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Elizabeth Slade: Weeding out core beliefs between our parents, ourselves

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

“Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders.”    — William Faulkner Outside the garden is springing to life. All my old friends are bursting up — bleeding heart, lilacs and here come the peonies with their fabulous powder puff blooms still in tight fists. With them also come the plants I spend weekends removing … 0

The Laprade's game is kept in a box covered with pictures of their family that ran in the local papers.

Custom trivia game reveals generations of Laprade family lore

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Some families track their history through genealogy books, photo albums and websites. Others consult diaries or boxes of keepsakes. For the Laprades, a longtime Easthampton family, it’s a trivia game. Their own. For the last decade, the family has spent countless hours around the dining room table or in living rooms playing a … 0

Sheila Sutton updates the Powerball prize money sign at the Super C convenience store in Lincoln, Neb., Friday, May 17, 2013. Powerball officials say the jackpot has climbed to an estimated $600 million, making it the largest prize in the game's history and the world's second largest lottery prize. Sutton sold a million dollar powerball ticket on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Record Powerball jackpot inspires office pools — but beware

Friday, May 17, 2013

In workplaces across the nation, Americans are inviting their colleagues to chip in $2 for a Powerball ticket and a shared daydream. The office lottery pool is a way to improve your odds and have a little fun with co-workers. And besides, who wants to be the only person at work the next … 0

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Doug Laroche of Hampshire Regional, right, gets tagged out at first by Matt Serra of Monson on a pick from the pitcher Tuesday at Hampshire. JERREY ROBERTS Tuesday’s high schools: Hampshire baseball qualifies for postseason
The Laprade's game is kept in a box covered with pictures of their family that ran in the local papers. Custom trivia game reveals generations of Laprade family lore
Left, Dawud Lubieddin's things are laid out where a bench used to be on Main Street Northampton. Lubieddin talks with Abd Lomax of Northampton. Fewer Northampton benches in effort to curb loitering
Other Local News
Fewer Northampton benches in effort to curb loitering
From News »
Northampton to study Bridge Road traffic after complaints 
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Tuesday’s high schools: Hampshire baseball qualifies for postseason
From Sports »
Bruins on verge of East finals, lead Rangers 3-0
From Sports »
Editorial: Healing the IRS
From Opinion »
Bruce Watson: Sam the Scam takes your questions
From Opinion »
Custom trivia game reveals generations of Laprade family lore
From Living »
Elizabeth Slade: Weeding out core beliefs between our parents, ourselves
From Living »
Hollywood has its eye on Sunderland
From Arts & Entertainment »
11th annual Sojourner Truth event Sunday in Florence 
From Arts & Entertainment »

Your Place: Readers offer solutions to persistent problems

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Question: I only just discovered your column, so I hope you haven’t covered this problem.  Dishwasher detergent leaves glassware with a cloudiness that worsens each time it is washed. How do you avoid or correct this, besides discarding and replacing with new? After-rinses only provide spot-free drying. The … 0

The relatively small root balls on strawberry plants makes them perfect pot partners. You can also grow the plants in a "strawberry fountain" or "strawberry pyramid" using directions from www.bonnieplants.com. (Courtesy Bonnie Plants/MCT)

Strawberry patch can offer tasty delights all summer

Thursday, May 9, 2013

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Melissa Goodson grows strawberries as an attractive border along the edges of her perennial gardens in southeastern Virginia. In their special spot near the back deck steps, the sun is good for them, and … 0

This undated publicity photo provided by the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens shows the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses in Boothbay, Maine. Visitors partake in a sensory outdoor experience immersed in a broad array of fragrant, colorful, edible and textured plantings. There is a reflexology labyrinth, sound stones, benches, walkways, raised beds and water features, allowing visitors of all abilities to explore the garden. (AP Photo/ Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, William Cullina)

