This weekend, I have been busy trying to identify some of the plants growing in our back yard. After guessing that AJ had an encounter with Stinging Nettle, I decided to do some research on treating his skin. What I discovered is that stinging nettle is edible. I knew it had medicinal properties, but I figured it was the root or something. When I learned that the young shoots are not only edible, but nutritious, I was pleasantly surprised.
I also chose this weekend to pull up the "weeds" that had white flowers with yellow centers growing all over the place. Well, the evening after I pulled up a TON of this plant, I decided that I should look to see if it was, in fact, what I had supposed when I first saw it (I should have done this first, I know). I was kicking myself when I learned that it was wild chamomile. Now I am eyeing my neighbor's yard where it is still growing in abundance. ;)
The third plant I tried to identify is a red currant bush that is tucked away behind some other plants. I should say that I believe it is red currant. I am going to take a small branch to the local nursery to identify it for me before I put the berries in my mouth.
These three plants, plus the rasberries growing back there make it a lot of fun to explore. I can't wait to learn what else is fit for consumption that I have just been calling "weeds."
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Berry Fun
I just came in from picking wild rasberries from our back yard. Our grass backs up to "weeds," which consist of some wild flowers, rasberry plants, and just plain weeds. I thought the rasberry plants had died when we had not had rain for a while. To my surprise, I saw some rasberries on a plant when I was in the back yard showing the kids different kinds of leaves on the trees. I called Kristen and AJ to come, and they helped me pick the rasberries. We then looked for other plants, and we picked the ripe berries off of those as well. It is nice to have some fresh produce since we didn't get a garden in this year.
Rasberries, blueberries, and lingonberries are all part of a group of berries they call "forest berries" here. Apparently, they grow wild in many forest areas, and anyone can go pick them, although the blueberry plants off of the jogging trail where many people walk their dogs remain largely untouched. Can't imagine why.
Rasberries, blueberries, and lingonberries are all part of a group of berries they call "forest berries" here. Apparently, they grow wild in many forest areas, and anyone can go pick them, although the blueberry plants off of the jogging trail where many people walk their dogs remain largely untouched. Can't imagine why.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
It's Not Easy Being Green... But It's Not That Hard, Either
First of all, I need to say that I don't consider myself to be a tree-hugger. I don't believe in cap-and-trade policies, and I am very much opposed to the Kyoto Protocol (and I am not just saying that because of the earth's cooling trend over the last 16 months). Having said that, I have found ways to be more environmentally friendly.
Sweden is a very "green" country, and we had to adjust our lifestyle when we learned that trash pick-up is every other week, and our trash can is smaller than the one we filled weekly in the US. It helps that they have a separate compost trash can that they pick up on separate days, but that still left us wondering if we would have to sneak trash into our neighbor's cans the night before trash day. Fortunately, we have not had to take any such drastic measures. We simply recycle more. There are huge recycle bins near the major grocery stores, and we drop off our paper, glass, metal, and plastic as needed when we go grocery shopping. They also have places inside to drop off dead batteries.
It is amazing how much less trash we generate. The trash we do create goes to be burned (hence the need to discard of batteries separately) at a facility that uses it to produce heat for some households during the winter, and I am not sure what else they do there. Timothy would have a better idea as that is more his area of expertise here. Of course, sometimes there is a need to discard of other items. They also have recycling centers where you can take literally anything you would want to throw away. These recycling centers also give you free compost bags, which is nice since almost nothing is free here.
When we move back, I intend to try to recycle more. I think it is a good idea that should be better implemented in the US, especially in the cases of metal and other substances that will never break down.
Sweden is a very "green" country, and we had to adjust our lifestyle when we learned that trash pick-up is every other week, and our trash can is smaller than the one we filled weekly in the US. It helps that they have a separate compost trash can that they pick up on separate days, but that still left us wondering if we would have to sneak trash into our neighbor's cans the night before trash day. Fortunately, we have not had to take any such drastic measures. We simply recycle more. There are huge recycle bins near the major grocery stores, and we drop off our paper, glass, metal, and plastic as needed when we go grocery shopping. They also have places inside to drop off dead batteries.
It is amazing how much less trash we generate. The trash we do create goes to be burned (hence the need to discard of batteries separately) at a facility that uses it to produce heat for some households during the winter, and I am not sure what else they do there. Timothy would have a better idea as that is more his area of expertise here. Of course, sometimes there is a need to discard of other items. They also have recycling centers where you can take literally anything you would want to throw away. These recycling centers also give you free compost bags, which is nice since almost nothing is free here.
When we move back, I intend to try to recycle more. I think it is a good idea that should be better implemented in the US, especially in the cases of metal and other substances that will never break down.
A Trip to Denmark
Where can you see the United States Capitol building, the Statue of Liberty, Akropolis, Amsterdam, the Kennedy Space Center, and more all in one day? Legoland, Billund, of course! We finally had a family vacation at the beginning of June, and we had a lot of fun.
We started off in a small town south of Aalborg to celebrate Timothy's Mormor's 94th birthday. We met his parents there, and we spent a couple of days visiting with his parents and grandparents. They were all thrilled to see the kids and see how they have changed. I have noticed that people regard birthdays as a much bigger deal here and in Denmark than in the US. It was fun to be able to share that time with his grandmother, and I think it is great for the kids to connect with the older generation.
