I've been thinking often about my simple life. Some would say that my life isn't simple at all. But I think it is.
I refrain from watching TV, which gives me enormous flexibility in my time.
I cook my own low-fat, plant-based vegetarian meals. Some would say that is way too complicated, but like all things practice makes it easy.
I enjoy working in the garden. There is always something to do. This weekend, I've been mulching leaves that I scavenged from the neighbors leaf raking efforts. They so nicely bag them up, and then I come along and grab up the bags full, and take them home, and run them under my mulching mower. I then spread them over my garden beds about 2 to 4 inches deep. Not hard work, but it does fill the day.
I enjoy exercising with Mary. Our afternoon walks are a joy, even when the weather turns colder. We have a "hand holding" glove specially made so that we can hold hands inside it. Simple joy there.
Other simple joys.
A fire in the fireplace in the autumn chill.
A hot cup of tea to warm me on the inside.
Hot banana bread, fresh from the oven.
Warm waffles with pecans and real maple syrup.
Minestrone soup with home-grown Swiss chard.
A clean kitchen with counters clear so that I can easily cook.
Looking in my love's eyes, and enjoying her smile, a mirror of my own.
Keep it Simple, Silly!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Dinner!
'Shrooms!
I took about a dozen shiitake mushrooms off the log in the kitchen this afternoon, and cut them into thin strips. I then went outside and cut a huge handful of purple basil. Then I peeled lots of garlic cloves.
I wound up with a wonderful mushroom centered meal. I'm serving the concoction over bow-tie noodles and I'm having trouble waiting for Mary to get home. The house smells absolutely wonderful!
I think I've already got my $$$ worth out of the purchase of the spawn for the mushrooms. Wow. If I had to buy all those mushrooms at retail prices, I think it would break me.
It's a shame there isn't anything for vegetarians to eat! (light sarcasm)
Anyhow, enjoy your dinner...
I took about a dozen shiitake mushrooms off the log in the kitchen this afternoon, and cut them into thin strips. I then went outside and cut a huge handful of purple basil. Then I peeled lots of garlic cloves.
I wound up with a wonderful mushroom centered meal. I'm serving the concoction over bow-tie noodles and I'm having trouble waiting for Mary to get home. The house smells absolutely wonderful!
I think I've already got my $$$ worth out of the purchase of the spawn for the mushrooms. Wow. If I had to buy all those mushrooms at retail prices, I think it would break me.
It's a shame there isn't anything for vegetarians to eat! (light sarcasm)
Anyhow, enjoy your dinner...
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
More 'Shrooms!
That log I brought inside over the weekend has decided to fruit! There are mushroom buds coming out in many different places on the log. I have a large clear lawn-and-garden bag draped over the log to provide additional moisture retention. It seems to be working.
I showed Samuel the mushroom buttons coming out and he seemed excited. Miriam was not thrilled, or at least she didn't seem so.
I'm very excited that we'll have fresh 'shrooms for our dinner this week. And if we have too many, I'll dry what we can't use right away. I'll have to let the log rest for a couple of months, then I'll see if I can get it to fruit again.
Not bad for waiting a year to let the fungus grow in the log!Lentinula edodes: Shiitake
I plugged them last year with Lentinula edodes spawn. That's the Latin name for Shiitake mushrooms.
Here is a picture I found on the net that shows what a fruiting log looks like!
I showed Samuel the mushroom buttons coming out and he seemed excited. Miriam was not thrilled, or at least she didn't seem so.
I'm very excited that we'll have fresh 'shrooms for our dinner this week. And if we have too many, I'll dry what we can't use right away. I'll have to let the log rest for a couple of months, then I'll see if I can get it to fruit again.
Not bad for waiting a year to let the fungus grow in the log!Lentinula edodes: Shiitake
I plugged them last year with Lentinula edodes spawn. That's the Latin name for Shiitake mushrooms.
Here is a picture I found on the net that shows what a fruiting log looks like!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Now I lay me down...
To sleep, perchance to dream.
It is autumn now. It wasn't really obvious here until this week. The tulip poplar trees are now turning yellow, and some leaves are falling. The temps have dropped, and the house is cooling down. I've started making lots of soups, chillies, and other dishes that warm you up from the inside.
I've begun to put the gardens to bed. I've pulled the tomato plants and made some changes to the outside.
We had our first shitake mushrooms last week. Mary suggested that I bring one of the logs inside. So I found a large plastic pan (used for concrete mixing) and took a large piece of flat pine and made a stand to hold up the log. The shitake log is now in our family room next to the orchids, so that I can keep an eye on it, if it decides to send out 'shrooms. I'll keep it watered and such to make it really good for the mushrooms. Hopefully we'll get some through the winter. I have 3 other logs outside, and I'll let them do their thing there. Miriam came in while I was getting dinner ready and said, "We have a stump." I told her what it was, and she just shrugged and went back to her room. I guess she thinks her step-father is crazy.
Flannel sheets are on the bed, and Mary and I have gone back to closing all the windows and curtains at night to hold in as much heat as we can.
So the garden goes to sleep, and the trees get ready for their winter's nap. And I have already ordered seeds for spring...
It is autumn now. It wasn't really obvious here until this week. The tulip poplar trees are now turning yellow, and some leaves are falling. The temps have dropped, and the house is cooling down. I've started making lots of soups, chillies, and other dishes that warm you up from the inside.
I've begun to put the gardens to bed. I've pulled the tomato plants and made some changes to the outside.
We had our first shitake mushrooms last week. Mary suggested that I bring one of the logs inside. So I found a large plastic pan (used for concrete mixing) and took a large piece of flat pine and made a stand to hold up the log. The shitake log is now in our family room next to the orchids, so that I can keep an eye on it, if it decides to send out 'shrooms. I'll keep it watered and such to make it really good for the mushrooms. Hopefully we'll get some through the winter. I have 3 other logs outside, and I'll let them do their thing there. Miriam came in while I was getting dinner ready and said, "We have a stump." I told her what it was, and she just shrugged and went back to her room. I guess she thinks her step-father is crazy.
Flannel sheets are on the bed, and Mary and I have gone back to closing all the windows and curtains at night to hold in as much heat as we can.
So the garden goes to sleep, and the trees get ready for their winter's nap. And I have already ordered seeds for spring...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Bowed Psaltery
After wanting one for 3 years...
Wait, let me start at the beginning of this story. It is short, but makes more sense this way. (Clicking the image will increase the size.)
I live in Maryland. We have one of the best Renaissance Festivals around. Anyway, three years ago, my wife and I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival and enjoyed ourselves very much. It was a wonderful day, and we saw many shows, and heard lots of music we liked.
As Mary and I were walking along, there was one stand where a young lady was playing an instrument that I had never seen, nor heard before. She was pushing a small bow across the metal strings, and it was making a fantastic sound. Very simple, and very pleasing. She let me try it. I was able to rough out a tune in just a couple of minutes. I was hooked. But the price tag at that time was more than my family budget could afford. So I passed.
I went back to the festival last year and heard the instrument again. Again I wanted one, but didn't get it. I wasn't sure that I would actually make time to teach myself to play it.
This year, we went to the festival on opening day, and I decided I wanted that instrument. I discussed the purchase briefly with Mary and she was supportive in this purchase, because I think she wanted to play it too. When we arrived at Unicorn Strings, we played a couple and chose the one pictured above.
So I bought it, with a soft padded case, and two bows (for advanced playing.) It came with a book, extra strings, rosin and a demonstration DVD.
I've been spending some time learning to play some simple tunes on it. I've been having a ball. I love the sounds it makes, and the way the strings resonate when they are played. Very rich sound.
I'm having a bit of a challenge with the music theory, and am teaching myself again how to read music. It is a C instrument. It has 2 1/2 octaves, and has the beautiful wood work on it. I've been looking on the internet for sheet music to old tunes, and figuring out how to make them work on the Psaltery.
How does this purchase fall into the frugal and sustainable areas of my life's philosophy? First the frugal. I've put off the purchase for 3 years. It isn't a survival item, but it does help pass the time, and also allows me to make my own beautiful sounds (I can't sing that well) when I want to. As for the sustainable aspects... I'm helping keep alive a sound from the Elizabethan and earlier times, as well as supporting the artists, woodworkers, and musicians who built the instrument.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
APLS Carnival
I took part in this little exercise of definition. It's called a carnival. And APLS sounds so much better than leaf-lickin' tree-hugger!
So link on over and read a bunch of great posts on what others are doing to achieve sustainability and a simpler lifestyle.
So link on over and read a bunch of great posts on what others are doing to achieve sustainability and a simpler lifestyle.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Home Made Foods
I guess I'm a bit strange. I have a whole foods, plant based diet. I only rarely eat out. I don't eat meat, or dairy. I cook. I clean, and yes, I do laundry, but I don't like to. Anyway, I am one of those males in America that doesn't show up on the media radar, because I like to do so much stuff that would traditionally be called "women's work". I know, housekeeping and cooking and such really is everyone's work, but I didn't make this up, I only know that I have been labeled "Martha Stewart" and my own wife said I would make a good Mormon wife to someone. But I'm not Mormon... but I digress. You get the idea. I like to do things that are commonly thought of as "keeping house." And one of those things is making muffins and cookies.
Last night we had some guests over and I honored them with my Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Pecan Muffins. These are made with no added oil, and only as much fat as the chocolate chunks and the pecans have. And they are so good, everyone is always surprised to hear that they are vegan.
Anyway, since I made the muffins last night, and they were devoured for desserts and snacks and even breakfast this morning, I decided to make Apple Spice with pecan muffins for dessert tonight. And now the whole house smells like cinnamon and apples.
Oh, and did I mention that I ground the flour for the muffins too?
Sometimes eating good food is a BIG part of that simple life that I'm creating for myself and my family. I think we live a slower paced life than the "rat race" that so many of my coworkers aspire to.
Basic Muffin recipe:
4 cups whole wheat flour (any kind works, I grind mine into pastry-four fineness.)
