The EcoDad blog is here! Check it out!

I'll be the first to admit I rarely know what in the hell I am doing. While I am highly educated in terms of traditional schooling, my knowledge of many aspects of my life has been largely through trial and error.

I have no formal training as a chef and yet years ago I owned and operated a plant based (we called it "vegan" at the time!) wholesale food company and then, eventually an upscale vegan restaurant. I learned to cook nearly the same time I became a vegan back in the early 1990s - out of necessity. There weren't the abundance of vegan options that exist today both for dining in restaurants or items in the grocery store. People pretty much thought you were a freak and gave rude or questioning looks at the time when you asked for something to be made vegan. And so I learned to prepare and cook for a plant based diet many years ago and have continued cooking since. Today, the options are abundant and amazing and just when I think the market can't get any larger, or that there is any product left to be created, sure enough something else wonderful comes along.

Likewise, I had no training in home improvement or gardening but just began working to fix up places I lived in years ago, taking on small projects that eventually became larger. I take pride in working with my hands - I find it relaxing and enjoyable to create something organic that you can touch and form. And there is an undeniable connection to the Earth we experience when our hands are in the soil, working on growing the food that will sustain and enrich our lives.

And when it came to kids, like everyone who hasn't been a parent before, it was a quick learning curve. And it seems each new day brings new joys and challenges as they rapidly grow up.

My goal with this blog is to document the journey I am taking in trying to live a sustainable life and teaching my kids about the world, about justice and the need to advocate for it, about being kind to others and loving life and the planet. Again, I don't profess to know all or more than anyone. Maybe on these pages we can inspire each other, learn from one another, become closer as a community, and hell, maybe make the world just a little bit better.