Category: Uncategorized (Page 132 of 188)

Last Sunday, the husband canned 9 jars of homemade salsa. It took no less than ALL DAY to complete said task – there was lots of chopping and simmering and mess-making to happen, but we were very happy with the final product. We have another round of tomatoes ripening at the moment, so there’s a chance we get to repeat the festivities again next weekend.

Just one day prior, I started reading a new book. Let me go on record by stating that husband does not like it when I start with that phrase. It typically means: a) a discussion will ensue b) regarding our current life habits c) involving us questioning best practices d) involving some of his favorite things. I don’t sugar coat it any more. He no longer pretends it’s cute or admirable. We just plough into conversation.

So the new book is called The Face on your Plate about current food practices in the US. The author opens the book with the notion that he is a vegan and thinks everyone should be one as well. I appreciate that he doesn’t cover his agenda (though that is not a dining lifestyle with which I will participate. I don’t think anything quite that extreme is necessary, but even more so it’s sheer laziness on my part). But he’s  a smart guy who has been in the field for a while and, though it’s attached to Hinduism, I appreciate that he “gets it” that food and faith have a symbiotic relationship. So I continued reading his book.

He offered lots of facts about the cost of raising meat – to the environment (greenhouse gas emissions), to the farmer and to the consumer. He brought up a thought that I had not so long ago, but in a differing vein – where I questioned growing broccoli instead of feed corn, he offered the advantages of growing lettuce rather than offering the land to animals grown for mass meat production. He also got my mind stirring when he talked about the gardening practices of levels, that foods work together to treat the soil well and then everything is happy and healthy.

Naturally, I pushed us toward changing some of our eating practices; I’m good with the 8000 pounds of cow in our freezer because of how it was procured – local farmers, good feeding practices. Happy cows and happy people. But I’d love to be largely self-sufficient with a bulk of our food – a massive garden, some chickens for eggs, a cow named Bess for milk (she’d have a bell around her neck for sure). Oh, and about 9 children to do all the work on the farm. We might change our last name to Bontragger and dress in all muted colors.

But I digress. J’s (very good) point was: well, that’s a lot of work. And there are times that you don’t even like to water the garden, let alone weed it (though, to my defense, I have been primary weeder this season!). To be able to grow and then preserve that amount of food would be a lot of work.

And that’s when the lightbulb came on. There is a reason good food is expensive. It costs someone something. When you want things fresh and local and sans industrialization, that means that someone has to do the planting, weeding, tending, picking, cooking and preserving. And if 9 jars of salsa took all day, what will a winter’s worth of green beans take? Not to mention the back breaking task of picking and washing and snapping. And for the food we’re consuming right now, someone is doing that. And if we’re paying little for our food, those who are tending to it are making even less on their labor (because the Guy who puts on the label will surely take his cut).

It really got me thinking about my cheapskate nature. Everyone knows I love a bargain. Clothes, food, endcap sales – I am my mothers’ daughter. But now I have to question – at what cost are these deals coming? At who’s hands? I know that my purchasing decisions barely make a dent in corporate profits – they will hardly miss little ol’ me, but as KLR says, do I want to be part of the problem or part of the solution?

Just food for thought.

Allow me to compose the top reasons you may or may not have confused me with your grandma or elderly neighbor yesterday:
1. I made peach jam.
2. Then I canned to preserve it for the winter.
3. I completed one crotchet project and started another with giddy determination. (My pride at the V-stitch is sinful and probably very alarming for my sub-30-year-old friends).
4. I spent the evening at church (even more so: at a MEETING, talking about “kids these days”)
5. I went to Meijer at 9am. Did you know that the average shoppers age in Meijer at 9am on a Thursday falls in the Golden Buckeye bracket?
6. I had coupons at the checkout. 
7. Thanks to this venture out, I felt that my day’s calendar was pretty much full. 
8. I spoke to a man about his hip replacement. And asked for details.
9. I plotted in my mind – multiple times – how to be “adopted” by a grandmother that can knit. I found some sweater patterns on Ravelry that I feel Miss M simply MUST have. 

