Category Archives: Community

Photo Friday: What’s in Your Mailbox?

Posted on August 26, 2011 | 5 comments

I don’t know about you, but for me mailboxes and the mail they contain are a source of delight. Even, and perhaps especially, in the age of e-mail and junk mail, it’s a wonderful treat to receive a hand-written note or a postcard from an exotic place that someone took the time to write.

As a bonus, in the town where I live, these sweet mailboxes are somewhat typical. Because many houses are on hills, groups of mailboxes sit on the street above or below. Many are decorated personally and whimsically and it’s delightful to come upon a painted or glittery or otherwise personal one while on a walk or ride. (And, yes, ours depicts a 50s auto flame-job – not quite sweet but not menacing either.)

In an act reminiscent of  writing to pen pals around the globe as a child, my dear friend Elise from New Zealand (whom I met online) and I have been exchanging weekly postcards across the internet ethers. As it happens, we just exchanged photos of our actual mailboxes, or letterboxes.

Have you seen and photographed something unusual, whimsical, beautiful, or otherwise interesting in your travels? Has anything surprised you or caused you to pause? Or have you simply experienced a small, lovely moment that you wanted to capture? If so, I hope you’ll share with us by leaving a comment with a link to your photo. I look forward to seeing it!

Photo by Susan Sachs Lipman

You might also enjoy:

Photo Friday: Mouth Watering Watermelon
Flea-Market Inspired Spring

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Posted in Community, Design, Lost Arts, Snapshot

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Slow Family Nominated for Awards from Parents Magazine and Red Tricycle

Posted on August 13, 2011 | 4 comments

In a season of wonderful blog awards, including being voted Best Bay Area Mom Blog on Circle of Moms, Slow Family Online has been honored again.

The blog has been nominated for Parents Magazine‘s Best Blog Award, for which voting ends October 15. It has also been nominated for Red Tricycle‘s Totally Awesome  Awards, in the Best Online Parenting Blog category. Nominations close September 9, after which finalists are announced for public voting.

Nominate me

In a word, WOW! These events wouldn’t have happened had you all not supported me for the Circle of Moms award. Thank you so much! I so appreciate this astounding community and your continued support. Each of these two new awards requires an e-mail sign-up.

 

 

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Slow Family Voted Top San Francisco Mom Blog on Circle of Moms

Posted on August 1, 2011 | 6 comments

I’m thrilled and surprised to have been voted the Top San Francisco Bay Area Mom Blog on the Circle of Moms community site, among extremely close competition. Some of my pals are also on the Top 25 list, such as Frog Mom, A Little Yumminess and The Family Chef. I also got to discover some other beautiful and inspiring blogs, such as Goat Notes, Suburban Homestead and Using Our Words. I suggest you check out the entire list for gorgeous photos, great resources and fun family ideas.

The other thing I discovered is what an outrageously supportive, talented, energetic, enthusiastic, funny, loyal — and did I mention supportive? — circle of friends and readers I have. I can’t begin to count the number of you who voted, asked friends and families to vote (repeatedly!), cheered from the sidelines, wrote kind notes, and voted again — from across the U.S. into France, Germany and New Zealand. I so appreciate the support and camaraderie. For a couple of weeks, for an internet contest, you made my world feel like a village. That is the best prize of all, and for that I will always be grateful.

Earlier this year, I was also very honored and surprised to make Red Tricycle‘s list of favorite San Francisco Bay Area parent blogs. I am also grateful to have made Power Moms Unite‘s 7 Blogs for an Inspired, Simple Life. And, earlier, to have been granted a One Lovely Blog Award from Green Phone Booth. You will want to check out the other blogs on all three sites.

I hope, like me, you’ll keep supporting blogs and people who promote living with intention, fun, beauty, community, appreciation and warmth. And, if you still have a little voting left in you, I suggest you visit the Circle of Moms Top 25 SoCal Mom Blogs contest and join me in voting for two great nature-blog pals, Go Explore Nature and Fun Orange County Parks. :)

 

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Celebrating 100 Years of the Mill Valley Library

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 3 comments

 

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in an old-fashioned party to celebrate my wonderful town’s library, which turned 100 years old. Originally built as a Carnegie Library, in what is now a stately brick house, the Mill Valley Public Library has grown from an institution with 750 donated books to one with 132,000 books, a digital collection, a team of librarians, and live offerings almost every day it’s open, from noted local authors to pre-school story times, to performances outdoors and in. No wonder our library thrives while others around the country are forced to close. Hundreds of visitors per day find it relevant and exciting, a true community hub.

