Bust Summer Boredom with Simple Games

School’s almost out and summer’s around the corner. You’re about to hear that sad refrain. “Mom, I’m bored.”

Combat summer doldrums with “lawn games” passed down by our parents and grandparents.

Wii isn’t necessary. You don’t need a court, diamond or special facility to play. You don’t need special equipment, not even a ball.

Offer up some of these suggestions next time a small face appears at your bedroom door at 8 am with that “look.”

Tag too simple? Try Amoeba Tag:

1. Select 2 people to join hands and be “it.”
2. The pair chase others to catch them.
3. First person caught links hands with the pair to form a chain.
4. Add the next person to the chain to make 4.
5. The 4 can stay together or break into 2 + 2.
6. Each next pair caught can either join or break from the chain but must stay together.
7. Play the game until no one is left off the chain.

Ghost in the Graveyard is especially fun and spooky at night:

1. Gather at least 3 people; more is better.
2. Designate a field of play.
3. Select a “base” big enough for all to stand on or touch.
4. Choose 1 to be the "ghost.
5. The ghost hides while the rest remain on base.
6. Chant “1 o’clock, 2 o’clock" and so forth,
   
7. At midnight shout “I hope I don’t see a ghost tonight!”
   
8. Leave the base to search for the ghost.
9. The ghost must come out and tag others to become a ghost.
10. Shout “Ghost in the graveyard” if a ghost is spotted.
11. Run to base to remain “safe” from the ghost.
12. Repeat until everyone is caught and becomes a ghost.
    

Before Twister there was the Human Knot:

1. Gather a group, the more the merrier.
2. Stand in a circle facing inward.
3. Grasp 2 other people’s hands.
4. Try to untangle the “knot” without letting go.
5. Be prepared to climb and crawl!

Statues tests balance, stamina and stability:

1. Gather a group in an area big enough for movement.
2. Select a leader.
3. Jump, dance around, run and swing each other for about a minute.
4. The leader yells freeze.
5. Stop immediately and hold very still.
6. First one to move is “out.”
7. Play until no one is left.
   

See Games Kids Play for more simple games.

Illustration by Donna Collinwood.

Eating Local Hamilton: Adventures in Locavor Blogging

Eating locally is getting popular. Our grandmothers ate this way, but the current movement began around 2007, about the same time interest in blogging surged. Coincidence? Hmmm, I don't know.

Locavores are an adventurous lot so I hoped to find adventurous blogs about local food. I started with one I found in a random search, Ontario-based The Hamilton Eat Local blog. The subtitle even reads "issues and adventures in local foods."

Adventures with Hamilton Eat Local

The Hamilton Eat Local blog has an attractive and warm design. Promising. But for a blog about locality, figuring out where it originates was difficult. The title of the blog blended into the nice big homepage photo. Staring and squinting was required to see it.

Most annoying was the lack of an "about us" link. Lots of Hamiltons in the world! I grew up near Hamilton, Ohio, and live not far from Hamilton, Wisconsin. Fortunately, I discovered it was Hamilton, Ontario, by examining the blogroll links.

Hamilton eateries, farms and food organizations are featured in a great set of links organized by type. The site also includes tons of links to provincial and national food resources including government entities, farm organizations, slow and local food movement organizations and foodie blogs.

No recipes found here, but lots of resources

Foodies may be disappointed I found no recipes on the blog. Content is devoted to local food events and activities, and issues in the local food community. The homepage also includes a helpful book list and a user survey.

Beer and food festivals, farms, orchards, restuarants, markets, nutrition issues and interviews with local foodies are among the many and varied topics listed in the archive.

The Hamilton Eat Local blog is a great resource. Rather than an adventure itself, extensive coverage of local restaurants, foodie groups and events makes this a nice launching pad for those who like their adventures in real-time.

"The Rise of the Locavore" in BusinessWeek (May 2008) and "Local Food Movement Grows Even in Recession" from Green Daily (February 2009) attest to the growth of the local food movement.

photo courtesy of Dreamstime free images.

Keeping Cool During Uncertainty

Uncertainty—We all have to live with it, but how?

