This has been an incredibly busy summer. I started a new/second community garden plot back in the spring. Those of you who subscribe to this blog received a post back in the spring highlighting the sweat equity my mother and I put into the garden plot. I promised an update and here it is. […]
sustainable living
They need us. Environmentalists save the world.
It seems to me that the planet destroyers, need us, the environmental realists, to save them from themselves. If it wasn’t for us tree huggers, the air would be too foul to breathe, the water too polluted to drink, and the soil too depleted to grow food. Humanity would be extinct. We would take many […]
Sustainability and Cottage Garden Life
I have studied cottage garden life since I was about twelve years old. I fell in love with an image of a cottage with a wildflower-filled garden on a box of chocolates my Grandmother Wilhemina gave to me. I learned much later that the image was “The Clothes Basket” by the British painter Helen […]
Seasonal Autumn Foods for Sustainable Living
Autumn is the time of the richest bounty. The food that has been growing all summer is ready for harvest. Through the late summer into autumn, now is the time to buy enough food at farmers’ markets to put by for winter when less fresh food is available. I like to make jam and preserves […]
Seasonal Foods for Summer
Summer foods are fresh and simple. It is easy to eat whole healthy foods from local growers with farmer’s markets nearby. In Philadelphia, we have farmer’s markets all over the city. The markets include produce grown and sold by the actual growers. We have several farmers here in the city with csa (community-supported agriculture) programs. […]
Seasonal Foods for Spring
Late winter and early spring can be a hard, hungry time. Winter stores of food are dwindling and gardeners have not start to produce fresh food, yet. Before modern supermarkets, shipping food long distances and freezers, this time of year would have bought empty stomachs. The full Moon of February was called the, ‘Full […]
Seasonal Winter Foods for Sustainable Living
Living In Season means living in harmony and balance. Eating food in season helps to accomplish that goal. I created this chart of seasonal winter foods including vegetables, fruits, nuts, meat and fish to help me eat seasonally and locally. I decided to share it with you because I couldn’t find a comprehensive chart on the […]
Paris Lessons: Versailles, the Ultimate McMansion
You hear about Versailles, but when you stand looking up at the gold leafed exterior (fake today, real in the 1600s), the ceilings covered with masterpieces and the sheer size of the place, you can understand why the French Revolution happened. In 1661, Louis XIV began the fifty year process of having one of […]
Paris Lessons: Public Gardens and City Life
One of the best things about living in the 6th arrondissement, is the Luxembourg Gardens. The Luxembourg Gardens were a ten-minute walk from the small boutique hotel we stayed in. For several afternoons, we ended our action-packed days lounging on comfortable park benches. The park was full of Parisians of various ages enjoying the sun, […]
Paris Lessons: Street Trees and Strolling in the Shade
Paris is hailed as a walkable city, as is Philadelphia. What makes a city walkable are sidewalks, clearly marked areas for pedestrians to cross streets and plenty of traffic lights and directional signs. Where Paris excels and Philadelphia does not is shade trees. When Louis XIV focused on making the city beautiful, he and his advisors […]