Traveling for Peace

I've started exploring my travel options for Everyday Peacemakers. There's a lot of travel required to finish researching for this book.  

OFF THE RECORD: I don't really love flying. In fact, I intensely dislike it, but it's a means to an end.

So I'd like to begin in Costa Rica, where I'll meet with Rita Marie and her colleagues. More importantly, I'll get to see her work up close.  We've spoken over the phone.  Rita Marie is remarkably forthcoming about personal events in her life that motivate her to work for peace. The TX native founded two non-profit organizations in Costa Rica to teach kids & adults peacemaking methods.  She swears by the program, and I want to see it in action.  

Also, I want to feel what it's like to be in a nation with no military.   Can you imagine?

Thanks for dreaming with me.  Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we'll all be able to hold a book called Everyday Peacemakers in our hands, sit in our favorite comfy spot with a cup of tea or cocoa, and read about Rita Marie.

Off the record: I’m Obsessed with food

I love food!
I love harvesting it at my friend’s farm, and gathering it in the wild and at U-pick places. I love preparing it, eating it, and sharing it with my family and friends.

I can discuss ingredients ad nauseum, and I view the act of creating new recipes as an artistic endeavor. I have so much fun playing with food that my loved ones say it’s hard to pry me out of the kitchen. My daughter says I’m not myself without a blender in the house, so after the last cheapo blender broke; I finally treated myself to a Vita-Mix.
(When UPS delivered the big box, and I opened it to find my fancy new blender, it was like Christmas all over again!)

I also love writing about food, so it makes perfect sense many of the magazines I write for are food industry publications. From seed to sip, I cover it all and love every minute of it. Visiting produce importers at the Boston market terminals for the fall 2008 issue of BLUEPRINTS was a thrill, and I’m looking forward to writing a feature about the Boston produce industry later this year.

My latest article in FRESH CUP, one of a few publications targeting professionals in the specialty beverage industry, was perhaps my most exciting assignment to date.

I conducted the research in Nicaragua, and among other things, I tried a RAW coffee bean. (I’m convinced that raw coffee could be the next big beverage craze… but I digress.)

I’ve spent the last few weeks focused on blueberries, for two upcoming articles in FARMING: the Journal of Northeast Agriculture, and GROWING MAGAZINE. Blueberries are my favorite fruit, so this research was especially fun. I spoke with blueberry farmers and with researchers who are working diligently to help growers strengthen their crop.

I am committed to covering stories that are uplifting, and I am committed to using my words to foster peace. (You may be wondering how FOOD is connected with peace… more on that later.) Toward that end, you’ll see my seed research column and other work again coursing toward people who are empowered and empowering, and toward events that promote healing and foster peace. I’ll be focusing on things like organic food and agriculture, healthy people making healthy lifestyle choices, and creative solutions to promote environmental health. I love the publications I write for, and am excited to continue providing my editors and readers with news they can use to create the life they want.