Out Of Bounds

This week I’m beginning to morn the imminent end of the ski season as the next season - mud season, seek kicks up its gritty heels here in the Hudson Valley. I know, I know, life could be a lot worse. But, maybe we could eek out a bit more skiing if we lived in say,…the Alps?

After a fabulous day on the slopes with my friend Brigitte, she shared her fantasy of spending a winter at a ski resort. When I was younger, I truly harbored an unfulfilled dream of becoming a ski bum. So now I could just pack up and leave on a dime (not).

Ski bum? Maybe the cold weather has frozen my brain.

whitepod

That night I could not help myself, I started pointing and clicking around the globe. Then mountainous ecopods danced across the screen and took over my consciousness.

Nestled deep in the Swiss Alps are Whitepods. Forget the sub-zero temps, these ecopod domes each have their own flickering wood fire and toasty outdoor wood-heated hot tub (as you may recall, I love those). Plus, you can sleep under organic cotton bedding after a healthy meal of locally sourced organic food. Yum. Eco-goodness in the Alps - Glamping in its highest form.

Since we are skiing dangerously out of bounds, do you know about the Gorsuch catalog? Skiers, boarders, and lovers of everything massively expensive, they are having a sale. Hide your wallet.

Main Image - Ebay, Whitepod - EcoSalon via Trendenser

Cabin Fever Dreams

I am told Cabin Fever is not a measurable or diagnosed affliction. It is getting capitalized here like any true disease because I believe it is real. I bet you know others who have been struck with this degenerative mood-altering ailment. What, with the snow, ice, rain, slush, mud, and the freezing, freezing temps this winter, it could strike anyone.

Here's my unofficial definition of Cabin Fever:

Cabin Fever is a type of hysteria brought on by spending too much time indoors during the winter of 2011. No matter how comfortable and beautifully designed the "cabin" is, in severe cases its inhabitants can see no end in sight.

So sad.

A Site

Designtripper is a dreamy website that's fueling a travel fantasy - Pack the bags, ditch the "cabin" and hit the road. What is Designtripper?

"Designtripper explores the intersection of travel and design with genuine curiosity and good taste."

Designtripper will not book a trip for you, but it will narrate bedtime stories with design eye-candy that will,

"…inspire you to see the world through someone else’s home."

Here is the first destination on Designtripper's itinerary I'm dreaming about…

A Place

Swedish fashion brand Elvine, has launched a new design hotel concept, Creators Inn in Stockholm, Sweden. They offer free accommodations for creative people. Yes, you read that right – It's totally free. No hidden fees. The mission of Creators Inn is to promote the local area and give something back to creative travelers who they feel will contribute to making their city more interesting.

To qualify for free accommodations, potential guests need to apply on the Creators Inn website, and write a reason why they deserve a free stay, and what creative activities they will be involved in during their stay. Then their wish may be granted. Hmm, I could think of…a zillion creative activities, none the least of which could be my role as an armchair creative.

Wait, it get's even better…

Creative Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is one of those buzzy eco-terms. It generally describes a company's business model of aspiring to have an impact on the lives of workers. Elvine takes this one step further and defines their model in creative terms:

"We tried to add some creativity to the equation, labeling what we do as CSR - Creative Social Responsibility. By offering visiting creators free accommodation, we hope to remind people of a lovely little thing called hospitality. And in addition to making the visiting creators happy and Gothenburg a more interesting city because of their presence, we hope this simple idea can be exported and implemented around the globe."

Travel, giving back, creative stimulation, design inspiration, feeling good – Just what the doctor ordered...

Cabin. Fever. Cured.

Credits: Creators Inn

Cradle The Kids

“Our goal is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean air, water, soil and power – economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed.” ~ William McDonough Can we all agree that this is the world we want to leave to our kids? If so, how can we bring the principles of McDonough’s revolutionary book, Cradle To Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things to our children? Cradle To Cradle calls for the “transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.” The book approaches a framework for sustainability that follows products through their lifecycle – from cradle to grave.

Since it is my prerogative to bring things that matter to Econesting, I’m going to apply the simple premise of Cradle To Cradle, in all its advocacy, to education...The education system needs to be remade.

