tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56983812365692778572024-02-19T08:13:22.091-05:00HandCraftedLifeIn exploration of devotionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-47991752894973662352022-05-07T22:56:00.001-04:002022-05-07T22:56:44.314-04:00From awareness to action<p>I have been absent here, mainly due to over-thinking. I kept telling myself that I should look into a different platform for this blog, one that’s meant for subscriptions. But then I didn’t have time to do that research, and I didn’t post because I wanted to do that research, and here it is, 6 weeks later. So, if you have a favorite platform to create/read content, please add your suggestions in the comments!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbh8hgfbvRDkahdvrdbnjCXNPQLvfTfMXJyd0mKFxqbuglndqpJV1onQtea2Gkj-KVYb9IDnDP7wL5Ze6x2OET4-IMnokPm4Mqh6mjbzrRjoNhm7FtqxMohH_RUBpg_BxPbjDj-NCmWMHUFaCTIHXaZdwxb-iHTwkOC35p2UPZses9HqgBrj-F8k_28w/s1200/98A677DA-8AFE-43C3-87BD-8BD50B6A9C43.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbh8hgfbvRDkahdvrdbnjCXNPQLvfTfMXJyd0mKFxqbuglndqpJV1onQtea2Gkj-KVYb9IDnDP7wL5Ze6x2OET4-IMnokPm4Mqh6mjbzrRjoNhm7FtqxMohH_RUBpg_BxPbjDj-NCmWMHUFaCTIHXaZdwxb-iHTwkOC35p2UPZses9HqgBrj-F8k_28w/s320/98A677DA-8AFE-43C3-87BD-8BD50B6A9C43.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Meanwhile, my plan for this quarter, as related to my word of the year, devotion, is to take a picture daily to cultivate attention. The truth is, though, I do that naturally without having to make a special effort. I had this picture accepted to a regional art show in New York back in 2015, and this was my artist statement:</p><p>“For me, photography is a practice of paying attention to what’s happening in the here and now. Only by paying attention in the present can we discern subtle but significant changes that occur over time, whether in our political, geographical, or emotional landscape. Such careful attention is imperative if we are to create the future that we wish.”</p><p>These days, that careful attention is more important than ever. Yet I find myself asking, what next? What is the best action to create that future for future generations, and for the earth and its beings? I don’t have the answer. Or, actually, there are many answers, but what is the best one for me, now? I have some preliminary ideas, and I’ll share more as I work through them in my own head and heart.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-74190108317519918882022-03-20T20:04:00.001-04:002022-03-20T20:04:05.207-04:00More meditation needed<p>“To live beyond the reach of greed, hatred, and the fears that come with an acute anxiety about our status and survival is liberating.” (Karen Armstrong, <i>Buddha</i>, p.104)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizM086PFAA-8NGREHVs5uxSdlmabsZtpOA-AW2NRIGFowmrUEsakScdhFrp42Kp29os5k2IdLwEkCtDaG9X5NIkComwqzxDLQceHqJA2NQj6REim3qHrZI1-Z4MvCkFXTFTmZzGpWghydGytmHCNJSNuZGbbA2Cs2vyCV8D7U6g4jac1GZLzfq70lGOw=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizM086PFAA-8NGREHVs5uxSdlmabsZtpOA-AW2NRIGFowmrUEsakScdhFrp42Kp29os5k2IdLwEkCtDaG9X5NIkComwqzxDLQceHqJA2NQj6REim3qHrZI1-Z4MvCkFXTFTmZzGpWghydGytmHCNJSNuZGbbA2Cs2vyCV8D7U6g4jac1GZLzfq70lGOw=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I skipped last week’s post because I wasn’t feeling well for a few days. Don’t worry, all is well now.</p><p>The good news since my last post is that my mindful practices around phone use have really helped. I am spending much less time on social media and doom scrolling, a very good thing. In turn, I’m making reading my default activity (to use a term I’ve heard from <a href="http://Calnewport.com" target="_blank">Cal Newport</a>). Funny, before today’s electronic devices, reading was automatically my default activity. </p><p>So, I’ve been reading Karen Armstrong’s <i>Buddha</i>, quoted above. I keep re-reading it. How much of my actions are connected to anxiety about survival? (Some are about status too, but the survival angle really struck me). And I don’t mean to say that my literal survival is currently under threat. But based on what I’ve learned about how past experiences and traumas shape our brains’ responses to anything it experiences as a threat, my body sometimes reacts as if its very survival is at risk. </p><p>And then I think about the people I interact with daily, who are having their own anxieties and trauma responses. It’s no wonder there’s so much conflict in the world, with the way our brains work. </p><p>As a Buddhist, I know that, for me, the way to minimize such reactivity is through compassion and meditation. And I’ve realized that my meditation practice has eroded recently, so I’ll be working on that more. I’m still thinking about what that will look like practically.</p><p>I’d love to hear from you in the comments: do you have a meditation practice? How does it affect your anxieties and day-to-day life? How do you fit meditation and mindfulness into your life?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-40111427362963838052022-03-07T20:33:00.001-05:002022-03-07T20:33:50.406-05:00Cultivating presence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHWnlJr7bFIijL25Lq8N9Q5L4i5gFYTyRCyReF1szWrj_5xYnEsjBTbVuFc-ssoZJdpBf1DJJJlc_vAi5EiVVUmZN0RggbbB4viCAnBMdr2uL9gH8_rmbxWpRUtwq4xmpjZCI1_QEyZ5YzPEiq0osqfGea7Sl2U-lU0PKSCO0Jy7GGjaZix04L3DIUAw=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHWnlJr7bFIijL25Lq8N9Q5L4i5gFYTyRCyReF1szWrj_5xYnEsjBTbVuFc-ssoZJdpBf1DJJJlc_vAi5EiVVUmZN0RggbbB4viCAnBMdr2uL9gH8_rmbxWpRUtwq4xmpjZCI1_QEyZ5YzPEiq0osqfGea7Sl2U-lU0PKSCO0Jy7GGjaZix04L3DIUAw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Presence. One of my goals for the first quarter of 2022 is to cultivate devotion through presence by replacing phone use with mindfulness and intentional practices. Why is it so hard? I actually feel like I've made progress in remaining present through innumerable Zoom meetings. But I am still not where I want to be with phone use. It's soo easy to fall down the rabbit hole. Especially in the morning as I'm waking up and at night when I'm relaxing in bed.</p><p>I like a long wake-up and wind-down routine, but I know that being on my phone so long is not conducive to rest, on either end of the day. So, for this week, I'm trying the following</p><p>First, I will set the stopwatch every time I go on social media. I know there's a tracker on my phone, but I sometimes think it's tracking time even when the apps are just running in the background. This will be a good way to find out. And just knowing I'm tracking the time will likely be an incentive to be more mindful.</p><p>Second, I will allow myself 15 minutes at night and in the morning on my phone. I'll set the phone timer to tell me when it's time to get off. At night, I will read something light, as I'm always too tired to read much of substance. In the morning, I'll keep my notebook and latest book(s) by my bedside to that I can write/read in bed when I wake up. I want to write and read more, and this is the perfect time to do it.</p><p>I'll check in next week to let you know how it goes!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-85927311463124686372022-02-27T18:14:00.029-05:002022-02-27T21:38:12.838-05:00Keeping Quiet<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFanYV9S4OfayaS3iD6mxWZzVp9TqNgWSmEjLEV_eD3xRSWrSIks5TCje_8UxCGpAqDoM0sVmJMpyOkP5A2_DMS-0NrkkhI5xsoEp2TpsyW8lxCZZSt1lPI32n29JJqxatoJHYvtGoAqPsKOAUVNBLgTJOyIIziPDlwsl0SqCA8XrCOgHf3BgjvWl9vg=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="black and white image of snow covered mountain and clouds" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFanYV9S4OfayaS3iD6mxWZzVp9TqNgWSmEjLEV_eD3xRSWrSIks5TCje_8UxCGpAqDoM0sVmJMpyOkP5A2_DMS-0NrkkhI5xsoEp2TpsyW8lxCZZSt1lPI32n29JJqxatoJHYvtGoAqPsKOAUVNBLgTJOyIIziPDlwsl0SqCA8XrCOgHf3BgjvWl9vg=w320-h240" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Friends, it's been a hard week. A new war has started; countless numbers of people are being displaced, injured, killed. Our beloved trans and lgbtq children and families are under increased attack in several states. My daughter experienced the trauma of an active shooter lockdown and ultimately lost one of her students to a random drive-by shooting. A dear teacher's life was cut short, a teacher who had so much more to teach me and so many in our community. I've experienced a break in a friendship that is weighing heavily. And we are all still sorting out what the current state of the pandemic means for us individually and collectively. And that's on top of the many injustices that we've somehow come to just expect during a "normal" week.</p><p>In my exploration of devotion, I've been working to cultivate presence, through meditation, mindfulness, spiritual study, and even physical activity. These practices have steadied and soothed me during this week. </p><p>But Neruda's poem below reminds me that sometimes presence isn't enough. Stillness is required. So today, I will simply count to 12, keep quiet, wish you stillness, and go. </p><p><u>Keeping Quiet</u></p><p>by Pablo Neruda</p><p>Now we will count to twelve</p><p>and we will all keep still.</p><p><br /></p><p>For once on the face of the earth, </p><p>let's not speak in any language;</p><p>let's stop for one second,</p><p>and not move our arms so much.</p><p><br /></p><p>It would be an exotic moment</p><p>without rush, without engines;</p><p>we would all be together</p><p>in a sudden strangeness.</p><p><br /></p><p>Fisherman in the cold sea </p><p>would not harm whales</p><p>and the man gathering salt</p><p>would not look at his hurt hands.</p><p><br /></p><p>Those who prepare green wars,</p><p>wars with gas, wars with fire,</p><p>victories with no survivors,</p><p>would put on clean clothes</p><p>and walk about with their brothers</p><p>in the shade, doing nothing.</p><p><br /></p><p>What I want should not be confused</p><p>with total inactivity.</p><p>Life is what it is about;</p><p>I want no truck with death.</p><p><br /></p><p>If we were not so single-minded</p><p>about keeping our lives moving,</p><p>and for once could do nothing,</p><p>perhaps a huge silence</p><p>might interrupt this sadness</p><p>of never understanding ourselves</p><p>and of threatening ourselves with death.</p><p>Perhaps the earth can teach us</p><p>as when everything seems dead</p><p>and later proves to be alive.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now I'll count up to twelve</p><p>and you keep quiet and I will go.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-45328772877239367272022-02-22T00:05:00.002-05:002022-02-22T00:05:24.328-05:00Boundaries, Barriers, and Balance<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2DlAfbPT2Uhae2ADbT_0EqtJ5gmIBcq5Be0V8mo5TXCb0Qo8n7Rw8T6X7q9PY5sJtHvsotss38hpc7ZlUKRONmWARq62wRa-1cKYRTke2hnsb6ChvwqIuy-Dh2YLYAEXnZiM1tHkv9ZYY6imiAmS47AqV85Weh_LxNkf7Ga1Iqzkgfbi2B18DWmLGKQ=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1440" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2DlAfbPT2Uhae2ADbT_0EqtJ5gmIBcq5Be0V8mo5TXCb0Qo8n7Rw8T6X7q9PY5sJtHvsotss38hpc7ZlUKRONmWARq62wRa-1cKYRTke2hnsb6ChvwqIuy-Dh2YLYAEXnZiM1tHkv9ZYY6imiAmS47AqV85Weh_LxNkf7Ga1Iqzkgfbi2B18DWmLGKQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Over in <a href="https://www.stasiasavasuk.com/" target="_blank">Stasia Savasuk's</a> membership group (also known as the Revel-YOU-tion!), we're talking about boundaries and barriers this month, and today I did a talk for the group on balance as related to those concepts. To practice devotion, I work to create boundaries around my time and energy so that I can devote myself to my most important priorities. <br /><br /></p><p>Here are the main points from my talk:</p><p>1-Global capitalism and our own brains create barriers to finding balance. The former values productivity over all else, and the latter responds to stress and conflict as if it were fighting for our life.</p><p>2-Focusing on the things that matter most to you can help cut through the multiple competing priorities in your life to help you be more intentional in your actions.