How to Save Your Summer Bounty

Whenever I get around to growing an edible garden, I might need this book.

Jack's Wish List

For Christmas, Jack wants the dog-friendly CD, "Songs to Make Dogs Happy," created for and approved by dogs. He'd really like the puppy pedometer too, but "Santa" got him a new coat from Land's End instead. Good thing he can't read (yet).

Steal Their Style

You probably already have a favorite concert tee from your favorite band or singer. What could be better? : This.

Betta Get ta Plantin'

Now's the time to plant bulbs if you want spring flowers. Better Homes and Gardens has nice guide to planting bulbs, and here are a few of their favorites:

Earliest to Bloom
Snowdrop
Winter Aconite
Snow Crocus

Best Colonizers
Puschkinia
Dutch Crocus
Grape Hyacinth

Most Flamboyant
Parrot Tulips
Globemaster Allium
Crown Imperial

Most Fragrant
Hyacinth
Tazetta Daffodis
Spring Starflower

Best for Shade
Scilla
Dog's-Tooth Violet
Winter Aconite

No Note Left Behind

Instrumental Assistance provides kids the chance to learn music, regardless of their economic situation, by supporting local school districts with creative options and instruments to build a music presence within the schools.

Bombs That "Do Not Do Lasting Harm"

British Aerospace is now producing green weapons. “This is laughable,” said Symon Hill of Campaign Against Arms Trade. “BAE is determined to try to make itself look ethical, but they make weapons to kill people and it’s utterly ridiculous to suggest they are environmentally friendly.”

Lunch in Jerusalem

From The Washington Post - ISRAEL
Plenty to Put in a Pita
Friday, November 3, 2006; Page A24

On Ben Yehuda Street in West Jerusalem, the sandwich of choice is the sabih: a pita filled with hummus, chopped boiled egg and deep-fried eggplant slices. You can request a sprinkle of chopped parsley, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and pickles. Then choose a sauce: spicy green, hot red, tangy tahini or spicy mango-pickle sauce. Brought to Israel by Iraqi Jews, the sabih costs about $3.50.

Or pick up a kebab in East Jerusalem. Ground beef patties seasoned with parsley, garlic, spices and lamb fat (for extra flavor) are threaded on skewers between cubes of onion and tomato and cooked over a small charcoal fire. Then the whole skewer is emptied into a pita, topped with fresh tomato and cucumber salad and hot red sauce. In front of the Damascus Gate, a kebab sells for just over $2.

-- Samuel Sockol

What Cows and Junk Mail Have in Common

The average person gets 41 pounds of junk mail each year. Make it stop for only $1 a pound. In an effort to prevent unwanted junk mail from entering your home, the organization is also helping the environment by reducing consumption and the waste that it takes to produce bulk mailings.

In related environmental news, for every 41 pounds of milk produced, cows create 32 pounds of manure. Vegans are up in arms about all this waste and would like you to switch to soy.

Psychological Jewelry

Serotonin, a chemical responsible for happiness and relaxation, has an elegant shape that makes for a terrific necklace that will make you grin as much as the chemical it represents. And the dopamine earrings represent passion and pleasure with splendid scientific flair.

Yes, You Can Be Both

Another example of Christian environmentalists, this time right here in Virginia: the Mennonite Central Committee Appalachia take on the coal-mining practice of mountaintop removal.

11/17/06: For more information, visit Christians for the Mountains.

Where I'll Be in 10 Years

Visiting New York City

This is gonna be so awesome!

Roanoke's Green House

Somewhere in the Gainsboro community of Roanoke, there's a cradle-to-cradle house. What the heck does that mean? Well, for starters, it's a modular design that minimizes or eliminates construction waste and adapts natural energy systems such as gray water treatment. The metal roof is coated to maintain comfortable interior temperatures, recycled pickle barrels will catch rainwater for irrigation, and low-flush toilets and energy-efficient appliances are part of the package. The decision to build the home in Roanoke City resulted from the designers' desire to associate sustainability with affordability and tradition.

Preschool Puberty

Be careful what your kids are using around the house. Products may contain hormones that you don't even know about.

Fabric Freak

I'm a quilter, and I love fabric. It can become an addiction if you're not careful. According to Better Homes and Gardens, "the Internet is a gold mine for rustic items from the 1940's and '50s." Here are four old-skool fabric websites that make me drool.

Sharon's Antiques: Vintage Fabrics
Revival Fabrics
Repro Depot
Full Swing Textiles

That's What I Call A Win-Win

You eat chocolate, they give away mammograms.

What's Your Emergency?

At work, I'm known as Miss A. I consider myself a practical and prepared person. That's why the "Miss A Kit" was the most fitting birthday present I've ever received. Thanks to my boss, Ms. French, for tha sweetest hook up of 2006.

Is God Green?

This episode of Moyers on America covers one of my favorite topics: the inclusion of environmental issues in the prayers of evangelical Christians.

Not Your Average Rabbit Ears

This little technobunny is the cutest thing ever. It's a Wi-Fi robot that can wake you up, read you a story, predict the weather, sing you a song... and be your new best friend! (Don't tell the dog.)

I'm kind of an expert at Photoshop...

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Fun for Fans of The Simpsons

Use the Simpsomaker to create your own character. I made a dude that looked like Mr. Garrison with the classroom background and the caption, "Mr. Garrison moves to Springfield." Too bad I couldn't get a screen capture or save the image. Check out the author's other funny animations here.

P.S. Click the picture for a demonstration of Homer's various emotional states.