Take a venture with me, to my first balcony garden in celebration of Earth Day! Many years ago I built an entire vegetable garden all by my-small-self. Three tiered. Stones for stepping. The whole shebang. And did I mention it was my first gardening experience? Go big or go home, right? I was an all-or-nothing type of character, and in the end it was just too much. I started by digging up a huge patch of grass in my yard with a mere shovel. I rented a tiller to turn up the dirt. If you have ever used one of these massive machines, you know the sheer power and vibration. My arms were sore for…

Wanda had a sex change. His name is now Wand. Our fish are not happy campers. We are pouring silent killers down the drain. Our poor fish are undergoing sex changes and it is not out of choice. If pouring our shampoos and soaps down the drain can make a fish do an about face in the sex department we should be concerned. The culprit is triclosan, a PPCP (polychlorinated phenoxy phenols) which is used as a preservative and anti-bacterial agent. It does NOT easily degrade and is building up and building up and building up in our environment. This questionable chemical is found in soaps,…

Growing up, I was never one to enjoy the bug life. Call it societal conditioning, as movies and media ingrained the heebeegeebees coursing through my veins at the sight of all critters big and small. My mother’s arachnophobia was passed down to me, then successively through my son’s screech of horror in the presence of spiders. I am trying to change this. As I strive to be at one with my natural habitat, I become more intrigued by the miraculous creatures around me. I sit and observe the spider, the cockroach and the snail. I am in 'awww' of the ants as they march with determination, carrying…

Honey, I’m home! Every home should celebrate a jar of honey.  Spread it on toasts and breads. Sweeten your biscuits, cakes and muffins.Dress your ham, coat your pork ribs, barbecue chicken wings in a honey sauce.Relax with honey. Sweeten your tea. Savor its goodness.If your throat is sore, sip a honey toddy.Learn to relax in a honey bath..  Add 2 Tbsp honey to a cup of hot water.  Dissolve and pour into the bath.Befriend your face.   Make a honey facial.  Ad honey to our clay neem mask.Condition your hair.  Add a little honey to your favourite hair oil (pure argan oil works wonders) and…

L’année passée était vraiment une année de découvertes dans notre potager. Malheureusement, la plupart des découvertes impliquaient des insectes nuisibles et des animaux sauvages.  Parce que nous nous soucions de la santé de nos enfants et de notre santé, nous n’arrosons pas nos légumes avec des produits qui pourraient nous nuire en même temps que les insectes. Je me suis rendue compte que la partie la plus difficile dans tout ceci c’est d’accepter que ces insectes ‘nuisibles’ font tous partie de notre environnement naturel. Ils seront toujours là et la seule façon de vraiment agir envers eux…

La lavande est une plante puissante. Elle est renommée dans le monde entier comme un remède pour de nombreux problèmes de santé.. La lavande est riche dans son aromathérapie.  Elle apaise et calme.  Je me souviens d’un bébé hurlant dans l’avion qui a été immédiatement calmé quand sa mère a produit un petit mouchoir dans lequel elle tamponna quelques gouttes d’huile essentielle de lavande. La lavande a des propriétés anti-bactériennes et anti-microbiennes. On l’ajoute souvent aux produits de nettoyage naturels comme les savons pour le corps et pour la maison. Puisque nous sommes une compagnie…

Worried that the snow will be soon be flying and the ground will be frozen hard? Don’t despair, there are still a few weeks left for those of us who keep putting off the inevitable. Make sure you have a supply of those huge, sturdy garden compost bags, do a few stretches and put on some warm comfy clothing and you will be all set. Here is a short list of chores you should get done in the next couple of weeks (and don’t forget your winter tires while you’re at it!)     Divide overgrown perennials, including daylilies, hardy geraniums and Siberian iris. Depending on what zone you live in…

Gene Stone’s book, ‘The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick’ is an inspiration. In each chapter, whether it be on ‘napping’, cold showers, friendship or garlic, Gene Stone includes an excerpt on ‘sharing in the secret’. The following is on Garlic. Share in the Secret Garlic can be ingested in many ways. Some people cook it and some eat it raw—which is fine if you can abide the taste and the resulting pungent breath. (Current research doesn't indicate whether one form is more healthful than the other.) Garlic also comes in many liquid forms, such as teas and syrups. It also is available in…