readingtheleaves

messiest (and best?) garden ever.

2010-04-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

future potatoes

volunteer spinach and lettuce!

This is the first year that I have not flipped the soil of the entire garden at the beginning of the season. I had a little patch of garlic where I managed to get bulbs in the ground in the fall (for the first time ever) and a bunch of grass and weeds. Then my daughter planted some zucchini in little pots (with help) and then we cleared out little spots for them in amongst the weeds. Today I cleaned out a row under the bean trellis and planted beans. I also cleaned out little spots for yellow squash, butternut squash, watermelon, sweet melon, and pumpkins. There is a big messy spot in the middle waiting for tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants that I will have to buy this year unless the plant fairy helps me out again. So its the laziest garden year ever - in between the plants are some weeds, but there are also fun surprise volunteers - spinach, lettuce, carrots and what might become a forest of basil (yay buckets of pesto!) because I let bunches of things go to seed. So, if I hadn't let everything go to seed and I had flipped all the soil, I wouldn't have all these extra goodies. So, I am happy about it. But it is preeetty ugly. Most people wouldn't want to share a picture. Is that a garden?

There are a lot of firsts in the ground for me this year: butternut squash, potatoes, and pumpkins! I know, how is it I haven't grown pumpkins and butternut squash?

why bother with the blogging

2010-04-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

life is partly about the actual living but also, sometimes it seems more so, in the telling of it. the retelling redefining and recording. thats the blog.
i find i am aware of this when i read everyone else's blog stories. its a sculpting with the self and story as material, or a collage and decoupage with glue and scraps. its best when its most honest. but its never perfectly honest, always a recreation, always a form of artistic creation. a sculpting or collaging. decoupaging.
the art is different when it is published and available to be read even if it isn't, read that is. and looking back at the record reminds me. but, whatever, i don't always feel like recording. even though i find it important to mark the time. and arrange the scraps.
we can tell our story to make our actual living more like the one we wish it was, and then it has a better chance of becoming that. i write and tell myself i am a productive successful academic researcher teacher and baker and knitter and gardener and parent. doesn't make it so. but gives goals and pats on the back when deserved.

today i am another year older. my face looks older this year. last year i marked the time with new ink on my wrist. this year i feel the time and see it in the mirror. subtle. not unhappy. noticed.

ive used this space in a number of inconsistent ways. recipe sharer and keeper (ive been meaning to write about my love for making pizza at home and the best dough and best sauce), garden record keeper (talk about inconsistent - but i have potatoes and garlic and basil in the ground now), notes on parenting and cloth diapers and yadda yadda, but really its a collaged mess.

today i just wanted to dip my toe back in, to make the time, and say happy birthday to myself.

Dr. Ravitch and the school question - can we be like Finland and Japan?

2010-03-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

The question of how to fix public schools is a vague one until you have your own child and live in Baltimore, where schools have a reputation (not a good one). I want public education to work. I want to support it. One of the two public schools nearest to us has been failing each year, and doesn't seem to be getting better. Oh, and there is the fact that a kindergartner brought a gun to class last year. dear lord.
The charter school in our area gets rave reviews. But it's tough to get a spot. I am watching a good friend wait anxiously to see if her daughter made the lottery, knowing she can't afford public school and not keen on the aforementioned failing one.
And the question remains - what is wrong with schools? How do we make them better? I do not know and can't claim to have studied this. As a liberal person my inclination is that public schools are important and we need to support them. But I look to people who have studied schools, who have worked in schools, to find out what to do to make it so that I want - not just feel ok about, but really want - to send my daughter to one. My inclination as a mother is to get my daughter into a charter school. Do charter schools save or destroy the institution of public education? I don't know.
That is why I found this article about Dr. Ravitch so interesting.
She has reversed course from praising testing and charters, and sees the defense of US public schools as essential to our democracy. I do too - but how do we defend them? She sees charter schools as bleeding resources from the public system, and overall not doing better (it seems in Baltimore that they are doing better than publics, but I am not sure.
The article describes two basic responses to the failing public school system: returning to the old system (with new support) and blowing it up. I do not know which route to go, and I do not know what "blowing it up" looks like or leaves us with. There might be more clear answers to making the old system better; it seems obvious that the funding needs to be equalized, but that is a really tough move politically.
Ravitch draws her conclusions, in part, from comparative analysis of education systems - Pakistan's "weak and inequitable education system dominated by private and religious institutions", and nations "like Finlan and Japan" that "seek out the best college graduates for teaching positions, pay them well andd treat them with respect." where they "make sure all their students study art, history, literature, geography, civics, foreign languages, the sciences and other subjects."
Of course, the socio-economic inequalities and struggles that Finland and Japan face are, well, nothing compared to those in inner-city USA. I believe that the disparity in school quality is just as great. Maybe "fixing" the school system, then, is about "fixing" some other, deeply entrenched, socio-economic inequalities in our country. sigh. What is a parent to do?

