Tomato, green beans, and kale harvest and preservation

The weather was not cold and quite refreshing this past Sunday, and so my partner and the kids decided to have an impromptu barbeque and harvest some of our permaculture garden’s bounty. My almost-four-year-old son was intrigued enough to join me for negotiating the kale plants and crawling the tomato jungle to extract the ripe specimen. We ended up with two large heaps of kale and two large bowls of tomatoes, resulting in some delicious dishes.

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We cast. Hands empty, we wait.

In the early days of my relationship with my partner, he gave me a book to read. It was called “Faded Sun”, by C.J. Cherryh. I have since read many of her works, and she has become one of my favourite science fiction authors. However, “Faded Sun” has a special place in my heart, as one of the people in it — mri — have articulated what a key principle I have understood and harnessed in my life.

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Book: Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, by Barbara J. Patterson and Pamela Bradley

beyondTheRainbowBridgeTitle: Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Nurturing our children from birth to seven
Author: Barbara J. Patterson and Pamela Bradley
Source: borrowed from a friend
ISBN: 0-9647832-3-1
Available online

This is a wonderfully down-to-earth book discussing the Waldorf philosophy of education based on the anthroposophy writings of Rudolf Steiner. It talks about the subject matter in an accessible way, focusing on …

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Permaculture garden first tomato harvest

After some time we had without power, I refused to go back to the electronic world. Instead, I took the baby into the garden, and she happily played while I dodged tomato branches and searched for hidden ripe treasures in the jungle that my garden has become. In the process, I have discovered a ripe red Romanian pepper, quite a few Thai hot peppers – still green but promising, two surprise butternut squashes (and by “surprise” I mean that as I was looking for tomatoes, I have bumped into a squash hanging …

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Loss of power or gain of time?

It had been a very productive and busy morning this past Friday: I’ve taken care of many errands and was setting things up to have a no-distraction writing session in the afternoon. The baby drifted off to sleep, I tucked her in, and came downstairs to get into the zone. Unexpectedly, the room appeared quite dark, and, as I looked out the window, I realized that it was due to a large storm cloud hanging ominously overhead. The thunderstorm hit in about two minutes – just enough time for me to pull the stroller inside from the back yard.

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Puzzle: Dragon of the Lake

Dragon of the Lake, med

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 35.56cm x 45.72cm
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark series, 10-puzzle pack, 2013, No. 103013-21081-A
Artist: Jan Patrik Krasny – Jan Patrik Krasny was born on 8. may 1955. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1976-1982). Since his childhood he has been attracted by comics, which he has published after 1989 in several magazines and newspapers. The core of his …

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Puzzle: Zodiac

Lovely colourful puzzle, a pleasure to do. Multiple distinct coloured areas, circular shape in the middle, frame outline, softer colours for the middle, and logical organization of the zodiac signs give many cues, making this puzzle trivial to assemble.

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Puzzle: Buca Francesco by Viktor Shvaiko

Buca Francesco, med

Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko

Puzzle: Lovely puzzle with beautiful imagery …

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Puzzle: Rue Lafayette Paris by Viktor Shvaiko

Rue Lafayette Paris, med

Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.
Artist: Viktor Shvaiko

Puzzle: Crisp and bright colours, …

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Puzzle: Autumn in Paris by Viktor Shvaiko

Autumn in Paris, med

Size: 504 pieces
Dimensions: 45.7 cm x 27.3 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox pieces. Company unknown – I do not have the box anymore. If you have this information, please do share. There were 4 puzzles in the box: Autumn in Paris, Buca Francesco, Rue Lafayette Paris, and Sunset Blaze – all by the same artist.

Artist: Viktor Shvaiko – Russian artist Viktor Shvaiko was …

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Puzzle: Colmar, Alsace, France

Colmar, Alsace, France, med

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 66.52cm  x 51.12cm
Producer: Big Ben

Puzzle: Beautiful puzzle, not completely trivial, due to many small colourful regions. Some of the best places to tackle first are the blue of the sky and the water, sky and rooftop boundary, bright yellow regions, and the orange and grey building in the right quarter of the picture. The white umbrellas, green neon lights, umbrella reflections, and tall building in the centre …

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Puzzle: San Joseph Church, Sicily, Italy

San Joseph Church, Sicily, Italy, medSize: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Hasbro, MB Puzzles, Big Ben, 2008, 04962-W42
Photographer: R. Kord/Robertstock
Puzzle: Not a completely trivial puzzle, but quite serene to put together with its tree blooms and a magnificent building. Good places to start are the border between the mountains and the sky, the outline of the church against the mountain, the horizontal guide of the pavement against the building base, the …

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