1 cup rolled oats (quick cook or long cook, doesn't matter)
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your muffins
2 Table spoons baking powder
5 Table spoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup natural apple sauce (can be home made if you want)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
And to make Chocolate Chocolate Chunk:
Add to basic Muffin recipe above:
5 Table spoons cocoa
1 cup chocolate chunks
1 cup pecans (halves, pieces or ground fine. Optional) You can use any nut you like if you don't have pecans. This is a very forgiving recipe.
Heat oven to 400F.
I use silicone non-stick muffin pans, but if you use metal ones, you will need to grease them somehow. I'll leave that to you.
Combine the dry basic muffin ingredients in the mixer bowl, mix all dry ingredients so they are well mixed. Add wet ingredients, then add enough water just so the batter is wet through, and still thick, but not so thick as bread dough would be. The consistency needs to be loose enough to spoon easily into those muffin pans.
Spoon into muffin pans (this makes 24 muffins!)
Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes, then test to see if it is done with a wooden toothpick.
If you want Apple Cinnamon muffins,
add to the basic muffin recipe
1 chopped apple finely chopped
1 cup pecans (halves, pieces or ground fine. Optional) You can use any nut you like if you don't have pecans. This is a very forgiving recipe.
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Prepare as above muffins
You can try other kinds of fruits - Banana and Nut is good
Pumpkin and spice
And blueberry.
Add or remove spices as you want, until it sounds like it would be good for you.
Good luck.
Last night we had some guests over and I honored them with my Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Pecan Muffins. These are made with no added oil, and only as much fat as the chocolate chunks and the pecans have. And they are so good, everyone is always surprised to hear that they are vegan.
Anyway, since I made the muffins last night, and they were devoured for desserts and snacks and even breakfast this morning, I decided to make Apple Spice with pecan muffins for dessert tonight. And now the whole house smells like cinnamon and apples.
Oh, and did I mention that I ground the flour for the muffins too?
Sometimes eating good food is a BIG part of that simple life that I'm creating for myself and my family. I think we live a slower paced life than the "rat race" that so many of my coworkers aspire to.
Basic Muffin recipe:
4 cups whole wheat flour (any kind works, I grind mine into pastry-four fineness.)
1 cup rolled oats (quick cook or long cook, doesn't matter)
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your muffins
2 Table spoons baking powder
5 Table spoons ground flax seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup natural apple sauce (can be home made if you want)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
And to make Chocolate Chocolate Chunk:
Add to basic Muffin recipe above:
5 Table spoons cocoa
1 cup chocolate chunks
1 cup pecans (halves, pieces or ground fine. Optional) You can use any nut you like if you don't have pecans. This is a very forgiving recipe.
Heat oven to 400F.
I use silicone non-stick muffin pans, but if you use metal ones, you will need to grease them somehow. I'll leave that to you.
Combine the dry basic muffin ingredients in the mixer bowl, mix all dry ingredients so they are well mixed. Add wet ingredients, then add enough water just so the batter is wet through, and still thick, but not so thick as bread dough would be. The consistency needs to be loose enough to spoon easily into those muffin pans.
Spoon into muffin pans (this makes 24 muffins!)
Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes, then test to see if it is done with a wooden toothpick.
If you want Apple Cinnamon muffins,
add to the basic muffin recipe
1 chopped apple finely chopped
1 cup pecans (halves, pieces or ground fine. Optional) You can use any nut you like if you don't have pecans. This is a very forgiving recipe.
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Prepare as above muffins
You can try other kinds of fruits - Banana and Nut is good
Pumpkin and spice
And blueberry.
Add or remove spices as you want, until it sounds like it would be good for you.
Good luck.
Monday, August 11, 2008
APLS Carnival
Sustainable Living in my life takes on several forms. I've been on this path for many years now, and each time I get on my bike, turn on a light that has a CFL bulb, eat home grown vegetables or water my plants with water I've harvested from the roof, or flush the toilet with saved shower water, I'm putting into practice my version of sustainable living.
Is it enough? Probably not. Can I do more? Yes. Do I need to do more.... maybe. Will I do more? Eventually.
I wrote up and published a list of "small steps" in my church's newsletter a couple of years ago. It came to 23 different habits or behaviors that could be done to reduce use of resources.
I came to many of those small steps in my pursuit of frugality. Each step seemed to lead to a fork in the road. Taking the path of frugality lead me toward other more sustatinable steps, and so on.
My giving up red meat lead to eventually giving up meat all together. Which lead to eliminating dairy and eggs from my diet. Results - Savings at the grocery store, and less weight on James. Also lower cholesterol, less sinus problems, and reduced seasonal allergies. Also saving the world from having to raise the meat that I would have eaten. Again, each step along the way was small, but had BIG affects on me.
My choosing to build rain barrels wasn't frugal, since it cost money, but turned out saving my family huge amounts of money on water bills during my state's drought last year. Being able to water the vegetables with saved rain water greatly reduced our need for tap water. Same with saving our shower water to flush the toilets. It is a small thing, but adds up to large savings. Imagine if everyone used the water in their house twice before running it down the toilet. How much would that save? Boggles the mind how a small step like that can make such a difference when magnified by thousands, millions, even billions.
Gardening. Ok, so I like to grow things. Handed down from my grandmother honestly. Green thumb and all. Sure it is work, but the rewards are many. I get to be outside. I eat fresh food, sometimes right off the plant! I don't have to mow grass endlessly every week, wasting fuel and breathing fumes, and get to use my labor to take care of things that are beautiful and can be sustain my family too.
The small steps lead me to getting rid of all of the grass in my 1/4 acre lot, and building new top soil where before was depleted clay. I forgot to mention the mental rest and relaxation I get from walking around my garden, and enjoying the naturalness of it? That is my quiet contemplation/meditation right there.
Taking a frugal approach to laundry encouraged me to get a clothesline, and a couple of portable indoor racks to dry clothes on rainy days. Saved bunches of money on drying things, our clothes last longer, and it doesn't take much time at all. Added benefit is that solar clothes drying is carbon negative!
Many of these small steps lead to other things. Some I can't do at the house I'm in, because it would be too expensive to put in a brand new gray water system to water trees. But we are planning on "greening" our next house extensively.
I quit watching TV. Ok, so I watch Le Tour de France and other bike races during the year, but I watch very little TV. I find that I can still live my life without the "boob tube" parading endless consumables to entice me into buying things that I don't really need. I enjoy how much better my life seems, now that I don't care what people are trying to sell me, nor do I care what is "trendy" what the best new gadget is, and what the flavor of the day is at the burger joint down the street. Heck, I don't even know what movies are going to play next week anymore. I get that kind of information from friends and family, who always make sure that I see the movies that are good, and skip the rest. And you know what, I haven't felt like I've missed anything either.
Sustainable living also means making choices about our level of living. How much is enough? What makes you happy? I don't mean the temporary thrill you might get from making a purchase, or that feeling you get from externals. I'm talking about inside. What makes you really happy? I'm sure it isn't driving a big gas guzzling car that will take 5 years to pay off, or living in a house that you can't afford to buy in 30 years. Or watching an entire season of some TV series. But I have found that hosting guests at the house, having a community around me, and also enjoying the people and relationships that are important to me bring me much more happiness than any material goods could ever do. And as a fellow blogger from Australia mentions, taking pride in the small tasks that need to get done gives a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Even if I'm the only one who recognizes that the job was done.
Sustainability can be done. It is easiest done in small changes, working toward a goal. When shopping for a new appliance, get the one that is the best on energy use, and that you can afford. When buying new clothing, get what you need, not what loads up your closet. So what if you only have 5 days worth of clothes to wear, and people notice that you wear clothes until they, OH HORROR, wear out! Just smile and tell them that it doesn't make sense to throw out perfectly good clothing. Heck, I have some pairs of jeans that have made it into my "gardening and berry picking only" stack. They have too many stains to wear out in public, but work fine as "chore clothes."
Small steps. Small changes, lead to huge differences over time. But you won't see any differences if you close your eyes and wish to make it happen. It takes making a decision to be less of an impact than you were before. Today. Worry about tomorrow then.
Is it enough? Probably not. Can I do more? Yes. Do I need to do more.... maybe. Will I do more? Eventually.
I wrote up and published a list of "small steps" in my church's newsletter a couple of years ago. It came to 23 different habits or behaviors that could be done to reduce use of resources.
I came to many of those small steps in my pursuit of frugality. Each step seemed to lead to a fork in the road. Taking the path of frugality lead me toward other more sustatinable steps, and so on.
My giving up red meat lead to eventually giving up meat all together. Which lead to eliminating dairy and eggs from my diet. Results - Savings at the grocery store, and less weight on James. Also lower cholesterol, less sinus problems, and reduced seasonal allergies. Also saving the world from having to raise the meat that I would have eaten. Again, each step along the way was small, but had BIG affects on me.
My choosing to build rain barrels wasn't frugal, since it cost money, but turned out saving my family huge amounts of money on water bills during my state's drought last year. Being able to water the vegetables with saved rain water greatly reduced our need for tap water. Same with saving our shower water to flush the toilets. It is a small thing, but adds up to large savings. Imagine if everyone used the water in their house twice before running it down the toilet. How much would that save? Boggles the mind how a small step like that can make such a difference when magnified by thousands, millions, even billions.
Gardening. Ok, so I like to grow things. Handed down from my grandmother honestly. Green thumb and all. Sure it is work, but the rewards are many. I get to be outside. I eat fresh food, sometimes right off the plant! I don't have to mow grass endlessly every week, wasting fuel and breathing fumes, and get to use my labor to take care of things that are beautiful and can be sustain my family too.
The small steps lead me to getting rid of all of the grass in my 1/4 acre lot, and building new top soil where before was depleted clay. I forgot to mention the mental rest and relaxation I get from walking around my garden, and enjoying the naturalness of it? That is my quiet contemplation/meditation right there.