</p><p>3-The brain can change, and strategies including meditation, mindfulness, and healthy sleep habits can help us remain more grounded when feeling stressed/threatened.</p><p>4-Productivity tools can help by creating boundaries around work time and personal time, family time and solo time.</p><p>Here are a few resources that have been helpful to me. A quick web search will take you to those not linked:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Podcasts by Josh Korda, <a href="http://dharmapunxnyc.com" target="_blank">Dharmapunx NYC</a></li><li><a href="http://fullfocusplanner.com" target="_blank">Full Focus Planner</a><br /></li><li>Stack email method</li><li>Pomodoro technique</li><li>Eisenhower matrix</li><li><a href="https://theshubox.com/best-laid-plans-podcast" target="_blank">Best Laid Plans podcast</a> (for the true planning nerds among us)<br /></li></ul><div>I of course come from my own positionality of having levels of privilege based on race, socioeconomic status, and education; along with belonging to groups who have faced inequities based on sex, family background, trauma history, and sexual orientation. These resources will not resonate with everyone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and if you're on Instagram, you can follow my planning IG @juliejamsandplans! Have a great week!</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-87061643352670129182022-02-14T04:00:00.001-05:002022-02-14T04:00:00.189-05:00The same but different<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAp8nWktier37Zo_xr04M7KreYMJGCMwwWizkGwtLixZq7CdN9d1GZ4nbV16srLP-WBarrmUlUUPf1HzBs05pADApbfivrb_QCMgk67wBfMC-198Trcs5gvn5P3CVVPreo89bUnHdakvuWgHfgVDyuYD4y3K17rtK7CJ3tTZejXKIMlidGvAPXrpY0Dw=s3684" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2648" data-original-width="3684" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAp8nWktier37Zo_xr04M7KreYMJGCMwwWizkGwtLixZq7CdN9d1GZ4nbV16srLP-WBarrmUlUUPf1HzBs05pADApbfivrb_QCMgk67wBfMC-198Trcs5gvn5P3CVVPreo89bUnHdakvuWgHfgVDyuYD4y3K17rtK7CJ3tTZejXKIMlidGvAPXrpY0Dw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /> (Re) starting this blog has already been quite a journey. As I read some of my previous posts, I think I am quite a different person than I was 10 years ago. And yet I am still the same person. This paradox gives me hope as I look forward to the next 10 years of my life. I will continue to change, and yet I will remain the same.<p></p><p>Is this too not “diligence without assurance”? For many years, I was diligent precisely because I wanted assurance. I thought that if I did the right things, I would somehow avoid pain and suffering. Of course, the Buddha taught us that life is suffering. I have known suffering throughout my life, yet in my young adulthood, I thought I could avoid it once I was a “grown-up”and more in control. Ha!</p><p>This past week, I traveled both to see family and for work. I cherish both experiences, even as the lack of control inherent in travel threw my nervous system out of whack. Exhausted, I got on the plane home feeling vulnerable and upset about a million things. I put one foot in front of the other and did what I had to do (diligence).</p><p>But I also did something I may not have in the past. I reached out for support. I needed someone to remind me that this too would pass. I belong to an online community of support facilitated by <a href="https://www.stasiasavasuk.com/" target="_blank">Stasia Savasuk</a>, and they came through for me.</p><p>On a practical level, I need to acknowledge that part of my exhaustion was due to poor sleep hygiene while I was traveling. Too much device use before bed, especially. As part of my #devotion practice, I need to get some good strategies for the next time I travel.</p><p>As I wrote in my previous post, I’m focusing on devotion through the practice of presence for the first quarter of the year. I’ve always struggled with this at bed time. That’s when all the worries, tasks, and annoyances want to shout at me. I know from experience that it helps to do a meditation/mindfulness practice before bed, so tonight, I’m going to bring that back into my evening ritual.</p><p>The human brain is a funny thing. It keeps having to learn and relearn how to keep the nervous system in balance. And yet, even as it remains the same, it keeps growing and changing.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-67600244286905719332022-02-07T04:00:00.001-05:002022-02-07T04:00:00.177-05:00Diligence without assurance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhel3ugXC9ZgFtYwca7yVs5SvM44qwhQU7y7fNhStNPyZA7HwJyFLeE3Yl5WBprO1-BGnkTFUvJdcm0Ql-GUr7clLZhaXvbvumQIeG_C0OR1Cji7xsCwpCyeSUd3Z2IZH7bq9gDj_CU6PiFQ_xkW8SualKJaL_cOuT8anM_Fm7zlKfJyp5rwz76ciO7oA=s1440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1440" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhel3ugXC9ZgFtYwca7yVs5SvM44qwhQU7y7fNhStNPyZA7HwJyFLeE3Yl5WBprO1-BGnkTFUvJdcm0Ql-GUr7clLZhaXvbvumQIeG_C0OR1Cji7xsCwpCyeSUd3Z2IZH7bq9gDj_CU6PiFQ_xkW8SualKJaL_cOuT8anM_Fm7zlKfJyp5rwz76ciO7oA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>So, I’ve taken almost a 10-year hiatus from blogging. Since then, I’ve completed a Ph.D., changed jobs 3 times, moved across the country, met my birth father, lost my mother, seen my “kids” blossom into full-grown amazing adults, and celebrated 25 years with my partner.</p><p>I’m back here as a devotional practice. “Devotion” is my word of the year, and one definition of devotion is “diligence without assurance” (Elizabeth Gilbert, though I found this quote through a Google search rather than by reading any actual books by her). Still, that definition resonates deeply.</p><p>What is life itself, if not diligence without assurance? We get up, we do the things we believe are important, and we lie down at night never truly knowing what will come of our efforts.</p><p>My beloved yoga teacher, <a href="HTTPS://SaraswatiOm.com" target="_blank">Saraswati Om</a>, once asked a class of yogis, “What are you devoted to?” Then she asked us to look at how we spend our time. Are we devoted to our phones? To our children? To ourselves? To our jobs?</p><p>I want to be devoted to actions that align with my values in life. As I seek to cultivate DEVOTION this year, I’ll be exploring 4 sets of practices, 1 per quarter. They are: PRESENCE, ATTENTION, GRATITUDE, and SERVICE.</p><p>As I focus on presence to begin the year, I am working to limit phone use and random mind-wandering (don’t get me wrong; random mind-wandering can be fantastic, but as I log onto my 7th Zoom meeting of the day, I need to stay focused) with intentional note-taking, writing, knitting, stitching, reading, doodling. In order for my mind to stay focused, my hands need to stay busy if I’m sitting still.</p><p>So my goal is to be here every Monday, writing about what I’m learning. As time allows and inspirations strikes, I may pop in at other times as well. There’s no other plan for this blog other than that. It’s lovely to have you here, and I’d love to engage with you in the comments.</p><p>To start, I’d love to hear/read what you’re devoted to, or what your word of the year is, or anything else you want to talk about!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-47563443722295586572012-10-29T10:11:00.001-04:002012-10-29T10:11:00.121-04:00Of hormones, Ivy League professors, and possibilities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h212WXgOZxT9m95NTUvHPlW1fRk6RtItes2tY7wKqxTkpjWSLp2soypFGOqmsoOGRQw5s13E3rvtrcvY6hsY4FXtw_eux5Mh8hv1AJvbR_7JZ0Z2DQ7CwOkSVRMhCl02eMIVcTQiYh6Q/s1600/garden+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h212WXgOZxT9m95NTUvHPlW1fRk6RtItes2tY7wKqxTkpjWSLp2soypFGOqmsoOGRQw5s13E3rvtrcvY6hsY4FXtw_eux5Mh8hv1AJvbR_7JZ0Z2DQ7CwOkSVRMhCl02eMIVcTQiYh6Q/s320/garden+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Wild garlic mustard from my backyard, which grows along with marsh marigold and a few dandelions. I could think of them as weeds. Instead, I think of them as nutritious vegetables which required no work on my part to grow and are readily available when most other greens are barely getting started.</span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">It's all about perception. Which happens to be the worship theme of the month at my church.</span> I wrote the following poem in almost one sitting, after meditating on the theme. </div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">"Are you on faculty here?"</span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">the Ivy League historian of women's studies asked.</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">"No."</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">"I'm a graduate student in education."</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Her shoulder turned away, towards another, younger graduate student.</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Dismissed.</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Wait! I wanted to shout.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">There are reasons why I took so long to go to graduate school.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Like growing up in a family where life after high school meant work.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Like having children.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Like, you know, being a woman, for god's sake.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">I feel old and young at the same time.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Is it adolescence or perimenopause?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Hot flashes and mood swings.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">I am wise about certain things.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Clueless about others.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">I wonder more than I should how others perceive me.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">I am certain that I am bound to do great things.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">And terrified that I am just ordinary.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">And I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Perhaps, rather than thinking of myself as middle-aged,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">I will consider this a second, kinder adolescence.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Minus the narcissism, naivete, and nerdliness.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Or at least less of those.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Actually, I'll keep the nerdliness.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">And the passion, the sense of endless possibility,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">The finding out what this body can do,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">The desire to have this life matter.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">I could do without the mood swings though.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">And perhaps the Ivy League professors.</span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-29417650049277791982012-06-15T20:03:00.000-04:002012-06-15T20:06:19.213-04:00Summer Strawberry Sweetness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
In honor of <a href="http://foodimentary.com/2012/06/15/june-15-national-tapioca-pudding-day/">National Tapioca Pudding Day</a> and strawberries in season, I made this concoction from <a href="http://thaicookingwithjam.blogspot.com/2010/04/strawberry-tapioca-pudding.html">Thai Cooking with Jam</a>. That's vegan tapioca pudding made with coconut cream. I refrigerated a can of coconut milk, which made all the creaminess rise to the top, and used a cup of that "cream."<br />
<br />
The strawberries, part of my weekly <a href="http://www.hurdorchards.com/fruitforlife.htm">Fruit for Life</a> box from <a href="http://www.hurdorchards.com/">Hurd Orchards</a>, were pureed with a tad bit of maple sugar and ground anise seed. I almost skipped the anise seed, but I'm so glad I didn't. They give just a hint of flavor, not too licorice-y as I had feared.<br />
