Stay-cation

I can't complain. It's been an easy winter, a great year to not be going away. But I can't say it wouldn't be nice to splash about in a warm, sunny locale right about now. Easy winter or not, the fact remains that it's -14 outside tonight.

I really only have one vacation requirement - good swimming. It's pretty easy to plan a holiday in Canada that meets this requirement in the summer, but winter is a whole different kettle of fish. My kids are still too small to skate, ski, dogsled, snowshoe, go tubing or any other such activity that we use to convince ourselves that freezing is fun. When you can't do these things during your winter vacation, really, what's left? This year we were thinking about going to Florida or maybe Mexico, but didn't want to go for a whole week, didn't really want to fly. In the end we opted for what we hope is a good compromise. A stay-cation with a big dollop of something that seems alot like Disney. Great Wolf Lodge - it's a resort chain. Mostly in the States. Isn't somewhere I'd have dreamed I'd ever be looking forward to going, but I am. It's close. There's waterslides, hot tubs, splash parks. Inside, heated. Not quite the real thing. Not exactly a natural experience, but hey, that's compromise, right?

I want to thank Nicole for her heads up about the Malivoire winery in Beamsville (further research also yielded Frogpond organic winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake). I think we can make it a slightly eco-experience with a stop or two the way to stock up on "almost organic" wine in case the going gets rough at the waterpark!

One up, One Down

Full disclosure: I bought a new camera yesterday. It wasn’t second hand, I don’t know how it was made, and I really don't need a new camera. It was a totally frivolous and fabulous purchase. I went into the store to get just a lens cap for my other camera and came out with the cap, a camera, and a ridiculously overpackaged memory card. Hmmm. Not simple, I can’t even find a way to stretch my trusty self delusion net over this one.

On the upside, today I ate 1 organic orange and 0 cheezies.

It's EVERYWHERE!

Labeling is important. Not just because people might forget to turn off the tap, but because it's really nice to be able to make informed decisions. I'm working on breaking out of my "ignorance is bliss" state. I've been washing my hands at work for about ten years now (minus mat leaves, travel leaves and summer holidays). In those years, all I noticed about the soap was its pinkness and its tendency to solidify at the bottom of the dispenser. Today I had a sinking feeling when I noticed the caretakers had left the big refill jug on the counter. "Uh oh, what's it going to say....do I really want to know?" As expected- triclosan (see Jan. 21 post).

Tomorrow, I'm bringing in my own soap. However, I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't already considered eccentric, I soon will be. But it's going to be fair trade, organic, sodium lauryl sulphate and triclosan free. The brand is Tashodi, it's Canadian and not even expensive, though I found it in a bin at HomeSense.

Maybe people will think, hmm, crazy lady but nice soap, and eventually be motivated to make the switch too. Maybe not, but at least I tried.

Oranger than Orange

I like lots of orange foods. Peppers, carrots, oranges, squash…cheezies. I have a true love/hate relationship with the humble cheezie. I can't resist, I'm a moth to the bright orange flame.

My husband did the shopping this weekend. He came home with a bag. I never buy them because I know I am weak. I made him promise to keep them out of my sight and to not, under any circumstances, let me eat them. I lasted 36 hours. Then I found them, and I did more than just take their picture. Now I feel guilty and kind of radioactive. Guilty that I just ate something brighter than a fluorescent lightbulb and that is not exactly food. Also that I have no willpower to avoid such flagrantly processed foods.

My New Years resolution in 2005 was to not eat any fluorescent foods or any potato chips. Granted I was pregnant at the time and wasn't really able to eat much regardless. My resolution lasted until I gave birth and then I was so hungry from nursing I would tuck into just about anything. Having fallen quite squarely off the wagon for a long time, I think it might be time to consider taking up this resolution again. The chip part too. (Inner voice: “Oh gawd...what am I getting myself into?”) Okay, I’ve put it out there in cyberspace, so I guess I’ll have to stick with it. My husband is going to get a good deal of mileage out of torturing me with this one I reckon.

And just in case you were wondering, no, I’m not pregnant.

Jaguars and Turkeys

Don't worry Baby Jaguar, even if you're painted with toxic paint, you can still come to Canada. No one's passing any laws here.

A couple of weeks ago I joined the Facebook group, “Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament”. I have to admit I didn’t know all the details, but it shocked me that parliament could be suspended with so little apparent cause. The more I read, the more I realized what a colossal waste the prorogation has caused. Even in my small steps world, there have been consequences. Due to prorogation, thirty six bills have died. Most were of the “tough on crime” variety. However my attention was caught by Bill C-6, a bill that proposed to create a new system to regulate consumer products that pose a health danger. Y’know, like lead in toys and jewellery? It was on its third reading and Parliament had already spent 37 hours and 42 mins. 37 hours may not sound like much, but multiplied by the 308 members of parliament and you have over a year’s worth of work down the drain. Grrr.

