Dear Friends, Have you finished your holiday shopping? I haven't. I still need to get a few gifts. While I mostly shop in local stores because I like to be out in the happy holiday atmosphere and support my local independent merchants, this year my husband and I are shopping online for gifts for loved ones that we would need to ship anyway. We used to shop here and then pack and ship all the gifts to California. But then we realized that if we shopped online, we could choose from a greater variety of gifts and all we needed to do was choose and pay in the comfort of our own home, and the gift would be sent for us. A big time saver! If you still need to purchase gifts that need to be shipped to distant loved ones, there is still time to order online. Debra's List and Debra's Bookstore have hundreds of wonderful possibilities. And if you'd like to send an autographed copy of the new revised Home Safe Home for a gift, call me at 727-466-6812 and I will send it right out. I've already been planning and working on articles for 2006. Coming up next year I'll tell you about the results of my Bau-Biologie home inspection, some ways mold can affect your health that you probably aren't aware of, things I'm doing to reduce exposures to electromagnetic fields, what I eat and why, about my chlorine- free swimming pool, and a lot more... Debra :-)
HEALTH, HOME & HABITAT ~ 13 December 2005
* AT HOME WITH DEBRA: Our Visit to the Christmas Tree
Farm
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AT HOME WITH DEBRA: Our Visit to the Christmas Tree Farm Last week my husband Larry and I went to a local Christmas tree farm. Come see pictures of our pesticide-free, native Florida species holiday tree! Read Our Visit to the Christmas Tree Farm...
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THE ECOLOGICAL CALENDAR Finally, a calendar that orients us to the natural world! Instead of a page for each month, this calendar comes in four panels-- one for each season. Beautiful graphics show a panorama of life changes throughout the year, including seasonally visible stars, moon phases, tides, ratios of darkness to light, and more. Days have been renamed according to the season, which are listed alongside our standard Gregorian calendar. Printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink, of course. See The Ecological Calendar at amazon.com
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CELEBRATING WINTER SOLSTICE In addition to celebrating Christmas with my family and friends, I also celebrate Winter Solstice as a means of aligning myself with the yearly cycles of nature. In time past, Winter Solstice was celebrated by cultures around the world as the most important day of the year, for it marked the return of longer days, and with them the light and warmth of the sun that renewed all life. Rather than adopt a specific traditional celebration, I've used the common themes of Winter Solstice celebrations to create a celebration, rooted in my own time and place.
* Holidays and
Seasonal Celebrations explains how to create a
seasonal celebration
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DEBRA'S LIST: New website links
Here are just a few of the links I added to Debra's List in the last two weeks. The Natural Sleep Store carries natural latex mattresses covered with organic cotton and wool (in different thicknesses and firmnesses) and organic bedding. Plus organic baby clothing and bedding. Their baby gift sets come in a handwoven organic palm leaf basket. OrganicWearUSA sells baby clothing, toys, and bedding made from 100% organic natural- color cotton, and organic natural fiber crib mattresses. Their soft, sheep-shaped Amazing Organic Sheep Music Box , made with 100% organic cotton and filled with pure wool, plays soft music that soothes baby to sleep. I added three websites that sell handmade wooden kitchen utensils: Wood Duflo , Shadow Mountain Woodworks, and Jonathan's Wild Cherry Spoons. Ten Thousand Villages has lots of holiday and decorative household items handmade through fairtrade programs throughout the world. Rehabilitated Dishware by Sarah Chiat sells dishware from recycled thrift store or overstock dishes, redesigned and resurfaced with colorful bold designs.
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SWEET SAVVY: Wheat-free cakes and pears in parchment The making of cakes without flour is a classic French technique that has gourmet history--these cakes are not just for people with allergies. My Wheat-free Flourless French Chocolate Cake is light, moist, spongey, and very chocolatey. My Wheat-free Flourless Nut Cake is dense and rich, with a crumbly texture. Both are delicious--simple enough to make for everyday, and elegant enough for holiday entertaining. Pears in Parchment are quick and easy to make, a snap to clean up, a delightful suprise for holiday guests, and a nice alternative to t he common poached pears. Baking in parchment really concentrates the pear flavor.
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Q & A: Mineral Oil--Is It Safe and Natural?
I came across your Q&A about wood bowl oils and the use of mineral oils. In the text I read the following about Bee's Oil from the Holland Bowl Mill: "So I was surprised to find out that it is actually made from beeswax and mineral oil! I had a long phone conversation with the owner and made sure he understood that you cannot label a product containing mineral oil as natural." I am a bit confused, mineral oil is not natural because it is processed?? ... I would like to hear your point of view on why mineral oil is not natural and why you would avoid or recommend against using it... M. P.
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Q & A: Safe Dinnerware Do you have a suggestion for safe, non-toxic everday dinnerware?
J. W.
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The new, revised, edition of
Home Safe Home
is now available
in bookstores nationwide.
Home Safe Home tells what toxic chemicals are generally found in specific household products of all types, and safe solutions you can buy or make at home. It's different from other books on toxic chemicals because the focus really is what you can do to protect yourself and your family and create a healthy home. I bring over twenty years of research and personal real-life experience to this book. * 10 Simple, Inexpensive Things You Can Do To Reduce Household Toxics * How Toxic is Your Home? Quiz (excerpt from the book)
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Debra's List
~
100s of links
to 1000s of nontoxic, natural & earthwise
products
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