<br />
I had the day off for dissertation work, and by late afternoon T. and I (and Zoe) were ready for some relaxation. Zoe has recently discovered that she loves the hammock swing.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRZXNF6bVpDcFSqHKAMkwv1cfsroKxpwnLPrUu0v9Qmni1gnhONy9o_OFXcJXuyB2EJExF23UzyNkyr251lGr1Ttoyjzdws_Yuzufq31mz3M0cyTMrshGCUJg5klOY2WXNGAh3rnr92ie/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRZXNF6bVpDcFSqHKAMkwv1cfsroKxpwnLPrUu0v9Qmni1gnhONy9o_OFXcJXuyB2EJExF23UzyNkyr251lGr1Ttoyjzdws_Yuzufq31mz3M0cyTMrshGCUJg5klOY2WXNGAh3rnr92ie/s320/002.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Now I have to fight both T. and Zoe for some time in the hammock. Luckily for me, they seem to think I've earned it after that lovely dessert.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-29900989389649610242012-04-14T10:10:00.000-04:002012-04-14T10:10:59.671-04:00Not a pretty sight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSs-aLXktgkls3I6fgRjxonPqTQBSFNDa1G5n3Q8wrg023iwqBx07ghLw1OrsZTwXoPsi085EovTonSzyLR9MoWJA1O_llB5wIP4gB0Hvw77r3GrT_r0LXca9_fk0OpSsMbX2ANmVXoOd/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSs-aLXktgkls3I6fgRjxonPqTQBSFNDa1G5n3Q8wrg023iwqBx07ghLw1OrsZTwXoPsi085EovTonSzyLR9MoWJA1O_llB5wIP4gB0Hvw77r3GrT_r0LXca9_fk0OpSsMbX2ANmVXoOd/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This is what my work space has looked like for the past week. Actually, that's not true. It was much messier, with the piles scattered all over my sewing table (on the other wall across from the dusty spinning wheel shown here). Those piles contain paperwork for 8 tax returns (don't ask unless you want a rant on DOMA), and books and files which I neurotically feel I must have within sight at all times as I'm working on my dissertation and related research, which is pretty much all the time, especially with my sabbatical leave ending this weekend.<br />
<br />
Which leads to the reason for this post. Stress is a bad thing. And for me, that can lead to an outbreak of cold sores. Like the title says, not a pretty sight. I've read various sources that say that 60-90% of people carry the virus, but only 20-40% have outbreaks. If that's not bad enough, <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111017102557.htm">the virus is linked to Alzheimer's disease.</a><br />
<br />
Let's stick with what we can reasonably control, shall we? Although there's an antiviral drug, I've never found it particularly helpful. But <a href="http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00356/Cold-Sores.html">Dr. Andrew Weil</a> (along with my wonderful acupuncturist/Chinese medicine expert and friend) says that eating foods high in arginine can trigger the virus and make it worse.<br />
<br />
So, with my most recent outbreak, I decided to try this approach. In addition to those listed by Dr. Weil, my friend recommended I avoid oats, wheat, chocolate (ouch), grapes, nuts, seeds, brown rice, and coffee (double ouch). Let's be clear that those foods constitute about half my diet. Oatmeal, hazelnut milk with my coffee, nuts and raisins in my trail mix, whole grain bread, granola, and dark chocolate.<br />
<br />
My friend also recommended that I enjoy lots of green vegetables, sour foods, yogurt. I can do that. There's been a lot of sauerkraut and salads around here lately. And life is really not the same without coffee, but I'm just having one cup instead of two.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I took on the challenge of adapting my <a href="http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/01/vegan-peanut-butter-choc-chip-protein.html">favorite protein bars</a>, which have lots of the offending foods. So, if you want to give this a try, here are the changes I made for low-arginine protein bars:<br />
<br />
*barley flakes instead of oats<br />
*dried apples instead of raisins<br />
*white chocolate chips instead of regular (white chocolate has a different chemical composition from regular chocolate, but they are not vegan; I was feeling desperate. Next time I'll probably just use more dried fruit. Apricots or blueberries would be good.)<br />
*instead of peanut butter, I pureed tofu with butterscotch pudding. I have no idea where that inspiration came from, but it worked!<br />
<br />
Whenever I'm feeling stressed or rundown in the future, I plan to give this diet a try and see if I can prevent an outbreak entirely.<br />
<br />
As for the piles of work and taxes, those 2 things in life are certain.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-8298385376355881802011-11-30T19:44:00.000-05:002011-11-30T19:44:51.626-05:00In which I present a poem: Mamaw<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GvAzyfCI9CaZSysdWZtfbfa22ENWi_9IFX-5F6qzWobXBwLCcykInas4HGd1b1_au6RPPyKn0dCdE8dRUuq6P5JEqOfPc_Sxpdbs46iFg9LAQx1B3bR4IspXfS5bQn3ajBCVBoKEsDcd/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GvAzyfCI9CaZSysdWZtfbfa22ENWi_9IFX-5F6qzWobXBwLCcykInas4HGd1b1_au6RPPyKn0dCdE8dRUuq6P5JEqOfPc_Sxpdbs46iFg9LAQx1B3bR4IspXfS5bQn3ajBCVBoKEsDcd/s320/027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Mamaw,” according to urbandictionary.com,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">is “hillbilly or southern talk for grandma.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m not southern but maybe was a hillbilly,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">because that was her name. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mamaw made egg noodles from scratch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Strung all around the kitchen,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">everywhere you turned.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thin pieces of dough hung out to dry,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">just like laundry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Which she also hung out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Didn’t get a dryer until the new house was built<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">somewhere around 1974.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I liked the old house better.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It had drafty windows and whole rooms closed off in the winter<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">to keep the heating bill down,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">but it also had an attic and places to hide.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But they built the new house.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One level concrete ranch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And stopped keeping chickens.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And started doing laundry inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And every Sunday we came over for dinner and watched TV. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First “Hee Haw” and then “World of Disney.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But Mamaw didn’t totally give up her old ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the fall we foraged mushrooms in the woods.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And I can still see those egg noodles<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hung out to dry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-36868157161324758632011-11-07T18:32:00.001-05:002011-11-07T18:35:03.927-05:00Occupy the vote<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTymqA_vMqOf3ramaX2g1KSvXM_DReCGzWr7rHJx5JYMsOekc_YdMjyK-p4GgIbGZlXRc7Txe71Zhqlf3SkpXsuxBu_l1oJcJsl_CPCBPU7Bph2xbmQA9dE8PdTTxPv7dA0vBYpQiD-Uf/s1600/fall+024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTymqA_vMqOf3ramaX2g1KSvXM_DReCGzWr7rHJx5JYMsOekc_YdMjyK-p4GgIbGZlXRc7Txe71Zhqlf3SkpXsuxBu_l1oJcJsl_CPCBPU7Bph2xbmQA9dE8PdTTxPv7dA0vBYpQiD-Uf/s400/fall+024.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
It's fall. And you know what that means! Time to get out the vote! Now, I've heard quite a few reasons for not voting, with reasons ranging from apathy to anarchy. Here's my response.<br />
<br />
<i>I don't have time</i>.<br />
I don't buy it. You have time to stop for a double latte, don't you? Or go for a run? Or eat lunch? Polls are open from 6 am - 9 pm. I don't know about other locations, but it takes me about 10-15 minutes to get in and out of my polling place.<br />
<br />
<i>I don't know any of the candidates, so I'd rather not vote at all.</i><br />
Well, the best solution is to learn about the candidates. To check your polling place, view your ballot, and get contact information for your elected officials, go to this website in Monroe County: <a href="http://www.monroecounty.gov/etc/voter/index.php">http://www.monroecounty.gov/etc/voter/index.php</a>.<br />
<br />
<i>It's the day before Election Day. You don't possibly expect me to learn about all those people in that time, do you?</i><br />
Okay, I know it's late in the game. Although I'm generally an advocate of voting for the person, not the party, my guess is that there's a political party that lines up with your beliefs, at least roughly, even if it's not one of the major parties. See who's running on the third party lines that may be more in keeping with your values.<br />
<br />
<i>The politicians don't really represent me and therefore I'm going to boycott the system.</i><br />
This is an odd one to me. Do you think the "politicians" care that you don't vote? Actually, the status quo politicians are the ones who benefit when you don't vote. They would love for you to stay home and watch TV/play video games/surf the internet. Anything but get involved.<br />
<br />
<i>Voting doesn't matter. It's all money and politics and no one cares about the little guy anyway.</i><br />
This is the one I really want to talk about. I agree that we need campaign finance reform. But not voting does nothing to accomplish that. Sit down while I tell you a little story.<br />
<br />
In 1999, I was a project director for a university that was among the first round of grant recipients to implement legislation to reduce violence against women on college campuses. The request for proposals spoke of the need to change the rape-supportive culture that is too often found on campuses, and to make sure that services were inclusive of the needs of all women, including women with disabilities, African American, Latina, Native American, and Asian American women, and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women. Funded programs were expected to aim for fundamental change in social norms, and the concomitant policies and services.<br />
<br />
In 2000, we elected a new U.S. President. When the grant came up for renewal, the RFP included no talk of social change, no talk of women of color, of women with disabilities, of non-heterosexual women. Instead, the RFP was aimed at improving facilities, such as increased blue lights and better police communications systems, and victims' services, such as victims' hotlines and counseling services. All of those things are good and necessary. But they are also very much about supporting the status quo culture that presumes that rapes will happen; we just need to deal with it.<br />
<br />
That's a very different message from the first RFP which held out hope that social change actually could and should happen. It was a great deal more challenging to continue to work for social change while also complying with the requirements of the second round of funding. Inevitably the priorities of the project had to shift.<br />
<br />
No doubt you now know where my political allegiances lie. That's okay. The message is the same. Whether you preferred the first or the second set of priorities, the policies, and policy-makers matter. Even those as far away as the federal government.<br />
<br />
