Home and Shopping

Julia Sneden wrote: It never occurred to me that ironing was evidence of being out of step with modern times. Apparently, the rest of the world sends cotton shirts out to the laundry, these days. Not this old-fashioned (not to say retrograde) woman. Not only do I iron; I actually enjoy it. Handling the clean clothes, smoothing them on the board, gliding the hot iron as the steam hisses up around it, seeing the pristine, unwrinkled surface one has brought into being, is for me a sensual pleasure. more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Yesterday when I was Googling instructions on how to boil an egg (don't laugh, it's a lot more complicated than you think) the narrative was interrupted by a headline link that screamed, KATE INFURIATES THE QUEEN! Trouble at the palace? OMG! Kate was neglecting her royal duties to tout her revolutionary skin care line, highly recommended by Dr. Oz. So why all these outrageous claims? Because sprinkled throughout this salad of lies are ads for a myriad of products which I refuse to buy. And how do they get away with making these ridiculous false assertions? I wish I knew. more »

The Huntington was founded in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington, an exceptional businessman who built a financial empire that included railroad companies, utilities, and real estate holdings in Southern California. Huntington was also a man of vision – with a special interest in books, art, and gardens. During his lifetime, he amassed the core of one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a splendid art collection, and created an array of botanical gardens with plants from a geographic range spanning the globe. more »

Rusty patched bumble bees once occupied grasslands and tallgrass prairies of the Upper Midwest and Northeast, but most grasslands and prairies have been lost, degraded, or fragmented by conversion to other uses. Bumble bees are keystone species in most ecosystems, necessary not only for native wildflower reproduction, but also for creating seeds and fruits that feed wildlife as diverse as songbirds and grizzly bears. more »