A Northern Gardener's Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. By Lorraine Johnson and Shelia Colla. Illustrated by Ann Sanderson. Published by Island Press in 2023

Pennies add up. We can all make a difference with climate change, biodiversity, and human health and wellness. This exquisitely illustrated guide to northern native plants is the first step in that journey. Anyone can follow these easy steps to creating a sustainable, lower maintenance landscape on their property.

The heart of the garden "book" contains more than 300 native plants and how they are interactive with the local ecologies for pollinators and birds. All of the information you need for planting designs are here. i.e. blooming times, sun, shade, soil, and companions plants. It doesn't require a "green" thumb.

There are so many creative places to put a native plant garden - even renters and small plots designs are included.

Are you looking for a street or neighborhood project? This is your book to get everyone excited about the birds, bees, and butterflies. What could be more enjoyable (and cheap entertainment for kids and adults ;) than to watch the wildlife  - enjoy your yard too.

If you care about the environment, this is your book. It should be on everyone's favorite book shelf.

Eves-drop in on the authors talk about the book in this podcast. You might pick up a few pointers for your next landscape project.

Websites to check out.
butterfliesand moths.org

bumblebeewatch.org

findingflowers.ca

savethebumblebees.ca

The host's website for southern native plants

FoodTrucksForBirds.com



A Northern Gardener's Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. By Lorraine Johnson and Shelia Colla. Illustrated by Ann Sanderson. Published by Island Press in 2023

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Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

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Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World: Learning to Thrive without Growth by Alan Mallach.  Published by Island Press in 2022.

More is never enough. Have we reached the balance of a sustainable human population that affords us a comfortable and ecologically sustainable life style in harmony with the Earth? What does that economy and city look like? How does it function?  These and many other practical questions - and answers -  is the thesis of this book.

Join me in conversation with Alan to understand the data about the human population and how this affects all of us from small towns to big cities. How did COVID affect our towns and the opportunities and challenges that accompany it.

Maybe a smaller human population isn't such a bad thing but we have to plan for it. The old saying is - "we never plan to fail but we fail to plan" applies here. And, Alan helps us to understand and start the conversation with our local governments to being this process. Nothing - rarely - happens over night. You'll find in this book Alan has half cuppa coffee full outlook for humanity. 

If you want to have a community to enjoy in the future that is affordable and a joy to live in, take this book to your next county commission meeting. If not you or me, then who?


Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World: Learning to Thrive without Growth by Alan Mallach.  Published by Island Press in 2022. 

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

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Good morning,
I enjoy sipping a cuppa chai with croissant at my favorite cafe in Niceville, FL : Tango 3 Coffee. On a Saturday morning, I read through the next book for my Sunday Coffee interviews, take a instagram photos of it, and write questions for the authors. I thought you might like to join me.

The coffee shop culture began in Europe and took off during the Age of Enlightenment. The last hundreds of years have produced many an idea at a coffee shops with people writing novels, ideas, and general gossip.

If you need some coffee ambience while you work, download this podcast as many times  as you need to complete that job or homework assignment.

Take a nice hot sip of coffee or tea and relax into that great book.

Tango 3 Coffee

I receive no endorsement for this podcast from the coffee shop. I'm endorsing them!

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

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Website:  http://www.sophialacroix.com 

Instagram: @Sophia_Lacroix_Artist

Sophia Lacroix is a Haitian born US resident that found the love of her life -  Fine Art. From an early age art was  solace and gift that transformed her life in ways she could only imagine.  After immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 15 in the mid-1980s, she earned a full academic scholarship to University of Florida and graduated with a B.S. in Nutrition Science.  However, art has been her passion since she was four years old.

Sophia taught herself to paint in oils and began selling her art in 1995 while working in social services helping the underserved. Today she is going back to school to earn the degree she always wanted a BFA in Art from FIU and then continue to the MFA program. 

Sophia considers her greatest accomplishment however to be her daughter, Nathalie, her greatest masterpiece, the pride and joy for her and her beloved spouse, Willy.

