1. Donate your surplus. City dwellers in small spaces know the post-holiday routine: Assess the mound of gifts, admit there is not room for them, decide what to recycle or give away, repeat. 2. Do a safety check. Now that the heat is cranking all the time, it’s a good idea to test the batteries on your
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To everything, there is a season The winter outlines of bare trees against the sky always look particularly beautiful when dusk briefly passes behind them—the elegant and intricate silhouettes are otherworldly. That they are the same creatures who only months ago were abundant with leaves fluttering in warm sun is fascinating. In this part of
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Artists tackle the dangers of fracking in a large illustration at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. By Walter Foley The bog turtle—known to biologists as an “indicator species” that can provide valuable information about the health of an ecosystem—emerges from the water as a sign of optimism in the upper-left corner of a 13-by-10-foot illustration
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In an overgrown herb patch, a hitn of health, a family line and leaves of black history By Constance Garcia-Barrio “Your mint’s running amok,” my neighbor, an avid gardener, said one sunny afternoon. “Let it go much longer, you’ll need a machete to hack it down.” Despite the warning, I aimed to let the mint
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Ways to transform your body and mind this winter. New Year’s resolutions about fitness are inevitable. But why wait until then to renew your gym membership yet again? If you complement your current routine with something that will keep your interest over the coming months, you might just keep off those winter pounds. Fitness classes
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Is it social media? Smartphones? Or are we just seeking treatment for what was already there? By John Henry Scott If you’ve been reading the headlines lately, you might wonder if America is suffering from an anxiety epidemic. Few of these articles agree on a cause—speculations include smartphones, the results of the 2016 election, and
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Coming to a neighborhood near you. By Sue Spolan When Brian Dwyer found out that his infant son, Waldo, had a rare form of cancer, his first stop was the world-renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “There were tumors growing in his eyeballs,” explains Dwyer, whom you may know as the founder of Pizza Brain, the
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This housewares and lifestyle boutique charms with colorful, whimsical style By Emily Kovach For Shannon Maldonado, owner and founder of Yowie, Fabric Row has always been special. As a middle schooler, she and her mom would search the fabric shops together for vintage patterns, trims and textiles. When she began looking for a home for
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4th Street in Queen Village has fast become a shopping destination By Emily Kovach Many neighborhoods in the city are blessed with its own retail thoroughfare, offering residents and folks passing through a means to shop for anything from groceries to a new bike helmet. But none of the commercial corridors offer such a rich
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Locally made and recycled options for last-minute gifts—or for you By Emily Kovach After the whirlwind of the holiday season, you may find yourself with a few last-minute gifts to pick up. Or, maybe it’s time to do a little shopping for someone extra special: you! After all, New Year’s Eve is right around the
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