PhiliaDiDi

Fermented Dill Pickles in a Crock

2010-07-19T22:18:00.024-04:00

4 lbs. 4" pickling cucumbers
2 T Dill seed or 4-5 heads fresh or dry dill weed
1/2 C Pickling salt
1/4 C Vinegar
8 C Water
2 Cloves garlic (optional)
2 t Whole mixed pickling spices

Wash cucumbers. Cut 1/16" slice off the blossom end. Leave about 1/4" of the stem on the other end. Place half of the dill and pickling spices on the bottom of the crock. Add cucumbers, remaining dill and spices. Dissolve salt in vinegar and water and pour over the cucumbers.

Store where temperature is between 70 - 75 degrees for about 3-4 weeks while fermenting. Avoid temperatures above 80 degrees or pickles will become too soft during fermentation. Check container several times a week and remove surface scum or mold.

If pickles become soft, slimy or develop a disagreeable order, discard them. Pickles can be stored in the crock for 4 - 6 months if refrigerated and scum and mold are removed regularly. A better approach is to can them.

I first found this recipe at the Clemson Cooperative Extension. Although the link isn't valid anymore, I'm sure if you search the site you'll find that recipe as well as some other great ones.

Italian Sausage Soup

2010-01-17T18:08:00.003-05:00

Tonight, I posted on Twitter that I was making Italian Sausage Soup. I didn't expect a response, but surprisingly a few people replied and one, @MadeInLowell even requested that I share the recipe. Her request made me feel so special I just had to share.

I first tasted the soup in a restaurant and loved how the tomato, spinach and sausage flavors backed by the fullness of the rice, combined for a hearty stew. The recipe I'm posting here is one that I created myself, not found in a book, so the measurements are approximate. Feel free to customize it as you'd like with your own special touches. Enjoy.

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)
1 med. onion (chopped)
1 stalk celery (chopped)
Olive oil (about 2T- to saute onion and celery)
2-3 cloves garlic (diced)
1/2 cup rice (I use brown rice)
1 can tomatoes (I use a pint of tomatoes that I preserved myself. 1 pint = 16 oz so I think you'll be able to get a can of about 14 - 16 oz. This can be seasoned or regular)
1/3 can of tomato paste
2 T basil (I use frozen basil ice cubes that I made from my garden)
beef broth (I used 32 oz. carton, sometimes I combine it with seasoned chicken broth too)
bag of fresh baby spinach
shredded mozzarella cheese to add on top

In a soup pot, saute onion and celery in olive oil until tender. Add garlic and sausage. Break up sausage as it cooks so it's bite size. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and beef broth. Cook on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes (while the rice is cooking).

In a separate pot, cook the rice (you can use chicken broth, beef broth or water).

Add cooked rice to larger soup pot, along with the basil and spinach. The spinach will wilt in just a few minutes. Add more liquid as needed to get the thickness you'd like. Spoon into bowls, add cheese and let it melt on top.

How Social Media Stole My Sick Time

2009-12-26T12:10:00.012-05:00

Ok, so it’s not just social media that I blame for stealing my sick time, but the whole state of connectivity in general. Even though I love the ease of use of technology, I also resist it.

In November of this year, I needed an orthopedic surgery. I scheduled it, made plans to be out of the office, and stocked up on soup and toilet paper. You know, the things you don’t want to run out of when you’re on crutches and can’t stand at the stove for an hour or drive to the store?

I was ready to rest, recuperate and heal. Maybe even watch a little daytime TV in a mindless vegetative state to speed the healing process. But that just wasn’t meant to be. Nope, instead I was more productive than I’ve ever been due to the widespread accessibility to technology.

In the course of two weeks, I finished reading three books on social media which I had ordered online (CrushIt, Inbound Marketing, and Socialnomics). Every day I dialed-in to my company’s computer network. Stretched out on my couch with my leg elevated, I clicked away on my laptop through my own wireless network to check and respond to client emails and made phone calls to clients when needed.

I logged-on to Instant Messaging so I could converse with colleagues about ongoing projects. I updated my LinkedIn contacts, uploaded a video to Vimeo from a discussion I led at PodCampNH called "I Drank the Social Media Kool-Aid, Why You Should Too" as well as the presentation notes to SlideShare. I wrote a company blog post, Tweeted about it for myself (@dvautier) and the company (@ActiveEdgeTeam). I shared it on my Facebook account with my friends and also updated my company’s Facebook account to promote it. Hell, I even watched the full series of tutorials on the Google Analytics support website and coordinated a new client meeting for the week I returned to the office.

My two weeks of resting, recuperating, and healing away from the office on sick time evaporated. It was simply gone. There was no sick time. If I thought about it, I suppose I could maybe blame some of that fact on me. That I wanted to get some things accomplished, wanted to learn and contribute and stay connected.

Nah, instead I’m just going to blame it on Social Media and technology. After all, I never had this problem before portable computing, instant messaging and cell phones.

Creating a Gourd Bowl

2009-12-06T21:14:00.010-05:00

I always find it relaxing and empowering when I have an opportunity to create something. Whether it's fine works of art (OK, so I may not be capable of real fine art) or just a project that takes some Yankee ingenuity (much more my style), creativity is a powerful thing.

This weekend, I created a gourd bowl. I've made gourd bowls before, but each time I choose a gourd to work with, it ends up being a very unique and interesting endeavor. Although I know that I'll end up with a gourd bowl, but I seldom have any idea what it will look like until I start working with it.

On this gourd bowl project, I decided to take photos along the way so you could see what happens during the process. It's fascinating to start with just a dried gourd and end up with a beautiful and decorative piece of craftwork.

The photo slide show is available on Flickr or by clicking the photo.

The Community and Reach of Twitter

2009-12-05T13:08:00.015-05:00

Having recently had orthopedic surgery I was unable to drive the hour from Southern NH to get to @BostonTweetUp's first MegaTweetUp held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (NERD) in Cambridge, MA.

My solution. Ask my Twitter community for help.

When you talk about instant gratification, Twitter is it. Not only can you find nearly any resource you'd like, you can find it almost instantly. To adapt a phrase from Tina Turner's song Proud Mary, "The people on Twitter are happy to give."

That's what happened for me when I put the word out on Twitter that I needed a ride to the event. I tweeted to MegaTweetUp event organizer @JoselinMane that if I could find a ride, I'd be there. Joselin retweeted my request which was then retweeted and responded to by a few others (@CMajor, @bschwartz @AGirlMustShop @girlgamy and @WayneNH). In fact, my tweeps were out there asking their tweeps on my behalf using the power of their own networks.

Some of these people I knew and had met in person, others I had never met before either in real life or on Twitter, but yet all were willing to give me a hand. As it turned out, @AGirlMustShop, someone I had never met before and who worked in the same town where I live, was kind enough to pick me up for the ride to the event. My neighbor and fellow Tweep @WayneNH drove me home.

An interesting note about both my rides. As it turns out @AGirlMustShop is a very successful blogger, an area I have wanted to explore in more detail. She also freelances as a writer, which I'm just now sourcing for a client of mine. How fortunate. @WayneNH and I had previously met at a Forrester Research TweetUp in Boston, where we learned we were neighbors. Not only do we live in the same town, but we literally live across from each other with only a small duck pond and a few trees separating our back doors. He's also a huge resource on online statistics.