Recent exhibits:
City of North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency’s U-Wrap NoMi Art in Public Places Initiative. She was selected from 400 applicants and 24 finalists by the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood at their 2022 FLORIDA BIENNIAL: Installations, Portraiture, Materiality, and Magic Realism for a solo exhibition in 2023, and honor that also came with a prized honorarium.

Website:  http://www.sophialacroix.com 

Instagram: @Sophia_Lacroix_Artist

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

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Roadways For People: Rethinking Transportation, Planning, and Engineering by Lynn Peterson. Published by Island Press in 2023

Listening. It's a long lost art in the transportation and urban design matrix. Too many times, the scoop and problems are being decided by people outside the community. In Lynn's book she details her journey to become a better engineer by going back to school for an Urban Design Masters Degree. The insights she learned have resulted in better projects for communities. The people are more happy with the functional designs of the complete streets and roads to connect them.

What is a road? What can we do better before a project derails? How can we save money by planning ahead of time and constructing once? What do communities want?   

This is a design book for every engineer, urban planner, landscape architect, and architects to keep on their shelf. We all want a safe, walkable, and friendly place to live. This is a real "how to" book packed with years of practical hands on experience. 


Roadways For People: Rethinking Transportation, Planning, and Engineering by Lynn Peterson. Published by Island Press in 2023

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

https://youtu.be/sQ6tYb5PUe8

https://www.facebook.com/Sunday-Coffee-107458831721244

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White Pine: The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree by John Pastor. Published by Island Press in 2023

The roots of the tree, in this case, the White Pines of North America are the metaphorical roots of our democracy, collaboration, and beauty. Beginning with the Native American tribes coming together to bring peace to a landscape and later to the revolutionary American war from the King of England. This species of tree has seen it all. Join me in for an enlightening conversation with Jon Pastor about the remarkable travels this species has taken across ice ages and it’s intersection with our mythology as humans: Native and European. Through peace, war, and diversity this book will give the reader a new perspective about the ecologies of North America and how this amazing tree has served the humans and every species  with love and gratitude.

White Pine: The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree by John Pastor. Published by Island Press in 2023

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

https://youtu.be/sQ6tYb5PUe8

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The Home Cafe: Creative Recipes for Expresso, Matcha, Tea and Coffee Drinks by Asia Lui Chapa Published by Page Street Publishing Co. Salem, MA 2022

Human connections begin with drinks and food. It's about starting the morning or the weekend with family, friends, and partners - or brothers and sisters. Its a quiet moment to wake up in the morning or an after work drink to wind down the day. Happy Hours can be at coffee shops OR your very own The Home Cafe.

This isn't just a recipe drink book. It's about exploring the cultures and flavors from a global community of humanity. Each drink has a flavor and a place with a story. The ingredients might be new to an American audience but they are a delight to explore.

The Home Cafe trend started in Southeast Asia but it's just kicking off here. Asia Chapa discovers and reconnects with ingredients from her cross cultural background during the pandemic to bridge gaps and create time tested and new possibilities. Not just for recipes but ultimately for herself too.

It's a journey of tastes, culture, mixed with family, friends, good memories and trying times. At the end of the day, it's a nice sunset with a great drink to relax and enjoy this moment in time.


Find the book  here on Amazon 

About the author link here

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ac_homecafe/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ac_homecafe

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ac_homecafe/

My current favorites are the lemon grass with green tea and the lavender. I'm adding it to everything with almond milk  ; ) 

The Home Cafe: Creative Recipes for Expresso, Matcha, Tea and Coffee Drinks by Asia Lui Chapa Published by Page Street Publishing Co. Salem, MA 2022

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

https://youtu.be/sQ6tYb5PUe8

https://www.facebook.com/Sunday-Coffee-107458831721244

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Build Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon-Smart Architecture by Bruce King and Chris Magwood. Published by Island Press in 2022

The amazing thing is that we have the technology and the planning to capture carbon to bring our beautiful home - The Earth - back into balance. The biggest emitter of carbon is actually our homes. It's the built environment that is causing so much havoc in our atmosphere. Life here is possible because of the warm cozy blanket that envelopes the Earth but we do not an extra wool blanket of carbon. Too much carbon, and we are so hot that it's changing the climate; therefore, changing how our food is grown, the extreme weather, droughts, and floods.