Haven for the senses can be found in public gardens

Thursday, May 9, 2013

The silky petals of a fragrant pink shrub rose; the crunchy texture of a gravel path; a nook where grass rustles and a stream runs. What we smell, see, hear, touch and taste can make a garden walk … 0

Julie Burleigh has created a sanctuary with gardens surrounding her home in Los Angeles, California, shown on March 19, 2013. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Professional’s home garden something to cluck over

Thursday, May 9, 2013

LOS ANGELES — Julie Burleigh has designed highly tailored organic gardens for clients all over Los Angeles, but at home in the West Adams neighborhood, her personal garden reflects a more freewheeling sensibility. Easy-care California natives and hearty … 0

Tomatoes thrive in a straw bale. Joel Karsten has devised a method for growing plants directly in straw bales. (Courtesy Tracy Walsh/Poser Design via Akron Beacon Journal/MCT)

New garden technique grows plants in straw bales

Thursday, May 9, 2013

AKRON, Ohio — When Joel Karsten was growing up on a farm in Minnesota, he noticed how lushly weeds grew from rotting bales of straw. That made him wonder: If straw worked so well for growing weeds, wouldn’t … 0

This March 7, 2009 photo shows a toad in a residential garden in New Market, Va. Toads, turtles, moths, moles, dragonflies, snakes and spiders are among the many wild things that can help maintain a landscape yet most go unappreciated or ignored despite their ability to kill insects, condition soil and pollinate plants. Harmful insects make up more than 60 percent of a toad's daily diet. (AP Photo/Dean Fosdick)

Nature’s full of garden helpers, even if unappreciated

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Looking for some help in the garden? Many of nature’s most useful critters lie literally at our feet, underappreciated and ignored despite their ability to eliminate insects, condition soils and pollinate plants. Turtles, moths, moles, dragonflies, snakes, toads … 0

This undated handout photo provided by Lee Anne White (www.leeannewhite.com) shows Berkeley, Calif., landscape architect Jeni Webber's creation of a floral wreath that resembles a color wheel. Long used by artists, a color wheel helps gardeners see the relationships colors have to one another, and plant accordingly. (AP Photo/Lee Anne White)

Think about creating garden color the artist’s way

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Long a companion for artists, the color wheel can also be a handy tool for gardeners. Gardening author Sydney Eddison created a wheel that has 252 colors instead of the usual 12. That’s because nature doesn’t work with … 0

This February 19, 2013 photo shows primroses and daffodils sprucing up a simple window box on an outbuilding display at a recent Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. Window boxes make practical raised bed gardens -- easy to reach from inside or out. It only takes a few shallow-rooted plants to provide window dressing for even the most rustic buildings. (AP Photo/Dean Fosdick)

Window boxes are raised-bed gardening writ small

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Sometimes the best view isn’t what you see through a window but what catches your eye underneath it. Window boxes deliver color, edibles and fragrance. They’re practical, too, as raised-bed gardens that elevate their contents to within easy … 0

This undated image shows pussy willows in New Paltz, N.Y. Here it is, still early spring, and already fantail willow is into its second show of the year. The fantail willow's color won’t knock your socks off; it’s a hazy yellow, a soft cloud that comes from hundreds of gold-capped threads poking through the “fur” of each pussy willow bud. (AP Photo/Lee Reich)

Pussy willows add color to spring

Thursday, May 9, 2013

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Here it is, still early spring, and already the fantail willow — a kind of pussy willow — is into its second show of the year. This show is its most colorful one, and … 0

In this undated publicity photo provided by FinnStyle.com, Marimekko’s Keisarinna fabric pattern, of magnolia blossoms on a soft dove grey background, would be a pretty way to introduce Scandinavian design for spring (www.finnstyle.com). (AP Photo/FinnStyle.com)

Freshness of Scandinavian style goes well with spring

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Perhaps to alleviate the dreariness of long northern winters, Scandinavian style tends toward folk-art florals, crisp checks, plaids and stripes, and wood furniture left natural or painted in colors that evoke the region’s natural beauty. The look is … 0

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