One year in the making, last year my husband installed a wind turbine he made from scratch. From hand hewned wood propellers to two old Volvo brake rotors, it is powering up his workshop. On windy days it is quite a sight to see in motion, knowing it is generating power from a natural source! Check it out in action here.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpAbIGno_p4
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Green Play House
I am so in love with this play house! My husband will be selling it in his eco-toy store, but he will also have a conversion kit in the event you have saved one from your childhood or come across one second hand. I love this particular one for its modern and sleek design. For Christmas this year, we gave our oldest son my old dollhouse, but did a 'green' conversion on it, souping it up with solar panels, a wind turbine and mini recycle bins for the kitchen! He absolutely loves it and it's great to enable him to just expect this is how a house will operate. It is also nice he can see our wind turbine operating in our own backyard!
http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?productid=18055&site=CI&cm_mmc=cse-_-googlebase-_-toys_books-_-PL-067&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=PL-067
http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?productid=18055&site=CI&cm_mmc=cse-_-googlebase-_-toys_books-_-PL-067&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=PL-067
Lucky Bums
I'm a big downhill skier and as my son is approaching 3, so I was so excited to get him on skis this year. After doing some research, I came across these. They are supposed to be great skis to throw on for play in the backyard to give a child a good feel for being on skis. I love that a regular snow boots fits in the bindings and that they can also be used to get a feel for cross country skiing since the back of the foot isn't bound. I am so excited to have my little guy out with me in the snow joining me in a sport I love! They are arriving this week. I also love the fact they are wood and will be a great first-skis-momento to save for him.
http://luckybums.com/snowkidsbeginnerwoodenskis.aspx
http://luckybums.com/snowkidsbeginnerwoodenskis.aspx
Eco-Toys
My husband recently started a business called Stokes Solar and aside from offering green energy audits on how your home can operate in a more green fashion to solar and wind turbine residential packages, he will also have a toy store! Inspired by his love of renewable energy combined with being a daddy and wanting to educate our children as they play, the 'toys' don't require any batteries! Thanks to water, wind and sun, they can do anything and everything. There will be an open house in the showroom this spring, so stay tuned!
A Thing for Letterpress
If you are into the art and wonderfulness of letterpress designs, check out his article I wrote on a local couple who has their own press in their design studio....they sell their cards at Hello Bluebird (great store in West Reading) which is where I came across them! Also included are some pics from a visit to their studio...
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=204597
You can buy their cards at Hello Bluebird, great (all things homemade store) located in West Reading.
www.hellobluebird.net
Garden Strategy Time!
I had a recent realization it's time to start thinking about the garden already!......
A couple of days ago when in the whole food section of Giant, I was sooooooooooooo excited to be greeted by a display of organic seeds by Burpee. The excitement came from the fact that garden time is right around the corner!
It got me thinking about my own garden, what to start indoors, what to get in the ground early, etc. One thing I finally learned last season from having two kids with limited time, is to only grow what is normally on my shopping list in the veggie dept. I usually try to go all out and want to plant everything, but it just gets too overwhelming, so I find keeping a minimalist approach leads to less disappointment. It's neat to factor the savings every week when you realize you don't have to add certain items to the list!
While I respect Burpee, I'll personally be getting my seeds here since I am more in tune with their mission as they have been offering organic seeds for over 20 years and it is the backbone of their operation:
www.seedsofchange.com
A couple of days ago when in the whole food section of Giant, I was sooooooooooooo excited to be greeted by a display of organic seeds by Burpee. The excitement came from the fact that garden time is right around the corner!
It got me thinking about my own garden, what to start indoors, what to get in the ground early, etc. One thing I finally learned last season from having two kids with limited time, is to only grow what is normally on my shopping list in the veggie dept. I usually try to go all out and want to plant everything, but it just gets too overwhelming, so I find keeping a minimalist approach leads to less disappointment. It's neat to factor the savings every week when you realize you don't have to add certain items to the list!
While I respect Burpee, I'll personally be getting my seeds here since I am more in tune with their mission as they have been offering organic seeds for over 20 years and it is the backbone of their operation:
www.seedsofchange.com
Made with Iron
My husband's website is up and running again. Check out his ironwork. Aside from commissioned sculptural pieces he also makes functional items for the home.....
www.johnbstokes.com
www.johnbstokes.com
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