December 29th.
New Year's Day is coming.
I don't want to be a Debbie-downer, but good riddance to you 2010. You were not very kind to me.
I acquired, and later lost, a job that I did not like in any way whatsoever. I also lost a very large portion of my piano studio and my classroom space too. I lost moments of time that I wish I had spent in better ways. We lost some friends. We left one spiritual home, and that felt like a deep loss as well. I lost so much sleep that it became comical to me as I roamed the house in the wee hours of the morning, seeking an audience with God in order to pass the time. My health deteriorated down to a dangerous place. We lost money too. Possibly a lot of it.
Loss seems to be the theme of the year.
We had some good points in the year as well. Alex has soared to new heights in his company, and I am on my way to getting healthy again. The garden was beautiful and productive, and the house (while rebelling against me in every possible way) is starting to become a comforting dream home for us. We found a new spiritual home and we are so happy there. Our marriage is strong and happy, with the occasional squabbles, and I was reunited with some old friends in the last days of this month and the reunion was wonderful.
And 2011 is coming and with it comes all the promise of a new year. I am looking forward to 2011. I have no resolutions yet, and I tend not to make very many anyway, but I'm sure I will focus more on the spiritual and service sides of life when I make them.
I hope to have more Grace and less Fear in the coming months.
I hope to let hurtful words from others roll off my back like water, and not give them a second thought.
I hope to create beauty for others to enjoy in every step that I take.
I hope to overcome the Fear of Failure that I've been carrying for most of my life.
I hope to love my husband and our life together more deeply than ever.
I hope this year brings promise and joy, instead of loss and disappointment.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Reviewer Mode
I have never once regretter purchasing 'The New Self-sufficient Gardener' by John Seymour. Of all the gardening books in a very large stack that I have, this one has the honor of being my favorite.
I wrote a review on Amazon.com a couple years ago, and I think it's pretty cool that my review is the highest rated for this book right now!
Soaring oil, food, utility and energy and general cost of living prices are enough to make you wonder if there is anything you can do to make yourself more self sufficient. As someone who has always loved to play in the dirt and see the flowers grow, I knew I was going to appreciate this book immediately.
Written from the point of view of a man who grew up in England in the 50's, John Seymour is practical, friendly and unpolitical. Completely unconcerned with things like global warming and inflation, he recognized that the human condition has simply lost it roots - pun intended. Back in his day, he reminisced, every English country home had a kitchen garden and the produce of the family diet came from that garden. There was a pig in the sty (and one in the larder), and a henhouse in the yard. And what you couldn't grow, you went without, or possibly traded with a neighbor. Why can't people live like this today?
I could argue on and on about the laziness and the commercialism of the day, but it's pretty redundant. Instead, I decided to put a little elbow grease into my garden and see how long it will take us to be as self-reliant as possible.
I think I appreciate Seymour's book simply because it is unpolitical. No references to global climate change, or carbon footprints, or wars in the Middle East. I was recently flipping through a book on urban homesteading, which was written by some folks in Los Angeles and has won numerous awards because it gives simple advice on how to become self-sufficient while living in the city. "Do your part to reduce your carbon footprint!" My humble and honest opinion to those on the West Coast is this - stop 'playing house' with your high rise apartment balcony container gardens and your smug "we're saving the planet" attitudes and get your asses out to the Midwest sometime. We'd be happy to show you REAL homesteading, real farming, and real self-sufficiency. Anyway, that's a tangent saved for a better day. There are NO POLITICAL AMBITIONS in The New Self-Sufficient Gardener! Hooray!
I started my gardening adventures with a couple tomato plants and some herbs. That was in 2006. This year in 2010, I more than doubled my crops and harvest. I was even able to grow pumpkins this year, and it was a lot of fun. Bell and cayenne peppers, four varieties of tomato, 10 herbs, russet potatoes, leeks, broccoli, lettuce, beets, pumpkins and 2 types of winter squash. It was a great year with a really good harvest! And I owe it all to John Seymour's great book full of practical advice!
No urging to find a way to purchase a $13000 wind turbine, no pleadings to replace your furnace with a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, no blaming the American presidents for not doing enough to stop the inevitable changing of the climate, INSTEAD when and how to plant deep beds, proper propogation of seeds, watering techniques to improve efficiency, how to raise the most out of your soil and how to avoid certain diseases and pests.
Best of all, I have come to realize that self-sufficiency is a process realized over time. Every year something new - another step closer. We live in the city. Not the big city, but the city nonetheless. Our yard is small and we are stuck with city utilities. And I still managed to decrease our grocery costs by $10 per week. I'm trying to do even better this coming year. Today we're heading out to a real butcher shop (!) and stocking the freezer for the next 3 months worth of meals. I'm excited about it. We may not have to tread inside a big chain grocery store for weeks! That's the ultimate goal.
So if you LOVE the idea of self-sufficiency, put down the books written by hippies and activists in California, and reach for the New Self-Sufficient Gardener instead. Start practically and patiently instead of hoping to stop global climate change overnight. Self-sufficiency takes time, baby steps and research!
I wrote a review on Amazon.com a couple years ago, and I think it's pretty cool that my review is the highest rated for this book right now!
Soaring oil, food, utility and energy and general cost of living prices are enough to make you wonder if there is anything you can do to make yourself more self sufficient. As someone who has always loved to play in the dirt and see the flowers grow, I knew I was going to appreciate this book immediately.
Written from the point of view of a man who grew up in England in the 50's, John Seymour is practical, friendly and unpolitical. Completely unconcerned with things like global warming and inflation, he recognized that the human condition has simply lost it roots - pun intended. Back in his day, he reminisced, every English country home had a kitchen garden and the produce of the family diet came from that garden. There was a pig in the sty (and one in the larder), and a henhouse in the yard. And what you couldn't grow, you went without, or possibly traded with a neighbor. Why can't people live like this today?
I could argue on and on about the laziness and the commercialism of the day, but it's pretty redundant. Instead, I decided to put a little elbow grease into my garden and see how long it will take us to be as self-reliant as possible.