The sense of community and incredible reach on Twitter never ceases to amaze me. Not only did I find a ride to an event that I really wanted to attend, but I met a new interesting tweep and got to reconnect with a friend and close neighbor. The event, by the way, was awesome.

I Drank The Social Media Kool-Aid, Why You Should Too

2009-11-27T00:03:00.010-05:00

In November of this year, NH hosted it's first ever PodCamp NH, held at the New Hampton school in New Hampton, NH. At this inaugural event I was fortunate enough to be a session leader to discuss some of the topics related to how communication has changed and how Social Media fills the new communication style. The topic discussed in my session was "I Drank the Social Media Kool-Aid, Why You Should too."

You can view the session either by video or reviewing the slides on SlideShare. Hope you enjoy the conversation.

Canning Tomatoes for Fall Harvest

2009-09-18T22:23:00.013-04:00

Ahh, Fall. The air gets cooler, the trees change color and its time to get down to the business of putting up some preserves for the long winter.

Every Autumn, I pull out the pressure canner that my Mother handed down to me. She used it to can vegetables from my Dad's garden when I was kid. I drive to McQuesten Farms, my favorite pick-your-own farm to collect about two bushels of tomatoes. Most are the Big Boy variety which I preserve, but I also pick about 1/2 bussel of the smaller, meatier Romas to make sun-dried tomatoes.

I try to put up enough tomatoes to last me through the chilly months of winter. I thoroughly enjoy the rich, ripe taste of home canned tomatoes. They taste so much better than the store bought version whose consistency and flavor is more reminiscent of cardboard than the authentic red fruit.

Since not many people preserve their own food anymore, I often get questions about how to do it. One year, a former herb student of mine even helped me with the whole process just so she could learn how to do it for her own family.

So, to answer the question asked so often by so many, I finally decided to take photos during my weekend of canning and have made them available as a slide show on Flickr if you're interested. If you want to see the description of each step, click on the 'show info' button in the upper right hand corner when you are on the Flickr site. I hope you enjoy the process.

Click here to see the slide show

Up, Up, and Away in a Beautiful Balloon

2009-08-23T11:59:00.020-04:00

Floating with the wind currents through a clear blue sky, my oh my what a wonderful way to fly.

My neighbor and I share a birthday. Well, we're actually one day apart with more than a handful of years in between. But often, we celebrate with dinner, cake or even renewing our drivers licenses together. On her next birthday, she'll be 90. So it might come as a surprise to you that taking a sunset ride in a hot air balloon was her idea to celebrate our birthdays, not mine. Yup, Elsa definitely is the more adventurous of the two of us.

We couldn't have picked a more perfect day. It was the kind of summer evening that balloon captains dream about. Not a cloud in the sky, soft gentle wind, and warm temperatures. The perfect conditions for a sunset cruise in the heavens.

There were seven of us all together in our basket. Two couples, Ron & Shirley and Dena & Andrew, me, Elsa, and our captain, Andre Sr. from A&a Balloon Rides www.balloonridesnh.com. We all introduced ourselves as the balloon's team began setting up our ride from our departure point, a field in Salem, NH. They unloaded the basket, unfurled the long stream of balloon fabric and turned on the over-sized fans, powered by generators.

There were also two other balloons lifting off that afternoon with us, each with full passenger loads. The three flat, shapeless fabrics looked like giant-sized floppy sheets on the ground, their balloon shapes only coming into definition as the fans filled them with enough air to give them form.

As the bright yellow balloon next to us rose, it caught me off guard. The enormous smiley face on it reminded me of the Stay Puft marshmallow man from the movie GhostBusters, with it's cheerful eyes peeking up over the field and the other balloons. The placid mirth of a smiley face juxtaposed with enormously huge cartoon caricature features seemed odd. The vibrant colors of the three balloons gave the scene a carnival like atmosphere.

We climbed in and lifted off. Gentle, smooth motion away from the safety of earth. I waved down to my mother, planted safely on the ground. She came to see us off, but wanted no part in the actual trip itself. She was perfectly content to watch us rise into the sky like a child's lost helium balloon from a county fair.

The ride itself was smooth and quite peaceful. We cruised as high up as 3,700 ft. and then swept in so low across Big Island pond that we could wave and talk to the boaters who were zooming and zipping around us in the water below. As we came back up from the open water to the waters edge, we rose up over the trees, brushing against the tall pine tree tops with the underside of the basket.

The quiet peacefulness was interrupted only by the occasional wooshing sound that the captain made with the propane flame above our heads, as he released its heat into the cavity of the balloon to keep us elevated. It was absolutely lovely.

During our trip Ron and Shirley shared a very special surprise. They became engaged! High up in the heavens, during a serene summer sunset, a proposal was made and accepted. Now that's romantic. Well done Ron.

We floated in over a cul-de-sac neighborhood in East Derry where the generous residents allowed us to land. Our captain tossed over the line and the families pulled us in the direction of the cul-de-sac center to land gently on the grassy circle. We ended with the traditional glass of champagne to celebrate our successful journey and our safe return to solid ground.

It was an incredible experience. I am grateful that my neighbor and dear friend Elsa invited me to join her. As we we were in the basket, high up in the sky, she said "Let's do it again when I'm 100".

I think that's just a wonderful idea.

Papaya Trees in New England

2009-07-18T12:11:00.007-04:00

Yes, I know. Papaya's are tropical. They're not supposed to be grown in the frigid Northeast where blizzards and NorEaster's are more common than sun bathing gecko's on a lanai. Where the vegetable growing season is just a short 3 - 4 months long before frost sneaks up and casts a cold spell of death on any living crop just before you get a chance to pick it. It just doesn't make sense.

But sometimes it's fun to buck the odds and see if life can flourish in places that you'd never expect.

As a native New Englander I enjoy the change of seasons, the brisk Autumn, the hopeful Spring and yes, on occasion, even the stern brace of Winter. But the season I love best is Summer. Ahh, summer. Sunny summer days make my heart sing. That's probably why I lived in beautiful South West Florida for a short while. To escape the chill and live in the sultry, humid swelter of a more tropical climate.

On my most recent trip back to visit Naples, FL, I reconnected with a cousin and his family who live there. Immediately I noticed he had papaya trees growing in his back yard. When I explained that I love the sweet taste and smooth consistency of ripe papaya, he plucked one and handed it to me to take back to the hotel for a late evening snack. Sweetness.

I decided then that I'd try to grow them myself at home in New Hampshire. I tucked away the seeds and planted them in seed trays when I got home. Things didn't develop very fast at first. After all, the dead of a New England winter is not the best time to start papaya tree seeds, but I remained optimistic. I kept them warm and moist and gave them as much sunlight as New Hampshire could naturally offer and then added some extra light with lamps. Sure enough seedlings started to emerge.

