Care 2 Offers Tips for Healthy Lifestyles: Vegetarian Guidelines

Many websites are focused on healthy living and eating. Care 2 provides a range of articles, from vegetarian to hunting. In the article "6 Nutrients Every Vegetarian Needs," writer Delia Quigley reviews the essential ingredients to a complete diet for vegetarians.

Care 2 also includes a spectrum of topics, including calls to action.

Green Frugal Website

Many websites are devoted to sustainable, green living. One of the many is the Green Frugal.
This site presents articles on gardening, food, and family. Additional opportunities exist for writing.

Chinese New Year Traditions and Superstitions Are Similar to Christmas Events

Chinese New Year in Seattle, January 2009 Photo by Joe Mabel via Wikimedia Commons

The film Christmas Cottage tells the story of painter Thomas Kindade. Known as the "Painter of Light," Kinkade co-produced the 2008 film as a way of sharing the trials and troubles that he and his family met with hope and faith.

In the film, Kinkade's mother struggles with unemployment and the inability to make her mortgage payments. At the same time, inspired by an older painter, Kinkade begins a mural to honor the little town and neighbors of his childhood.

As the neighbors pitch in to help the family's cottage home, one of the neighbors, who is Chinese, ensures that any dust or dirt is not swept out of the front door, as it will sweep out good luck.

This ritual is just one of many superstitions and traditions associated with Chinese New Year, which begins on a new moon. With the Chinese New Year of January 23, 2012 being the Year of the Dragon, anyone can join in the Chinese cultural and family celebrations by observing some of these ancient practices, which often resemble European Christmas traditions, such as those in Poland or Scotland.

Cleaning and Sweeping

Ancient Christmas traditions require that the home and hearth are clean and shining by Christmas Eve.

As noted on the Cathay Cafe website, the Chinese take special care of the method of cleaning and sweeping. They advise cleaning before New Year's Eve, then put away the brooms and dustpans to keep good fortune in the home.

After the New Year, it's advised to sweep dust and dirt to the middle of the living room, and then to the corners of the room and let it sit for five days. During this time, avoid stepping in the corners. On the fifth day, throw out the dust and dirt by taking it out the back door.

Never sweep dust and dirt out the front door, which will sweep out good luck or even a family member!

Holiday Feasts for Ancestors and Family

Like the ancient Christmas times, the Chinese believe that their ancestors' spirits may visit. During Christmas time, old traditions required that people leave food out overnight for their ancestors' spirits. This practice may be related to the tradition of children leaving cookies and milk as a snack for Santa Claus. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner includes enough food for the living and their ancestors' spirits.

Wearing Red and Giving Money

Another shared tradition of Christmas and the Chinese New Year is the wearing of red. This color symbolizes good fortune and happiness. During Chinese New Year, children often receive new money in a red envelope. In a similar way, children during Christmas often receive new money in an envelope.

However, both the Chinese New Year and Christmas superstitions advised against lending money during this time, as it would set the stage for losing money all year.

Both holidays honor families and homes.

Roses and Romantic Gardening

Romantic Gardening, a blog by Lorraine Syratt.
http://www.romanticgardening.com/
Lorraine has a blog devoted to romantic gardening, often with an emphasis on the English cottage style garden. She provides information on different types of flowers, especially roses. Her photos give great ideas for anyone who wants a romantic garden.

Math Games for Kids and Their Grownups

Math games online and offline can help learners acquire knowledge and confidence. Here are some math games websites with lots of games for counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and applications in algebra and geometry. We hope you have fun with these games.

Math Play

Cool Math Games.

The Bee Population Supports Our Lives.

The Bee Population Supports Our Lives. If bees are endangered, so are humans and the world's animals and plants.

Via Claire Thompson for Grist, part of the Guardian Environment Network

guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 January 2012 10.25 EST

Article history The Guardian, there is an article on the bee population. Without bees, no one eats.

For our homes, gardens, and farms, we need bees to ensure beautiful flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, and food for ourselves and our animals.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/13/honeybee-problem-critical-point

As noted by writer Tom Philpott, the EPA's scientists blamed pesticides for the cause of bee decline: "...specifically neonicotinoids (derived from nicotine), as a key factor. And neonicotinoids are a relatively new factor in ecosystems frequented by honeybees -- introduced in the late 1990s, these systemic insecticides have gained a steadily rising share of the seed-treatment market." Much of the pesticide in question is used on corn, often that is genetically-modified.

Here is a memo from the EPA, which states about clothianidin:

"Clothianidin's major risk concern is to nontarget insects (that is, honey bees)...Acute toxicity studies to honey bees show that clothianidin is highly toxic on both a contact and an oral basis." (page 2).

Participate in this issue with local, state, or federal agencies.
Check information on websites, such as PANNA, Pesticide Action Network North America.


Via Grist. Leaked Document Shows EPA Allowed Bee-Toxic Pesticide Despite Own Scientists' Red Flags. By Tom Philpott. December 10, 2010.
Via http://www.grist.org/article/food-2010-12-10-leaked-documents-show-epa-allowed-bee-toxic-pesticide-

Vegan Pecan Tarts

Vegan Pecan Tarts. Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe. December 09, 2011

I love to make and taste pecan tarts, especially with cream cheese crust. The yummy buttery taste of the crust along with the buttery, sugary filling with pecans, is a taste not to be missed in this life. Yet balanced with health care concerns about the effects of butter and other dairy products, many bakers are wondering how to keep great flavor but lessen possible health impacts.

This receipe for vegan pecan tarts calls for vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, and egg substitute. There is still the favorite brown sugar, both tasty and bringing its own set of health concerns.

Nevertheless, making a batch of these might be fun.