The Nibbana Family

Our family update

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:38:20 -0500

Let me tell you a bit about what is going on with my family...

Mommy is so excited that she is out of school. Her last day was Wednesday. This summer Mommy and I will have our own school. She is reading me a book called Little House in the Big Woods about a girl named Laura.

Abba is fourteen months old. That means she is one year and two months old. She is walking and walking and walking all over. Friday was Abby's last day at Ms. Debby's house for daycare. She will stay home with us this summer.

Daddy is getting ready to go to work right now. We love him and tomorrow is Father's Day, so we will do lots of things for him like say "Happy Father's Day!"

Friday was my last day of school too. I will miss my teachers and I will miss the kids at school. This summer I will make my own school with Mom. I will learn math, reading, handwriting and other stuff. We will go on field trips and have water days.

A Squirm O' Worms, Part 1

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:17:46 -0500

Living in a condo keeps you from doing a lot of environmentally friendly things you might do if you lived in a house. One of those things is composting. Lately, I have learned about composting that I can do here, even though I am in a living space without a yard. I will soon begin to compost my kitchen scraps by vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is a large, unsightly word that describes the method of breaking down organic matter into dirt using worms. It is well-suited to small spaces where it may not be possible to have a typical compost bin.

While it is possible to vermicompost using buckets or totes, I am planning on buying a worm factory. A worm factory is a nifty contraption that allows the worms to move upward as they create "black gold" soil (see "continuous vertical flow" here). I am hoping to cut our trash down to a minimum and feed the worms! The worms run around $25 for a pound of red wigglers, which I am told is the best compositing variety. I'm going to spend the next week shopping around before I buy, and I will post what I purchase and where in Post 2.

Happy Composting!

Ari graduated!

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:15:38 -0500

Yesterday, my big sister Ari graduated from Pre-K! Mom and Dad picked me up and we went to her school to see it all. Ari looked so happy! All of the kids sang songs and named the letters of the alphabet and her teacher, Mrs. Tracey, read poems.

Grandma came to see us and Daddy brought Ari beautiful flowers! Afterwards, Grandma took us out to eat dinner and Ari went to Grandma's house for the weekend. I'm so proud of my big sister!

A Naturally Germ-free Kitchen

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:19:07 -0500

How do you balance being eco-friendly and yet still keep your family safe from germs? You've most likely heard about anti-microbial soaps and how some germs have become resistant. In the kitchen, there is a solution! In the book Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck, I read about her "dual spray program". She keeps two spray bottles handy - one with vinegar and a dark colored one with 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The dark bottle is for the hydrogen peroxide, which needs to be kept away from light so it doesn't break down.

How does it work?

When the hydrogen peroxide is exposed to light, heat, or organic materials it releases its extra oxygen, so that pure water and oxygen are produced. Micro-organisms find pure oxygen to be exceedingly toxic. You can actually see the reaction as the hydrogen peroxide bubbles! In Sandbeck's book, she states that hydrogen peroxide kills 100x as many bacteria as vinegar, but when used in conjunction 10x more bacteria were killed as the hydrogen peroxide alone.

The dual spray system is good for these uses: disinfect countertops, stoves, sinks, and refrigerators, raw foods, and processed foods (do not use on marble countertops and the vinegar may be harmful to calcium-based natural stone).

To disinfect surfaces, spray with one bottle then the other. It is not necessary to rinse. Many people dislike the smell of vinegar, so you may want to spray the vinegar first. Produce and meat can follow the same method - spray with vinegar then the hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide rinses the vinegar off. Non-cardboard processed food containers should be washed of any material that spilled, then sprayed with hydrogen peroxide then vinegar, and wiped down.

A final note: cutting boards. Most people think that a plastic or glass cutting board would be cleaner than a wood one, but the opposite is true. Both a study in 1992 and one in 1993 showed that the wood cutting boards were less likely to harbor germs such as salmonella, listeria, or E. Coli. The wood fibers actually soak up and kill the bacteria. More information on these studies can be found in Ms. Sandbeck's book.