Countless repottings and a few good growing years have yielded a bountiful wealth of papaya trees. In fact, I have a whole grove of them. In summer, they enjoy spending time outside on my deck which has wonderful southern exposure and provides the 70 - 90 degree temperatures they adore. In the winter, they're not quite as happy. They hunker down inside with cooler temps and less light, but have seemed to adapt. Actually, I've adapted more than they have. I keep the house temperature much warmer than the 60 - 65 degrees that better suited my heating budget in order to accommodate their tropical preferences.

The papaya trees now range in height from 18" to 6 feet. Some have even flowered and produced small sweet fruit, which I've eaten with emmense pride and a side of accomplishment. I've even donated a few trees to Fuller Gardens, a botanical garden in Hampton, NH to be added to their collection of standards there.

Papaya trees in New England. I guess it just goes to show you that with a little care and attention, fruitful life can not only survive, but flourish. Even in the most unlikely of places.

Additional Papaya Resources
Papaya Facts: http://bit.ly/Dd1SN
Papaya Recipes: http://bit.ly/kVkS3
How to Cut & Prepare Papaya: http://bit.ly/16DjdZ
Papaya Seed Dressing: http://bit.ly/JdVVB
Papaya Nutrition: http://bit.ly/YYFOp

Green Living Tip for Gardening: Making Plant Markers from Mini Blinds

2009-07-03T18:14:00.014-04:00

Reducing, reusing and recycling are great ways to go green, especially in the garden. Here’s another living green tip on how to reuse broken mini blinds as plant markers. I can't really take full credit for this great idea. It was shared at an Herbal meeting I went to last month by Daryl Hoitt of RedFoxFarm.org, an organic grower who was kind enough to pass along her sage gardening advice.

At first glance, mini blinds may not seem to be an ideal candidate to reuse as plant markers. When I first heard it, I thought the very same thing. Mini blinds are big, bulky and not all that attractive, how can they possibly be re-purposed for gardening, I thought. It didn't take much convincing though before I understood that they are a perfect way of going green in the garden.

Here's how to make handy plant markers for your deck plants, vegetable garden or even seedlings.

1. Find a set of broken mini blinds. Sometimes that's as easy as walking through your house and finishing up your "to do" list. Item #4 to do - fix broken mini blind. If you don't have your own, ask friends and neighbors, or even pluck them curbside to save them from an inevitable life in a landfill. You'll probably want to use light colored ones like cream or white.

2. Make sure the blinds are relatively clean. If not, dust them off or take a hose to them to remove the major dirt that may have accumulated during their first career as window coverings.

3. Snip the horizontal plastic strips with a pair of scissors. Make sure at least one end is cut at an angle so it can be easily pushed into the soil. Depending on the width of the blind you can cut several plant markers per blade. I found that cutting the angled end next to the holes that allow for the vertical cords works best. That way, you don't have to use the piece with the holes, but still end up with lots of markers.

4. Use a china marker (I know them as grease pencils) to write the name of the plant on the marker. You can use whatever color you'd like, I just happened to have a red one handy. Then push the marker into the soil next to the plant.

5. When you're finished cutting you'll have reused the majority of the blind and only the broken "skeleton" will remain, which you can then discard knowing that you saved most of it to live again in your garden.

Enjoy.

A Green Living Tip for Garden Seed Starting. A Micro Greenhouse.

2009-06-20T20:18:00.012-04:00

In the spirit of reduce, reuse, and recycle, here’s a great tip for gardeners looking for an easy way to start seeds indoors. It’s a micro greenhouse.

Most grocery stores sell prepared cakes and pastries which quite often are packaged in a food-safe plastic container with a see-through raised lid. Although I don’t usually buy a lot of prepared foods, I do occasionally enjoy a single layer carrot cake from my local Hannaford Supermarket. Even though the cakes are tasty, I always felt bad because it seemed like such a waste to toss such a sturdy container in the recycle bin after its first and only use as a cake pan.

This spring, I had an idea to try to reuse it as micro greenhouse to start some basil seeds for an herb class I was teaching. The solid black plastic base worked great to hold the soil and the clear lid made the perfect greenhouse enclosure to keep the soil moist and the seeds warm. It was a great success.

Here are the super easy directions to create your own.

Buy a cake and enjoy it with your family and friends
Wash the empty cake pan and remove the sticker on the clear plastic lid so the sun can shine through
Fill the bottom with soil
Plant your seeds and water them in. You can poke or drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage if you'd like
Secure the clear plastic lid back on top creating a ‘greenhouse’ environment for your seeds
Place your new portable micro greenhouse on a sunny windowsill or under a lamp to grow
Monitor and water when needed
Transplant seedlings when they no longer fit under the ‘greenhouse’ lid
Enjoy

The photos here show the cake when I bought it, the washed pan with soil ready for planting, and some green onion seedlings I started. As you see, I had to buy three of them to take the photos. I called it research, but enjoyed the cakes all the same. Its a great way to reuse everyday items in new ways to reduce garbage and go green.

D-Day, The Day of Heroes

2009-06-06T23:41:00.009-04:00

Today, June 6th is the 65^th anniversary of World War II’s D-Day. In the early pre-dawn hours on this day in 1944, American soldiers boarded ships anchored in England’s southern harbors, knowing that in minutes they would be crossing the English Channel bound for the uncertain shores of Normandy France.

Many of those soldiers were young, just barely men, yet embarking on a man’s journey that would shape the world’s landscape forever. My father, David Vautier was one of those men. He was headed for Omaha Beach. Still a bright-eyed teenager, and invincible as teenagers often believe they are, I doubt he had any idea what lie ahead for him in what would become know as one of the bloodiest battles of the war, Bloody Omaha.

By the grace of God my father made it to the beach that day and survived the longest day of his life. The steep cliffs of Hitler's Atlantic Wall must have seemed insurmountable after enduring the trek across the flat sands riddled with fallen companions. I once asked him how he managed to survive. “Thin dog tags” he said. “What do you mean thin dog tags?” I asked. He took a deep breath, looked over at me with a certain resignation clearly visible in his aging blue eyes and replied “Very thin dog tags. I kept so low and close to the sand on that beach that the only thing between me and it were my dog tags”. Surely an answer that only another soldier could possibly understand the full weight of.

D-Day was a day of Heroes and my father was one of them. As I comfortably sit here today, in my safe surroundings with many of the luxuries we American’s take for granted, I reflect on his heroism, and the heroism of those who stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the landing boats yet who never even made it to shore. I am grateful. I am grateful for the soldiers of the Great Generation who paid for my freedom with their service and their lives. It is a debt I can never repay.

My father passed away in 2006. It is especially difficult as I watch the History Channel’s D-Day programming and out of habit, or out of love, I reach for the phone to call my Dad and ask him if he was in that town, on that road or in that photo on the show. I now see the spirit of him in all the faces of the soldiers who fought that day, for they are all heroes, each one.

The Right Gourd Tool for the Job

2009-05-26T19:32:00.012-04:00

The right tool for the job really makes a difference. That phrase holds true for pretty much anything, but especially for crafting with gourds. As I become more skilled with each gourd project, the more precise I find I want to be with my cuts, carving, and shaping. I need the right tools. Ahhh tools.

