Archive for April, 2010

I have a stack of books I thought you eco-friendly readers would be interested in, so I thought I'd do a little book giveaway.

My reading pile is getting far too high, so I've decided to stop adding things to it until I can get going on it. The next book on the pile is The Sea Captain's Wife, by Beth Powning. Have you ever read it? I hear it's good stuff. I'm currently reading Yann Martel's new novel, Beatrice and Virgil ... I can't put it down!

For you chance to win the five wonderful eco books listed below, just leave a message here telling me what the next book on your "to read" pile is. I'll randomly select a winner on Monday, May 10.

Here are the great books:
Sneaky Green Uses for Everyday Things, by Cy Tymony
The Lazy Environmentalist, by Josh Dorfman
The Global Warming Survival Kit, by Brian Clegg
Green Clean, by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin
True Green, by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin

I always remember my mom chatting away on the phone, specifically to one of my aunts, her friend in California or one of her close girlfriends in the city. I used to get so mad because it seemed like she was talking forever. I would write her little notes while she was on the phone, ones that said "Can I go to Jessica's house and play?" and then there would be a box under YES and a box under NO, and she would tick her answer. She always chose YES, most likely to get me out of her hair.

I don't know if it's because of e-mail and text messaging, but I'm not often glued to the phone. I'll admit, it's kind of nice to catch up with people via e-mail at my own convenient hour. That said, here are a few core people who I frequently chat on the phone with: My sister (to lovingly complain about our dad, swap cooking advice, talk about the latest episode of Glee, the usual idle chit chat) and a couple of girlfriends (again, to lightly complain to one another, swap stories the day after a night out, comfort each other when needed).

Here's some great news for you on the subject of phones: I have a fabulous mobile phone from Fido to give away.

Here's a little bit of info about it (see photo below):
The Sony Ericsson Naite™ phone furthers Sony Ericsson’s commitment to be more environmentally conscious. An embedded calculator called EcoMate helps users keep track of the CO2 emissions their lifestyle creates. The low power consumption charger, with un-plug reminder helps the user remember to disconnect the charger from the wall to reduce energy waste. Furthermore, the plastic used in the device is made from a minimum of 50% post-consumer recycled plastics and the Naite™ phone comes with an e-manual instead of a paper manual.

Who do you chat on the phone with?

I love that it has an un-plug reminder and an e-manual!

Do you want to win this phone? All you have to do is subscribe to my blog and leave a message here telling us who you chat on the phone with most frequently and why. Is it your friend up the street to discuss the handsome man who moved in next door? How about your mom for her wonderful advice? Or is it you're partner because you just can't stand to be apart?

I'll announce a winner on Friday, May 7.

Happy Earth Day to you all! What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? I'm planting a small evergreen in my yard. Well, not exactly in my yard, but in a big planter on my deck (that way I can lug it inside come the holidays and use it as my Christmas tree). I hope you're all doing something to thank Mother Earth for all she's provided.

Need some Earth Day celebrating help? Not to worry, I've rounded up some of our best green living articles to make sure your Earth Day is swell.

• 5 ways to celebrate Earth Day
• Photo gallery: How to go green in the kitchen
• 101 vegetarian recipes
• 5 creative ways to help the environment
• How to get a fresh start on green living
• 6 sustainable seafood choices
• 5 reasons why you should green your home
• 7 steps to eco-friendly shopping

And don't forget to come find us at the Green Living Show this weekend. Find more info about it here.

Congratulations to Burcu, Marlo and W Ball. You've each one a super fabulous prize pack courtesy of the Ontario Power Authority. Your prize pack includes:

• A power bar with automatic shutoff to reduce phantom power
• 1,000 Bonus Air Miles (this could get $140 in grocery gift certificates, movie tickets or even a 3 piece luggage set)
• A cute & cuddly toy panda from WWF-Canada
• Cold water laundry detergent

To be eligible to win I asked what you all do to help reduce phantom power. Here's what our winners said:

Burcu:
"I unplug my computer and some other appliances at night. I make sure no lights are on when no one is in the room. I do not start the washing machine or dish washer when they are half empty."

Marlo:
"I am an unplugger - and I have my family trained too. The TV, stereo all of that gets unplugged every minute we aren't using it, ditto for the laptop. I also have my counter top appliances all unplugged except for the 3 minutes when I use them. The hardest habit to break is cellphone and other chargers - they have only a 2 hour charge time, but it's so easy to leave them plugged in overnight. Now I plug them in at supper, and my routine at night is to pull them back out."

W Ball:
"We had an energy audit completed and fixed up the areas that were causing us to lose heat causing higher power usage. We use the new bulbs that are suppose to be more efficient, laudry with cold water, turn the lights out when leaving the room; this one is still a bit of an issue, switched to digital thermostates, I try and air dry my clothes on a rack instead of using the dryer."

Thanks for sharing!

If you’re in the Toronto area the weekend of April 23 to 25th, we look forward to seeing you at the Green Living Show at the Direct Energy Centre. Canadian Living editors and The Canadian Living Test Kitchen will be on hand to show you the latest tips and trends in sustainable entertaining, eating from your own garden, sustainable kitchen design and eating local and in season all year long.

Click here to download the schedule of when you can see Canadian Living editors and The Canadian Living Test Kitchen on stage at the Green Living Show.

Need some more good new? We have a special offer for Canadian Living readers - buy one regular adult admission and get the second free by printing the coupon here!