Taking a frugal approach to laundry encouraged me to get a clothesline, and a couple of portable indoor racks to dry clothes on rainy days. Saved bunches of money on drying things, our clothes last longer, and it doesn't take much time at all. Added benefit is that solar clothes drying is carbon negative!
Many of these small steps lead to other things. Some I can't do at the house I'm in, because it would be too expensive to put in a brand new gray water system to water trees. But we are planning on "greening" our next house extensively.
I quit watching TV. Ok, so I watch Le Tour de France and other bike races during the year, but I watch very little TV. I find that I can still live my life without the "boob tube" parading endless consumables to entice me into buying things that I don't really need. I enjoy how much better my life seems, now that I don't care what people are trying to sell me, nor do I care what is "trendy" what the best new gadget is, and what the flavor of the day is at the burger joint down the street. Heck, I don't even know what movies are going to play next week anymore. I get that kind of information from friends and family, who always make sure that I see the movies that are good, and skip the rest. And you know what, I haven't felt like I've missed anything either.
Sustainable living also means making choices about our level of living. How much is enough? What makes you happy? I don't mean the temporary thrill you might get from making a purchase, or that feeling you get from externals. I'm talking about inside. What makes you really happy? I'm sure it isn't driving a big gas guzzling car that will take 5 years to pay off, or living in a house that you can't afford to buy in 30 years. Or watching an entire season of some TV series. But I have found that hosting guests at the house, having a community around me, and also enjoying the people and relationships that are important to me bring me much more happiness than any material goods could ever do. And as a fellow blogger from Australia mentions, taking pride in the small tasks that need to get done gives a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Even if I'm the only one who recognizes that the job was done.
Sustainability can be done. It is easiest done in small changes, working toward a goal. When shopping for a new appliance, get the one that is the best on energy use, and that you can afford. When buying new clothing, get what you need, not what loads up your closet. So what if you only have 5 days worth of clothes to wear, and people notice that you wear clothes until they, OH HORROR, wear out! Just smile and tell them that it doesn't make sense to throw out perfectly good clothing. Heck, I have some pairs of jeans that have made it into my "gardening and berry picking only" stack. They have too many stains to wear out in public, but work fine as "chore clothes."
Small steps. Small changes, lead to huge differences over time. But you won't see any differences if you close your eyes and wish to make it happen. It takes making a decision to be less of an impact than you were before. Today. Worry about tomorrow then.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Canning - First try!
So I got a canner. Mary had long ago acquired many canning jars that have been resting comfortably in the crawlspace under the house. But now that the garden is in, and the Farmer's Markets are full of beautiful produce, it is time to start preserving some of this local bounty.
So I got a canner. And I had to learn how to use it. I figured it couldn't be all that difficult, just takes some time, right? Right. Lots of time. But I think, like most things, when I get the hang of it, it will take less and less effort to make things happen.
Here is a picture of what I was doing today. (Click on the picture for a larger image)
The first 3 jars are green and wax beans from my garden, picked just before they were canned. The next five jars are corn, then there are 10 jars of blackberry jam, and 7 quart jars of dill pickles. Not bad for the first day's canning. It wasn't too difficult, and I made several trips to the internet to look up recipes and procedures. Here is my favorite canning/preserving website.
Thank you Mary for helping to pick the wild blackberries to go into the jam!
And how does doing my own canning lead to a simple life? It might not, if it isn't something you are passionate about doing. But for me, sustaining my family with healthful, local food is important. And choosing to do things that might at first be a bit more challenging, but less so as you get into the groove actually does make my life much more simple.
So I got a canner. And I had to learn how to use it. I figured it couldn't be all that difficult, just takes some time, right? Right. Lots of time. But I think, like most things, when I get the hang of it, it will take less and less effort to make things happen.
Here is a picture of what I was doing today. (Click on the picture for a larger image)
The first 3 jars are green and wax beans from my garden, picked just before they were canned. The next five jars are corn, then there are 10 jars of blackberry jam, and 7 quart jars of dill pickles. Not bad for the first day's canning. It wasn't too difficult, and I made several trips to the internet to look up recipes and procedures. Here is my favorite canning/preserving website.
Thank you Mary for helping to pick the wild blackberries to go into the jam!
And how does doing my own canning lead to a simple life? It might not, if it isn't something you are passionate about doing. But for me, sustaining my family with healthful, local food is important. And choosing to do things that might at first be a bit more challenging, but less so as you get into the groove actually does make my life much more simple.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Berry Pickin'
While Mary and I were eating dinner, she asked if I would go for a walk with her after. She went on to say that we could go to the berry patch and pick some during our walk. I love her so much! We garbed ourselves in long pants and long sleeve shirts and big hats and went out a-pickin'! All told we hauled in about 96 ounces of berries in a little over an hour.
We have several spots where we pick berries, and we just about cleaned out the place we went this evening. At least until the new ones ripen up.
We came home and added them to our freezer stash.
We went to our local grocery store, and bought pectin so that we can make up some blackberry jam. Since you can easily make jam from frozen berries, this won't be a problem.
Oh, and my pressure canner arrived today! Combined with Mary's large stash of mason jars stored up under the house, we are just about set to preserve lots of food for the winter time!
And the Farmer's Market is tomorrow morning. And Sunday afternoon, if we want to drive all the way over to the mall.
We have several spots where we pick berries, and we just about cleaned out the place we went this evening. At least until the new ones ripen up.
We came home and added them to our freezer stash.
We went to our local grocery store, and bought pectin so that we can make up some blackberry jam. Since you can easily make jam from frozen berries, this won't be a problem.
Oh, and my pressure canner arrived today! Combined with Mary's large stash of mason jars stored up under the house, we are just about set to preserve lots of food for the winter time!
And the Farmer's Market is tomorrow morning. And Sunday afternoon, if we want to drive all the way over to the mall.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Garden Plenty
I work full time. That is 40 hours per week. 8 hours per day. And I still find time to garden.
I came home from work today, and checked my front yard squash plants. I got 7 good sized summer squashes. (I missed one of the yellow squashes and it grew to about 18 inches long, and 6 inches around. It was too tough to eat, but the worms will like it!)
I went around to the side yard, and harvested a half-basket of beans. Then thought that some steamed Swiss Chard would be good with dinner too, so picked several leaves of it.
I came in the house and cleaned the food, prepared it and had it ready for when my dear Mary got home from visiting a friend. She brought 2 loaves of bread home with her, and we had that with the rest of the veggies.
Oh, and I had chilled beets from the farmer's market as well as sliced cucumbers in vinegar with home grown shallots.
Life is grand when you can eat what you grow yourself.
My garden doesn't provide enough to feed us all year long, but it surely provides lots to eat, and inexpensively also.
My garden is such, that once it gets going, there is very little need for hard work. In fact the hardest thing I did today was pull a few little clumps of crab-grass from a path. It is easier to pull after it gets big enough to notice. :)
Where do I find the time? Well, I don't watch TV much at all, and really enjoy the whole frugal, sustainable thing. It is easy to do, if you only take small steps toward your goal.
I came home from work today, and checked my front yard squash plants. I got 7 good sized summer squashes. (I missed one of the yellow squashes and it grew to about 18 inches long, and 6 inches around. It was too tough to eat, but the worms will like it!)
I went around to the side yard, and harvested a half-basket of beans. Then thought that some steamed Swiss Chard would be good with dinner too, so picked several leaves of it.
I came in the house and cleaned the food, prepared it and had it ready for when my dear Mary got home from visiting a friend. She brought 2 loaves of bread home with her, and we had that with the rest of the veggies.
Oh, and I had chilled beets from the farmer's market as well as sliced cucumbers in vinegar with home grown shallots.
Life is grand when you can eat what you grow yourself.
My garden doesn't provide enough to feed us all year long, but it surely provides lots to eat, and inexpensively also.
My garden is such, that once it gets going, there is very little need for hard work. In fact the hardest thing I did today was pull a few little clumps of crab-grass from a path. It is easier to pull after it gets big enough to notice. :)
Where do I find the time? Well, I don't watch TV much at all, and really enjoy the whole frugal, sustainable thing. It is easy to do, if you only take small steps toward your goal.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Berry Picking
I spent about 2 hours this evening picking berries. Blackberries.
Now let me paint the picture for you. I'm home alone, since Mary is visiting her sister. I have nothing to keep me inside. I dress in long pants and long sleeve shirt, preparing for the thorns and possible poison ivy to come.
The temperature outside was about 97 this evening. I drank lots of water, and put on my cowboy hat to keep the ticks off my head.
I slowly walked about a mile away from the house, over to the grounds of the college where the berry patches are. I enjoyed the silence. But reflecting on it, it wasn't silence. It was a flurry of sounds. Birds, insects, breeze rustling leaves. Frogs in the distance. A car going down the highway. An aircraft on final approach to BWI. All of this I took in, as my attention was drawn to those little and big wild blackberries. What a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours. Oh, and I must have eaten about 2 cups of the berries right off the brambles.
By the way, you have to focus on the berries, as well as keep the very prickery brambles from tearing into your skin as you pluck that juicy berry. My index finger and thumb are still purple from the juices of the over ripe berries. Those are the ones I ate, because they wouldn't have traveled well anyway.
I finished picking the ones I could get to and returned home to the garden. I harvested a zucchini from the plant in the front yard down near the road, and then walked around the house. I nibbled a couple of ripe blueberries from the bushes, and noticed that there are some strawberries ready too. I'll get them tomorrow. I continued to walk around, just enjoying what I see. Tomatoes that are coming on, Swiss chard ready to pick. Salad greens for lots of salad.
What's this? A few beans peaking out from under their leaves. So I went inside and got a basket to catch the few beans. I went around behind the trellis and my jaw dropped at the sight! There were bunches and bunches of beans back there. I could have sworn they weren't there yesterday! Anyway, I set about picking beans, and by the time I was done, there was a whole basket full. I brought it inside to the kitchen, washed, snapped, blanched and froze about a gallon of beans. I kept some aside for tomorrow evenings celebratory meal. Mary returns!