- so that's the bad news -

The good news is this book.

We already have the technology and still developing newer technology to sink the carbon back into our built environment where it should be - stored. Just as decades ago, there was no GPM on a car sticker before purchase. There are no stickers for carbon usage (in creating or emitting) for our houses. The cars changed. Our houses can too.

In this conversation with Bruce and Chris, you'll learn more about how to be a better consumer. What to ask for and what to look for. You'll learn more about how a simple house and a complex urban system is built. At the next county meeting, you'll be able to ask better questions of developers.

At the end of the day, Bruce said it best. Climate change will reverse because of women. When we learn to respect each other as a species. That in turn will lead to better environmental policies for our common mother - The Earth.

Please share this podcast with all of your architecture friends and students.

Build Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon-Smart Architecture by Bruce King and Chris Magwood. Published by Island Press in 2022

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

https://youtu.be/sQ6tYb5PUe8

https://www.facebook.com/Sunday-Coffee-107458831721244

https://www.instagram.com/sundaycuppacoffee/

The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming Our Future from the Fairytale of Economics by Jon Erickson. Published by Island Press in 2022

Who invented the economics theories we hold in high regard today? Who do they serve best? Are they really giving us the full economic picture for today's society? In this conversation, we learn about the who, what, when, where, and why we have for the current economic models for our global society. Where is it taking us for the future?

Freak-economics have lead us to only value the price tag on - everything. We have over used the phrase "time is money". To the point, that our society only considers something of value if there is a price tag on it. In economics, we are taught that we need to have all of the costs and values for the next marginal unit to understand how the homogeneous glob makes decisions? Is that all I am? Is there a price tag that gives the true worth of my body organs and fresh air with some clean water?

The ecological economics decided to put a value tag on trees, air, grass, and eco-system services. Did they succeed? Did this cause us to value development more than environment? What do we value and why? 

So how can we develop a new economic model that clearly understands and predicts our economic decisions. We not exactly as logical as we think - we are. It's complicated. That's exactly what Jon covers in this conversation.

The Progress Illusion: Reclaiming Our Future from the Fairytale of Economics by Jon Erickson. Published by Island Press in 2022

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

https://youtu.be/sQ6tYb5PUe8

https://www.facebook.com/Sunday-Coffee-107458831721244

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Understanding Disaster Insurance: New tools for a more resilient future by Carolyn Kousky Published by Island Press in 2022

Do you really know what's included or more importantly what's NOT included in your insurance policy? Our climate change is fast changing our security and risk for our biggest investments: homes and businesses. Hurricanes, tornados, fires, and drought - Oh My! It's getting harder to live on planet Earth. How do we prepare for the worst and hope for the best? Insurance.

In this conversation, you'll learn more about risk and assessing your own risks. Instead of just looking for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house in a good school district, you might ask about the landscape of the area. How often does it flood? What do I need in a policy? How will I live if the worst happens?

Take a deep dive with us into the unknown world of insurance. It's all in the fine print. It's most important to read the fine print before the lights go out and the generator kicks on. 

A few tools to help you find better insurance

Lemonade: An Insurance Company


Understanding Disaster Insurance: New tools for a more resilient future by Carolyn Kousky Published by Island Press in 2022

Support the show

Thank you for joining us on Sunday mornings with your hot cuppa tea or coffee. It's been an awesome 2022 and we look forward to bring you more episodes in 2023.

We'll connect with you on the socials! Please let us know - what's in your cuppa this morning? ;)

https://twitter.com/Sunday_Cuppa

https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciakeffer/

https://youtu.be/sQ6tYb5PUe8

https://www.facebook.com/Sunday-Coffee-107458831721244

https://www.instagram.com/sundaycuppacoffee/