When someone approaches me at work and asks if I want to do something crazy, say, rappel down Illini Tower, and write about it, it's my policy to say yes. I figure, I can worry about it later, and if it's wild enough to worry, it will probably make quite a story.

There's nothing like seeing someone else's kitchen to encourage you to get cranking on your own. In this case, I'm talking about the Midwestern kitchen renovation featured on Apartment Therapy today.

I've heard that if you ask for it, Ameren will deliver a free load of mulch to your home.

My goal for this spring and summer is to tame my wild jungle of a garden (using more than newspapers this year). Mulch seems like a key ingredient.

I love mason and canning jars. They're versatile but classically pretty at the same time. I've started picking them up whenever I see them at yard sales. My sweetie presented me with two green-tinted jars on Valentine's Day - one filled with flowers, the other with candy. He did good.

I'm not much of a cabbage eater. I mean, I know it's good for you, but ... it's cabbage. You know?

When I get an e-mail from Hazel Kelly, I tend to expect a press release and photos of unusual fruits or vegetables. The one she sent today about the bitter melon is no exception.

I'm working on a story about the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's rebate program. Basically, if you buy an Energy Star washer, dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer or room air conditioner between April 16 and April 25 at certain retailers around the state, you'll instantly receive 15 percent off. The program is funded through stimulus money and obviously  has a goal of keeping purchases local.

I was running low on vital wheat gluten for making all whole-wheat bread this week, so I tried some of my recipes calling for bread flour.

Oh, my. If you're a bread machine user (or someone who makes bread the old-fashioned way, for that matter), you really should be using bread flour. It makes a huge difference.

I have a habit of seeing something I like in a shop and thinking, "I could make that."

In the case of the cork wreath, I was right. I sweet-talked a friend who'd been saving corks for a while, found these instructions online and got down to business with my hot glue gun.

I saw this post today on Apartment Therapy, and it got me thinking: I like the idea of corrugated metal as a shower surround.