Archive | July, 2009

Health Care Reform: Paying for Prevention, not Procedures

Health Care Reform: Paying for Prevention, not Procedures

With health care reform in the news every day, it’s so hard to sort all the hype and lobbying spin from the real issues. It’s a giant blame game, tinged with a threat of socialism, that has the media and the public all distracted and confused. If we peel all that confusion away, what is […]

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Ruthless Gardening: A Must!

Ruthless Gardening: A Must!

Every summer around this time the same thing happens. I head out to the garden after a busy work week (or three), and take a look at my vegetable garden and go, “Oh *%$!” Once again, I have let sentimental, kind-hearted generosity screw up my patch. It starts simply enough, with the idea that I’ll […]

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Lead in Lawns: A Looming Crisis

Lead in Lawns: A Looming Crisis

Last week I read that the White House garden’s soil was tested, and they found it contained lead above the safe limits. I know exactly how Michele Obama feels. Twenty years ago—after a few years of putting in vegetable gardens and letting my little daughter play in the dirt—I discovered that my historic urban yard […]

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By Popular Demand: My Mother's Pasty Recipe (with Lard)

By Popular Demand: My Mother’s Pasty Recipe (with Lard)

I was pleasantly surprised by all the wonderful comments I got for my blog entry about lard. It seems that lard is underappreciated in these modern times—maybe it’s due for a comeback. Anyway, lots of people asked for my mother’s pasty recipe, and here it is, just in time for the July 4th weekend. While […]

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Greetings from Maine: The Top 10 Things I Love about "Vacationland"

Greetings from Maine: The Top 10 Things I Love about “Vacationland”

This is my eighth summer visiting Maine. No, I don’t have a summerhouse here, but all my kids go to camp in Maine, so once a year we pack up, load it all into the truck, and head up north. Over the years we’ve stayed in lots of different places and tried lots of things. […]

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