When I was about 15 years old in 1970, my Aunt Sylvia let me ransack her attic and take with me anything I wanted. She was a professional singer and her collection of street and stage outfits consisted of dozens of boxes of items dating from the 1940s through to the 60s. I was set. … More Gloria Swanson’s Dress
Postcard from Flores: on food Flores is one of my favorite places on earth – a small tropical island in Eastern Indonesia with cool weather, amazing mountains and scenery, fabulous beaches, abundant greenery with things to pick and eat everywhere! One never goes hungry in Flores – or so I thought. In Flores, my favorite … More Postcard from Flores – Signed, a concerned project evaluator
For the past month, I have been working two days a week in a little shop here in downtown Deland called Nancy’s Vintage and Retro. It’s not for the money that I took on this job. It’s for the love: the opportunity to finally wear my vast collection of true vintage clothing, something I rarely … More The Gateway Hat
Going Native The greatest hurdle to my learning to garden – or to just live – in Florida is learning to recognize and appreciate the unique Florida ecosystem. The native soil/sand (not to mention culture, politics, attitudes) sucks – when compared to everywhere else I have lived. Clearly the hint to successful gardening in Florida … More Gardening for Life – part 7
A Path Through the Jungle “Walkways allow people to easily move throughout the landscape without trampling your plants. They provide direction through the garden, keep your feet dry, and reduce soil compaction in lawns and landscape beds.” The quote above is from our University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions website, my bible in all things … More Gardening for Life – part 6
What do I do with all this food? Farm to fork? Ha! My harvests don’t get that far. Every morning first thing I do while waiting for my tea to brew is walk through the garden and pick string beans, peas, tomatoes, leaves, berries, herbs, whatever I find and eat them., then and there, who … More Gardening for Life part 8
Mulch Madness Following that workshop by Lonny Reid on soil amendments, I was obsessed with mulch. It seemed to be the most sensible, doable, natural, inexpensive, and just plan simple means of making my Florida sand useable. I needed mulch. I wanted mulch. I craved mulch. I dreamed about mulch! And I got it in … More Gardening for Life – Part 5
Summertime Gardening On May 17 2023 I had shoulder reconstruction surgery to repair a skydiving injury sustained way back in 1977. My left shoulder would slip out of the socket and not go back. This did not hurt at all, but it was awkward and took a bit of maneuvering to replace so I can … More Gardening for Life – part 4
A First Florida Winter The Garden Club ladies mainly grew their gardens for pollinators, especially monarch butterflies, creating gorgeous, manicured flower beds often with a focus on native plants. My goal was different. I wanted to grow food with the crazy idea of creating a food forest. I could do this. I had one in … More Gardening for Life – part 3
The Garden Club of DeLand It was somewhere close to my first week settling into my rather strange new life in DeLand that I stumbled across the marvelous ladies of the Garden Club. Returning north from an estate sale, I happened to pass a sign that read “plant sale today”. I pulled into the Garden … More Gardening for Life – part 2 –
It was a blank slate, a vast, greenish brown, terribly ordinary space that terrified me. Yet at the same time, it spoke to me, beckoned to me, sprinkling my imagination with limitless possibilities – most of which were thoroughly inappropriate and unrealistic. I was baffled and amused by the similarities between my life and my … More Gardening for Life – Intro
Following our standard Wednesday morning card game, Robin, Carol, Claire and I had gone to lunch at Bake Chop. We were led to the back table against the wall. I took the seat in the back corner facing the restaurant and Carol was sitting on my left. Robin sat across from me with her back … More Why I’m Terrified of Babies
Laine Berman 