http://www.sparrowpost.net Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:56:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en svgallery=SucculentWreath I had a look at Martha Stewart Living December in the airport earlier this month, and noticed that it had a piece on living wreaths. Sparrowpost had a tutorial on making succulent wreaths back in November 2005. The results aren't as perfect as Martha's but the directions are ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/12/06/succulent-wreaths/ If there’s one wasteful, materialistic Holiday tradition that I feel I couldn’t be without, it would be the late-Victorian tradition of sending greeting cards. I’ve liked to get and send Holiday Cards since I was a kid, and to this day I’m a little obsessive about this seasonal tradition. Not ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/12/02/holiday-cards-mail-v-email/ As the holiday decorations go up this year, I've noticed more and more homes using LED Christmas lights rather than the old incandescent standbys. I can easily pick the LED out because the light color generally hovers closer to the blue/ green end of the spectrum than the red/yellow ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/12/02/led-is-here-sort-of/ *Update* check out this NYT article about declining sales of cut trees... and be sure to look at the multimedia slide show! Though it seems awfully Grinchy to bring up the issue, the question of the environmental cost of the christmas tree tradition is impossible to avoid as this time of ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/11/25/christmas-trees-paper-or-plastic/ Boiling your turkey carcass to make a delicious second day turkey soup or stew is hardly a new thing. The main purpose of this entry is to emphasize that this is an easy process... and so much more satisfying that throwing the remainders of the celebratory bird away. http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/11/23/what-to-do-with-the-leftover-turkey-carcass/ At the tail end of 2004 I was listening to the news a lot. Anyone familiar with the trajectory of a journalist's year will know that December is a month whose news includes weekly updates about "consumer spending." We return home after an afternoon spent Christmas shopping and are greeted ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/11/23/is-consumerism-a-patriotic-duty/ It's nearly noon on November 23, Adbusters' official "Buy Nothing Day." While this reminder to buy nothing is going up a little bit late, it's not too late to participate in AdBuster's "Buy Nothing Christmas" campaign! http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/11/23/buy-nothing-day/ Cooking Pumpkins is really quite easy, though if they are large enough, butchering them can be quite a chore. To cook a pumpkin, first wash it off to remove any dirt. Next, cut the pumpkin at least in half, and remove the seeds. If the pumpkin is large, it may ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/11/04/leftover-pumpkins/ Continuing with the Day of the Dead theme this year, I decided to make a pumpkin carved with flowers... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/11/01/dia-de-los-muertos-pumpkin/ svgallery=CASAFUTURA Oftentimes San Diego seems like the heavy caboose dragging behind the nationwide Green Building train, which is why we were particularly fortunate to experience a little civic boosterism aimed at bringing us up to speed this past weekend. Architect and builder Kevin DeFreitas recently built his family a 3600 ... http://www.sparrowpost.net/2007/10/24/casa-futura/