What I notice about this simple life that I've chosen, is that I have time to notice things. I have time to be with people I love. I have time to be with myself, without feeling rushed, or harried or stressed-out. This simple life isn't for everyone, but for me it works extremely well.
Now let me paint the picture for you. I'm home alone, since Mary is visiting her sister. I have nothing to keep me inside. I dress in long pants and long sleeve shirt, preparing for the thorns and possible poison ivy to come.
The temperature outside was about 97 this evening. I drank lots of water, and put on my cowboy hat to keep the ticks off my head.
I slowly walked about a mile away from the house, over to the grounds of the college where the berry patches are. I enjoyed the silence. But reflecting on it, it wasn't silence. It was a flurry of sounds. Birds, insects, breeze rustling leaves. Frogs in the distance. A car going down the highway. An aircraft on final approach to BWI. All of this I took in, as my attention was drawn to those little and big wild blackberries. What a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours. Oh, and I must have eaten about 2 cups of the berries right off the brambles.
By the way, you have to focus on the berries, as well as keep the very prickery brambles from tearing into your skin as you pluck that juicy berry. My index finger and thumb are still purple from the juices of the over ripe berries. Those are the ones I ate, because they wouldn't have traveled well anyway.
I finished picking the ones I could get to and returned home to the garden. I harvested a zucchini from the plant in the front yard down near the road, and then walked around the house. I nibbled a couple of ripe blueberries from the bushes, and noticed that there are some strawberries ready too. I'll get them tomorrow. I continued to walk around, just enjoying what I see. Tomatoes that are coming on, Swiss chard ready to pick. Salad greens for lots of salad.
What's this? A few beans peaking out from under their leaves. So I went inside and got a basket to catch the few beans. I went around behind the trellis and my jaw dropped at the sight! There were bunches and bunches of beans back there. I could have sworn they weren't there yesterday! Anyway, I set about picking beans, and by the time I was done, there was a whole basket full. I brought it inside to the kitchen, washed, snapped, blanched and froze about a gallon of beans. I kept some aside for tomorrow evenings celebratory meal. Mary returns!
What I notice about this simple life that I've chosen, is that I have time to notice things. I have time to be with people I love. I have time to be with myself, without feeling rushed, or harried or stressed-out. This simple life isn't for everyone, but for me it works extremely well.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Gardens and Ticks
Yes, that's right. Ticks. I guess I had a DEER TICK sometime last week, because when Mary was giving me my haircut, she found a bulls eye rash on my scalp. I went to the Med folks and they gave me a 14 day course of antibiotics to hopefully kill off any Lyme bugs that are trying to take over my systems.
But other than that the garden is doing fantastically well. I have all the salad greens I could want. Fresh strawberries, green beans and swiss chard coming in. The blueberries are coming, but not too many this year. Hopefully more next year. I've planted kale again, so when the fall comes, we'll have greens then too.
I've been to the farmer's market and bought beets, watermelons, other melons and sweet corn. Lots of sweet corn. I froze 10 20 oz tubbies, then transferred the frozen corn to large zip bags. That is easier to store, and I get my tubbies back too.
The freezer is getting full, so... Mary and I are going to be "putting up" more food for the winter, and toward that goal, I've purchased a pressure cooker, and a pressure canner. I'll get the canning process down, and keep things going in small batches, as the farmers and I have produce to spare.
This weekend, I've been eating corn on the cob, fresh steamed beets, and okra and tomatoes. Wow. The food tastes so fresh and good. And is so filling.
But other than that the garden is doing fantastically well. I have all the salad greens I could want. Fresh strawberries, green beans and swiss chard coming in. The blueberries are coming, but not too many this year. Hopefully more next year. I've planted kale again, so when the fall comes, we'll have greens then too.
I've been to the farmer's market and bought beets, watermelons, other melons and sweet corn. Lots of sweet corn. I froze 10 20 oz tubbies, then transferred the frozen corn to large zip bags. That is easier to store, and I get my tubbies back too.
The freezer is getting full, so... Mary and I are going to be "putting up" more food for the winter, and toward that goal, I've purchased a pressure cooker, and a pressure canner. I'll get the canning process down, and keep things going in small batches, as the farmers and I have produce to spare.
This weekend, I've been eating corn on the cob, fresh steamed beets, and okra and tomatoes. Wow. The food tastes so fresh and good. And is so filling.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Tie Dye!
Mary, Tori and I had a great time Saturday tying clothes up to dye. Let me digress a bit.
I bought a few white shirts at Berea Christmas Country Dance School last year. I thought it would be fun to tie dye them. But it took a while to get all of the things together to do it. Namely lots of fun things to tie dye.
Tori also thought this was a great idea, and created a skirt and 2 pairs of really wild pants. Mary thought Tori's pants were so great that she decided to make a pair for herself. Tori and Mary had a great time last week creating patterns and sewing up the clothes.
So Saturday finally arrived, and the fateful tie dying was to take place. We went at it like most people would, fully engaged, and just enough knowledge to be dangerous! We checked out a few YouTube entries on various tie dye folds, and techniques, and then went to it!
Here are the results drying on the line today. (Click the picture for a LARGER view)
Of note to anyone who wants to do tie dyes - It takes longer than you might think. Set aside plenty of time to do the tying, the dying, and the 8 to 12 hour rest period, then time to rinse out the dyes, and then washing and hanging out the finished project.
It was a lot of fun, and I'm sure you will all see these various clothes around on Tori, Mary and myself.
I bought a few white shirts at Berea Christmas Country Dance School last year. I thought it would be fun to tie dye them. But it took a while to get all of the things together to do it. Namely lots of fun things to tie dye.
Tori also thought this was a great idea, and created a skirt and 2 pairs of really wild pants. Mary thought Tori's pants were so great that she decided to make a pair for herself. Tori and Mary had a great time last week creating patterns and sewing up the clothes.
So Saturday finally arrived, and the fateful tie dying was to take place. We went at it like most people would, fully engaged, and just enough knowledge to be dangerous! We checked out a few YouTube entries on various tie dye folds, and techniques, and then went to it!
Here are the results drying on the line today. (Click the picture for a LARGER view)
Of note to anyone who wants to do tie dyes - It takes longer than you might think. Set aside plenty of time to do the tying, the dying, and the 8 to 12 hour rest period, then time to rinse out the dyes, and then washing and hanging out the finished project.
It was a lot of fun, and I'm sure you will all see these various clothes around on Tori, Mary and myself.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Bees! In the Top Bar Hives!
I got my BEES!
Mary posted a little bit on her blog, but I want to put some on mine too. I'm quite psyched up about the whole process.
I drove down to overnight with my parents, which conveniently are about halfway to the beekeeper Don in Lula Georgia who keeps Small Cell (SC) bees. SC bees are kept organically, in that they are bred to resist mites and diseases. Also no chemicals are used on the bees like some commercial beekeepers use. The thinking here is that if the strong bees are bred, then you will wind up with stronger strains of bees, the weaker ones having succumbed to disease and such. Also the SC bees are quicker to emerge from their cells, and thus interrupt the varroa mite's reproduction cycle. Fewer mites reproduce, fewer mites to bother my bees.
I contacted Don last year in order to get on the waiting list for the bees. He does a good business, but is at the mercy of the bees, and Georgia is in that drought which makes the bees a bit slow to reproduce. Anyway, long story short, I was able to travel to get the bees.
I arrived at midday, completely surprising Don, because he doesn't check email very often. I had contacted him earlier in the week to remind him I was coming, and he confirmed. I also emailed that morning, but he hadn't logged on.
After introducing ourselves, I was shown around his apiary, and wow, did he have a lot of hives. We were walking around without any protective gear, and the bees completely ignored us. I had the occasional bee bounce off of me, but that was because I was between her and her hive. She just bounced off me, then flew around me to her home.
Don then collected up a couple of package boxes, the shaker funnel, and the scale. Don is extremely good a judging how many pounds of bees are in a box, just by looking. I guess for someone who has been doing this for 50+ years, that gets to be easy! Anyway, we opened hives, and caught 2 queens, and put them in queen cages, then opened other hives and pulled out honey frames, and shook new bees into the package boxes. It was amazing, I had on my veil, but Don didn't even worry about it. I didn't have on gloves, and had bees on my hands, but no stings. Don's SC bees are extremely good natured, and rarely sting.
At one point Don pulled up a capped honey frame, and invited me to taste pure organic honey. I poked my finger into the honeycomb and popped my honey covered finger into my mouth. The honey tasted fantastic! The bees would soon fix any damage I had done to the honeycomb after Don put the frame back in the hive.
Here is a picture of one of the package boxes sitting on my hive. (click pictures for a larger view)
It didn't take long to get them in the top bar hive. You can see that I am working the bees with no gloves on, and still no stings. For those that don't know, 2 pounds of bees is about 2500 bees.
This is me with the smoker. I smoked the bees a little for the first package, but didn't smoke the second package, just to see how docile these bees were. They were a little more agitated than the un-smoked bees, but still gentle.
And here is me holding the queen cage that has a ball of bees on it. I shook the bees off, so that I could open the little cork on the queen candy side, so the bees will eventually free her.
This last picture is after I've shaken the rest of the bees into the hive, and put on the top bars.
I put the lid on after that. Also inside each hive, I put a gallon zip baggie full of about 3 quarts of sugar syrup to feed the bees until they get going on their own. I poked some small holes so the bees could suck out the fluid. I'll get into the hives next week, and remove the empty bags, and check out the hives and see what the girls have been up to. Hopefully by that time, the queens will be out of their cages, and I can remove them.
I've been caught by my kids and wife, outside watching the comings and goings of these silly bees. My dear wife Mary jokes with me, "What do those crazy neighbors do on Sunday afternoons? Sit outside and watch the bees fly around." Well, I can't think of much that is as calming and soothing as watching those girls do their thing.
Mary was so fascinated by the bees that she wanted to look into the hive to see what they have done. She told me that I need to build another hive, and this one should have an observation window that we can open and see what is going on in there. I agree. But I'll put 2 windows, so that when we remove the shutters we can see through the hive and watch what is going on.