I think I appreciate Seymour's book simply because it is unpolitical. No references to global climate change, or carbon footprints, or wars in the Middle East. I was recently flipping through a book on urban homesteading, which was written by some folks in Los Angeles and has won numerous awards because it gives simple advice on how to become self-sufficient while living in the city. "Do your part to reduce your carbon footprint!" My humble and honest opinion to those on the West Coast is this - stop 'playing house' with your high rise apartment balcony container gardens and your smug "we're saving the planet" attitudes and get your asses out to the Midwest sometime. We'd be happy to show you REAL homesteading, real farming, and real self-sufficiency. Anyway, that's a tangent saved for a better day. There are NO POLITICAL AMBITIONS in The New Self-Sufficient Gardener! Hooray!
I started my gardening adventures with a couple tomato plants and some herbs. That was in 2006. This year in 2010, I more than doubled my crops and harvest. I was even able to grow pumpkins this year, and it was a lot of fun. Bell and cayenne peppers, four varieties of tomato, 10 herbs, russet potatoes, leeks, broccoli, lettuce, beets, pumpkins and 2 types of winter squash. It was a great year with a really good harvest! And I owe it all to John Seymour's great book full of practical advice!
No urging to find a way to purchase a $13000 wind turbine, no pleadings to replace your furnace with a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, no blaming the American presidents for not doing enough to stop the inevitable changing of the climate, INSTEAD when and how to plant deep beds, proper propogation of seeds, watering techniques to improve efficiency, how to raise the most out of your soil and how to avoid certain diseases and pests.
Best of all, I have come to realize that self-sufficiency is a process realized over time. Every year something new - another step closer. We live in the city. Not the big city, but the city nonetheless. Our yard is small and we are stuck with city utilities. And I still managed to decrease our grocery costs by $10 per week. I'm trying to do even better this coming year. Today we're heading out to a real butcher shop (!) and stocking the freezer for the next 3 months worth of meals. I'm excited about it. We may not have to tread inside a big chain grocery store for weeks! That's the ultimate goal.
So if you LOVE the idea of self-sufficiency, put down the books written by hippies and activists in California, and reach for the New Self-Sufficient Gardener instead. Start practically and patiently instead of hoping to stop global climate change overnight. Self-sufficiency takes time, baby steps and research!
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Dawn Treader
We finally got to go and see the newest installation in the Chronicles of Narnia last night. After a weekend of snowstorms that kept us in, followed by a week of work that left us too exhausted to go see any movies, we were finally able to get out and enjoy what will certainly be MY favorite movie of the year.
I read my Chronicles pretty religiously. They never get old to me. But Alex won't let me read them out loud to him, so we always have an issue. He asks me questions through the whole film that could have been avoided entirely if he had just let me read the book to him!
I am biased. I will sit and enjoy almost anything that has the Narnia stamp on it, simply because I love the series so much. I have very little to say that is bad, unlike film critics, whom I am fairly certain simply exist because the bitter, crabby, 'can't be pleased no matter what' people of the world have to have jobs too.
The first thing I saw that I loved was how perfect the actor playing Eustace was. Exactly how I had always pictured him - a conniving, sneaking little pig with a constant scowl on his face and an air of superiority.
The Dawn Treader itself was exactly how I had always pictured it. I was excited to learn that they had actually built a real Dawn Treader over another ship and sailed it around England with many children as passengers. What I would have given to be on THAT maiden voyage! I was extremely pleased with Her.
Now to the storyline. Unlike most people in the world, I am quite tolerant when it comes to changing the story a little bit in order to make a good film. You see, I understand that some books should be left as books, because they stand on their own as great stories. Other books are terrible books that would be wonderful movies. It's a fine balance. And so I am giving the changes to the storyline a solid B. The addition of the 'green mist' and the added details of the 7 swords gave the film an added depth that would have been lacking had they simply stuck with the book's passages. And I was not bothered by the rearrangement of the different islands.
One thing I will say about the things that were added to the story is that they were a HUGE foreshadowing to the next story - "The Silver Chair". The 'green mist' that seems to eat people alive is a spell that the Green Lady (the White Witch in a different form) uses to keep Caspain's future son, Prince Rilian, under her control. I smiled to myself and whispered to Alex "Do you see that the Witch's eyes are green?" when she appeared out of the clouds on the Dark Island. Because, again, the Green Lady is coming in "The Silver Chair" and she is the spirit of the White Witch in a changed form. Even the ending was suspiciously like to that of "Silver Chair" as the Witch transforms into a terrible serpent and here in the end of Dawn Treader, they must battle a terrible Sea Serpent to escape from the Dark Island.
At the end of the movie, I cried. Actually, I might have even bawled a little bit. Aslan always brings out some strange emotions for me. Yes, I am completely aware that it is a CGI animated lion with Liam Neeson's voice. Geez, I'm not THAT far over the edge yet. But Aslan represents something so much deeper, and always has for me. He represents that constant, standing anchor - the Hope at the end of life that cannot be expressed by other members of humankind. And at the end of this movie, he tells Lucy that in our world He goes by another name, and now that she has grown, she must learn to know him better by that Name. The Name above all Names.
So help me out here, die-hard fans! Don't let the series die! Each book in the Chronicles should be made into a film by Walden Media and 20th Century Fox! Let's hear it for an announcement of the "Silver Chair" coming soon!!
I give it an A. :)
I read my Chronicles pretty religiously. They never get old to me. But Alex won't let me read them out loud to him, so we always have an issue. He asks me questions through the whole film that could have been avoided entirely if he had just let me read the book to him!
I am biased. I will sit and enjoy almost anything that has the Narnia stamp on it, simply because I love the series so much. I have very little to say that is bad, unlike film critics, whom I am fairly certain simply exist because the bitter, crabby, 'can't be pleased no matter what' people of the world have to have jobs too.
The first thing I saw that I loved was how perfect the actor playing Eustace was. Exactly how I had always pictured him - a conniving, sneaking little pig with a constant scowl on his face and an air of superiority.
