Today on Twitter, I ran across the story of a 16-year-old girl who had been fighting cancer who died this morning. Her name was Esther Earl.

I felt compelled to read her story. What a surprise to find that she died of thyroid cancer. My first thought was that it was probably anaplastic thyroid cancer, which is the most deadly and swift-moving form of thyroid cancer. Once again, I was surprised to find that she had the same type of thyroid cancer that I had: papillary carcinoma. Hers had spread to her lungs early. She tried experimental chemotherapy, to no avail.

I didn’t know her…she seemed like a bright light in the world that has now gone to Heaven. Her story has lingered with me all day. May she rest in peace. And may we all hug our children and appreciate our own life.

Tribute to Esther Earl>

More about Esther Earl – Her CaringBridge page>

On Friday, August 27, from 10:00am to 2:00pm, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be holding an event that celebrates the benefits of community gardens. This workshop will teach you how to start a community garden. Like all their events, this is free and open to the public. You can learn more about the USDA’s People’s Garden and Healthy Garden Series in this blog post I wrote back in May.

LiveGreen is turning 2 years old and they will be celebrating with a great party on August 26th at U Street Music Hall with live reggae by See-I, eco-inspired slam poetry and environmental artwork from Gemini Gallery.  There will be awesome appetizers catered by Java Green and Cafe Green, drink specials and door prizes from our great sponsors (including Herban Lifestyle!).

Tickets can be purchased online for only $15, or $20 at the door. And Live Green is offering you 2 months of free member pricing for their Greenbacks program. Greenbacks offers absurd weekly discounts on fun and useful green products and services. The prices are always great but the member prices are even better!

Use the code: lgparty2 to get tickets for $10 (if you’re already a Live Green member) or $15 for non-members.  Purchase them from the Live Green Greenbacks site before they’re gone!

Live Green Birthday Bash
Thursday, August 26, 6:30-9:30 pm
U Street Music Hall: 1115 U Street NW

The weather was perfect on Saturday for the August Ballston Arts & Crafts Market. I was very happy since we got rained out last month. The market is always a lot of fun, well-attended, and full of great artisans.

My next door neighbor this month was the amazing Valerie Williams, owner of Holland Cox. A couple of years ago, Valerie left her lobbying job and now she dedicates all of her time to her beautiful, colorful fabric creations. My favorite Holland Cox item has been her eye masks, which are fashionable and practical. At Saturday’s market, I discovered her newest item, a Japanese obi-style, reversible, wide belt.

And Melissa Lew, whom I met at the 2009 Falls Church Holiday Craft Show, shared the good news with me that she will be displaying her jewelry in the Style Lounge at this year’s Emmy Awards. I have a maneki neko necklace that I bought from her, which I love. She combines Asian iconic imagery with clean modern jewelry designs for a uniquely beautiful look.

Jessica Blaszczak, the wonderfully energetic coordinator of the market, and owner of This Little Piggy, brought cascarrones with her to share with the vendors.

I introduced several new products at this month’s market. They were very well received. The natural herbal deodorant was a big hit, and will become a regular part of my offerings.

Guapo, who is a member of bLuGrnDesign, took a much needed rest after running around checking out all of the vendors as they were setting up. He is a regular attendee at the market, always keeps an eye on what’s going on.

On our recent trip to the West, we stopped in the city of Fort Collins, CO on our way to Montana via South Dakota. We didn’t spend much time, just enough to have lunch at Coopersmith’s Pub & Brewing, which has a wonderful menu with fresh, local items and several vegetarian options. We wanted to grab some coffee for the road, and my eye was caught by an interesting looking store/tea house with an inviting looking name – Happy Lucky’s Tea House and Treasures.

This light-filled shop, housed in a former firehouse, had high ceilings, and beautiful exposed brick walls. Along one area, shelves were lined with tins labeled with all sorts of appealing-sounding tea names. Happy Lucky carries over 100 whole leaf teas. They also carry a nice selection of fresh baked goods from local bakers including galettes, scones, cookies and lemon bars.

