by Dee Dee RisherEven though I’m not a big consumer, from mid-November well into January, I feel like a recovering alcoholic stocking a liquor store. I’ve painstakingly retrained my U.S. consumer brain to evaluate my needs and wants.
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Climate Cover-Up:The Crusade to Deny Global Warming by James Hoggan with Richard Littlemore, Greystone Books, $15It is no accident that about 41 percent of our fellow Americans believe that the seriousness of global warming is being exaggerated. It’s hard to believe that there’s any doubt anymore—it’s like believing that smoking doesn’t cause health problems.
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The Sibley Guide to Treeswritten and illustrated by David Allen SibleyKnopf, $39.95
Sure, you’re a tree hugger, but do you know who you’re hugging?
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Bicycle Diariesby David Byrne Viking, $25.95
In the early ’80s, David Byrne rediscovered the bicycle. It quickly became the Talking Heads frontman’s primary means of transportation around New York City. Soon after, he began taking a fold-up bicycle with him on tour for downtime explorations. A practice born of convenience, cycling through unknown terrain fostered a
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There are few culinary moments more dramatic than when you first take a peeler to the skin of a sweet potato, revealing that shock of orange flesh. And things only get better when you eat ’em. Packed with complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene, vitamin C and vitamin B6, sweet potatoes have long been trumpeted
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Learn to have a can-do attitudeFeatured Artisan: Marisa McClellan
Knowing where your food comes from makes it taste better, and being part of the process is even more rewarding. That's where home canning comes in. It not only preserves garden fresh foods through the winter months but also gives you complete control—and might even save
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This year, create your own ornament
Featured Studio: Hudson Beach Glass 26 South Strawberry St.
A combination of science and art, glass blowing may seem like an unattainable and exotic skill. The technique, which involves inflating molten glass into a bubble using a blowpipe or tube, can be a bit intimidating. But, at Hudson Beach Glass, the
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Play in the mud, make unforgettable gifts
Featured Studio: The Clay Studio 137-139 North 2nd St.
The Clay Studio's ground floor houses a vibrant gallery of pots, mugs, jewelry and decorative items produced by expert artisans, but the building also hosts three floors of studio space, with artists hard at work. Open since 1990, the studio offers
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You are 90 minutes away from knitting your first scarf
Featured Stores: Loop 1914 South St. / Spool 1912 South St.
Craig Rosenfeld worked in property management before opening Loop in 2005. “I had been knitting for a few years and was looking to make a career change,” explains Rosenfeld. The colorful storefront on South Street
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Amaze your friends and brew your ownFeatured Store: Home Sweet Homebrew 2008 Sansom St.
Philadelphia's first brewery was erected in 1683, and by 1793, Philadelphia was producing more beer than all the other seaports in the country. That tradition lives on today in our award-winning local breweries and a growing number of enterprising homebrewers doing it
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