We so rock!

Just got my WI League of Conservation Voters(WLCV) email newsletter...
and look who they featured from the Election Cycle.
Us!
I love being famous. Thank you again to our sponsors ( Kyle, Sarah, Nancy, Jill, Beth, Trudy, Jaime, Pamela, Connie and Bill, Erica, Dave, Mary, and Brett. You all rock too!!)

We are in the count down to the Election. Want to see who the WLCV has endorsed? Their list influences my vote!

Eat Local Update

So how are we doing? Has being involved in the Greener, Faster Challenge changed our behavior?

Our first month goal was to buy more local and organic
We spent $739 on food of which $521 was local or organic.

We got much of our food from our CSA farm ( community supported agriculture) and the farmer's market. Our goal was 90%..which we didn't make but we did increase our local/organic purchasing.

Ben was reading our cereal box at the table the other day listing all the organic ingredients. When Ben and Nate went shopping on their own..they came back with local and organic ( with no prompts from parents)

When we are in town, our new Saturday lunch tradition is Thyme bread from Stella's, goat cheese from Dream Farm, and apples from the gentle apple man. All from the west side farmers market. ( the gentle apple man is our family name for the man we buy apples from..because he carefully and gently picks out each apple for you. You can't be in a rush when you buy from him..but boy you get the best apples.)

So have we changed our purchasing behavior....a big yes.
Pros
-we eat and shop more intentionally
-we are all much more aware of where our food comes from
-our food dollars are supporting our values
-we have discovered some fun local foods ( we had a great time discovering how many local food Brennans' carries...and if you like taste tests...Brennan's beats Whole Foods. You can eat a meal while shopping at Brennan's ..and it is a good meal)

Cons
- We spend more money on food
-We are spending more time shopping ( this may get better as we get better at knowing where to buy what)


Photo source: Vermont Valley Farm ( our CSA)

Going car free

For one day at least....

Wednesday, September 22 is World Car Free Day.

This year our family will bike, walk, or ride the bus to work, school, and soccer. I am taking an art class and I picked the one that is walking distance from our house(my class starts Wed night)

There is a great event planned for those of you in Madison. EnAct and Community Car are hosting a walk around the capitol with Mayor Dave on September 22nd from 5-6:30pm. They will raffle off FREE alternative transportiaton prizes- one of which is a Voyageur GS bike courtesy of Williamson Bicycles.

If you can't go car free on Wednesday...what would car lite look like?

Thank you!!

We got rained on twice but otherwise it was a fine day to ride!


Thank you to: Kyle, Sarah, Trudy, Jaime, Nancy, Jill, Connie and Bill, Pamela, Erica, Dave, Mary, and Brett. And special thanks to Beth Albright and Family.

If you look at the fine print you will notice that Beth was THE top sponsor for the whole event and she chose to sponsor our team!! ( did I mention she's my sister and has been my top sponsor my whole life ( except maybe when we were teens))

And we were listed in the Top Riders. We raised $405 and won a gift card to Whole Foods! (the boys were quite pleased with this!)

It was an honor to ride representing our sponsors and to support the WI League of Conservation Voters. If we want to impact climate change we will need legislators willing to pass policies that put the environment first.

PS: Nate says next year he is riding the 25 mile route! Stay Tuned!

A Favorite New Tradition

Our annual Harvest Potluck is a favorite of mine.


We invite families from our neighborhood and the only "rule" is to bring local food. Highlights: pizza with local toppings from Vermont Valley farm, Pear Tart ( pears from Mary's back yard, sweetened with honey from Karen's bees), homemade salsa, cantaloupe from the farmer's market, and sweet corn from a local farm (may be the last of the sweet corn. Good food and good company= a great combination!

We did it!

We reached ( actually passed) our fund raising goal. We are now at $310 and will get our name listed on the banner!!

Many thanks to those who have sponsored us: Sarah, Kyle,Trudy, Jaime, Hildebrands, Erica, Pamela and Nancy. And special thanks to our biggest sponsor: Beth Albright and family ( my sister!) Her $100 pledge put us over the top!

You can still ride with us on Sunday. Register to ride!
And you can still sponsor us!

More than halfway there

One week and $100 left to reach our goal! Thanks to Kyle, Sarah, Connie and Bill Hildebrand, Jaime, Trudy and Erica we have already raised $155!

Next Sunday we will ride 10 miles to support the work of the WI League of Conservation Voters. We are raising money and riding because we believe it is critical to elect legislators who are committed to putting environmental concerns at the top of the list.

There is still time to join us in riding...or support us in reaching our goal of $250! ( we are registered as Swanson/Nesslar)

Here's to a greener Wisconsin!

We need your help

We are riding in the Election Cycle, a fund raiser for the WI League of Conservation Voters.

Although we have made a commitment to change our lifestyle to live as sustainably as possible..ultimately we will need policy change if we hope to make the big changes that we need to sustain life on our planet. We need legislators who put the environment at the top of the list and are willing to make some tough choices.

Our action: support an organization with a track record of environmental policy change.

How: we are riding as a family on September 17. Our fund-raising goal is $250!
( We already have $50..thank you Kyle and Sarah!
What you can do: register and ride with us...or support us. You can donate online ( our team name is Nesslar/Swanson) or if you want to write a check ..send me an email or post your email in the comment space below.

Harvest from the Farm

We woke to a white world this morning...our first big snow. To say official goodbye to fall, I've pulled out my photos from our last harvest at the Farm.

As part of our commitment to eating local, I went to the farm (Vermont Valley)to pick basil and tomatoes.

With the tomatoes I tried canning: our famous Nell's chili sauce, spagetti sauce from Animal Vegetable Miracle and salsa ( which Mark has decided adds just the right heat for football chili)

I made the basil into pesto which we freeze in spoonfuls on cookie sheets and then store in plastic bags. Pesto with corn is one of our favorite winter dishes.