I did not capture your palace or steal your sunstruck gold. I did not force your people’s spines to bend until they cracked in cane fields or die with parched tongues and fever: I came with parchment and messages of hope, I came to love and be loved. I came to plant…

(First published January 13, 2017 on TropicalToes.net) Scrivener’s Friday Five: “We can work it out.” What’s a real-world lesson you learned from your first job? What was pleasantly unexpected about your current (or most recent) job? What are some identifying tools of your trade? What’s something a job required that…

Tips on Fragrances for Men (First published on QUORA, https://www.quora.com/What-fragrance-recommendations-do-you-recommend-for-a-man-as-an-all-around-signature-scent/answer/Lisa-Davidson-28) Most men have a skin chemistry that works well with woody, spicy and/or green fragrances. An authentic sandalwood base, for example, smells great on just about everyone. Oud, while very expensive, is another exotic, memorable base note.

​Six Ways of Seeing Waste As responsible environmentalists, we have been learning to reduce, re-use, and recycle. We look for biodegradable packaging materials and purchase less plastic. We compost kitchen waste in worm bins and sort beverage containers by size, weight, and number. We have started to pay conscious attention…

Time Out for Fathers! Children and their fathers agree: wouldn’t it be amazing to spend more time together? Usually Dad’s life is so packed with the tasks of work and commitments that it can be tough to carve out time just with, and for, him. This Father’s Day, we recommend officially scheduling…

After Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day, many of us start craving signs of spring. An appealing way to invite spring into your home early is spring cleaning — with a twist! …

by Lisa Davidson

tropical toes Don’t Toss Your Old Phone–Turn it into a Phapp! Once you’ve upgraded to a new smartphone for a better plan, more data at cheaper prices, or simply for improved performance, by all means do not get rid of your old smartphone! Your former phone is now a PHAPP, a fabulously useful self-help device you can use in…

My Grandfather's Ceramic Tubes Changed the World This morning I found a tweet linked to a very interesting article about the Pioneer space probes, and more intriguing physics mysteries as we benefit from their ever-expanding onward mission: Link to Pioneer article.