Made by “Dangerous Women” — One of the wonderful things about reading is how much it teaches me about the world. Recently, I read the novel, Dangerous Women, by Hope Adams. …

An alternative to old Greek mythology — After the first lilacs bloom, lifting their lavender faces and flaunting their fragrance, our delicate white lilac bush shyly puts forth its blossoms. Our “white” is not as hearty as our others, but its scent is lighter and even more intoxicating. It’s hard to believe that anything could smell better…

A novel by Hope Adams — The titillating title I couldn’t resist the title. The words, Dangerous Women, pulled me in. Then I read the blurb, and I was hooked. The novel by Hope Adams, was based on a true story, included real characters, and was grounded in historical documents. History, mystery, life at sea, and a cast of…

Vivid hues and early blooms — After the Daffodils and Dutchman’s Breeches The first glorious phase of spring is over. The bright daffodils have spread their yellow light and died away. The delicate Dutchman’s Breeches are drying up and shriveling away. In the glorious, eternal cycle of flowers, something is always blooming. After the first rush of springtime blooms, a second-round pops…

by Laura Sebastian — The Camelot of Legend When I was much, much younger, I read Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. Truthfully, I don’t remember much about it except that as a twenty-five-year-old woman, I felt empowered by it. …

Somewhere in a tree might be wise… — The proper foundation for nest-building If you’re a gardener or love working in the yard, chances are you’ve run across some errant bird nests. Years ago, when I was a very young homemaker, I was horrified when one spring day I walked onto the back deck, opened the grill, and found a beautiful bird’s nest…

Beating bright red into springtime gardens — The first flush of spring I get excited about the simplest things, but nature offers such simple gifts, free for the taking. One of those gifts is seeing the first flowers of spring. Our “Bleeding Hearts” have just blossomed, bursting forth in white and red, hanging like jeweled necklaces on the bodice of green lace…

Hellebore: The Christmas Flower — Winter plants in the Midwest Here in central Illinois, we don’t have a lot of options for getting green in the winter, other than shrubbery. The options for flowers that bloom during the cold months are as few and far between as the chances of winning a million-dollar lottery. A few years ago, after a…

Who knew men need special butt baths? — What are Dude Wipes? If you’ve been a hermit living alone in the woods…If you’ve never watched television or shopped in the toilet paper aisle of a big box store, you might not have heard of Dude Wipes. Dude Wipes is the inaugural product of a company that started because four grown guys, Sean…