6.24.2008
Red Wiggler Solar Events
this upcoming Saturday between 4-6PM Martin Vosseler, who has been walking across the US since Jan '08, will be at Red Wiggler farm in Gaitherburg MD to celebrate solar! please click the image below for more details about this upcoming event.
6.23.2008
Island Canvas~Up for Grabs
creative friends, do you want to have your own business from home? do you have sewing skills? do you have room for a sizable sewing studio? are you willing to move equipment and materials from a location in New England? if so please contact me for details. my good friend, the owner of Island Canvas is relocating and will not be able to keep the over 25 year old business. she is willing to give the business to someone who will take over the operations and transfer the website and phone lines to their name. this is a wonderful opportunity and you can make as much or as little as you want from this well established New England business. she need to resolve this by the end of July at latest so please pass the word if you know anyone who might be qualified and have them get in touch with me or Island Canvas directly.
6.17.2008
CSA Haul Week 2
serious bounty. we got spring onions, turnips, turnip greens, radishes, garlic scapes, asparagus (probably the last for the year), strawberries, mixed braising greens & snap peas. From the PYO (pick your own) garden I got dill, cilantro, gallardia, yarrow, bee balm, batchlor's button, lovage, nasturtium, lavender & mulberries! Whew, what a great week all for around $25!
i spent the weekend cooking and gardening, it was lovely!
6.13.2008
Salmonella Problems in Tomatoes
as a master gardener i'm sometimes privy to some great info that's passed along to me. i thought i'd share for those of you concerned about the recent tomatoe salmonella outbreak. if you can buy local tomatoes, please see below for what kinds are safe (many) and continue to support the local farmers who are growing these and probably loosing money because of people who are choosing to boycot tomatoes to be "safe". happy tomato eating season!
Salmonella Problems in Tomatoes
Gerald Brust, IPM Vegetable Specialist
June 11, 2008
Here is some recent information about the outbreak of tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella. As most are aware this outbreak is linked to the consumption of certain types of raw red tomatoes and products containing raw red tomatoes. Since mid April, there have been 167 reported cases of salmonellosis nationwide caused by Salmonella Saintpaul, an infrequent serotype of Salmonella. The numerous cases in recent weeks indicate the suspect tomatoes have been widely distributed and probably originated from the same source. Symptoms of salmonellosis, which usually appear within 12 to 72hours of eating contaminated food, include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, headaches, stomach cramps and fever.
The raw tomato types that are most inferred as the source of contamination are red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes. As of June 10, 2008 The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to limit their consumption of tomatoes to the following types: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, tomatoes grown at home or tomatoes grown and harvested from the following areas that have not been linked to the outbreak: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, Wisconsin and from certain counties in Florida. Consumers who are unsure of the source of purchased tomatoes or raw tomato products (such as salsa, guacamole or other dishes) should contact the place of purchase for the information. Although restaurants, grocery stores, and food service operators have been advised by the FDA not to offer for sale or service raw red plum, red Roma, or red round tomatoes and products made from these types of tomatoes unless they are from one of the areas listed above, most stores and restaurants are still removing all tomatoes of these types as a precaution. This is the latest information, but be aware things can and probably will change over the next few days.
Salmonella Problems in Tomatoes
Gerald Brust, IPM Vegetable Specialist
June 11, 2008
Here is some recent information about the outbreak of tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella. As most are aware this outbreak is linked to the consumption of certain types of raw red tomatoes and products containing raw red tomatoes. Since mid April, there have been 167 reported cases of salmonellosis nationwide caused by Salmonella Saintpaul, an infrequent serotype of Salmonella. The numerous cases in recent weeks indicate the suspect tomatoes have been widely distributed and probably originated from the same source. Symptoms of salmonellosis, which usually appear within 12 to 72hours of eating contaminated food, include diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, headaches, stomach cramps and fever.
