KISMIF This Halloween

KISMIF:

Keep It Simple, Make It Fun! Let this be your Halloween motto.

Just because we try and make Halloween night safe and nutritious, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. The costumes, the party, and your own antics help make it fun. In fact, kids like to see parents lighten up and act like kids again. As long as you weave in safety rules with fun, children both accept it and expect it. Consider these safety issues:

• Masks and hoods can obscure the view of oncoming traffic, and in the midst of all the excitement your impulsive little ghosts and goblins may not be as attentive as they should be to what’s going on around them. Insist on the pack staying together. Don’t allow children to wonder off on their own to various houses or rush on ahead.

• Be vigilant when crossing streets in neighborhoods. Children must travel with buddies, older friends, or parents. If you’re the designated adult trick-or-treater, why not dress up and have fun? Older trick-or-treaters may be more inclined to accept a chaperon who’s dressed for the occasion.

• Walk on sidewalks instead of the street.

• Stand outside the home that your child visits. If your children are invited inside the house, go with them.

• Bring a flashlight.

• Give your child a cell phone, if possible.

• Use reflective tape on costumes if they’re walking along dark streets.

• Wear comfortable shoes.

• Costumes should not be so long that children can trip on them.

• Make sure masks are easy to see and breathe through.

• Teach burn protection: tell children not to touch flaming jack-o-lanterns. If possible, use flame-retardant costumes and review the stop-drop-roll burn prevention with your child in case the costume catches fire.

•  Use non-toxic face paints.

Source:  Tips from Dr. Sears on how to Trick-or-Treat Safely.

ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.  Based on a Blog at WordPress.

(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland

Not So Ordinary Farms Around Portland

Tired of the usual tourist traps or the same places you keep visiting with your children?  Here are some out of the ordinary local farms to go to instead.  Your trips will be educational, I guarantee.

Rossee Possee Acres Elk Farm.  Working elk farm, petting zoo located in Molalla.  32690 South Mathias Road, Molalla, OR.  97038.  Check on hours before heading out.

The Willamette Egg Farm.  One of the leading producers of shell eggs and processed egg products in the Pacific Northwest.  Open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 10 a.m.  Located between Canby, Molalla and Woodburn.  Egg processing plant.  31348 S. Hwy 170, Canby, Oregon.  (503-651-0000).  Did the chicken come before the egg? Or..?

Magness Tree Farm.  An internationally recognized 80-acre demonstration forest and outdoor education site. Includes a large natural area, stream, 9 forest management zones, 2.5 miles of hiking trails, the historic “Clatskanie” fire tower, recreation field, picnic shelter and rustic log cabins for youth group camping, outdoor schools, and retreats. Open daily. Free to the public, a charge for group tours. Guided tours every Sunday at 2:00.

Alpenrose Dairy.  Portland’s popular kids’ attraction and working dairy since the nineteenth century. Florian Cadonau, who in 1891, owned a dairy farm near what is now Southwest Thirty-fifth and Vermont in the heart of West Portland.

Southern Oregon Souay Sheep Farm. British Soay sheep are being kept in the US as part of a global conservation effort to preserve this historical archive, with all of its diversity, as an undiluted genetic reservoir for the future.  Southern Oregon Soay Farms, P.O. Box 1382, Merlin, Oregon 97532 kathiem@soayfarms.com (541) 955-8171.

Oregon Oyster Farm.  Since 1907, the oldest oyster farm at the Oregon coast at Yaquina Bay.  Oysters in the Shell, Oyster Meat, Oyster Cocktails, Smoked Oysters, Steamer Clams, and More!  6878 Yaquina Bay Rd., Newport, Oregon 97365 (541) 265-5078.

Zenger Farm. A working urban farm promoting sustainable food practices, youth education, environmental stewardship, and community and economic development.  11741 S.E. Foster Road, Portland, Oregon  (503) 282-4245. 

Pholia Goat Farm. Farmstead handmade raw milk aged goat cheese.  Wine tasting, hay rides, baby goats, milking for the kids and cheese tasting.   Classes on cheesemaking too. 9115 W. Evans Creek Rd., Rogue River, Oreon 97537 (541) 582-2883).

© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.

(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).

17 Tips For a “Green” Halloween

Once Fall is here, it seems the year is almost over because the next several months seem to whizz past us so quickly. However, Halloween comes first and is just around the corner.  Since Monday’s are my “fun” day, here are some tricks and treats for you.  Also, check out some of my past posts:

• Halloween and Haunted Houses (2008)
• Fall Festivals and Events (2008)
• Pumpkin Patches (2008)
• All-Hollows Eve (2008)

There is lots of concern and talk these days about living “green” – reduce, reuse and recycle.  Therefore, to help make your Halloween green, here are some tips:

