Etsy Offers GERM-FREE Shopping

The best part about Etsy in today's global environment is that it's GERM FREE ! I'm not being a smart-alec, but seriously, hasn't it crossed your mind? - shopping online is going to become even bigger than it already is -not just on Etsy. I'm sad the world is changing, but we all need to do what we must do. Please drop by tomorrow, May 1st to see what I'm selling to the world. See you then. Thank You for your friendship and support, Liberty Post xo

Plan & Prepare: We've All Been Asked To

So let's do it. Click HERE and print. (please share with others) And if we know people who can't afford to be fully prepared, let's work together within communities to get it done!

It Feeds The Beast

Swine Flu, EARTH/LP

(Now doesn't that look 'media official' to you? I'm trying to make my teensy blog look like a big newspaper, or huffpost, or CNN by beginning the post/article with an AP (Associated Press) headline deck.)

The media are thanking the Media Gods and sacrificing their blackberrys for this ongoing flu epidemic story. They sit around in newsrooms praying for the next big thing - an O.J. type car chase, low-flying jets, plane crashes, politicians jumping off ship or ship-to-ship, earthquakes, job losses, bankruptcies, gun fights, celebs off the rails, missing children (sickening), car bombings, Israeli missiles - they love this stuff - they do. They live for it. They make entire sections devoted to it.

Now I'm not immune to this either. I'm not ashamed to admit that I do post commentary OP/ED's here on Liberty Post, but not because I have huge advertising revenue filling my pockets (my new Etsy shop will do that: wink) - but because I have a damn opinion about it all. (usually with regards to human rights issues...I get so steamed) And hell ya, my traffic goes up.

All in all, I have mixed feelings. We, the public, need to know about all things concerning our health and safety and we need to know it fast. Lightening fast. Case in point: low-flying jet being followed by jets in NYC. Now that would have been nice to know about beforehand. On the other hand, we, the public, don't need to be scared to death to leave our homes.

And be careful what you wish for. If you want to play with the big dogs, you have to get off the porch. Blogs are now considered 'the media'. Like it or not, we are all part of the solution/problem.

It's a media feast. It feeds the beast.

Sidebar: Obama Administration: Out With the 'Swine,' In With the 'H1N1 Virus'. CDC Flu Page is HERE.

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Etsy Announcement: Liberty Post Industries Opens May 1st!

Yes, I am so excited! I'm opening up my Etsy shop, Liberty Post Industries.....finally. Can you imagine? I started it in July of 2007....ughh..never posted any items.....well folks, now you will be able to actually shop! (and own a little piece of this mind of mine - yikes!) I will be selling fine art photography prints and cards. (and more goodies to come) It will open on May 1st!. Until then, please feel free to share my fun news with your friends and have a sneak peek here. Hug.

Are You Hesitant to Admit You're Feeling Sick?

It's a very strange and scary phenomena isn't it? Now we are afraid to tell anyone if we are feeling 'off' or achey or sicky or hanging out in the bathroom or toilet more.....

Swine Flu Page: Some News is So Big it Needs it's Own Page

And Arianna makes it so. Or, follow the swine flu map on Google. (live)

How To Date A Stripper

via www.twitter.com/KikiValdes. Can't believe I'm posting this. I just find it very interesting don't you? Who knew.

"Befriend the dancer first. Most dancers dislike the managers and have their favorites among the bouncers. If you befriend the dancers first, you don't have to worry about being one those "creepy" pals of the manager. Don't ask them for their phone numbers or real names right away. Let them give it to you when it's the right time. Give them yours instead. The best chance of dating a stripper is when you meet them outside the club--at the gym, a concert, the store, etc. As has been said, some strippers won't date any customers; some strippers will 'hook up' but not date a very attractive customer, and some strippers will occasionally date a customer they find attractive. Don't be drunk at the club where she dances. Dress nicely and make sure you smell good. If you are having a relationship with a stripper, stay out of the club she's in. Jealousy tends to rear its head, even though the stripper is on the job and needs to do the 'hustle' in order to get an income. She may also feel jealous if you flirt or purchase dances from other strippers. The last thing a stripper needs is relationship issues coming into her workplace."