It was terrific then, and very fitting, to honor the library’s Centennial with a gathering in the grove of redwoods that adjoins it. There was a free and continual program of old-time music, a birthday cake, announcements and proclamations, sodas and hot dogs, crafts, library trivia contests, and games, which I led with Research Librarian Cara Brancoli and which, in keeping with the historical spirit, included Tug-of-War, Three-Legged Races, Sack Races, and Egg-and-Spoon Races. We also had jacks and hula hoops out for free play. Wonderfully, many children, especially the smaller ones, rolled the hoops, just as children may have done 100 years ago.

It was truly lovely and warm (in spirit, if not temperature.) Liz Greer of Mill Valley Life took some wonderful photos that really captured the event, as did Hans Roenau in the Mill Valley Patch.

Photos: Top, Liz Greer. Bottom, Ken Friedman. Others: Susan Sachs Lipman

 

 

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Posted in Community, Lost Arts, Nostalgia, Play, Vintage

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Slow News Day: MI Woman Faces Jail Time for Front Yard Vegetable Garden

Posted on July 10, 2011 | 6 comments

There are many thriving front yard gardens, not the least of which is First Lady Michelle Obama‘s, which happens to be on the White House lawn, growing fresh vegetables for visiting dignitaries as well as for Washington D.C.’s homeless.

But for all the terrific stories about creative front-yard re-use that turns water-guzzling ornamental lawns into food-producing habitats, like this cottage garden on a sidewalk in industrial Brooklyn and this front yard farm in Benicia, CA, there are stories like this recent one of homeowners associations and community ordinances run amok:

A Michigan woman is facing jail time for planting some raised vegetable beds on her front lawn. Insane, right? Apparently the ordinance in Julie Bass‘ Oak Park, MI, neighborhood calls for “suitable” plant materials on ones front lawn. Aside from the fact that the city does not provide a definition of “suitable”, many may wonder just what is so unsuitable about growing food, as opposed to plants that are (some might argue) merely ornamental. Many, like me, see front-yard gardens as a small act of viability and sustainability, an effort to save the money and the fuel it takes to grow and package and transport and stock and purchase non-local food.

Julie Bass’ garden, above.
Benicia, CA, garden, below.

And if you think Julie Bass in Oak Park is alone, the same thing happened to Asa Dodsworth in Berkeley, CA, a place highly associated with progressiveness and sustainability.

According to Pamela Price at Red, White & Grew, this case should provide a springboard for a national dialogue about protecting  home gardeners by creating better opportunities and fewer barriers for them to simply grow their own food on the land they have. She spoke about the issue at Tedx San Antonio.

The issue is large in scope, Pamela and Holly Hirshberg of The Dinner Garden say. Individual growers fight hunger, save money, gain food security, and feed many others in their communities with their homegrown food and with the seeds they harvest and share.

There is obviously still much education that needs to happen before everyone values the front lawn for practicality and production as much as for a conventional and conformist idea of beauty.

There are some ways to help Julie Bass in Michigan, like this petition on the Care2 site and other suggestions on the Treehugger site. Red, White & Grew and The Dinner Garden are also great resources about the power of home gardens to feed and help many.

Photos by White House, Julie Bass, Susan Sachs Lipman

You may also be interested in:
School and Community Gardens Grow More than Food

UPDATE: Largely due to internet uproar, the charges against Julie Bass have been dropped.

 

 

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Posted in Community, Deck Garden, Nature, Slow News, Sustainability, The Great Outdoors

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Slow Down for Summer: Fun and Simple Outdoor and Seasonal Activities

Posted on June 30, 2011 | 1 comment

I had such a great time on the Slow Down for Summer webinar that I did with KaBOOM! and with the many participants. We shared tons of Slow Summer ideas that emphasized fun and ease over equipment and preparation. These include old-school playground games that are ripe for a comeback and can be played most anywhere, crafts to get you outside on a nice summer day, activities to help kids observe and enjoy their surroundings (be they nature or city), and garden and harvest projects to help kids appreciate the cycles of nature and of life. There was so much information and so many wonderful ideas, that we just skimmed the surface in the time allotted. I think it got everyone thinking about the possibilities for wonder and fun and how to create more of each in their everyday lives. I know I came away with some great ideas!

