Screenings: Our critic liked “Stronger”
In Stronger, Jeff Bauman goes to see the Boston Marathon to impress a girl named Erin, and loses his legs to a terrorist’s bomb. His obnoxious family rushes to the hospital and continues to scream at each other throughout the film. In contrast, Erin’s demeanor is reserved. She dumped Jeff before the race, was wary of meeting him at the finish line, and is challenged by his injury and subsequent double amputation. But she still shows up to be at his bedside and takes a slew of undisguised verbal abuse from Jeff’s alcoholic mother. In addition, two other issues take center stage: the unflinchingly realistic portrayal of Jeff’s recuperation, and the constant pressure exerted by the Boston community to have Jeff be their “poster boy” for the “Boston Strong” mantra.
9 great blooms for fall bouquets
Spring flowers get a lot of attention, but fall blooms can be just as beautiful. As we near the end of the growing season for many local farms, florists love to take advantage of the late summer/early fall bounty. Here are seven flower varieties to help you welcome the season! As a bonus, we source all of these flower types from local farms in Northern California, so be sure to look out for them in your local flower shop or farmers market. Read on to learn more about our favorite local fall florals and how to use them in your home.
Creek friendly home improvement and yard care
The days are long and warm, but many of us are anything but lazy. We are in our yards tackling our outdoor honey-do lists. We are refinishing our decks, painting our homes and taming our yards. After painting the house, sanding the deck, or trimming back the landscaping it would be convenient to sweep or pour the mess into the storm drain (or gutter). The problem is that everything that enters the storm drain eventually flows into our creeks untreated.
Car care as if creeks mattered
One of Murphy’s Laws is that you can’t get something clean without getting something else dirty. Depending on how you wash your car, you may be trading a dirty car for a polluted creek because the water that flows into our storm drains does not get treated, it flows directly into our creeks.
Heirloom Expo returns with new exhibits and speakers
For the seventh year in a row the Heirloom Expo returns to Sonoma County, with three packed days of food, education and fun, Sept. 5 – 7. The celebration of small-scale, organic and sustainable farming returns with a variety of new displays, new speakers and some new vendors.
Seniors: health care starts at any age
The Sebastopol and Gravenstein Community Health Centers in Sebastopol are part of the West County Health Centers network. With the large number of ‘baby boomers’ and their elders in the west county, we are busy working to promote good health in the senior population.
Parents: why your kids need you to exercise
Top reasons that you need to exercise for the sake of your kids and tips about how to make it happen
Exercise for health: you know you have to
Sonoma County is a lousy place to live for people looking for excuses to not eat well or stay physically active. That’s because fresh, tasty and wholesome foods are grown and produced here year-round and the area’s natural beauty, open spaces, trails and walkable neighborhoods are daily invitations to get in motion.
