Another Shopping Update

While still frustrating, finding American-made Christmas presents gets slightly easier when I branch out from children's clothes to children's toys. Slightly.

Turns out classic toys like the Slinky and Silly Putty are still made in America. America still makes your basic deck of cards. Certain I Spy and Doctor Suess books were produced here. And organic Play Clay and assorted activity kits can be found here.

For a list that includes wooden blocks, plastic trucks, fairy costumes, stuffed toys etc, check this out: http://toysmadeinamerica.com/

I can afford to spend weeks searching for a single gift for a child that was produced in America. Somehow, I doubt that many middle/working class parents have the time, energy, or extra cash. I suppose that's why the Walmart parking lot is always full.

Shopping Update

My made-in-America Christmas shopping is half over. I just ordered two children's outfits at CWDKids. Not all of their products are American made; there's a specific searchable section.

I am finding it so difficult to find children's clothes that I may stray to other sorts of gifts for the rest of my list. It's disappointing that it could be this hard to find Christmas presents that are made in America.

My search continues. Suggestions are welcome.

A suggestion to share: http://www.toysmadeinamerica.com/clothes.html

Politically Correct Christmas Shopping

Well, I have painted myself into a corner this year. Having slept through the first two weeks of the shopping season following some minor surgery and major painkillers (I'm doing fine now), I am behind in my Christmas shopping.

As of last year, I've been committed to buying American. As I only shop for children, this generally means kids clothing which is nearly impossible to find. America seems to make socks, underwear, scarves and t-shirts. Last year, I was rescued by Etsy.com, a site where you can find hand made gifts by artisans in this country.

I am not sure I have time to sort through the site's inventory or to make a purchase with enough lead time for it to be hand-made and ship by Christmas. I do still recommend the site - but I am looking elsewhere.

And in some of my searches for American-made products, I have found sites that brag of an incarcerated work force, right here on our shores! Even if I was okay with getting cheap labor from prison inmates, this is definitely a bad trend for the American worker. Forcing them to compete with cheap labor from American prisons is no better than forcing them to compete with cheap labor overseas.

So. I found this website that rates companies based on, in part, it's treatment of workers. I'm hoping to find what I'm looking for here. Until I do, I thought I'd share: http://www.free2work.org/

Book Review: The Condition

I took this book with me to Hawaii even though the hard cover version took up most of my carry-on space. Luckily, I was not disappointed. This is the best book I've read all year.

One of the most remarkable things about this book is how completely I fell in love with each character. In fact, while reading a chapter from the daughter's perspective, I could see her mother as a villain and still fall in love with the mother in the following chapter from her perspective. Somehow, I was able to see both sides without feeling inconsistent.

This was exactly the kind of book I like to read and it managed to be very easy to relate to in spite of what may seem like a too-specific story-line. The weird thing is that I sometimes felt like I was reading about my own family, even though absolutely none of the external details are the same. It's the feeling she captures so brilliantly.

I am especially excited that I found a new (to me) author whose books I can now devour!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that time of year again. Hard to believe I've been doing this  blog for over a year now. Last Thanksgiving, I was camped out at my parents' place, waiting for the sale to close on my house in Tucson. This year, the parents are at my house for turkey dinner!

For me, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Christmas shopping season, but I do not participate in Black Friday and I am definitely not a fan of stores open today that deprive workers of a holiday to satisfy America's ever-growing consumerism.

So I will be trying to buy American again this year. If you remember from last year, I found this to be a much bigger challenge than I expected. I still only do gifts for children (well, if the boyfriend is lucky, maybe I'll branch out.) And I expect to find myself back at etsy.com, where you can buy handmade gifts from artists around the country.

I will share my finds and I'd love any suggestions you have.

Book Review: A Friend of the Family

As Lauren Grodstein's novel opens, the narrator is lost. Pete is living in the studio above his garage while his wife contemplates divorce and his estranged son appears to be finished with him. His medical practice has disowned him as a malpractice case looms. He's being harrassed by the family of a former patient and he's avoiding phone calls from his best friend.

It takes the majority of the book to get to the root of this mystery and the quantity of back story does seem tedious at times. But on the whole, the narrative is rich and complex and I was willing to lose myself in it. None of the characters is wholly likeable, especially the narrator who is controlling of his adult son Alec and admits that he'd rather have grandchildren than a happy child. The least likeable character is Laura, the troubled daughter of Pete's friend who woos Alec, to Pete's horror. Laura is an excellent villain and as flawed as Pete is, he's the only one who recognizes the real danger she poses.

A Friend of the Family is morally complicated. The simplicity of Pete's "right is right, wrong is wrong" mentality is challenged and it challenges the reader. The conclusion is not neat and happy- and it shouldn't be.

Vacation!

We timed our trip north just right. While we were in Flagstaff, we had mornings in the 40s and sunny days in the 70s. At the Grand Canyon, it was low 90s and beautiful. We went the first week of October, right before the cold snap.

It was my first time seeing the Grand Canyon and it lived up to my expectations.

The prettiest thing we saw was Spider Rock at Canyon de Chelly.

We crammed a whole lot in, swinging past the Petrified Forest before we went home.