Some tools that I use I purchase through woodworking supply houses, online gourd specialty stores and even the local hardware stores. If a tool works well for wood, it usually works well for the wood-like hard shells of gourds.

Sometimes though it’s hard to find exactly what I’m looking for, or I’m just too cheap to spend a ton of money on something that looks totally easy to make. In that case, I just build it.

The first tool I made (above) was a gourd clamp that holds the gourd while I’m working on it. It functions like a third hand to secure the gourd so I can use both my hands for other tasks. I have to admit that I saw the idea online but was too cheap to purchase the instruction booklet on how to make it so I just used a little Yankee ingenuity and made my own version based on pictures I found. If you’re more comfortable with specific instructions, The Caning Shop (Gourd Clamp) sells the instruction booklet by Jim Widess for $5.95 plus S&H.

The second tool I built (left) a horizontal scribe. I make a lot of gourd bowls and marking an even line across the top can sometimes be a challenge. The scribe lets me place the gourd on a flat surface to find it’s natural balance point, adjust the pencil to the height that I want and spin the gourd to mark the cut line. The beauty of this is that I don’t just get a straight line, but I get a line from the natural balance point on the bottom of the gourd so I don’t have to sand the bottom for a flat surface. This also is available online to purchase through the Caning Shop (Gourd Scribe) for $14.95 plus S&H but I made mine for a total of about $2, which was considerably less.

Whether I purchase or build my own, now I truly understand a man’s fascination with the tool isle at Home Depot. The right tool for the job really does make a difference.

Twitter for Beginners - A Six Step Guide

2009-05-04T14:09:00.005-04:00

Everyone's talking about it. The world is atwitter with Twitter. Here's a quick beginners guide to getting started. You may as well jump in and see what all the hubbub is about, right? Come on in, the water is fine.

1. Get Started, Join Twitter

Go to Twitter.com to get started. Lots of folks use their own names for their profile as a sort of personal brand, but if you prefer to use a moniker, that’s also accepted. Twitter will ask for your email though, so if you’re truly interested in remaining private you may want to create an email account with that same alias.

2. Customize your Profile

Once you have an account, you’ll want to customize it and make it interesting and easy for others to follow. In the upper right hand corner you’ll notice your profile information. On top of the profile information you’ll find the navigation bar. Click on the Settings tab. There you can upload a photo, add a brief bio and include a link to your blog or website. That way, fellow Twitterers can get an immediate idea of who you are and what you’re likely to be Twittering about.

3. Start Tweeting

This is the fun part. Place your curser in the open box at the top and answer the question “What are you doing?” Don’t worry that you don’t have anything pithy to say right off the bat, inspiration will come in time. It can be as simple as “hey, I’m new here” to “All glory comes from daring to begin ~Anonymous.”

The key is to consistently add tweets, whether that is every day, every week or every month. The level of participation is up to you. Just as in everything else in life though, Twitter works best when you regularly contribute. The more you contribute, the more likely you are to find value in it.

Start with topics that interest you, but keep it brief. Twitter only allows 140 characters to get your point across. You can also add informational links that make your tweets even more interesting.

4. Find People with Similar Interests

Use the search bar your Twitter homepage or Twitter search to search on topics you find engaging and start following others with similar interests as you. Or check out Tweetbin to follow a number of topics at once. Follow people you think are intriguing.

5. Initiate Two-Way Conversations

Open a dialogue with other Twitterers. Reply to their Tweets using @username to identify who you’re Tweeting with. ReTweet something of interest using RT @username (RT = short for re-Tweet).

Remember to listen for the other side of the conversation. Search on your own Twitter name in the homepage search bar with either @username or username to see whose mentioning you. Conversations aren’t really conversations if you’re not exchanging messages. Be generous with your conversations. ReTweet frequently if you think the Tweet is valuable and always include the origin of the Tweet if it comes from another Twitterer.

6. Don’t Spam

Good manners apply on Twitter. Twitter is a social network, not a direct sales channel so sending repeated solicitation Tweets or Direct Mails tend annoy rather than attract people. Just like a cocktail party, a mention of an offer is usually ok, but sales pressure is sure to be rebuked.

Now that you have a voice in the Twitterverse, you’ll find a whole new world of information, resources, and social interaction sure to siphon the time from your day in an instantly gratifying, addictive, guilty pleasure.

Social Media – What’s The Big Deal?

2009-05-01T15:18:00.004-04:00

The use of social media is skyrocketing. Online social networking sites are breaking records and crashing operating systems with the huge influx of users. “So what’s the big deal?” you might be thinking. "Why are online social media outlets so popular?"

My answer may surprise you. It’s the people. Granted, the technology is fun, but it still boils down to individuals. You, me and our need to connect.

Since the beginning of time people have gathered, mingled and interacted with others in the social culture of life. Then, just as now we learn, love and build relationships. We exchange ideas, share experiences, earn livings, and we seek and give guidance. We network, expand our circles, and cooperate for a greater good. In essence we live and express ourselves as individuals.

Social media helps us to do all those things but just on a larger and faster scale with more immediate results. When all is said and done though, it’s still all about people.

Let’s look at what are arguably the top social media outlets and how they relate to the people who use them.

Facebook – Mostly people you knew. It’s much like a reunion, with lots of old high-school and college classmates gathering and reconnecting.

LinkedIn – Mostly people you know. It’s like a Chamber of Commerce event with lots of current work colleagues, vendors, and clients.

Twitter – Mostly people you want to know. Similar to a cocktail party where you briefly exchange quips and small bits of information.

Blogs – A forum to express yourself and learn. You write about what interests you, what you think others will find interesting, and what will highlight your best features.

Social media satisfies our need to connect with people from the past, people from our current relationships, and people we’d like to know. It’s also a place to be heard, carve out a niche, and connect.

So, what’s the big deal? It’s no big deal really. It’s just people connecting in a different way.

Eco-Friendly ‘Green’ Tires

2009-04-19T21:24:00.016-04:00

I just got a new set of summer tires for my car. They’re green. No, not the color but the way they’re made. They’re eco-friendly tires by Nokian.

When I started looking for tires this Spring I had no idea that eco-friendly tires even existed. The concept wasn’t even on my radar. So when I was researching tires to replace my Pirellis, and learned that they had a line of green sports tires, the Pirelli Cinturato, I was excited.

Then my tire shop told me about Nokian, who is entirely green. According to their website, “Nokian Tyres is the world's first tire manufacturer to introduce a production method using earth-friendly oils. Our birch leaf insignia guarantees the complete absence of toxic chemicals.” That was pretty intriguing and definitely fit into my lifestyle of living green.

But to be sure I was making a good decision I spoke with a few tire-savvy friends who shared that they had been riding Nokian’s for a long while, one for over 15 years. They both spoke favorably of Nokian’s performance and handling and highly recommended them.

By running on new Nokian eco-friendly tires, I feel like I’m being a responsible and accountable global citizen. The bonus, is that the high-performance Nokian’s and 17” rims look great on my Saab Convertible. They’re a sweet ride. Go green.

Do You Twitter?