<i>Okay, fine, I'll vote in a Presidential election, but what's the point of voting in the local elections?</i><br />
Do you care about your school district? About the health of your local economy? About whether there are services for the needy in your town, city, and/or county? About any variety of issues from property taxes to lead prevention to accessible day care? About how your tax dollars should be spent? Then you need to vote in your local election.<br />
<br />
<b>Last point:</b><br />
<br />
Some countries' citizens are so grateful to vote that they will <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/janetdaley/6072915/Afghanistan-election-Would-you-risk-your-life-to-cast-a-vote.html">risk their lives </a> to vote. Is voting a panacea? No, not at all. But it's the least you can do.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<i><br />
</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-51644631766761193042011-08-06T17:18:00.000-04:002011-08-06T17:18:19.595-04:00Eat food, mostly plants, organic and local<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd02c2wlug3FcOhVvWYg4S0gDXzPHP6b8VQhlD98rmr7XrzoUUomn9M5f86O0anCRhcHIEzupAftYAdQjISGqrmBcyQTO9P82-0VT5HJmqoNOlCBYR3f03ohMBpFZLh5TLBA1Vfje36rs3/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd02c2wlug3FcOhVvWYg4S0gDXzPHP6b8VQhlD98rmr7XrzoUUomn9M5f86O0anCRhcHIEzupAftYAdQjISGqrmBcyQTO9P82-0VT5HJmqoNOlCBYR3f03ohMBpFZLh5TLBA1Vfje36rs3/s400/IMG_4899.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Well, the complete advice, stolen from <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/unhappy-meals/">Michael Pollan</a>, is: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. (You should go read his article. I'll still be here when you get back.)<br />
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I think Pollan's advice is pretty darn good, but for what it's worth, I'll share my own priorities when it comes to making choices about what kind of fuel I'm going to use to keep my mind, body, and soul in good shape for as long as possible. (And I don't emphasize the "not too much" part, because if you're following this advice, it's not really an issue. There's rarely a risk of eating too many locally-grown, organic, unprocessed fruits and veggies.)<br />
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1. Eat food.<br />
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When Pollan says, "eat food," he means, don't be confused that everything that is edible is actually food. Many things are "food-like substances." You know, like the orange powder in the box of macaroni and "cheese." Or that Twinkie you snuck. Or the diet soda you can't live without. (Been there, done all of those things.) <br />
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Those items are barely, if at all, food. Look at their ingredients list. Do you recognize the ingredients? As Pollan says, if your grandmother wouldn't recognize an ingredient as food, it probably isn't. Instead, it's a chemically produced compound that happens to be edible and probably exploits our innate physiological responses to sugars and fats. Remember, not everything edible is food.<br />
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This advice is in keeping with <a href="http://www.tcolincampbell.org/">T. Colin Campbell's</a> advice to eat whole foods. If it comes in a box or a shrink-wrapped package, chances are that it's not whole food (although I have heard tell of shrink-wrapped apples...why??) Anyway, I prefer to avoid processed foods as much as possible, although there are exceptions...I'll get to those later.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTq3m6bsKu6Gg_cz08Jo-o5VJf4uShx2ewGCuGaGKcGn-EFi9orLRFlUEGW3rbB6vSCw6P-X1gpG3sD5zg3xA1vbpIJO700G2ww1EIJwBA3rO8qHV8sGpBBzYfXzfhG4cwwJ6qRJSETdl/s1600/IMG_4893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTq3m6bsKu6Gg_cz08Jo-o5VJf4uShx2ewGCuGaGKcGn-EFi9orLRFlUEGW3rbB6vSCw6P-X1gpG3sD5zg3xA1vbpIJO700G2ww1EIJwBA3rO8qHV8sGpBBzYfXzfhG4cwwJ6qRJSETdl/s400/IMG_4893.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
2. Mostly plants.<br />
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Pollan and Campbell's research (and many others) emphasizes the benefits of a plant-based diet. They vary, in that Campbell recommends no animal products at all, and Pollan is more moderate. I wrote in my <a href="http://handcraftedlife.blogspot.com/2011/07/on-going-almost-vegan-and-why.html">last post</a> about my own reasons for a plant-based diet, which includes no dairy or flesh food of any kind, eggs from my own chickens, and occasional locally-sourced honey.<br />
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And now, 2 more criteria that I've added.<br />
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3. Organic as possible.<br />
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I don't like to eat chemicals disguised as food, and I don't like to eat food that's been sprayed with chemicals. I know that eating this way can be more expensive, but when it comes to food choices, I'd rather spend more money on food and less on health care bills. (I don't mean to imply that all health problems can be avoided through diet, but I am convinced by the research that diet can at least reduce the risk of most major diseases.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKCcCJZLFentnO2uBpatT2sMlm89u88OtPUkju-D148_JP_xboWzTYpJhTgXikNLxbpeKfrv1Ju6PpmGtzyqVHuKyGnCkeoi-uToe7g4N-Clxi0ng4GekW55JS3eSTca4aUWJ26HLjhnB/s1600/IMG_4888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRKCcCJZLFentnO2uBpatT2sMlm89u88OtPUkju-D148_JP_xboWzTYpJhTgXikNLxbpeKfrv1Ju6PpmGtzyqVHuKyGnCkeoi-uToe7g4N-Clxi0ng4GekW55JS3eSTca4aUWJ26HLjhnB/s400/IMG_4888.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
4. Grown as close to home as possible.<br />
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As evidenced by the pictures from my garden throughout this post, I love to grow my own food. I grow several types of herbs, tomatoes, green beans, Swiss chard, peppers, tomatillos, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cucumbers, squash, carrots, beets, spinach, mustard greens, and bok choy. I just put in some brussels sprouts, a first for me. These are all grown on a very small urban plot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiva21n5FYscUA_3UIr2j_biLNOvyoxGK5sCVQkb6F0uE4jhhMTnZ35i2FXLd07lvTfjbFmDR-S2J31_7DY9HleK77dsdxii9qAmZbCvBp9YJJwOlSbPRKK_F3pvE2sTOJ2GcnJLK9NmjaI/s1600/IMG_4886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiva21n5FYscUA_3UIr2j_biLNOvyoxGK5sCVQkb6F0uE4jhhMTnZ35i2FXLd07lvTfjbFmDR-S2J31_7DY9HleK77dsdxii9qAmZbCvBp9YJJwOlSbPRKK_F3pvE2sTOJ2GcnJLK9NmjaI/s400/IMG_4886.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Still, I couldn't begin to grow all the food we need, so I spend a lot of time at local farmers' markets, and can and freeze as much of the local harvest as I can.<br />
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Now, applying these 4 criteria sounds great, in theory. In practice, it's a little harder. For example, is it better to drink locally-grown goat's milk, or processed and packaged soy milk? Criteria #1 and #4 are in conflict with #2. For now, my choice is to primarily make my own nut milk (but locally grown nuts aren't readily available, compromising criteria #4), and supplement with packaged almond or soy milk. Overall, though, I do have relatively few processed foods in my pantry. In fact, I ran a 5k this morning where we had to bring a canned food item for a food pantry, and I struggled to find something!<br />
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This approach requires one thing that a lot of people struggle with: time. It takes more time to can, freeze, and cook most of your own meals. Still, I feel there are few better ways to spend time than providing a healthy and truly satisfying meal for myself and my family. I have a full-time job and I am a doctoral student, 2 time-consuming activities. However, I also have the benefits that come along with adequate financial resources, and as someone who has in the past struggled to make ends meet, I know how much time being financially stressed can suck up, from transportation difficulties to child care to lost sleep from the worry.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFAv4S2SitP0LK9FDT5YSHE2v5sXYenu6oZQB3-tKUK_dBZoLRsFuGT6WWOS8BLPPlCajXiBGQgJHMK8hannleLF88JQUjKUEpvCPCAs80Jn-jMOKDU5y1_rx7ME-xewqX9beAv13P5hY/s1600/IMG_4898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFAv4S2SitP0LK9FDT5YSHE2v5sXYenu6oZQB3-tKUK_dBZoLRsFuGT6WWOS8BLPPlCajXiBGQgJHMK8hannleLF88JQUjKUEpvCPCAs80Jn-jMOKDU5y1_rx7ME-xewqX9beAv13P5hY/s400/IMG_4898.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
However, a quick internet search turned up some creative ideas and resources that may be helpful. I just found <a href="http://thepoorvegan.com/">The Poor Vegan</a> website, for example.<br />
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Check out those <a href="http://thepoorvegan.com/post/7271049963/barbecue-tofu-fries">barbecue tofu fries!</a><br />
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Another great resource is <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/">101 Cookbooks,</a> which focuses on in-season produce and easy-to-replicate healthy recipes. The recipe archive is well-indexed, and includes a list of <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives.html#Vegan%20Recipes">vegan</a> and vegetarian recipes.<br />
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For me, the important thing is to be thoughtful and intentional about one's food choices. You might make different choices than I make, but if we are both doing our best to nourish ourselves and our world through what we eat, we can't help but improve both.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-12892803263200139302011-07-28T19:53:00.000-04:002011-07-28T19:53:12.099-04:00On going (almost) vegan--And why<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Eym7jTy1M3p3iCn4T2E6ms_81viJG04p4-ClxCfIaV2-i85uOqZVwUusRyXADynBChWl1ALn36gst7jdVKY4vxMFFKTSrEPCr1kfitrIQ1WeUs-nQWVJqjAYQlDAn5LqdugRaVHIaNpH/s1600/cow+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Eym7jTy1M3p3iCn4T2E6ms_81viJG04p4-ClxCfIaV2-i85uOqZVwUusRyXADynBChWl1ALn36gst7jdVKY4vxMFFKTSrEPCr1kfitrIQ1WeUs-nQWVJqjAYQlDAn5LqdugRaVHIaNpH/s320/cow+face.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I wrote <a href="http://handcraftedlife.blogspot.com/2011/05/remaining-intentional.html">here</a> about my intention to go vegan between May 9 and July 4. I promised to try to blog along the way, but, um...that didn't happen.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Lc5FitifOY2jeBrdtKMxxODZWEoIAdtUI3WFO57CTjVzM1FTj_l4SxcPglKs29mUiST10AIE8-jl0ZYdVv5kCZMRtzB7_7j3Jc-62QloNlAmKSyfeAKp0fK4QHdS2GwlTH7Tu8TvIRfM/s1600/pig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Lc5FitifOY2jeBrdtKMxxODZWEoIAdtUI3WFO57CTjVzM1FTj_l4SxcPglKs29mUiST10AIE8-jl0ZYdVv5kCZMRtzB7_7j3Jc-62QloNlAmKSyfeAKp0fK4QHdS2GwlTH7Tu8TvIRfM/s320/pig.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>However, I did go vegan, and still mostly am. The first week was just slightly challenging, but because I was already vegetarian, and had been vegan before, it didn't take long to get into the swing of things. I complemented my diet with vegan-related reading and adventures. Today's post will focus on WHY I've made the change to a plant-based diet, and my next post will focus on HOW. My two reasons are based on animal welfare and human health. (An animal-based diet also has significant implications for the environment, but my views on that have not changed for a long time, so I'm not focusing on that here. Still, it is one of my reasons, and I encourage you to read up on it, if you aren't aware of the effects.)<br />
