Darling Dilettante

Me Voy por Julieta Venegas

nautilius pompilius

The life of the chambered nautilus, the mollusk that makes its home in the spiral-shaped shell…is fascinating & compelling….

Inside the shell is a series of successively larger compartments, or chambers, each of them a former living space for the mollusk. As the mollusk grow, it forms a new & larger chamber to accommodate its increasing size, & it seals off its previous chamber. It cannot go back to older chambers because they are too small. Because change & growth are constant, it has no choice but to move on. Indeed, the spiral shape of the shell suggests that the chambered nautilus could keep growing forever within its shell, building on its past & gradually forming a more expansive dwelling.

- source: Interviewing & Change Strategies for Helpers published by Cengage

Hand-cut leaf typography :: by Valerie Moreno Morgan

This is the best handmade typography design I have EVER laid eyes on!

“Proverbial Saturday”

Original song by darlingdilettante, herocious, and cenizaa.

This list was originally published on the website of my favorite local farm, Johnson’s Backyard Garden.

1. Locally grown food tastes better. Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. It’s crisp, sweet, & loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from another state, Chile, Mexico, or Holland is (quite understandably) much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1500 miles. In a weeklong delay from harvest to dinner plate, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, & produce loses its vitality.
   Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. It’s crisp, sweet, and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from Florida, Chile, Mexico, or Holland is, quite understandably, much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles. In a weeklong delay from harvest to dinner plate, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality.Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. It’s crisp, sweet, and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from Florida, Chile, Mexico, or Holland is, quite understandably, much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles. In a weeklong delay from harvest to dinner plate, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality.
2. Local produce is better for you. Studies have shown that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients.
   
3. Local food preserves genetic diversity. In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously & withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packaging & shipping; & for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit & vegetable meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, & the best flavors. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.
   
4. Local food is GMO-free. Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farms don’t have access to genetically modified seed, & most of them wouldn’t use it even if they could. A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food - most so that they can avoid it. If you are opposed to eating bioengineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred the old-fashioned way, as nature intended.
5. Local food supports local farm families. With fewer than 1 million Americans now listing farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. Local farmers who sell directly to consumers cut out the middle man and get full retail price for their crops - which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, doing what they love.
   
6. Local food builds a stronger community. Local food builds community. When you buy directly from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater & the grower. Knowing the farmers gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, & the miracle of raising food. In many cases, it gives you access to a farm where your children & grandchildren can go to learn about nature & agriculture. Relationships built on understanding & trust can thrive.
   
7. Local food preserves open space. As the value of direct-marketed fruits & vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country & appreciated the lush fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red barns. That landscape will only survive as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.
8. Local food helps you to keep your taxes in check. Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies.
   
9. Local food supports a clean environment & benefits wildlife. A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil & clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion & replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions & help combat global warming. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles & industry. In addition, the habitat of a farm - the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds, & buildings - is the perfect environment for the many species of local wildlife.
   
10. Local food is about the future. By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow so that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, & abundant food.

I didn’t say she stole my money.

• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —>  [but someone said it]
• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —> [I definitely didn’t say it]
• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —>  [but I implied it]
• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —>  [but someone stole it]
• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —>  [but she did something with it]
• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —>  [she stole someone else’s]
• I didn’t say she stole my money.     —>  [she took something else]

Note: This appeared in Tony Attwood’s “Asperger’s Syndrome”, but originally appeared in Andrew Matthews’ “Making Friends”.

{tea time} downloadable wallpaper by darling dilettante

[This was originally published on theopenend]

by darling dilettante

The man walks alone through the sand.
Takes awkward steps, one at a time.
Traveling is tough when you’ve reached his age.

The girl lies sprawled on the plaid quilt with her lover,
Reading side by side to the sound of waves.
The old man sits, rests on the folded hotel chairs,
And looks ahead at the scene before him.

She wonders if he’s lonely.
She wonders if his head is all there.
What if he’s a widower?

So it is there, on that beach, that she begins to ponder old age.
The CDC reveals a record high life expectancy
But has yet to fix the problem, damn it,
of the disparity between genders.

Seems this man was an exception, must’ve outlasted his lover.

So what good is it, then, to live so long
If your memory is shot and your lover is gone?
But the truth is, he’s remembering her right now
And the day they had on this very shore.

He sits in his own world, reliving that moment.
His long-gone lover is actually right there with him.
Donning matching seaweed caps,
They whistle sailor tunes as loud as they can.

A chuckle escapes from his weathered lips-
Confirms the girl’s fear that
He’s lost his marbles, off his rocker.

The girl smiles, walks hesitantly toward him,
Intending to become what is likely his only friend.
As she says hello, the spell is broken.
The whistling halts and his head is bald.

The memory of his long-gone lover slips away
Like that of a day’s old dream.
I thought you could use some company, she offers,
As he blinks away his only friend.

So what good is it, then, to live so long
If your memory is shot and your lover is gone?

I’ve decided I need a place to keep track & collect remnants of my various interests & passions.

I want to make it clear that this is not personal,journal-type blog, nor is it a site meant to draw thousands of followers for ad revenue. Honestly, it’s probably somewhere in between…

…In between a dilettante and a virtuoso, I devote a lot of time to several interests, some of which I pursue very seriously and some of which I am just beginning to explore.

Currently @ the top of my list of interests:

• yoga
• piano
• autism
• ukulele
• thrifting
• slow food
• buddhism
• meditation
• papercutting
• psychobiology
• figure drawing
• furniture makeovers
• child psychopathology
• green housing (earthships, container homes, & the like)