We found ourselves comforted by the words-gone-viral of kindly old Fred Rogers —Mr. Rogers — advocate and true friend of children for eons. It is our experience that there are indeed helpers all around, and that in each moment, there is the possibility of light, unimaginable perhaps, until it appears. read more…
Since the extent of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation became apparent, we’ve had a hard time writing posts. We’ve wondered “what is there to write about except this, with so many people in trouble?” feeling a fierce cognitive dissonance between the people we know are out there struggling to survive and reports of our nifty Ikea hacks. Like some blogs we know, we thought of going dark for a few days.
Then we got an email from a reader about our recent post about a downed tree transformed with the generous help of a stranger; it proved a timely message of possibility to someone who was dealing with loss.We get emails along those lines frequently from people going through some big transition, from cancer to job losses, to the life changes that just happen. read more…
A couple of weeks ago, after we posted our invitation/plea to become a ‘friend with benefits’ and support ‘the improvised life’, we received quite an outpouring of support, from subscription sign-ups to one-time donations to messages of how much our daily postings mean to our readers. Our favorite was this one:
Hi,
Love your work and look forward to each installment. I just donated to you and would like to remain anonymous if possible. If not, please just put ‘Gratitude’.
Thanks.
In lieu of a link that says Gratitude (where would it go?), we made this sign, which is really what WE feel: pure gratitude for what we get to do daily and the amazing exchange and community we find ourselves living in, that is ‘the improvised life’. Thank you deeply.
We’ve gotten quite a few email submissions from our readers lately, along with a stead uptick in traffic. Yaye. Or should we say YUM, the beautiful fragment of type Maria Robledo’s daughter Isabel created. At bottom, a shipping pallet that’s been transformed into an artwork by Mexican artist and reader Mary Carmen. You can see the process at her Flickr.
But what really knocks us out are letters from readers – some who have had to deal with serious life transitions’ – saying how much ‘the improvised life’ resonates with them…and how they are using its message to expand their own life and work. Instead of crumpling, they’re rising to the challenges, thinking in new ways. Like this one from Tina Juvonen in Seattle:read more…
Today, Tuesday the 17th, is the last day to enter our giveaway contest of Mindy Fox’s Salads: Beyond the Bowl: Extraordinary Recipes for Everyday Eating. It is a book that will be useful all year long. Wondering what to do with quinoa? Check out Mindy’s Red Quinoa, Raw Asparagus and Endive Salad with Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano:
We recently discovered Instagram, one of the hottest photo sharing/social media apps for iPhone and Android. It’s a GREAT way to maintain a visual journal/daily diary on-the-go for the sporadic or time-restrained journaler or, alternately, the more visually-oriented person who wants to document their day-to-day. It’s quick and easy: you snap a picture with your phone and apply filters at will for a retro film “feel”. If you like, include a caption or the location where the image was captured, and share it across various social media platforms. You can also choose to maintain a public or a private feed, and follow your friends’ Instagram feeds. Or just keep the images as a personal journal on your phone or computer.
What we like the best about Instagram is that it’s a great hand-held improvisational tool for creatively exploring the world around you. read more…
…is what we feel for ‘the improvised life’s ever-astonishing and generous readers, who send us ideas, thoughtful comments, support in endless ways and encouragement.
We’ve written before about the Fixer’s Collective, a group of improvisational fixers and menders based in Brooklyn, NY as well as Chris Hackett and the Madagascar Institute, who are devoted to facilitating “out there” creations – especially flamethrowers – for just about anyone who shows up. But lately we’ve been hearing about a number of similar projects coming out of NYC’s most forward-thinking borough–collectives of folks bonded together by a common purpose or interest, offering services at fairly low – or NO – cost.
But this isn’t about Brooklyn or the particular brand of young people associated with its DIY culture. It’s about a really compelling model of learning and service provision that could work anywhere there are willing people (and indeed, other cities have similar crops of great projects).
We’ve come to the end of our most popular giveaway ever. Over 190 of you told us what projects you were intending to tackle over the summer in your home or garden in order to win a copy of Kate Payne’s fab The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking, with its trustworthy, no-nonsense information on everything from knot tying to fridge pickles to foraging. Needless to say, we were blown away by your creativity and spirit. If you haven’t yet, check out each ofthefourposts to see what other readers’s projects are.
But our randomly selected winner made our day with his plan. Timothy Foss wrote:
I have such a long list of hopefuls in this category, but my favorite is this: My grandfather invented a pickle grabber in the 50s that never made it to market. I have one of 3 prototypes. My hope is to launch a local line of garden made pickles from my grandmother’s pickle recipes and manufacture the pickle grabber to go with it. Wish me luck! read more…
April is the time when ramps – wild leeks – appear throughout the Appalachian and Catskill mountains, one of the first edible harbingers of spring. Then they start hitting farmer’s markets. Since the pungent leek is one of the most delicious and transformative foods we know of, we’re reprising past posts about the famous lily, along with our best ways of cooking/eating them: read more…
(Video link.) We recommend checking out “One of the Nicest Places on the Internet”, a website doling out virtual hugs. It’s mission: “turn the sad into happy and the happy into celebration.” We find it brilliant, curiously heartwarming, beautiful, strange, sweet, healing, sometimes a bit creepy, effective, and finally, if we stay too-long, overwhelming. But what’s amazing is: you can feel the hugs.
You can have as many hugs as you want and you can also post your own hug. On YouTube, you’ll find an endless, ever-growing chain of hugs.
With the holidays soon upon us, I thought I’d post one of my very best cookie recipes. Or perhaps I should say cookie dough recipes: in addition to being able to fashion it into all sorts of cookie shapes and flavors, it also makes a great bake-ahead tart crust. Fleur de Sel Cookies, Earl Grey Tea Cookies, Coffee Vanilla Bean Cookies, Shortbread Pastry Lids and Shells for Tarts, and Brown Sugar Lime Curd Tart are just a few of the creations it easily morphs into. Once you know the basic thinking behind it, you can improvise endlessly with it. read more…
Keeping perspective during the holiday season’s flurry of buying can be difficult. While gift-giving is a lovely tradition, so many of us get caught up in the “keeping up with the Joneses”-style of shopping: buying the newest, neatest toy/appliance/Apple product to keep pace with our consumption-centric world. The shopping-cynic in us was thus delighted by “The 5 Best Toys of All Time” featured in Wired’s GeekDad column. They include:
a stick
cardboard box(s)
string
cardboard tubes
dirt
Both funny and true, full of examples of the amazing things you can make out of these simple elements, the piece reminds us that the holiday shopping frenzy isn’t actually necessary. While we’re not suggesting anyone fill a Christmas stocking with dirt (although it would make a mean mud pie), it doesn’t take a fancy new toy to give someone a meaningful gift. This is why we love to give presents people can make things with or use, like. Here’s a list of 12 favorites, swell given singly or in combination: read more…
We get emails along those lines frequently from people going through some big transition, from cancer to job losses, to the life changes that just happen. 
and did a lovely photo of the process. Since this year’s long cherry season is winding down, we thought we’d pass Sally’s original recipe along. You’ll find the ever-great 
. It is a book that will be useful all year long. Wondering what to do with quinoa? Check out Mindy’s Red Quinoa, Raw Asparagus and Endive Salad with Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano:
, with its trustworthy, no-nonsense information on everything from 
and other Toon books for kid’s, to Tamar Adler’s 
to a pile of fiction and blogs. We never would have found this video of the amazing 