The day after T's Mormor's birthday, we headed off to Legoland. Kristen had been talking about going there for months, and she was finally about to see what it was all about.
We decided to check into our hotel first so we could leave our bags in our room instead of the car. Well, the room wouldn't be ready until 2pm, and it was around 10am, so that did not work out. To make matters more interesting, the hotel had no parking lot of its own. The guests had to park at the nearby airport and walk to the hotel from there. It was not actually that far, but the additional cost of parking was an unexpected expense. We decided not to let that spoil our day, and we headed to Legoland.
One of the first things we did when we arrived was ride the red Lego train. The kids and I headed off for a trip around the park, and Timothy stayed behind to take pictures and watch our stroller full of the various paraphernelia that we thought we might need for the day. The next ride was the boats that take you around some of the models of various famous landmarks. AJ drove me around, and K drove T around. At this point, we had noticed that most people leave their strollers while they go on the rides. We took out our camera bag and our bag with money, and we followed suit.
One thing I loved about Legoland is that there was so much to do for my little ones. At ages 3.5 and 1.5, most amusement park rides are inappropriate for them. However, Legoland had many that they both could ride, and some that K could even ride by herself. We spent two days there, and they did not get bored (just as important -- we the parents did not get bored). It was a great family vacation, and I would recommend the destination to anyone with one piece of advice -- don't go during high season. We went before most kids were out of school, so the lines were generally under 5 minutes long. I can't imagine waiting longer than that with two preschoolers.
I must warn you about a few things. The hotel we stayed at -- Zleep Hotel-- was too expensive for what you get. For that price, I would expect at least a 4 star hotel. This was an economy hotel with a bed lofted above the queen sized bed Timothy and I slept on. AJ slept on a trundle bed that was stored underneath our bed. There was also no bathtub, but this is not unusual in European hotels. Another thing you must be aware of is the price of the buffet at the Legoland Hotel. We decided to eat there the first night. While the spread was delicious, and it had plenty of veggies and healthy food (which is nice after eating amusement park food), it cost as much as a fancy dinner at, lets say, The Briarwood in Colorado. And it was just a buffet. $100 for two people for a buffet? (Plus $4 for a carafe of what was probably tap water.) Come on. It is a good thing the kids ate free. The next night we went to a local pizza place and ate for less than half of what it cost to feed one of us at the Legoland Hotel.
If you want to see a slideshow of pictures from this trip, click here.
We started off in a small town south of Aalborg to celebrate Timothy's Mormor's 94th birthday. We met his parents there, and we spent a couple of days visiting with his parents and grandparents. They were all thrilled to see the kids and see how they have changed. I have noticed that people regard birthdays as a much bigger deal here and in Denmark than in the US. It was fun to be able to share that time with his grandmother, and I think it is great for the kids to connect with the older generation.
The day after T's Mormor's birthday, we headed off to Legoland. Kristen had been talking about going there for months, and she was finally about to see what it was all about.
We decided to check into our hotel first so we could leave our bags in our room instead of the car. Well, the room wouldn't be ready until 2pm, and it was around 10am, so that did not work out. To make matters more interesting, the hotel had no parking lot of its own. The guests had to park at the nearby airport and walk to the hotel from there. It was not actually that far, but the additional cost of parking was an unexpected expense. We decided not to let that spoil our day, and we headed to Legoland.
One of the first things we did when we arrived was ride the red Lego train. The kids and I headed off for a trip around the park, and Timothy stayed behind to take pictures and watch our stroller full of the various paraphernelia that we thought we might need for the day. The next ride was the boats that take you around some of the models of various famous landmarks. AJ drove me around, and K drove T around. At this point, we had noticed that most people leave their strollers while they go on the rides. We took out our camera bag and our bag with money, and we followed suit.
One thing I loved about Legoland is that there was so much to do for my little ones. At ages 3.5 and 1.5, most amusement park rides are inappropriate for them. However, Legoland had many that they both could ride, and some that K could even ride by herself. We spent two days there, and they did not get bored (just as important -- we the parents did not get bored). It was a great family vacation, and I would recommend the destination to anyone with one piece of advice -- don't go during high season. We went before most kids were out of school, so the lines were generally under 5 minutes long. I can't imagine waiting longer than that with two preschoolers.
I must warn you about a few things. The hotel we stayed at -- Zleep Hotel-- was too expensive for what you get. For that price, I would expect at least a 4 star hotel. This was an economy hotel with a bed lofted above the queen sized bed Timothy and I slept on. AJ slept on a trundle bed that was stored underneath our bed. There was also no bathtub, but this is not unusual in European hotels. Another thing you must be aware of is the price of the buffet at the Legoland Hotel. We decided to eat there the first night. While the spread was delicious, and it had plenty of veggies and healthy food (which is nice after eating amusement park food), it cost as much as a fancy dinner at, lets say, The Briarwood in Colorado. And it was just a buffet. $100 for two people for a buffet? (Plus $4 for a carafe of what was probably tap water.) Come on. It is a good thing the kids ate free. The next night we went to a local pizza place and ate for less than half of what it cost to feed one of us at the Legoland Hotel.
If you want to see a slideshow of pictures from this trip, click here.
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