The new year holds some exciting writing projects in store for me. I’ll have a column in a debut quarterly magazine that is, for now, top secret. I can’t even begin to tell you how pumped I am about it. Sorry to be so mysterious, but, trust me, it’ll be worth the wait. Look for more details this spring…

I’m also penning a monthly column, titled “English Lessons” (trust me, I’m aware of just how cheeky it is; I didn’t come up with it, but I’m not opposed to it either…) in Western N.C.-based Verve magazine. My first column is up today and details my very personal return to eating meat. Each column will discuss some hurdle, issue, or personal challenge I’ve faced, and how I dealt with it. I’m not suggesting everyone do as I do; I’m just putting out there what happened to me. I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. I’m just chatting about mine.

I hope you enjoy this new writing venture!

Out here in the country, we don’t have regular curbside trash service. Well, let me clarify that. There is a trash service, but you have to pay for it. Since we live one mile down a dirt road, by the time we haul our garbage and recycleables into the back of the Outback and down to the curb we figured we might as well just keep driving, skip the removal fee,  and take them to what’s known as the “transfer station”, where debris of various sorts is taken, sorted, and then eventually hauled off to the landfill or recycling facilities.

Hubs created the recycling holding station pictured above for keeping our items out of the house (our pantry was getting some kind of crazy crowded with all manner of recyclables). Since almost every forest-dwelling predator imaginable shares the cove with us out here, he put a handled plank of wood on top to credit a barrier and deter easy access from marauding visitors of the four-footed persuasion. The gravel beneath each bin serves two purposes: it creates a weed barrier and it provides drainage to prevent water from pooling beneath the bins.

It’s awesome. Over the course of a few days, I squirrel away recyclable this’s and that’s in a canvas tote in the pantry. When it’s full, I schlep it outdoors and place items in separate bins for glass, metal, plastic, paper, and cardboard (which I jointly share with #5 recyclable items, accepted at our local Whole Foods).

As an order-seeking person, this appeals to me on so many levels. Things are tidy inside, and orderly outside, interluding in a sort of recycling purgatory until we fire up the Subaru and make our pilgrimage to the Transfer Station. I keep my sanity in check and my house orderly while our recyclables get a second lease on life. Win, win.

It’s finally here, friends! Solstice was yesterday (we took a walk in our forest to celebrate) and Christmas is in two days! Baking has been full-throttle, packages have been wrapped and shipped, and plans for a holiday feast are in full swing.

Here’s a smattering of things that grabbed my attention, piqued my interest, and tantalized my taste buds this week:

*Gorgeous and inspiring Brooklyn-based project profiling artisan goods and their makers.
*Kurt breaks down his “Golden Rules of Sustainability.”
*Healing a cavity naturally, without the dentist? Sign me up!
*Thinking of making a runner for the dining room table using this method.
*Snowflakes!!!
*Lynne made this bread the other night for our dinner. SO good, and easy to make!
*Richard Louv is amazing.
*Young farmers unite!
*We can all “dig” Roger’s subversive “plot.”
*Three words=maple walnut trifle.
*Thinking of growing my flock’s food.

Wherever this weekend takes you, whatever you do, whomever you spend it with, may it be grand. Here’s wishing a wonderful holiday filled with love, light, and laughter to you and yours from me and mine!