• Buy organic and local.  Visit one of the many pumpkin patches I wrote about last year on this blog.  After Halloween, break your pumpkins or gourds into pieces and place them in the woods or a field far away from your house to feed deer or other animals providing them with their own Halloween treat of seeds and pumpkin flesh. Or, dry the pumpkin seeds for the bird feeder.
• If you purchase bales of hay to decorate your porch, buy barley hay which can later be composted and used as mulch for your garden or flower beds.
• There have been dentists in our area who buy back unused candy to avoid trips later to their dentist. Or, Wheels on Meals and children’s charities appreciate donations of unused and unopened candy. You can also crush hard candy and use them as toppings on your Christmas cookie dough before baking or as dessert toppings.
• Reuse old clothes from around the house for costumes.  Here’s some tips for “green” costumes.  If you’re out of time and need a last minute costume, here are some ideas for eco-friendly costumes.
• Donate any costumes to children’s hospitals or any number of charities.
• Instead of purchasing a plastic container or plastic pumpkin to collect those goodies, craft a treat bag by sewing a drawstring on old pillowcases and let the kids decorate them with non-toxic markers or paints instead.  Or let the kids decorate brown paper bags you’ve recycled.
• Bake cupcakes without paper muffin cups or make other healthy snacks or treats and make your own goody bags with the kids and especially include Monster Toes!
• Use nature’s bounty for decorations utilizing Fall leaves, hay bales, corn stalks and more of the pumpkins,gourds and apples. Make old- fashioned candy apples as the treats. Help the kids make a scarecrow, or two.
• Craft –   Buy or make decorations that can be reused. There are many outlet stores locally where you can buy inexpensive items and decorate further for Halloween to make them look like something out of a magazine.
• Check out this website – Green Halloween - for more eco-friendly ideas.
• There’s an eco-friendly website that lists “green” crafts, projects for Halloween.
• Recycle items from around the house.  Use old milk bottles and use as luminaries to light your walkway or cut off the top and use as a plastic bucket for the treats.  Use egg cartons to create decorations like this bat.
• When buying treats, buy in bulk or products with limited packaging.  Or, better yet give non-food treats like funky pens or pencils.
• You can also reuse a brown paper bag by crafting items that can be reused later for other purposes like this grocery bag.
• Don’t litter with left-over candy wrappers, figure out a craft project to use up all the wrappers.  While in Hawaii last year, there was a cart in the local shopping mall that had purses and other accessories all made out of recycled candy wrappers, juice containers, etc. that they were selling.
• Walk, don’t drive to neighborhoods for trick-or-treating.  Better yet, have a masquerade party for the kids.
• Trade decorations or costumes with the neighbors or family.  Get more mileage out of what either you or they already have.

© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.

(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).

Oregon Ranks High In College Towns + The High Cost of An Education

There’s a question I’ve been asking myself for years and have never found or seen the answer.  Why do college books cost so much?

Having had a small book-seller business, I have sold new books and college books.  The cost of those books to the public is horrendous yet no one seems to question the high cost of those books.  Yet the wholesale cost isn’t nearly as high and in fact, only a fraction of what students and their parents are being charged.

Many college classes will be starting either this week or, in other parts of the country, have already started.  Over the Labor Day weekend I saw this post  in the NY Times discussing the high cost of a college education.  It still doesn’t specifically mention books, however. 

Tuition costs have gone in only one direction — up — during Mr. Weiss’s career. “I genuinely believe that we are at a crossroads here in higher education,” he said. “I think we have reached a ceiling that we’re beginning to bump into.”

In a recent report, Portland had a ranking of #9 for a mid-sized town and Corvallis ranked #7 as a small-town for being the best places to attend college.  Oregon has many fine colleges and universities and, as a parent, you might consider buying a home for those college kids to live in and use as a real estate investment while they are in attendance here. 

© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.

(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).

 

Donate Needed School Supplies – Oregon Schools

Unfortunately, many of our children won’t have the necessary supplies to assist them in school this year and help them succeed. There are several places that are accepting needed new school supplies.  If you know of other donation sites, please let me know and I will add them to this list.

SLEEP COUNTRY U.S.A.

For Washington and Oregon’s more than 26,000 foster kids, sometimes getting ahead in school can be hard, especially without even the basic supplies. To help these children succeed, Sleep Country USA is collecting donations of new schools supplies for local foster kids. Contributions can be dropped off at any Sleep Country USA store and will be distributed among 20 Pacific Northwest foster care organizations.

Donations will be accepted at any Sleep Country USA store. Bring new school supplies including pencils, pens, erasers, calculators, paper, backpacks, binders and pocket dictionaries. For more information on the location of the nearest store, please use the Sleep Country store locator at http://www.sleepcountry.com or call 1-888-88-SLEEP. The store hours are M-F 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

KGW.com

Did you know almost 1 in 2 children start the school year off without the supplies needed to succeed in class?

Help support the KGW School Supply Drive by donating cash or supplies now through Labor Day. Our goal is to send more than 5000 children back to school with basic school supplies they otherwise couldn’t afford.
Help make a difference!

Pioneer Courthouse Square
Thursday, August 6th 11:30am-1:30pm

ENJOY GREAT MUSIC, WIN PRIZES, AND DROP OFF A DONATION OF CASH OR SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

Project Start Right

Sponsored by area churches in partnership with http://www.clackamasloveinc.org and the Oregon Department of Human Services.  Cash or donated school supplies accepted.  Check their website for the supply list.

Here’s part of a recent email I received:

Friends of the Children

To make it easy for you to purchase school supplies, I’ve created a link pairing Office Depot and Friends of the Children. Just click on this link and then click on the shopping cart to land on the Office Depot Website, where you can purchase supplies for us (or for your own use). You can have our supplies shipped directly to our offices at 44 NE Morris, Portland, OR 97212-3015.

Friends of the Children benefits from the supplies, and from the earnings – for a limited time, we will earn 6% of the total purchase costs on school supplies only (excluding shipping and tax) for all the supplies purchased through this link. (Please be aware that Office Depot offers other products, and while we earn on the other products, the 6% earning only applies to school supplies.)

We hope you take advantage of this shopping opportunity – and that you take some time to explore our profile on CafeGive.com.

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Last year I wrote a post on the supply lists for all the schools throughout metro Portland.  Click here to check on your school for your childrens’ school supply list.

© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. Based on a Blog at WordPress.

(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).