Human Development Report Rankings, Gini Index (inequality)
Japan - 10, 24.9
Finland - 12, 26.9
USA - 13 , 40.8

2010-02-22T05:19:00.000-08:00

New Orleans, notes.

vagabond gypsies playing old eastern european music with sad still faces and dreds and long beards, a perfect combination of something ancient and something new, wandering around this city that is also. they remind me of a time about ten years ago. when life could have led any which way.
imagining life as a vagabond musician in a little busking community.
thinking of the very alltogether different academic conference attending me.
a woman quietly singing scales walks by
a fabulous fantastic rollicking five piece band down the street clapping and tap dancing and playing their faces off
a duet of boys maybe 12 years old playing guitar and singing and impressive for such young children. new orleans in their bones. and dna.
all numbers of people walk by with musical instruments of all kinds on their backs.
a one man band a block to my left, a mini-trapset on his back with symbols that clang.
i wander about looking for voodoo shops to buy a funny gift, some healing voodoo stick for the doctor to shake at his patients. but the tourist-filled pretend-voodoo shops do not sell healing powers amulets, because that is against the laws of magic. funny surprising commitment in a place that sells all numbers of cheap tourist fodder. maybe that salesmanboy really believes.
found the kitchen witch, a wonderful cook book store with surprising and one of a kind finds. bought a bread book. was gifted with a bread novel by the fantastically friendly owner.
i went to new orleans for an academic conference and it was worthwhile. academically and as a two-day break from snow and a moment of independence and autonomy. with which i did not party in the crescent city, but did eat crescents and beignets and went to bed and woke up early.
the happy look and the hug when zoe woke up the morning after i came home was fabulous. and tonight at bedtime she cuddled me and said "im so glad your here."
melt.

Birthday Cake

2010-02-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make birthday cake for ms.z's birthday party (she's two!) and settled upon a two recipes and, amazingly, they both turned out really great! Oh dang I was so proud of myself. I successfully pulled off a layered cake, though the top layer was a little off kilter from the bottom layer, it slid over a bit, but surrounded with strawberry fans that was mostly hidden. Also I failed at frosting the sides of the layered cake - big mess. Strawberries hid that too. I guess there is a trick to that, but I think in the future Ill just let icing drip down the sides in a natural un-stressed sort of messy but beautiful way. Each time I asked what kind of cake she wanted the answer was "Elmo" but I couldn't find an Elmo cake decoration anywhere. So I drew him on there myself, and it worked out pretty well! Imperfections in beauty aside, they were both delicious! I topped them with a strawberry icing. So here are some photos and recipes.

Chocolate Birthday Bash Cake (or, chocolate yogurt cake)
I think I found this on the stoneyfield yogurt website, but I can't remember for sure. The recipe was a little goofed, the kind that forgets to include some ingredients in the directions and messes up on measurements, which is of course the kind of recipe I pick when I could choose anything, but here it is cleaned up. It made a delicious cake.

Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 Tbl unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbl plain yogurt
1 Tbl vanilla extract
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups cake flour (I used all purpose and so added a little less than 2 cups, no I didn't measure. just not quite full cups. Then added 1 Tbl cornstarch)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (good ones)

Directions
preheat to 350
lightly grease and flour two 8inch round cake pans
Cream butter and sugar in mixer.
Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
Add vanilla and yogurt. mix well.
Add lukewarm water and continue to mix.
It looked really bizarro at this point. I was worried but it turned out ok.
In separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa.
Mix dry into wet.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Mix batter between cake pans.
Bake 32-45 minutes (22-25 for cupcakes)
cool completely before attempting layering or frosting.

Classic Yellow Layer Cake
from Taste of Home Cookbook

Ingredients
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk

Direction
preheat 350
cream butter and sugar to light and fluffy
add eggs, one at a time beating in each one
stir in vanilla
in separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt
add dry to creamed mix alternately with milk, beating after each addition
Pour into greased and floured 9 inch round pans
bake 350 25-30 minutes ( I used one larger pan and baked longer, forgoing layers)

Icing
cup of fresh strawberries and cup of plain yogurt + tsp of vanilla in blender till smooth. whip the heck out of strawberry/yogurt mix and powdered sugar (about 4 cups I think I used, just add until you reach the consistency desired)

tweet tweet

2010-02-09T18:41:00.001-08:00

Until tonight when I decided that facebook really and truly is dumb - except for the part where it is nearly a global phonebook through which nearly anyone can be found and connected with, which is great and i love that - i had no actual interest in twitter. nope. bleck. but i realized tonight that what i would like from facebook is actually twitter. i do not care about people's farms or mobster games and do not want to play those deals, and i do not understand why the "news feed" isnt actually a list of everything everyone is saying in their little "status update" boxes. i realized, i want to glance through peoples tweets. not their facebook notices. its not bookface that i want, but tweetsville. so i signed up. was a little fearful to start another thing. one of these online social connection things. but i like the concept way more than fb. way. problem is, far far fewer people that i care about appear to "tweet." but im trying it. well see.

unexpected iphone side effect

2010-02-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

I would have thought that all iphoners are constant web junkies. I would have thought that getting an iphone would have made me a facebookaholic and techaddict-head. The odd thing is that, now that I can check my email on a little phone, I do not turn my computer on so frequently. I glance through peoples' face updates on occasion. Sometimes iphone in an update myself. But reading web material on the phone for too long gives me a headache. So, I am not webbing as much anymore. My emails have become frequently short and misspelled as they are typed with my thumbs. That is one unfortunate consequence. But I do love many a thing about it. Many a thing. I am even dusting off the remnants of spanish in my head with a little app that I can play with when waiting in the car to pick up the intern for whom i wait in the hopkins loop just about all the time, for example. My daughter plays with a game where she picks out letters from the alphabet to applause. shes dang good at it for a not-yet-but-oh-so-soon-to-be-(!)-two-year-old.

Maybe this is why I have not had much to say on this piece of blogcanvas. I am not webbing so often. But I have been working. Writing. Yes, I have. Maybe thats the real reason. My words are going to conference papers about dependent variables on intergovernmental inclusiveness blah blah boring boring.

I do need a spark in life right now. Just a little oomph spark. This little spark-star on my wrist that has been there since my last birthday is suppost to shock me every once in a while when i need a spark. Shock! bam!
spark.

I am going to new orleans later this month. all by myself. and a zillion other international studies folk. and those who are still waking up from mardi gras. that will be a spark. maybe.

State of the Union go'bama

2010-01-29T05:30:00.000-08:00

I have either had nothing interesting to say or no time to say it here lately. But I would like to write about the state of the union speech. But instead, at least for now, I am posting this link to UN dispatches convenient list of what other people have said about it - well, about the foreign policy components anyway (which were sort of small potatoes in the speech overall). My overall response to the speech: go'bama.

2010-01-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

and today my daughter at some sort of canned soup and I finished off a bag of chocolate covered pretzels.

