The iPad mini is great to have in the kitchen. Is that the cover for the next issue of FOODQUARTERLY?

I am not perfect and don’t plan to be anytime soon.  I buy to much when I should do with less and I always seem to waste more then I think I should.

I try to do better.

I compost because I have a garden, I use glass cups instead of plastic, I don’t do tupperware,  and my kids use real plates and glass (in 6 years I can count the broken dishes on one hand) and we are trying to go paperless.

As an old dog I understand my bad habits will probably not change, at least not much.  I may become resolute for a week or two about some sort of waste and how we as a family should do better.  Then it seems we slip back into our old routines.  But we have made permanent changes.

One of those changes is to reuse or re-purpose as much as we can.  I got an iPad mini for Christmas.  I have so many charging cords already that a docking station seems pointless but I knew I needed something to keep it off the counter.  After all,  I plan to use it for iBook cookbooks and recipes and didn’t want it easily ruined when drenched by the first spill.

I went to the garage and luckily, in a light bulb moment, I spotted an old round wood cutting board.  It was perfect.  I got out the saw and cut off the end.  Then I cut a slot wide enough for the iPad to fit with a little wiggle room so it would angle back for better reading and, voilá, I have a stand.  It works so good I made three more and have them in different places around the house.

If you are handy, or someone in the family is, you can knock these out in minutes with a saw.

The wonderful thing is, since it is made from a wood cutting board, it fits in nicely with the decor of our house.