Dino Love

It's not the first time we've decorated our toy animals here, but it's definitely a first to have made dinosaur armor. We opened the art supply drawer, dug through the recycle bin, and let it fly. We became lost in time, much like the book Dinotopia, which continued to inspire some of our fun. E paged through it for ideas and was intrigued by an illustration showing a metal wrapped dinosaur scale. Foil with felt hot glued to the back works great for armor base material and "wrapping". Dinotopia is incredibly imaginative! It's one of the reasons we need books like this (inspiring books = words+illustrations+ideas). This project launched into others -- still out on the table. Still FLYIN'!

Dazzle Me Green

Preston, Minnesota roadside vistas, green grass and peaceful animals. These are a few of my favorite things. The contrast between the green grass and the natural glossy color of each animal gets me every time and makes me want to sing, jump, paint, live outside .. and the list goes on.

As I write this a.m., my yard and garden is the same green. No grazing animals though. It's rained for much of the night. After I click the "publish post" button here, I'm heading out to my green garden with lots of green weeds, green food and more green, because I simply have to be standing in the green.

It's all green to me. Earlier this week, which I'm now wondering "why was I thinking that" ... I decided that if I had to pick a color that describes me it would be GREEN.

Hidden Treasure

I'm in love with this place. Historic buildings. Fossils. Streams for jumping across and fishing in. Horse & walking trails. Deer watching you! No one around. Exploring. Mystery cave. (one very cool thing is that the DNR takes great measures to conserve and map out this cave -- I never realized what a gentle eco-system caves have)

Food Inc.

Finally this story makes it to the movies!! The masses!! I've been shopping at the co-op for at least 15 years. I'm growing my own food these days, and I buy grass fed beef by the 1/4 or 1/2 and it's my fourth year with a CSA. To say that people don't know what they are eating is an understatement. I always feel like I can do more, change more, be healthier and learn more. It's exciting to live this way.

Grocery stores are a wonderful thing, but make sure you know what you are buying. Eating the wrong foods is killing us - literally! I was completely disgusted when my local Lund's, a very high-end grocery store near my home, sold 80% beef that was from outside of the USA for the rock-bottom price of $1.99/lb. What's going on with that? Lately, when I shop there I have a hard time finding anything that is worth the cost per pound. I have to drive to a local co-op to find meat that is naturally or organically raised and affordable. To their credit, Lunds does have a decent selection of organic fruits, veggies and dry goods.

Weigh the cost of a pound of veggies against a pound of meat. Compare the nutritional value per ounce and the amount of land it took to grow what you're eating, and I bet you'll see that veggies are the way to go. I'm not vegetarian, but I'm committed to eating the right meat and the right vegetables. I definitely want to support my local economy when I can.

NYT review on Food Inc. here

(photo taken in Preston, MN by SAS)

First Harvest

Icicle Radishes. Lately I find that radishes are almost medicinal. They stop hunger and create an even mood. They leave me wanting the right things to eat. This year, I have three varieties in the garden.

... and so the story goes