Say Cheese!

Yellow, blue, green, stinky, and with holes – while that might sound like a description of my teenager’s sock drawer, it’s much better suited to one of my greatest food weaknesses – cheese. I can honestly say that I’ve not encountered a variety that I don’t love. Eaten alone, on crackers or with fruit, cheese is something that always satisfies.

flickr.com/cc2.0/photos/ladymissmarquis

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Cracking the Cultural Nut

A colleague recently told me, “I’m not nearly as good as you are at getting my kids out to cultural events.” I knew instantly that my own kids might prefer to live in her house. You see, I love arts and humanities and I have this twisted parental attitude that developed years ago while reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting that says, exposure to said events will result in increased synapse firing for developing brains. In other words, what I love must be good for them!

flickr.com/photos/peasap/photostream/

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Tammy’s Top Ten (t3 report) Reasons to Eat at Home

Inspired by Nancy at Spirit Lights the Way, I thought I’d share the reasons that I love to eat at home. Don’t get me wrong, I also love a great meal out but given the choice, I’ll eat in my own kitchen. My attitude toward eating at home began during a time when my husband was traveling a great deal. I simply felt bad asking him to have one more meal in a restaurant and as such, stepped up my own culinary skills. Since that time, I’ve added many more reasons:

Food Prep in Agrigirl's Kitchen

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The Butterfly Effect

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.  ~Rabindranath Tagore

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Late Night Frivolity

Last March I wrote about the delicious evening meals enjoyed on our annual ski trip and the fellowship that endures around the table. This tradition also includes a post-dinner game night. Over the years, we’ve engaged in scavenger hunts, intense Pictionary matches, unforgettable charades and high-tech Olympics.

Red Team responding to Quiz Show

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Penne for your Thoughts

Pardon me ma’am but if you feed THAT to your child, his brain may not grow as large and it may lower his IQ. Would that get someone’s attention?

Penne and pennies

Rosemary’s Baby or at least her Benefits

“Oh, and it cures world hunger.” This was a sarcastic taunt from my middle son as we were reviewing the medicinal benefits of Rosmarinus officinalis.

Flickr.cc.dnak_Rosemary

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Tammy’s Top Ten (t3 report) Reasons to Shop Locally

I don’t believe that shopping locally is the end-all to the current economic disruption. I also don’t believe it has to be branded as a new kind of protectionism. In these trying times, I believe a multi-faceted recovery approach is necessary. It starts with a strong education system. The second and third prongs are attracting new industries and supporting those businesses that are here now – especially those that contribute to placemaking – which is part of why new industries would be attracted. Here’s why I think supporting local business matters:

Flickr.cc.2.0 Homini

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When the Frost Hands you Lemons

Our winter has been unseasonably cold. In the beginning, DH hustled out each evening with drop cloth to protect our beautiful plants from the frost and now, we’ve thrown in the drop cloth so to speak. We’re patiently waiting for spring warmth to see what might emerge and recover from our brown and crispy landscape. At the same time, across town I did find a group however that was quite productive when they heard the frost was near.

Using Local Ag to Build Community and Microenterprise!

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Ant Farm

I admit to a self-centered fascination with wordpress stats. I know, write for good content, write for enjoyment, write to write, the subscribers will follow. I still look at the numbers and marvel at what drives them.

Oddly, one of things I learn when examining my search term stats are that a great deal of the googlers in the world find me by using the search words: Ant Farm.

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