I do my best writing when I’m alone in hotels. In other words, when I am free from the needs, interests, and schedules of other creatures (husband, dog). When I can get into the groove and stay there, I am capable of writing insane quantities in a short period of time. But it’s expensive. So when my husband went out of town on business for a week, I took the opportunity to recreate those productivity-inducing conditions at home, on the cheap. Here’s what I did:
Love & Family
Pomegranate Salad
My nephew had a Spanish girlfriend once, and she made a salad similar to this one for Christmas. November and December are a perfect time of year for Pomegranate Salad, since the pomegranates are nice and ripe. Lately, I can even find organic ones! This lovely girlfriend made the salad with escarole, but I have a hard time finding organic escarole, so I made it with a mixture of other fresh greens.
Why I Eat Meat
For some reason, many people are surprised when they find out I am not a vegetarian. Oh, I’ve tried it over the years and I’ve considered it seriously, but I’ve chosen a different path. I grew up on a farm with lots of animals. Yes, the animals were cute. They were my friends and I loved to play with them. But, yes, they were so delicious after a long day of playing outside. For some reason I never questioned it or felt conflicted about it, and I learned firsthand about how integral a part of the farm the animals were.
The Lance Armstrong Pile-On
Let’s get something straight from the start. I’ve never met Lance Armstrong. I’ve never worshipped him, either. And my family owns Bicycling Magazine and I’m the CEO of the company it’s a part of. I once saw him speak at A Clinton Global Initiative, and the way all those “alpha males” were fawning over each other and calling each other “my friend” over and over kind of made me want to puke, even though I didn’t quite understand why at the time.
Royal Watching and Royal Reading
Fun fact: I was almost Mrs. Prince William and thus the future Queen of England. I had been accepted to St. Andrews University and would have been in the same year as both the prince and Kate Middleton, and was planning to attend except for the outrageous interference of my mother and The Incident Which Shall Not Be Discussed. Had I gone, I do presume I would have snared the prince.
Happy 25th Anniversary,
Social Venture Network!
Twenty-five years ago my Dad was still alive and the world felt like a different place, even though it wasn’t. Twenty-five years ago, he took me with him to a conference at which he was a speaker. It was the first Social Venture Network conference (SVN). And thanks to my Dad, I was there. What SVN showed me over the 25 intervening years of watching businesses and people grow, and succeed, some failing, some dying, but all leaving a good mark on the earth, was that IT IS POSSIBLE. Anything was and is possible. So it is fitting that I am bringing my daughter this year to the 25th anniversary conference.
The Magical Power of People Poop
Every once in a while I see something that stops me in my tracks. This time it was a report I saw in our internal library abstracts that told of a new and highly effective experimental treatment for a very threatening illness known in hospital talk as C. diff (aka Clostridium Difficile). It’s an infection people who are on antibiotics can get, and it’s often deadly. Hospitals do not like C. diff, and it’s whispered in hushed tones, “He’s got C. diff.” Not good. But, now, there might be an effective and safe treatment, and it was found in a very unlikely place…
I’d Like to Thank the Academy…
by guest blogger Maya Rodale. Confession: Sometimes while sitting on the couch and sipping my morning coffee, I imagine delivering acceptance speeches for awards I have yet to win (or even be nominated for). Is this the height of vanity? Possibly. But imaginary speeches are my way of distilling lessons I’ve been learning about my craft, my career, or myself.
Scratch
Raised on America’s first organic farm, Scratch author Maria Rodale learned how to make everyday favorites from, yes, scratch — the way you remember them; the way they turn out best.
Order NowOrganic Manifesto
Drawing on findings from leading health researchers as well as conversations with both chemical and organic farmers from coast to coast, Maria Rodale irrefutably outlines the unacceptably high cost of chemical farming on our health and our environment.
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