Simple Soup with Quinoa

2010-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the definition of exasperation. Well, a nearly two year old is actually the definition of exasperation, but today she is a little bit sick and my patience is a little extra thin and so, augh. As she "naps" and goodness bars are in the oven for a post-nap treat, I wanted to write about the soup I have been making lately, and my quinoa realization.

Simple Soup, with quinoa
Cook chopped onion, carrots and celery in bit of olive oil on large soup pot.
Add frozen peas, corn, and can worth of rinsed garbanzo beans.
Stir over heat a moment then fill the pot up with stock - veggie or chicken, boxed or homemade, whatever you have.
Add about 1/4 cup of well-rinsed Quinoa.
Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
About 10 minutes before serving time add some wide egg noodles. Or, if using homemade fresh noodles, a real treat, add only minutes before serving.

Quinoa: apparently all sorts of healthy. Not a grain but related to beets? Though I have had this in my cupboard and used it in some recipes before, I have just realized how great it is in pretty much any soup. Particularly the brothy variety. Just a little something special. So, quinoa is now on my "toss into stuff" list along with flax and wheat germ for baking.

Nearly-No-Work-Partially-Whole-Living

2010-01-07T07:19:00.001-08:00

Living from Scratch.
I bet there is a blog with that name. If I were to change blog names at this point, that might be it.* Although, more accurate might be "Living from Scratch, Partly." Or "Partially Whole Living" or "No Work (nearly) Whole Living (mostly)", well, it is probably good that I do no know how to change blog names. In the last year I have done quite a bit more cooking, bought and used very very little from the "prepared food" category and learned how little work goes into things like baking bread, making fresh pasta and homemade stock. I am not a zealot. I do not feel the desire to make my own soap, I haven't broached my own yogurt or cheese - although people say these also are not such a big deal. Maybe I will get there. I didn't think I would bother with fresh pasta until the pasta-roller christmas gift and, voila, its pretty simple and damn that makes yummy lasagna. But although I enjoy how simple this stuff is compared to how complicated and time consuming it sounds, still there is some work involved. At least a learning curve. There isn't always time. But, throwing together soup from actual vegetables is so much easier than many people think. Not much harder than opening up a can and so dang much better and healthier. Especially with practice and the right stuff on hand. So I am all about the no-work-whole-living. Generally, just being a little bit chill and relaxing about things promotes this goal. For example: the garden. I do not weed it. I mulch maybe, I harvest things, I compost, but I do not pay a whole lot of attention once it is planted. We get what we get and do not use chemicals or stress and, poof, hardly-any-work-wholesomeness. I have started reading Gaias Garden, a guide to permaculture. I dream of a fabulous food forest permaculture dreamland around my house. With a grey water system too. And chickens! I am learning quite a lot from the book. Not sure how I will implement these ideas or how much will take root in this home (spoiler - no greywater system or chickens to come). I will report more as gardening season approaches and I learn more. But the idea of permaculture really is a garden like a forest - no one has to work on a forest, it does its thing and all is well. No weeding, no pesticiding, no fertilizing, no tiling. Now, if I want to grow everything I need for a vegetable stew, I can't just let the backyard do what it wants - work is of course involved, but it doesn't have to look like a martha stewart magazine spread with pretty little weedless rows. Another example: cleaning. I keep the house clean, but without the stress over dirt and germs that commercials about cleaners are drenched with. Soap and Water and Vinegar and Baking Soda, plain old dusting with a rag and water - these things work pretty darn fine! Sometimes more serious remedies are needed, and oftentimes there are good alternatives to heavy chemicals. But if you do not stress out about dirt in such a way that implores you to cover the house every day with cleaning liquids, well, life is easier and probably healthier. I say as I look out over the toy strewn room that needs a good vacuum. Sigh. That is what I will go do now.
My new years resolution: keep Nearly-No-Work-Partially-Whole-Living as my habit and goal for the year and find new ways to live up to my aspirations.