Having worked in progressive education for many years, I believe leaving positive footprints (instead of just reducing the negative ones) is what we should be teaching our kids. This is not only for the fate of our ailing environment, but to nurture our children to make the choices needed to close the loop and create a sustainable future.

fern8

I know, you’re thinking I’ve gone off on a tangent and landed on a lofty soapbox.  Let me step out of that cloud for a moment and confess that this is not an earth shattering observation, or a newly minted connection made by just me. Think about it, your education and mine is tunneled so deep into our core. It runs through our veins and deposits its decisions in our words and actions. These decisions (and those of our predecessors) have screwed up our cradle – our planet.

Blame game done. Can we pick up our heavy footprints and figure out what tools to give our babes to make the important decisions that will lighten the load and close the loop? You bet. Here you go…

fern7

The Institute for Humane Education believes that quality humane education covers four elements which include:

1. providing accurate information about the challenges of our time 2. fostering the 3 C’s of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking 3. instilling the 3 R’s of reverence, respect and responsibility 4. offering positive choices and the tools for problem-solving

Call it Humane, call it Progressive, call it Humanistic – as long as it calls to action an educational system that helps our kids learn how to think with those 3 C’s, make decisions based on those 3 R’s and discover a fifth element:

5. Teach Cradle To Cradle to insure that our kids can rock it...and live in a “delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world.”

fern1

Fern photos: Brian Whitney for Garden Design Magazine.

Why ferns? Ferns embody the 3 E’s - they are endearing, enthralling and enduring. Their ancient beauty has been around for millions of years. Ferns have truly developed a sustainable lifestyle!

Snow White Morning

As far as the eye can see everything is white. Viewing the snow this morning, I am reminded of John Steinbeck's, The Pearl:

"It was a morning like other mornings and yet perfect among mornings"

Go White…

…and drink warm.

…to ponder the possibilities.

...because you can.

…for good measure.

…to keep moving.

…because it’s hot.

…to feel good about your neck.

Credits: Main Image: Juliet Harrison Photography, White Tea Harney and Sons, Porcelain Skateboard via Dudecraft, Flask via Swissmiss, Ballet Dancer via PVE Design, Pearl Pin via Swissmiss, Glass Tea Pots via Life.Style, Knitted Cowl Jared Flood via Juniper Fiberworks

Ski Stories With Kids, Cute Dogs (and a video)

As a skier, I've written a bunch of ski and snowboard related posts…

I’ve accused the ski-industry of eco-unfriendly practices, asking how skiers and boarders can possibly schuss down the mountain with a clear conscience as they stomp their expensive mega-carbon footprints all over the environment?

“The ski industry notoriously gets a green thumbs down for being unfriendly to both the environment and our pocketbooks. How ski resorts deal with snow-making guns, high-speed lifts that suck up epic amounts of energy, parking lots that are amass with gas guzzling SUV’s, extravagant ski homes and the exorbitant cost of individual lift tickets over $90 at some areas, are under close scrutiny. The ski industry needs an eco-facelift.”

With that in mind, I offered up 10 Tips For Skiing On A Budget and shared an account of how my family managed to ski without breaking the bank: “Here’s a true story: Every Saturday afternoon during the winter months for years, my family loaded up the car with ski/snowboard equipment (purchased at ski swaps), food and drink (a lot of it), and kids. Many kids – my own and as many as we could squeeze in (legally). I volunteered to coordinate the school ski program that met every Saturday from 5-9 pm. Classmates and friends descended on a small ski area in the Berkshire Mountains for a few hours of night skiing (the cheapest time to ski). This rewarded my whole family a season pass each year. Yes, it was a bit of work, and one or two of those below zero Saturdays, I would have been more contented staying home by the warm fire with a hot toddy. Still, I wouldn’t have done it differently and we looked forward to it all year.”

I even dug deep into the hip DIY ski and snowboarding world and unearthed an array of ski and snowboarding projects. Did you know you could build your own skis, snowboards and roof racks? I also added a recipe for snowboarding wax, and a few knitting, sewing and woodworking projects to round out the post, 10 DIY Ski and Snowboard Projects.

This was all fun, but until last week I had yet to write about one of the most harrowing skiing experiences I ever encountered – being stuck on a ski lift at Squaw Valley during an avalanche that cut off power to the lifts. To find out how I managed to not scare myself to death for 5 hours high above the freezing Lake Tahoe snow, while waiting to be rescued, read: Rescue Pups Find Adventure And Fun In The Snow. Here’s a teaser from the video that accompanies the post (believe me, it was not nearly as much fun as these pooches are having):

Thank you, John Snyder for sharing this video on Facebook last winter.

Main Image: Ski Pup by Don Freeman