The Mexico Prophecy

What's up? First the border issue & relentless verbal attacks; aka illegal aliens Lou Dobb rants - then the drug cartels, murders, kidnapping, drug crime, smuggling - the current swine flu epidemic - and now an earthquake rocks the Spanish house near Chilpancingo. Mexico is under siege. How much can one country handle? Prophecy or diversion from other evils circling in other Earthly places? Take cover.

Memory Game

Remember when you'd go to a birthday party and the Mom would show you a tray of things and then you'd have to remember them all to win a prize? The Memory Game. I used to love that game. I have a photographic memory (often bad with names...sorry I'm working on that) and now I find myself creating little vignettes on trays around my home. This tray is 53 years old. It was a wedding gift for my Mom & Dad. It has many delicious cocktail recipes engraved on it. Last week Dad grumbled, 'What are you doing with our tray?' - My Mom set him straight, 'Oh for God's sake, you had forgotten about it. She's having it!'. (I just smiled....you gotta love North American women - they can speak their minds!) Next are the wooden shoes. They belonged to my German Grandmother. They are probably 65+ years old and I treasure their weathered patina and loving history. The little bit of burled driftwood was a gift from my son. He picked it up on the beach about 10 years ago. The watch is a special gift from my Editor who supported me during the writing of my novel. (to be published in June). It was hers and then when I finished the book she gave it to me. (she obviously knew me well as I eye-balled this beauty) The salt-water-taffy green petite-leaf motif tea cup was a gift from my Auntie Ruth. She served hot cocoa and fairy tea to me in that cup and saucer. (it's about 50 years old) The rock is a memento from a hike my husband and I took about 13 years ago. The rock follows me everywhere. The glass paperweight of NYC's skyline and Ms. Statue of Liberty was a souvenir gift from my good friend Kate. She brought it home for me. I adore it so much, you have no idea. So that's one tray. More to share later. O.K. You've seen the tray for long enough! Now look away and tell me what's on the tray....how's your memory?

President's Mexican Archaeologist Dead

Did you know? The outbreak (Swine Flu) coincided with President Barack Obama's trip to Mexico City on April 16. Obama was received at the anthropology museum in Mexico City by Felipe Solis, a distinguished archaeologist who died a week later from symptoms similar to flu, Reforma newspaper reported. The newspaper didn't say if Solis had swine flu or not. AP/Google

Swine Flu Epidemic Opportunities

I'm watching BBC and CBC Newsworld and CNN (my favorite). It is possible that this flu may become a pandemic. (as I write this, I'm hoping all of us, everywhere will be safe) Now the business ideas for a future of global hibernating begins. The home and garden become the epicenter of life. Who will leave home? What products and services can be delivered to those people staying there? Sadly, every difficult time in history spawns new industries and millionaires. Have your say.......talk to me.....

Terracotta Clay Pots & The 50lb Half Pot

All fired up about terra-cotta

• Terra-cotta is good for plants. Because it's porous, it pulls excess moisture away from roots, allowing them to breathe.
• Weighty enough to withstand gusts of wind, terra-cotta pots make perfect planters for tall shrubs and trees. And hefty pots can be strategically placed to hold hoses safely away from flowerbeds.
• Even empty terra-cotta pots make beautiful garden accents. You can also use them as catchpots to camouflage plastic planters or line them and use them as serving bowls.
• Literally translated, terra-cotta means "baked earth." But all terra-cotta pots are not created equal -- recognizable by their deep earth-red colour, pots fired at higher temperatures are more durable.
• Terra-cotta is versatile. You can mix it with cast iron, wirework or galvanized metal, or combine weathered terra-cotta pots with new ones, glazed or textured pots with plain. Buy the best pots you can afford and build a collection, adding a few each year.

Winter Care of Terra-cotta pots
• Empty and clean each pot.
• To prevent moisture from pooling inside, then freezing and cracking the pots, stack and tilt small pots upside down and invert large planters. Ensure that the pots don't rest on a level surface, such as soil, pavement or deck. Try placing bricks underneath to shield pots from the soil or use pottery shards to prop up any containers left on the deck.