The issue of potentially harmful consumer products has been a bee in my bonnet lately, so my step today will be to write my MP and stress that I want this bill revisited when Parliament is finally in session again. And then write Stephen Harper and tell him I think he’s a turkey. Well, not in those words exactly…

The Birthday Circuit

What's not to love? There's cake, hot dogs, games, chaos, shrieking and presents. What kid can resist that combination. Besides, there's often a cool venue included like Chuck E. Cheese, Princess Palace, or Glitter Pie. Add to the mix loot bags, inevitably filled with dollar store crap or candy (who can afford to put nice stuff in loots bags for 10 or more kids?). But for the kids, the fun still appears to be mostly in the shrieking. Where do presents really factor into the fun? I'm about to find out.

I'd say we're currently averaging about 15 birthday parties a year. That's alot of gifts. I hate shopping for gifts, not because I hate giving, but because I hate that there is a good chance the gifts I select are not what the recipient actually wants or needs. Maybe I'm deficient in the ability to perceive what people actually want. But there is something especially difficult about buying for the children of others. Maybe I just hate having toys in my house that are used once and then abandoned for toy purgatory. I have to assume at least some others feel the same way. But it's a tradition. I get that. Traditions can evolve, can't they?

I'm taking another small step. Starting today, with my kid's trip to her classmate's birthday party, I'm going to take a step that makes me a bit nervous of being judged as a radical fun killer. I'm going to send my daughter to that party with a charity gift card and a book instead of a present with a "fun factor". Www.CanadaHelps.org is a charity site where you can make an online donation or buy a gift card. The recipient of the card can direct their gift to any registered Canadian charity. I figure, it's learning experience. Parents and kids can talk about giving, and read about different charities and choose the one they like the best. Sounds more meaningful than another Polly Pocket or Little Pet Shop, no?

Okay, so my daughter suggested this morning that maybe it would be better to give a "more fun" present. She's worried about ostracism from the birthday circuit maybe? Just wait for what she has to say when it's her party and I request charity donations in lieu of gifts. Oh, and outlaw loot bags. Maybe then she will really be kicked off the circuit. Poor kid, she never signed up for my small steps campaign. Maybe one day she'll appreciate it as a move more important than another haul of plastic toys.

Or not.

TGIF

It’s Friday. A stay home Friday. You might expect that a stay home Friday would be relaxing, but you would be wrong. I have a cold, my kids have colds, and we had 4 little girls over for lunch. Lovely kids, everyone had fun. I even walked the whole crowd of six to school in an organized manner. No one got hurt…well, no one except for my own daughter who hugged a tree too vigorously and split her lip. That began our day of minor injuries. A finger pinched in a drawer, a trip on the edge of the carpet, a fall out of a wagon, an overblown papercut. In fact, just moments ago my son slipped and fell as he was climbing out of the tub. Each incident insignificant, but each causing a new burst of tears and a big sigh from me. The whole is more tiring than the sum of its parts. So I need a drink, or two. It's organic. That makes it okay, right? But then I hear the inner voice ask "But isn't France a long way away?". Oh, right, so buy local. But there isn't any local organic. Which outweighs the other?
Decisions. Enough to drive me to drink. Uh oh, here we go again.

One down, about 500 million to go

Aha! The syrup. We did it. Bye bye maple flavoured corn goo (what is sodium hexametaphosphate anyway?)

Today we used pure organic locally made maple syrup.

And they liked it.

Triclosan

Bath and Body Antibacterial Hand Soap...ahhhh. It smells so good. I first came across it at my mom's house and was shocked to see anything other her regular bar of ivory soap. I thought "Hmmm, getting fancy around here". It had those little beady things in it like the tapioca balls in bubble tea, and it was called something luxurious like brown sugar and fig. Soon, I began seeing it in bathrooms at my more soap-savvy friends' places. At the time we were working through a giant vat of generic brand "moisturizing soap" that was making my hands look like October leaves - so I was pretty envious of the "fancy soap people". It was popping up in mouth watering varieties like citrus basil and mango mandarin everywhere I went. Mmmmm. Varieties that sound good enough to eat, but alas, not. In fact, I've come to the conclusion that it's not even close to being good enough to rub on my hands.
This soap, and many others, contains Triclosan as its antibacterial agent. Triclosan was news to me during my fateful encounter with Slow Death by Rubber Duck. It struck me that the authors had found so much of it in their own blood samples after just a short time of using antibacterial soaps. I did a bit of surfing around and found that CBC Marketplace did an in depth story about it which they called "The Dirt on Clean". The links to all the original studies can be found on their site. I'll sum it up for you:

-there is evidence that triclosan mixes with chlorine in tap water to create a "probable human carcinogen"
-triclosan is found in the breastmilk and blood of women who use products containing it
-it can get into surface water when washed down the drain. When exposed to sunlight it can break down to form dioxin. While there are many forms of dioxin, they are toxic and take a long time to break down or leave our bodies.
-The American Medical Association is recommending that we limit the use of antimicrobials to reduce the possibility of acquired resistance.

