Black Friday, Bah! Or, Bringing Sharing, Laughter, Creativity & Personal Renewal back to your ho
Handprint Wreaths Photo: Birmingham Public Library on FlickrWhile this may be odd coming from a shop owner, I fully support National Buy Nothing Day. More importantly though, I am excited about the “Simplify the Holidays” Guide put out by the Center for a New American Dream.Here is how their guide begins:If you were asked to describe the ideal holiday season, chances are you would include the

Thanksgiving Recipes for the Rest of Us
I love Thanksgiving. Food, friends, family squabbles - what's not to love?Since moving to Dancing Rabbit Thanksgivings have gotten much easier - we have a potluck dinner with everyone from DR, Sandhill and Red Earth Farms who has not already gone away for the holiday. We all bring a dish or two; there are some very good cooks here.The only snag is that more than Thanksgiving Day I love the day

The Heck with Whiskers on Kittens - A Few of My Favorite Things...
After a very long, dark week, the sun came out today for the second day in a row. It never fails to impress me just how much we are all affected by sunlight. Yay! Hooray! We were all practically jumping up and down every time we went outside and were greeted by bright shining rays. Strains of "good day, sunshine," and John Fogerty's "well beat the drum and hold the phone, the sun came out today..

Saving money by being Green
When people meet me and find out that I: a) live in an ecovillage, b) live in a straw bale house and that, c) our house is entirely off the grid, they seem to be flooded with a variety of emotions. Watching their faces as they internally work through it all and try to remain gracious at the same time is often hilarious. I’ve seen shock (“how do I characterize this person?”), a slight sneer (are

Halloween Revels
The following originally appeared in the Memphis (Missouri) Democrat. Revelers in the Milkweed Mercantile. Photo: Jennifer Martin <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */