glass triangle earrings ($6.95)

CindyLouWho2: A Calgary graduate student who donates 10% of her sales to a support & awareness group for mitochondrial disease.

Pink disco dangle earrings ($14.00)

Sandijagt: Also from Calgary, this stay-at-home mom’s store is full of lovely wire art.

Red coral wreath wire-wrapped silver pendant ($13.00)

Boomerville: Retired baby boomer from an Ottawa suburb, her shop is a nice mix of vintage pieces and items made from vintage pieces.

Silver charm bracelet made with vintage keys ($20.00)

Chrysdesignsjewelry: This Torontonian does not say much about herself but she’s got some beautiful, metal, handmade pieces that will especially delight animal lovers.

Antiqued brass elephant necklace ($20.00)

Leannedesigns: There are many charming and affordable pieces in this Saskatoon lady’s store.

Aegean Sea memory wrap ($8.50)

There are many reasons for buying handmade and supporting small, independent artisans, not the least of which is owning something special, something unique, original and lovingly crafted. Something – I dare say – that will never spend its life in the bottom of a drawer.

Bio: Sophie is a freelance writer, translator and jewellery-lover who strongly believes in buying handmade and supporting independent retailers, and she’s got the credit card bills to prove it.

Most local libraries have great reading clubs, many of which are sponsored by TD Canada and offer a easy way to track your child’s reading throughout the summer. My kids always join the summer reading club and it is always a fun way to motivate them to read. One of the best prizes we received was a ticket to a baseball game. We went and ate peanuts and cracker jacks and had a blast.

The Lorax

This year the theme is ‘Destination Jungle’ which is a timely theme offering the opportunity to learn about the importance of rain forests and the plants and animals that call them home. Canada has rain forests so this is also a great opportunity to learn more about Canada as well.

Check out the Toronto Public Library’s online version of the reading club to get a list of Jungle books appropriate to your child’s reading level. Your child can also join the book club online; post the books she has read; comment for others to read; play games and send ecards.

Exploring your library and borrowing books is an environmentally friendly way to get your reading fix. We all have an extensive collection of books at our finger tips to enjoy.

Composting - while increasingly practised, praised and immensely beneficial, its advantages remain unknown to many who may be detracted by its supposed downsides: it’s smelly, it’s cumbersome, and it’s complicated. However, look at the numbers – and the overflowing landfills – and you will see why more and more Canadian cities are singing its virtues and implementing the Green Cart program and its curbside pickup.

Hamilton, Halifax, Sudbury, Toronto and Whitehorse are some of the Canadian cities with active Green Cart programs but the numbers are growing. In recent years, limited landfill space and increasing waste disposal costs have caused municipalities to take a good, hard look at what could be done. The answer, it seemed, was looking at trash in a completely new way.

Organic waste – that which breaks down naturally – accounts for around 40% of all household garbage (rates vary by city – Toronto says 30%, Hamilton 43%, Port Coquitlam 47%). The Green Cart program became, in essence, the recycling of organic waste. As you would drop your plastic container in your blue bin, you now drop leftovers, eggshells, tea bags, paper napkins, dryer lint, toothpicks, nail clippings, and so much more into a mini bin – provided by the city – which is to be emptied into a green cart – also provided – which is then wheeled out to the curb for weekly pickup. What results is less garbage at home and less garbage in the dumpsites.

If you are still not convinced, consider these facts from Port Coquitlam, B.C.: garbage disposal costs are expected to rise 59% by 2014, while the Green Cart Program will save taxpayers over $45,000 per year. These are statistics for one city, but they are echoed in others.

Still not convinced? Think of it this way: the garbage is not changing, you’re just putting it in a different container.

While most organic matter is accepted everywhere, some is not and its disposal will depend on the municipality’s processing facility. Diapers, sanitary products, kitty litter and other pet waste, hair, and leaves and yard waste may or may not be accepted, depending on where you live.

The Green Cart Program is growing and municipalities are becoming better equipped to inform their citizens and help them make a smooth transition into composting, even easing minds with efficient anti-pest and anti-odour solutions. The goal is to make composting user-friendly and to accent the positives, which clearly outweigh the burden of keeping an extra bin in the yard.

If you are fortunate enough to reside in a municipality that has implemented the Green Cart Program, take advantage and do your part! If your municipality is still Green Cart-free, do your part as well! Write to your local representatives and sing the praises of composting… Because with less waste, we all win.

Does your family go through 4 litres of milk in a flash? An amazing number of milk jugs land up in Canadian landfills. What’s worse is that in most places, plastic milk jugs are recyclable. If you do put them in the blue bin, they won’t be used for food again but will be down-cycled into furniture or plant pots, non food packaging, toys just to name a few.

There are an indefinite amount of projects on the Internet to reuse milk jugs in a number of creative ways. My favourite is to turn a 4L plastic milk jug into an upside down tomato or strawberry planter.

Here’s how:

1. Clean and rinse the plastic milk jug and allow to dry completely.
2. Cut off the top half to one third of the milk jug.
3. Cut or punch holes in each of the four corners of the open side of the milk jug.
4. Thread wire or string through all four holes and create a look from which to hang the planter.
5. Take a small tomato or strawberry plant and feed it through the small opening of the milk jug with the roots on the inside of the jug and the plant poking out the small opening.
6. Fill the planter with rich soil while holding the small plant in place.
7. Water the plant from the top until moist but not soggy.
8. Hang in a sunny place, watering regularly.
9. Enjoy your tomatoes or strawberries.

