Search Results for: blog what on earth do i do with chard

The Earthaven Eco-Village

After watching the Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village episode of “30 Days” yesterday, I decided to do a bit more research on other eco-villages. The first one I found was Earthaven, in the Southern Appalachians of North Carolina. This eco-village was founded in 1994 and covers 320 acres near Ashville. Right now, Earthaven has 60 members (50 of who live on the land), but they are hoping to grow to 150 people with 54 homesites. Eventually, they hope to have neighborhoods, businesses, orchards, market gardens, and wetlands. Right now, they have roads, footpaths, bridges, campgrounds, ponds, constructed wetlands, off-the-grid power systems, gardens, … Continue reading →

What Your Mother Never Told You: a Survival Guide for Teenage Girls – Richard M. Dudum

Our teenagers today are facing more pressure, more trials than ever before, and author Richard M. Dudum wants to give our daughters a clear, unmistakable message: you don’t have to conform to anyone else’s idea of what you should be. You can decide for yourself if you’re going to get involved in drugs, if you’re going to have sex, if you’re going to play into the social games. He does this in his new book, “What Your Mother Never Told You,” and he does it in down-to-earth language that can’t be misinterpreted. Several different topics are covered in this book, … Continue reading →

The Christmas Candle – Richard Paul Evans

Today’s Christmas picture book is “The Christmas Candle,” by Richard Paul Evans. A young man named Thomas made his way through the dark night, holding a lantern but that lantern’s candle was all used. He found the village candlemaker and approached the door, pushing aside an old beggar to get through the door. He looked around at all the pretty candles. Some were shaped like angels and fairies. He was glad to find this candle shop – the rest of the town seemed empty. But he didn’t understand why some of the candles were so fancy, and he told the … Continue reading →

Don’t Let Summer Pass Without Going Barefoot

Summer is for beaches and camping and berry picking…but sometimes summer can be such a blur of activity and juggling schedules that before we know it, our families are facing back to school and we realize that there are some old summer standbys that we never got the chance to experience… I grew up in the country–on the side of a mountain in the Pacific Northwest and, despite the danger and the discomfort–I spent a big chunk of my childhood in bare feet. After all, it wasn’t summer until I had both stepped on a nail and a bee–it was … Continue reading →

What on Earth do I do with Chard?

Our adventures in the Botanical Gardens on Thursday proved to provide quite the amount of blog fodder. I wrote about planning to have a healthy lunch in my mission possible journal in weight loss. I wrote about the twins’ tantrums in the baby blog. And now I’m writing about the bounties from gardening class in the food blog. One of the side benefits of having my kids in a gardening class is that my kids harvest their own produce. Every week we abound in good fruits and vegetables. Fresh garlic, cherry tomatoes, basil–you name it–they’ve brought it home. I’m generally … Continue reading →

The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith

Posted on by

One hundred and sixty-three years ago today, Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were shot and killed in jail in Carthage Jail at Carthage, Illinois. Willard Richards and future prophet John Taylor were with them. Taylor was wounded, while Richards escaped harm. I cannot express in adequate words the events of that day, and so I will not try. I will, however, provide you with a link to an Ensign article describing what happened. One of the things I most struggled with when I joined the church was my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Indeed, I was baptized without … Continue reading →

Gospel Doctrine: The Signs of the Times

Posted on by

All too often, we hear about “the signs of the time.” Perhaps we look at the great disasters that have befallen the world in the last few years, the wars and rumors of wars, and think these are signs of the Savior’s coming. Interestingly enough, the early Saints looked at various disasters, trials and tribulations and thought the Savior would soon return to Earth. I believe it was Brigham Young who admonished a brother to continue with temporal preparation, and in the Wilford Woodruff manual last year, the prophet noted that he would look for signs of the Savior’s coming, … Continue reading →

It’s Raining Cats And Dogs: Need An Umbrella?

Being caught in the rain can be either a pleasant or unpleasant experience, depending on the circumstances that surround your capture. If you are singing and dancing in it like Gene Kelly used to do, or running in or from it like other people who can’t sing or dance, you are more than likely to perceive the rain from very different perspectives. But what if you are a cat or dog? How does that fit into the proverbial scheme of things? Hopefully, we are armed with an umbrella most of the time when it rains, but if you are anything … Continue reading →

Judge Rules Health Plan Must Cover Transgender Spouse

Posted on by

A judge in Minnesota ruled that a man’s employer sponsored health insurance plan must cover his spouse. She was born male, and underwent a sex-change operation before the couple got married. The state of Minnesota legally considers her to be female, and therefore, so should the man’s employer. The employer wanted to deny coverage because it considered the couple to be in a same-sex marriage. Calvin Radtke works for United Parcel Service (UPS), in Minnesota. This company, like many others, offers an employer sponsored health insurance plan. It will cover an employee and his or her spouse. He enrolled his … Continue reading →

Woodsy Owl

Do you remember Woodsy Owl? Sometimes I wonder if all the green living info aimed at children today is actually making an impact then I think of good old Woodsy Owl. Woodsy, an icon for the U.S. Forest Service, made his first appearance in the early ‘70s when there was a resurgence of environmental awareness. Woodsy always told us children to “Give a hot, don’t pollute.” Seems simple enough, but after 40-plus years, I still remember that saying. I am not exactly sure who created Woodsy Owl. If you search the Internet, a few sites say the original Woodsy was … Continue reading →