Neighborhood Challenge

I spent my morning Saturday as part of a totally awesome challenge. I work in community development in a small city in the Finger Lakes. The city has its challenges as do most small cities in upstate New York. As part of a new initiative, the city government has developed a new department called the Office of Neighborhood Initiatives of which I am a part. Our mission: To build confidence and pride in Geneva's neighborhoods through collaboration, education, and thoughtful design.

For our first project we challenged neighbors to come together and propose improvements to their houses and yards that when completed as a group would enhance the curb appeal of the street. The greatest challenge to the neighborhood was actually to learn to work together and not about the physical improvements. Paint fades over time but a feeling of neighborliness and good will can last a lifetime.

It has been a “challenge” on the part of the office staff to coordinate these repairs, etc. and to create the appropriate design for each house. Being the “taste police” can be difficult and we have seen some interesting paint color choices. But it has been fun and rewarding watching these three groups of neighbors work together to get their projects completed. I have heard from so many of them that they are happy to have met some really nice neighbors that they would not have met otherwise. Interestingly, people in the city tend to keep to themselves.

The city is also home to a small liberal arts college. Each year the freshmen are required to spend two hours helping out in the community. This practice acquaints them with the city and its various agencies and also acts as an introduction of the students to the residents. This year we requested some student workers to help with our neighborhood projects. I picked up my two groups of students and off we went. I dropped the first group of three exchange students (from Germany) at the home of an elderly couple. Their task was to paint the porch. The second group was charged with planting trees, shrubs and flower boxes.

The interaction between the students and the residents was amazing. The students took instruction well and got a lot of work done. The residents worked alongside
them creating a lasting good impression on the students. The elderly couple was so amazed that young people from another country would help them paint their porch. At the end of the job, the 84 year old man came out with glasses with ice and poured us all a drink. So sweet! A neighbor asked that a photo of the tree planting group be taken with another to be taken in four years when the students are ready to graduate. Several students asked to be called to volunteer on future projects.

My day began as just another day of work but ended up being a totally exhilarating and inspiring experience. I feel fortunate to have been a part of this wonderful project.

Twig Frame

Are you one of those people who walk through gift/craft stores thinking that you could make the items for sale on the shelves? I’ll admit that I am one of “those” people. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate the creativity and time it takes to create, but some things just look so darn simple. In the end, I don’t purchase but go away thinking that some day I will make that such and such.

I was recently in a little Adirondack shop when some little watercolor paintings done my Suzanne Cavanaugh caught my eye. Now I know I can’t do anything like that (yet!) so I bought two of them. The paintings were matted but not framed. The subject matter was just perfect for a twig frame. Now those look really easy, don’t they? Back to camp I went to gather the necessary supplies. It wasn’t difficult to find birch bark along with birch sticks and twigs on the ground. I knew I would be bringing this all back to the Finger Lakes to work with so I tried to find a variety of sizes and shapes. It did seem a little silly to load up the truck with sticks and bark but birch trees are not as easy to find here.

Once home, I laid out my materials and started to think. Tom graciously made me a frame base from which to start. I have to admit that I had no idea what to do. I searched the internet for ideas and came up with a simple twig frame said to be suitable as a children’s craft project. If a child could do it, I thought I could manage. I measured the sides of the frame and cut the sticks a few inches longer. It was a little difficult to make the first tie and I wondered how little child fingers could hold it all together and make a knot at the same time. Maybe with an extra set of hands which I wish I had!

With all four corners tied, it was time to make a decision about the base. I thought it would look interesting to wrap the frame with birch bark. I didn’t have any pieces large enough so I soaked the bark in water and peeled it apart. There were several layers of bark in one piece. I didn’t know that. My one piece of embellishment was a band of small twigs across the middle. Not fancy but a nice little touch.

I am pretty pleased with my little frame but realize how difficult it can be to make simple looking items. I have a new respect for anyone who can craft Adirondack furniture and accessories.

Lavender

I’m sure that I have experienced lavender in some way over the years but I don’t believe I ever acknowledged that experience. My first real exposure to lavender came when I visited my local spa for a massage. I was in a peacefully decorated room surrounded with the most fresh and delicate scent. Of course that was the scent of lavender. I have been a fan of it since that time.

A few years ago I had an empty spot in my garden and chose two lavender plants to fill the space. They did surprisingly well and produced an abundance of flowers. Last year I left the blossoms on the plant because they were a pretty addition to the garden. Over the winter, I ran across instructions for making bath sachets using lavender flowers. The instructions were simple: place dried lavender flowers and Epsom salt in a little pouch made from cheesecloth. The cheesecloth is meant to keep all the dried flowers from clogging the tub drain. I waited all winter and spring before I could harvest my own crop of lavender for this craft project.

Once the crop was harvested, it was time to gather supplies. I cut the lavender and set it out to dry and then pulled the dried buds from the stems. It smelled great! Instead of making cheesecloth bags, I decided to recycle my silk teabags. I split them up the side, filled them with lavender flowers and sewed them back up. Of course they were too small to include the Epson salt but it shouldn’t be a problem just sprinkling that into the water. I was right, it wasn’t a problem. What a lovely soak I had with my lavender tea bags and Epson salts.

