humanitarian
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The Lucky Ones
This beautiful onion was left in the lake house all winter long, from some time last fall. Trapped in the dark cold, it managed to create life for three new onions that are drawing nutrients from its mother. So many things to be grateful for in that tiny moment- thank God there is no mold or rancid smell. The entire plant is a perfect specimen of health. Gardening always mirrors life. I came late and the meeting had already started, but I snuck in the kitchen to have a chat with the one person I had been meeting to talk to all day. Our eyes met as if we were…
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Hydrangea Gain
My neighbors are tearing off the front wall of their house to add a porch. These beautiful “big plate” round Hydrangeas fell victim to the back-hoe. Now, the two bushes are anchoring a black bench that I used to sit on to hold my babies, while I kept my eye on the older ones running around outside. Nice to have a bounty of fully grown “snowballs” just fall into your lap… I feel like I inherited something special… And I found this really interesting Hydrangea arranging tip on Marth Stewart: To prevent your cut blooms from wilting prematurely, try this tip: Cut them early in the morning or late in…
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Where Bullets Make Art
A caption on the Sohza website says, “Imagine a world where every bullet was melted down and turned into art.” This art, this jewelry, is handcrafted by women breaking out of the oppression of human trafficking, AIDS and social injustice. “Each piece has a story to tell,” and you can watch them here. Sohza is founded by a talented friend of mine. Sohza is dusting off these exquisite pieces of art, and showcasing each one on Sohza, where 15% of the sale of each item goes to a charity to help women in need here. Sohza says, The amazing thing is that when given the opportunity, a woman can make positive…
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Artillery
Bob came down and walked by our place, and just happened to catch us outside. “Do you have an American Flag?” A storm took ours a few years ago — the anchor post and everything. Bob is very hard of hearing. We all know to repeat everything we say to him, or we don’t bother say anything at all. We explained clearly, and loudly, why don’t have a flag, and Bob understood. Yet, Bob said he would fix us up. A few days later, he came down on his tractor, with tools in a bucket on the trailer behind him. Without even saying hello, he set to work on the…
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Deadly Disease at Pelotonia
We were at the closing ceremonies for the third annual Pelotonia, where 4,986 cyclists from 38 states ride 180-miles and 100 percent of the funds go directly to the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital. (Donate here…. and add to the almost $9 million given so far). My son called. “Mom?” he said? “Yeah, honey, what’s up.” “In between commercials, they said there was a deadly disease at Pelotonia.” Before I hung up the phone, I repeated the words to everyone standing around me, as a question. “Deadly disease at Pelotonia?!” Quicker than lightning, phones were pulled out and search terms were entered…”we don’t see anything about a disease…” “Maybe it’s from those…