Here are some excellent sources of pots:

Guy Wolff Pottery

Ben Wolff (like Father like Son!)

Campo De'Fiori

Seibert & Rice (check out the red-glazed pepper pot - adorable!)

Scott Clay Products (right here in my neck of the woods...er...shore)

Pots and Pithoi

Arizona Pottery

Forno Bravo

The Terracotta Pot Shop

Cretan Terracotta

Italian Terrace

Secret Affair Fantasies

With my G10 that I whisper and moan about every night. A good gift for all 50 year old hotties don't you think?

Acne Treatment System (Pimples You're Outta Here)

My beautiful Daughter has some 'new mommy' zitties on her pretty forehead. Instead of buying that famous brand you see on TV all the time, I was told about a system that was equally or better than - and 1/2 the price! Here it is. She came for a week's visit, used it religiously morning and night and guess what? It worked! I have break outs from time to time (remember I told you about my recession skin care regimen?) and so does my 13 year old son and we love it too. Great to have on hand for house guests. You can buy it from my store here.

Avon Clearskin Professional Acne Treatment System:

This three step system is a comprehensive anti-acne skincare regimen with exclusive active ingredients specifically designed to fight the entire acne cycle. Each product in the system is formulated with proven ingredients to prevent blemishes before they surface and accelerate healing time during a breakout, while visibly evening your skin tone. After just three days, you finally feel good about the way your skin looks. To achieve refreshed, healthy-looking skin, follow the Clearskin Professional three-step regimen day and night in the following order.

STEP 1 - DEEP PORE CLEANSING SCRUB : This cooling scrub is designed to treat every stage of your blemish from start to finish. Contains Avon's exclusive Oil Contol System to quickly dissolve pore-clogging dirt and oil, leaving your skin clean and healthy-looking.

STEP 2 - CLARIFYING TONER PADS : These convenient pads clarify your skin by re-texturizing, calming and soothing in one easy step. After just one use, skin looks and feels smoother.

STEP 3 - DAILY CORRECTING LOTION : This multi-tasking treatment lotion is designed to treat every stage of your blemish from start to finish. Proven to even skin tone, this lotion visibly minimizes pores and removes oil build-up for a shine-free finish.

Order here.

Saucy Sassy Signature Style

What's your 'personal nail colour' for this season? Here's mine. More here.

Swine Flu Pandemic

So, we are sitting at '3' on the WHO pandemic alert chart. Not a '6' which would be tragic, but not a '1' either - where it should be. So heartbreaking to think of people dying of the flu.

Sterling Silver Teapot Birdhouses + Painted Pieces

The Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival was a delight today - plus - the weather was smashing! Sheer bliss - hot sunshine on the skin of winter weary Canadians. I dare say that thousands of people were out to enjoy Spring's gift (sap). Of all the booths I passed by, my No. 1 favorite was this one. Lori-Ann Crittenden of Stouffville, Ontario was showcasing and selling her handpainted whimsical country gifts and John Ducker of Holland Landing was all smiles due to the hundreds of giddy compliments he received for his home and garden art - specifically - the absolutely adorable sterling silver teapots and coffeepots that were repurposed into fashionable, stylish and quirky bird houses/feeders. It's gone to the birds now. Their sense of entitlement and expectations of 'quality', shiny homes has just been raised several notches! (A Simpler Time also wholesales.) Give yourself a treat and click on the photos to enlarge them. These are so tweet.

A Sweet Spot in This Economy ($80/gallon)

Yes, it's maple syrup! "As the natural foods movement has picked up steam in recent years, maple syrup has become, along with honey, an increasingly attractive alternative to processed cane sugar. If you're wondering where Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin syrup fit into this picture — these common table products are not real maple syrup. The tagline for Log Cabin, which is made with sugar, is "Authentic Maple Tasting Syrup for over 120 years." This careful wording is intentional and crafted to avoid false advertising claims. (Most brands of maple-flavored pancake toppings are made with corn syrup.)" - Time. Tomorrow I will be visiting The Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival. Should be fun. "Thanks to increasing demand and poor sugaring weather in some regions over the past several years, retail prices have spiked to as much as $80 per gallon in some places. In the current sagging economy, that definitely counts as a sweet spot. "

Flash Mob

Now you know what a 'Flash Mob' is! via Perk.

