Laurie Brown
Previously published in Bonner County Daily Bee, The River Journal, and seniority.uk. Avid reader, gardener (I'm a Bonner County Master Gardener), needleworker and cat owner.
Read More »
...
- Page Views
- 60,920
- Content
- 72
- Fans
- 3
- Contributor since
- 8/14/2007
Education/Experience
Grossmont CollegeInterests
Gardening, crazy quilting, needlework, jewelry making, polymer clay, plants, perfume, perfume making, embroidery, beading, cats, garden design, reading, writing, tropical fish, libraries, home decorating, DIY, found art, mixed media art, fabric art, medicFavorites
Fans
Displaying Results 1 - 72 (of 72) for All Content
-
Tips for Line Drying Laundry EfficientlyHow to get the most out of your outdoor clothes line by avoiding fading, creases and dust.
-
Apples Can Improve Your HealthApples help lower cholesterol, improve lung function, and guard against certain cancers.
-
Eating Nuts to Lower CholesterolTree nuts, especially almonds and walnuts, lower cholesterol in humans. Here's how they do it, and how much to eat.
-
New Study Shows Best Stretching MethodsNew study shows that the common habit of stretching first thing is bad. Warm up is necessary first.
-
Flaxseed for Lowering CholesterolHow flaxseeds can help lower your cholesterol without drugs, and how much you need to take.
-
How Oats Lower CholesterolThe active ingredient in oats is beta-glucan, which acts at several points in the cholesterol cycle in the bowels and liver.
-
Perfume Making: Naturals Vs. SyntheticsThe good and bad sides of both natural and synthetic fragrance materials.
-
Decorating with Fake Spider Web EffectivelyUsing an inexpensive product to look creepy, not campy
-
Alcohol and DiabetesAlcohol can have dangerous effects on diabetics. Here are some hints for safely enjoying a drink or two.
-
Making and Using a Scrying MirrorHow to inexpensively make a scrying mirror and how to use it for divination. -
Painting with Dark or Bright ColorsDark, bright and intense colors can make rooms come alive but can be difficult to do right. A painting professional gives you some tips to make it easier!
-
Heucheras: Wide Range of Color in a Hardy, Low Care PlantHeucheras take little care and will thrive in most any situation. Their leaves offer color through out the year. -
Review: Anathem, by Neal StephensonReview of Stephenson's new space opera/future history/alternate world epic. -
Gourmet Nut Oils: Walnut Oil, Hazelnut Oil and Almond OilDescription, uses and benefits of tree nut oils in cooking and health.
-
Book Review: The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell, by Rachel Herz. HarperCollins, 2007Review of this book by the noted specialist in the sense of smell. The biology and psychology of scent are both covered.
-
Book Review: The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, by Steven Pinker. Viking, 2007Review of linguist Steven Pinker's book on how language and human nature interact. He covers how new words are formed, what swearing shows about our society, and many other ideas in an accessable, witty style.
-
Attracting Butterflies to Your GardenList of plants that attract butterflies, how to provide for their water and shelter needs, supplemental feeding.
-
The Bog GardenPlants suitable for growing in wet areas. The proper way to mulch a bog garden.
-
Review: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. Norton & Co., 2003Review of the book that takes us on a tour of the possible fates of bodies after death, in an amusing and nonmorbid way.
-
Book Review: The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge, M.D. . Viking, 2007Review of a new book about the brains ability to change and rewire itself. This has huge implications for stroke recovery, learning disabilities and senile dementia.
-
Angelica: A Novel, by Arthur Phillips. Random House, 2007Review of the latest by Arthur Phillips (Prague, The Egyptologist), a psychological/paranormal suspense story set in the Victorian Era.
-
The Green Knight, by Iris Murdoch. Penguin, 1993Review of this surrealist novel by Murdoch, the next to the last one written before her descent into Alzheimer's and death.
-
The Surgeons: Life and Death in a Top Heart Center, by Charles R. Morris. Norton & Co., 2007Review of this nonfiction book, a thorough look at various heart surgeries and the medical and monetary things that influence them.
-
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, by Oliver Sacks. Knopf, 2007Review of the latest book by Oliver Sacks, author of 'Awakenings'. This one explores music and the brain.
-
Book Review: Women in the Middle Ages by Gies and GiesThis book covers the status and rights of women during the 1000 years of the Middle Ages.
-
The PICC Intravenous Line ExplainedWhat a PICC- Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter- is; how it is inserted; what the risks and benefits are.
-
Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks. Penguin, 2001Review of this historical novel, based on an unusual real event: the voluntary quarantining of a poor English village when bubonic plague strikes it.
-
Widower's House: A Study in Bereavement (or How Margot and Mella Forced Me to Flee My Home) by John Bayley. W.W. Norton & Co; 2001Review of the third book in Bayley's trilogy about the death of his wife, novelist Iris Murdoch.
-
Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome: Living with This Disorder for More Than 20 YearsThe things I've found that have made my battle with Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome easier.
-
Eight Million Gods and Demons, by Hiroko SherwinReview of this Japanese family saga that ends after the bombing of Hiroshima.
-
Elegy for Iris, by John Bayley. St. Martin's Press, 1999Review of book by John Bayley, husband of Iris Murdoch. The book chronicles their life together and her descent into Alzheimer's disease.
-
The Harlequin, by Laurell K. Hamilton. Berkley, 2007Review of Laurell K. Hamilton's latest Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel.