2009-04-16T15:30:00.006-04:00

Like so many other technology second adopters, I have finally been caught up in the social media avalanche that has become know as Twitter.

I call myself a technology second adopter because I wasn’t the first wave of online computer pioneers to catch the tweeting bug. I actually waited in the online wings to be sure I could discern the hype from the value before jumping in with both feet.

But now here I am, up to my eyeballs in tweet talk and loving it. To an education junkie and long-time marketer like me, its heaven. An information explosion with countless resources and boatloads of people willing to share what they know. It’s like finding the golden ticket to the chocolate factory and winning a never ending supply of everlasting gob-stoppers.

As the world’s top microblog, Twitter grew 1,382% year-over-year in February 2009 (Nielsen Online) and shows no signs of slowing down. It will be interesting to watch as more main-stream users and businesses jump on board in search of online opportunity through non-conventional channels.

If you’re interested in taking a peek at my peeps and what it’s all about, follow me on Twitter at @dvautier. Now, if only I can figure out how to add the link button.

Lavender Cookies

2009-04-04T21:42:00.008-04:00

Yes, you can use lavender in food! Adding a touch of lavender to cakes, lemonade, jellies, and cookies makes for an unexpectedly pleasant tasting surprise. It’s a delicate flavor that smells as good as it tastes.

But when using lavender beware. The old adage that “if a little is good, a lot is better” doesn’t apply here. Too much lavender in foods turns an elegant essence into a sudsy mouthful by making foods taste a bit like hand soap. So go easy on the measuring and enjoy the fresh-from-the-field flavor of lavender.

Here’s a recipe that’s fun to make and share. It’s from The Complete Book of Herbs by Andi Cleavely and Katherine Richmond. Enjoy.

5/8 Cup butter plus more to grease baking sheets

½ Cup granulated sugar

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp dried lavender flowers

1 ½ Cups self-rising flower

Assorted leaves and flowers to decorate

Preheat the oven to 350º. Cream the butter and sugar together, then stir in the egg. Mix in the lavender flowers and the flour.

Grease two cookie sheets and drop spoonfuls of the mixture on them. Bake for about 15–20 minutes, until the cookies are golden. Serve with some fresh leaves and flowers to decorate. Makes about 30.

Hyacinth in Spring

2009-03-25T22:20:00.015-04:00

Spring is the only season whose arrival I anticipate with the unbridled enthusiasm of a young girl. I love the healing and moist warmth that follows the long icy-cold winter. I love the promise of summer that it delivers in small incremental doses every day as it melts away the barren white of winter and introduces the lush colors of summer. And most importantly I love the smell.

One of my favorite spring scents is the hyacinth, also known affectionately as “high-a-stinks” by my neighbor Elsa. Their aroma cuts through the stale air of any room, soothing my senses and relaxing my mind.

Before it’s warm enough for them to flower naturally outside, I always get some forced bulbs to add to my office and bedroom. To give them their proper presentation, I put the already budding 4” potted plants in decorative planters and add some Spanish moss around the base.

At work, I place the hyacinth in a location that I can see, touch and smell. It’s a great lift-me-up during the day and reinvigorates me with energy. At home, I place the potted hyacinth on my night table. It’s amazing how just walking into my bedroom and catching a whiff of the aromatic perfume puts me at ease.

It’s a special treat to fall asleep and wake up to the pleasant and healing scent of hyacinth. Purple-blue is my favorite color.

Gourd-ous Gourd Bowls

2009-03-15T12:06:00.009-04:00

Gourd crafting has become a great hobby. My initial efforts at making gourd bowls were a bit raw, but I’ve enjoyed the process of learning the craft and trying new things. When I first started making bowls, I used what I had on hand to color the gourds, which was wood stain. I found I could get quite a few different colors from the amount of stain I used and by using more than one application.

I had seen some gourds that had some beautifully rich finishes and wanted to learn more about that. Different colors, rich hues and stunning shine. So I looked into typical finishes for gourds and found that both leather dyes and gourd inks seemed to be the most common finishes used by serious artists. I decided to try gourd ink because it seemed easier to use and clean up. I purchased the ink from Welburn Farms, the same California gourd farm where I purchased some dried gourds.

I also wanted to try my hand at inlaying so I started with inlaying some glass beads in the bowl rims. I used my Dremel tool with a flex shaft which makes it easier to control. I’ve found that inlaying takes great attention to detail and I have to be very present when working on carving out the spaces where the beads will be placed. If I’m not, I tend to mess up and then the bead doesn’t fit snugly without gaps around it.

Here are a few of my most recent pieces. It’s amazing to see how the ink covers the gourd and decides what it wants to look like, with no help from me. The first gourd bowl is inked with sky blue, but the raw colors of the gourd itself made the finish look more like a mottled seafoam green/blue. The exterior was then finished with a coat of spray polyurethane. I left the interior natural with only a mineral oil finish. I like the look and it can be used safely with foods. I placed blue and green beads into the carved out areas around the rim and secured them in place with hot glue, which is transparent when dry.

The other bowl is inked with a medium brown color on the exterior. The hard exterior shell accepts the ink differently than the interior which is more of an exposed surface. So on the interior, I used the medium brown ink but mixed it with varnish. Combining the varnish with the ink makes the ink more closely match the exterior color while also protecting it. Otherwise the ink would be much darker when it covers the rough, exposed surface. The rim of the bowl has amber glass bead inlays. These were also secured in place with hot glue.

I think these gourd bowls are gourd-ous.

The True Harbinger of Spring – the Crocus

2009-03-14T14:24:00.004-04:00

Many people think that daffodils herald in the spring season, announcing the warmer weather months with bunches of bright yellow flowers and St. Patty Day green leaves.

In my mind though, the true harbinger of spring is the ever-so-early-arriving crocus. Long before daffodils grow tall and strong enough to support their blooms, the short, colorful crocus pushes its head above the frozen ground to dazzle us with the splendid hues of purple, yellow and cream shaded flowers. You can almost breathe in the colors.

I love to walk out on my back deck, look down, and see the rich green leaves and vibrant flower petals emerge from the winter-warn brown of the lawn. It’s a sure sign that warmer weather is certain to arrive.

Every fall I add a bag or two of bulb plantings right into the lawn in the back yard. And, every year I am rewarded with a few more flowers that add to the spring carpet of color.

Thank Goodness the crocuses have arrived to wipe away the winter doldrums and reinvigorate us with energy and life.

Out of My Gourd

2009-03-03T15:39:00.009-05:00

A lot of people have said that I must be out of my gourd, and now I think they’re absolutely right.

I’m exploring a whole new world of crafting with gourds and it’s proving to be a lot of fun. It started when I grew some gourds in my Dad’s garden in 2003. We must have had green thumbs because they really took off. I had no idea they required so much room to grow!

I didn’t do anything with them for the longest time. They just sat in my parents garden shed collecting dust and drying out (as gourds do). When my Mom thought she’d clean out a few things and wanted to throw them away, I finally decided to do something with them.