Almost Frugal's Kelly Rigotti is facing this issue as she finishes up her master's degree. She doesn't know what the future holds, so she decided to repost a question she asked when she first started her journey in 2008.

Making plans are difficult when you don't know where you're headed. In "Going Back to School" she asks (my emphasis added) :

So how do you set goals or make plans when you don’t know what is going to happen? Here are the two ways I handled it.

* Control what you can. OK, so I didn’t know if I was going back to school or back to work. But I did know that I would be signing my children up for reading classes in English, so I had to prepare and plan for that in my budget.

* Accept that you can’t control everything. You can call it giving yourself up to a higher power, accepting the inevitable, or just resigning yourself to the situation, but I find that accepting things helps when there is nothing else to do. There was a point at which the waiting seemed interminable. Stressing about it made it worse and certainly didn’t help the decision happen quicker.

How do you handle situations when you can’t plan for the future? How do you set goals when you don’t know what you’re aiming for?

Setting goals when you can't plan the future? Great question—and great solutions.

Control what you can and don't sweat what you can't, says Kelly. These tactics have helped me around many a dark corner. When things are really tough, I plan dinner. Hey, it's a plan!

Dare to dream is one I would add to the list. When I'm not sure, the sky's the limit, so I let myself imagine different scenarios.

Write it down is another one. As a writer, I tend to write these scenarios out. It gives me a better handle when I see all the possibilities on paper or the computer screen. I try to write out how I will feel about each possibility.

Start something new. This might seem an odd idea when you don't know what's ahead but it gives you something to concentrate on and keep your mind off that blurry future. Knit a new sweater, take lessons, join a book group, whatever gives you a temporary purpose and occupies your thought.

Get back to an old project. Back before you started school or took your last job or made a big move, there was probably something you didn't finish. Go back to it and start anew before you get busy with a new goal to keep you from it.

Relish the opportunity to not have a plan. It can be freeing (at least for awhile) and the anticipation of what comes next is exciting. Here's to the future, whatever it holds!

photo courtesy of Bixentro via Flickr's Creative Commons.

Laura Paprocki on Home Energy Audits

Is your home leaky?

Heat loss in winter, cool loss in summer, if your home hasn't been inspected lately, chances are good you are losing energy and money at a rate that might surprise you.

A home can never be too tight, says Laura Paprocki, a Madison-based independent civil and environmental engineer. Through her company, Trinity Environmental, she performs Home Performance audits with Energy Star as a consultant for Wisconsin's Focus on Energy.

Established residences are Laura's side of the business. Trinity also performs audits on new construction for builders looking for Energy Star certification.

Home energy advice from Laura

Home energy and homeowners were chief among the topics Laura shared recently with Simple Living Madison.

SLM: How did you get started as an energy consultant?

Laura: I was always interested in science in school and had science-based jobs since college but this job is the first to allow me to combine my science background with something I'm passionate about, helping people. I love taking people through this process because it's so valuable for homeowners.

SLM: Combining all your passions into a career sounds like a dream job.

Laura: You might not think that when you're crawling around on your stomach in the attic looking at old insulation...but I do love what I do!

Leakage testing exposes hidden costs

SLM: What exactly do you do?

Laura: A Home Performance Audit involves four areas of testing:

• House leakage testing is the most exciting part and the most valuable service I can provide as a consultant. I do a "blower door test" combined with an infrared camera reading to see how much energy is leaking from a house and where.
  
  You'd be surprised how much of heat loss is due to air moving in and out of the house. And, it's often not just about adding insulation. Windows, doors, other areas of the house can leak.
  
  
• Insulation checks are another part of what I do. People don't know that you need different types of insulation in different parts of your house to get the most efficiency.
  
  
• Ventilation and moisture checks are very important, too. If you make a house tight, you still need to have a way for bad air and moisture to escape. I check bath and kitchen fans to make sure they are taking the air from inside the home and pushing it outside.
  
  A house is like the human body. Like you, houses need a good set of lungs to push air in and out. And keep in mind, just because a fan is making noise, does not mean it's working properly. You want to make sure you get cooking oil, indoor air pollution, moisture out.
  
