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Issue #11: April 2006, Take Me Off Your List

Covering It:
Take Me Off Your List, by Kylie Loynd
In my past two years as a publisher, I've discovered that much about mail is a mystery. Timeliness of delivery - or whether it even reaches the proper destination - often seems more a matter of fate than good planning. But as mail puzzles go, the persistence with which "free trial" packages arrive on your doorstep takes the grand prize. If you've ever wondered how those much-maligned unsolicited offers might have found you and how to slow the flow, pull up a chair... (read the complete article)

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Whole Foods:
The Magic of Miso, by Lee Revere
Say the word "miso," and most people envision a steaming bowl of miso soup. Fortunately, miso is more than just soup. You can add it to salad dressings, mix it in marinades or use it in sauces for topping pasta and grains. It can also replace stock, bouillon or salt in almost any recipe. Not only that, but scientific research supports much of the centuries-old folklore about miso's health benefits. Best of all is its great taste.

Time for Thai, by Terry Johnson
I have always loved spicy foods. Growing up in the Midwest and Southwest, my staple spicy cuisine was Mexican food. My motto was "Más salsa, por favor!" Nine years ago, I was in the process of moving to San Francisco, and friends took me to a Thai restaurant for the very first time. "Thai food? Are you crazy?" After considering I was about to move halfway across the country and that I should be open to new things, I decided to forgo my favorite Mexican food restaurant in Dallas, Texas, and join my friends.

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Everything Herbal:
Cooling Chickweed, by Kylie Loynd
Sometimes I get tired of doing what's "good for me" - never mind encouraging my reluctant family to follow suit. But this spring, health and fun are about to join forces. Sally King of RavenCroft Garden introduced me to a new friend: Chickweed (called "starweed" for her star-shaped flowers). This abundant backyard weed is chock full of nutrition. It's also a powerful healing ally with a swift-acting ability to draw out infection, and cool and heal conditions that are hot or inflamed. I doubt I'll have trouble soliciting a helper to go "snip some stars" - either for our lunch or to soothe an owie. (read the complete article)

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A Balance of Health:
Andropause, by Dr. David Ramaley
There has been much focus on female menopause, and rightly so. Men, however, also go through a type of menopause referred to as "andropause." The change in male hormones starting at about age 40 may not be as noticeable as that in women, but it can be quite disruptive. Recent surveys of males reveal that what most men want is to have healthy sexual function, lean and strong muscular bodies, high energy and vitality, and a full head of hair. (read the complete article)

Treading Lightly:
Pre-Fab Homes Go "Green," by Jennifer Allen Newton
A number of years ago, when I was fresh out of college and earning next to nothing, I lived for a time in a cheap, single-wide mobile home. It was like a metal oven in the summer and a bit too drafty on cold winter nights, and the only thing about it that even approached being "green" was the fading exterior paint. I don't know if it was that experience alone or my perception that mobile homes are always the first dwellings to blow (or wash) away in a natural disaster, but I've never found the idea of owning a factory-made home to be very appealing. I want my dream house built on site, with a permanent foundation, good insulation and earth-friendly accoutrements. (read the complete article)

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From the Ground Up:
Support Your Garden, by Marian Wineman
The quintessential entry that beckons one into a garden and along its pathways is the rose arbor. A rose arbor reminds me of the book The Secret Garden, which I loved as a child. My own rose arbor is dwarfed by unruly shrubs that obscure it, making it highly secret. So secret that most people can't find my front walk and resort to using the driveway.

Musings:
Wants versus Needs, by Kerstin Barker
"Want is a thing that unfurls unbidden like fungus, opening large upon itself, stopless, filling the sky. But needs, from one day to the next, are few enough to fit in a bucket, with room enough left to rattle like a brittlebush in a dry wind." - Barbara Kingsolver

One morning in high school, before French class, I crept into the bathroom and taped this quote to the mirror. It was Earth Day. This was the last of about fifteen such quotes I had stuck in noticeable places, flushed with conspiratorial excitement, in hopes that someone, for a moment, would try on a different way of thinking. This is what Earth Day means to me: an opportunity to reconsider my relationship to my needs and wants.