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For one, I re-read <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/faq.html">Peter Singer's </a><i>Animal Liberation</i>. His principle argument is that animals are sentient beings with their own interests, and that to ignore these interests is morally indefensible, in much the same way that ignoring people's interests on the basis of sex or race is reprehensible. Anyone who has spent any time with animals knows that they have definite desires and moods, and that they can also have quite a bit of intelligence. I have to agree with his central premise. If you're inclined to disagree (or agree), read the book. He makes the argument much better than I ever could.<br />
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So, as far as my own ethics, I really cannot justify eating animals or anything they produce that has been gained via inhumane conditions, since I don't need them to survive. And, in fact, the second book I read leads me to believe that not only do most people not need animal products to survive, they are in fact quite bad for us.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxut5-pgVCU2BnJPOAH5QIyKGtqbLWLHx6V3HoWxCuS5n9aKHnlRssC1gEl7blkf_XtDvBNKb4R-8zNPNoYEUzgl13DU6N0ks2uWBEPZTtVchJhP1BAAv2fcRa_z99NXN__b1lGP7uMx_m/s1600/cow+and+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxut5-pgVCU2BnJPOAH5QIyKGtqbLWLHx6V3HoWxCuS5n9aKHnlRssC1gEl7blkf_XtDvBNKb4R-8zNPNoYEUzgl13DU6N0ks2uWBEPZTtVchJhP1BAAv2fcRa_z99NXN__b1lGP7uMx_m/s320/cow+and+girl.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I'm speaking of Cornell professor T. Colin Campbell's <a href="http://www.tcolincampbell.org/"><i>The China Study</i></a>, which reports his own research, as well as decades of nutritional research, that indicates that a whole foods, plant-based diet is the best for promoting health and preventing a myriad of diseases. Again, he makes the case much better than I could, so I encourage you to read the book before deciding if you agree or disagree.<br />
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(These books are just a couple of those that have influenced my thinking. Another is John Robbins' <i>Diet for a New America</i>; his latest work is <a href="http://www.foodrevolution.org/food_revolution.htm">The Food Revolution</a>.)<br />
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The health impact of diet was punctuated by the recent news from my mom that, a decade after she had open heart surgery, she now needed to have stents placed. Although her numbers are kept low in part by medication (whereas mine are not), our actual blood cholesterol profiles are similar, with both of us low in good (HDL) cholesterol and high in triglycerides. Mine are only slightly concerning at this point, but I wonder how much worse they would be if I had a more animal-based diet. (My mom is okay, and I hope I will be able to persuade her to change her diet even more than she already has.)<br />
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My vegan adventure was volunteering for a work party at <a href="http://farmsanctuary.org/">Farm Sanctuary.</a> (That's where all the pictures for this post are from.) It was so great to spend time with the animals and contribute to an organization that has done a great deal to improve the conditions of farm animals in the U.S. Also, as someone who grew up in rural Indiana, amidst horses, pigs, and cows, I still cherish the fresh country air and good honest physical labor.<br />
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You may have noticed that my title says <i>almost</i> "vegan." We do still have our backyard chickens, and I eat their eggs. I know exactly how they are treated and I feel very comfortable that they are living a happy chicken life. Although I bought them from the farmer who raised them with great affection, I know less about where they originally came from, and I will need to consider that if and when we decide to increase our flock.<br />
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Also, in my post of May 9, I wrote, "learning about local and sustainable food systems has led me to believe that meat and dairy can be humanely raised and in some situations may be the most sustainable option. So, I have added locally-raised goat's milk yogurt and cheese, as well as butter." I feel less comfortable with this statement now. For one, Peter Singer writes about how most agricultural practices involve separating mother and child fairly early on, which undoubtedly causes distress for both. I need to learn more about this.<br />
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For now, I am not eating any other animal products than my own girls' eggs. I do plan to visit the local goat farm, which offers regular tours, and see what I learn and how I feel after that. As one of my friends said, "You probably won't be happy with how any animals are treated unless you're taking care of them yourself." That's probably true, at least when it comes to food-producing animals, but for now I am maintaining a somewhat open mind on the subject.<br />
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Based on this, I'm uncomfortable with identifying with the label "vegan," although I am grateful for the contributions that vegan activists have made towards raising awareness about inhumane treatment of farm and research animals. And I am happy to join forces with vegan organizations (such as Farm Sanctuary) in common cause to improve the lives of animals. <br />
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However, many vegans are adamantly opposed to backyard chickens; unfortunately, some articles on vegan websites grossly misstate the conditions and risks of raising backyard chickens. Having a relationship with animals is actually a great way to gain more respect and compassion for animals. At the same time, it is true that one does not need eggs to survive and be healthy.<br />
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Also, most people who identify as vegan avoid honey. And yet, there is a growing movement of locally-based beekeepers striving to keep a healthy population of bees around, as they are necessary pollinators, and Colony Collapse Disorder is a significant ecological problem. These choices, to me, are not clear-cut.<br />
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T. Colin Campbell prefers the phrase "plant-based," which I think is what I'm going with for the moment. The identity label, anyway, is less important to me than the impact of my choices, for me, the animals, and the environment.<br />
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Next time--more thoughts on intentional food choices, and some tips on how to make the change!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-67218083188814714562011-06-29T17:23:00.000-04:002011-06-29T17:23:41.238-04:00Food & Garden Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytiHN4AlfmMwGlsvtY8uSWmniMNfjKxfUg1i4s8XKnLd5oysBxvjacMvhcdmJB2IYYOytP-k8XpEEMbQhFyn5jLK2ggwCYnaS33EooQI7_rTSb-Y_QU51VPUq1G9A8K4Ccoh23Qcf9DLx/s1600/2+plates.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytiHN4AlfmMwGlsvtY8uSWmniMNfjKxfUg1i4s8XKnLd5oysBxvjacMvhcdmJB2IYYOytP-k8XpEEMbQhFyn5jLK2ggwCYnaS33EooQI7_rTSb-Y_QU51VPUq1G9A8K4Ccoh23Qcf9DLx/s400/2+plates.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">Most dinners in June involve some combination of greens from the garden, local veggies and/or fruit, and grains. The grain here is farro, grown not too far away by <a href="http://www.cporganics.com/live/">Cayuga Pure Organics</a>, and available at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.abundance.coop">Abundance Coop</a> or online <a href="http://www.shopcporganics.com/">here</a>. That chicken-looking stuff is Gardein chik'n scallopini (vegan). Most of our dinners are eaten outside these days; they are just waiting for us on the porch here in this picture!</span><br />
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We have had a LOT of rain (thought obviously not as much as other parts of the country) and cool temperatures, so things are growing quite well. Including the weeds, but I left those out of the pictures!<br />
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For the first year, my carrots are very happy. I already thinned them once, and I should probably do so again, but I have a hard time pulling up living things (unless, of course, they are inedible).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8Dnowy_adC8eRVSzs2KW8psE20Pc-CtH0Z6xZW8ktXvjIX1GoN33qRdSAF47EaNesRO38_0lVv2out12J-ymG3bMlZksfv5DkQ85DiakPdJ-kB-P13sPaVoed5qDbfOBayeZLslIRJPS/s1600/garden+looking+south.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT8Dnowy_adC8eRVSzs2KW8psE20Pc-CtH0Z6xZW8ktXvjIX1GoN33qRdSAF47EaNesRO38_0lVv2out12J-ymG3bMlZksfv5DkQ85DiakPdJ-kB-P13sPaVoed5qDbfOBayeZLslIRJPS/s400/garden+looking+south.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Perhaps from this picture, you can understand why we are eating salads for dinner every night!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDSpXeN8zvjVqr0ra6FfHBRHxpBU8YBT63mm9io9j6iwZ6swN11bpxGQ8pZjcUQDXvRznKr9PN0trgCdSYGJ_FvcMkGL1LBPMiBd316kduUfoKC0Y6LBhVi3mRarf3j3CiHcKinmfJ2kS/s1600/grilled+pizza.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSDSpXeN8zvjVqr0ra6FfHBRHxpBU8YBT63mm9io9j6iwZ6swN11bpxGQ8pZjcUQDXvRznKr9PN0trgCdSYGJ_FvcMkGL1LBPMiBd316kduUfoKC0Y6LBhVi3mRarf3j3CiHcKinmfJ2kS/s400/grilled+pizza.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Well, salads or something grilled, pizza, in this case. I follow the directions from <a href="http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/06/24/grilled-pizza-for-summer-in-san-francisco-and-st-paul">Artisan Bread in Five Minutes'</a> web site.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6xirT5M7tUp7NIqJLs7r4syuUlugZy689yDDU1rAwRN1KbJP0FT0oLSnIlFEfSpZAMFKmVM9tGfX-rLz-ppid5ycQlmRVF_zdRr8e05TNtFF9eQF4WGM1J54vLlnjX0iTPPNqU2GXx1i/s1600/peas+%2526+berries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6xirT5M7tUp7NIqJLs7r4syuUlugZy689yDDU1rAwRN1KbJP0FT0oLSnIlFEfSpZAMFKmVM9tGfX-rLz-ppid5ycQlmRVF_zdRr8e05TNtFF9eQF4WGM1J54vLlnjX0iTPPNqU2GXx1i/s400/peas+%2526+berries.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
One final salad for today. This one with mint and greens from the garden, and peas and mulberries from the farmers' market. Yum!<br />
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More garden pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150300252426620.380924.586891619&l=5397911213 ">here</a>.<br />
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What are you eating from your garden and local farms?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-40412357634965285892011-05-09T09:32:00.000-04:002011-05-09T09:32:48.399-04:00Remaining intentional<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8TtN_sC_h8KbcpMPoXUlylaNPg-kaIphDZnOX429L1X7Ew-vwZj9B1oWi4-yX7C3UdnVAWqZAbycRM1bbqnd8I0CG5xIl522HwRbAGdjjLXh9hPdDG-0KYyLXbVIIkTZyiKGpy-xn4us/s1600/Toronto+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8TtN_sC_h8KbcpMPoXUlylaNPg-kaIphDZnOX429L1X7Ew-vwZj9B1oWi4-yX7C3UdnVAWqZAbycRM1bbqnd8I0CG5xIl522HwRbAGdjjLXh9hPdDG-0KYyLXbVIIkTZyiKGpy-xn4us/s320/Toronto+005.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
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Traveling outside of my usual environs often provides me with a perspective I can't get in my everyday routine. Sometimes it's a perspective on some problem or situation that's been troubling me, sometimes it's creative inspiration, sometimes it's a re-evaluation of that everyday routine. On a recent trip to Toronto, I got some perspective in all those areas. For example, Toronto's a great place to be reminded of the fun of bike commuting. Rochester's cold and rainy April has not inspired me to get on my bike as much I would like.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUB-B-bpgqyDjy3VOb4fwiSwGHFHyjzaLIKPWuzGyIN0qQfJmWy9Q0uwD7SRGCJg8RFrPK3dJYFjDRh9jvk_d8r3frVD-uzrkq8LboHK-Wqem-jVmGOA2Tj_WeLjD-zj5SqoykWVeR42UU/s1600/Toronto+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUB-B-bpgqyDjy3VOb4fwiSwGHFHyjzaLIKPWuzGyIN0qQfJmWy9Q0uwD7SRGCJg8RFrPK3dJYFjDRh9jvk_d8r3frVD-uzrkq8LboHK-Wqem-jVmGOA2Tj_WeLjD-zj5SqoykWVeR42UU/s320/Toronto+008.JPG" width="235" /></a></div><br />