  
• The furnace and hot water systems are next. Are they're efficient? Properly ventilated? What is the carbon monoxide level? I check for efficiency and safety. Ventilation is key especially in cold climates. After all, we're shut up in our homes for six months out of the year.
  

Energy savings offer return on investment

SLM: What happens after you do the evaluation?

Laura: I give the homeowner a report, actually a series of reports about each of the four areas. This isn't information most owners have so it's very valuable when buying a house.

SLM: With the economy the way it is, what about costs?

Laura: I base the information in the reports on return on investment so homeowners can see how much they might save and set their own priorities. I work with them to help them prioritize, and we talk about the things they can do themselves.

Focus on Energy offers cash back rewards for taking care of these problems. I return to the home to check how well the home is performing. It's great to see that increased performance!

For more on the Home Energy Audit, check out Madison Gas and Electric's energy saving tips for homeowners or go to Laura's Paprocki's website (note: she is currently changing the name of her company).

Photo of Madison houses by Cimexus from Flickr Creative Commons.

Is Recycling Really the Best Option?

Recycling gets the most attention of all the components of the popular mantra, "Reduce, reuse, recycle" but is it the most important?

"Going green" to most communities and business is likely to mean starting a recycling program. Yet, despite good intentions, recycling is weakest solution to the waste stream puzzle.

Recycling takes

• energy for collection and transportation of the material to be recycled
  
• energy to re-manufacture
  
• energy for distribution of the new product
  
• a market for the new product

Energy for recycling activities often comes from nonrenewable, nonsustainable and polluting resources such as fossil fuel and nuclear energy, according to the Center for Sustainability.

Reducing is the best answer

Keeping waste out of our environment altogether is the best option. By reducing packaging, buying in bulk and buying less we have less waste to deal with—no need to figure out how to recycle it.

By buying less stuff you can

• save energy and resources
  
• buy better, more lasting stuff
  
• stop and think, make the best purchasing choices
  
• become more flexible with less stuff to tote around
  
• live less cluttered in your surroundings
  
• save money and time

Sustainable Lifestyle Foundation says buying less stuff allows us to truly live a sustainable lifestyle as we consider the true cost of what we buy.

Reusing creates no waste

Reusing is my personal favorite. Reusing does require some thought and care—and creativity—but finding new life for an old item can be a joy as well as a comfort to your pocket book.

Reuse beats recycling according to Care2 blogger Annie Bond because it not only keeps items out of the waste stream and saves energy but it also can provide things to people who might not be able to afford them brand spanking new.

Reducing and reusing Madison, Wisconsin, style

Buy Nothing Day is big here in Madison, but if you can't go that far, the city offers many resources for buying less or at least buy less packaging. Get bulk food buying tips from Willy Co-op or buy bulk even from most area grocery stores. Community Pharmacy also offers lots of low-packaging options and bulk herbs for making your own personal care products.

Sharing and trading items so you don't have to purchase them is also big here. Try Community Car, Madison Hours or keep an eye out for Absolutely Art's next Re-Art Swap event.

Resale shops abound for everything from clothing and furniture to building materials to computers and office equipment. For bikes and bike gear, check out Brazen Dropout's annual Bike Swap each winter.

Reduce, reuse, recycle, whatever you do, you'll find many options in our area to practice your three R's!

Recycling bin photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com.
Illustration is free free shareware available from About.com.

Celebrate Earth Day with the Kids!

Earth Day is everyday for many people, especially for kids. Children seem especially interested in the environment, and the topic is a great start in developing civic involvement and empathy for others.

Fun Earth Day activities abound in Madison. Here’s a list to get you (and the children in your life) started.

Visit the Madison Children's Museum and learn about earth science. 2009 is "The Year of Science," a national celebration of science by museums across the country. Check out free hands-on activities on first and third Wednesdays at MCM, including "Energy Resources" (April) and "Sustainability and the Environment" (May).

Join Governor Doyle for a Wisconsin Earth Day Celebration. The Gov's got a host of activities planned for April 25 at the Governor's mansion. Activities for children include a nature walk, pop-can fishing, stamping and button making, and the kids will receive a seedling to take home. It's free but you must register for this event.