Mary posted a little bit on her blog, but I want to put some on mine too. I'm quite psyched up about the whole process.
I drove down to overnight with my parents, which conveniently are about halfway to the beekeeper Don in Lula Georgia who keeps Small Cell (SC) bees. SC bees are kept organically, in that they are bred to resist mites and diseases. Also no chemicals are used on the bees like some commercial beekeepers use. The thinking here is that if the strong bees are bred, then you will wind up with stronger strains of bees, the weaker ones having succumbed to disease and such. Also the SC bees are quicker to emerge from their cells, and thus interrupt the varroa mite's reproduction cycle. Fewer mites reproduce, fewer mites to bother my bees.
I contacted Don last year in order to get on the waiting list for the bees. He does a good business, but is at the mercy of the bees, and Georgia is in that drought which makes the bees a bit slow to reproduce. Anyway, long story short, I was able to travel to get the bees.
I arrived at midday, completely surprising Don, because he doesn't check email very often. I had contacted him earlier in the week to remind him I was coming, and he confirmed. I also emailed that morning, but he hadn't logged on.
After introducing ourselves, I was shown around his apiary, and wow, did he have a lot of hives. We were walking around without any protective gear, and the bees completely ignored us. I had the occasional bee bounce off of me, but that was because I was between her and her hive. She just bounced off me, then flew around me to her home.
Don then collected up a couple of package boxes, the shaker funnel, and the scale. Don is extremely good a judging how many pounds of bees are in a box, just by looking. I guess for someone who has been doing this for 50+ years, that gets to be easy! Anyway, we opened hives, and caught 2 queens, and put them in queen cages, then opened other hives and pulled out honey frames, and shook new bees into the package boxes. It was amazing, I had on my veil, but Don didn't even worry about it. I didn't have on gloves, and had bees on my hands, but no stings. Don's SC bees are extremely good natured, and rarely sting.
At one point Don pulled up a capped honey frame, and invited me to taste pure organic honey. I poked my finger into the honeycomb and popped my honey covered finger into my mouth. The honey tasted fantastic! The bees would soon fix any damage I had done to the honeycomb after Don put the frame back in the hive.
Here is a picture of one of the package boxes sitting on my hive. (click pictures for a larger view)
It didn't take long to get them in the top bar hive. You can see that I am working the bees with no gloves on, and still no stings. For those that don't know, 2 pounds of bees is about 2500 bees.
This is me with the smoker. I smoked the bees a little for the first package, but didn't smoke the second package, just to see how docile these bees were. They were a little more agitated than the un-smoked bees, but still gentle.
And here is me holding the queen cage that has a ball of bees on it. I shook the bees off, so that I could open the little cork on the queen candy side, so the bees will eventually free her.
This last picture is after I've shaken the rest of the bees into the hive, and put on the top bars.
I put the lid on after that. Also inside each hive, I put a gallon zip baggie full of about 3 quarts of sugar syrup to feed the bees until they get going on their own. I poked some small holes so the bees could suck out the fluid. I'll get into the hives next week, and remove the empty bags, and check out the hives and see what the girls have been up to. Hopefully by that time, the queens will be out of their cages, and I can remove them.
I've been caught by my kids and wife, outside watching the comings and goings of these silly bees. My dear wife Mary jokes with me, "What do those crazy neighbors do on Sunday afternoons? Sit outside and watch the bees fly around." Well, I can't think of much that is as calming and soothing as watching those girls do their thing.
Mary was so fascinated by the bees that she wanted to look into the hive to see what they have done. She told me that I need to build another hive, and this one should have an observation window that we can open and see what is going on in there. I agree. But I'll put 2 windows, so that when we remove the shutters we can see through the hive and watch what is going on.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Spring Meditations
Plant husbandry is easy for me. Taking care of the plants with a little water here, and a pluck of an unwanted tree seed there, and perhaps pulling the mulch back a bit so that the sun can get to the seedling a little better.
Just walking around my little gardens, and seeing how well everything seems to be growing. Amazing! Asparagus popping up, even though the plants are still smaller than a pencil around, so not big enough to eat... yet! Blueberry flowers, almost covered with bees. Seedlings popping up in holes all around. Flowers blooming. Squatting down next to the pond to watch the frogs sitting peacefully on the other side. Noticing the ripple of the water, and the sun reflecting from the edges of the ripple. 40-11 tomato volunteers trying to come up. Onions and shallots growing quickly. Some of the kale has gone to little yellow flowers that the bees are on also. Free seeds soon. Warm air gently drifting, making the bright green leaves on the trees dance merrily.
All of these things I notice, while letting my mind absorb them, and heal me from whatever stress or fatigue I have accumulated during the day.
Spring. Meditate. Enjoy life. Life is good. Spring life is good, because it reveals all of the sleeping wonder that winter's grip has hidden from view.
Just walking around my little gardens, and seeing how well everything seems to be growing. Amazing! Asparagus popping up, even though the plants are still smaller than a pencil around, so not big enough to eat... yet! Blueberry flowers, almost covered with bees. Seedlings popping up in holes all around. Flowers blooming. Squatting down next to the pond to watch the frogs sitting peacefully on the other side. Noticing the ripple of the water, and the sun reflecting from the edges of the ripple. 40-11 tomato volunteers trying to come up. Onions and shallots growing quickly. Some of the kale has gone to little yellow flowers that the bees are on also. Free seeds soon. Warm air gently drifting, making the bright green leaves on the trees dance merrily.
All of these things I notice, while letting my mind absorb them, and heal me from whatever stress or fatigue I have accumulated during the day.
Spring. Meditate. Enjoy life. Life is good. Spring life is good, because it reveals all of the sleeping wonder that winter's grip has hidden from view.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Spring Planting...
The last couple of weeks have seen a rush of planting in the garden. I've got the perennials up and blooming, and it looks like we are going to have lots of food.
I've been planting things all over the place, and of course have lost track of some of the things I've planted. Luckily for me, all of them are edibles, and I'll figure them out when they come up. I do know that there will be lots of tomatoes, since I've got quite a few volunteers by the spot where they were growing last year. Plus, I've planted out 3 seedlings, also.
Mary and I stopped in at the nursery a week ago, and got collards, brussels sprouts, lettuce, and several kinds of basil. I got 2 Pak-choy plants too. I sometimes wonder where I'm going to put all of these plants, but I always seem to find a spot for another plant. It will get easier in the front, when the daffodils greens die back, but that won't be for a month or 2 yet. In the mean time, I'm so enjoying all of the spring growth!
Soon, I'll be out planting squash seeds around the neighborhood in abandoned land. Might as well have some food from that too. I may do cucumbers like that too. Depends on the sun in the area I'm planting. I also might sneak over to the community college and plant some things in the unmown sunny spots. All that grass, just itching to have some squash growing with it.
I've been planting things all over the place, and of course have lost track of some of the things I've planted. Luckily for me, all of them are edibles, and I'll figure them out when they come up. I do know that there will be lots of tomatoes, since I've got quite a few volunteers by the spot where they were growing last year. Plus, I've planted out 3 seedlings, also.
Mary and I stopped in at the nursery a week ago, and got collards, brussels sprouts, lettuce, and several kinds of basil. I got 2 Pak-choy plants too. I sometimes wonder where I'm going to put all of these plants, but I always seem to find a spot for another plant. It will get easier in the front, when the daffodils greens die back, but that won't be for a month or 2 yet. In the mean time, I'm so enjoying all of the spring growth!
Soon, I'll be out planting squash seeds around the neighborhood in abandoned land. Might as well have some food from that too. I may do cucumbers like that too. Depends on the sun in the area I'm planting. I also might sneak over to the community college and plant some things in the unmown sunny spots. All that grass, just itching to have some squash growing with it.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Have you heard of seizuretracker.com?
Here is the link to seizuretracker.com
I must have asked this question about 100 times yesterday during the 2nd annual National Walk for Epilepsy.
You see, my brother-in-law created the website, after his son had over 300 seizures in one month. The paper log was crammed full, and it proved inadequate for the task. He searched online for a website that would allow him to track Evan's seizures, but the sites were either too difficult to use, or worse. So, he set out on a mission. He created seizuretracker.com, sponsored it, and worked for the past 6 or 8 months getting going.
Anyway, at the Epilepsy walk yesterday, Rob and Lisa had t-shirts printed up with the seizuretracker.com logo, and pamphlets also. So wearing the t-shirt and asking if people had heard of the site was what Mary and I did as we walked. We both talked to so many people, and most loved idea of the website. Some people just wanted to talk, so as that went on, we drifted back through the walk. Mary and I ran ahead to get to another bunch of folks that we hadn't talked with yet.
My starting question was always, "Have you heard of seizuretracker.com?" And when they hadn't, I explained what it was, as I handed them the pamphlet. I then went into the back story of, "My nephew had over 300 seizures in one month, and my brother-in-law built the site to handle that large number. After he had it designed the way he thought it should be, easy to use, graphs for seizures, medications, and time, he put it online in a beta-version so that his wife could use it. Well, it got some critiques, and got better. Then it went live, and users had ideas for him to improve it. What came of all of that was a very easy to use, practical web-site that will let you log your seizures and medications, then email the information to your doctor. Oh, and graph everything for a easy picture to see if medications are having an effect. " That was what I started with. After all of that, most folks were eager to give it a try. Oh, and did I mention that it was FREE!? No charge, no advertising, just use it if you want to.
The Walk was pretty chilly, but the cherry blossoms were open, and lots of people were getting set up to fly kites on the mall.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Almost 4000 US dead in War on Terror...
And for 2006... National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 43,443 people were killed on the highways.
What are we fighting a war for, if we can't even protect innocent men, women, AND CHILDREN on our homeland's highways?
I'm thinking that our billions and billions (ala Carl Sagan) of taxpayer dollars could have been much better spent if we had actually concentrated on reducing the death rate on our own highways.