The first things I made were birdhouses. Different hole sizes for different birds depending on the overall size and shape of the gourds themselves. I drilled some small drain holes in the bottom and added a leather strap for hanging. I painted them with acrylic paint and then a top coat of spray polyurethane so they could be used outdoors. They don’t have perches because I learned that perches actually put the birdhouse inhabitants in danger. They make it easy for larger, more predatory birds to hang out on the perch and attack the birds inside.

When I ran out of my own home-grown gourds, I started buying them from Welburn Farms, a gourd Farm in California. Who knew people grew and sold dirt-encrusted dry gourds? With the gourds I’ve purchased, I’ve started making bowls. I began with low-rim bowls and used a Dremel tool to carve some shapes and lines. My beginner efforts were rather primitive, but that’s what gives them their charm. I used regular wood stain to color the interior and exterior. Like the birdhouses, I coated them with polyurethane for a finish. The poly, once dried, makes them food-safe for dry foods like chips or bread.

I really must be out of my gourd because now I have a bunch of gourds in various stages of completion littering my kitchen and workshop area. I’m finding it rather rewarding though. It’s very creative to figure out what to do with each design, very zen-like because I have to be present and pay attention to what I’m doing when I’m working on them, and very satisfying to end up with a useful piece of primitive artwork that I can use around the house or give as gifts.

Now when people say that I’m out of my gourd, I just say ‘thank you’.

2008 PhiliaDiDi - Learning to Love Myself

2008-12-09T21:48:00.011-05:00

In March of this year I started this blog. One of my first entries was to introduce my life theme for 2008; “PhiliaDiDi – learning to love myself”. Every year since 2005, my yearly life theme has proclaimed itself to me and I’ve listened. I write it down and even create a ‘life card’, much like a business card that I carry around with me to remind me of what lesson or truth I need to pay attention to.

This year, although the theme had revealed itself way back in March, I had yet to produce the life card as my daily reminder. Luckily, just in the nick of time before this year ends, I’ve finally completed 2008’s life card thanks to the generous help of a graphic designer in my office at work. Here it is.

In talking about love, I learned that ancient Greeks employed several different words when describing different types of love. They used “Agape” love to describe a Godly type of love, “Eros” love to describe a romantic type of love, and “Philia” for a brotherly type of love. Philia seemed like just the right word for me in finding more acceptance, kindness and love for myself and of myself. It’s appropriate in my search to find love for my “inner child”, “inner self”, or “true self”.

Since I’m now paying attention to that inner part of myself, it seemed only right to use the name DiDi in the theme. DiDi is what everyone called me as a small child. It reflects the most pure sense of self that I have. Thus, PhiliaDiDi made perfect sense when it came to learning to love myself.

The image on the card is a great reflection of this year’s theme. It’s a combination of a Goddess image, combined with a heart over a chaotic background. The Goddess is the adult me, mother earth or all of womankind. The heart represents my little girl DiDi, who is held and protected by the Goddess. The chaotic background is the crazy world and dysfunctional environment that that I struggle against. The theme’s words appear as if written in the small words of a child yet seem to convey the boldness and strength of a woman who loves and appreciates all parts of herself. It’s the perfect combination of acceptance, existence, kindness and love.

Grammie Jammie Season Kick-Off

2008-10-01T20:45:00.008-04:00

Don’t you just love those brisk fall and winter evenings when you can come home from work and slip into your favorite, most comfortable pair of toasty flannel pajamas and snuggle up on the couch in front of a warm fire? Me too.

That’s why I celebrated the arrival of the cool weather season this year with a Grammie Jammie Season Kick-off gathering. It was a Friday night in mid-September and I invited friends and family to stop by, sip a glass of wine, munch some tasty nibblers and enjoy some good conversation. The catch was that everyone had to wear their pajamas! After all, how could we celebrate Grammie Jammies without actually wearing them?

Now you may be wondering just why it is I call my comfortable, reliable flannel PJ’s, “Grammie Jammies”, and it’s a good question. You see, my Grandmother, who resided just next door to where I grew up, lived a long life and finally left this world when she was just a few months shy of her 98^th birthday. As she slowed down in her later years, the one thing that was constant was that she was always cold and so took to wearing flannel pajamas around the house to stay warm in the winter.

The pajamas usually had a delicate floral print pattern on the soft material, a button down, long sleeve top with a left hand breast pocket and elastic stretch-top pants. All the ingredients of warmth and comfort. Following her passing in 1999, my sister began sporting them. A short time later, I began wearing them around the house as casual wear and then they became a much appreciated, holiday gift idea from my niece. It became a bit of a family tradition. In my Grandmother’s honor we dubbed them “Grammie Jammies” since she was the one who first introduced us to their charm.

Today, Grammie Jammies come in all types of colors and patterns. I even have a pair that is lime green with skiing polar bears! They’ve come a long way from their modest floral beginnings. For the season kick-off event, I broke out a brand new pair. I love the feel of the never worn, baby soft flannel before it has had time to build up pills from multiple washings, stains from cooking, and worn out knees and elbows from kicking around the house.

This pair was blue with white and black Dalmatian’s and pink piping along the blouse front, breast pocket and pant and sleeve cuffs. I was excited to un-wrap them from their neatly folded package held together with an off-white ribbon which was buttoned in place on the second button on the pajama top. The package proudly merchandised the pajamas as if they were still on display on the store shelf with stiffened cardboard to help them hold their packaged shape. The ribbon wrapped around the back to include the folded pants, and then connected again to the front of the pajamas on the same button. Ahhh. New Grammie Jammies.

The party was a huge success. What was originally planned for a quick hour or so, didn’t break up for 3 – 4 hours. It could have been the warmth of the fireplace, the food, or even the homage to our inspiration for the event, Gramma Holmes, but I think the best part was the genuine friendships of family and neighbors ranging from 29 – 88 years old, all who just enjoyed a good reason to party in their pj’s like young girls.

A Cut for Cancer

2008-09-06T18:04:00.007-04:00

According to the American Cancer Society, in 2007 alone, there were over 1.4 million new cases of cancer reported and nearly 600,000 deaths related to cancer. Those numbers are staggering.

The truth is though, that it’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been touched by the disease. In 2001, I was diagnosed with Basal cell skin carcinoma which appeared as an irregular mole on my torso and needed to be surgically removed three times before I was clear of it.

My mother, who was diagnosed with encapsulated carcinoma, is a breast cancer survivor and my father, who was ill with a number of conditions before his death in 2006 was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Over the years, I’ve also lost two friends to cancer, Jean and Paul, and my friend Beth lost her mother to breast cancer over ten years ago. It’s everywhere.

Although I can and have financially contributed to cancer research such as the American Cancer Society and more recently the Stand Up For Cancer campaign, I wanted to do something more personal to support those whose life has been impacted by the disease.

For me, that came in the form of a very personal type of donation – my hair. Donations of hair can be used to make wigs for cancer survivors who lost their own hair through chemo therapy. I call my project of growing and donating my own hair “A Cut for Cancer”. There are several places to send hair donations and each has their own guidelines for how it needs to be donated, so if you’re interested in donating you’ll want to check out the links below to see which program is right for you.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

Locks of Love

Wigs for Kids

In the end, I chose Pantene, after seeing actress and celebrity Hilary Swank appear on Oprah to donate her own tresses to the Beautiful Lengths campaign. Her encouragement to have others do the same was inspiring. Even though I don’t have the same high-profile exposure as Hillary or Oprah, I encourage everyone to consider growing and donating their hair so that cancer survivors needing wigs can experience your generosity first hand.