-
Mockingbird, by Sean Stewart. Ace Books, 1998Review of Sean Stewart's 'Mockingbird', a novel of magical realism set in Texas.
-
Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls, by Jane Lindskold. Orb Books, 1994Review of Lindskold's first novel, a great urban fantasy with sci-fi overtones.
-
Haunted, by Kelley ArmstrongReview of Haunted, one of the Women of the Otherworld series.
-
Growing Sedums: Low Maintenance RequiredThe merits of sedums. How to grow them. Some of my favorite sedums.
-
Unusually Colored Vegetables for Garden and KitchenVarieties of vegetables that are unusually colored and suitable for the ornamental garden.
-
The Road Through the Wall by Shirley Jackson - Book ReviewReview of Shirley Jackson's first novel, which has some events based on her own life.
-
House Plants: Ficus TreesHow to care for ficus plants. The most popular species of ficus for indoor use.
-
Climbing Rose Breeds 'New Dawn'Description of the 'New Dawn' rose. What type of soil and exposure it likes.
-
Little Black Book of Stories, by A.S. Byatt. Knopf, 2004Review of the book, touching on each of the five stories.
-
Growing and Using the Herb FennelThe different types of fennel. How to grow them. How to harvest them, and what foods they are used in.
-
Tales from Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Knopf, 1996Review of the sequel to Watership Down
-
Growing the Sedative Herb ValerianHow to grow, harvest and use valerian (valeriana officinalis)
-
The Chinese in America: A Narrative History, by Iris Chang.Review of Changs book, which covers Chinese immigration from the gold rush days to the millenium.
-
The Altered Object: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration, by Terry Taylor. Lark Books, 2006Review of a book that is a combination of gallery, artist profiles, and how to.
-
Growing Chili Peppers for Maximum HeatTricks to increase the capsaicin content in homegrown chili peppers.
-
Growing Different Types of Basil: Lemon, Thai and Mexican HerbsHow to grow basil; harvesting; different flavors of basil.
-
Growing and Using the Herb AngelicaDescription of the herb Angelica and some of it's varieties. Historical and culinary uses. How to grow the herb.
-
Proper Gardening Care for PerennialsThe basics of caring for perennial plants, including deadheading, division and fertilizing.
-
Lovage: Giant of the Garden HerbsLovage is a huge perennial herb that can grow to 9 feet. Useful in cooking, it has potential as an anti-inflammatory. It's easy to grow and makes a good focal point in the garden.
-
Using the Color Blue in Garden DesignBlue flowers and how to grow them. Color combinations with blue. Why so many plants are called blue when they are purple.
-
Review of The Ruins of California by Martha SherrillA tale of growing up in California during the 1970s. A child of divorced parents, Inez lives between 3 worlds: her flamenco dancing mothers self absorption, her math genius fathers womanizing and drug sharing, and her rich grandmothers 'proper' behavior.
-
Stella D'Oro Daylilies for Your Home GardenDescription of Stella d'Oro daylily. How to grow the plant. Good companions.
-
Tall Perennials for Your GardenWhen you need height in the garden and shrubs won't work, tall, low care, herbaceous perennials fill the bill.
-
Gardener's Tips for Designing an Evening, Moonlight Themed GardenHow to create a garden that can be enjoyed at night, using white/pale plants, night fragrant plants, and soft sounds.
-
Leonardo's Swans by Karen EssexHistorical fiction based on the lives of Beatrice and Isabella d'Este, who lived during the time of Leonardo de Vinci.
-
Growing and Using LavenderHow to propagate and grow lavender. Varieties of lavender. Uses of lavender.
-
House of Leaves by Mark Z. DanielewskiReview of Danielewski's surrealistic novel, which is a cult hit.
-
How the Plants We Use Today Became Associated with ChristmasThe origins of the customs that resulted in today's use of plants at Christmas. Many had their roots in pre-Christian religions and Solstice celebrations.
-
Growing the Best Roses: Own-Root or Grafted?The pros and cons of own-root vs. grafted roses.
-
Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture by Jon Savage, Viking, 2007Savage follows the development of the idea of 'teenager' through a hundred years and several countries.
-
Late Blooming Garden PlantsDescriptions of plants which bloom in the heat of summer, after the June peak season of flowers.
-
Using Green Flowers in the GardenA list of green flowered plants suitable for temperate areas, and how to use them in the garden.
-
The Sorcerer's Garden: Magical Uses of PlantsHow garden plants were used for magic in the past.
-
Color Echoes in Garden DesignUsing repeated color accents to tie the garden together. Suggestions for how to do this.
-
Autumn Bouquets from Your GardenHow to create colorful bouquets in late autumn, which necessitates that one look beyond the usual flowers.
-
Last Days of Glory: The Death of Queen Victoria, by Tony Rennell. St. Martin's Press, 2000Using contemporary letters, diaries and memoirs, Rennell has written a close up view with details not previously known to the public.
-
Edith Wharton by Hermione LeeReview of Lee's comprehensive biography of Edith Wharton, which includes previously unavailable sources.
-
Using the Color Yellow in Garden DesignWays to use yellow in the garden; suggested plants; the different shades of yellow; companion plants.
-
Using the Color Orange in Garden DesignThe use of orange in garden design.
-
Salvias: Easy to Grow, Easy to LoveDescription of varieties of salvia and how to grow them.