Archive for 2008
In my column today (see below for full text), I want to introduce you to Mary Norman, who lives at the end of Heard Avenue. She watches over one of five community gardens supported by the GrowMemphis program of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, and is a wonderful gardener and inspiration for what a community garden can do. Read more about her in this month’s issue of skirt! magazine – click the button to your right to find out where to get your free copy.
And, as I promised in the column, here’s Mary’s all-organic “pesticide” recipe: Three teaspoons garlic oil, 3 quarts water, 3 drops dishwashing liquid. Mary says if you spray this on plant seedlings just as they sprout, the Japanese beetles won’t eat the tender leaves.
I’m not going to the beach, but I’m getting ready to take a few days off, and I feel just like this kid looks: I can’t wait! I’m thinking of all the sleeping I’ll do, the books I’ll read (OK, the wine I’ll drink), and that means I won’t be blogging for a while. I’ll leave a few goodies to post while I’m away, but send scoop: Where was your getaway this summer, and was it worth it? Would you go back? TTFN …
As you might have read in my column Sunday, my close friend Lisa Fuller died last week, after a long and painful battle with cancer. We sang together in our church choir, and I can’t imagine who will sing the solos, correct my pitch when I need it, and do all of the other wonderful things Lisa did for me.
She was only 51, and I realized this morning that this is the first time I’ve lost a close friend who is close to my age. It feels different, to lose someone like that. Has it happened to you? Does it feel different to you, too?
It was this picture that I couldn’t get out of my mind: An incredibly cut, 41-year-old mom just before she began breaking records on her way to qualifying for the Olympics for the FIFTH time. But, as I wrote in my column Sunday, there’s something about this that seems, well, questionable? What do you think? And are you, like me, counting down to the Olympics? What’s your favorite event? Will you be watching?
Think about it: What did you do years ago — and love — that you would give anything to do all over again? Maybe it was play the violin, or sing in a garage band, or spend summers at the beach. For me, it was play field hockey, my varsity sport in college, and a club sport for me as long as we lived in a place where they played it. Yeah, I know, it’s a little esoteric, not like tennis or golf, but I loved the team aspect, the workout you get on the field, the strategy, all of it.
And last night, I got to play again, for the first time in many years. Turns out that Rhodes College has had a varsity field hockey program for 10 years, and this summer they are doing what amount to pick-up games, and inviting “community” people to play, too. It was steamy last night, and I ran out of gas long before we were finished, but I haven’t completely lost my stickwork, even if the sticks are now composite material instead of my old, wooden one. The Rhodes coach and the other players were gracious and tolerant. I felt great afterward.
So think about it: What did you do in your past — maybe your long past — that you’d love to do again?
And look for me on the hockey field again next week.