While I was thinking about lavender I decided to do a little research on the subject. I discovered that Queen Victoria of England made lavender popular across England. She used it to wash floors and furniture, to freshen the air and had it placed among the linens to freshen them. Queen Elizabeth I drank lavender tea to help ease her migraines. The French continue to send baby lambs to graze in fields of lavender so that their meat will be tender and fragrant. Lavender is actually a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage and thyme in its characteristics. I have seen containers of dried lavender in cooking stores but have never thought to use it in that manner.

Curious about the culinary uses for lavender, I did a little research.
A lavender sorbet recipe immediately caught my attention. The recipe calls for sugar, water, lavender flowers, lemon juice and vodka (to keep the frozen mixture soft and smooth). It was a simple enough recipe to pull together. Oh my, what an interesting dessert. It seemed like I was eating pure sugar mixed with scented lotion. To give it a fair try, I nibbled on the sorbet over a few days. Give it a try if you have an adventuresome palate. It may actually be the perfect dessert because it satisfies your sweet tooth while soothing your senses.

As for me, I think I’ll keep lavender out of my kitchen and in my bathroom.

Berry Picking

It’s berry picking time in the Adirondacks. At least it appeared that way to me during my recent visit to our camp in Loon Lake. The road into the camp is bordered by raspberry bushes that were showing spots of ripe red berries. On my walk down to the lake I also noticed a neighbor’s front yard filled with blueberry bushes and a crop just ripe for picking. I have to admit to sampling a few berries just to make sure they were ready

Seeing these wild berries reminded me of the summers my mother would load up the car with buckets and bring us all out to pick blueberries. I just hated that time of year. I moaned and groaned the whole time and rarely picked more than a cup of berries. It was so disheartening to hear the drop of those small berries in the bucket – plunk, plunk, plunk. I was told that we could go home when I had picked a full quart. I never could pick a quart but I got to go home anyway.

Feeling a little nostalgic, I decided to try my hand at berry picking. Maybe I would have more success as an adult. I donned my sun hat and equipped myself with a variety of cups and a basket to help me carry what I hoped to be lots and lots of berries. Up to the power lines I headed where there are always lots of blueberries to be found. It was a beautiful day. The sights, sounds and smells were mesmerizing and I found myself pausing to take deep breaths and marvel at the scenery.

I was encouraged when I immediately found a few bushes and picked a handful berries. Unfortunately, that was where my luck ended. Up and down the path I went searching for more blueberry bushes. Not finding any, I decided to switch tactics and pick raspberries since they seemed so plentiful. Wouldn’t you know, as soon as.
I made that decision the abundance of raspberries seemed to disappear before my very eyes. The most accessible bushes no longer offered me juicy berries to pick. The best berries were now located deep in the tangle of thorny bushes just out of reach. I couldn’t help but think of Brer Rabbit in his little house in the briar patch. No way was I going in there!

True to my younger self, I not only didn’t pick a quart of berries, I didn’t even pick a cup! There has to be a lesson in this experience. I think that it may be that desire for an object is directly related to the ability to obtain it. The berries within my reach were just not good enough while the ones just beyond were the absolute best. Well anyway, I brought my mother my meager offering. After all, it’s the thought that counts!

Sunscreen

In anticipation of my trip to Florida, I went in search of sunscreen. We all know how important it is to use sunscreen. No more carefree days on the beach! The benefit of sunscreen is measured by a sun protection factor (SPF). The SPF is the amount of ultraviolet radiation required to cause sunburn on your skin with the sunscreen on. Therefore, wearing a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 means that your skin will not burn until it has been exposed to 30 times the amount of solar energy that would normally cause your skin to burn.

Anyway, I found a 15 SPF lotion and a 30 SPF lotion in the bathroom cabinet and decided to test if there really is a difference between the two. According to the above statement, the 30 SPF lotion should allow me to be in the sun for twice as long as the 15 SPF lotion before my skin starts to burn. The weather for Saturday called for a sunny 90 degree day. It sounded like the perfect day to conduct a test.

My legs don’t get much sun so I decided to use them as my canvas. To make things as fair as possible, I alternated the application of lotion on each leg: 15 SPF on the top of one, a strip of skin with no lotion and then the 30 SPF. I applied the lotion alternately on the other leg. With my hams all protected, I settled myself on the deck with a book and some iced tea. Within an hour the sky clouded up and it started to rain. So much for that test! I noted that after an hour, there was no sign of sunburn on any part of my legs with sunscreen or otherwise. I suppose that means I can stay out at least an hour without any sunscreen at all without any adverse effects. I’ll have to try this test again when the sun decides to shine for more than an hour at a time.

Anyway, it seems there is more to protecting your skin than simply lathering on a sunscreen. According to Whole Living Magazine, sunscreen eliminates only about 55 percent of the damage to your skin caused by UV rays. Apparently eating right and reducing stress helps your body form an internal sunscreen. On the list of beneficial foods are spinach, tomatoes, oranges, apples and coffee. At first glance this article seemed to be testing my limits of gullibility. I realize that I am greatly influenced by what I read. After all, if it’s in the newspaper it must be true! But if you think about it, this theory does make sense. Sunburn is an inflammation of the skin. Therefore, if you load up on antioxidants which help reduce inflammation, the effects of sunburn can be limited.

I wonder how many bowls of spinach I will need to eat while I am at the beach in Florida.