Monday 9 March 2009

WSS warning

There I was innocently sitting down the other night to watch an episode of North and South, purely for my own educational improvement in certain areas of historical importance (wink, wink), when what should appear before my eyes but a White Shirt. A fine white shirt! Well...what's a WSS sufferer to do? Surely I couldn't turn it off, after all, we are in the middle of studies on the Industrial Revolution. As a mom to homelearning boys I consider it my duty to know all manner of Industrial Revolution type things...such as the inner workings of cotton mills, the class system of mill towns, what handsome young mill owners are wearing, etc. (turns out that they are wearing white shirts, who knew?) This particular mill owner could give Mr.Darcy a run for his money in the "best scowl" category...if there ever were such a category. (and oh how I wish there were) ;-) So...it turns out, that in the interest of thorough research, the only thing to do is to watch All Four Episodes of North and South in one sitting...and to stay up quite late to do so. That way, I can watch it all over again before it is due back at the library. You see what a dedicated mom to homelearners I am? :-)

Tuesday 3 March 2009

The Future of Food and Seedy Saturday

We watched this film a few weeks ago and I keep thinking about it. We already grow most of our veg from heirloom seeds and we also save a lot of our own seeds but after watching this I feel compelled to do more...grow more, save more, share more, do more and talk more.

I want to be sure that more people know what is going on with our food and I want people to see how easy (and enjoyable) it is to grow more of our own. I want to share more seeds and encourage more excitement about growing, preserving and, most of all, eating fresh homegrown vegetables.

This film is full of lots of information on genetically-modified seeds, corporate control and seed patents. It also contains some information about some simple things that we can do - support local agriculture, save seeds, grow your own, etc. The second disc has some special features including an interview with Michael Pollan and a short film called How to Save Seeds from Vegetables by Underwood Gardens.

Just in case you want to get yourself some interesting seed varieties to get started for this year.


Seedy Saturday

Certified organic seeds, plants, many rare and heirloom varieties, especially tomatoes. There will also be music, food, planting kits, artwork, honey, lavender, speakers and more. Kelowna's Seedy Saturday will be at the Rutland Centennial Hall 180 Rutland Road North) again this year from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Remember to bring your saved seed to the seed swap table ~ a chance to perpetuate those family treasures, and acquire some new ones! Admission is by donation at the door to the Central Okanagan Community Gardens.

Many communities have Seedy Saturdays coming up in the next few weeks. They are a great place to meet people, find out more about gardening and get some great seeds or plants.