They are one of the best indicators of water quality in Tampa Bay… and they often go overlooked. Seagrasses. Between 1950 and 1980, the Bay lost nearly half of the important underwater grasses. Starting in 1980, waste water treatment plants reduced the amount of nitrogen they released into the Bay, and the water began to clear. Since the grasses need light, when the water was cloudy, they actually retreated toward shore. The sea grasses are an important indicator because they serve as nurseries for fish and manatees use it as a food source. Right now, we are seeing about an increase of 400 acres a year of these grasses. There is no other place in the United States that has seen this kind of recovery! Thanks to the waste water treatment plants, local government actions, and people in their backyards, we are seeing the Bay as clear as it was in 1950.
To find out how you can help continue this recovery, log on to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program website.
What: The Smoothie King Morning Wakeup – celebrating the new line of coffee and mo’cuccino smoothies in mocha, caramel and vanilla, Smoothie King is giving them away for free in a full 20-oz size. One per guest and no strings attached!
When: Thursday, Sept. 18, before 10:30 a.m.
Where: Smoothie King locations nationwide (there are nearly 30 locations throughout Tampa and its surrounding communities). Opening times will vary by location, and specific addresses can be found at www.smoothieking.com.
Alan Dobrzeniecki
Segway Tours @ the Museum of History, St. Petersburg, FL
Bayside Tours, Inc.
http://www.gyroglides.com
727-896-3640
The girls and I actually had a fun time - we actually didn’t go on the entire ride.. it’s something that I think would be fun. I already invited my husband on a daytime Segway date! What do you say Mark - you and me zipping around downtown St. Petersburg???
Alan Dobrzeniecki
Segway Tours @ the Museum of History, St. Petersburg, FL
Bayside Tours, Inc.
http://www.gyroglides.com
727-896-3640
It wasn’t the heat or the rain that kept me out of the garden for much of the past month or so. It was life — weekend trips to see my parents in Venice, my sister in North Carolina, a great friend in West Palm Beach who is moving to D.C.
I missed it, of course, but everything seemed to be going pretty well in my absence. The garden was lush and lovely. And it occurred to me that gardening is a little like parenting: If you get your babies off to a healthy start and tend to problems in the early years, they’ll require far less attention than you might think when they’re older.
Then I lost the birdbath.
And a couple of pots.
And the poor arbicola. (Which has never been showy, but c’mon. It was just GONE.)
Two purple porterweed plants — true to their name — took over while I wasn’t looking, and suddenly the salvia and two hanging baskets had disappeared. The rubber tree ate the birdbath and birdhouse. Lantana was growing up through the arbicola and out of a tibouchina. And that tibouchina had engulfed one side of the nectarine tree.
I started pruning and weeding and bundling on Saturday and didn’t finish until Monday afternoon. (At 8 p.m. Sunday, I realized I was clipping by the meager beam from the neighbor’s back porch light.)
I missed the Florida football game. I never did get out to go shopping, never dipped a toe in the pool. And the inside of my house is a wreck.
But I’m happy.
Because now I know my garden still needs me — almost as much as I need it.
Carrie Bendixen
Baby BouTiki
http://www.babyboutiki.com
(w) 941.748.3800
(c) 941.545.3988
The gDiapers class is at 1:00 on Sept. 27th.
Watch TV Report on Green Diapers
Let me just say right up front, yes, Kim and I are LAZY. We have been LAZY gardeners. Which makes us LAZY dirtters. (Watch the Home section on Thursday for the amazing consequences of Kim’s garden laziness during rainy season! It’s ugly, people, really ugly.)
Kim blames her inattention on being “busy. Very busy. Gotta visit Mom. Gotta visit Sis.” Yeah, yeah, cry me a few tropical storm-sized squalls. I’m going to at least attempt some creativity and blame it on the extraordinary barometic pressure applied to fragile feminine hormones by hurricanes to the left of us and hurricanes to the right. Didn’t you feel a little weird this weekend?
Guys are not exempt. My husband did an unusual amount of couch time, even for him. Though, on second thought, that might have something to do with college football. ("Go Gators!” Yes, dear. Our children are NOLES.)
I got so desperate for some little Dirt nugget, I emailed Janice Vogt (winner of the great Salvage Art Contest) at 1:30 a.m. one night to ask what she was doing in her garden. And she mailed me right back!! Barometric pressure. I’m telling you. For the record, she’s buying cactus and succulents because it’s so darned hot. I could have expounded on that if I’d gone to the cactus show at USF this weekend but ... yeah, I was feeling lazy.
Thank goodness I got a great letter and a load of pictures in the mail from Linda Nunn of Plant City. She lives in a neighborhood of manufactured homes. The yards are small, she says, but you can do a lot with a little space. “It keeps me busy,” she writes.
