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Spring and Gardening in the Tri-Valley Go Hand in Hand

I can feel it; we’re getting so close. Last week’s warm weather in San Ramon and the rest of the Tri-Valley stirred the gardener in me.  Not personally knowing me, most folks would assume I am not the gardening type.  Upon closer inspection, pruning my bushes, digging in the dirt and helping the garden and plants in my yard to thrive is a hobby, if not a secret thrill, of mine.  Along with home construction and renovation, I rank gardening as a top stress reliever for me.  So, as the cold, crispy hold winter has on our lives starts to thaw, my green thumb starts to itch.  Spring is on the way - let the gardening begin!

A few years back, my family and I started a vegetable garden project.  We have just a wee bit of space in our backyard where we plant vegetables and herbs.  The kids get a kick out of it, and my wife loves to use the “fruit” of our labors in her cooking.  We’ve come to realize that our tiny garden (and our novice gardening skills) really delivers in a few varieties, but is not so stellar at more.  We can do tomatoes, peppers and herbs successfully, and unfortunately not much else.  So, in preparation for this year’s crop, Read more

Techniques to reduce indoor air pollution

We all spend a lot of time indoors, whether it is in our own Tri-Valley homes or at our place of business.  Most people don’t realize that often the air inside our home could be more of a problem that the air we are breathing outdoors.  This is especially true during the winter time when opening your windows becomes more of an infrequent event.

An article by Consumer Reports magazine, goes on to list a variety of sources that cause indoor air pollution and ways to reduce their negative impact. I have listed some of those below from the article.

Problem Sources:

• The fireplace
• Air fresheners
• A shedding cat or dog
• Dusty furniture
• Aerosol spray
• Dust mites in bedding
• A poorly ventilated kitchen range

Solutions:

• To discourage dust mites, encase your pillows, mattresses, and box springs in dust-mite-proof covers. Wash very dirty or dusty laundry in the hottest water.
• Ventilate - Cooking, cleaning, using hair spray, and polishing your nails can release volatile organic compounds that are linked to a variety of health problems. Use exhaust hoods or fans in the kitchen and bathroom to reduce your exposure and minimize humidity that can cause mold and mildew. Before you use your fireplace, make sure the flue damper is wide open. Poor ventilation can allow pollutants to stay in the air.
• Eliminate Odors - Find the source of bad smells and clean it up. Using a box of baking soda in the area instead of air fresheners makes more sense.  Air fresheners cost more and can contain VOCs and phthalates.
• Clean Effectively - Because dust can harbor pollen, pet dander, bacteria, mites, mold, and mildew, dust furnishings regularly with a damp rag or an electrostatically charged duster. Vacuum often.
• Control Pets and Critters - Seal cracks and crevices and put food away. You’ll be less apt to attract pests and need to use pesticides. To minimize your exposure to pet dander, don’t allow pets to hang around slleping areas and on furniture.

Get Tri-Valley Kids Involved on President’s Day

This coming Monday is Presidents Day, also known as Washington’s Birthday.  It is interesting to learn about the history behind why multiple names exist for this holiday.  The official federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of February. My wife was thinking about some ways to ramp up our celebration of this day with our kinder and third-grader, making this day more than just a day off of school for them.  I thought I would share a few of her ideas:

• Bake a cake together for Washington’s Birthday. She was thinking of a box cake mix with an American flag in frosting and just possibly berries or sprinkles, but check out this blog’s intense listing of presidentially-inspired desserts.
• Visit the Whitehouse’s site for kids. This is an informative site with loads of information. Her best bets for kid appeal are the following: the White House/Presidents, the White House/First Ladies, Photos & Videos (especially Photo Galleries (there’s a real cute one of Bo in the snow!), and the White House/Air Force One.
• Peruse the website for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, especially under the Learn tab. There are some very cool facts and photos for the kids to view, as well as just plain fun games and puzzles under Washington’s World for Kids.

Values in the Tri-Valley – Kids Eat Free

With economic times as they are in the Tri-Valley, it’s important to stretch every dollar. One easy way to do this is to find restaurants where, on certain days, kids can eat for free.  This hit home recently when a Golden family dinner check at Marie Callendar’s in San Ramon was way less because of their Kids Eat Free deal.  It’s a super concept, and with kids’ meals around $5, it can really add up!

I thought it might be helpful to research some of the restaurants in the Tri-Valley that offer Kids Eat Free deals.  To do this, I went online and found that there are whole websites devoted to Kids Eat Free finding.  You can just plug in your zip code or choose a city near you and the website displays Kids Eat Free deals based on your search. A lot of these deals are marketed via word of mouth, so it can be a hunt of sorts to discover them.

At the time of writing this article, the restaurants that I discovered offering Kids Eat Free deals around the Tri-Valley are: Carrows in Dublin (Wednesday & Thursday (4PM-Close)), Chevy’s  in San Ramon, Pleasanton and Livermore (Tuesday), Denny’s in Danville and Pleasanton (Tuesday and Saturday (5PM-10PM)), IHOP in Dublin (Tuesday & Thursday (4PM-9PM)), Marie Callendar’s in San Ramon (Tuesday & Saturday), Izzy’s Steaks and Chops in San Ramon (Sunday & Monday) and Pasta Pomodoro in San Ramon (Tuesday). For all of these restaurants, you must pay for an adult entrée to get a kid’s meal off of the Kids’ Menu for free (at Denny’s you can have up to two kids’ meals free per paid adult entrée). The Kids Eat Free deal age limit is usually based on the age of the restaurants’ Kids’ Menu and some restaurants have time frames etc., so, be sure to call ahead to confirm their Kids Eat Free deal is still on and to understand of all of its requirements and “fine print.”

Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Tri-Valley and the Bay Area Beyond

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is tomorrow. In addition to honoring this special man on this special day, what are you planning to do?  Your kids are home from school.  It’s the middle of winter. It’s prime time for museums and indoor fun in the Tri-Valley and beyond. 

Lucky thing is you’ve got some great choices for adventure near and far.  Staying in the Tri-Valley - you could do Super Franks in Pleasanton, Campo di Bocce in Livermore, or Earl Anthony’s Dublin Bowl in Dublin. (All are open tomorrow)  Wandering a little further out, there’s always a trip to a museum - Lawrence Hall of Science or Chabot Space & Science Center are only thirty minutes or so away.  Looking for more of a drive, you could venture for a day to Sausalito and include the Bay Area Discovery Museum.

Here’s a list of some Bay Area museums that are open on Monday’s holiday:

• Lawrence Hall of Science, Open Daily 10AM-5PM (510) 642-5132
• Chabot Space & Science Center, Open 10AM-5PM on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (510) 336-7300
• Habitot, Open 9:30-4:30PM, BONUS! - Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration (510) 647-1111
• Bay Area Discovery Museum, Open 9AM-4PM, BONUS! - Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration (415) 339-3900
• Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, Open 10AM-4PM, BONUS! - Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration (408) 298-5437

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