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Life Out Loud:
Talking to Strangers, by Sue Norton, PhD
About a week after my daughter was born, my six-year-old son and I took her back to the hospital baby clinic to be weighed. We met a chatty little boy and his littler brother, who asked us if our baby was a boy or a girl. We said, "A girl," and the older boy said, "He's a girl?" We chuckled, and I said, "Yes, and what's your new baby?" and he said, "He's a girl too."

This Spinning Earth:
Recycle it Right, by Lee Revere
One day recently, after donning a hard hat and a yellow reflective vest, I explored the bowels of the largest recycling center west of the Mississippi. The center's Community Education Director, Rita Smith, guided me directly into the belly of the beast. Cascade Recycling Center, located in Woodinville, Washington, is an 82,000-square-foot facility that processes most of the recycling for four counties. This behemoth runs 24 hours a day, 5 ˝ days a week, and churns through an average of 600 - 700 tons each day before it rests on weekends. I was here to get answers to some of my nagging questions. Despite the fact that most of us have been recycling for a while now, there is still some confusion about what gets recycled and how. (read the complete article)

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In Print:
Loose Threads, reviewed by Helen Landalf
Junior high cliques. Unrequited crushes. Family conflicts. These are just a few strands in the complex weave of Loose Threads, a Young Adult novel by Northwest author Lorie Ann Grover. But what makes the novel unique is the one dark thread that runs through it all: breast cancer.

Wabi-Sabi House, reviewed by Pattie Pitcher
The Japanese term wabi-sabi describes a beauty that comes from seeking richness in simple things and simple ways. Literally, it means "humble beauty." The Wabi-Sabi House by Robyn Griggs Lawrence offers inspiration to anyone seeking to live a wabi-sabi life.

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Terrific Tips:
Bust Out! Game, by Susanne Wichert, MA, LMHC
When life is running smoothly in my little corner of the universe, I have the unbridled pleasure of Monday visits from Julius and Eli, my twin nephews. We have our routines and new experiences, but it is rare that a visit goes by without the request, "Aunt Susanne, can we play Bust Out?" The game originated at the Willows Preschool/Daycare established by my colleague Randi Solinsky and me twenty years ago.

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Looking Within:
Intro to Dream Study by Kay Lewis
During the fifteen years that I conducted dream workshops throughout the Southwest, the statement I heard most frequently from the audience was "But I don't dream!" Actually, we all have dreams, but many of us simply do not recall them. Each night as our conscious mind sleeps, the higher consciousness takes over and uses the data stored in the subconscious mind to bring us status reports on our health and relationships, to alert us to areas of concern and to assist us in making decisions.

Married — with Arguments, by Marie Richmond
A few weeks ago, I was in a restaurant having lunch when the couple sitting at the table next to me caught my attention. They seemed to be having an animated discussion, and like any normal person, I began to eavesdrop. As I commenced this morally questionable but highly entertaining activity, I discovered they were arguing about who'd put the pink sock in with the white laundry load. Listening attentively, I was struck by how similar they sounded to my husband, Craig, and me. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought the four of us were following the same argument script.

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Backing Out:
The ButFirst Syndrome, by Janett L. Grady
OK, maybe you looked in the mirror recently and didn't like what you saw. Or maybe you were stuck at a red light, too close to the car in front of you, and choked on fumes. Or maybe it's the Supreme Court's recent ruling about eminent domain that has your panties in a knot. Whatever the reason, you've made up your mind to do something about it. Write letters. Make a few phone calls. Here's when you've really got to watch your step, though, because you're liable to end up catching a condition from which there's little chance you'll ever recover. This is an ailment many so-called activists suffer from and as of yet may not be diagnosed with. So I'm going to explain what's really happening: It's called the Butfirst Syndrome.

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