Will you be at the Green Living Show?

I don't know what it is, because my partner is very eco-conscious in most ways, but I seem to follow him around the house turning the lights off after him. No matter how much I pester him, he still leaves them on. I think I'll make him sign up for the Ontario Power Authority's Power Pledge, a online pledge to reduce Phantom Power — the electricity used by some home electronics and appliances even when they are turned off. Phantom Power can waste up to 15 per cent of the average home’s electricity use.

OK, so not exactly about turning off the lights, but it will certainly keep us cognizant of the amount of power we use in our home.

Apparently for the average Ontario household, which uses about 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power a month, phantom power can cost up to $100 a year. And, three of every four Ontario residents are unaware of this invisible user of electricity.

Aside from committing to reducing phantom power (by totally shutting off your TV, stereo, computer, rechargeable devices and gaming consoles when not in use), you can commit to reducing your power usage a variety of other ways. And, Ontarians who take the Pledge will earn 20 AIR MILES reward miles. Plus, the Ontario Power Authority will donate 10 reward miles to a participating charity of your choice, like WWF-Canada.

If you don't live in Ontario, it's still worth checking out the site to see how you can cut down on power usage.

In honour of this great program, the OPA has offered up three AMAZING prize packs (check out the image below). They include:

• A power bar with automatic shutoff to reduce phantom power
• 1,000 Bonus Air Miles (this could get $140 in grocery gift certificates, movie tickets or even a 3 piece luggage set)
• A cute & cuddly toy panda from WWF-Canada
• Cold water laundry detergent

The OPA prize pack!

To be eligible to win, simply tell us here what you are going to do to help reduce the use of phantom power. I'll announce the winners here on Tuesday, April 20. Remember, you need to be a subscriber to win. Also, even those who live outside of Ontario are eligible to win.

Is it just me, or does everyone feel super protective of their baby seedlings? I'm forever huddling over them like an over-bearing mother, begging them to get strong and grow. I'm continuously asking them if they need more water, more light, more room ... And you know what the problem is? They don't answer me. Ever! What if they don't flourish and I have nothing to plant in my plot come May?

My little cucumbers worry me the most. They're so lengthy and viny already! I hope they aren't begging me for more room.

My little Brookpact tomatoes are doing fairly well, too.

My partner and I are going away for two weeks and I'm leaving them with his mom. Though she's an old hand at gardening, I'm still worried about them in my absence.  I bet I'll come back to the healthiest looking seedlings ever.

Now, I have a few questions for you:

1.) Do you worry about your seedlings?

2.) When should I start introducing my little babies to the great outdoors?

3.) Are peppers hard to grow? I've planted about a dozen seeds and only have two wee plants growing. Are they just slow pokes?

Well, it's official, you're all extra excited for springtime.

Congratulations to L. Gilbert! She's won a year's supply of Cascades Enviro 100% recycled fibre bathroom tissue. Cascades bathroom tissue has been given the seal of approval by Eco Logo and boasts that its:

• Made of Enviro 100 per cent recycled fibres (with a high percentage of post-consumer material).
• Produced with 80 per cent less water than the industry average.
• Bleached without chlorine.

What's L. Gilbert looking the most forward to this spring?

"First I will enjoy the sun by cleaning up the leaves, and garbage up after this huge wind storm we had and then dusting off the BBQ and inviting some Friends over for a nice meal."

Sounds great!

Have a great weekend.

We're so blessed to live in a country where hiking trails are at most of our fingertips. One of the first things we did in the beautiful sunshine this past weekend was a nice 20 km hike on the Seaton Trail - a mere 40 minutes from Toronto. We packed a tasty lunch, a lot of hearty snacks and some water, and off we went to enjoy our day in the wilderness. Though we like to hike anyway, we're now focused on training for the Oxfam Trailwalker Canada (to raise money for Oxfam) - a 100 km hike that must be completed in 48 hours. We have a team of four and are hoping to get it done with in around 30 hours. Um, that's 30 hours straight ... 30 hours of walking. No sleep. Just a few breaks where our trusted support crew will meet up with us to feed us a warm meal and provide us with some much-needed encouragement. This whole thing sounds rather ambitious, don't you think? Well, that's why we'll be doing a good deal of hiking over the next few months.

Here's Scout exploring the Seaton Trail

Come back tomorrow to find out who wins a year supply of Cascades bathroom tissue (you can enter the contest here).

I think it's official: Spring is here to stay. When I woke up this morning I ran over to my little seedlings, and alas, my cucumbers, tomatoes, kale and marigolds have all sprouted. I'm patiently waiting on a few others, though. Tomorrow I'll be heading over to my garden plot to start working on the soil and pulling out some weeds. Sounds like spring, right?

Also, I have another great giveaway for you folks. I'm offering up a year supply of Cascades Enviro 100% recycled fibre bathroom tissue (see image below)! Cascades bathroom tissue has been given the seal of approval by Eco Logo and boasts that its:

• Made of Enviro 100 per cent recycled fibres (with a high percentage of post-consumer material).
• Produced with 80 per cent less water than the industry average.
• Bleached without chlorine.

Imagine not having to buy bathroom tissue for a whole year?!

If you'd like to enter to win this prize, just subscribe to my blog and leave a response hear telling me how you're going to enjoy these first few days of a real, sunny spring. I will announce the winner here on Friday, April 9.