Marketing to Generation Y

2008-09-05T16:23:00.008-04:00

As a marketer, it’s my job to know how to reach a number of different audiences and industries: B2B, B2C, manufacturing, high-tech, professional services. Each audience is unique but many times they share some similar traits across industries and age groups.

One consumer group however, is separating itself with an increasingly expressive and influential impact on the economy. They are “Generation Y” and they are catching the attention of businesses and marketers alike who are eager to tap into the largest generational consumer group since the Baby Boomers.

In August I was asked to share my perspective on how to reach this new generation of consumers at a Southern New Hampshire University breakfast forum. It was Part 2 of a 3-part Business Indicator Series for alumni of the University who now hold executive and C-level positions in the community. Additional Southern New Hampshire University alumni panelists included Mike Dennehy, political strategist and president of Dennehy Bouley, Ray Garon, president and GM for Manchester Radio Group (WZID, WFEA and The Mill) and Paul Gertin, Regional Sales Manager USPS.

The forum, “Gen Y” – The Evolution of Consumer Behavior, gave attendees a brief overview of who “Gen Y” represents, what they’re like, how they communicate and how they influence our business and consumer markets today.

Also know as Echo Boomers, (kids of Baby Boomers), Millennials, Gen Dot.com, or the Net generation, this group is computer savvy, uses portable communication (cell phones, text messaging), and is technology forward. They know more than anyone how to find, parse and use the vast amount of available information to their advantage.

They are social, socially conscious, politically active and philanthropic on local and global levels. They thrive in environments where their input makes a difference and are vocal in every aspect of their lives, including consumerism. Demographically, they’re a sizeable force in our economy and are demanding attention.

If you’re interested in learning more, watch the entire “Gen Y” – The Evolution of Consumer Behavior discussion here.

Planting a Window Box Herb Garden

2008-05-30T11:42:00.016-04:00

One of the best ways to start learning about herbs is to grow them. You just have to get your hands dirty. A window box is a wonderful way to begin the introduction to plants that will last a lifetime.

When you grow an herb, you get an opportunity to live and learn from it. You watch the seedling emerge through the soil, watch the plant expand with new growth, smell the flowers as they bloom and rest with the plant during the colder months. You get to know the herb in a way that connects you to the rhythms and cycles of the earth and the individual plant. Experiencing living herbs best connects us to the energy and vitality that the plants offer.

Of course the pleasurable side-effect of growing a window box herb garden is that you get to have the green goodness of the plants close at hand for adding a pinch of this to recipes, a snipping of that for tea, and a whiff of all of them for inspiration. The “Fun with Herbs” class that I teach begins in the early and cold days of March, so the first class is always dedicated to planting an indoor window box. It’s always a crowd pleaser and many students have commented that the overwhelming herbal aromas, scent of the soil, and textures of the young plants are just the right blast of green to kick start the spring season.

In class, we focus on only a few plants at a time rather than a multitude. Like a good friend, it takes a while to get to know each one so we take a fewer but more exhaustive approach to learning. For each herb that we plant, I’ve created a brief data sheet that discusses some of the folklore, identification, cultivation, harvest methods, and uses (including recipes). You can click on the plant links below to download the pdf of each. There is also a planting resource data sheet that includes planting zones, a list of mail order seed & plant companies as well as and some local (to southern NH) nurseries and garden centers that I’ve found to be reputable.

The first plant we get to know is basil, a symbol of love and good wishes. Basil, a tender annual, is one of those plants whose fragrance calls to you with seductive allure. Ah, Basil, the king of herbs. Next we get an introduction to thyme, a symbol of courage, vigor and strength. This tender perennial is a standard in kitchens all over the world where many a cook has said “when it doubt use thyme”. The third herb we meet is rosemary, a symbol of love and remembrance. Rosemary is a tender woody perennial whose pine-like needles add a distinctive scent or flavor to many herbal combinations. Rosemary holds a special place in my heart and I have placed a sprig of it with both my grandmother and father when they left this world, to express my love and unending memory of them in my life.

So, dig in and plant your own window box herb garden. You may find some great friendships with plants that you didn’t expect but that you’re sure to appreciate.

Sticks, Chicks, and Crutches

2008-05-20T12:26:00.012-04:00

Field hockey in New England. I love it. In high school it was my game. As a four-year letterman, I ruled the defensive field with authority, skill, and a sure-footed confidence. That's me in the photo to the left (circa 1980 - 1981). My teammates admired my leadership and elected me one of their co-captains. My coaches rewarded my speed, agility, and defensive tenaciousness with countless ‘defensive player of the game’ awards. I even earned a place on the Eagle Tribune's Field Hockey All-Star roster. I loved the running, the flicking, rushing the opposition on corners and tackling rivals as they advanced down the field.

When I started looking for an adult league last year to get back into the game, it took a while to find one. After all, field hockey isn’t like boys basketball or baseball - there aren’t a lot of adult women players out there who are able to play. Life has a tendency of getting in the way with kids schedules, career paths, pets, husbands, and the ongoing responsibilities of running a household.

But this spring I was fortunate to come across not one, but two adult leagues. I was in heaven. I thought there would be nothing like a game of field hockey in New England to get me back in shape. The first league was an indoor co-ed league at Seacoast United in Hampton, NH where they schedule multiple six-week sessions throughout the year. The spring session was scheduled on a slightly shorter-than-regulation artificial field with ‘push play’ only rules and a reduced number of players – 3 offensive, 3 defensive, no goalie. A great way to get back in the swing I thought. It started on the first Monday evening of May.

The second league was a newly-formed outdoor club in Georgetown Massachusetts, called the Northshore Field Hockey League. This was an outdoor field hockey league on real turf with regular size fields. “Wow”, I thought, “this is great stuff”. Sticks and chicks and all things field hockey. Now I was really getting excited by the thought of getting back into the game that I truly enjoyed by participating on two different teams. Life was good.

Everything was set to go. I purchased a new stick, some practice balls, shin guards, a pair of New Balance shoes and molded my mouthgard to fit. I was ready to play.

The first fifteen minutes of the first game were glorious. Granted I was completely winded, and missed a few plays, but I felt the same rush of adrenaline I did as a player at Londonderry High School . I was back. That is, I was back right up until I planted my foot to shift direction and tackle the oncoming offensive player and my knee missed the play. “Crunch, rip”. Damn.

I had made one critical miscalculation. You see, I thought that field hockey would be a great game to play to get back in shape. But as it turns out, I needed to already be in better shape to play field hockey. Emergency room, crutches, rehab, referral to an Orthopedic surgeon, and a noisy MRI. Sigh. It looks like a torn Meniscus and a partially torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), and that most likely means surgery.

Even though I’m sidelined after just beginning, I’m optimistic that I may be able to get back to the game after I heal. I still love the rush I get playing field hockey, and hope that I can experience the thrill of the game again. Until then I'll have to live with the fact that this time around, it was at the very least, a most frustrating encounter with ‘sticks, chicks and crutches’.