In particular, though, I realized that my food choices have become less intentional than they used to be. I have been vegetarian for about 17 years now, much of that time vegan. Then I began to feel uncomfortable calling myself vegan, because, really, it's impossible in our interconnected lives to be truly vegan, I believe. Also, learning about local and sustainable food systems has led me to believe that meat and dairy can be humanely raised and in some situations may be the most sustainable option. So, I have added locally-raised goat's milk yogurt and cheese, as well as butter. However, some other much less local and nutritious items crept in, such as <a href="http://www.sunspire.com/products/bulk-milk-chocolate-sundrops">SunDrops</a> in my trail mix.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF3JQT4OjmOoonUmLUdzKille6XNe27MF7i3yuraz8oNVauHUlfVbPrDO9XRZhViFR-dMSCng1lZ5G_mdSjJs-P1vjOfWCl3UnymjAmVah5-ydYYFae3BVT4EOIOagdKPEAfKOOPhRzXt/s1600/Toronto+074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF3JQT4OjmOoonUmLUdzKille6XNe27MF7i3yuraz8oNVauHUlfVbPrDO9XRZhViFR-dMSCng1lZ5G_mdSjJs-P1vjOfWCl3UnymjAmVah5-ydYYFae3BVT4EOIOagdKPEAfKOOPhRzXt/s320/Toronto+074.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Even before this trip, I had been toying with the idea of re-veganizing my diet. And the amazing food I had on this trip sealed the deal (above, vegan "chicken" cutlets with mango and asparagus). So, I am committing myself to eating vegan from now until July 4. After that, maybe I'll add a few things back in. Maybe not. I'll try to blog/tweet about the adventure along the way.<br />
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In other news, though not unrelated to being intentional, check out these beautiful silk embroideries on display at the <a href="http://www.textilemuseum.ca/">Textile Museum of Canada.</a> Millions of stitches in these textiles, all by hand.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86D1Xbbf9Wl2E7zhz-Qa2XDlolYRT1LDV714jWOJhHu83M4WJhBRCU4yOlXw3P7clmzO5OIzWZ910Hat-qlvm71WKTqFj43s-OKcx6UYjWLdfWDB5C0lhE2K1ojDDh9NdO9rejdf856Cb/s1600/Toronto+054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86D1Xbbf9Wl2E7zhz-Qa2XDlolYRT1LDV714jWOJhHu83M4WJhBRCU4yOlXw3P7clmzO5OIzWZ910Hat-qlvm71WKTqFj43s-OKcx6UYjWLdfWDB5C0lhE2K1ojDDh9NdO9rejdf856Cb/s320/Toronto+054.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmiFLwlkuW_zKOMJdeRUiCdMmdbQee3HrUqY4ZoPHy4zJqMkQywWiCB7NWtgIkQzOJZZVsiGgsNfqs4ZW2DHqs5REE2HI5mXPzc3bDX-ziqzSvVF6f9HWsJc2c6gS8XLBy-eNJQnAHtgQ/s1600/Toronto+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmiFLwlkuW_zKOMJdeRUiCdMmdbQee3HrUqY4ZoPHy4zJqMkQywWiCB7NWtgIkQzOJZZVsiGgsNfqs4ZW2DHqs5REE2HI5mXPzc3bDX-ziqzSvVF6f9HWsJc2c6gS8XLBy-eNJQnAHtgQ/s320/Toronto+064.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhfrs-Z3iPmmtXc4ZgP9Dkl2pb68RiV7zc-csn3m3Gb5kYPIGTIV7klqxxEqTFHUQrDGeQXMv71pXpvDYM5PI3Vc26D04kR24jbmC0ZGNBnG_dVFteguMy45RTOeBBoz2tcMrbC3FsJfL/s1600/Toronto+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhfrs-Z3iPmmtXc4ZgP9Dkl2pb68RiV7zc-csn3m3Gb5kYPIGTIV7klqxxEqTFHUQrDGeQXMv71pXpvDYM5PI3Vc26D04kR24jbmC0ZGNBnG_dVFteguMy45RTOeBBoz2tcMrbC3FsJfL/s320/Toronto+072.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It was a wonderful weekend away to celebrate my birthday and the end of the semester, and enjoy some much-needed time together.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYKJUQaU9FQlyIdnUwxHNGHnv-ui9cviEQ5_89L6BdzkUbCIXiSnF1-JHOZGXJzCHbZxzPVy4ItVXR1qJ4Iz0aY94LYGNiNKjIjpcYpWcVtrpSmreCYL0U9J2SH1dBzo3hIADUmlc1plI/s1600/Toronto+081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYKJUQaU9FQlyIdnUwxHNGHnv-ui9cviEQ5_89L6BdzkUbCIXiSnF1-JHOZGXJzCHbZxzPVy4ItVXR1qJ4Iz0aY94LYGNiNKjIjpcYpWcVtrpSmreCYL0U9J2SH1dBzo3hIADUmlc1plI/s320/Toronto+081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And be reminded of what really matters.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-7772713266476676502011-04-07T20:55:00.000-04:002011-04-07T20:55:36.947-04:00Finding beauty<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuboFp_B4Zmy2T9OC8m9VC8pcf8f9velxQO0JETPCJq9JuonvA6xkzBpcWHMnmcOt7bt_qpfZk5bW5cU7nxPAknNbh0veR35Icwtv3d0RjYtEl6yqQU9cBpeGabhUbL5BP2bpYXEo_fCx/s1600/041.JPG" onblur="function onblur()
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Hello, dear HandCraftedLife. You were my first blog, and I do still care for you. It is true that I have been distracted by various other online and social media sites. But I still return to you when I want to be reminded of the beauty in life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQTZtBP3XjjzGHw4wBR-F5C0OzYYEuQ2-fxC3wyZMIQYoD1ABexUlhNrrLnZ9dbs86E1B9gEOrFMjaNzrHuJH97xPY23vkVTK-0b-QRkdhDtCODvWmGxbu1kV-wdK2hEPV4MAB18BnO5f/s1600/039.JPG" onblur="function onblur()
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These pictures are from <a href="http://rocwiki.org/Lamberton_Conservatory">Lamberton Conservatory</a> at Highland Park, and show that although it is still cold out, the plants and animal are responding to the lengthening days of spring.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkImv-IgOp8xTmAJcRKi1KNbHo1ovzKLWo7yGLaYQIhu5la-fdIELFdh-b7IRpFaFPI2In6oClID7DY-yWwm9tNuXErZF0zJK6OJd3D4hiSbouU_u_g4eX_66CUVj0fKRMzCImqtD-vqX/s1600/027.JPG" onblur="function onblur()
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And another place for beauty is the <a href="http://www.albrightknox.org/">The Albright Knox Art Gallery</a>. These pictures are from the current exhibit "Surveyor."<br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnULSm66u8veZXj-i39wYtdvmzuG36DasHxpByIiRygz3mRAOW08JTy4yWUZyFI9xA_-FASkPvHo7Vo3e7rD9rN_eKRj8Q_VB4XRVDlcrNhn2YsGw5nHoc7xc_wOvBCLyomdgNHWwlbCP/s1600/021.JPG" onblur="function onblur()
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<div><br />
Since I began this blog, I have become a Ph.D. student, along with maintaining my full-time job and a couple of part-time jobs here and there. I'm loving what I'm doing, but most of my writing energy is going into my professional life right now. I will still post here when I can, and I hope some of you are still following me!<br />
<br />
If you want to check out my other online presences, here's the deal:<br />
<br />
<strong>Facebook: </strong><br />
You can follow my HandCraftedLife blog on Facebook using the NetworkedBlogs app: <em>http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/index.php?ref=ts</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Twitter:</strong> <br />
<em>handcraftedlife</em>--updates on stuff I'm interested in <br />
<em>CCEdJWhite</em>--for higher education/community college-related updates<br />
</div><div>And, a real life paying gig:<br />
<br />
Chronicle of Higher Education 2-Year Track Blog: <br />
<a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/author/jwhite">http://chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/author/jwhite</a><br />
<br />
Oh, and I just joined academia.edu. Search for Julie White.<br />
<br />
Let's keep in touch.</div><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-56563464157690423482011-02-14T19:25:00.008-05:002011-02-14T20:12:38.683-05:00On acting strange<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNMwW5WG2I4Lf5kgXSVUf7y3njlSx5JtXI1cB_kbatSH3lcb3q2tWi3Zkp1OssF8nvRYa0DTzOy1a-cfzFM60s_Pj4NNWxYEjQasULBLoHJZ4Cbd8yazExeEnBBKna9IwmgdhuSi3TRvI/s1600/RTA.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNMwW5WG2I4Lf5kgXSVUf7y3njlSx5JtXI1cB_kbatSH3lcb3q2tWi3Zkp1OssF8nvRYa0DTzOy1a-cfzFM60s_Pj4NNWxYEjQasULBLoHJZ4Cbd8yazExeEnBBKna9IwmgdhuSi3TRvI/s400/RTA.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573707758881785506" /></a><br /><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">I had the afternoon off from work today, so I walked to the bus stop around mid-day, amidst melting snow which revealed the detritus of urban living--wrappers, banana peels, and unidentified objects which I chose not to look at too closely. Sometimes it's better not to know.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">So, I get on the bus, which is starting to fill up. Now, I'm usually one of a very few people dressed in conformity with the norms of the "professional" workplace, and today was no exception. (Don't let that image above, from the website, fool you.) This fact seems to either encourage people to sit next to me, or repel them until there is no other choice. I never know which way it's going to go. I generally don't chat with other passengers, but if they start a conversation, I'll participate. One time I spent the whole 15 minutes talking to a passenger who recognized me from work and wanted to know why he couldn't get in to the college.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Another time I saw a former student who was amazed that I was riding the bus. Most people around here don't ride the bus unless they have no other choice of transportation. (Truth be told, I prefer my bike, but today was too windy and icy to deal with.) He said, with a smile, "You haven't forgotten where you came from." I smiled, even though the first 12 years of my life were spent on a small farm with one parent a factory worker and the other a lineman for the electric utility company. I didn't ride any form of public transportation until I visited Chicago as a first-year college student. And I'll admit that I was slightly terrified at the time.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Today, the seat next to me remained empty for a few stops. A young woman got on, and said loudly to a woman in front of me, "ExCUSE me." A minute later, I hear her say, "Well, I SAID excuse me." I don't hear the other passenger's response. The young woman says, "Oh, well, you got mental problems. God bless you." And she moves directly across the aisle.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Next stop, a few people get on, including a rather grizzled looking older man, holding a napkin up to his nostrils. As with the trash on the street, I prefer not to look too close as to why he's holding it there. He sits in the seat now vacated, next to the passenger alleged to have "mental problems." Meanwhile, the woman across the aisle is talking on the phone, saying, "This woman has mental problems. I don't know what's wrong with her...I'm sitting across the aisle from her now." (If I could hear her phone conversation, I imagine the passenger in question also could.)</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Another minute later, and the grizzled man moves to sit next to me. He says, in a monotone voice, "That woman has some kind of mental problem." At this point I begin to think I'm on one of those candid camera-type shows. It's getting surreal. I still can't bring myself to look at the man, still holding the napkin up to his nostrils, and I just sort of grunt something in reply.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Apparently displeased with my lack of enthusiasm, he moves to another seat in the back. Another person gets in and sits next to me, and the rest of the short ride is uneventful.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">I get off the bus and walk the short distance home, frankly anxious for the fresh air and lack of drama. Still, I am glad for that bus ride. I'm glad to be reminded of the full diversity of human experience.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">I'm also reminded of a conversation on NPR about how colleges should respond to students who seem to be in distress. Several of them said that college administrators should take strong action whenever anyone "acts strange." That seems an inappropriate bar for action; when someone is threatening, or disruptive to learning, yes, but whenever anyone "acts strange"?</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">By whose norms and values? There were quite a few people "acting strange," at least by some people's judgment, today on the bus. But I didn't feel threatened by any of them. Only can someone who never encounters people of different social classes, abilities, challenges, and ways of living, make such a statement.