What I was taught growing up: Wild edible plants and animals were just so naturally abundant that the indigenous people of my area, namely western Washington state, didn't have to develop agriculture and could just easily forage/hunt for all their needs.

The first pebble in what would become a landslide: Native peoples practiced intentional fire, which kept the trees from growing over the camas praire.

The next: PNW native peoples intentionally planted and cultivated forest gardens, and we can still see the increase in biodiversity where these gardens were today.

The next: We have an oak prairie savanna ecosystem that was intentionally maintained via intentional fire (which they were banned from doing for like, 100 years and we're just now starting to do again), and this ecosystem is disappearing as Douglas firs spread, invasive species take over, and land is turned into European-style agricultural systems.

The Land Slide: Actually, the native peoples had a complex agricultural and food processing system that allowed them to meet all their needs throughout the year, including storing food for the long, wet, dark winter. They collected a wide variety of plant foods (along with the salmon, deer, and other animals they hunted), from seaweeds to roots to berries, and they also managed these food systems via not only burning, but pruning, weeding, planting, digging/tilling, selectively harvesting root crops so that smaller ones were left behind to grow and the biggest were left to reseed, and careful harvesting at particular times for each species that both ensured their perennial (!) crops would continue thriving and that harvest occurred at the best time for the best quality food. American settlers were willfully ignorant of the complex agricultural system, because being thus allowed them to claim the land wasn't being used. Native peoples were actively managing the ecosystem to produce their food, in a sustainable manner that increased biodiversity, thus benefiting not only themselves but other species as well.

So that's cool. If you want to read more, I suggest "Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America" by Nancy J. Turner

My dad scared me half to death when he set Gwynn up to take these pictures but luckily everything turned out great! We are skiing in Colorado this weekend and I knew I had to take one of the Tan sisters!

I just found out about a really interesting project from photographer Drew Gardner. He photographs the descendants of famous historical figures dressed as their ancestors.

He currently is working on photographing African Americans dressed as their ancestors who were photographed during the American Civil War, both the famous and the ordinary.

Here's a video on recreating Harriet Tubman's portrait:

Molly McIntire fans rise up

Was anyone going to tell me that Lisbeth is pronounced Leezbet or was I just supposed to hear that on an audiobook of Meet Kirsten twenty years after I originally read the book?

Meet Lydia

Lydia Cecilia Edwards is growing up in an old country home on the western coast of England in 1885. She lives with her mother Mary, sometimes called Marie, her six year old brother Gardner, and (when he isn’t on a voyage) her father William. Other members of the house are the cook (Mrs. Pole), 2 maids (Annie and Mary), and the children’s governess, Miss Archer.

Lydia is torn between wanting to be a “proper, well-bred girl” as her mother expects and a longing for adventure, stoked by her father’s seafaring stories and her mother’s histories of growing up in America. Her adventurous wishes come true when Papa announces that they will be spending the winter in New Orleans. Mama has family there, and her best friend, Cecile, from whom Lydia gets her middle name.

It has taken me some time to find the right doll for Lydia. Then I had to wrap my head around 1880s fashion, which is nearly the opposite of the Edwardian styles I am used to. (Lots of long, fitted bodices and full/bustled skirts behind.) I made this one based on some images of children from the approximate period. I plan to be making more so Lydia can have a full collection, but I’m pretty proud I managed to make this in one day. I think the fabric really brings out her eyes.

Mary and Nellie, two Irish-American girls.

🍀Happy St. Patrick's Day!🍀

She's anywhere between 18 and 25. In Meet Samantha, Samantha talks about Alice Roosevelt as a good match for Uncle Gard and eighteen being the "grown up" age for women. Uncle Gard is twenty-five in Meet Samantha according to the Samantha Theater Kit. I doubt that they would make Cornelia older than Uncle Gard.

agblr how old do we think aunt cornelia is?? realizing she can’t be older than like early twenties based on the ages of the twins and alice

one thing that i wish the books had addressed is how haunting it must’ve been for samantha to visit coldrock house. i think the fandom really easily forgets that samantha is an orphan (and has been since she was around jenny’s age) because she has an otherwise functional and loving family in her life. but there’s no way that she never thought about the fact that she could’ve ended up in a place like coldrock house had she come from a different background… i cannot imagine how haunting that must’ve felt, especially at her age, and i think it makes it even clearer why she was so determined to get nellie and her sisters out of the orphanage

Ooh maybe! It would make sense that they'd have one ready made since Pleasant Company sold this dress for a while. I just love this detail that Samantha was sharing her clothes but obviously on Jenny her dress would have been too big.

is jenny meant to be wearing samantha’s birthday dress?!??

The Curse of Ravenscourt has so many details in it that really immerse you in the story. It's been years since I read the book but I still remember images and characters from the book like I read it five minutes ago.

yes you can vote if you haven’t read them all!

personally, i still haven’t read "danger in paris," and it’s been a long time in general since i’ve read them. i was super attached to “the stolen sapphire” as a kid though!

Anyone relate?

I am by no means a chemist, but I thought it would be important to summarize the most relevant information from the Dermatology Times article:

The benzene is created when benzoyl peroxide breaks down. The levels of benzene in the tested products were up to twelve times the FDA's emergency levels of benzene in the products. The levels of benzene INCREASE significantly after exposure to HEAT. An independent lab has petitioned the FDA to recall the acne creams.

Known creams affected (there are more):

Proactiv 2.5% BPO cream Up & Up 2.5% BPO cream Walgreens 10% BPO bar Harris 10% BPO wash Clinique 2.5% BPO cream Clearasil 10% BPO cream La Roche-Posay 5.5% BPO cream PanOxyl 10% BPO cream Sandra Lee MD 2.5% BPO lotion Oxy 10% BPO cream Galderma 5% BPO cream Equate 10% BPO cream Differin 5% BPO cream CeraVe 4% BPO cream Sandoz 5% BPO gel TARO 2.5% BPO gel Neutrogena 10% BPO gel

I haven't seen anything about this on Tumblr yet but the acne cream that we commonly use to remove permanent marker stains from AG dolls has benzene, a cancer causing chemical, in it.

This post unlocked core memories for me. I have the original and the Celebrations book.

this book was like essential to my formation as a subject of multiculturalism and globalization...also one of the early things that made me obsessed with food - each page had a meal or staple that the child ate

I haven't seen anything about this on Tumblr yet but the acne cream that we commonly use to remove permanent marker stains from AG dolls has benzene, a cancer causing chemical, in it.

I am going to give my Addy doll (Dimitria) yarn box braids,

Would people be interested in a tutorial for that?

Happy International Women's Day!

This photo represents my account. I look to the past like Samantha to learn the stories of women and girls who inspire me. I look to the future like Nellie, full of hope for a happy, safe, and peaceful world for women and girls. They are posed in front of my drafting paper, representing the ongoing work of women's rights movements and the work yet to come, as well as female artists.