File Hosting and Media Sharing

2008-05-15T14:36:00.007-04:00

For a while now, I’ve wanted to share some of the content from my Herb Classes with readers, but couldn’t figure out know how to publish or link to the plant related handout sheets that I had created. Google’s Blogger, which is where my Blog now resides, allows me to link to other places and add photos, but doesn’t allow me to store data so readers can download.

It took me a while to figure out that there are a number of free file hosting sites available that will allow me to store my documents online for absolutely nothing. Zilch, Nada, Gatz. And free is always a good thing to a small-time, beginner blogger like me. A Google search will give you a fuller list, but here are a few names of potential places to store your stuff online.

MediaFire

MyFreeFileHosting

FileDen

I’ve chosen to use Mediafire. A lot of the free applications are fairly similar in function but Mediafire was noticed by PC Magazine, Cnet, PC World and Lifehacker which put it in the winners circle for me. It’s super easy to use, takes very little time to set up an account (which is optional), and within minutes I had successfully uploaded a file.

Once the files are stored online, I’m able include a link to them from my blog. Readers can then download the files for their own information or use. Very cool.

I really wouldn’t have figured this out if not for a friend of mine, David Seah, who’s an avid and well respected blogger in his own right. Dave is quite a bit more skilled with the online and technical worlds than I am so when he suggested I use an online file hosting package for file sharing, I paid attention. On his blog, Dave writes about productivity and other methods of empowering ourselves. Check him out - he’s one of the smartest people I know and fantastic at combining technical and creative concepts in ways that most of us can only imagine.

Now that I have a file hosting application in place I’ll be adding more content from my herb classes for anyone interested in learning a bit more about the plants.

This Year’s Theme: Learning to Love Myself

2008-04-21T12:40:00.006-04:00

Each year for the past several years now I’ve experienced spurts of personal growth which emerge as themes or patterns in my life. These recurring topics have been useful roadmaps to focus my attention on learning to listen to myself more on a daily basis and in helping me find a more emotionally balanced place to exist in this sometimes crazy world.

The most interesting thing about these themes is that I’ve never gone in search of the topics, of what I should be working on, or what I should be paying attention to. Rather, they seem to coalesce on their own, issue by issue, over time, and come into my awareness as I’m ready to acknowledge them. Sometimes I know what the theme will be even before the year begins. Other times I don’t know until well into Spring or even Summer, but inevitably they always show themselves. They most usually take the form of something I need to change, accept, let go of, or work on - ideals like finding personal balance, dealing with the loss of a loved one, or challenging myself to be my authentic self.

The concepts have become so noticeable that it seemed only right to start naming them each year as a means of celebrating their presence in my world and to use them in becoming more emotionally aware and present. Each year now carries with it a proud moniker, a declaration of what the year will be, is, or has already become. Each theme comes complete with its own logo printed on a ‘life card’, much like a business card, that I keep with me in my wallet to remind me of where I am in my journey. I don't have the design for this year just yet but will post it as soon as I do. Each year has been an interesting revelation that peels back another layer of who I am, what I am about, and what is important to me.

In 2008 it became increasingly clear that I needed to work on finding more acceptance, kindness and love for myself and of myself. I needed to find love for what I’ve now learned is commonly known as my “inner child”, “inner self”, or “true self”. I need to be able to accept, like and love myself as I am. It seemed only right then that I proclaim this year “2008 PhiliaDiDi. Learning to Love Myself.”

Philia = brotherly love.

DiDi = my name when I was a little girl.

This blog is part of the process of learning to love myself. It is giving me a forum to speak and be heard/read by anyone who has an interest or similar struggle.

Fun with Herbs: Wonderfully Green Weeds

2008-03-01T20:36:00.007-05:00

One of the more interesting things I’m fortunate enough to be able to do is teach a class through the Derry Cooperative School District - Center for Adult Studies in Derry, NH. I taught a class for the first time with them in Spring 2007, and they were kind enough to invite me to teach again this year.

The course is titled “Fun with Herbs” and is a five week course that covers introductory topics and activities with the smell good, feel good, taste good, wonderfully green weeds. Here’s a description of the class according to the Spring 2008 course flyer:

“Learn the basics of how to use common herbs in your everyday life. This hands-on course teaches you how to plant a small window box garden, make an herbal inspired meal, create a soothing lip balm, blend your own home-made incense, and understand how to harvest, store, or select quality herbs.”

Each Monday evening for five weeks beginning in March, students get to know the plants. They get their hands dirty planting, cutting, cooking, blending and using herbs in ways they may not have tried before. The course focuses on just a handful of plants, which gives each student time to get to know each plant individually and to gain a working knowledge of what they are, how to use them, how to grow them, and how to harvest and store them.

The best part about the class work, other than working with the plants themselves is of course getting to know the students. During the first class I taught, I was pleasantly surprised by the sincere interest and enthusiasm of the six women in the group. Despite their different backgrounds and lives, they made an instant connection and were swapping contact information and sharing resources, tips and recipes without hesitation.

In today’s world of drive-through food, frenzied work-loads and over-scheduled lives, the simple pleasure of women gathering around a table to learn, talk, laugh, and share stories is a simple pleasure that I treasure. Taking time to interact with each individual person and to learn about them is refreshing. Taking time to slow down, be present and experience the smell, texture, and taste of the plants, is rejuvenating.

Teaching this course is as much fun for me as it is for the students who attend, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to spend my late-winter/early-spring evenings sharing the lessons of herbs - the wonderfully green weeds.

My First Foray Into the Blogging World.

2008-03-01T10:54:00.000-05:00

I’ve finally taken my first step into the blogging world. It took me a while to get here, which you may think is odd for a fairly outgoing, career ‘marketing type’ such as myself. You know us marketers, those annoying types of people who spend every day thinking about how to position, brand and present a company in the world in the best, most memorable way possible, to increase sales and reduce the friction of the buying cycle.

Yup, I’m the kind of person who formulates an opinion on website functionality when I shop online, make comments out loud (even if I’m home alone with only the cat to hear me) when I receive a direct mail offer with no tracking system on it, and laugh uncontrollably when I see a live trade publication ad with an outline of an empty box and a big bold “FPO” printed diagonally in the location where a photo should be. For all you marketing types reading this, yes, I really did see “FPO” (for placement only) on an ad by a former client and yes, my laughing was loud and boisterous.

So, with years of writing and managing the corporate communications of companies to public audiences, you’d think I’d have no trouble at all with writing my own blog, right? Wrong. This is a challenge of a different sort. This is a personal blog and as such, well it’s personal! Throughout my entire life, it’s always been easier to do for others rather than to boldly step to the front and center of the stage and declare “this is me”. It’s a bit nerve racking to put myself out there on the fail tree limb and pray that a strong breeze doesn’t shake the branch uncontrollably and send me tumbling dangerously toward an uncertain, unpleasant, free-falling failure. But since inaction guarantees failure, I’m taking my chances on the tree limb. I hope you’ll join me.