This is just one view of part of her garden, which is enough, I believe, to prove her right.
Linda actually was writing to share some of her recycled yard art creations, which I’ll share later (I have to make chicken salad tonight before the boneless breasts go bad, PLUS watch a 2-hour episode of “House.” Honestly, Kim, I don’t know where you get off thinking you’re busier than the rest of us!)
In the meantime, I think Linda is a great inspiration for folks who think they don’t have enough space for a garden. And for those who don’t have time, or transportation, to get to a formal garden club meeting, why not try her neighbors’ idea? They have an informal little group.
“It is a small get-together to discuss our gardening endeavors,” she writes. “We get a lot of help from each other.”
Here’s to small spaces and big ideas, and time for both. Linda created this little meditation spot from skirting bricks left over when a neighboring home was moved.
If you thought only young, super skinny women and buff-bodied guys could work a runway, think again. Those young whipper-snappers have nothing on the models you’ll see at “The Grandparents Fashion Show.”
In honor of “National Grandparents Day,” (September 7) seniors will sashay down the catwalk in fashions from Stein Mart. The event is a fundraiser for Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, Inc., a non-profit organization that supports seniors in our community.
The event, put on by The Vein Center of Tampa Bay, will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 6) at the Rusty Pelican, 2425 N. Rocky Point Blvd., in Tampa. There will also be a live auction, lots of raffles and prizes - nto to mention the beautiful view from the Rusty Pelican.
Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the door, or by calling (813) 282-0223.
So I’ve made my way through most of the diaper starter kit and I like them. They are not as easy as slapping on a disposable diaper. You have to be a little more organized than that… So what I do is have her wear the diapers out and about since they look like cute little panties - but I will say they are durable. Even “blow outs” stay contained - IF you make sure to put the diaper on correctly. It really needs to fit nicely in baby’s cute little leg creases.
If you want to try out g diapers before making the investment you can! Baby Boutiki is holding classes you can call Carrie Bendixen at (941)-748-3800 or visit www.babyboutiki.com and if you want to read more about the diapers you can visit www.gdiapers.com
Watch TV Report on Green Diapers
Next Sunday (9/7/08), the zoo is only $5 for everyone. Kids, parents, seniors, whatever.
They open at 9:30. Get there early so you can pack in seeing as many of the 2,200 animals as humanely possible.
(photoshop image created by Kodiak Confidential)
Dear Sarah Palin,
What exciting news that you’ll be running for vice president !
Platform issues aside (the only platforms we care about are the shoes), we’re always more interested in female politicians for the simple reason that they have so many more options when it comes to what they wear than the men do, at least for now. (As far as we can tell, the requisite the dark suit/blue and/or red tie uniform is going anywhere soon. Yawn.)
Add to that the fact that the first thing most people seem to know about you is that you’re considered by most to be the country’s “hottest” Governor (or, a GILF, as Wonkette likes to call you), and suddenly what was an already interesting election has taken on tabloid-like proportions.
But we have to admit that, based on the first few (presumably more recent) photos of you that hit the AP wire yesterday morning, we weren’t quite sure what the fuss was all about.
The woman we saw, with the Hillary-like suits, outdated-looking updo, and rimless glasses looked more like our school principal than some hot babe.
Granted, we realize we’re talking Governor Hot, not Hollywood Hot, and we have to admit that your skin is gorgeous. (Probably in no small part due to those sunless Alaskan winters and all that fresh salmon you have up there.)
But we had to wonder: Were people confusing you with someone else?
When one of our Top Secret Frat Boy correspondents sent us this picture
saying it was you (he also said that he was, like, totally voting Republican now), we knew wasn’t, so we linked back to the source, an interesting little blog called askpang.com, (motto: “I link, therefore I am") only to find that it was actually a stock photo of the Overstock.com spokesbabe in a post that compared her to you. (The Fratboy network apparently hasn’t yet grasped the limitations of a Google image search).
But when we did our own image search and found some earlier pictures of you, we began to see what all the hoo-ha was about. There’s real charisma there, not to mention great legs.
We just hope that some of the more recent frumpiness is due to the pregnancy and delivery of cute little Twig (Trig? Trix?) and NOT the result some misguided notion (or advice) that you have to start dressing more Lady Politician-y now that you’re running for Vice President.
Because, here’s the thing: If this is truly the groundbreaking election it’s supposed to be, why not do away with all those old Washington Matron cliches and create a new White House style? We already LOVE the fact that Michelle Obama wore a form-skimming turquoise dress last at the convention instead of the usual “First Lady suit” in the requisite red, royal blue, or cream. And, thank God, not a pearl in sight!
If we were going to be dressing you for the campaign (we’re available, but so far no one’s asked) , we’d start by defining your best style as one we’ll call the “Sporty Spice” look.