Living Across The Street from AGO

I'm standing inside the AGO on the second floor. Looking out down and over the row houses across the street. Most of them are gallery or art-related retail - plus cafes and above - apartments! How cool would that be? Living and working in such an artsy district of Toronto.

First Swims

Easy Gluten-Free Meals for Guests

I love the bottom meal. So easy and delicious. Take a big wok style fry pan. Use a generous amount of your favorite oil. Saute celery, peppers, garlic buds, onions. Add 1/2 bag of frozen oriental stir-fry vegetables. When all this is cooked to your liking, add 2 cups steamed cooked rice. Season with salt, pepper, fresh parsley and if you love them as I do, red chili pepper flakes. Fry until really crispy throughout. Top with salsa or soya sauce. Yummy with a dollop of sour cream too!

Reduce Reuse Recycle

A little Curly, Larry, Mo; a touch of Charlie's Angels - hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. All bundled up in a love nut for me to 'bear hug' and laugh with. Of course Earth Day isn't just about the three R's, it about the never ending and overflowing love we feel for our cherished family and friends. To leave this planet better for our children and their children and so on. It happens with baby steps along the way and every day. Each small act of 'earth kindness' contributes to the goal of 'near environmental perfection'. Here are a few of the green things I'm passionate about: Trees (planting a billion of 'em), Trees in Canada and WaterAid. Now, for these tiny pretties, I believe: Reduce by using cloth diapers, Reuse by sharing those precious/adorably designed children's clothes and Recycle your toys. I'm doing my part because of these three cuties (who happen to be house guests this week - hence the fewer posts). Their names are Reduce, Reuse + Recycle!

A Grey Gardens True Story: A real friend of Edie Beale!

A comment left on my Grey Gardens post: (this is soooo exciting!)

"I was told right after filming of the HBO film wrapped up in the fall of 2007, that I would be blown away at the last scene, where Edie sings Tea For Two at Reno Sweeny, and I was ! I had supplied the film company with the only recording in existence of Edie singing the tune, only this wasn't from her actual performance at the club, but rather her singing it just for me at one of my many visits to Grey Gardens. Drew sang it exactly, phrase for phrase as I have it on tape. Edie and I actually met that night at Reno Sweeny, and my relationship with Grey Gardens has now spanned over 3 decades. For our complete review, check out our blog at MyGreyGardens.com (HBO film review by Robb Brawn & Lee Arboreen), and be sure to check our Youtube video uploaded 4/18/09 the same day as the HBO film release. Click GREY GARDENS PROMO to view the video."

Twelve Strategies

This essay is a reflection on design methodology and on the context in which it is currently evolving. It is an attempt to discover what it takes to produce a new work today, an attempt to articulate some of the creative, spiritual, and intellectual processes that one must mobilize in order to live this way. It is an interrogation of states of mind—of enthusiasm, suspicion, and nerve, of brutal sophistication and of the naive megalomania necessary to create what others have called post-industrial culture. But it is also a meditation on how one might sustain a nervous connection to a hypercharged global image machine without simply reproducing the most horrific and destructive aspects of the social and economic milieu. - Bruce Mau

Have you written your own 'Manifesto'?

An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth: Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto is an articulation of statements exemplifying Bruce Mau’s beliefs, strategies and motivations. Collectively, they are how they approach every project.

OCAD: Ontario College of Art + Design

In Canada (and around the world for that matter), OCAD is the 'dream school' of choice for artists. (even the building is hip.) The Ontario College of Art & Design has more depth and breadth in visual arts and design programs than any school of its kind in Canada. OCAD offers its students a unique environment that combines studio-based learning with critical inquiry. At OCAD, they educate imaginations. They consider the future. They also honour their history, recognizing the more than a century of achievement that distinguishes their alumni. Joining the remarkable artists and designers they have graduated are established cultural leaders, educators, innovators, creative thinkers and strategists. OCAD is located in the heart of Toronto, Canada’s largest centre for design, culture and business. This vibrant nexus brings together a diversity of creative forces. And where great minds meet, magic happens.