LA’s Parkway Garden Dilemma: Not Fixed Yet

August 20, 2013

...non-profits and individuals like Ron Finley. If you had done this the last time we would not be wasting time and money to re-craft the parkway regulations. Throw out your plant lists. There are a lot of species of plants on the planet! Why can I plant Achillea millefolium but not Danthonia californica? Avoiding plant lists also goes for using the word “edible.” Most “weeds” are edible. Marijuana is edible (but would probably not last long in the p...

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Shoemaking Advice?

Mrs. Homegrown

September 13, 2013

Domesticus

62 Comments

...The subject matter was usually a mushroom, or a cluster of mushrooms. Sometimes an owl. More rarely a Holly Hobby-type figure. Here endeth the lesson.) Free People actually seems like a fine book. It basically steps you through making one basic type of shoe that you can modify in different ways. Erik wailed about the horrible hippie-ness of it all when I showed him the illustrations of what I might make, but he wears cheap Chinese martial art sho...

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Picture Sundays: Doberman Chariots

Mr. Homegrown

March 31, 2013

Picture Sundays

6 Comments

...nts.” Photos via The Doberman Insider. Now that we are without a car, it’s time for us to figure out alternative forms of transportation. Our late dog was a Doberman and I remembered a book we used to have about the breed that showed some unusual events that used to be held in South Africa in the 1970s: harness racing with Dobermans and kid jockeys! Remembering just how powerful and fast our Doberman was, I imagine these races were quite a thrill...

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The Other Kind of Fencing

Mr. Homegrown

June 6, 2014

Fitness

9 Comments

...When I returned to fencing in 2012 I managed to re-injure myself. But this time around I made a decision I should have made years ago: I hired a personal trainer at the YMCA to deal with my knees. She helped me strengthen my legs, hips and core to take the pressure off my joints. After many hours at the gym I was able to return to fencing and running. The pain still comes back at times but I’ve got it under control. The experience highlighted a pr...

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Why You Should Proof Bread in the Refrigerator

Mr. Homegrown

November 13, 2013

Bread, Food

21 Comments

...slow proofing may give the beneficial culture in a sourdough culture more time to pre-digest the flour. Researchers are looking at the possibility that sourdough cultures and long fermentation times may alleviate wheat allergies. There’s no solid proof of this but it makes intuitive sense to me. Loaves proofed in the fridge hold their shape better when baked. Proofing in the fridge slows down but does not entirely stop fermentation. With the brea...

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