Mine eat sunbutter and jelly sandwich Ezekiel bread crusts out of my compost bucket.

Squirrel Breakfast

For about one second this made me consider planting marigolds on my back steps, but then next I foresaw coming downstairs one morning to find a squirrel sitting at my kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee with organic half and half.  (Although I suppose if he made the coffee that might be OK…)

I guess if eating our food scraps means they’re staying out of the strawberry bed, we’ll call it a truce.

Grow Your Own

May 17th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (9 Comments)

Last year we devoted an entire bed in our garden to growing spinach, moving in other vegetable plants when all the spinach we’d planted had been harvested.  I absolutely loved growing my own spinach, and I especially loved the ease at which I could bolt out the back door, snag a couple of leaves from the ground and shove it into a wrap, salad or sandwich and then straight into my mouth.  Local and organic?  These are a few of my favorite things.

First Tuesday

March 1st, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Breakfast - (3 Comments)

There is a 6:30 AM Active Yoga class on Tuesday mornings that I occasionally get to, and today was one of those Tuesdays.  As it turns out, on the first Tuesday of every month this Active Yoga class becomes a Restorative Yoga class.

“Restorative” apparently meant just five poses.  That’s it.  Five.  In 45 minutes.  But it was certainly restorative with some gentle hip opening, some gentle shoulder opening, some gentle mouth opening with a schlurp of drool as I nearly fell back to sleep during savasana it was so nice and easy.

Fall Back…

November 7th, 2010 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (12 Comments)

Fall Back

…into the leaves, that is. Oh yeah, clocks too.

Now that the last of the leaves are on the ground, I’ll agree to rake.

Last Leaves Finally Fallen

With a little help, of course.

Help Me Rake!

(And I mean a very little.)

Who needs cardio when there’s yardio? Today’s work out left my yard looking very N.E.A.T. Unfortunately I can’t say the same thing about my hair.

Raking

Yard work today was a family affair. Two up front and two in the back.

Group Effort

What a Nut Job

October 17th, 2010 | Posted by Alison Spath in Life - (12 Comments)

“What the hell are those things?” you’re surely saying out loud right now. I don’t blame you. About a month ago I was saying that exact same thing because I didn’t know either.

Gathered

Turns out we’ve got a black walnut tree at this here city residence of ours. Right about this time of year, said black walnut tree drops about 643 black walnuts into my tiny back yard. My hyperbolic guesstimative calculations figure that’s about 25 walnuts per square foot of green space.

Black Walnut Tree

Green Craziness

September 29th, 2009 | Posted by Alison Spath in Dinner Time - (19 Comments)

Today is our homeschool away from home day. That means it’s our pack a lunch day too.

What’s in today’s fantastic basket of food fun?

Fantastic Basket

This was lunch for me and Maxine. Ava’s was with her at her homeschooling school of homeschooled kids where they chuck wood like a wood chuck would.

Before I reveal the contents of our basket, I better back up. When I started to make hummus this morning I threw in today’s romaine, cucumber, lemon, apple and ginger juice pulp straight in with the garbanzos like the food processor was my compost bucket.

Your Personal Homeschooling Lesson

July 30th, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Life - (13 Comments)

I got up this morning to do a little downward dog in the family room, only to discover a little outward skunk wandering around on the deck.

Holy Skunk

Take note that this picture was taken BEHIND the safety of a glass door.

I flew up the stairs to snag Ava out of bed. Wake my sleeping 5 year old on purpose? Am I insane? I knew she’d love it though and I didn’t want her to miss it. She’d have been up shortly anyway. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

The Dangers of Compost

July 19th, 2009 | Posted by Alison in Morning Craziness - (6 Comments)

I wanted to make Green Lemonade yesterday after my long run but I couldn’t find a small piece to the juicer. It’s small but it’s also a very crucial part: the nut that holds the blade in place. I figured it would turn up and had probably just rolled under the toaster oven or was inadvertently put away in the wrong place.