The raw tomato types that are most inferred as the source of contamination are red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes. As of June 10, 2008 The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to limit their consumption of tomatoes to the following types: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, tomatoes grown at home or tomatoes grown and harvested from the following areas that have not been linked to the outbreak: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, Wisconsin and from certain counties in Florida. Consumers who are unsure of the source of purchased tomatoes or raw tomato products (such as salsa, guacamole or other dishes) should contact the place of purchase for the information. Although restaurants, grocery stores, and food service operators have been advised by the FDA not to offer for sale or service raw red plum, red Roma, or red round tomatoes and products made from these types of tomatoes unless they are from one of the areas listed above, most stores and restaurants are still removing all tomatoes of these types as a precaution. This is the latest information, but be aware things can and probably will change over the next few days.
Friday Favorites
Here is the latest group of inspired shots from my flickr contacts. So much talent, this particular mosaic includes shots inspired by my latest reading of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. The first row being of the animal theme, second and third vegetable themed and last row, miracles created by flickr friends. Happy Friday the 13th, hope it's a lucky one for you!
6.09.2008
6.05.2008
yippiee~Spoonflower invite
i'm thrilled, i got my much anticipated invite to join the beta site Spoonflower this week. i have been digging out my archive of designs and getting them ready to try colorways, determine scale and figure out which ones i want to print. here is a sneek peak of one. i'm having a hard time deciding how much i want to share so i will be taking it slow to start.
another exciting creative persuit of mine this week was attending an open studio night at a local art center. i found out about it just in time to attend this month. i have not drawn from a live model since college, or aprox. 10 years ago. this was never really my thing but since i draw all day long on the computer and rarely from life with actual pencil and paper i wanted to give it a whirl. what do you know, i can actually draw and doing so without being graded took some of the pressure off. it was quite liberating and i'll be going back now regularly! just to prove i mean it i'm posting a photo of one of the sketches i did. ordinarily i'd be too insecure to show this but i'm moving on, trying to be happy with what i did and not compare myself to others. i never use to draw the heads or faces of the models in school so for me, just attempting to draw the whole figure is huge!
get out there and do some drawing folks, we all can weather it's doodling, drawing people, flowers or landscapes, it's the process not the outcome that's important to practice. i'm going to publish this before i change my mind now.
another exciting creative persuit of mine this week was attending an open studio night at a local art center. i found out about it just in time to attend this month. i have not drawn from a live model since college, or aprox. 10 years ago. this was never really my thing but since i draw all day long on the computer and rarely from life with actual pencil and paper i wanted to give it a whirl. what do you know, i can actually draw and doing so without being graded took some of the pressure off. it was quite liberating and i'll be going back now regularly! just to prove i mean it i'm posting a photo of one of the sketches i did. ordinarily i'd be too insecure to show this but i'm moving on, trying to be happy with what i did and not compare myself to others. i never use to draw the heads or faces of the models in school so for me, just attempting to draw the whole figure is huge!
get out there and do some drawing folks, we all can weather it's doodling, drawing people, flowers or landscapes, it's the process not the outcome that's important to practice. i'm going to publish this before i change my mind now.
6.03.2008
and finally the furniture...
the furniture at ICFF, well it's technically the International Contemporary Furniture Fair but obviously there was oh so much more there than furniture. these first two photo's were a fabulous booth, quite minimalist but with a few pieces that really had character. the chairs shown here are totally a hoot with someone sitting in them, from behind they really look like some boxy suited person.
the bureau is whimsically made of what appears to be scraps from other furniture, weather made to look so or actually recycled from found drawers and other pieces i love the mixed wood tones and pulls.
there was so much baby furniture. this is either a show suited to that age bracket or lots and lots of people are having lots of kids these days because there were more baby furniture and accessory booths than ever before. the designs were incredibly beautiful ranging from quite minimalist to very sophisticated whimsical takes on classic lines. this line is made to grow with the child from a crib to a small bed it can be reassembled in various configurations.
bamboo was a very popular choice of materials being used for everything from lighting to chairs and tables frequently being mixed with other hardwoods for variation in texture and color.
sorry this post is short on information regarding the exhibitors but large in inspirational imagery. enjoy~
these beauties for the bathroom show some bold use of color and their designs place them clearly in the furniture category even though there is not a traditional bathroom cabinet to be found.
the Italian section was very minimalist and sexy as expected. there was a focus on simple lines but they were a bit more curvaceous than in the past few years and a few exhibitors had some stunning more traditional pieces like the one below but again with a modern twist and a somewhat whimsical edge.