Oh, and how about education?
Clean water?
Cancer research?
Science research?
Curbing gang violence in our own cities?
Drug rehabilitation programs?
Suicide prevention?
Crime prevention?
How many more innocent United States citizens have to die (on the roads, wars, schools, etc.) before we realize that violence is NOT the answer?
What are we fighting a war for, if we can't even protect innocent men, women, AND CHILDREN on our homeland's highways?
I'm thinking that our billions and billions (ala Carl Sagan) of taxpayer dollars could have been much better spent if we had actually concentrated on reducing the death rate on our own highways.
Oh, and how about education?
Clean water?
Cancer research?
Science research?
Curbing gang violence in our own cities?
Drug rehabilitation programs?
Suicide prevention?
Crime prevention?
How many more innocent United States citizens have to die (on the roads, wars, schools, etc.) before we realize that violence is NOT the answer?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Garden Goings-on
Well, it isn't spring yet... but tell that to the crocuses, the daffodils, and the forsythia!
Oh, and me. I have that spring fever thing going. I was out in the gardens for most of the weekend.
On Saturday, I pulled out all of the pachysandra that was growing on the driveway side of the sidewalk. A little patch that is "fenced in" by the handrail. I spent many hours pulling and transplanting the crocuses that were in the way, and a couple of hosta crowns that are just starting to point. I got it all pulled out, and found the holly bush stump about halfway up the little hill. I dug and chopped and pulled on it until it came loose. I'm saving it for garden art. I have it propped up along the sunny side of the house so that it can dry. It should last a long time in the sun!
After I had all the plants removed (and a few cantelope sized rocks) I brought 4 huge wheelbarrows full of compost from the back yard. This stuff has been sitting and cooking for over a year. And wow was it wonderful looking stuff! Earthworms just having a ball in it.
I spread the compost over the soil, and used my shovel to work it into the first 3 inches of soil or so.
At this point I noticed that this would be the perfect time to add to the cinder block wall. But I didn't have cinder blocks, and didn't want to go through mortaring them in, either. But I did have a lot of pieces of concrete rectangular stepping stones. So I wheeled them down from the pile, and after clearing the soil from the top of the old cinder block wall, proceeded to dry lay 5 courses of these on top of that low wall. They will only have to hold back about 10 inches of soil in that location, and I will make sure that I maintain it. I know it could slump if the soil gets too high. But I'm watching that closely. The wall turned out well, and looks pretty good! I love reusing something that I already have.
After I got the stones laid, I backfilled them a bit and then went to the garden center to get a bale of straw. I returned and then used the straw as my top mulch. I don't like leaving any soil bare for very long, since wind and water come along and steal my good earth. So keeping the soil covered is always a good idea. Besides, the earthworms like the insulation to keep on doing their thing!
That was enough for one day.
Sunday rolled around, and I did little chores after the rain stopped. I fixed our pea trellis (and planted peas later in the day.) I cut bamboo poles for the tomato trellis (where we planted peas too!) I also cut up some cardboard to make more worm bedding for my vermicompost bins.
Wow, looking back on it, that was good bit of stuff for one weekend. And I did it at my own pace, and enjoyed the beautiful weather!
Oh, and me. I have that spring fever thing going. I was out in the gardens for most of the weekend.
On Saturday, I pulled out all of the pachysandra that was growing on the driveway side of the sidewalk. A little patch that is "fenced in" by the handrail. I spent many hours pulling and transplanting the crocuses that were in the way, and a couple of hosta crowns that are just starting to point. I got it all pulled out, and found the holly bush stump about halfway up the little hill. I dug and chopped and pulled on it until it came loose. I'm saving it for garden art. I have it propped up along the sunny side of the house so that it can dry. It should last a long time in the sun!
After I had all the plants removed (and a few cantelope sized rocks) I brought 4 huge wheelbarrows full of compost from the back yard. This stuff has been sitting and cooking for over a year. And wow was it wonderful looking stuff! Earthworms just having a ball in it.
I spread the compost over the soil, and used my shovel to work it into the first 3 inches of soil or so.
At this point I noticed that this would be the perfect time to add to the cinder block wall. But I didn't have cinder blocks, and didn't want to go through mortaring them in, either. But I did have a lot of pieces of concrete rectangular stepping stones. So I wheeled them down from the pile, and after clearing the soil from the top of the old cinder block wall, proceeded to dry lay 5 courses of these on top of that low wall. They will only have to hold back about 10 inches of soil in that location, and I will make sure that I maintain it. I know it could slump if the soil gets too high. But I'm watching that closely. The wall turned out well, and looks pretty good! I love reusing something that I already have.
After I got the stones laid, I backfilled them a bit and then went to the garden center to get a bale of straw. I returned and then used the straw as my top mulch. I don't like leaving any soil bare for very long, since wind and water come along and steal my good earth. So keeping the soil covered is always a good idea. Besides, the earthworms like the insulation to keep on doing their thing!
That was enough for one day.
Sunday rolled around, and I did little chores after the rain stopped. I fixed our pea trellis (and planted peas later in the day.) I cut bamboo poles for the tomato trellis (where we planted peas too!) I also cut up some cardboard to make more worm bedding for my vermicompost bins.
Wow, looking back on it, that was good bit of stuff for one weekend. And I did it at my own pace, and enjoyed the beautiful weather!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Handmade "Soil Block" maker
I saw this on the Path to Freedom site and figured out how to make one out of scrap wood I had laying about the workshop. It took me about an hour to make the mold and plunger, and of course had to wait for the WATERPROOF glue to set up. Good clamps made this easy. I sanded it down to round off the edges. Really not difficult to make one.
It worked well, even though it will be making only one soil block at a time. Path to Freedom also has soil block makers for sale, here.
Anyway, I figured a bit of work, and I could be frugal, AND have my soil blocks too. So far I've made 2 trays full of soil blocks. I get 36 to the standard tray. I enjoy doing that and it is easy. So I think the house will soon be filled with seedling trays.
I also have 2 other seedling trays filled with little paper cups, and several little starts of swiss chard, tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil. I want to grow a whole lot more basil, so I'll be making more soil blocks. I'll be using them to start seeds during the whole growing season.
It worked well, even though it will be making only one soil block at a time. Path to Freedom also has soil block makers for sale, here.
Anyway, I figured a bit of work, and I could be frugal, AND have my soil blocks too. So far I've made 2 trays full of soil blocks. I get 36 to the standard tray. I enjoy doing that and it is easy. So I think the house will soon be filled with seedling trays.
I also have 2 other seedling trays filled with little paper cups, and several little starts of swiss chard, tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil. I want to grow a whole lot more basil, so I'll be making more soil blocks. I'll be using them to start seeds during the whole growing season.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
"Spring" planting
I started planting the 2008 garden this afternoon.
Here in Maryland we are zone 6 now, and getting warm enough to work some plants in. I start with onions and shallots. I'll be planting garlics soon too. My order of onion sets came in this week. I planted roughly 360 onions and about 45 shallots. The onions were about 120 red, about 120 white and about 120 yellow onions. Hopefully they will grow well.
I was finishing up planting the last of the white onion sets, when Mary came out to go for our walk. I was working in the soil under our big cypress tree. The same soil that the bamboo had depleted. Mary said that at least we know how to build topsoil. She is hoping for lots of good food from our gardens this year.
I get this way every spring. Bursting at the seams to get the garden going, but still way in the danger of frost. So, I'll figure out a way to get some seeds started and get them ready. I think I may work up a cold frame here real soon. That would give me the sheltered gardening area that I need to get my seeds started.
I also discussed the fact that the hedges on the side of our front yard block out some of the afternoon light. I now have permission to make them much shorter hedges. So I'll take care of that one of these spring afternoons when Mary is working on her schoolwork.
Here in Maryland we are zone 6 now, and getting warm enough to work some plants in. I start with onions and shallots. I'll be planting garlics soon too. My order of onion sets came in this week. I planted roughly 360 onions and about 45 shallots. The onions were about 120 red, about 120 white and about 120 yellow onions. Hopefully they will grow well.
I was finishing up planting the last of the white onion sets, when Mary came out to go for our walk. I was working in the soil under our big cypress tree. The same soil that the bamboo had depleted. Mary said that at least we know how to build topsoil. She is hoping for lots of good food from our gardens this year.
I get this way every spring. Bursting at the seams to get the garden going, but still way in the danger of frost. So, I'll figure out a way to get some seeds started and get them ready. I think I may work up a cold frame here real soon. That would give me the sheltered gardening area that I need to get my seeds started.
I also discussed the fact that the hedges on the side of our front yard block out some of the afternoon light. I now have permission to make them much shorter hedges. So I'll take care of that one of these spring afternoons when Mary is working on her schoolwork.
Twins Turn 15
Well. They did it. They are now 15. They had a bit of a party last night, and had some friends over. They both enjoyed the evening, and ate lots of pizza, and we sang them their birthday dirge, while bringing them their ice-cream cakes. Identical cakes, for non-identical twins. Hey, fair is fair, right? Miriam doesn't really like pink, so of course I got both cakes birthday wishes written with pink icing. Even Samuel's! So the birthday has come and gone. Now I have to look forward to driving lessons sometime between now and this time next year! Yeah! Happy Birthday Twins!
The plans for the garden are going well. I've received my onion and shallot sets, and will be putting them out soon. I think it is a bit too cold yet for the onions, but not much longer to wait.
Then I'll get the seedlings started in full swing and digging in dirt to plant things will start. And I think I'll need about a case of "sluggo" to fight off the slugs. I don't have ducks....
The plans for the garden are going well. I've received my onion and shallot sets, and will be putting them out soon. I think it is a bit too cold yet for the onions, but not much longer to wait.
Then I'll get the seedlings started in full swing and digging in dirt to plant things will start. And I think I'll need about a case of "sluggo" to fight off the slugs. I don't have ducks....