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">It's too easy for some of us to go directly from our house to our garage, get in our car, drive as close as possible to our place of work, work with people who are pretty much just like us, then turn around and reverse the whole trip. When you're so encapsulated like that in your own private property and homogeneous culture, with little contact with fresh air, you can forget that there's a whole big world out there.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Get yourself out there! As long as you're nice to me, I promise to smile when you act strange.</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span">(Now, go read <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/warning/">Jenny Joseph's warning</a> just to get yourself in the right frame of mind.)</span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-85699449030831401802010-12-28T21:08:00.005-05:002010-12-28T21:32:35.755-05:00Holiday leftovers transformed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj70T7YjqzHE0EJCCK_9ogt_MZYH-EggZWQSAuML9wbLJSYvmKvEVc5XUuCeoGV6GtRarSZsju-i0oMx6Y0c_D358VbddXyOi9lrYwBy266o-KhASkOZnuf-dD0JJAIrNPLJeH2lf4z6RdR/s1600/pizza.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj70T7YjqzHE0EJCCK_9ogt_MZYH-EggZWQSAuML9wbLJSYvmKvEVc5XUuCeoGV6GtRarSZsju-i0oMx6Y0c_D358VbddXyOi9lrYwBy266o-KhASkOZnuf-dD0JJAIrNPLJeH2lf4z6RdR/s400/pizza.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555921067400344050" /></a><br /><div>One of our holiday traditions is to make pizza together on Christmas eve. (There's T. and DD admiring our handiwork.) My mom started it as a way to have a low-key meal during the otherwise hectic season. I love it because it's something that we can do together. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, we invariably have a ton of the toppings left over, as I try to have a variety so that there's a lot to choose from. This year our leftover toppings included: onions, vegetarian ground "meat," pineapple, artichoke hearts, several types of cheese, and roasted peppers.</div><div><br /></div><div>By adding a couple of staples, I've gotten 2 meals out of these leftovers. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Lemon-Garlic Linguini Mediterranean</b></span></div><div>The first was a pasta dish with sauteed leeks, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, feta, sundried tomatoes, and a dash of olive oil. I sauteed all of those briefly and tossed with lemon garlic linguini from my favorite pasta vendor (and all around cool people) <a href="http://www.artisticeatsny.com/products.html">Artistic Eats NY.</a> (I added the leeks and the sundried tomatoes, which I had dried over the summer.) YUM!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Butternut Enchiladas</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Tonight I made enchiladas by sauteeing the onions and the fake ground meat, and adding cubes of butternut squash which I had previously roasted. I filled tortilla shells with this filling, topped with the leftover pizza cheese, and poured tomatillo sauce (which I had made with my garden's tomatillo windfall in late summer and frozen) over all of that. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes and enjoy!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Leftovers provide a great opportunity to experiment. In this case they also gave me incentive to clean out the fridge, which turned into a 3-hour job. We won't talk about what I found in there.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div>Now I just have to decide what to do with the pineapple!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-91356853131231966902010-12-25T17:29:00.004-05:002010-12-25T17:52:36.228-05:00Snow cookies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wztHoFdd-OOLxArssHZToyynR7nzONwy7qlDrYCNftKPS4Aiod5AaawTWoDmoUDsoDS8IUatTTioUQTEhITyPw1rlJV8nr0juAQgkz_KDRWLT5d6MB4xOGNp-JIRh5e3VGbFoCEu5ywn/s1600/IMG_4470.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wztHoFdd-OOLxArssHZToyynR7nzONwy7qlDrYCNftKPS4Aiod5AaawTWoDmoUDsoDS8IUatTTioUQTEhITyPw1rlJV8nr0juAQgkz_KDRWLT5d6MB4xOGNp-JIRh5e3VGbFoCEu5ywn/s400/IMG_4470.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554751070285793298" /></a><br />I know that Christmas day is, for many, a hectic day. For me, it is usually the first quiet day in the whole month of December. T.'s agency's big fundraiser is the first weekend of December, and the rest of the month is generally busy with school work, grading, and getting prepared for the new group of students starting in January.<div><br /></div><div>Our family celebrations take place the few days before Christmas and go through the morning, then DS and DD head off to celebrate with the other side of their family.</div><div><br /></div><div>So...I finally made Christmas cookies. Just one batch. But this one batch is all we need. These are from the cookbook <i>Roast Figs, Sugar Snow: Winter Food to Warm the Soul</i>, by Diana Henry, whom I heard on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.splendidtable.org">The Splendid Table.</a> (I've only made a few things from this cookbook, which I got from the library before I decide to purchase, but so far, they've been amazing.)<br /><br />Here's the idea: Beat 1 stick butter, 1/2 c. confectioners sugar, 1/3 t. salt together until combined. Mix in 1 egg yolk. Mix in 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour by hand and bring the dough together in a ball, kneading lightly.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point my dough was still way too dry, so I added some canola oil until it just held together. (I have found this to be a common problem with the recipes in this cookbook. It was published in England, so I'm not sure if there's some difference in ingredients?) Anyway, use your common sense and add enough oil until it looks like a fairly stiff cookie dough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Refrigerate for about 8 hours. </div><div><br /></div><div>Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Let the dough warm just a bit (Henry doesn't recommend this, but I found it helpful), then roll the dough out to 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. Cut out cookies and put on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. (I think mine were thicker than 1/8 inch, and they took about 12-14 minutes.) Let cool.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_ac_I716-pw_px1qEWMteQe7lfjCQFIasIIv6x3wt1WzY6QqjTWET3utSteCBQRAFGxqfzmD-OyvR-YXWgZCl16vrvmlXf3DJ_w8wqDNEKj5bb5CZmNx5boH3jYkyZTNoFayjJ05j-Xl/s1600/IMG_4474.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_ac_I716-pw_px1qEWMteQe7lfjCQFIasIIv6x3wt1WzY6QqjTWET3utSteCBQRAFGxqfzmD-OyvR-YXWgZCl16vrvmlXf3DJ_w8wqDNEKj5bb5CZmNx5boH3jYkyZTNoFayjJ05j-Xl/s400/IMG_4474.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554751072731779362" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>They were very buttery and good without the frosting, so I may not do it next time, but if you want to frost them, mix 1 c. sifted confectioners sugar with enough water (or vodka, Henry suggests) and lemon juice to make a drizzly frosting. If you scoop some up on the tines of a fork and it drops in a slow but steady stream, it's the right consistency. (I think mine was a bit thick, as evidenced by my rather globular frosting job.) Drizzle onto the cookies. Henry recommends sprinkling on some edible gold powder when the frosting is nearly set, but I didn't happen to have any gold fairy dust around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of common sense and cooking, one of my favorite gifts this year is a book called <i>Cooking for Geeks</i>, which takes a hacker's approach to cooking, giving you just enough scientific information to help you understand how various ingredients work, with a healthy dose of encouragement of innovation and experimentation.</div><div><br /></div><div>That approach worked great with these cookies, which are buttery rich and small enough to be slightly addictive.</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy whatever-you-celebrate!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-12238761735588182662010-12-12T19:29:00.009-05:002010-12-16T13:53:50.474-05:00Cabbage: Not just for coleslaw any moreI'm home writing (er...blogging, at the moment, and perhaps there was some online holiday shopping)...but I have to eat, right? So I whipped up these quesadillas, with sauerkraut from <a href="http://www.smallworldbakery.com/">Small World Bakery</a>, artisanal cheese and cabbage from the <a href="http://www.cityofrochester.gov/publicmarket/">Public Market</a>, and apples from <a href="http://donovanorchards.com/">Donovan Orchards</a>. (We get a box of apples throughout the winter from Donovan's, which is about the only local fruit you can find around here in the winter. They harvest them in the fall and keep them in storage and parcel them out to the Winter Apple Club members.)<div><br /></div><div>Place a tortilla in a cast-iron (or other) skillet set on low. Add a couple of spoonfuls of sauerkraut, some apple slices, and some grated cheese. (Measuring--who needs it?) Fold the tortilla in half, let warm for a minute or so. Then carefully flip to warm the other side. Cut into wedges and eat. 1 apple, approximately 3-4 ounces of cheese, and about 2/3 of a pint jar of sauerkraut made 5 quesadillas today. I originally saw this recipe in a cookbook, but I can't recall which one. It's so simple that I've been making it ever since. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87gvwf0PPQHL9AaEhIz2zgWu_bfZcp8fps_HVyfu1VQVfLvXhJOlM86HHxSMeJgvCGkiZYuyedgNEgg35Jw602_Axdzv-_lf0-QIu24phGeUKj1VGHUV5IeQ5iCEZA1FAgZC1SnfAfdkw/s1600/food+011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87gvwf0PPQHL9AaEhIz2zgWu_bfZcp8fps_HVyfu1VQVfLvXhJOlM86HHxSMeJgvCGkiZYuyedgNEgg35Jw602_Axdzv-_lf0-QIu24phGeUKj1VGHUV5IeQ5iCEZA1FAgZC1SnfAfdkw/s400/food+011.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551344049298628066" /></a>Ironically, I made these quesadillas because I wanted something different than the cabbage lasagne that was leftover from the weekend. Um...they're both basically just cabbage, cheese, and some kind of fruit. Oh, well, they actually taste very different. Here's how you make the cabbage lasagne.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMNdGNMNnEDICn_CkjGwc5Jh49ZZ3s5t4eBJv0nP5pVNqg7Wc5Up5qZpqY4FWo70h2sYKduQeMU4MWH5AtYvMGB_yLtYUGJRWVFRV1BbhTNJWpCC4UdO_p3veb5VkQ2t_t5A5O0grsT5w/s1600/food+016.JPG"></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMNdGNMNnEDICn_CkjGwc5Jh49ZZ3s5t4eBJv0nP5pVNqg7Wc5Up5qZpqY4FWo70h2sYKduQeMU4MWH5AtYvMGB_yLtYUGJRWVFRV1BbhTNJWpCC4UdO_p3veb5VkQ2t_t5A5O0grsT5w/s1600/food+016.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpMNdGNMNnEDICn_CkjGwc5Jh49ZZ3s5t4eBJv0nP5pVNqg7Wc5Up5qZpqY4FWo70h2sYKduQeMU4MWH5AtYvMGB_yLtYUGJRWVFRV1BbhTNJWpCC4UdO_p3veb5VkQ2t_t5A5O0grsT5w/s400/food+016.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551344056228489154" /></a></div>I've never made this the same way twice. All you need are tomatoes and/or sauce, cabbage, and cheese. I've used fresh tomatoes as well as canned tomatoes, and this time I used my own canned tomato sauce. I've used every kind of cheese imaginable; I went for a chevre/feta combo this time. (My goat cheese is from <a href="http://www.livelyrun.com/">Lively Run Goat Dairy</a>. )<br /><br />Blanch the cabbage leaves until tender but not totally limp. Add some sauce to the bottom of the lasagne pan to moisten the bottom, then make layers of cabbage/cheese/sauce. Repeat until you're out of ingredients. End with a little cheese or even fake Parmesan. You could also sprinkle on some dried herbs, or maybe some roasted peppers. Hey, I just thought of the roasted peppers. I canned some this summer so those will be my next experiment! (Vegans, I'm pretty sure this would work well with soy cheese as well, or maybe your own homemade vegan cheese. The cookbook <i>Veganomicon</i> has some good substitutes that I've used in regular pasta lasagne.)