The Dawn Treader itself was exactly how I had always pictured it. I was excited to learn that they had actually built a real Dawn Treader over another ship and sailed it around England with many children as passengers. What I would have given to be on THAT maiden voyage! I was extremely pleased with Her.
Now to the storyline. Unlike most people in the world, I am quite tolerant when it comes to changing the story a little bit in order to make a good film. You see, I understand that some books should be left as books, because they stand on their own as great stories. Other books are terrible books that would be wonderful movies. It's a fine balance. And so I am giving the changes to the storyline a solid B. The addition of the 'green mist' and the added details of the 7 swords gave the film an added depth that would have been lacking had they simply stuck with the book's passages. And I was not bothered by the rearrangement of the different islands.
One thing I will say about the things that were added to the story is that they were a HUGE foreshadowing to the next story - "The Silver Chair". The 'green mist' that seems to eat people alive is a spell that the Green Lady (the White Witch in a different form) uses to keep Caspain's future son, Prince Rilian, under her control. I smiled to myself and whispered to Alex "Do you see that the Witch's eyes are green?" when she appeared out of the clouds on the Dark Island. Because, again, the Green Lady is coming in "The Silver Chair" and she is the spirit of the White Witch in a changed form. Even the ending was suspiciously like to that of "Silver Chair" as the Witch transforms into a terrible serpent and here in the end of Dawn Treader, they must battle a terrible Sea Serpent to escape from the Dark Island.
At the end of the movie, I cried. Actually, I might have even bawled a little bit. Aslan always brings out some strange emotions for me. Yes, I am completely aware that it is a CGI animated lion with Liam Neeson's voice. Geez, I'm not THAT far over the edge yet. But Aslan represents something so much deeper, and always has for me. He represents that constant, standing anchor - the Hope at the end of life that cannot be expressed by other members of humankind. And at the end of this movie, he tells Lucy that in our world He goes by another name, and now that she has grown, she must learn to know him better by that Name. The Name above all Names.
So help me out here, die-hard fans! Don't let the series die! Each book in the Chronicles should be made into a film by Walden Media and 20th Century Fox! Let's hear it for an announcement of the "Silver Chair" coming soon!!
I give it an A. :)
The Rare Negative
It is a rare occurance that I give anything a bad review. I am certainly a glass-half-full person, and when I have bad experiences I tend to just go about my business. The world can do with a few less opinions is my stance.
However, I do feel like it is necessary to put this out into the ether. We will not be frequenting any movie theatres owned by AMC ever again. Not because of a particularly bad experience, but because our Showplace 16 theatre, formerly owned by Kerasotes, was recently bought out by AMC and their prices shot skyward. We simply cannot afford to see movies at that theatre anymore.
We first noticed it when we paid $16 for 2 regular tickets last night to see 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. It came as quite a shock because we normally pay $14.50. So the ticket prices had gone up. But that was nothing compared to the snack bar.
Alex and I have a system when it comes to our movies. We always go on Sunday night - fewer people. We always go early - never later than 8 pm. We are part of working America and we get up to go to our jobs in the morning. And we usually get 2 drinks and popcorn to share because we could get that particular combo for $11.50. Not anymore. AMC has their own 'combos' and they even gave them fun and exciting monikers so you're blinded to the absurd amount of money you're paying for them! (Please note there is a large amount of snark in that comment that can't be portrayed in font.) A large drink and bag of popcorn - the 'Producer's Pack' - is $12.75. For $15 you can get another large drink! A small soda is $5.50 and a small popcorn is $4.25. Candy is $5.
And there was a huge line at the snack bar.
Now, I know that this is where they make their money, but shouldn't there be a reasonable line? And they wonder why people sneak things in. I can buy 24 cans of soda for $5.50. I can pop two or three pounds of popcorn for $4.25. This is the Midwest - and Indiana to boot. Don't we have enough problems with our economy?
I'd really LOVE to know who looks at a failing theatre, in a city that is plagued by homelessness and unemployment, and says, "Let's RAISE the prices so that it will become profitable again! After all, everyone LOVES movies and loves to go see movies!"
I might feel better about it if they had bothered to clean up the theatre when it was bought out. Sorry AMC, a 20 foot tall sign on the side of the building does not qualify as 'cleaning up'. Showplace 16 is still the ghetto dump that it has always been, right down to the peeling paint and the broken doors in the ladies rooms. If you're going to charge me more money, at least put some effort into it.
We do love to see movies. We are on a pretty strict budget. We don't get to go to the movies all that often. But we left a theatre last night that was a mediocre experience at best. The movie was wonderful, but tainted by the fact that we had put out $40 (a week's worth of groceries for us) to buy 2 tickets, a bag of popcorn and a drink. I can only imagine what it must be like for my friends who have children.
We will no longer be frequenting any AMC theatres. Fortunately there is a Cinemark theatre on the north side of town that still offers more reasonable prices for now. We can still get our adult tickets for $14 and our popcorn and soda for less than $10. And when the prices go up? Well.....going to the movies is a luxury we'll probably go without. After all, isn't that why Movies on Demand and Netflix exist?
However, I do feel like it is necessary to put this out into the ether. We will not be frequenting any movie theatres owned by AMC ever again. Not because of a particularly bad experience, but because our Showplace 16 theatre, formerly owned by Kerasotes, was recently bought out by AMC and their prices shot skyward. We simply cannot afford to see movies at that theatre anymore.
We first noticed it when we paid $16 for 2 regular tickets last night to see 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. It came as quite a shock because we normally pay $14.50. So the ticket prices had gone up. But that was nothing compared to the snack bar.
Alex and I have a system when it comes to our movies. We always go on Sunday night - fewer people. We always go early - never later than 8 pm. We are part of working America and we get up to go to our jobs in the morning. And we usually get 2 drinks and popcorn to share because we could get that particular combo for $11.50. Not anymore. AMC has their own 'combos' and they even gave them fun and exciting monikers so you're blinded to the absurd amount of money you're paying for them! (Please note there is a large amount of snark in that comment that can't be portrayed in font.) A large drink and bag of popcorn - the 'Producer's Pack' - is $12.75. For $15 you can get another large drink! A small soda is $5.50 and a small popcorn is $4.25. Candy is $5.
