The Theme of a Great Garden

March 21, 2014

...den it would be useful to toss around a few abstract words and ideas to help unify the design vocabulary of the garden. Picking a theme or several related themes could make it easier when it comes to making plant and hardscpaping choices. Of course, the current theme of our garden is “Skunk Encounters.” We’re going to have a bunch of stinky school groups this spring . . ....

Read…

Fabulous Postcards from HenCam

Mrs. Homegrown

October 2, 2013

Animals, Reviews

...collection, but it seems kitties were a little too sly for early cameras, making good pictures (as opposed to cat-shaped blurs) hard to find.) She tells us she spent two years collecting pictures for these collections, searching everywhere, from flea markets to eBay, parsing through thousands of photos. Her favorites are collected in books of 30. She picked good ones. Every card tells the story, and most of them leave me with questions, too. Also...

Read…

An update on Phoebe

Mrs. Homegrown

November 19, 2013

Animals, Cats

14 Comments

...That’s a really good run for a cat born with a ridiculous handbag for a heart. We can’t hope for too much more. It is possible that her heart simply can’t function well enough any more to sustain her, but we’re hoping that an adjustment of her meds will buy her a few more good months, and we’ll be able to bring her home tomorrow night. We won’t know until tomorrow. It’s hard to leave a pet behind in a vet’s office, even such a good vet. Poor Phoe...

Read…

Can Whole Wheat Solve the Wheat Allergy Problem?

Mr. Homegrown

November 21, 2013

Bread, Food

15 Comments

...inds at the supermarket are made with flour that has had most of the best parts of the wheat kernel removed. Millers then throw in vitamins to make up what they’ve taken out. The flours Ponsford works with are what are called high-extraction–they contain most or all of the parts of the kernel. Ponsford claims that many people who have wheat allergies have been able to eat his baked goods due to the use of whole wheat flours. Ponsford, through his...

Read…

2013 in Review Part I

Mr. Homegrown

December 30, 2013

Thoughtstylings

2 Comments

...it should rain. It didn’t. The year was the driest on record: 3.6 inches, making it a desert not the Mediterranean climate it should be. It seems to be a dry winter again this year and I’m worried. March A texting music video producer totaled our car and thus began a six month experiment in living without a car in Los Angeles. That experiment ended in September when we bought a car. Living in LA without a car was easier than I thought it would be...

Read…