Green is the Color of Envy, Isn't It?

Thanks to the Utne Reader for invigorating my domestic side. I've never had a harder time fighting my nesting urges.

These beautiful, but somewhat realistic, green homes on Natural Home magazine's "15 Best" list are downright inspirational.

My torts professor from last semester has lots of nicknames, but "Father of Potty Parity" could be the stinkiest. In any case, he's probably right about the National Mall not having enough toilets for the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Obama.

If he is right, find me and I'll let you use my bathroom.

Happy inauguration! Be safe, and remember the reason for the season.

Greetings.

If you're looking for some holiday greeting cards, check out some of the many, many handmade creations on Etsy. Handsome stuff.

Happy holidays!

Talking Times Ten.

Here's a nice thought from World Hunger Year, who credits Brian Halweil, reasearcher at the Worldwatch Institute, with the observation that people are ten times more likely to have a conversation at the farmers' market than at the supermarket -- an upbeat, pithy thought that entreats rumination about conversation generally, about sociability and consumer comfort, and all kinds if interesting things, I think.

Here's an excerpt from WHY's pitch for farmers' markets:

"People come to farmers' markets for many reasons -- for the joy of eating seasonally; for the nutritious vegetables they can't find anywhere else; for the beauty and smells of the bounty of herbs and produce.

Farmers' markets are good for consumers, farmers, and for the community. By keeping local farms viable, markets sustain regional open space. Markets in town and city centers create new gathering places to bring customers downtown, where they shop at local businesses as well as at the market. Author Brian Halweil says that shoppers are 10 times more likely to have a conversation at a farmers' market than at a supermarket. Furthermore, buying from local producers and businesses keeps dollars re-circulating throughout the region, which is good for the community's economic health. Farmers' markets can also provide extra income for community gardeners and employment for local youth.

Farmers' markets can be a way to preserve and create a market for culturally traditional foods and crops. Farmers can respond directly to their shoppers' wants, and are able to provide the community with culturally appropriate foods that may not be available anywhere else. This is a particularly important benefit for many new farmers' markets being established on Native American reservations. In these communities, the process to develop a new market includes discussion of the preservation of cultural identity and the viability of the traditional land-based society."

Moms Rising.

This looks like it could be a valuable resource for lots of people I know.

"A cyber-savvy bootstrap organization called MomsRising.org is . . . [r]ecruiting thousands of mothers (and anyone who has a mother) to join via its website, MomsRising.org may have found the formula to engage, educate, and amplify the voices of America’s millions of mothers."

61 trees and tree pie.

Here's something to reflect on. A thought like this can bring the global/local ideas into sharp focus.

There are 61 trees per person on planet Earth, NPR reports today.

We use trees for: "baseball bats, barrels, books, blocks, benches, crutches, coffee filters, guitars, grocery bags, pencils, pine oil, beds, billboards, buttons, candy wrappers, buttons, chewing gum, cork, crayons, egg cartons, fruit pie filling, kites, linoleum, luggage, paper, pingpong balls, chopsticks (especially the disposable kind), rubber, tambourines, telephone books, tires, toilet paper, turpentine, xylophones and yo-yos (the wooden kind)."

Did you see "fruit pie filling" on that list? Weird. Think I'll pass on the Balsam Fir pie this Thanksgiving.

Columbus, Ohio: best place to raise kids

Businessweek Magazine just named Columbus, Ohio one of the top places in the country to raise children. With resources like the Columbus Zoo, COSI, the Wexner Center, and the Columbus Museum of Art, along with those fantastic crafty kids' stores opening up along High Street, I have to agree.