my favorite chair of the show. this was the same booth that had the white feather pendant lamps (again in the Italy section).
both this and the previous photo's are great examples of the subtle color combination of brown and lavender with accents of grey (vey monochromatic).
the bureau is whimsically made of what appears to be scraps from other furniture, weather made to look so or actually recycled from found drawers and other pieces i love the mixed wood tones and pulls.
there was so much baby furniture. this is either a show suited to that age bracket or lots and lots of people are having lots of kids these days because there were more baby furniture and accessory booths than ever before. the designs were incredibly beautiful ranging from quite minimalist to very sophisticated whimsical takes on classic lines. this line is made to grow with the child from a crib to a small bed it can be reassembled in various configurations.
bamboo was a very popular choice of materials being used for everything from lighting to chairs and tables frequently being mixed with other hardwoods for variation in texture and color.
sorry this post is short on information regarding the exhibitors but large in inspirational imagery. enjoy~
these beauties for the bathroom show some bold use of color and their designs place them clearly in the furniture category even though there is not a traditional bathroom cabinet to be found.
the Italian section was very minimalist and sexy as expected. there was a focus on simple lines but they were a bit more curvaceous than in the past few years and a few exhibitors had some stunning more traditional pieces like the one below but again with a modern twist and a somewhat whimsical edge.
my favorite chair of the show. this was the same booth that had the white feather pendant lamps (again in the Italy section).
both this and the previous photo's are great examples of the subtle color combination of brown and lavender with accents of grey (vey monochromatic).
6.02.2008
wallcoverings, floorcovering and textiles
this is my favorite group of products at ICFF, both because i work in this field and because i love looking at patterns, feeling textiles, seeing beautiful textures and innovative developments in this field.
Anne Kyyro Quinn's textiles cross the boundaries between floorcovering, wallcovering and the more traditional textile functions. these works are textural, sculptural and bold. they beg to be touched, walked on or leaned against.
Lawrence of La Brea is one of the floorcovering exhibitors that stood out by crossing the boundary from floor to wall with their patchwork rugs made from denim and other textiles.
wall covering was HUGE at this show. there were several exhibitors last year with wallpaper but the scene has literally exploded in the past year. i remember growing up with wall covering and seeing wall covering in almost every home. then in the 80's & 90's it almost disappeared from the market. right now what is being shown is bold patterns, floral, damasks, and printed textures in vibrant colors or graphic black and white. Miss Print~London lines feature simple retro graphics including florals and small scale organic geometrics that are whimsical and cheerful.
British designer Tracy Kendall Jackson uses materials such as sequins, strips of paper, puzzle pieces, larger than life scale florals and other bold prints. the area of texture in wallcoverins is one that is still open to a lot of new possibilities.
Flavor Paper again exhibited with a large booth featuring pop art like images which were geometric, whimsical and more sophisticated in bright colors and metallic finishes.
Anne Kyyro Quinn's textiles cross the boundaries between floorcovering, wallcovering and the more traditional textile functions. these works are textural, sculptural and bold. they beg to be touched, walked on or leaned against.
Lawrence of La Brea is one of the floorcovering exhibitors that stood out by crossing the boundary from floor to wall with their patchwork rugs made from denim and other textiles.
wall covering was HUGE at this show. there were several exhibitors last year with wallpaper but the scene has literally exploded in the past year. i remember growing up with wall covering and seeing wall covering in almost every home. then in the 80's & 90's it almost disappeared from the market. right now what is being shown is bold patterns, floral, damasks, and printed textures in vibrant colors or graphic black and white. Miss Print~London lines feature simple retro graphics including florals and small scale organic geometrics that are whimsical and cheerful.
British designer Tracy Kendall Jackson uses materials such as sequins, strips of paper, puzzle pieces, larger than life scale florals and other bold prints. the area of texture in wallcoverins is one that is still open to a lot of new possibilities.
Flavor Paper again exhibited with a large booth featuring pop art like images which were geometric, whimsical and more sophisticated in bright colors and metallic finishes.
My me mosaic
The name of the game:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
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