*why "readingtheleaves"? I was drinking lots of tea at the time

easing back in, and life from home with toddler

2010-01-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

After my last post I neglected to jump start the "back to work" ethic that I portrayed. Still have not turned any attention to the d word. But, this is a month of full time momdom without someone to watch the zoester. So, although I manage to read novels and knit when I am home with Zoe, I do not manage to do anything too brain intensive. I know some stay at home parents can, but I think I am too lazy. But I do get to cuddle and play with an increasingly funny and sweet rapidly growing person. There is also the chance to observe tantrums and sit for years reading stories in the bathroom while she learns to potty - "yay I did it, I know I can!" she says and "I so proud of me!", both lines from one of our potty books. She also cheers for me when I successfully potty, gives me a hug and tells me shes "so proud of mommy!" So I do not need to do anything to intellectual to get positive affirmation in this household.
I have hesitated to write any blog posts. Thought the first one of the year should be something worthy. I had little of anything worthy to say. Today I might break the silence with some thoughts on living from scratch.

2009-12-28T03:12:00.000-08:00

Back to Monday. Back to 4am and other early dark waking times. Back to the morning stretch, and freedom from backpain. Back to tasks and goals and productivity. Back to writing and planning and doing.

The holiday was fabulous and leisurely and full of baking - cinnamon rolls (grandma's recipe, instant new tradition) bread, cookies - and cooking - hello to the new world of fresh pasta and noodles (surprisingly easy, predictably fantastic) and dutch oven glory. The big big snow was fabulous and fun, and being snowed in with family (and food and wine) was warm and cozy and nice and just long/short enough.

Hello quite house. Hello dark quiet morning to myself with my coffee and a to do list and a softened stretched almost back to proper working order lower back.

Hello spring syllabus to edit.

Hello damned dissertation.

Hello coffee refill.

2009-12-09T16:32:00.001-08:00

all i want to do is watch parks and recreation on hulu and be lazy. forever.

no dissertations. ever.

wisp

2009-12-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

I have knitted this little wisp three times now. Two gifts and one for myself which was lost nearly as soon as I finished it. That is the third (two self-knitted) scarf lost by me in something ridiculous like a week. I can not stand myself. I am broken up about it. I wish I could promise myself to never lose a scarf again, but that is pretty unrealistic. But I better be incredibly more careful.

Anyhow, each time I was working on this in some public place it got compliments, and the gift receivers claim to like them, I liked mine for the day I had it. Looks kind of complicated but super dooper simple. So I will share the pattern (found via ravelry). Here you have: Wisp.

MegaNYC

2009-11-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

Im on my way home, on the megabus, after just over 7 hours hoofing it all over Manhattan. Even with sensible shoes my feet and hips are Tired. After confirming one interview, then losing that one to sickness, I managed to wrangle another meeting. So today I figured out how to find my way to the Two UN Plaza building (in the rain) and had a very nice chat (got to use my voice recorder toy - hope it worked well!) with someone who was able to give me lots of insight tid bits and some contacts too. It has begun! Talking face to face really is better than over the phone.

I also bough z. a little Unicef doctor toy from the Unicef store with a white coat that says "UNICEF" on it, so she can have a white coat like her daddy. And I lost my scarf. But I also finished knitting a scarf on the way here - dearest Sophie's birthday present (several days late and it hasn't even left for London yet...sorry!). And after that whole shabang I caught an hour in MOMA before it closed. I sat on a comfortable bench, pulled my feet up and stared at Monet's lillys. I am not so in love with Monet prints. But I was in love with the real deal. LoVe. The three panel piece in particular. Could look into that forever. There were of course many other fantastics. The one above was a particular favorite on this trip.

This megabus has worked out pretty well. costs less than gas and tolls (and especially parking) would cost and wifi to boot. of course significantly cheaper than amtrak. im sure ill be doing this again. next time I am finding places to eat before I get there. I sure did a lot of random walking trying to decide where to pull up a chair.

