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30
Jun

Wild Berry Sprouted Trail Mix

Wild Berry Sprouted Trail Mix by Living Intentions is an exotic blend of berries (mulberries, goji, and golden), fruit (currants and sultanas) sprouted pumpkin seeds, cashews, and raw cacao nibs.

Organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, and plant-based, the Wild Berry Sprouted Trail Mix is referred to as “Activated Sprouted Trail Mix” meaning that the ingredients are at their highest potential to provide the most nutrient-dense, flavorful snack available. Read more »

28
Jun

The Bright Hour

In 1838, 35-year old Ralph Waldo Emerson sat down and wrote in his journal:

I am cheered with the moist, warm, glittering, budding and melodious hour that takes down the narrow walls of my soul and extends its pulsation and life to the very horizon. That is morning; to cease for a bright hour to be a prisoner of this sickly body, and to become as large as the World.

Nearly 200 years later, Emerson’s great-great-great granddaughter, Nina Riggs found profound meaning in that entry and named the book she finished a month before her death at age 39, in February, 2017, “The Bright Hour.” When the reader fully absorbs that journal entry, it’s as if the generations between Emerson and Riggs disappear and that these two people born 174 years apart shared a connection, a knowledge of how hard it is to live when the body is failing, and the beauty of experiencing something so simple – daybreak – to alleviate the suffering.  Although Emerson recovered and went on to live another 44 years, dying at the age of 78, Riggs was not so lucky. Read more »

26
Jun

Delta Airlines, American Airlines: You Suck

I used to have a lot of empathy for the airlines because I saw firsthand how difficult passengers could be:  demanding wheelchairs to board the plane ahead of everyone else and then miraculously walking off the flight when the plane arrived at the destination (because passengers who want a wheelchair have to wait until the other passengers disembark) or carrying 3 or more suitcases, duffel bags, shopping bags, purses, and backpacks. The most brazen would be asked to check their bag at the gate only to tear off the ticket and walk on the plane with their extra baggage and then ask others to help them hoist the 40-pounder overhead. It was enough to almost make you feel sorry for the airlines. Read more »

24
Jun

When People Become Pawns

Losses must be answered, grief redressed.    ~ Julie Orringer (from Neighbors, a short story published in The Paris Review, Issue 221, Summer, 2017)

Injustices occur in countries across the world every single day and while these events often shock or sadden us, there are incidents that truly outrage us. The treatment of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year old University of Virginia college student, at the hands of the North Korean regime has touched many an American and there have been more than a few who have demanded revenge. Read more »

22
Jun

Passion for Paws

While sitting in the waiting area of a car service center one day, a woman with a cascade of brown curls falling from the bun in her hair walked in wearing a pair of animal print leggings. She sat next to me and immediately greeted my 14-year old Jack Russell who was curled up in a tight ball on my lap, while introducing herself as “Ava Rhodes.” While we talked about our passion for animals, I learned Ava has 2 dogs and 5 cats which made me pause and make a mental note (self: there is a special place in heaven for anyone who takes care of seven animals). Read more »

20
Jun

BuckWhat Noshes

There are some foods you can nosh to your heart’s content……

Buckwheat is actually a gluten-free seed and not a wheat or grass as its name suggests.  Popular in Russia and China, buckwheat is starting to gain popularity among the health conscious in the United States due to its nutritional content. High in protein, buckwheat is rich in complex carbohydrates, iron, selenium, zinc, dietary fiber, and four B-vitamins. Read more »

18
Jun

Italian Harvest Risotto with Tomatoes and Arugula

Making a rich, creamy (dairy-free) risotto is not on the top ten list of most home cooks but it should be because risotto is a dish that avails itself to dozens of variations and typically requires no more than 25 minutes of time from start to finish.  The key to a great risotto is the quality of the rice, the ingredients used to flavor the risotto, and a commitment to stir the risotto as it cooks to prevent the rice from sticking to the pan. Read more »

16
Jun

Where does $1 to Hospice of Palm Beach County go?

Hospice of Palm Beach County, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) that is a “part of” (one non-profit may not own another non-profit) Trustbridge, Inc. a 501 (c) (3) that has two branches: one for hospice care and the other for support services. The hospice care branch has three organizations:

  • Hospice of Palm Beach County, Inc. (HPBC)
  • Hospice of Broward County, Inc. (HBC)
  • Hospice by the Sea, Inc. (HS)

The other branch of Trustbridge, Inc. consists of five organizations: medical supplies, home health care, palliative medicine, caregiver support, bereavement programs, and fundraising: Read more »

14
Jun

Mavuno Harvest Organic Dried Fruit

The story of Mavuno Harvest began when Phil Hughes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a tiny village in Kenya. The population was primarily dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood but there was little infrastructure to get many of the products from the farm to the consumer which meant that many farmers sold their crops at below market prices.

Seeing an opportunity for both the farmers and the consumers, trailblazer Hughes created Mavuno (meaning “yield”) Harvest by working with small farming cooperatives to take organically grown fruit, dry it, and package it for the consumer. Read more »

12
Jun

Waiting

Books are often the first exposure to art that children have. Keeping that in mind urges me to make the very best books possible. I know how important the books from my childhood were (and are) to me. Without them, I might not be a writer and artist today.                                    ~Kevin Henkes

There are books that stay with us for a lifetime even if we only had the pleasure of discovering their magic as adults reading to children.  If you’re a parent, there is a high probability at least one book written by Kevin Henkes is on your child’s bookshelf. A contemporary writer of children’s books, Henkes is the author of more than a dozen titles including Wemberly WorriedJulius The Baby of the World, Sheila Rae, the Brave, Chester’s Way, A Weekend with Wendell, Owen,  Chrysanthemum, Lilly’s Big Day, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, and Waiting, a Caldecott Honor Book published in 2015. Read more »