Take the Earth Day Challenge at city of Madison parks. Mayor Dave has challenged Madison residents to help clean up Madison parks for earth day. If your kids have a lot of energy, this is a great way to use it! Pull weeds and do general clean up at various parks around town on April 18, April 25 and beyond.

Join the Isthmus Green Day celebration on April 25 at the Monona Terrace. Activities happen from 9 am to 6 pm and include a Children's Area sponsored by the Madison Children's Museum and the Aldo Leopold Center. Try hands-on recycling with a plastic-bag weaving project.

Enjoy Breakfast on the Farm on April 26 to learn about agriculture in Wisconsin. Sponsored by the Association of Women in Agriculture (AWA), this event at the UW Stock Pavilion from 8 am to noon. In addition to a good farm breakfast, check out the “education corral” with an interactive petting zoo and agriculture awareness activities.

Learn about early earth at the UW Geology Museum at 1215 West Dayton St. Tours run Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. Little ones will love the Museum story time at 10:30 am on the first and third Thursdays each month. Aimed at preschoolers, story time includes a story, museum specimens and a take-home craft.

Listen and discover the Songbirds of Spring on April 26 at the UW Arboretum. The event, part of the Earth Partnerships for Families program, runs from 1 to 3 pm. Learn to identify common songbirds, attract them to your yard and how to appreciate these birds' role in our environment.

Explore the Family Interpretive Trail at the Aldo Leopold Center in Monona. The award-winning nature trail is only one of many activities at the Center geared toward offering families opportunities to learn about our natural world. This month the Center is showing "Aldo Leopold as a Boy: Exploring the Mysteries of the Land" about the scientist and nature enthusiast as a child.

Circle a date on the Madison Public Libraries' calendar of Earth Day events. The libraries are featuring free showings of the environmental fable, "Wall-E," special Earth Day events including history talks, recycling demonstrations and musical activities (check out the Junk Band!).

Illustrations are free shareware available from About.com.

Community: Have we lost it? Should we care?

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, a visitor from France, wrote that Americans were good at coming together whether for political or social reasons and that this was our strength.

"Civic engagement" wrote De Tocqueville in 1835, was key to our success as a democracy.

Bowling Alone, written 160 years later by sociologist Robert D. Putnam, warned that the community praised by de Tocqueville was breaking down.

Putnam blamed television, two-career families and suburban sprawl. Only a few decades before, he explained, thousands of Americans were bowling league members, but by 1996 people were more likely to bowl alone. He concluded this was leading to disturbing trends, from a lack of good manners to an increase in violence.

Is the web to blame?
Web surfing, video gaming and our busy lives are now taking the blame for a growing lack of community in our culture. People argue that too much time online means much less time for human interaction.

American families spend an average of 3.6 hours a day online according to a report on ZDNet, and that report is three years old! If you subtract school, work, transportation and sleep time, that doesn't leave much for family together time.

Disturbing trend? Perhaps. I believe strongly that human beings need community to thrive. But another thing about humans, we usually find a way to get what we need.

Is hope on the horizon?
I've noticed two trends that seem to contradict the idea that community is dead or dying today.

• Knit 'n' bitch groups, reading groups, play groups have all gathered speed in the early 21st century. I think this is an effort to reach out to others and form new communities. We may not be home to borrow sugar any more but we are reaching out.
  
  
• Volunteerism among young people is on the rise. The President made service to others a key point in his inaugural address, and it appears a lot of people are taking him seriousy. According to a recent report on volunteerism on Minnesota Public Radio the upside (if there is one) of the down economy is that people are giving of themselves because they can't afford monetary donations.
  
  
• Voluntary communities, created by Internet access and facilitated by social networking sites such as Facebook and My Space do help keep people in touch. I've heard so many stories about people reconnecting after years through these sites. That can't be all bad.
  

Hope springs eternal as they say and even Putnam, who seemed pretty doom and gloom in his 1996 book, has co-written another book, Better Together, and is trying to start a movement to encourage re-engagement. The Better Together website lists "150 Ways to Build Social Capital," a great resource for community building.

What do you think?
More questions come up whenever I talk to people about this topic. For example:

• While shared interests are bringing people together from all over the world over the Internet, if we only associate with like-minded folks are we missing opportunities to expand our horizons?
  