And there was a huge line at the snack bar.
Now, I know that this is where they make their money, but shouldn't there be a reasonable line? And they wonder why people sneak things in. I can buy 24 cans of soda for $5.50. I can pop two or three pounds of popcorn for $4.25. This is the Midwest - and Indiana to boot. Don't we have enough problems with our economy?
I'd really LOVE to know who looks at a failing theatre, in a city that is plagued by homelessness and unemployment, and says, "Let's RAISE the prices so that it will become profitable again! After all, everyone LOVES movies and loves to go see movies!"
I might feel better about it if they had bothered to clean up the theatre when it was bought out. Sorry AMC, a 20 foot tall sign on the side of the building does not qualify as 'cleaning up'. Showplace 16 is still the ghetto dump that it has always been, right down to the peeling paint and the broken doors in the ladies rooms. If you're going to charge me more money, at least put some effort into it.
We do love to see movies. We are on a pretty strict budget. We don't get to go to the movies all that often. But we left a theatre last night that was a mediocre experience at best. The movie was wonderful, but tainted by the fact that we had put out $40 (a week's worth of groceries for us) to buy 2 tickets, a bag of popcorn and a drink. I can only imagine what it must be like for my friends who have children.
We will no longer be frequenting any AMC theatres. Fortunately there is a Cinemark theatre on the north side of town that still offers more reasonable prices for now. We can still get our adult tickets for $14 and our popcorn and soda for less than $10. And when the prices go up? Well.....going to the movies is a luxury we'll probably go without. After all, isn't that why Movies on Demand and Netflix exist?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Applesaucy
Perhaps I should write an ode to the humblest of all fruit dishes. It has such wonderful meaning behind it!
Applesauce! Everyone likes it, from babies to old people! It's good with everything! Bologna sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, steaks and seafood, hot or cold. My grandpa Orlin ate applesauce at every meal. He also drank milk at every meal. He was a dairy farmer and he was extremely loyal to two things - my grandma and the way he had earned his living. And he did that by having oatmeal every morning, milk with every meal and applesauce poured over hot bread and butter.
Today seemed like a perfectly acceptably day to make some applesauce. I have had several pounds of macintosh apples for quite some time now. Oh, don't give me that face. Apples last for months. Months, I tell you. Just ask my grandmother.
I would do anything for two or three macintosh apple trees in our yard. I wouldn't mind a peach tree or two either, but one thing at a time. Somehow I have to convince the neighbors on both sides to move away, and then tear their houses down and annex their property lines into my own. Or I could ask Alex to move me to the country, but honestly, annexing the neighbors' yards might be easier.
Applesauce is amazingly simple to make if you have the right tools and even better to eat. And by right tools, I mean you need a strainer of some kind! Or, if you choose to stand at the counter and peel and core all those apples, you can use a food processor or food mill. :)
Try to buy your apples in the fall, and use two or three different kind of apples. Romas are good because they offer a pretty pink hue to your fruit mush. MacIntosh apples are a MUST - they are fragrant and just the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Add some crisp eating apples like Galas for their natural sweetness and a Granny Smith or two for a little acidity and you have a great mix. Gather about 6 pounds of apples total if this is your first time making applesauce so that you don't spend an entire day slicing and dicing and then don't get the result you wanted.
Cut the apples into 1 inch pieces and drop them into a 6-8 quart preserving pot. Add 2 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil on high heat. If you are using a food processor, you will need to peel and core the apples, but if not, drop everything in together!
Boil on high heat, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes, or until the apple mush is seperating from the peels and everything smells like an orchard in the kitchen. Remove the preserving pot from the heat and pour the apple mush into the strainer (or processor).
Straining takes patience. Don't get too hurried! Take the wooden mallet and push straight through the apple guts to the bottom and repeat. It take a while, so dance around the strainer, singing Christmas carols if necessary. Press as much apple mush through the strainer as possible and then return the freshly squeezed applesauce to the preserving pot. Boil it for 5 minutes, clean up the mesh you made with the strainer and throw all those mushed peels and guts away. Stir the sauce and take in the best fragrance in the world and then do as you wish with it! Put the applesauce into Ball jars and can them, freeze it in plastic ice cream tubs or freezer bags, or just put it in the fridge and pull it out for dinner later.
I personally am going to label all of my jars with "AppleSaucy". Cuz that's how I roll. :)
Applesauce! Everyone likes it, from babies to old people! It's good with everything! Bologna sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, steaks and seafood, hot or cold. My grandpa Orlin ate applesauce at every meal. He also drank milk at every meal. He was a dairy farmer and he was extremely loyal to two things - my grandma and the way he had earned his living. And he did that by having oatmeal every morning, milk with every meal and applesauce poured over hot bread and butter.
Today seemed like a perfectly acceptably day to make some applesauce. I have had several pounds of macintosh apples for quite some time now. Oh, don't give me that face. Apples last for months. Months, I tell you. Just ask my grandmother.
I would do anything for two or three macintosh apple trees in our yard. I wouldn't mind a peach tree or two either, but one thing at a time. Somehow I have to convince the neighbors on both sides to move away, and then tear their houses down and annex their property lines into my own. Or I could ask Alex to move me to the country, but honestly, annexing the neighbors' yards might be easier.
Applesauce is amazingly simple to make if you have the right tools and even better to eat. And by right tools, I mean you need a strainer of some kind! Or, if you choose to stand at the counter and peel and core all those apples, you can use a food processor or food mill. :)
Try to buy your apples in the fall, and use two or three different kind of apples. Romas are good because they offer a pretty pink hue to your fruit mush. MacIntosh apples are a MUST - they are fragrant and just the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Add some crisp eating apples like Galas for their natural sweetness and a Granny Smith or two for a little acidity and you have a great mix. Gather about 6 pounds of apples total if this is your first time making applesauce so that you don't spend an entire day slicing and dicing and then don't get the result you wanted.