Monday, February 25, 2008
Quiet weekend at home
The weekend started with an inclement weather day on Friday. Since I'm on overhead (between contracts) for the company right now, I figured it just wasn't worth risking my life on the icy roads to go sit and hold down a chair for 8 hours, just to be there. So I called in ICE. That was Friday. The kids were home as well, as school was canceled, and Mary stayed home, since she had only one class that was an hour long, and couldn't justify driving in for 2 - 2 1/2 hours each way for an hour class. So we all stayed home and had a good day together.
Saturday was lovely too. Not much going on. Just reading and such. I just finished the Dan Millman book "Everyday Enlightenment". Dan is the author of "The way of the Peaceful Warrior". Everyday Enlightenment was about how to get the most from life, and I enjoy reading "self help" books sometimes, just to see if I'm on anywhere near the right path. I am. I am on the path that works for me, and for my family. I think that I've got the ability to get to that enlightenment, in just a little while longer. Now, if I could just convince my sub-conscience of that...
Sunday was nice, and I built a fire to relax by. I did some gardening work - staking fruit trees, and a bit of cleaning up. I split some more kindling, and tossed some wood chips down where the old ones have broken down into soil. I put some reminder sticks up around the new daffodils that are trying to come up. I'm getting that spring fever, so it must be getting close to time to get my seedlings started indoors.
I have lots of good ideas for the gardens this year. And if I fill up my freezer, I'll give away the surplus.
Peace and harmony!
Saturday was lovely too. Not much going on. Just reading and such. I just finished the Dan Millman book "Everyday Enlightenment". Dan is the author of "The way of the Peaceful Warrior". Everyday Enlightenment was about how to get the most from life, and I enjoy reading "self help" books sometimes, just to see if I'm on anywhere near the right path. I am. I am on the path that works for me, and for my family. I think that I've got the ability to get to that enlightenment, in just a little while longer. Now, if I could just convince my sub-conscience of that...
Sunday was nice, and I built a fire to relax by. I did some gardening work - staking fruit trees, and a bit of cleaning up. I split some more kindling, and tossed some wood chips down where the old ones have broken down into soil. I put some reminder sticks up around the new daffodils that are trying to come up. I'm getting that spring fever, so it must be getting close to time to get my seedlings started indoors.
I have lots of good ideas for the gardens this year. And if I fill up my freezer, I'll give away the surplus.
Peace and harmony!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Psychopsis Orchid
I finally got the picture of the psychopsis orchid to post. It is lasting a long time.
Really beautiful flower.
Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins!
Muffins.
Simple and frugal creations, able to be grabbed from the kitchen by the kids, my wife and me. All love them, and they come in individual serving size. I love the silicone baking pans that I've been using to bake them. The muffins come right out of the little cups, and they are much easier to clean than the old metal pans. (I use the metal pans to hold the silicone pans, and they insulate them perfectly, so that my muffin bottoms don't get scorched.) And with the silicone, they don't stick to the inside, so no oil is needed either.
Anyway, how wholesome is home-made, goodness? Better than "grandma" used to make? No, but great anyway. Home ground whole-wheat flour, rolled oats, a little bit of raw sugar, some baking powder, chocolate chunks, cocoa powder, dash of salt, ground flax seeds, apple sauce, vanilla, and some water to make it into a batter. Spoon into cups, bake for 28 minutes, and perfection! Yummy VEGAN, low-fat muffins that nobody would guess were vegan, or low fat. Absolutely delectable. Oh, and no added flavor enhancers!
I sometimes make these "dessert" muffins to take to pot-luck lunches. Mainly because so many people love chocolate, they always go over well.
I think I use about $2 worth of ingredients, and come out with 24 muffins. Can't beat the price of home made.
Simple and frugal creations, able to be grabbed from the kitchen by the kids, my wife and me. All love them, and they come in individual serving size. I love the silicone baking pans that I've been using to bake them. The muffins come right out of the little cups, and they are much easier to clean than the old metal pans. (I use the metal pans to hold the silicone pans, and they insulate them perfectly, so that my muffin bottoms don't get scorched.) And with the silicone, they don't stick to the inside, so no oil is needed either.
Anyway, how wholesome is home-made, goodness? Better than "grandma" used to make? No, but great anyway. Home ground whole-wheat flour, rolled oats, a little bit of raw sugar, some baking powder, chocolate chunks, cocoa powder, dash of salt, ground flax seeds, apple sauce, vanilla, and some water to make it into a batter. Spoon into cups, bake for 28 minutes, and perfection! Yummy VEGAN, low-fat muffins that nobody would guess were vegan, or low fat. Absolutely delectable. Oh, and no added flavor enhancers!
I sometimes make these "dessert" muffins to take to pot-luck lunches. Mainly because so many people love chocolate, they always go over well.
I think I use about $2 worth of ingredients, and come out with 24 muffins. Can't beat the price of home made.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Simple Weekend
Mary arrived home on Saturday night from Hawai'i. She was tired, so she had a bowl of soup, and sorted out her luggage and then we went to sleep early, so that she could get her biological clock reset.
Mary and I had lots of connecting time on Sunday, and she did manage to get some reading for school done in the afternoon. We got laundry done and also went for a walk in the beautiful day. The temperature was up to 50F but the wind was blowing in, so we bundled up a bit. I got dishes done, and messed around with the orchids, nothing really taxing.
I managed to get some reading done, and am almost done with a 7 book series. The catch... I have to wait for the final book to be published in July! Arrrrggghhhhh!!! Oh, well, it could be worse. I could have just started reading the first book in a series that has no end in sight...
Energy saving tip: Keep your cars tires inflated to the proper amount. Bonus tip: you'll save muscle energy if your bike's tires are inflated to their proper amount also!
Mary and I had lots of connecting time on Sunday, and she did manage to get some reading for school done in the afternoon. We got laundry done and also went for a walk in the beautiful day. The temperature was up to 50F but the wind was blowing in, so we bundled up a bit. I got dishes done, and messed around with the orchids, nothing really taxing.
I managed to get some reading done, and am almost done with a 7 book series. The catch... I have to wait for the final book to be published in July! Arrrrggghhhhh!!! Oh, well, it could be worse. I could have just started reading the first book in a series that has no end in sight...
Energy saving tip: Keep your cars tires inflated to the proper amount. Bonus tip: you'll save muscle energy if your bike's tires are inflated to their proper amount also!
Saturday, February 09, 2008
I love you, I missed you, You were gone foreEVER!
Mary's coming home this evening. I have about an hour to go. I checked the BWI arrivals, and it says that her flight is about 25 minutes early, so I have to go to the airport soon.
I'm a bit excited to have her back in Maryland. I know the saying is that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I don't think I can grow fonder of Mary. I just miss her terribly when she is gone. And when she returns, it will be a few days before she gets back into the rhythm of things here.
She did a great job of helping Paul out in Hawaii, and helped him do a lot of things around the house that he couldn't have done. So I'm thinking that Mary thinks the trip was worth it.
I'm happy to be able to support Mary when she needs to go and take care of family. Mary is just as supportive of me when I do the same. Fortunately I haven't had to do that for quite some time.
So I made Mary some veggie soup, and have a lovely loaf of sourdough bread to go with the soup. Great eating for a winter's day. (The veggie soup has some homegrown green beans, so I count that as part of our local eating challenge.)
What is simple about all of this traveling? Not much, really. However, living a simple and frugal lifestyle gives us the time and financial freedom to be able to go on short notice to take care of family. And isn't family (and friends - i.e., community) what life is about? No? Not for you? It is for me.
This brings me to the question of how I define family. Is family just blood kin? Or is it really a mixture of blood kin, dear friends, and chosen people in our lives? Those people who are there to teach us about life, spirituality, or whatever, just as we are ready to learn? Family for me is all of those people and more. Those people who are a part of lives, our past, and our present who are there for us, even when we are difficult to be around, and even when times are tough.
So living simply gives me time to be able to find these things out.
I'm a bit excited to have her back in Maryland. I know the saying is that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I don't think I can grow fonder of Mary. I just miss her terribly when she is gone. And when she returns, it will be a few days before she gets back into the rhythm of things here.
She did a great job of helping Paul out in Hawaii, and helped him do a lot of things around the house that he couldn't have done. So I'm thinking that Mary thinks the trip was worth it.
I'm happy to be able to support Mary when she needs to go and take care of family. Mary is just as supportive of me when I do the same. Fortunately I haven't had to do that for quite some time.
So I made Mary some veggie soup, and have a lovely loaf of sourdough bread to go with the soup. Great eating for a winter's day. (The veggie soup has some homegrown green beans, so I count that as part of our local eating challenge.)
What is simple about all of this traveling? Not much, really. However, living a simple and frugal lifestyle gives us the time and financial freedom to be able to go on short notice to take care of family. And isn't family (and friends - i.e., community) what life is about? No? Not for you? It is for me.
This brings me to the question of how I define family. Is family just blood kin? Or is it really a mixture of blood kin, dear friends, and chosen people in our lives? Those people who are there to teach us about life, spirituality, or whatever, just as we are ready to learn? Family for me is all of those people and more. Those people who are a part of lives, our past, and our present who are there for us, even when we are difficult to be around, and even when times are tough.
So living simply gives me time to be able to find these things out.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Novocaine
I will now thank the gods and goddesses of dentistry that there is so much good pain reliever out there now.
I had to get 3 "problem areas" worked on today. It seems that I had a couple of pits, and one filling that had failed, and had some decay underneath. So my dentist wanted to get that taken care of. I was in today for that procedure. I didn't feel any pain, but I sure did feel the high-pitched whine of that drill as it worked on that top tooth. I can't imagine what I would have felt had I not had that Novocaine.
Anyway, all is well, but now my right side of my jaw feels like it is drooling, even though I'm sure my mouth is closed. Very funny feeling. I have a bit of discomfort in my jaw from clenching, and I'm having to remind myself that I need to keep my teeth just far enough apart without opening my mouth (so I DON'T drool all over myself.)
