A Bicycle Built For School

For the first time in 23 years, I have no child attending school. My sadness about this caught me off guard. Believe me, I do not miss those monthly tuition payments, but I do miss how the back-to-school time marks the end of summer and sweet new beginnings. It's the rhythm of parental life.

Melancholy melted away when I saw this school bus over at Inhabitat:

“Attending school everyday has never more eco-friendly and fun! Dutch company De Café Racer developed a pedal-powered school bus that turns going to school into a happy, healthy and cooperative experience. This friendly and bright vehicle can accommodate up to ten kids and an adult driver, and even features a music player to blast all those sweet school bus tunes. The bus also comes equipped with an auxiliary electric motor just in case kids get tired. And if it starts raining, a sailcloth roof can easily be mounted to ensure the kids arrive at school nice and dry.”

Can I just say, I LOVE THIS!

I first uploaded the post onto Econesting’s Facebook page (you all “Like” Econesting’s FB page, right?) and received a comment from FB “Friend” Katja:

“Actually here in the Netherlands there are loads of those things - mostly for adults, there are groupbikes equipped with a bar and fridge, biketrains that you can use in offroad routes trough the woods and more. After all, the distances here are a good deal less then in the USA.”

Hey, do you think we could do this here in the States? I’m game. How cool would it be to grab a few friends and head off-road with that bar and fridge! OK, we could leave the bar and fridge out for the school kids and add helmets. But really, what a fun and ecological idea for areas where climates could accommodate an open-air school bus. Plus, it might wake up a few high schoolers when they hit the pedals at 6 AM.

Credit: Inhabitat via De Cafe Racer

3 DIY Eco-Friendly Hand Soaps

I could not let my recent rant about what kids are being asked to bring to school whiz by without offering up a few alternatives. Don't you just hate people who complain about the state of things without giving any suggestions? In my book, that just makes them part of the problem. For someone who cares about our environment like I do, if I didn't provide a suitable option to make things better - it's just…well, ranting.

So, I’m going after the biggest defender of evil on that back-to-school list which included: zip-lock bags, toilet paper, garbage bags, cotton balls, anti-bacterial soap, detergent, paper plates, paper towels and tissues.

ANTI-BACTERIAL SOAP tops the list for eco-unfriendliness.

Why? Because it is unhealthy.

Check out my recent post about how nasty the main ingredient in anti-bacterial soap is. Studies show triclosan alters hormone regulation in laboratory animals, and can cause antibiotic resistance, along with an increase of allergies. The F.D.A. says soap with triclosan is not any more effective than ordinary soap. So, why the hell are we asking kids to bring it to school???

Consider these 3 DIY Eco-Friendly Hand Soap alternatives:

1. Here’s a tutorial for ditching the Dial Complete (bad, bad soap with triclosan) and making your own eco-friendly Liquid Hand Soap.

2. Each year I buy handmade felted soaps at the Wool and Sheep Festival. They are a true luxury. Here are directions to make Felted Soap. I’m going to try!

3. What could be better than shea butter soap? Not much. Here’s the how to’s for making your own Shea Butter Soap.

I believe we can change our future, teach our children well, and protect our precious planet if we continue to think and act creatively…and collectively. Let’s not muck it up.

Credit: Craft

I Feel The Chalk

As the summer winds down, price cheap I feel, taste and smell the chalk. See, I was a teacher for many years and chalk was a constant companion. I stumbled on this whimsical video over on Poppytalk and it made me smile. Maybe some of you who are heading back to school or putting kids on the bus? Are you feeling the chalk too?

https://youtu.be/6gvOVWKKxmo

Image: Keith Haring Chalkboard

The After It's Over, It's Over Party

The fall started to settle in without me. This signaled a slide into procrastination mode as I tried to fend off the eventual – the end of summer. I should have seen the slow down coming. I'm prone to this affliction without much prompting, and I can usually detect the signs. But, the triple whammy of my son going back to school, some deadlines creeping dangerously close, and the cooler temperatures (seasonal transitions are always a challenge - when others are zipping up boots, I'm still wearing flip flops), I started to succumb to the let down. Until...I heard a Ben Taylor song (yes, James' son), After It's Over. The song is obviously a love song, but those three words stuck in my head repeatedly, and now I'm putting on my socks and pushing away any lingering summer melancholy because – after it's over, it's over. I have almost no regrets about this past summer, except for maybe not growing out my bangs sooner – it was just too hot for bangs. Anyway, in the fading light of the last few weeks, I stumbled upon three food-related party discoveries. They made me smile away any persistent seasonal blues and think about throwing a party to help smooth the transition of summer into fall.

Cheese Cake

Out of the ordinary parties don't just happen in summer, and this cake is no ordinary cheese cake. Taking cheese to a whole new level, this cake is ripe for some autumnal inspiration and fall fruit.

Camera Cake

My daughter's boyfriend, who coincidentally hails from the same island as Ben Taylor, is an amazing photographer. His birthday is September 11th, which has become a difficult date to have been born on. This cake would surely give him the honor every birthday deserves. Hmm, do you think this could be made with whole wheat cake flour? And...is it a Nikon or a Canon he uses?!?!

Q Tonic

If you indulge in quintessential summer drinks, a fine gin and tonic can make a summer evening superior. If  G+T's are not your thing, Q Tonic might change your mind this fall. Most tonic water is sweetened beyond recognition with high fructose corn syrup or "corn sugar" (it's been rebranded), and packaged in generic containers. Q Tonic is a whole other breed of tonic that is sweetened with organic agave, has 60% fewer calories than regular tonic water and contains no corn syrup/sugar. You can find it in most health food stores. I've found I can even keep the beautifully designed bottles out of the recycling bin by refilling the bottles with our own freshly squeezed pear juice.

Don't let the end of summer get you down, the fall party has just begun. How do you transition from one season to another?

Credits: Cheese Cake – A Cup Of Jo, Q Tonic - Q Tonic, Camera Cakes - Freshome

5 Cool And Unusual DIY Clocks

“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull dayYou fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way” ~ Pink Floyd

One of the 5 clocks, sale buy called the ‘365? (above), cialis I just had to share with my knitting readers because it knits! Yes, order you read that right. The ‘365? is a knitting clock, created by German designer Siren Else Wilhelmsen, will knit you a scarf a year. How cool is that?!?!

Time and trends don’t stand still, so let these 5 cool and unusual clocks be the inspiration to make fun, funky and functional clocks. CLICK HERE FOR MORE