After having completed my first week of staying home with the kids most days (thanks, mom for letting me work on Tuesdays), so far I’m not crazy. Well, any crazier.  I’ve quite enjoyed working on tasks that I’ve not had the opportunity in the past. I make myself keep up with the dishes (otherwise I would bake us into a fatty coma all the live long day), the laundry is… on par… and I’m 3 for 3 in the shower column.

Making this an even better situation: my friend KC called from work yesterday to tell me they’d like me to work on an admin project that is much more similar to my old work. Oh, heavenly day. I realized that putting in for evening hours and only at the front of the week would likely limit me to phone interviews, but after several hours of speaking with scientists and people with “director” in their title (that say phrases like “well, I’m at $240k base right now, but I’d be willing to talk if total comp was anticipated at over $300), I come home quite exhausted. I find it hard to be so nice to such rich and smart people. So this project is welcome news.

On top of that, I started in on some ad work again with a friend. He had me writing commercials a while back, but after I ramped up at the “real job” I couldn’t squeeze it in. But with the schedule as-is, I’m able to make contact with clients and write scripts during naptimes, which works great for him and me. It’s an hour here and there, but helps to fill in my gaps (and put a little fun money in my pocket).

To put the icing on the cake, I actually feel much freer to be able to contribute at church the way I’ve wished I could. I feel like I’d dropped the ball – so many good intentions, no follow through because I was scrounging for time to get things completed. But now I’m able to feel like my Sunday evenings can belong to the youth, being as I have so much other time during the week to spend with the fam.

However, let me not talk myself into misery. Next week I begin working in the evenings, so there could be a whole new loop thrown in. But there’s a bit of joy that I’m finding in not really knowing what the day will hold. First things first: I need to complete my only assignment of yesterday that I did not complete. Fantasy football – Girls club – here I come!

As I was commenting on a FB friend’s status update, I decided that if Facebook were to have its own version of the Dundee awards, he could be a contender in multiple categories. Which inspired me to think… what would the awards be? And who would win them? Ah, let the games commence.

Humor in the mundane
Bob B. Most recent status: Things must be going well for the company.. We just got urinal mints in the men’s room at work..

Strongest political statement
Lindsay L. Always good for a pro-Obama video. Because the majority of my fb friends are republican, I must say it’s a breath of fresh air.

Best spiritual uplift
Mary K. I love the current translation she’s been using.

Consistency in overstretching onself’s limits and then complaining about it
Well, I can’t say the name! But if you’re friends with her, you know.

Most helpful information concerning cinematic events:
Kenny M. Since I rarely watch movies, the posts are quite helpful in sounding educated and involved.

Best wisher of a good day:
Barb W. Always chipper, even at 7am. Good morning, Hardin county!

Status-turned-forum of discussion:
Anna G, as evidenced by how many comments she gets over a consistent basis. In her acceptance speech she needs to thank Twitter for feeding into her Fb, I’m sure. And all those little people she’s tagged along the way.

Photography uploads :
(professional category) Danielle D. Her speed at updates kicked her over the edge as a winner.
(personal category): Brian W. He earned bonus points for creativity in locale.

Twitter Dee and Twitter Dum Award(Consistently updates to the same status, not out of accident but because they’re always together):
Brian W and Doctor Ryan. The ipad purchase made you the clear winners.

Makes me hungriest:
Ashley M. I think she should start taking pictures and uploading the recipes to become a foodie blogger.

Best Musical performance in a status update (ie, quoting lyrics):
Lacy D. She’d also be a front runner in the “makes me feel old because I don’t know what that song is” category.

Best source of news for someone who doesn’t get out much:
Tony F. Mostly in regards to sports news, but in general after reading his posts I feel like I can contribute to a conversation. Or crack a joke.

Motivator Award (most likely to update that she just worked out and thus driving me to reach for another cookie)
Vura. That girl is always working out! Or perhaps FB is a reward mechanism to get her to workout. That could be a winning strategy for this girl.

Lead supporting role: best commenter on a status
Rebecca B. She is on top of it when wishing happy birthdays.

Randomness award:
Nate Johnson. Half the time I have no idea what he’s talking about (fig newtons?), but 90% of the time I still laugh.

Druken dial updates (or a large number of them involve drinking)
Brad W. I’m not sure there were any close competitors in this category.

Overall Worst Facebooker Award:
Kristy R. Quitter.