I chose a very sensual smelling chocolate and cinnamon tea, and a gluten-free oatmeal bar to go with it. While I was waiting for my tea to brew, I looked around the light-filled, colorful space. Across from the cash register was a hand-written sign explaining why there were paper cranes in a basket and adorning the brick wall. The story of Sadako and the 1000 origami cranes has always touched me, and I thought of it the other day on the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

In the back of the store, there was a nice selection of fair trade handbags, clothing and accessories handmade in Cambodia. Several handbags and accessory pouches caught my eye, but I resisted since I already have an ample collection at home. All of the bags were very attractive and made with repurposed materials.

In reading some literature on a table in the store, I found out that the Cambodian goods are tied into the Happy Lucky mission to support fair trade and education – 10% of profits from the teahouse go to support education in Cambodia via a donation to Sustainable Schools International.

Sustainable Schools International works with poor, rural and marginalized communities in Cambodia to sustain their schools in ways that serve their children and support community needs. Kari Grady Grossman, who was working the counter at Happy Lucky the day I visited, is the Executive Director of Sustainable Schools International (formerly know as Friends of the Grady Grossman School).

According to the Sustainable Schools International website, “In March 2001 George and Kari Grady Grossman traveled to Cambodia to adopt their son. Their desire to leave a legacy of hope for the children left behind led them to American Assistance for Cambodia, a Phnom Penh based humanitarian organization that builds rural schools. They spent three months selling photographs on the internet to raise the $15,700 for a school to be build in their son’s honor. Their donation was matched by the World Bank and construction of the Grady Grossman School began.”

I love discovering businesses that do well, do good and have amazing products. Happy Lucky Tea House and Treasures certainly fits the bill. If I lived closer, I would be a regular!

Happy Lucky is located at 236 Walnut Street in the Old Town section of Fort Collins. If you are interested in finding out more, or hearing about their daily specials, you can visit their website, Fan them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter @happyluckys.

I have been a huge fan of Apple for many, many moons and have had several Macs over the years. When the iPhone was introduced, I thought it was the most brilliant idea ever. I love my iPhone. It makes transferring and transporting information on my Mac laptop super-easy, plus I love apps. I don’t have a million of them, but the ones I have, I use all the time.

So you can imagine how happy I was to learn that Herban Lifestyle is included in three different apps geared toward green shoppers: Find Green, Cruelty-Free, and Organic Spa Magazine’s Skin Care Guide. Plus they are all free.

Find Green is GenGreenLife‘s guide to local green shopping sources. The GenGreenLife website is a wonderful source for green news headlines, job listings, and events, as well as tips for living a sustainable life. Companies listed on GenGreenLife have the option of being rated in terms of their environmentally and socially conscious practices. The ratings, from bronze to gold, are given based on each company’s environmental leadership, resource conservation, human capital, purchasing decisions, daily operations and overall sustainability practices. Herban Lifestyle has been awarded the GenGreenLife gold seal.

Cruelty-Free is published by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program. It lists over 200 U.S. and Canadian cosmetic, personal care and household product companies that do not test ingredients, formulations, or finished products on animals. And you can search by companies or by products, making cruelty-free shopping easy. Herban Lifestyle is honored to be amongst those certified companies.

Organic Spa Magazine’s Skin Care Guide provides a searchable list of the leading natural and organic beauty companies. This guide is published by Organic Spa Magazine, which is dedicated to helping people combine spa and wellness lifestyles with a sustainable and organic lifestyle. The magazine offers information and resources on how to lead a more balanced life and how to incorporate spa wisdom into your daily activities. Herban Lifestyle was listed in the July 2010 issue of Organic Spa Magazine, as well as in the Skin Care Guide app.

It’s official, the District has joined fourteen states in legalizing medical marijuana. Well, technically, D.C. made it legal back in May; Congress will make it legal for D.C. to make it legal at the end of the current Congressional session Monday night by opting to do nothing about it.Medical marijuana is now legal in the District after the Democrat-controlled Congress declined to overrule a D.C

view of the ballfield from the President’s Club

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take a backstage tour of the Washington Nationals baseball stadium. I was thrilled as I have enjoyed watching several games since the stadium opened in 2008. And last year, I wrote a blog post about the stadium, its green credentials and my pleasant surprise at the availability of healthier food choices.

