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Go On a Nature Walk

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The weather is starting to become warmer, and Spring is nearly here. This is a great time to take your children on a nature hike. They can learn a lot about the insects, plants, and animals that are located nearby. This is a great way to combat nature deficit disorder. Have you heard of nature deficit disorder? It isn’t a learning disability, or a physically heritable condition. It refers to the lack of experience with, and understanding of, the natural world. Years ago, it was normal for kids to spend hours playing outside. This gave children plenty of opportunity to … Continue reading →

The Claw

I can’t tie a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue. I stink at singing. I can’t knit, I don’t dance and I have no clue how to twirl a baton. Yet, my kid still thinks I am cool. The secret to my parental popularity: Mastering the claw game. There it is cyberspace; hidden to most, known to few, embraced by kids of all ages, my secret talent of manipulating buttons and a joystick (at the same time) in an attempt to retrieve treats from a glass encased mosh pit of stuffed animals, candy and other plastic paraphernalia. This … Continue reading →

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas–Yikes!

Is it just me, or is there anyone else out there that is overwhelmed by the fact that tomorrow is Christmas Eve?!? I’m not ready. I could use another week or two… It isn’t that I am not ready in a practical way, although I confess that I feel guilty for not baking as many cookies or decorating as well as I would like this year. I haven’t attended enough parties or visited with friends and family or taken advantage of all of the local holiday events and celebrations. I did get my shopping done early–how could I not with … Continue reading →

Rescuing Pets Trapped by Bangkok Flooding

Every natural disaster, despite all of the attention it gets, always has a silent set of victims: animals. That’s not to say that we should devalue the lives of humans or even place those of their pets at quite the same level, but many times the media, and thus monetary relief, focuses on the effort to rescue and support the human victims and the pets get ignored. Of course pets are not entirely on their own in these situations. Groups like the Humane Society and the ASPCA work alongside the government and local officials in this country to help evacuate … Continue reading →

How to Feed Pills to Pets

Let’s continue with the recent theme I’ve had of posting, in between stories about my new cat Chrestomanci, articles about pet health and how to manage it. I’ll start today’s topic with a story. One summer when I was a teenager my cat Boots contracted food poisoning. We took him to the vet, who gave us some pills for him. We had problems feeding him the pills. None of us had any experience doing so, and though we got those capsules into his mouth all right, he was a master at making us think he’d ingested them and then spitting … Continue reading →

Getting Back Into Trail Running

Today I went for a power hike that turned into a trail run. I started my workout with hiking over half a mile. After power hiking, I jogged for as long as I felt comfortable about fifteen minutes, then eased into some intervals of power hiking and sprinting spurts. Trail running to me is like taking your hike to the next level. You push yourself harder and blast calories faster. However, because of this it is harder on your body. Trail running is a great outdoor workout. If you like to run in your neighborhood and you like nature, trail … Continue reading →

Outdoor vs. Indoor Workouts

I sometimes wonder whether I prefer indoor or outdoor workouts. Where I live, weather isn’t usually a major factor. I guess it depends on what my schedule is like, how motivated I am, and if I am working out with someone. Outdoor Workouts I enjoy outdoor workouts because I love fresh air. Hiking and biking are great ways to get moving and see the world around. Hiking especially is a passion of mine because I love nature, especially tress and animals. Biking I also enjoy because you can go far in a short time. Walking can be a convenient workout … Continue reading →

Summer Science: The Night Garden

In the summer time, the kids in our neighborhood stay out late. As dusk looms, a small tribe of parents emerges from the townhouses to bring the kids indoors for the night. This is the perfect time to pause and enjoy a night garden as part of your evening routine. For those of you who live in much warmer places, the night garden also gives you and your children a chance to enjoy resting in the garden. This summer has been a hot one, and going out in the noonday sun hasn’t always been a good and healthy option. As … Continue reading →

Festive Fourth Fun

If you don’t own festive Fourth of July clothing, then you haven’t been to Old Navy this month. Walking into the popular chain store is like being swallowed by a giant Patriotic Fruit Pizza. Red, white and blue shirts, shorts and sandals with bits of Americana emblazoned on them are everywhere. What’s more, Old Navy is running a Buy Two; Get the Third Item Free sale all weekend long, so if you are still in need of Independence Day-themed gear to wear to fun-filled Fourth of July festivals, parades or parties, you know where to shop. Of course, dressing up … Continue reading →

Family Baby Stories

Everybody loves baby stories. Whether it is a story about how your brother used to pull you around the neighborhood in a wagon or how you tried to teach the family dog how to read, stories about what you and your siblings and other family members were like as babies and young children are always interesting. If you are interested in genealogy, you may want to incorporate some of your family’s baby stories into your work. To collect family baby stories for use in a family history book or scrapbook, you will want to start by interviewing people in the … Continue reading →