Cut the apples into 1 inch pieces and drop them into a 6-8 quart preserving pot. Add 2 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil on high heat. If you are using a food processor, you will need to peel and core the apples, but if not, drop everything in together!
Boil on high heat, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes, or until the apple mush is seperating from the peels and everything smells like an orchard in the kitchen. Remove the preserving pot from the heat and pour the apple mush into the strainer (or processor).
Straining takes patience. Don't get too hurried! Take the wooden mallet and push straight through the apple guts to the bottom and repeat. It take a while, so dance around the strainer, singing Christmas carols if necessary. Press as much apple mush through the strainer as possible and then return the freshly squeezed applesauce to the preserving pot. Boil it for 5 minutes, clean up the mesh you made with the strainer and throw all those mushed peels and guts away. Stir the sauce and take in the best fragrance in the world and then do as you wish with it! Put the applesauce into Ball jars and can them, freeze it in plastic ice cream tubs or freezer bags, or just put it in the fridge and pull it out for dinner later.
I personally am going to label all of my jars with "AppleSaucy". Cuz that's how I roll. :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Good News!
Heeeeeeeeey Kids!
I got an interview today! Yes!
At the Woodwind and Brasswind. :) Maybe the music degree will finally come in handy after all.
Wish me blessings.
The Etsy shop is doing well! Another sale on Monday! That's 6 this month.
I got an interview today! Yes!
At the Woodwind and Brasswind. :) Maybe the music degree will finally come in handy after all.
Wish me blessings.
The Etsy shop is doing well! Another sale on Monday! That's 6 this month.
Friday, December 10, 2010
L.Peek Designs
A few sweet things from the shop to get your gift-giving wheels turning!
www.lpeekdesigns.etsy.com
www.lpeekdesigns.etsy.com
And so the searching continues...
Dearest Friends,
I am at a loss.
I have known for years that I am a flaky, lazy, virtually unemployable, anti-social, right-brained artist.
I don't interact well with many people. I might have issues with authority. And I don't care how much money I have as long as the bills are paid and there is food in the pantry. I have a difficult time looking people in the eye. I am fearful of failure and easily intimidated and overshadowed by stronger personalities. I have a million things wrong with my head - ADD, OCD and probably 10 other mental acronyms. I can't stand being responsible for other people's problems.
I'm creative. I love to sew and crochet. I am a good writer. I studied the piano in college and play at a virtuoso's level. I love to cook. I love to plant seeds and watch them grow. I love the sunshine and the rain and the falling leaves. I am a dreamer and a poet.
Who in America pays money for people like me to work for them?????
I need a job. I don't want one though.
I've been happily caring for my home, making Christmas presents and cooking all sorts of goodies. I teach a few piano lessons per day and it is JUST FINE.
My husband has been trying to nag me to death in order to light a fire under my butt and get me to go out and get a job. I applied for a few, it's true, but none that I'm really interested in. Well, I'd love to be a librarian, but none of those interviews wanted to hire me. But I am sick of being a cashier, a retail manager, a waitress, etc. I have a college degree for crying out loud!
I think I scare the potential employers away. Maybe I should start lying. But that's against my religion.
This week I applied at the Tribune, the St. Joe County public library, Memorial Home Care, Family Bookstore, 3 banks and 2 department stores. I don't actually want to work any of those jobs - except for the library.
I actually do want to work at the new Tractor Supply Co. when it opens. I'm weird like that.
And clearly, I am having an off-the-wall ADD day. ;)
I am at a loss.
I have known for years that I am a flaky, lazy, virtually unemployable, anti-social, right-brained artist.
I don't interact well with many people. I might have issues with authority. And I don't care how much money I have as long as the bills are paid and there is food in the pantry. I have a difficult time looking people in the eye. I am fearful of failure and easily intimidated and overshadowed by stronger personalities. I have a million things wrong with my head - ADD, OCD and probably 10 other mental acronyms. I can't stand being responsible for other people's problems.
I'm creative. I love to sew and crochet. I am a good writer. I studied the piano in college and play at a virtuoso's level. I love to cook. I love to plant seeds and watch them grow. I love the sunshine and the rain and the falling leaves. I am a dreamer and a poet.
Who in America pays money for people like me to work for them?????
I need a job. I don't want one though.
I've been happily caring for my home, making Christmas presents and cooking all sorts of goodies. I teach a few piano lessons per day and it is JUST FINE.
My husband has been trying to nag me to death in order to light a fire under my butt and get me to go out and get a job. I applied for a few, it's true, but none that I'm really interested in. Well, I'd love to be a librarian, but none of those interviews wanted to hire me. But I am sick of being a cashier, a retail manager, a waitress, etc. I have a college degree for crying out loud!
I think I scare the potential employers away. Maybe I should start lying. But that's against my religion.
This week I applied at the Tribune, the St. Joe County public library, Memorial Home Care, Family Bookstore, 3 banks and 2 department stores. I don't actually want to work any of those jobs - except for the library.
I actually do want to work at the new Tractor Supply Co. when it opens. I'm weird like that.
And clearly, I am having an off-the-wall ADD day. ;)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The New American Dream
It's December!
My gardening books and journals are being opened and studied for the coming year. By February there will be cabbage and broccoli seedlings in the greenhouse to put out in the garden as soon as the ground thaws enough. I've been researching tomatoes and peppers, because 2011 is going to be my magic year!
2010's garden was good. I grew a lot of new things that I was really very pleased with. I grew some new herbs that made it all the way through November. I grew cayenne peppers and lots of squash - that I didn't get much fruit from, BUT I learned a lot about how to grow and care for different varieties of squash. And I had 4 large pumpkins! I am definitely making the list of things to try in the coming year.
I am researching a gardening method called Grow Biointensive, also known as "Mini-farming". Since I live in the city on a 40 foot lot that both of my next door neighbors have encroached on from both sides (making my lot more like 36 feet) I don't have a lot of room. And our house faces the west, so we really don't have a lot of sun, except on the side that faces the south. I am going to try to remedy that this year. I do, fortunately, have two long strips of dirt, about 3 feet wide and 25 feet long that are a good size for the intensive gardening method. One of those strips is full of white quartz landscaping rocks - which are hideous! - but I am planning on moving those rocks to the north side of the garage, when there is no sun.