In other words, leave the prim pastel suits to the people who do them best, like Posh Spicy Cindy McCain;
You look best when you can show your outdoorsy side, like in your picture for the February ‘08 Vogue piece.
You look fabulous--not to mention, like, 20 years younger--in things like this :
and this
and this
and this:
(Omg-how cute are you in boots!)
Obviously, these outfits are too casual for most official Vice Presidential appearances--we’re not telling you to wear a parka to a state dinner. But the basic style--separates instead of matched suits, a shorter hemline, unstructured, lapel-less jackets, beige/black color combos, and even the occasional boot--can just as easily be applied to dressier items.
In any case, there’s nothing that says you can’t throw in some girly touches here and there. Remember Madeline Albright’s hairbows in the 80’s? Or her trademark brooches?
Speaking of which, we also spotted you wearing jewelry that’s a little more interesting than the usual earrings/choker combo or the flag lapel pin, like these beaded danglies:
or these sculptural ones--and, wait--is that a second earring we see? Why, Sarah Palin, we believe you’re double-pierced!
We like the pin and the jacket in this one:
And we love this bracelet, which we’re guessing is some sort of whalebone or something?:
In fact, we noticed you wearing, if not the exact same one, something quite similar yesterday in your pictures with John:
Plenty of women would love to be able to look as good in handcrafted-looking jewelry as you do (some of us are just too mousy to be able to pull off the artsier stuff), so
please don’t let your handlers discourage you from continuing to show your pride for Alaska’s ethnic heritage, because we think it could be a trademark look for you.
And speaking of trademark looks, we’ve GOT to address the hair and those glasses.
Don’t misunderstand us; we’re big fans of the sexy librarian look, but we would love to see you soften the streaks and tone down the updo just a tad, maybe side-sweeping those bangs a little for a more modern look. (See the Overstock.com girl, above). The current coif just comes off a little too sixties beauty-pageant-y for our taste. (In answer to Cloe’s question, we think the Marge Simpson ‘do comes closest.)
We realize that over-40 women are often advised to “soften” their looks with blonde or gold highlights, but on someone as vibrant-looking as you, it’s actually more aging than one all-over color, unless they’re really subtle, like the ones in this picture:
And, finally, (sigh) those glasses. Why did you switch from these, (which we think are awesome):
or even these
to…
these?
Seriously, Sarah, rimless?
Honestly, we never really saw the point of those. It’s like you hope no one will notice you’re wearing glasses, in which case, why don’t you just not wear glasses? Okay, maybe there’s some reason that Lasik surgery or contacts aren’t an option for you, but that doesn’t mean you have to apologize for having to wear them by trying to make them as unobtrusive as possible.
We say, if you’re going to wear glasses, commit to the look with some serious power frames. You’ll look younger and more badass at the same time.
Think of what an edgy pair of specs does for, say, Meryl Streep in Lions For Lambs
or Tina Fey in, well, everything.
Speaking of which, a few months ago, the Corsair posted your look as a cross between Britney Spears and Tina Fey, which we think was pretty spot-on, since all we’re really saying is, we’re hoping we’ll see a little less Britney and a little more Tina going forward.
Is that too much to ask of a public servant?
John McCain shook up the political world today choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for Republican vice-presidential candidate. But I’ve got to look at this from a fashion/beauty perspective.
No doubt most red-blooded American males are welcoming her entry into the national political arena (she’s got it going on).
But her hair is making Dominican stylists across the country salivate; it’s a cross between Marge Simpson and Megan Mullally, “Honey, what’s going on with your hair? Looks like you got mousse and squirrel in there.”
As my stylist would say, she needs “un buen blowel.” But I guess when you’re out in the Alaska wilderness fishing, hunting and eating mooseburgers, hair products are the least of your worries.
You’re got to give McCain some credit because he sure knows how to pick em’. His former wife is a swimsuit model, his current wife is real easy on the eyes, and Palin was runner-up in the Miss Alaska beauty contestant (1984). I think it’s time for me to cancel my membership in the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits. I feel a girl crush coming on.
My colleagues are comparing Palins’ look to actors Tina Fey, Julia Louise Dreyfus and Mariska Hargitay?
We want to know what you think (The best entry gets some booty from the Beauty Board treasure chest).
If you have unwanted weeds in the cracks of your sidewalk or driveway, pour boiling water on them. It kills the existing plant and temporarily “sterilizes” the area from new encroachment by killing any dormant seeds.
Have a half-used box of stale crackers no one wants to eat? Pulverize them in a blender or food processer and use them as bread crumbs in a casserole or meatloaf recipe.
The same works for bread heels. Toast them first.
Drew Canole
1.888.829.2169
http://www.waterfieldcredit.com
Advertisement