<br /><br />The cabbage lasagne recipe is from Ed Espe Brown's book <i>Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings, </i>which was the first cookbook I read that encouraged me to experiment and improvise. I've been doing so ever since. (I also googled cabbage lasagne and found lots of recipes. But trust me, you really don't need a recipe for this.)<div><br /></div><div>Someday I will learn to take better food photos. It's item #175 on my list of "Things to Do after I Complete the Dissertation."<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-20883032253674655812010-12-11T06:44:00.004-05:002010-12-11T06:57:34.459-05:00Holiday gnomes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2cagC7BSQYs3gDLzzqghbeUrNobm0vPv7N6SxUnB13Au_fVTyf5UfuLib8mPomIePhUIkpDNQCoswxads89TXGAIZUNotaOXe44NoWQyUZJqhyphenhyphenzIgfBCeoQ0Lzq1aT-onX37o1fvoQDH/s1600/gnomes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2cagC7BSQYs3gDLzzqghbeUrNobm0vPv7N6SxUnB13Au_fVTyf5UfuLib8mPomIePhUIkpDNQCoswxads89TXGAIZUNotaOXe44NoWQyUZJqhyphenhyphenzIgfBCeoQ0Lzq1aT-onX37o1fvoQDH/s400/gnomes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549390994773218706" /></a><br /><div>I made these a couple of years ago for a <a href="http://handcraftedlife.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-and-sustainable-holidays.html">holiday swap</a> with other creative folks. I haven't had time to organize a swap for a couple of years now, but it is a wonderful way to support each other and helps with having a less consumeristic holiday.<br /><br />I was reminded of these little cork people when this <a href="http://getting-stitched-on-the-farm.blogspot.com/2010/12/elves-gnomes-wizards-trolls-santa-leo.html">free pattern from Kristin Nicholas</a> came across my Facebook news feed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4obM5YergZYpk90WU6m62Vj_HwXMHgmJt9p2rtEf0ImUTteHX9MYUB96ChUNRkvmr_5HwwmVLn6mdGe1dvwIyj3W41dzuidD0b2qoJDinHcOW4gfzAakFqyDtO3pVeQId9KcnnZMX0l0h/s1600/Kristin%252BNicholas%252BKnit%252BGnome%252BPattern.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4obM5YergZYpk90WU6m62Vj_HwXMHgmJt9p2rtEf0ImUTteHX9MYUB96ChUNRkvmr_5HwwmVLn6mdGe1dvwIyj3W41dzuidD0b2qoJDinHcOW4gfzAakFqyDtO3pVeQId9KcnnZMX0l0h/s400/Kristin%252BNicholas%252BKnit%252BGnome%252BPattern.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549389381975118194" /></a>I love them! They could be ornaments, or finger puppets, or wine toppers (although I have to be honest and say that I don't really understand the point of wine toppers. Feel free to enlighten me).</div><div><br /></div><div>These may be my next potato chip (can't stop at just one) project.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-11876877771824056022010-12-10T08:40:00.003-05:002010-12-10T08:42:53.193-05:00Gifts for your favorite bike commuter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYXTR4QWown48F4T0yb5iLMt8itw3xjW9YIluovJasF0SSjZ1WfrR-TRl9NwGXRfTLB1uIWFBIaoC4_2x-6SPurlIPPq1sQv1Bhy9IGdjQfmDOegR2wbEbnsULV4C_Tg1-C7bhO9IxJfM/s1600/raleigh-lights.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 378px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYXTR4QWown48F4T0yb5iLMt8itw3xjW9YIluovJasF0SSjZ1WfrR-TRl9NwGXRfTLB1uIWFBIaoC4_2x-6SPurlIPPq1sQv1Bhy9IGdjQfmDOegR2wbEbnsULV4C_Tg1-C7bhO9IxJfM/s400/raleigh-lights.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5549048475421605154" /></a><br /><br />(picture from <a href="http://www.cyclelicio.us/2007/12/bicycle-christmas-lights.html">Cyclelicious</a>)<br /><br />Check out my post at <a href="http://sewgreen.blogspot.com/2010/12/gifts-for-your-favorite-bike-commuter.html">sew green</a> for some gift ideas, including DIY panniers and trailers, why fenders are essential, a bicycle Christmas stocking, and more!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-59706862724955244302010-11-21T20:54:00.002-05:002010-11-21T21:06:24.369-05:00When mushrooms take over the world<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYH6SPUfMBkcD3P6qHcKcwceHTFPZPK69GUf3P6-yY7Q_8Vs1bOzWF5HBJiY2nGDgeTXi6lSCbz_WKcE5dv28DN2drbz42du76GsMDBVHHZo78lG_BH39eFnlKvAfJArUo02zxx7AQmlD/s1600/IMG_4416.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbYH6SPUfMBkcD3P6qHcKcwceHTFPZPK69GUf3P6-yY7Q_8Vs1bOzWF5HBJiY2nGDgeTXi6lSCbz_WKcE5dv28DN2drbz42du76GsMDBVHHZo78lG_BH39eFnlKvAfJArUo02zxx7AQmlD/s400/IMG_4416.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542187291850695986" /></a><br /><div>I recently took a 4-day business trip. When I left, there was only one little mushroom peeking through, about the size of those at the bottom of the picture, from my white button mushroom kit from <a href="http://www.territorialseed.com/prod_detail_list/s?keyword=mushroom+kit">Territorial Seeds</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I returned, I feared that little white mushroom, now about a half pound, would take over my kitchen if not promptly dealt with. So, I obliged and sacrificed it to the saute pan, along with onion, garlic, pepper, herbs, and tomatoes, to go along with some spinach garlic pasta.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you haven't tried a mushroom kit, I recommend them! They only require daily spritzing with a little water, and, as you can see, the yield is quite satisfying.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just don't leave the mushrooms alone in the house for any length of time. I think they may grow to fill the kitchen otherwise.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698381236569277857.post-54738609308520562532010-11-07T15:49:00.008-05:002010-11-07T16:36:48.207-05:00Green tomatoes and other fall delicacies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuJhP6iP2lZRBvLi21IPw7DFbkftrEwxqdiujzT5QlNroVy6lPatq6OBILKu0ZLDcqFb-JJqJVgzCqE6E3FFdpqeBC585qMSsnjF3deKNEVCUVAn20Zs9u-6scVtA5K6KQOeqHBWi-ayJ/s1600/033.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuJhP6iP2lZRBvLi21IPw7DFbkftrEwxqdiujzT5QlNroVy6lPatq6OBILKu0ZLDcqFb-JJqJVgzCqE6E3FFdpqeBC585qMSsnjF3deKNEVCUVAn20Zs9u-6scVtA5K6KQOeqHBWi-ayJ/s400/033.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536916900746016850" /></a><br /><div>If you read to the end of this post, you'll be rewarded with a recipe for a pasta sauce with green tomatoes which I cooked up today. Meanwhile, a brief recap of where I've been the past several weeks. </div><div><br /></div><div>As you can see above, I climbed a mountain. My first high peak in the Adirondacks, Cascade Mountain. Although it's considered easy by experienced hikers, I wouldn't exactly say that. You are still going uphill, after all. And on the way back, you're going downhill. Which sounds easy, but is not, particularly when it's very muddy. The view at the top was completely worth it, however. I can't wait to go back and climb another one</div><div><br /></div><div>We also lost 2 beloved family members, our cat of 17 years, and one of our chickens, Sarah. She's the <a href="http://handcraftedlife.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-chicken-has-hernia.html">one</a> with the hernia, which finally got the better of her. Anyway, we decided to get a new girl to keep our flock at 3. Here's Lena, a Golden Brabanter who hates to be caught, but once you catch her, she will sit in your arms forever while you pet her head. She's still young, but she should be laying within a month of so.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOjG_NhCgPsEEhsVVtPAtKF8V32zbH1bvxjpdGHMb5DJsQ7hnDA9PbKxbS8JprGSw4iUm_SpZmJ9X1rGNRYgXZUBNdH_jBp622S3jzSfZPfjreRBvJqSNe8q6lOJdfXzn4SwJOzugXuTS/s1600/fall+023.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 387px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOjG_NhCgPsEEhsVVtPAtKF8V32zbH1bvxjpdGHMb5DJsQ7hnDA9PbKxbS8JprGSw4iUm_SpZmJ9X1rGNRYgXZUBNdH_jBp622S3jzSfZPfjreRBvJqSNe8q6lOJdfXzn4SwJOzugXuTS/s400/fall+023.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536915682779189106" /></a><br /></div><div>I also had a very productive garden this year, including peas, tomatoes, Swiss chard, lettuce, basil, oregano, mint, parsley, carrots, peppers, chives, TONS of green and dried beans, and pounds and pounds of tomatilloes.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs3KYmOqQCYcVmf3HPruFsX0C2i-TSKVyCLhXDB3nC2POrgq-f4iaA1-vzmziNMur_5JOWavxIFFc7RknqxA4lh6Og9DnP04teob3fjafQKCB01gnW105WsAz-ZKuOk_wazK4QfCgdmkf/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs3KYmOqQCYcVmf3HPruFsX0C2i-TSKVyCLhXDB3nC2POrgq-f4iaA1-vzmziNMur_5JOWavxIFFc7RknqxA4lh6Og9DnP04teob3fjafQKCB01gnW105WsAz-ZKuOk_wazK4QfCgdmkf/s400/005.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536914402528963138" /></a><br /></div><div>There was much cutting of flowers. Here are some fall mums, lamb's ears, and marigolds. And those goofy looking cupcakes were for our local Chicken Club potluck. I am capable of more refined decorating, but had no time, and really, since when does one expect a chicken club to be refined?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpolnN5arPbGS3Pd3UQI5SkBPyN1m2fl-Te0k_UcasXiOQOppoxqAS1A2xqaOzbZ2yfPHychiCcbbJmzGdpV9sCKCXbo-CE6fGmz1kelxTzJVhxABFc5X0gooOkJIc23UIJb4S7AUj_2Uy/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpolnN5arPbGS3Pd3UQI5SkBPyN1m2fl-Te0k_UcasXiOQOppoxqAS1A2xqaOzbZ2yfPHychiCcbbJmzGdpV9sCKCXbo-CE6fGmz1kelxTzJVhxABFc5X0gooOkJIc23UIJb4S7AUj_2Uy/s400/010.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536914359094269506" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />Somewhere along the way, my DS became a college senior. I'm still not quite sure how that happened. Here he is at his senior recital. It was fantastic, and so HIM. <div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXsGNrdKgRpGjfAOoPr-VPKwd0pk_eGMX50UJN6BGcYDZpp8VftfhQntwKfmfTtkFUlssjkJZ3fTKvLPcSySvw5RM-BWOC-3SVO-uNcI8WqXdErmilMZH4YIOrm3g6uYENlRPjqLLoYve/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXsGNrdKgRpGjfAOoPr-VPKwd0pk_eGMX50UJN6BGcYDZpp8VftfhQntwKfmfTtkFUlssjkJZ3fTKvLPcSySvw5RM-BWOC-3SVO-uNcI8WqXdErmilMZH4YIOrm3g6uYENlRPjqLLoYve/s400/017.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536914379154178370" /></a><br /></div><div>And finally, today I had to figure out what to do with the more than 2 pounds of green grape tomatoes which I foraged in our community garden. (They were volunteers near the fence and no one was picking them. Clearly they needed to be rescued.) I wish I had a picture, but food pictures are not something I've mastered yet, not to mention the fact that we ate it way too fast to remember to attempt a photo.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Pasta Sauce with Green Tomatoes</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>(Quantities are approximate).</div><div><br /></div><div>Saute 1 sliced onion with 2-3 garlic cloves in 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Once onions are soft, add 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of halved grape tomatoes, still green (or any green tomato). (I halved these the evening before and stirred in 1 tbsp or so of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar at that time.) If you did not add olive oil and balsamic vinegar before, add a little to the skillet now. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cook 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes begin to soften. Taste for tartness. Add some sugar to counteract the tartness. (I added about 1-2 tbsp.). </div><div><br /></div><div>Cook another 5-10 minutes until tomatoes are quite soft, but not falling apart. Stir in some sliced chives or whatever fresh herb you happen to have. Add salt and pepper to taste.</div><div><br /></div><div>Serve with pasta of your choice. Mine was <a href="http://www.pappardellesonline.com/servlet/StoreFront">Pappardelle's Pasta Chipotle Pepper</a>, purchased from <a href="http://www.artisticeatsny.com/">Artistic Eats.</a></div><br /><br />Enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1