I have been hearing the whispers of the "Old Way" for about a year. Every Autumn I feel this little voice inside of me begin to nudge "Provide....hold back.....preserve....provide! Winter is coming!" Sometimes I wonder if there are mutant squirrels sending ESP messages to my brain, but then again, there IS a little farmgirl deep down inside of me. Grandpa and Grandma taught me the importance of food preservation. Yes, on occasion, I do turn on the political talk shows, and I was shocked to hear 3 out of 5 political pundits talking about the costs of food rising and how we should be teaching ourselves food storage and preservation because a time may be coming that food in the grocery store isn't affordable. And that is just good advice in general! Everyone should keep at least an extra week's food in storage, but I have challenged myself to find a way to store 6 months worth of food for us.
Hooray for the Midwest!! Do you know how much I love living in the Midwest? I can ride my bike to a Farmer's Market. I can drive 15 minutes in any direction and find a berry farm. There are 4 apple orchards within a 45 minute drive from our house. And I have learned the locations of 3 small local butchers. Put that in your pipe and smoke it all you Big City Folks. When you can't afford your food, we 'yokels' in the farmlands will be just fine.
Okay, sorry, that might have been uncalled for. My best friend is visiting from Los Angeles, and when the two of us get on a rant about the spoiled lives of those on the West Coast, the feelings sometimes last for days afterwards. Either way, we still get a chuckle out of mocking the 'big city folks'. :)
Anyway, this week we're going to make and can pasta sauce and applesauce. Alex told me last week that he's tired of canned Italian. Particularly, one night I had boiled the spaghetti noodles and unceremoniously dumped half a jar of store brand marinara over them and stirred. His actual words were "That's not made with Love". This seems to be a new kick my husband is on. He can apparently tell when the food I make doesn't have my Love in it. And of course, being the picky little turd that he is, he doesn't like it, eats half of it and the pushes it back across the table at me. So I am on a quest to create my own recipe of pasta sauce that has the special, and obviously necessary, ingredient of Love in it, that Alex will eat.
I gave our household an ultimatum this year - reduce the grocery costs to $50 per week. I am proud to say that we have done it! For my 2011 New Year's resolution, I would like to reduce it even more! I would really like to get it down to $35 per week and stop buying store bought canned goods altogether and try to stick to fresh produce and ingredients entirely.
To the kitchen! It's time to bake Christmas cookies!
My gardening books and journals are being opened and studied for the coming year. By February there will be cabbage and broccoli seedlings in the greenhouse to put out in the garden as soon as the ground thaws enough. I've been researching tomatoes and peppers, because 2011 is going to be my magic year!
2010's garden was good. I grew a lot of new things that I was really very pleased with. I grew some new herbs that made it all the way through November. I grew cayenne peppers and lots of squash - that I didn't get much fruit from, BUT I learned a lot about how to grow and care for different varieties of squash. And I had 4 large pumpkins! I am definitely making the list of things to try in the coming year.
I am researching a gardening method called Grow Biointensive, also known as "Mini-farming". Since I live in the city on a 40 foot lot that both of my next door neighbors have encroached on from both sides (making my lot more like 36 feet) I don't have a lot of room. And our house faces the west, so we really don't have a lot of sun, except on the side that faces the south. I am going to try to remedy that this year. I do, fortunately, have two long strips of dirt, about 3 feet wide and 25 feet long that are a good size for the intensive gardening method. One of those strips is full of white quartz landscaping rocks - which are hideous! - but I am planning on moving those rocks to the north side of the garage, when there is no sun.
I have been hearing the whispers of the "Old Way" for about a year. Every Autumn I feel this little voice inside of me begin to nudge "Provide....hold back.....preserve....provide! Winter is coming!" Sometimes I wonder if there are mutant squirrels sending ESP messages to my brain, but then again, there IS a little farmgirl deep down inside of me. Grandpa and Grandma taught me the importance of food preservation. Yes, on occasion, I do turn on the political talk shows, and I was shocked to hear 3 out of 5 political pundits talking about the costs of food rising and how we should be teaching ourselves food storage and preservation because a time may be coming that food in the grocery store isn't affordable. And that is just good advice in general! Everyone should keep at least an extra week's food in storage, but I have challenged myself to find a way to store 6 months worth of food for us.
Hooray for the Midwest!! Do you know how much I love living in the Midwest? I can ride my bike to a Farmer's Market. I can drive 15 minutes in any direction and find a berry farm. There are 4 apple orchards within a 45 minute drive from our house. And I have learned the locations of 3 small local butchers. Put that in your pipe and smoke it all you Big City Folks. When you can't afford your food, we 'yokels' in the farmlands will be just fine.
Okay, sorry, that might have been uncalled for. My best friend is visiting from Los Angeles, and when the two of us get on a rant about the spoiled lives of those on the West Coast, the feelings sometimes last for days afterwards. Either way, we still get a chuckle out of mocking the 'big city folks'. :)
Anyway, this week we're going to make and can pasta sauce and applesauce. Alex told me last week that he's tired of canned Italian. Particularly, one night I had boiled the spaghetti noodles and unceremoniously dumped half a jar of store brand marinara over them and stirred. His actual words were "That's not made with Love". This seems to be a new kick my husband is on. He can apparently tell when the food I make doesn't have my Love in it. And of course, being the picky little turd that he is, he doesn't like it, eats half of it and the pushes it back across the table at me. So I am on a quest to create my own recipe of pasta sauce that has the special, and obviously necessary, ingredient of Love in it, that Alex will eat.
I gave our household an ultimatum this year - reduce the grocery costs to $50 per week. I am proud to say that we have done it! For my 2011 New Year's resolution, I would like to reduce it even more! I would really like to get it down to $35 per week and stop buying store bought canned goods altogether and try to stick to fresh produce and ingredients entirely.