The tour was coordinated by the leadership of the Sustainable Business Network of Washington (SBNOW), a DC-based organization that works with companies to help them integrate environmental and social responsibility principles into their operations. The fact that Nationals Park is the nation’s first major professional stadium to become LEED Silver Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council was, obviously, of great interest to SBNOW’s membership.

The park has several features that enabled it to achieve LEED status. For example, during its construction only 17 percent of the construction waste ended up in the landfill. All of the building materials contain at least 10 percent recycled content (the steel was an impressive 90 percent). Plus, many of the building materials used on the project were produced locally.

the stadium’s green roof, covered with sedum

A portion of the roof is planted with sedum, which helps absorb rainwater, provide insulation, and offer a natural habitat for wildlife. The remaining roof areas are white to help deflect heat, which reduces air conditioning costs.

inside the President’s Club, bar stocked with reusable and biodegradable glassware

Throughout the ballpark, they use vegetable-based compostable cups rather than plastic or styrofoam. The bathrooms are equipped with low-flow toilets, the rooms are decorated with low-VOC paints and carpet. Air chillers are used, saving, we were told, 10 million gallons of water per year. And energy-saving light fixtures use 21 percent less electricity.

the press room, featuring low VOC carpet, paint and adhesives

The park’s close proximity to the Metro’s Green Line, the fact that 7 bus lines service the stadium, and the availability of a water taxi from Alexandria, VA and the Georgetown area of DC, make it easy for fans to take public transportation. They also offer a free bike valet service and ample bike self-parking.

the dugout, which is painted green

Having Silver status means that you have the minimum number of systems in place to qualify for LEED certification (the next levels are Gold and Platinum). This means there is more they can do to run a truly sustainable business. However, the fact that this is the first stadium to integrate green building practices is definitely to be commended.

If you are interested in a tour, they offer public tours. Or, for $300, you can arrange a private tour. The proceeds go to the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, whose mission is to create “community partnerships that improve the lives of children and families across the Washington Capital Region.”

While hiking in the mountains recently, I came across several patches of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis). The plants were lush, and several were about 4 feet high. I carefully picked off about two cups of leaves, stems and flowers, with the idea that I would create an infusion from them.

The plant gets its name from its leaves’ strange characteristic of resisting water — if you pour it on the leaves, the water simply beads up in balls that look like little crystal gems.

One of the medical constituents of jewel weed is Lawsone, which has  antihistamine and anti-inflammatory activity. I experienced the medicinal power of jewelweed several years ago while on a guided nature walk. I accidentally brushed against stinging nettle with my bare calf, which instantly resulted in extreme stinging pain and a raised, burning rash. The woman guiding us pointed out some jewel weed growing next to the nettle and instructed me to grab a bunch, smash it into a ball and rub it against the inflammation. It was miraculous how quickly it alleviated the pain. And the swelling went away just as quickly.

I have since read that it works equally well for insect stings and poison ivy. It also is effective in preventing poison ivy rash if rubbed on immediately after exposure to the poison ivy.

For an instant cure, you can just crush up a bunch of leaves, stems and flowers until they become juicy, then apply the poultice to the affected area. Or you can make an herbal infusion.

I made an infusion of the leaves, stems and flowers and used it to make jewel weed and calendula soap. It will be fully cured and ready for sale by the next Ballston Arts & Crafts Market, scheduled for August 14!

image copyright Mas du Diable

I received an email from Ecolocity DC yesterday, announcing that they will be holding a seed saving workshop next week. Ecolocity helps to educate residents and groups in the Metro DC area on how to build environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable communities. They offer networking opportunities and connect people to local resources.

Here is a description of the workshop:

Have you been growing your garden, but wondering if you’ll have to buy all new seeds next year? Worry no longer! This workshop will help you learn how to save your seeds year after year, an ancient practice that’s still just as useful today. If you already have experience with seed saving, come along as well. We’d love for you to share your expertise. This workshop will start with a short film about seed saving, include a bit of an intro about its history, and then go into a practical, hands-on workshop. If all goes well, you should be bringing some seeds home to plant in the future.

Date: July 20, 2010
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: Emergence Community Arts Collective, 2nd floor, 733 Euclid Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

For additional information on seed saving, visit Seed Savers Exchange, or the International Seed Saving Institute, or see this post on Mas du Diable’s blog about other seed saving networks.