Cat Scratch Fever: How to Make Your Own Cat Scratching Posts

...make nice things scratch-able? With these two notions in mind I set about making a scratching post that I could attach to the side of our Ikea couch. Here’s what you’ll need: 3/8 inch sisal rope scrap wood (I used a 4×4) [I have revised this post: nails work better than staples!] #17 x 1 inch wire nails hot glue (optional, but a few dabs will keep the sisal on the post longer) Wrapping the wood is straightforwards, if tedious. I used some clamps...

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Tolkien and Trees

...abashed partisan of trees. A couple of quotes from him regarding trees are making the rounds on the internet, but I’ve learned to distrust popular quotations. They are often misattributed or downright made up. So I searched his edited letters for references to trees. There are many–he always mentions trees when he describes places, has funny things to say about artists who can’t draw trees, and has many trees of significance in his books, which he...

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Branch Weaving & Climbing Structure Workshop

...Come join us in building a natural climbing structure out of branches and making beautiful branch weavings(to take home). “At the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical and spiritual health directly to our association with nature.” –Richard Louv: Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Bring Your Own Lunch We will provid...

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Placemaking with Mark Lakeman

...who want to launch similar projects to transform their local places in L.A. Beautiful video that’s an intro to City Repair work: https://vimeo.com/101460111 More about Mark Lakeman and this event https://www.change-making.com/placemaking-with-mark-lakeman-mar-22-26-27/ Suggested donation $15, “no one will be turned away” RSVP https://environmentalchangemakers.wufoo.com/forms/events-from-the-environmental-changemakers/...

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German Rye Bread Recipe

...e to slash the loaf before it goes in the oven. And unlike the white bread that passes for rye in the US, this loaf is actually made out of mostly rye. It does have some white flour in it, but just enough to allow making a hearth loaf. If you’re in the LA area, I’ll be teaching some more rye classes this year. Sign up for the Los Angeles Bread Bakers on Meetup.com and you’ll get all the announcements and invites....

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