To the kitchen! It's time to bake Christmas cookies!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A Prayer In Time...
In the last two months, I have been rejected for three jobs that I was interviewed for, and then last Saturday, my insurance gig ended. I was basically told to take a 'leave' and my accounts were taken over by my supervisor. It was a mixed bag of feelings for me. Intense relief - I have never felt so relieved to leave a job. Slight fear - I have NOTHING to back it up with. For the first time since I was 16, I am unemployed. And I only teach 9 piano students per week now - I used to have a studio of 30. I have no income.
However, I am not afraid because I know that God will provide. He has always provided. My parents have gone through the worst financial troubles, including being sued over a mortgage on a house they no longer owned, but we never went hungry as children and we never went naked and we never had to move from our house. We were always provided for.
On Sunday morning, I received a blessing that brings tears to my eyes as I type this. Every time I talk about it, I cry a little, because it blessed me so much. We had a time of prayer during praise and worship, and it was all about 'needs'. If you had a need, big or small, come down and let your church brothers and sisters lay hands on you and pray for you. My sister Carrie dragged me down and Alex waved at me from the stage to get my hindquarters down there to be prayed for. And I did, and I was NOT the only person down there, believe me. This is a time of great need in our community - it's winter, and hardly anyone has a steady income anymore. Pretty soon, I felt some hands on my shoulders and someone grabbed my hand - not my sister Carrie, who had a death grip on my right arm and was praying for me right in my ear. I actually assumed that it was the assistant pastor's wife, who has known me since birth, or an older couple that have known my parents since they were married and watched all of my sisters and I grow up over the years. I really thought that the people praying for me were the folks that know and love me.
When the altar call was over, I turned around and saw 4 teenage boys behind me. We always sit in front of the youth group so that I can watch Alex play on the stage. The boys had followed me up during the altar call to pray for me - and I don't think one of them was more than 14 years old. I can't tell you how much that blessed my heart. They don't really know me - they know that I am Alex's wife, but they don't usually speak to me. It wasn't someone who knows and loves me who was praying for me - they were just church brothers, who listened to the Holy Spirit and prayed over someone who needed it. And boy did I need it!
Pray for those who need it. Don't just run to your friend's side when they are walking through a hard time. Go to those fellow Christians in the church that you've never spoken to before and stand in prayer with and for them. If the Spirit prompts you to pray, for goodness sake, do it! You never know who is going to need those prayers and what they might mean to someone.
However, I am not afraid because I know that God will provide. He has always provided. My parents have gone through the worst financial troubles, including being sued over a mortgage on a house they no longer owned, but we never went hungry as children and we never went naked and we never had to move from our house. We were always provided for.
On Sunday morning, I received a blessing that brings tears to my eyes as I type this. Every time I talk about it, I cry a little, because it blessed me so much. We had a time of prayer during praise and worship, and it was all about 'needs'. If you had a need, big or small, come down and let your church brothers and sisters lay hands on you and pray for you. My sister Carrie dragged me down and Alex waved at me from the stage to get my hindquarters down there to be prayed for. And I did, and I was NOT the only person down there, believe me. This is a time of great need in our community - it's winter, and hardly anyone has a steady income anymore. Pretty soon, I felt some hands on my shoulders and someone grabbed my hand - not my sister Carrie, who had a death grip on my right arm and was praying for me right in my ear. I actually assumed that it was the assistant pastor's wife, who has known me since birth, or an older couple that have known my parents since they were married and watched all of my sisters and I grow up over the years. I really thought that the people praying for me were the folks that know and love me.
When the altar call was over, I turned around and saw 4 teenage boys behind me. We always sit in front of the youth group so that I can watch Alex play on the stage. The boys had followed me up during the altar call to pray for me - and I don't think one of them was more than 14 years old. I can't tell you how much that blessed my heart. They don't really know me - they know that I am Alex's wife, but they don't usually speak to me. It wasn't someone who knows and loves me who was praying for me - they were just church brothers, who listened to the Holy Spirit and prayed over someone who needed it. And boy did I need it!
Pray for those who need it. Don't just run to your friend's side when they are walking through a hard time. Go to those fellow Christians in the church that you've never spoken to before and stand in prayer with and for them. If the Spirit prompts you to pray, for goodness sake, do it! You never know who is going to need those prayers and what they might mean to someone.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Little Fingers, Tiny Toes
Due to the increasing insistance of my friends upon HAVING BABIES, I have been up to my eyeballs in booties!!
A dear friend gave birth one week ago today. Another is scheduled for about 3 weeks from now. And there seems to be an abundance of first birthdays coming 'round in the next 5 months!
So haul your eyeballs over to my etsy site - http://www.lpeekdesigns.etsy.com/ and have a look at the booties. Give 'em hearts and love and pass the information along to your girlfriends, mommies-to-be, grannies-to-be, etc. etc., and fill me up some orders!
I officially became unemployed as of Saturday. But I will have NO FEAR, because I happen to worship Jehovah Jireh (God my provider!) So the Etsy store is going to be in full swing for the holidays!
A dear friend gave birth one week ago today. Another is scheduled for about 3 weeks from now. And there seems to be an abundance of first birthdays coming 'round in the next 5 months!
So haul your eyeballs over to my etsy site - http://www.lpeekdesigns.etsy.com/ and have a look at the booties. Give 'em hearts and love and pass the information along to your girlfriends, mommies-to-be, grannies-to-be, etc. etc., and fill me up some orders!
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Boutique
Long ago, before Alex and I were even a steady couple, my mother in law looked at my purse, my scarf, my shoes and my hat and declared me to be a fashion icon. And said someday I would own a boutique that would sell all sorts of fashionable pieces to fashionable ladies about town.
Currently for sale in my Etsy.com shop, are several handbags, a couple custom crochet baby designs and an incense burner that I still haven't decided if I want to part with yet. I've been searching the classifies for estate sales and small antique stores for whatever treasures may lie inside for years, and suddenly, I seem to have found a stride for myself. Perhaps she was right about a boutique? A vintage style boutique?
