October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Take the Girls Out

Have you noticed all of the "pink" popping up everywhere? Even some of the NFL players are donning pink socks or armbands to help remind everyone that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.An estimated three million woman are living with breast cancer. One million don't know it yet. This year, nearly 2,000 men will also be diagnosed. And did you know that Washington, DC has the highest breast cancer death rate for women in the United States? Through Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer, you can donate money to breast cancer education and outreach just by taking the girls out on the town! Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer is an outreach and fundraising campaign focused on educating Washington, DC area residents about the importance of early detection and breast cancer awareness. For the entire month of October, chefs and restaurateurs commit their establishments to helping in the mission of reaching tens of thousands of men and women in the area. For one day, a week, or the entire month, participating restaurants generously donate a portion of their food and beverage sales to promote the work of Pink Jams! Pink Jams!, is a DC area non-profit promoting breast cancer awareness to young men and women by combining this important message with fashion, art, social events, live music and now dining! There are many great restaurants participating in Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer. Check out the list on the Pink Jams! website and take your girls out on the town!

Spanish Fly, Black Widows, Corpse Eaters and Zombies (Oh My!)

What do you get when you mix Spanish Fly, Black Widows, Corpse Eaters and Zombies? If you said ‘A great idea for a hugely successful horror movie’, you are probably right. But a better answer would be ‘chapters in Amy Stewart's new book, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects.

In Wicked Bugs, Stewart shares a darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the insect world. Customer reviews on Amazon.com range from “Lot’s of Stinging Fun”, “Light, Breezy and Terrifying”, and “Deliciously Wicked”.

Another great review, from the New York Times, said this:

"Wicked Bugs defines bug in the amateur sense — that is, anything creepy-crawly, including worms, snails, slugs and other insects that are not, technically speaking, bugs. A true bug, Ms. Stewart acknowledges, has six legs and wings, like all insects, as well as piercing and sucking mouthparts. And wicked, she makes clear, lies in the eye of the beholder, whether you’re a Roman with scorpions falling into your eyes or a Marylander with stink bugs falling into your hair... Wicked Bugs has some good tips for gardeners, like putting out rolled-up newspaper or cardboard tubes at night to trap earwigs and dumping them into soapy water in the morning... In fact, no bug is truly wicked. It is just eating.”—New York Times
(The New York Times )

If you want to meet the author of Wicked Bugs and pick up a few copies of the book for great gardening gifts, join the Silver Spring Garden Club for their monthly meeting (free and open to the public) on Monday, October 17th at 8:00 pm, at Brookside Gardens Visitor Center to hear Amy Stewart discuss her new book.

Amy Stewart is a bestselling author of five books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world. She has been featured on NPR, in the New York Times, and on CBS “Sunday Morning.” She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the American Horticultural Society’s 2010 Book Award.

Prior to the talk, Amy’s book will be on sale at Brookside’s gift shop.

Amy will be signing the book before and after the talk.

WHEN: Monday, October 17

Store opens at 7:00PM

Talk starts at 8:00PM

WHERE: Brookside Gardens Visitors Center,

1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, Maryland

Visit http://www.amystewart.com/ for more.