This planter can be used outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter. Your kids will love eating the fruits of their own labour!

In making skin care and cosmetics, preservatives are always a great concern, especially for organic and natural products. There needs to be a balance between a long shelf life and a safe product when formulating non-toxic products.

Every product must include an antimicrobial that kills or inhibits growth of bacteria and an antioxidant to prevent the product from going rancid. Most organic and natural skin care companies choose one of two methods.

• formulating products with preserving plant extracts or
• adding a synthetic but safe preservatives.

Here are a few of the more popular choices:

Natural Preservatives

Antimicrobials – grapefruit seed extract, essential oils (there are many different combinations that work)

Antioxidants – rosemary leaf extract, green tea extract

Synthetic but Safe Preservatives (according to the Environmental Working Group)

Antimicrobials – potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate.

Antioxidants – vitamin E, vitamin C palmitate

Either way, often the use of safe preservatives means that products may not have the shelf life of products that use toxic preservatives. Personally, I would prefer to buy smaller amounts, use them in good time, and not suffer the fallout from toxins that may be cause cancer.

If you are concerned about the ingredients in your products put them to the test with the EWG’s cosmetic database.

How to tell if your skin care products need to be replaced? Although the answer changes per product, here are some things to look for.

• The product smells off.
• The colour has changed.
• The product is separating in its container.
• The product changes texture.
• The products is drying out.

When you buy skin care products, check for an expiration date. If it doesn’t have one, ask. And only buy as much as you think you will need. It isn’t always cheaper to buy the bigger bottle or to stock up during a sale, especially if you can’t use it up before it becomes unsafe.

I prefer to buy products in smaller quantities more often, knowing that I am treating myself and our planet with the respect and care we all deserve. And I have to say that since my change, I have had comments regarding how great my skin and hair look (for my age, of course).

A big thank you to Jessica at www.cocoonapothecary.com for her assistance in writing this piece. She was generous with her time and information and I am grateful to be able to pass on her knowledge.

We have a bit of a strange tradition in our family. Each summer we choose one of the many long steep hills in Vancouver and we challenge ourselves to make it up the hill, on two wheels. At the beginning of each summer, our first trip up the hill usually consists of us pushing our bikes up most of the way. We keep at it though and as much as it might sound like cruel and unusual punishment, the sense of achievement when we finally complete the hill is enormous.

Checking out the turtles

Recently I read an article on CBC, Active play eludes kids in summer: survey, which stated that kids are not getting enough physical activity during the summer months. About 50% of kids spend most of their time with parents while another 20% spend time at day camps. It turns out that the kids in day camp are more active than the kids who spend their time with their parents. This summer, we are all taking the month of July and hanging out as a family and since reading that article I have been thinking more and more about what we are going to do with this time.

The truth of the matter is that both of my kids are far more fit than I am. They regularly engage in unstructured active play as well as structured athletics, whereas I spend a great deal of time on my rear looking at a computer screen. If I shift my perspective and think of my kids as my personal trainers and engage in active play with them, I may regain some of my fitness level. I know I can’t keep up with them but I can certainly try and along the way I bet we will all have tons of fun.

According to Active Health Kids Canada only 12% of Canadian children and youth get the 90 minutes of recommended physical activity. I am willing to bet that adults get even less exercise. So I am nominating my kids as my personal trainers for the summer. My exercise will no doubt consist of skipping, tag, hide & seek, chase, swimming, nature hikes, bug hunting, running up the stairs to the top of the water slides, ropes courses and whatever else my kids can come up with. It may not be the traditional exercise program but I think I will enjoy it.

And if it doesn’t kill me, it will get me in shape.

Bug Hunting

Today is the first day of summer and what better way to start baby’s first summer than by getting some great summer threads. Green Bean Baby’s products are made from 100% certified organic cotton to address growing concerns about the environment, health and safety in the textile and apparel industries. All Green Bean Baby products are quality made in Vancouver.

Here is some great ways to dress baby this summer.

100% Organic Cotton Kimono Top. Dressing baby is a breeze with this light knit kimono top. Fabric manufactured in Canada. Sewn in Canada. size 0-6m (photo by Bopomo Pictures)

100% Organic Cotton Pants. These functional pants match the kimono top and are great for a day at the beach. Fabric Manufactured in Canada. Sewn in Canada. size 0-6m (photo by Bopomo Pictures)

100% Organic Cotton Hooded Jacket. (photo by Bopomo Pictures) This cozy, fleece jacket is an everyday essential. Fabric manufactured in the US. Sewn in Canada. sizes 6-12m, 12-18m

100% Organic Cotton Dress. (photo by Bopomo Pictures) This adorable dress is made from a beautiful, soft, textured knit that is manufactured in Canada. Sewn in Canada. sizes 6-12m, 12-18m

100% Organic Cotton Nightgown. (photo by Bopomo Pictures) This nightgown is made from buttery soft interlock. Fabric is manufactured in the US. Sewn in Canada. size 0-3m