by Dawn | May 19, 2015 | simplicity, sustainability
Chicken Day is here. We went to the Putnam Farmer’s Co-op to pick out the birds a couple days ago. Putnam is an old Connecticut mill town in “The Quiet Corner,” the Northeastern part of Connecticut now famous for antique shops, formerly where...
by Dawn | Dec 1, 2014 | business, religion, self-improvement, simplicity
“Did I mention I’ve never celebrated a holiday?” My friend’s religion doesn’t allow it. This year, she ate turkey with someone–eating turkey around a fancy table seemed odd. I told her not to panic. It’s just a dead bird,...
by Dawn | Jul 31, 2014 | food, self-improvement, simplicity, Uncategorized, Zen
Thanks for playing. The game’s simple. All you have to do is answer, “What’s in that mason jar?” Yup, it’s homemade… The prize? There’s always a prize for a game show. The prize–you get to eat it! What? You can’t...
by Dawn | Jul 21, 2014 | food, gardening, simplicity, sustainability
Canning and preserving are age-old techniques for saving the mountain of food you thought was cute when you planted it or bought too much of at the farmer’s market. Or maybe your friend dumped off “just a few” zucchini. It’s that time of year....
by Dawn | Apr 11, 2014 | self-improvement, simplicity
“We traveled to school in the snow. We only had one pair of shoes between us. And we liked it!” Senior citizens have a way of remembering. As a historian, I’ve learned to filter this. It’s something I teach my students when we examine primary...
by Dawn | Jan 14, 2014 | simplicity, Zen
Seed catalog season. They started coming last month. I really should be planning the garden. I can virtually smell it around me… Wait, that’s compost. It’s been a couple weeks and a few feet of snow since I took out the compost. That little carbon...