I'll stick with the online selling for now, but I am pleased to say that I have managed to generate a great deal of interest and even 3 sales this week, just from cleaning out my studio. Perhaps someday I will have enough drive to open up a small storefront over in Eddy Commons, where the fashionable college gals congregate?
Yikes, that's gonna be some high rent.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Economic Situation
Alex and I went shopping at the mall yesterday to get some Christmas present ideas out of the way. His mother sent us a text that said "Xmas Blacke gloaves. Isotnrs". So we ran it through the 'Crazy Mother Text to English' translator app and decided she must be telling us that she wants black Isotoner gloves for Christmas. That put us right in the middle of J C Penney's in December, which is generally something we try to avoid at all costs. But they sent us a coupon, and Alex needed another shirt for praise and worship team dress, so we took a deep breath and made the 45 minute drive to the mall. 45 minute drive. Did you know we actually only live 4.1 miles from the mall?
While shopping, we came across some rather hideous scarves and hats in the Junior accessories department. And I say hideous because I love handmade goods and we have lots of handmade scarves and hats and mittens, and when I see scarves and hats and mittens in a departments stores that look like they were handmade 10 years ago and then donated to the Hope Rescue Mission and then salvaged off of a homeless drunk, sent to a Chinese laundromat for dry cleaning and then wrapped around a hanger and marked with a $14.99 price tag. And I can't even upload A PICTURE of them for you to see because the pictures are protected by the Penney's website and I am computer illiterate. So go to the department store websites and type in 'mixed media scarves' and see what comes up and see if I'm lying! American Eagle and Aeropostale stores had similar pieces, and for about $29.99. The scarves and hats are UGLY. They are like the worst kind of handmade, and I saw teenagers wearing them. What have Chinese manufacturing deals done to our sense of aethetics?
I love handmade. I support handmade completely and utterly with all of my being.
I refuse to purchase something in a mall department store that looks like it was handmade. If it looks like my niece made it as her first crochet or knit project, I will not spend money on it.
Buy handmade. Support crafters who offer great products at fair prices. The economy WILL recover.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
No Regretsy
If you know me personally, you know that on and off, I have a little Etsy shop where I occasionally attempt to sell a few of my handmade odds and ends, and when Alex has had enough of my estate sale shopping and thrift store splurging, I also resell my vintage accessories and home decor.
http://www.lpeekdesigns.etsy.com/
Please visit. Mark me as a favorite. Recommend my stuff to others.
He's been on vacation this week and has thusly been forcing me to clean 'my room'. That's the spare room that functions as my sewing room, art studio and sometimes even my office. He has given strict instructions to me that I throw it away or give it away. That's how some friends got to go home with boxes full of scrapping supplies. That's also how I managed to sell 3 vintage purses on my Etsy shop in the last 24 hours. At $5 a piece, because they simply have to be out of the house. I believe I am getting the short end of the stick here.
So I have heard about 'Regretsy' before. Occasionally I also have moments when I am shopping on Etsy and I find a listing that makes me say WHAT THE F***? I say it just like that too - with the asterisks. Because I don't care for profanity. It makes my tender heart cry a little. Good Lord, I wish I had come up with this idea first! What a treasure trove of insanity! This stuff exists. And the people who make this stuff exist too and (gasp) might have reproduced already. God save us all.
Just go there.
I recommend the WTF Alchemy Request section. Mostly because the most devout of us will discover new people to pray for. Regretsy.com You won't regret it. You won't, I promise. I am a woman of her word.
And in other news:
I was rejected for two more jobs. But I put in two more applications. Where it will lead, I can only pray, but every morning I wake up thanking God that we're alive, healthy and our house payment was made for this month.
I've been more creative lately after going through a drastic and wicked dry spell. I'm pretty sure my insurance job had something to do with it.
I've been practicing my tattoo art. If there are any ladies out there who are uncomfortable with the gents stabbing them with needles and putting ink into their open wounds and would prefer the gentle touch of a 5 foot tall redhead, call me in about 3 months. By then I should be apprenticed with Ron, the Master.
Hey guess what? I'll be baking up the Christmas goodies all weekend! Can't wait to get started.
Hanukkah starts tomorrow! 8 craaaaazy nights!
I love the holidays.
http://www.lpeekdesigns.etsy.com/
Please visit. Mark me as a favorite. Recommend my stuff to others.
He's been on vacation this week and has thusly been forcing me to clean 'my room'. That's the spare room that functions as my sewing room, art studio and sometimes even my office. He has given strict instructions to me that I throw it away or give it away. That's how some friends got to go home with boxes full of scrapping supplies. That's also how I managed to sell 3 vintage purses on my Etsy shop in the last 24 hours. At $5 a piece, because they simply have to be out of the house. I believe I am getting the short end of the stick here.
So I have heard about 'Regretsy' before. Occasionally I also have moments when I am shopping on Etsy and I find a listing that makes me say WHAT THE F***? I say it just like that too - with the asterisks. Because I don't care for profanity. It makes my tender heart cry a little. Good Lord, I wish I had come up with this idea first! What a treasure trove of insanity! This stuff exists. And the people who make this stuff exist too and (gasp) might have reproduced already. God save us all.
Just go there.
I recommend the WTF Alchemy Request section. Mostly because the most devout of us will discover new people to pray for. Regretsy.com You won't regret it. You won't, I promise. I am a woman of her word.
And in other news:
I was rejected for two more jobs. But I put in two more applications. Where it will lead, I can only pray, but every morning I wake up thanking God that we're alive, healthy and our house payment was made for this month.
I've been more creative lately after going through a drastic and wicked dry spell. I'm pretty sure my insurance job had something to do with it.
I've been practicing my tattoo art. If there are any ladies out there who are uncomfortable with the gents stabbing them with needles and putting ink into their open wounds and would prefer the gentle touch of a 5 foot tall redhead, call me in about 3 months. By then I should be apprenticed with Ron, the Master.
Hey guess what? I'll be baking up the Christmas goodies all weekend! Can't wait to get started.
Hanukkah starts tomorrow! 8 craaaaazy nights!
I love the holidays.
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