Supermarkets have become strangely fantastical places where fruits and vegetables are always in season and always available. Unfortunately, the fruits and vegetables are rarely truly fresh and the varieties have become very uniform across the nation. Of course, fruits can't be picked when they're fully ripe if they must be shipped hundreds or thousands of miles. Many heirloom vegetables, especially tomatoes, don't ship well at all, so the supermarkets only stock the types that can withstand early picking and long-distance trucking.

How is it that so many people want water from their beer from a tap, but they want their water to come in a bottle? Well, folks who know and love beer extol the quality and flavor that comes from a keg rather than a bottle. I'll talk about beer another day, but interestingly enough, water from the tap also has advantages over water from a bottle. Water from a municipal tap is tested more often and more extensively, it is from nearby source(s), uses no packaging and is radically cheaper than water from a bottle.

WalkScore.com is a new website that can help you answer the question "How walkable is your house?" We make all kinds of decisions when we pick a place to live. The usual list of questions for a new house or apartment center around closet space, number of bedrooms and baths, a garage or car port and a gas or electric range. One question that can get left out is, can you walk there?

I'm a bit of a cycling fan. Not fully over the edge, mind you, but I'm enthusiastic about bikes. I know that biking is inexpensive, great exercise and one of the most fun ways to get around. But not everyone I know is completely sold on the idea of bikes as a form of transportation. Here's a look at ways to make cycling a practical mode of transportation.

Pick your bike:

This idea is so simple that it didn't occur to me until I moved in to my current house. I had used a clothes dryer for years out of habit and inertia until I moved into a home with a clothes line. After buying a package of clothes pins I was ready to dry my clothing the simplest, cheapest and best way I have found yet. Of course, my grandmother has been drying clothes on the line since before I was born, but some things are rediscovered by each generation.

The advantages to line drying clothing are straightforward and numerous.

We all know how important eating fresh greens is, but those bags of "mixed greens" in the grocery store can be a bit pricey. Well, of course you can grow your own salad greens, but sometimes nature provides fresh greens in unexpected places. For instance, your front lawn.

If you are still thinking about making the switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs from the old and inefficient incandescent light bulbs, here are some answers that could make the change a little easier.

GE Lighting Compact Fluorescent FAQ

The Frequently Asked Questions from G.E. discusses everything from use of CFL's in dimmer and 3-way switches, electronic interference, mercury and proper disposal of CFL's, and energy efficiency.