As the days shorten and the gardens are put to bed, I find I not only miss fresh greens, I miss puttering in my garden and watching my food grow. So, for several years, I’ve been experimenting with ways to grow meaningful amounts of vegetables indoors.

Be a Solar Panel: Tips for Managing the Dark Days Ahead

It was late October when I moved to Michigan from Alaska 16 years ago. The day I met my new neighbor, he enthusiastically told me some of the reasons he loved Michigan. It was reassuring, as a mom with three young kids, to hear the positive things he had to say about growing up here, but I had to admit that I was probably most excited about living in a place that has four seasons. I said that as much as I loved living in Alaska, the long winters were challenging for me—cold winters when some days the sun would rise after 10 a.m. and set before 4 p.m. I did not mention how much my mood was affected by the scarcity of light, but when I noted that I looked forward to having more sunlight during the winter, he laughed and responded with something like, “I don’t know if you know this, but even though we don’t have the same extreme when it comes to sun up and down, the sky can be gray pretty much all winter.”

Anne Biris — The Healing Power of Chinese Medicine

Anne Biris is a nationally board certified and State of Michigan licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, massage therapist, and practitioner of Chinese Medicine with offices in Ann Arbor and Dearborn Heights. She holds a Master’s degree in Chinese Medicine and has been practicing for 30 years. She also provides acupuncture on a volunteer basis in the poorest areas of India and Sikkim. Biris likes to fly under the radar, but after much prodding (because Anne Biris is a treasure that readers of CWCJ should know about), s

Conscious Parenting: Harnessing the Power of Talking Out Loud — The Teddy Bear and the Talker

Imagine your child is trying to figure something out, like what to do for the summer. As your child talks to you, what kinds of questions do you feel drawn to ask? Do the questions have more to do with supporting your child in exploring the parts of the conversation your child wants to explore, or more to do with your own concerns? What could enable your child to get the benefit of having plenty of room to talk out loud and to take the conversation wherever your child wants to go with it?

The Current State of Sexual Health Education in Michigan

It wasn’t until later that I learned that my experience with sexual health education was not uncommon. I assumed, as a kid whose whole world was based around school, that everything in the curriculum was what was required to be successful in life. At the time, I didn’t realize how career-driven it was: Math, Science, English, and History were the four main subjects. Nothing about growing your own food, repairing clothes, doing your taxes, paying a mortgage, how to have fulfilling relationships, how to maintain good mental health practice, and more.

Out Of My Comfort Zone: Sharing My Song

I’ve never enjoyed exposing myself to potential scrutiny and criticism. Staying quietly out of the limelight seemed like a good strategy for avoiding these unpleasantries. My friendly, people-loving nature, along with a deep desire for approval, caused me to prioritize putting others at ease, and to do what I could to keep everybody comfortable. I’d always believed that was the right thing to do…the nice thing to do. In many ways it felt good, yet a disastrous cost to me of all this people-pleasing was that I was chronically tense, and I was squelching my own true self-expression.

Book Review: Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

In an age characterized by ceaseless distractions and a relentless assault on our attention spans, Johann Hari’s thought-provoking work, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again, emerges as a timely and illuminating exploration of the modern cognitive landscape. In a world where the stimulating call of smartphones, social media, and constant connectivity beckons incessantly, Hari navigates the turbulent seas of our digital age with insight and personal resonance. The narrative provides astute observations, practical wisdom, and the hope that we can reclaim the ability to think deeply and engage meaningfully in our world.

Cooking with Lisa: A Flavorful Winter in Michigan

In Michigan, winter can be cold and snowy which limits the availability of locally grown fresh vegetables. However, some flavorful vegetables can still be in season during winter, especially if they are grown in greenhouses, cold frames, or are properly stored. Here are some vegetables that are in season and readily available during our winters. Many root vegetables like carrots, beets, turnips, and parsnips can withstand cold temperatures and are nearly always available in winter. These are versatile and can be used in a number of ways, including roasted, and in soups like the one below.

Community Acupuncture: A Synergy of Healing & Community: A Conversation with Evan Lebow-Wolf, Cheryl Wong & Kiersten DeWitt of Ann Arbor Community Acupuncture

Community acupuncture, on the other hand, offers a sustainable and fiscally sensible solution to treating as many people as efficiently and effectively as possible. Evan Lebow-Wolf, co-founder of Ann Arbor Community Acupuncture (AACA), told me briefly about the difference between community acupuncture and private acupuncture. When I asked him whether he feels like there is anything missing in the community acupuncture approach that is available in private acupuncture sessions, he replied with a firm and resolute “no.”

Out of My Comfort Zone: Sometimes I Fall: The Discomfort of Asking

In response to your kind inquiry, ‘Would you be interested in writing?,’ right off the bat, I’ve been transported a few miles, to the outskirts of the town of Discomfort. I stare at its welcome sign. Founded: at the beginning of human time. Population: countless.