You can visit the webinar anytime to get an idea of some of the things we discussed. And, of course, many of them can be found on my blog, on in future blog posts, as well as in my upcoming book, Fed up With Frenzy: Slow Parenting in a Fast-Moving World.

Enjoy your Slow Summer!

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

You might also like:

Make this Easy Tie Dye Project
Loom and Finger Weaving
11 Ways to Make Gardening Extra Fun for Kids
How to Save Nasturtium and Other Seeds
Blueberry Tuesday: Summer Triple Berry Crisp

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Posted in Community, Crafts, Deck Garden, Home Ec., Lost Arts, Nature, Play, Seasons, The Great Outdoors

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Photo Friday: County Fair Pig Race

Posted on June 24, 2011 | 2 comments

My family has attended the Sonoma-Marin Fair for as long as we’ve been in this area, nearly 20 years. We’ve visited many other county fairs and even the wonderful California State Fair, but this local, medium-sized one remains our favorite. We love visiting the animals, and the food and craft exhibits, riding our favorite rides. We slowed down a little on the games, not because they’re not fun, but because we already have a ton of stuffed animals. Our new favorite event is a relatively new addition — the Pig Race. The Hambone Express, an outfit out of Arkansas, races little pigs in groups of four around a small track, announcing their names, which are all puns on famous people — Christina Hogulera, Lindsay Loham. Good country fun, this fair never fails to signal the start of our summer.

I hope you’re enjoying your summer fun!

Have you seen and photographed something unusual, whimsical, beautiful, or otherwise interesting in your travels? Has anything surprised you or caused you to pause? Or have you simply experienced a small, lovely moment that you wanted to capture? If so, I hope you’ll share with us by leaving a comment with a link to your photo. I look forward to seeing it!

Photo by Susan Sachs Lipman

You might also enjoy:

This Moment: County Fair Funnel Cake Eating Contest

I have photographed our lovely fair a lot. Last year I did a 3-part series:

Sonoma-Marin Fair: The Animals
Sonoma-Marin Fair: The Food
Sonoma-Marin Fair: The Rides and Games

 

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Posted in Butter and Egg, Community, Field Trip, Snapshot

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Great American Backyard Campout is Sat. June 25

Posted on June 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Great American Backyard Campout is scheduled for Saturday, June 25. According to sponsors National Wildlife Federation, people register to camp outside June 25, or a night of their choosing. You can register at the NWF site, which offers opportunities to join a group campsite, share camping tips and stories, or donate to the cause of getting more people outside in nature (this is optional). Campgrounds, backyards, balconies all work, say the organizers, who hope the event, like past Campouts, will inspire more people to get outdoors and experience sleeping under the stars.

You may know that we sometimes pitch a tent on our deck or in a treehouse. Kari Svenneby of Active Kids Club shares her tale of balcony camping.

You can register for the Great American Backyard Campout here. Looking for fun things to do outdoors? Try these Seven Things to Do After Dark.

And, of course, you’ll want to make s’mores, the gooey outdoor treat that first appeared in the 1927 Girl Scout Handbook, Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, which coincided with the beginning of mass-produced graham crackers and chocolate bars.

You’ll need:

1 graham cracker, broken in half to make two squares
One or two squares of milk chocolate (half of a classic Hershey’s chocolate bar works well)
1 marshmallow
A wooden or metal skewer

Layer a chocolate piece on top of each graham cracker.

Toast your marshmallow over an open flame, until it is the color of toast.

Remove the marshmallow from the flame.

Place the prepared graham cracker under it and carefully slide the marshmallow off the skewer, quickly capping it with a second square of chocolate, if desired, and the second graham cracker.

Eat the gooey creation and marvel at its simple perfection.

Not a purist? Add a spoonful of peanut butter.

No open flame? If you’re camping in the backyard, you can cook s’mores inside and bring them out. Toast marshmallows in a broiler or toaster oven by lining a small metal baking pan (or toaster oven pan) with foil and non-stick spray. Turn the marshmallows halfway through cooking, which will only take a few minutes. Watch them to prevent them from burning.

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

 

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Posted in Community, Deck Garden, Nature, The Great Outdoors

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Make Stuff Together: A Book to Inspire Family Crafting and a Giveaway

Posted on June 23, 2011 | 23 comments

I was drawn to Bernadette Noll, co-author with Kathie Sever of Make Stuff Together, 24 Simple Projects to Create as a Family, the first time I saw her online. Now, it could be that she co-produces Slow Family Living, and here I am at Slow Family Online. Or that she was so friendly when we initially chatted about supporting each other’s efforts. It could also just be — and I suspect this is true for people who know her in person, too — that she exudes creativity and deep connection in everything she does, whether it’s sharing a tutorial on her Future Craft Collective blog, which she created with her Make Stuff Together co-author, the equally compelling Kathie Sever, or candidly revealing lessons learned along her and her family’s journey on her more personal blog, Just a Minute.

