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Issue #9: December 2005, Sing it Out

Covering It:
Sing it Out, by Kylie Loynd
Do you ever have those dreams where you need to shout and all that emerges is a whisper? I used to have them a lot, and I remember waking in a cold sweat, still gripped by the feeling of powerlessness. In real life, public speaking panicked me, and I survived only by staying on script. I wrote and memorized speeches for school, work or community events and delivered them verbatim. I longed to be able to think on my feet, letting the words flow like a country waltz between question, thought and answer.

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Whole Foods:
Fun with Fermented Foods, by Kylie Loynd
"It's all about life," EagleSong, founder of RavenCroft Garden, tells us as an introduction to our food-fermenting class. She exudes a confidence that I need as I contemplate my niggling fear: I'm certain I'll botch my first batch of fermented food and poison my unsuspecting family. She explains that fermenting is a natural, time-tested process and relays how our culture has all but forgotten the connection of the microbial world to our own well-being. The goal may well be better health through diversity of diet, but it's clear that EagleSong also finds fermenting fun, so I reserve my self-judgment and begin to believe I can do it, too.

The Beauty of Beans, by Lee Revere
The smell of homemade soup simmering on the stove is the perfect antidote for these shorter days and crisp, cool nights. I appreciate the way soup warms me and tastes so nourishing. While we use some prepared foods, I think store-bought soups pale in comparison to the ones made at home.

Musings:
Holding Winter, by Kerstin Barker
Where I live, when the dark season comes, most of us expect to feel depressed. The earth is shrouded in layers of gray and dark green; the sky is held close, heavy, ready at any moment to spill silver water, like a mourner always on the verge of tears. We come and go from the house in twilight. Yellow sun becomes a memory we grasp for.

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From the Ground Up:
Saving Heirloom Seeds, by Marian Wineman
Winter is here, the time for gardeners to immerse themselves in the delectable variety of seeds in catalogs. Perusing the offerings and selecting your seeds for the next growing season may seem like an innocuous task, but the seeds you choose matter.

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Everything Herbal:
Lovely Lavender, by Kylie Loynd
Is your energy in need of restoration? With winter's darker days, I often surrender to early sleep, yet wake still tired. Sometimes that sluggish feeling lasts all day, and I can use an infusion of energy to stir things up. Sally King, director of RavenCroft Garden, presents me with one herb that promotes two seemingly opposite energies: calmness and zest. (read the complete article)

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A Balance of Health:
My Aching Head, by Dr. David Ramaley
We have all suffered a headache at some time or another. Over the last several years, new research has shown that there are basically two types of headaches: mechanical and vascular. (read the complete article)

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With Our Hands:
Beedazzled, by Lea Anne Burke
A few years ago, I was fascinated by a televised nature special on bees and beekeepers. One gentleman had pulled a tray out of a hive and then, to demonstrate the gentleness of his bees, petted their backs as they hummed about their business. When the program was over, I looked out my living room window at my lavender bushes teeming with bumblebees. Making sure my daughters weren't around to see their mother set a questionable example, I found a particularly fat, fuzzy bee and gently stroked its back with my pinkie.

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Treading Lightly:
True Gifts, by Kerstin Barker
Whether money is tight as the holidays approach or you're reluctant to fall prey to a frenzy of materialism during the season of goodwill, you may want to turn an eye to alternative gifts this winter. To me they're the most meaningful and memorable.

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Life Out Loud:
The Good Enough Parent, by Susanne Wichert
Our wishes for our own children begin while we are still children ourselves. By the time we are adults and have become parents, the desire to create a good future for our child motivates many of our everyday actions. We wish for them a life that will fit them well, like a good suit: comfortable, adaptable, leaving room for growth, allowing self-expression, but making them acceptable and welcome in the world. The acts of parenting - our words, our decisions, our values, our choices - are the stitches, tucks and details in the final fit.

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Our Tips and Picks:
Emergency Essentials, by Lee Revere
My heart goes out to the victims of this year's hurricanes. And like many of us, after doing what little I could to help, I wondered about my family's readiness for a disaster. Were my husband and I prepared to care for our family in case of an emergency - for at least a week? The answer was a resounding "No." I used to think of survivalists as somewhat crazed folk, but what seemed extreme thinking prior to Hurricane Katrina now seems like common sense. This doesn't mean I'm going to turn into a fretful, paranoid person; I just want to be prepared and then let it go…(read the complete article)

Browse Powell's Online Bookstore, by Kylie Loynd
Our wishes for our own children begin while we are still children ourselves. I've spent a lifetime shopping - both personally and professionally - and I've come to loathe it, no matter how charming the environment. With time at a premium, I confess that online book-shopping began to appeal to me. Yet supporting the big chains felt contrary to my purchasing philosophy. Then a friend who knew I loved Powell's Books asked if I'd ever tried Powell's online.

Umcka ColdCare, by Patti Pitcher
Few people escape winter without suffering a cold. Despite the popular belief that "it's just a cold," colds are no fun. With the headachy, drippy, sneezy, congested mess they make of your sinuses — not to mention the glorious disaster they can make of your throat and chest — colds are just plain nasty.

Oscillococcinum, by Lee Revere
Having the flu ranks right up there with tax audits and root canals.Of course, I try to avoid it at all costs. A few years back, a friend recommended the homeopathic called oscillococcinum (o-sill-o-cox-see-num or just "Oscillo"). It's helped me avert the flu often enough that I always have it on hand during the winter.

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Looking Within:
Tending the Darkest Flames, by Patti Pitcher
December is a time of darkness in the Northwest. Light dawns just before 8:00 a.m. and by 4:30 p.m., we are once again immersed in the starry blanket of night. With the longer evenings, my heart wants nothing more than to pull inward, to just be still and sit. It begs me simply to do nothing but be with the darkness. Sitting quietly in this time of holy darkness, my spirit renews.

Walking as a Way of Life, by Joyce White
Fifty-plus years ago, when I was 17, my best friend ridiculed me when I listed walking as a hobby on my college application. "You can't call walking a hobby," she scoffed. "Everyone walks." It is true, of course, that everyone walks, if only from bed to toilet to table. It is also true that few people at that time thought of walking as recreation, and nobody that I knew in rural Maine ever mentioned the need for exercise. I left it on my application all the same, though even then "hobby" didn't quite describe the importance of walking in my life.

Bridal Blackout, by Marie Richmond
On June 23, 2005 at 1:30 in the afternoon, I got married. It was a beautiful wedding in my parents' backyard. The sun was shining, my dress was perfect and Craig looked dapper in his suit. Friends and family attended, and the mood was festive and close-knit. Everything was wonderful. And I hardly remember any of it. (read the complete article)

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In Print:
Rain, Rain, Rainforest, reviewed by Helen Landalf
Some authors help you visualize a place; others make you feel you're actually there. In the nonfiction children's book Rain, Rain, Rainforest, author Brenda Z. Guiberson definitely does the latter.

Laurel's Kitchen Caring, reviewed by Patti Pitcher
It's the rare soul who escapes this life without taking care of someone they love. Whether done for a few days or through a long, debilitating illness, caregiving can be one of the most rewarding, demanding and yet tender jobs we will ever encounter. Any parent knows that even tending a child with a cold takes effort; one must slow down and approach the situation with thoughtful consideration.

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Backing Out:
Not for Profit, by Kylie Loynd
When I was seeking start-up capital for this magazine, the most frequent advice I was given was to come back when I was willing to drop the "enviro-paper," go full-color and glossy, rent our website "links" section and double our page count so we could carry advertising. Our actual mission was viewed as on par with a hobby, something to dabble in once we had achieved strong quarterly returns.

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