  
• Texting, email, instant messaging, cell phones, tweeting—in some ways we're more in touch than ever before on an individual basis. In fact, many would argue we're too in touch. But, do we interact in a meaningful way with others?
  
  
• Have we lost community or have we just replaced one type of community with another?

Illustration by Donna Collingwood.

Wild Food Foraging in Madison

Food grows wild all over Madison. In fact, the makings of a tasty salad may be growing right in your backyard. You just have to know where and how to find it.

Finding free edible eats in Madison, basic steps:

1. Educate yourself. Doing your research is by far the most important step. Learn what grows here, what is edible and what is NOT edible.

• Visit and talk with experts at the Schumacher Horticultural Library at Olbrich Gardens.
  
  
• Take a class with a local or regional wild food expert such as Kathleen Wildwood at Wildwood Herbs or Rose Barlow at Prodigal Gardens.
  
  
• Buy an illustrated plant guide for our area.
  Some good ones are Samuel Thayer's The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting and Preparing Edible Wild Plants and Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants in Minnesota and Wisconsin by Mathew Alfs. The Alfs book is out-of-print but available at most libraries.
  

2. Locate a good spot to forage. Your backyard is a great place to start but you can also find food growing in most fields and parks.

• Be careful and respectful. Private property without permission is taboo.
• Removal of plants is forbidden at the UW Arboretum and area Conservation Parks, although these often offer educational wild food walks.
• Avoid rail beds or public utilities as these are heavily sprayed with pesticides.

3. Prepare to forage. Check the weather and take the following.

• Illustrated plant guide
• Scissors or knife for cutting
• Small shovel for digging
• Basket or bag to carry your treasure
  
• Gloves and comfortable clothing
• Notebook and pen to record plentiful areas

4. Harvest with care. Make your experience a good one. Respect your surroundings, and follow the forager's code, "take only what you need." And, when in doubt, don't eat it.

• Take an experienced forager with you first time if possible.
• Check a plant guide to know what part of the plant is edible.
• Don't eat if sap is milky or turns black when exposed to oxygen.

5. Go for it! Wash your finds carefully and check out these recipes from Prodigal Gardens for ideas on how to enjoy your harvest.

Look for these incredible edibles this spring:

• Nettles — Highly nutritious, nettles can be subsituted for spinach.
• Burdock — Burdock root is good in stir fry.
• Dandelions — Great in salad but try dandelion wine or roast roots for a dandelion coffee!
  
• Violets — Violets pretty up any spring table.
  
• Wild Leeks — Ramps to some, stir fry these or add to salads.
  
• Garlic Mustard — Pungent and tasty, garlic mustard is great in a spring salad.

For more see How to Forage for Edible Plants on howcast.com or check out videos on foraging by "Green Deane" at eattheweeds.com.

All photos courtesy of shareware via Wikimedia Commons.

10 fun winter things to do in Madison

Got the late-Madison-winter blahs? Tired of the cold and snow? Remedies come in two trains of thought—embrace winter or plan ahead for spring. Either way, our city offers lots of simple, cheap or free things to do before first thaw.

1. Go sledding.
   Madison's best choices are Elver Park, Warner and Heistand parks.
   
   
2. Take up snowshoeing.
   Madisonians are really getting into snowshoeing. Emily Mills at Lost Albatross says Indian Lake, just northwest of Madison is a great snowshoe or cross country destination.
   
   
3. Walk in the woods.
   UW Arboretum is the place to go if you want to experience the beauty and solitude of a walk in the woods. You can go it alone or join a special winter’s end or spring equinox walk.
   
   
4. Get out your camera.
   Capture winter beauty on the lakes or in the woods. The Madison Flickr group organizes Sunday morning photo walks all year long. Want more colorful subjects? Lady Liberty is back on Lake Mendota, and check out Tim Browning’s Loch Ness monsters in Lake Monona.
   
   
5. Practice ice skating in Tenney Park.
   Skating at Tenney is a tradition, but other Madison area parks also have rinks.
   
   
6. Soak in warmth and savor scents at Olbrich Gardens.
   Olbrich offers a great winter music series and the March Spring Flower Show.
   