That same spirit I initially saw is evident on every page of Make Stuff Together. Bernadette and Kathie put much of themselves into this book, which is as much about creating a joyous and expressive family life as it is about creating objects — though of course the objects are delightful, too. It was on Future Craft Collective that I first read about “upcycling”, and many of the projects in Make Stuff Together feature clever re-use of such items as bird-seed bags, inner tubes, billboards, neoprene and fabric samples, as well as ideas about where to find such things. Fittingly, the authors note that their sense of community deepened during their search for materials — they met and befriended people they wouldn’t have otherwise, and their kids benefited from that experience.

Make Stuff Together also has wonderful information about working with kids on sewing and other crafting projects. I find these deeply helpful and comradely. Among the suggestions, which the authors expand upon:

Let go of expectations
Honor process over project
Decide what your boundaries are, in terms of space, chaos, and materials
It’s okay to help when necessary
Not everything is sacred — sometimes re-doing, un-doing, or starting over is just the right act
Slow down, connect, and enjoy!

Of course, the meat of the book is its projects, and each is delightful, with colorful, inspiring photography and easy-to-follow instructions and patterns. My family and I are especially drawn to the Family Flags and Appreciation Banners the Game Board and Caddy, and the Napkins and Napkin Rings, which are shown in vintage fabrics and buttons.

Many of the projects are as useful as they are lovely, such as the Water-Bottle Holster, Tool Roll and Nature Pouch, Armchair Caddy, and Birthday Crown. There are games to make, items to grace a table, and fun, quick projects that would make wonderful gifts or keepsakes.

Make Stuff Together makes me want to grab my daughter, dust off the sewing machine, dig out our scrap fabric and start creating together.

To celebrate Make Stuff Together I am giving away a copy to a lucky reader. To enter to win, simply leave a comment below by Midnight, U.S. Eastern, Friday, July 1 and tell me your favorite thing to craft or something you’d like to make this summer.

Photos courtesy of Bernadette Noll.

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Posted in Community, Crafts, Design, Home Ec., Lost Arts, Reading

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Postcards Between Poles: Virtual Pen Pals in the U.S. and N.Z.

Posted on June 20, 2011 | 2 comments

Did you have a pen pal while you were growing up? Or do you have one now? I had several, and I loved writing to them and receiving their letters. I had long-time pen pals in Japan, Fiji, Switzerland, France, Lake Tahoe, CA, and Scranton, PA, among other places.

Now, this was before the internet, which lets us send instantaneous video-embedded messages around the globe. While some may still revel in the simple act of putting pen to paper and writing out thoughts in longhand, then licking and stamping an envelope (perhaps even embellishing with stickers, doodads, or sealing wax), there are others for whom this sounds as quaint and efficient as rolling a message into a bottle and letting it float out to sea.

Elise and I met online, as it happens. I was immediately drawn to her beautiful, and often whimsical, photography, and the playful way she portrayed her and her family’s life in New Zealand. She was drawn to my message of slowing down and observing life’s small moments. She proposed a blog in which we sent electronic photos and postcards across the globe (and across seasons) to one another once a week, following a simple theme that we alternated choosing, and adding a short message.

The result is Postcards Between Poles.

The photos for the diptychs are taken the week they’re sent. The postcards often are, as well, though we allow for a little stretching of time where they’re concerned.

As Elise writes on the blog:

A postcard is a glimpse into the life of someone we know or a stranger.   The image on the front and writing on the back cleverly capture a moment in history that tells a story.

I find that receiving delightful electronic missives does replicate some of the surprise and joy of receiving a letter from an exotic place. I hope you likewise enjoy coming with us on the continuing journey of Postcards Between Poles. Did you, or do you now, enjoy having a pen pal?

These are just a few of the postcards we’ve exchanged over the months.

Cape Palliser, Wairarapa, by Elise
Tibetan Prayer Flags, by Elise
Rainbow Laden, by Suz
Spring has Sprung, by Elise
Granary Burying Ground, by Suz
San Francisco Storefront, by Suz

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