Outdoor Shower Design Book

Ok, I’m a little obsessed with outdoor showers right now. I mentioned a couple of fine showers you can buy from Amazon in a previous post on showering in your backyard. And now this nice little shower design book has come to my attention to help you design and build your own outdoor shower.

I had no idea that outdoor showers are becoming the hot new luxury item. I just know that my significant-other has a soft spot for them because as a kid she would visit their family’s homestead shack out in the Mojave desert and use an outdoor shower. Years later we visited Costanoa, a luxury fake camping resort where you sleep in tent cabins under electric blankets and use shared camp style deluxe bath facilities. The bath house floors are heated with radiant heat and you can shower (in private stalls) under the open sky. And now we are renovating our decrepit bathroom with that style in mind. Most of all I just remember as a kid, some of my favorite times were coming home covered in dirt, mud or sand so that I needed to be hosed off outside. Now I just need the time and energy to build a shower to make it more fun.

Beware– I’ve found that you may need a permit to build an outdoor shower. My plumber warned me that in Santa Monica (where we have a lot of very good strict building requirements) it is technically illegal to build a shower without proper drainage and permits. I need to find more info, but this action by the City Council points out that outdoor showers are really supposed to be used for recreational purposes like if there is a pool or sauna. But it shouldn’t serve as the primary shower for a granny flat. Who knew it was so complicated to hose off in your own yard? You have to admit though, it is important to keep untreated water out of our ocean! It is contaminated enough. So get your permits!

Anyway, this shower design book has received some nice reviews and I’ve got to order mine.

3 comments July 17th, 2007

Best Books for Toddlers, Babies + Young Kids

One of the best parts about being a parent is reading lots of great books with your kids. (Hey, it is all you get when you don’t have time to read adult books any more). We love getting tons of library books, but when kids are really small, they drool, rip and gum everything to death, so that is really not an option. And some books are so great you really should own them.

So here is a list of the very Best Books for Toddlers, Babies + Young Kids that we enjoyed with our kids. We include board books for babies and young kids and move into a few books that we found helpful when we were starting to introduce our girls to reading. There are quite a few pretty mainstream choices here and a few quirky ones to help your child develop an unusual mind.

Add comment July 10th, 2007

Top 10 Toys + Gifts for Toddlers + Young Kids

Raising our twins, we had the opportunity to test out a lot of toys, in the field, in real time and under duress. We also really dislike disposable plastic toys and look for durable natural toys that will be well used. So here is the Quixo list of Top 10 Toys and Gifts for Toddlers and Young Kids.

And boy do I hate Top 10 lists. So I just had to make one. So of course I broke all the rules. Yea, there are 11, maybe more if you really get picky. And rather than pick individual items, I include my favorite toy brands instead of individual toys.

Worse yet, you’ll find trucks recommended for girls and dolls for boys. And rabid almost- sacrilegious criticism of Baby Einstein products. Look out!

(Also check the new Best Books for Toddlers, Babies and Young Kids page.)

3 comments July 10th, 2007

Thermal Coffee Maker?! No Duh. — I Found it on Amazon

Well, no duh. Make the coffee into a thermal pot so it doesn’t burn. Man, do I hate burnt coffee. And my got-it-on-sale-because-it-is-bright-yellow coffee maker has to be turned off after the first cup is poured or all is lost. Cold coffee is just a tiny bit better than burnt coffee…. Get Al Gore on it — it will save electricity too. This Braun KF600 Stainless Steel number is pretty tasty. (Yea it would make a good Father’s Day gift. But I’m holding out for a Proo If I Ran the Zoo Dr Seuss novelty tie.)

1 comment May 30th, 2007

Dog Solar Landscape Light Statue – I found it on Amazon

Solar landscape light is such an amazing innovation. Easy to install, eco-friendly and, as of this season, it is finally quite affordable. At last an environmentallyi friendly product that sells itself not because it is green, but because we are all lazy and it is easier than wired products.

Well, now that solar landscape lights have hit the big time, thoughtful product developers are taking the technology and making sophisticated decorative items that all modern households should have. For instance, take the Golden Retriever Dog Solar Landscape Light Statue. So life-like you’d swear an actual minature golden retriever was holding a lantern in your yard. One of a kind and available now from the good people at Winning Gifts, care of Amazon. I would suggest you buy it as a gift, but, as usual when gifting, how can you help but get one for yourself too?

1 comment May 9th, 2007