Ken Hoyt

Winter crops are the ticket for growing vegetables when the days grow shorter. Unfortunately they’d like a little attention right now, when we’re knee deep in summer chores.

The good news is that they’ll require very little attention. Check out Anne Raver’s article, Seeding Now for Late Bounty, for great tips!

Check out Ed Hume Seeds advice on Fall/Winter Crops for other terrific ideas for continuing the bounty.

I’m guessing that Auntie Em might have questioned the appropriateness of a hot looking heel on the foot of her Kansas grown charge. These are the shoes that Dorothy probably kept in the back of her bottom dresser drawer alongside her dream of one day working the burlesque circuit.

Warner Bros. decided to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the debut of The Wizard of Oz by inviting top shoe designers to re-imagine the Ruby Slipper.

Having been around promotions awhile, I can guess how this meeting might have gone:

“The Ruby slipper is iconic and we haven’t used that angle.”

“Yeah, let’s sex it up and bring it up to date, she’s nothing like Lindsay or Miley.”

“But isn’t this a story about home, heart and yearning for happiness?”

“Way too retro to sell these days.”

And that is how little Dorothy Gale, heroine to millions got a bustier, hair extensions and a short pleather skirt (in gingham, of course).

You can read the details here (NY Times).

All of the Best Foods aren’t in a mayonnaise jar. In the article, The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating, Tara Parker-Pope (NY Times) cites a list from nutritionist Jonny Bowden.

Unlike some lists which include many hard-to-find-items these nutrition powerhouses are in your cupboards right now (or at the grocery store).

Beets, Cabbage, Swiss chard are easy to grow and inexpensive to buy; Cinnamon, Turmeric can be tucked into everyday foods and I sprinkle nuts on salads instead of adding croutons so the Pumpkin seeds are an easy choice.

Frozen blueberries, Canned pumpkin, Dried plums (okay, they’re prunes) make good (and easy) dessert choices.

Which leaves us with Pomegranate juice which seems like a mixer more than a snack to me. And my all time favorite, which I rarely enjoy, Sardines. A dear old friend, a French Aesthetician, once told me that “one must enjoy a tin of sardines each week, it makes the skin glow and your eyes shine.”

Check out Jonny Bowden’s book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth ($16.49, 34% off list and eligible for free shipping). It’s packed with information. Purchase it discounted on Amazon by clicking on the link above and Ken will get a some money to put in his Sardine fund. Thanks!

My favorite news all morning… Canadian singer Feist will appear on the opening show of Sesame Street on August 11th. She’ll be singing a slightly-altered version of her 1 2 3 4 song… Sweet, simple and happy; it’s the perfect anti-cranky anthem… you can view it here.

Iron -on transfer paper has made many a silly tee-shirt… but it can be used to transfer beautiful images, too. I showed my friend Helen Raptis at AM Northwest how to make pillows with images you’d like to see everyday.

A few tips:

• Use high-quality felt with some wool content.
• Don’t try to iron the face of the transfer.
• Arrange the images before you glue.
• Fabric glues are sometimes toxic and should be used with parental supervision.