   
7. Volunteer your time.
   Holiday food drives are over but the long cold months aren’t. What’s warmer than sharing food with others at the River Food Pantry on Friday nights.
   
   
8. Support public media.
   WPT, WPR, WORT all have late-winter fund drives. Answer phones, serve food to fellow volunteers, help with paperwork. Get a neighborhood group, PTO or friends together and go.
   
   
9. Learn a new skill or take up a hobby.
   Latin dance lessons, rock climbing and stand-up comedy are offerings at UW Breaking Away minicourses. Learn computer, jewelry making or woodworking at MATC Adult Continuing Education.
   
   
10. Pretend it's summertime at the indoor Farmer's Market.
    Dane County Farmers' Market is held almost year-round now thanks to central heating at the Madison Senior Center!

Photo is my own, taken during the BIG BAD winter of 2007!

Free stuff in Madison

Free furniture, free clothing, free appliances—even free art—can be found easily in Madison. No, I'm not talking about dumpster diving after the students leave town (although I admit, I've scored some great stereo speakers and small tables that way over the years). I am talking about our city's virtual exchanges.

Virtual exchanges are websites designed to help people find homes for still useful things they no longer need or want. Got a nice dresser but it no longer fits your decor? List it on one of these sites. Your trash might be my treasure.

Keep it out of the landfill
Reusing or repurposing is more environmentally friendly than recycling because no manufacturing or remanufacturing processes are involved. Virtual exchanges don't even require the storage or trucking necessary for a resale shop such as Goodwill.

Unlike a store, exchange sites offer opportunities to ask others for things we need. They can become exchange or trading communities.

Explore Madison Stuff Exchange
The Madison Stuff Exchange offers free and inexpensive (under $99) furniture, appliances, clothing, sports equipment and more. And, it's yours if you're willing to come and get it.

Items are listed as "available" or "wanted." Available items are those offered free or for sale up to $99. Want items are requests for an item.

Finding an item is easy.

• Search for an item using the search function.
• Browse through the newly listed items.
• Browse by category (type of item).

Not finding what you are looking for? Sign up on the site to list items you want as well as items you have available. You never know when someone has just the thing you need stuffed in a box in the attic.

Signing up is simple.

1. Register on the site.
2. Read the short list of sensible rules (such as no hazardous materials).
3. Fill out a form with the details of your item.
4. You can also list items you want on the form.

Join the Freecycle community
Freecycle is another exchange, and all items are free. Part of a national network, Madison Freecycle operates as a yahoo group. You must join to view or post free items, and members are notified of new items via email.

Items available are listed in the titles of the posts from newest to oldest. Members can post photos in the group photo area. Find helpful information in the documents area, including a rather extensive list of group guidelines and handy tip sheets such as "How to Transfer Vehicle Titles."

For more, check out Madison Magazine's August 2008 article, "Unused items get a new life on Freecycle.org."

Gotta run. Someone's offering a free table saw on the Exchange!

Illustration (1874) of a farmer bartering for a Podunk Weekly Bugle subscription is courtesy of shareware via Wikimedia Commons.

Simple Living Starts with Living Local

Welcome to my first blog post. Simple Living has different meanings for different people. For me it means:

• Living within my means
• Living with the knowledge that I share this earth
• Living with a sense of community
  

Beyond this, no topic is too small or too large. The easy part is keeping it local. Madison offers a wealth of opportunities and support for living simple (while still livin' large).

Want to learn more about living simply in the Mad City? Here are a few city resources to get you started:

• City of Madison Streets and Recycling Department
  Madison has one of the best recycling programs in the country.
  
• City of Madison Parks
  Get closer to nature with hiking and biking trails, volunteer opportunities, workshops and more—and most activities are free!
• Madison School & Community Recreation
  MSCR offers classes in pottery, photography, dance, art, music. Start that DIY project and have fun.

The beautiful Madison shot included with this post, "Picnic by Yahara River," is courtesy of Monique J. Isham. Check out more photos on Monique's Flickr photo stream.
Illustration for Simple Living Madison (woman with coffee cup) is by Donna Collingwood.