buying happines

This is old news, but could I just take a moment to say how much I love this New York Times article on money and happiness?

household: keeping chickens

Have you found that everyone around you is beginning to keep chickens? When I was little, my grandpa kept chickens, and growing up, my best friend's family had a coop, near the alley that ran behind all the bungalows on the street. But it's been years - since high school - since I'd seen the beasties up close.

One morning, Allen ran inside and told me to come to the back yard. Chickens had appeared next door overnight!

Mikey's farm

Several weeks ago, Allen and I drove an hour east, to the USGS-proclaimed darkest part of Georgia, to see our first-rate former roommate, Michael H W. Mike was down for the summer from med school and was playing country doctor while minding the family farm. The farm is incredibly beautiful, and besides serving as the set for Halloween II, it's been a camping trip destination since high school.

The Cost of Buying Cheap

NPR’s Talk of the Nation reviewed Ellen Ruppell Shell’s book the other week, called Cheap. Here is the NPR website’s description of the piece:

The words discount, half-price and final sale can get you running to the mall or reaching for your credit card. But in her book called Cheap, author Ellen Ruppel Shell explains why bargain-hunting may come at a high price.

Brimfield Antiques Show

Brimfield is the largest Antiques and Flea Market in the country and lucky for me it's just an hour or so outside of Boston. I made my visit there for July's show. A friend and I Zip Car'd a Honda Element and set off for treasures.