Author Archive: greenhedonist

High Altitude Gardening Classes and Resources
A gardening geek? Who, me? (innocent gaze) Posting the most recent presentation from two classes I regular teach at our terrific local libraries. There are so many great people in my community, and it gives me a charge to empower everyone to learn the difference between a real tomato and a cardboard grocery store tomato. […]

One Simple Thing: Homemade Mayonnaise in Less Than Two Minutes
Following on last week’s mustard revelation, one of the best things I started to do this year was to make my own mayonnaise. We don’t use a lot of it, mostly tuna sandwiches, sandwich spread, and cold salads, but one look at the ingredients panel of most mayonnaise containers makes me shudder. And to add insult […]

One Simple Thing: Examine the Next Thing You Trash
The thought of replacing everything we discard with something that’s reusable, renewable, or refuse-able is a noble goal. And the thought of taking it all on is absolutely overwhelming, even to me. Sure, I can spend hours sourcing cheese not sold in plastic, finding someone who recycles #7 plastics (think strawberries in a clamshell), and choosing […]

Garlic Harvest: A National Holiday…or Just Mine…
I have often been pegged as a geeky gardener type. Although I HAVE been seen pulling weeds in the moonlight in my pajamas, and my fingernails never quite come clean from April to November, I have to confess that I am really too lazy to be one of those über-gardeners who never set foot in the produce section. […]

One Simple Thing: Pick One Thing You Trash, and Try to Find a Place to Recycle It
Mr. GH and I have a lot of little fun rituals that help us keep life interesting (no, none involve chanting or sacrificing small animals). One of them sprung from a desire to recycle something we hated constantly throwing away. We have a big bin in the garage into which we toss waxed cardboard beverage […]

Five Unorthodox Reasons Why You Should Grow Some Your Own Food (A Little…or a Lot)
In no particular order: When you grow your own stuff, you can tell Monsanto to shove it. In September of 2014, GMO giant Syngenta Crop Protection LLC asked the US Environmental Protection Agency to increase the legal tolerance for neonicotinoid pesticides on crops. Neonicotinoids, as you may have read, are now widely regarded as the […]

The Luxury of Just Being Right Here, Right Now
Last night, my amazing niece called me (after I’d gone to bed) to let me know that she’s become engaged to a guy we all like a lot. I was smiling all over, listening to her voicemail. Almost in tears, really. Not just about the news, but about the fact that she took the time, […]

Friday Freedonist: Come on a Small Pleasures Safari
I choose to make my life fun. That’s why I have so many games weaving through it. You can make a game out of almost anything, and flip something boring into something that makes you giggle. There’s the What Can I Make Out of X, Y, and Z for Dinner? game, the How Can I […]

Happiness and Hedonism: Nudging Yourself Toward a Happy Life
People ask me why I write about what I write about. At least one person in my life gives me a hard time for “glorifying hedonism,” as though I’m advocating for naked drunken reveling with the Rockettes in a posh Gold Coast mansion (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I wonder about it sometimes. […]

One Simple Thing: Great Coffee That Doesn’t Hurt People
Time: A few extra minutes on your next trip to the store. Cost: Costs a bit more, but worth every dime Benefits: Better taste, health, money, pollution, kindness If you don’t drink coffee, well, don’t worry about this one. But as coffee is said to be the second most valuable traded commodity in the world […]
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