I could go on, but you get the idea. In addition to the plain ick factor of knowing that something is building up in my body, I hate the idea that it's persisting in the environment even longer to come back to me later. argh. It's in more places that you might think. Sometimes called by the brand name "Microban", you might have it in your cutting board, your garbage bags, heck, quite possibly in your mascara.

Some time ago, I made sure to check the ingredients on soaps. It's not just Bath and Body, but some product lines of SoftSoap, Dial, Clearasil, Right Guard, Old Spice...it goes on and on.

I've been making a conscious effort to avoid this ingredient. I gotta admit, I was feeling a little smug. Anyway, last week I was wasting time in the bathroom making sure my kids didn't drown in the tub and I started reading the label on my Colgate Total toothpaste. In tiny print I read...wait for it...0.3%triclosan. Is nothing sacred????

So, this leads me to today's small, expensive step. I bought some health food store toothpaste. No triclosan, no chemical whiteners. Good old fashioned baking soda and ginger concoction. Good news: it works pretty well, tastes good. Bad news: just today when I was double-checking my triclosan research, I read that sodium lauryl sulphate should be avoided (we'll get to that one later). Yes, of course my new $7.49 greener than Kermit toothpaste is the proud home to, yep, sodium lauryl sulphate. Sigh...well, I guess that's why I call them small steps.

Waffles

Waffles. This is something I never imagined my kids would eat almost daily. I usually try to deceive myself that buying the Eggos “Plus Fibre” makes our waffle habit okay, but this week they were sold out. The supermarket offered only $5 organic waffles or $1.99 generic, additive filled ones. I fell back onto the cheap but dirty side of the fence. Honestly, after you factor in the artificial maple flavoured syrup we put on top, it’s enough to make any purist gag.

Yet, it is waffles that get us out the door in the morning. When my son is flailing and crying his eyes out at 6:45am, wrenched from his bed to go to daycare, just about the only thing that can get him down the stairs is my husband, in desperation, asking “Do you want a waffle?” Luckily I only work part time, or as I warn my kids, they might turn into those round, flat discs of processed grains and corn syrup.

So, against my better judgement, waffles are going to be temporarily exempt from my simplicity campaign. I'll start with the syrup instead.

Slow Death by Rubber Duck

I like to think I lead a simple life.
I'm not a shopoholic. I don't have an iPod (yet). My cell phone looks like it was made in 1995. I like to read books. I'm an anti-packrat. I can happily pass a morning on a ravine walk with my husband and kids. But that does not simplicity make.
I resort to using plastic shopping bags with an increasing frequency. I serve alot of frozen pizza, I still use antiperspirant, I have a car and a mortgage and a ridiculously large collection of half used shampoo bottles. And I find myself regularly freaking out about the state of the environment, chemicals in my home, media messages, consumerism, globalization, factory farming....arghhhhh...see, I'm FREAKIN' OUT!!!! Hence my need for small steps to simplicity.

If I was clever enough to come up with the title Slow Death by Rubber Duck before Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, I would have have used it to name this blog. But alas, I get my best ideas from listening to smart people interviewed on CBC Radio. I heard Smith and Lourie interviewed on CBC on June 12, 2009 in the car. The interview initiated a shift in my thinking in a way I wouldn't have expected. I imagine little pieces of awareness had been building for some time, awareness of the freaky things we were allowing, and even inviting, into our homes and bodies. A friend and cancer survivor had tried to lead me by example to chemical free living, but I just wasn't ready. Somehow, as I listened to the story of Slow Death by Rubber Duck something clicked. I couldn't ignore those little pieces of awareness anymore. As a result, one of my first goals in my simplicity quest is to take little steps reduce my chemical dependence. So far, I'm discovering a new world of good (and bad) alternatives. It's actually kind of fun...but then again, my fun-o-meter has been a bit off lately. I have a two year old and a four year old, so things like dropping pebbles down the sewer or playing "monster's coming" while hiding under the duvet are also considered major fun.