You're not weirdly obsessed if you commission a painting of your pet. You're stylish.
By Linda Merrill, Networx

Several years ago, I had a design client who owned eight rescue cats and two large Labrador retrievers. One of the rooms I decorated included a large formal portrait of the two dogs sitting side by side. Since the painting held so much meaning for her, it became the focal point of the space off of which all other items were set. In the painting, the dogs were sober and composed - which was not at all how they behaved in real life. The experience led me to investigate who paints dog portraits, and who buys them.

Christine Merrill (no relation to me) is a world-renowned artist whose work is represented by the William Secord Gallery in New York City. She has specialized in pet portraits since 1975. Dogs comprise about 99.99% of her commissions, with the majority being Cavalier King Charles Spaniels as well as Westies, Pugs and specialty breeds, aka "one-of-a-kind designer dogs".

Other pet portrait artists experience generally the same level of

So many uses!
By Sayward Rebhal, Networx

I'm a pretty progressive gal. I make "Socially Conscious, Totally Fabulous" my mantra, and I've got my green routine down to a science. Mostly.

My kitchen and home are practically plastic-free. I buy my beans, grains, sugars, flours, oils, vinegars, syrups, and anything else I can, in bulk to save on packaging. I've eliminated toxic cleaners and I make my own beauty products. For the most part, I'm about as low-waste as a girl can get.

However. There's one piece of the plastic puzzle that I've found as-of-yet unavoidable. Pill bottles! My vitamins and supplements and over-the-counter medications and, on rare occasions, prescriptions. You can't buy vegan vitamin K2 in bulk (yet!), and you can't bring your own glass jar to the pharmacist (yet!). And so I end up with a stash of empty plastic bottles.

Maybe you do, too. Some of these can be recycled (check into your city's program) and some of them cannot. But what about re-using? You can put those

By Sayward Rebhal, Networx

For the longest time I was in the "anti-Valentine" camp. "It's such a silly Hallmark holiday", I would say. I was also a Christmas Grinch and I've been known to throw zombie parties for Easter. So rebellious, right? But, well, maybe I've gone soft in my old age. Because somewhere along the line, I came to this conclusion: Being a grown-up is already so serious! Any reason to celebrate is a good enough reason for me.

And so now I embrace all the holidays. Even the most random ones, and even the very cheesiest ones. Arbor Day? I'm on it! Solstice parade? Sign me up! St Patty's? Get me a green microbrew! And Valentine's Day, in all of its roses and chocolates and pink-painted splendor. I like to take these traditional holidays and turn them on their heads,reclaim them (if you will) and morph them into my own. Which means: GREEN MAKEOVER! Here are 10 eco-fabulous Valentine's Day gifts:

1. Fair Trade Chocolate

Dagoba Chocolate is fair trade chocolate. We'll take it!

Dagoba Chocolate is fair trade chocolate.

Whose responsibility is this?
Granted, snow removal usually isn't something to write The Ethicist about, but like any outdoor activity that impacts the public and your neighbors, there are legitimate questions of etiquette and propriety at stake. Not surprisingly, there also might be some laws that can make these decisions for you. The basics of snow removal apply pretty much equally whether you're moving snow with a cheap plastic shovel or a two-stage snow blower, but if you're in the latter group, there are a few additional matters of conduct to consider in this timeless annual ritual.

Snow blowing Etiquette

Model conduct with a snow blower is pretty commonsense stuff: Don't throw your snow onto your neighbors' property (especially the driveway or walkways), try not to fire up the noisy beast at the crack of dawn or late at night (although this can't be avoided sometimes) and, if your neighbors aren't as able-bodied as you, it might be nice to offer to clear their driveway (or at least their sidewalk)

Aloe vera has so many uses!

I was raised in southern California, where it's standard practice to keep a sun-loving aloe plant on any and every premises - in a pretty planter in the window, potted in terra cotta on the patio, or planted directly into the ground. The spiky succulent is ubiquitous there - as commonplace to San Diego gardeners as designer sunglasses are to fashionable Angelenos.

Many of my childhood memories - creek-side picnics in the park at the start of mosquito season, beach days playing in salty surf that washed the sunscreen from young faces too excited to stop and re-apply, evenings on the deck with the barbecue that always seemed to result in an inevitable finger in the flames - these are the memories that all end with the same sentence: "Honey, will you run grab a piece of aloe from out back?"

Aloe vera, that hippie cure-all, saved us from bug bites and sunburns and fire burns and skateboarding scrapes and surfing sand-rash and everything else that comes with being young and

Giant pumpkins at the National Heirloom Expo

By Jordan Laio, Networx

I had the great pleasure of attending the first annual National Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa, CA this past year. There were thousands of varieties of heirloom fruits and vegetables, but some of the biggest attention-grabbers were the giant pumpkins. With the smallest weighing in at a few hundred pounds, those giant pumpkins were a sight to behold. Did you know you can grow giant pumpkins and other giant vegetables at home?

Lest you think the pumpkins are huge because of some special fertilizer or mineral treatment, giant vegetables, like other jumbo crops, just have giant genes. A good indicator of these crops is the word "giant" in their name (like the giant pumpkin and giant flat Dutch cabbage, see below). If you want to be the envy of everyone at your community garden this year, give these oversized crops a try.

While not all these varieties are as dramatic in their size as the giant pumpkin, they are extraordinary in their categories.

Eddie's Wheels
By Cris Carl, Networx

If your dog has become injured or is experiencing a disability that affects his ability to walk, Eddie's Wheels has the answer.

Eddie Grinnell, owner of Eddie's Wheels, is a mechanical engineer by trade. After his companion Doberman, Buddha, was injured and became partially paralyzed in 1989, Grinnell (finding no other help available) invented his first attachable cart for his dog. Since then, Eddie's Wheel's has grown to manufacture carts, harnesses, and wheelchairs for dogs, which are used worldwide.

I had the opportunity to meet a few of Eddie Grinnell's dogs at his home in Shelburne, MA, all of whom have paralysis or loss of either their front or hind legs - and all of whom were energetic, healthy, and happy to trot around with their carts attached. Eddie and his wife Leslie, who has been working with disabled dogs for over 20 years, explained the modifications you might need in your home to accommodate a disabled dog.

Modifying Doorways for a

Photo Ann Bingley Gallops of Open Spaces Feng Shui

By Ann Bingley Gallops, Networx

When you create a bathroom with good Feng Shui, you enhance and improve your life in important ways.

In fact bathrooms are a major topic in Feng Shui. As a Feng Shui consultant I've found that some of the biggest challenges my clients face are connected to the bathroom: where it's located, how it's furnished and decorated, and how it feels to spend time there.

The bathroom has special significance in Feng Shui because this is where you clean yourself, inside and out. Here you flush away internal toxins while cleansing and caring for your external self. In the bathroom you have a most intimate relationship with your body so it is excellent Feng Shui to feel supported and nourished there.

In ancient China, where Feng Shui originated, bathrooms were located outside the confines of the home because they were so difficult to keep truly clean. But nowadays we have modern plumbing contractors and bathroom fixtures. It's much easier now