Hotter Than A Witch's ....ummm....Bosom

We welcomed the Fall season in last week's post, and I mentioned that it seemed no one told the weather of the change. Well, Autumn still  hasn't been able to communicate with Mother Nature and our temps are headed off the charts this week!  Let's hope by next week, the lines of communication will have been opened between the two parties, and we'll get more appropriate weather.  Until then, we're serving cold strawberry lemonade or cold water, on request, to encourage you all to stay hydrated.  It's not only hot out there, it's very dry, too.  This can wreak havoc on your skin - my daughter was just telling me that she was starting to break out with heat rash.  Luckily for her, and for you, we proudly carry a local line of herbal skin care called HomeBody Botanicals.  Their X-Zema Salve is wonderful for skin irritations like heat rash, and their Everyday Body Lotion is great for keeping skin soft and smooth!  In this video you can meet Marcia as she talks about HomeBody Botanicals and explains how she makes salves.  WFS carries a complete line of HMB - for skin and body, hair, and home!

 Homebody Botanicals

Speaking of staying hydrated in this hot weather, we all drink lots of water, right?  Good for you if you are, but water can be soooo boring!  Enter another locally produced product, this time a natural drink mix called Charlotte de Berry Pirate Elixirs.  These mixers are formulated similar to the "elixirs" sailors made in the 1700s, due to lack of potable water, out of available fruits fermented with various vinegars, saps, and herbs.  Eventually the sailors (and pirates) discovered that they could extend their grog on long voyages by adding these elixirs.  Thus was born the first true mixed drink, although you can feel free to add Charlotte de Berry's Pirate Elixirs to whatever liquid you desire!  However you use it, this discovery made by sailors of old helps prevent dehydration, particularly of that caused by too much alcohol.  Made with hyper-local ingredients, these delicious mixers come in several mouth-watering fruit combinations, like Mango, Coconut and Lychee-Pear, and come in a beautiful, large bottle.  Since you use it so sparingly, it's bound to last for a long time, plus, mixed with a bit of olive oil, makes a terrific and out-of-the-ordinary salad dressing!  Charlotte de Berry, once known as a fierce woman pirate, now known as a killer drink mix.....who knew?  Pick some up at WFS today!

The Llama Lounge, Home Of Charlotte de Berry's Pirate Elixirs!

It's getting late, and dinner's almost ready, so we'll talk again next week - stay cool, my friends!

Lori and Scott

April in Altadena

"In April, we cannot see sunflowers in France, so we might say the sunflowers do not exist. But the local farmers have already planted thousands of seeds, and when they look at the bare hills, they may be able to see the sunflowers already. The sunflowers are there. They lack only the conditions of sun, heat, rain and July. Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they do not exist."
-  Thich Nhat Hanh

Poppies05 By Fei Liu

2012's spring season is in full swing now - you can smell it in the air and feel it in the sunlight on your face.  Ah, warmth, even if only for a fleeting moment or two, the feeling is there and it is welcome!  When we speak of spring, thoughts of renewal come to mind - renewal of the earth and of ourselves.  With Easter and Passover just days away, I also want to remind you local readers to think also of the renewal of our town.

On April 4th, the Altadena Visioning meetings commence at Loma Alta Park.  If you haven't heard about these meetings, or seen the flyers, or received the postcard mailed to everyone, click here to learn about it.  Please make it a point to come because this is our chance to help improve the standard of living in Altadena - join us and be heard!

Mr. Bunny Brings WFS Cheer!

Spring also means the return of Fancy Food Truck Friday, which is scheduled for April 13th.  We'll be celebrating at WFS on that day by having our annual Spring Open House!  We'll be announcing the winners of our Spring Coloring Raffle - be sure to come by the store to pick up a coloring page for your kids to complete. Turn the pages in before Friday the 13th of April and your child's artwork will help decorate the store, and they'll be eligible to win one of three exciting prizes!  WFS is also hosting a reception that evening for local artist Fei Liu and her wonderful creations.  Fei's whimsically beautiful watercolors evoke pleasure and smiles, you must come and see her work for yourself, and what better time than at our gourmet food truck event?  Rumor has it that those fantabulous folks at Jabberwocky Jerk Sauce might be present, too, handing out samples of their most divine marinade & sauce (we'll update you next week)!

The Shops At Webster's Hugely Popular Fancy Food Truck Fridays

As always, have a great week, my friends!

Lori and Scott

Community In The Works

Last week we celebrated Independents Week, as we discussed in my last post, and I've never been more proud to be a part of the business landscape in Altadena.  Even though times are tough financially, there is an undercurrent running though our community that is so exciting, it's really inspirational!

Scott and I have the honor of knowing so many individuals, most of whom are active with various civic groups in town, that have been working tirelessly to challenge the status quo and improve our daily lives.  From the Arroyo Time Bank and the Altadena Urban Farmer's Market to the Altadena Town Council, Altadena Heritage, and the Altadena Historical Society, these folks are devoting their time and effort to make a discernible difference here.  They're paving the way for a sustainable future for Altadena and along the way, they're also educating our residents how to achieve and maintain it.

On Friday, during our Fancy Food Truck Friday event, we had two such people in the store, donating their time to making the evening more enjoyable for everyone.  Susann Edmonds, owner of A Chair In The Garden and head chef at Jabberwocky Smooth Jerk was there handing out samples of pork roast cooked with the proprietary sauce while local artist HB3 (Hugh Bonar) made magical sounds with his guitar, utterly enchanting everyone who came in.  It was quite a night and I'd like to thank both Susann and Hugh for helping make the event even more of a community party!

The groups I mentioned above, and others that I haven't yet mentioned, all need our help.  Not just some of our money - what they need is your attention and most of all, they need your participation.  You can find out more about them at the websites the links will take you to.  I can tell you that they can't do what they need to do without our caring about them.  In my ideal world, we would all be working together for the common good, businesses and community members alike.  If you live in Altadena, we urge you to take a moment, check out these sites and get invested in the town you live in.....only good could come of it!

Thanks for listening and we hope you all have a fabulous week!

Lori & Scott