This brings about the frugal point of my post. It is much less expensive to have good dental insurance, brush and floss regularly and have regular dental check-ups and cleanings, than to try to pay for dental damage that isn't caught soon enough. So remember that maintaining yourself is one of the best investments you can make! (Because if you don't maintain yourself, you will later want to give ANY amount of money to get your health back!)
I had to get 3 "problem areas" worked on today. It seems that I had a couple of pits, and one filling that had failed, and had some decay underneath. So my dentist wanted to get that taken care of. I was in today for that procedure. I didn't feel any pain, but I sure did feel the high-pitched whine of that drill as it worked on that top tooth. I can't imagine what I would have felt had I not had that Novocaine.
Anyway, all is well, but now my right side of my jaw feels like it is drooling, even though I'm sure my mouth is closed. Very funny feeling. I have a bit of discomfort in my jaw from clenching, and I'm having to remind myself that I need to keep my teeth just far enough apart without opening my mouth (so I DON'T drool all over myself.)
This brings about the frugal point of my post. It is much less expensive to have good dental insurance, brush and floss regularly and have regular dental check-ups and cleanings, than to try to pay for dental damage that isn't caught soon enough. So remember that maintaining yourself is one of the best investments you can make! (Because if you don't maintain yourself, you will later want to give ANY amount of money to get your health back!)
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Simple Weekend
Sometimes I equate simple, with rest. Like this weekend. I spent several hours doing a whole lot of simple things. Cleaning, laundry, reading, bathing, and such. I even went for a few walks, a bike ride to the bank, and ate up leftovers from the fridge. I didn't feel like cooking, since it was just me in the house, so I ate what I had cooked on Friday.
I turned on the "classical" radio station, and listened to beautiful music all day Sunday. I got my side of the bedroom tidied up, and swept up the floor. I didn't tackle the under the bed stuff, since I didn't want to work ALL day! That can wait until Mary is here to help.
Mary's psychopsis orchid is blooming. I say hers, because it was one of the ones she picked out at the orchid show back in October. Here is a picture of one that I found on the net, but I'll post of picture of hers when I can find a camera. It is really a spectacular plant, and the flower stalk is about 2 1/2 feet high, with that flower sitting pretty right on top!
I'm going to be doing a little bit of cooking for dinner, just don't quite know what I'm going to be making. I need to grind some wheat for muffins, but after that... I don't know.
I do feel well rested, and have soaked up plenty of alone time this weekend.
I turned on the "classical" radio station, and listened to beautiful music all day Sunday. I got my side of the bedroom tidied up, and swept up the floor. I didn't tackle the under the bed stuff, since I didn't want to work ALL day! That can wait until Mary is here to help.
Mary's psychopsis orchid is blooming. I say hers, because it was one of the ones she picked out at the orchid show back in October. Here is a picture of one that I found on the net, but I'll post of picture of hers when I can find a camera. It is really a spectacular plant, and the flower stalk is about 2 1/2 feet high, with that flower sitting pretty right on top!
I'm going to be doing a little bit of cooking for dinner, just don't quite know what I'm going to be making. I need to grind some wheat for muffins, but after that... I don't know.
I do feel well rested, and have soaked up plenty of alone time this weekend.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Another pretty flower!
I came home from work today (yes, I'm feeling MUCH better thank you,) and found this beauty open and displaying for me. I got it a while back from Carter and Holmes Orchids. Very pretty plant with a very light fragrance today, but maybe it will smell a little stronger first thing in the morning. Mine is young so it only has one little flower open with another bud on the way. Eventually it will look like the one in the link above.
I'll have to take a picture of the living room coffee table soon, just to show all the fantastic flowers I have on display in there! I love orchids!
I'll have to take a picture of the living room coffee table soon, just to show all the fantastic flowers I have on display in there! I love orchids!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sick Days
It is true. Even vegans get a cold once in a while. Eating healthy food doesn't keep those cold viruses away. Luckily for me, it is only about once a year. And I have plenty of PTO (Personal Time Off) saved up.
My cold struck yesterday morning early. I had a sore throat, and my voice was going. A hacking, dry cough accompanied the sore throat. So I filled my pocket with cough drops, and went off to work. I spent 2 hours at work, with everyone asking me why I sounded so bad. After that, and realizing that my sore throat was getting worse, I told my boss, I was leaving. I came home, drank some herbal tea, and slept. I laid around the house all day yesterday, even when I wasn't sleeping. I got some reading done, but that was about it.
I got to bed early, and slept fitfully. I still had the sore throat this morning, so, I called out sick AGAIN! So I'm laying around, drinking huge amounts of fluids, spraying my throat with Chloraseptic spray, and sucking on cough drops. I hope I'll be well enough to go back to work tomorrow.
If not, well, it will be a long weekend. But I would much rather use my time off to get something done, not being sick. But, I consider myself lucky that I generally don't get sick often.
Tip for the day: Wash hands often!
My cold struck yesterday morning early. I had a sore throat, and my voice was going. A hacking, dry cough accompanied the sore throat. So I filled my pocket with cough drops, and went off to work. I spent 2 hours at work, with everyone asking me why I sounded so bad. After that, and realizing that my sore throat was getting worse, I told my boss, I was leaving. I came home, drank some herbal tea, and slept. I laid around the house all day yesterday, even when I wasn't sleeping. I got some reading done, but that was about it.
I got to bed early, and slept fitfully. I still had the sore throat this morning, so, I called out sick AGAIN! So I'm laying around, drinking huge amounts of fluids, spraying my throat with Chloraseptic spray, and sucking on cough drops. I hope I'll be well enough to go back to work tomorrow.
If not, well, it will be a long weekend. But I would much rather use my time off to get something done, not being sick. But, I consider myself lucky that I generally don't get sick often.
Tip for the day: Wash hands often!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
One of the new orchids bloomed!
A beautiful miniature white orchid, purchased at the orchid show at the National Arboretum in October, Phalenopsis equestris alba. Here is a link to the picture.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Holiday from work
Not much going on this weekend for me. I've been more like an observer of the stuff going on around me. I've managed to do a little cooking, and some more cooking. I used the new silicon muffin pans that we got from JoAnn's on Saturday. With them, I don't need any oil to get things out of the pans - the silicone is non-stick. They worked very well, well worth the $20 for the 4 pans. We has 4- 50% off coupons and sent each twin through with a pan and a coupon. So we got them for 1/2 off. Quite a deal!
I had a lazy day yesterday, but Mary got the curtains finished for our bedroom by the time we were ready to go to sleep, and wow, we slept late today. Those curtains make the room very dark, but just light enough to see by. Oh, and the curtains look really good too. Check them out!
Samuel had a bunch of his guy friends come over for some play time today. You might think that a 14 year-old would have outgrown playgroups, but they had a good time, just hanging out. They went up to the park in the 30 degree weather and played some sort of running-tag games.
Miriam, has been amusing herself around the house, reading, studying for exams, and generally relaxing.
I have yet to get to the sorting of the seeds and getting my seed order ready for spring planting.
Next weekend.
I had a lazy day yesterday, but Mary got the curtains finished for our bedroom by the time we were ready to go to sleep, and wow, we slept late today. Those curtains make the room very dark, but just light enough to see by. Oh, and the curtains look really good too. Check them out!
Samuel had a bunch of his guy friends come over for some play time today. You might think that a 14 year-old would have outgrown playgroups, but they had a good time, just hanging out. They went up to the park in the 30 degree weather and played some sort of running-tag games.
Miriam, has been amusing herself around the house, reading, studying for exams, and generally relaxing.
I have yet to get to the sorting of the seeds and getting my seed order ready for spring planting.
Next weekend.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Snow, Snow, Snow, Rain
I feel like such a kid, watching the fluffy white flakes coming down. I love the stuff. I get so giddy when the first snows come. I love the way the world looks covered in the white blankets of winter. Fantastic, how the sun glints off the billions of diamonds and dazzles the senses. That crisp smell of dry air, and the awesome silence of the snow absorbing sounds, deadening loud noises and swallowing the soft sounds.
The snows came to our area today. Not too much, but enough to make everyone grumble and gripe about driving and such. Not me. I was trying to contain utter joy at seeing the white stuff. I felt like the only positive person in a sea of pessimism. So what if the snow is cold! So what if it makes it a bit more of a challenge to get home? So what if I have to clean off my car, run the defroster and drive slowly? I get to see the wonder of snow!
The rain started much later, around dark. I think it will melt some of the snow, but if it freezes tonight, will make chipping my car out a challenge tomorrow morning. But I'll be enjoying that too!
The snows came to our area today. Not too much, but enough to make everyone grumble and gripe about driving and such. Not me. I was trying to contain utter joy at seeing the white stuff. I felt like the only positive person in a sea of pessimism. So what if the snow is cold! So what if it makes it a bit more of a challenge to get home? So what if I have to clean off my car, run the defroster and drive slowly? I get to see the wonder of snow!
The rain started much later, around dark. I think it will melt some of the snow, but if it freezes tonight, will make chipping my car out a challenge tomorrow morning. But I'll be enjoying that too!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
I will not tell a lie...
I did not chop down the cherry tree. But I did salvage the wood from the one that fell down across the street! It fell down in my neighbor's driveway, narrowly missing the corner of her house. She had a fella come by and cut it into firewood lengths, and stack the big logs up in her yard. She was kind enough to allow me to take the wood off her hands. So I spent the afternoon splitting, then wheelbarrowing the wood to my woodpile. It will be lovely to burn next winter, after it has seasoned well.
I'm still using the cherry wood from the tree that went down a year and a half ago. I've used up most of that, and will be working on the poplar that we salvaged from the ice storm last winter.
This keeps me from spending $200 or so for a cord of wood, most of which I won't use until next year. If more trees go down around here, my wood pile will get bigger.
I'm still using the cherry wood from the tree that went down a year and a half ago. I've used up most of that, and will be working on the poplar that we salvaged from the ice storm last winter.
This keeps me from spending $200 or so for a cord of wood, most of which I won't use until next year. If more trees go down around here, my wood pile will get bigger.
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