I have a great big announcement! Natural Awakenings Greater Pittsburgh is super-excited to welcome Sven Hosford to our team. Sven is a Pittsburgh native and has many years of publishing experience in the natural health and wellness space. He started out in journalism when he was in the navy and has published several magazines since, including Point of Light magazine, Journal of Lifestyle Medicine and most recently, Dispense magazine. Sven will be joining us as our managing editor and helping to grow  Natural Awakenings here in SW PA. He particularly loves to do podcasts, and I’m excited to be adding that media to our outreach. You’ll be hearing more from Sven. We are grateful for his generosity of knowledge and his presence.

 

I also want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and encourage you to celebrate as sustainably as you can. I remember growing up and visiting my grandparents in Masontown every Thanksgiving and Christmas—there was always an excess of everything. When we would show up, three huge hunks of meat would quickly appear on the table; ham, pork shoulder roast and turkey. For my grandfather, who started working in the coal mines when he was 11 years old, this was his expression of abundance and love. His parents emigrated from Hungary and had 12 children, and although my grandfather always had a garden, he saved his own seeds and washed out the bread bags for reuse; when it came to the holidays, he pulled out all the stops! My Italian grandmother did the same when it came to the homemade nut and poppy seed rolls, fruitcake and of course, Torrone candy. My German immigrant mother, who was born during the war, always had so many presents under the tree that we could barely navigate the room. It was her way of expressing love and sharing abundance.

 

I do things a little differently. My Christmas tree is made from sticks… and I love it. I usually make a simple wreath of pine branches and pinecones, and our feast is abundant, but with as much from our garden or the farmers' market as possible, with a small amount of humanely raised meat and home-baked goodies. There will definitely be mashed potatoes that we have grown and gravy made from homemade, nutrient-dense, bone broth that’s seasoned with onions, chives, celery, sage and parsley from the garden. Of course, there will be a poppy seed or nut roll, pumpkin pie made from our Pennsylvania Dutch neck pumpkins that we grew and beet-pickled eggs from the chickens will be on the table, too.

 

Wishing you all a beautiful holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and a beautiful Winter Solstice to all.