Interview Blues

2009-11-17T08:14:00.001-08:00

I just bought a digital voice recorder. 60 annoying bucks. But I suppose necessary. That is, if I actually manage to arrange any interviews for the disastertation. So far I am having a really annoying time with people who respond to my request in a positive hopes-raising way asking me to send some dates for next week, then I promptly send potential times and ... lalala...wait for a response...that never comes.
This has happened only two times. But two annoying times from the only contacts I have made so far. DangitAll! So I sit poised, ready to jump on a bus to NYC and waiting by my computer for an email. I actually did get one confirmation - late wednesday night I got an email saying We will see you Thursday. Did he mean the next morning? Did he mean next week? I wrote back and left a voice message and have not heard back. Now I may have missed my chance because I didn't travel to NYC the next morning just in case. Some amount of warning is useful when you have bus tickets to buy and a baby to consider. Arrgh people! I know I am at the very very bottom of your priority list, but please just communicate with me!!!

*update...I have a confirmation!

Recycling dirty diapers!

2009-11-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

This is the BEST! A recycling plant for dirty diapers. It will be powered by converting the organic parts (you know, poo) in the diapers to energy and the inorganic bits (the remaining 98%) will be post-consumer pulp and plastic. That is so fabulous. Have you ever thought of the bazillion dirty diapers in the landfill? Its the kind of thing that drives me bonkers to consider. That is a big part of why we use primarily cloth (not the only reason). But a lot of day cares and the like won't use cloth and 'sposies are not always avoidable. If we can work on improving the sustainability of how they are made and then recycling them, thats just awesome.

In other news: For the first time ever I planted garlic in the fall! I finally did it! For no good reason I have never managed to get it done in the past. So yesterday, a gorgeous day, z. and I pulled up the tomatoes, dug up the dirt, mixed in some compost, and stuck the little bulbs in the dirt. Yay! (note to self: they are just east of the broccoli)

an independent coffee shop in towson, really? really!

2009-11-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

For those unfamiliar with baltimore, Towson Maryland is on top of Baltimore. In theory it should be a university town, with towson university and all. But when I think university town I think independent coffee shops full of students and books and brooding. Instead Towson has starbucks and a fancy pants mall with a "luxery wing" (literally.) So Towson in my book is remarkably less cool than any other part of baltimore, basically all neighborhoods of which are really full of wonderful independent shops. When I need to exit my office to get work done (i do try to stay where there is nothing to spend money on and no cookies to tempt me but sometimes that just wont do) and i need a coffee shop I always head back to the lauraville spots. but on mondays red canoe is closed. and i come to my point: today I found a coffee shop in towson! apparently it has been here a whole year. Its cute. good soup. friendly barrista lady. books. art. outdoor seating. so far so good.

now to that work i came to do...

oh, its called the french press

Evidence, Science, Rationality, Please!

2009-10-29T03:50:00.000-07:00

Oh this riles me up. Science and rationality people!

The conversation should at least be civil. evidence based. Evidence!

Thank you Amy Wallace for the article and dealing with the vitriol that came after.

But how is it that so many people believe in a vast vaccination conspiracy? How could all scientists with children be lying to the public - what is the motive, greed? How can this be a sufficient explanation for the oppressiveness such a comprehensive lie would require? Is not a belief in science and evidence more satisfactory?
We have universally eradicated disease (smallpox) and nearly got there with Polio, but for pockets of vaccination resistance. Deadly disease has seemed so far from our safe protected lives in this usofa that people have no fear. But disease is a daily threat in much, most of the world. So would be, and will be, the case if we refuse science. I get angry because of the threat outbreaks cause for all of us. I am anxious to vaccinate my daughter for H1N1, as she has had the seasonal flu shot, which has a long track record of safety and effectiveness. But the issue is so much bigger than this flu epidemic.
I heard an interview with Ms. Wallace and she said that one sort of response she recieved that she had not considered and that was welcome (as opposed to the many decries of Whore! Murderer!) were those from individuals with Autism who said - I do not believe vaccination caused my autism, and I am tired of people equating autism with death, or treating it as a worst case scenario (worse than life threatening infectious disease). seriously.

a snippet from the article:
"Looking back over human history, rationality has been the anomaly. Being rational takes work, education, and a sober determination to avoid making hasty inferences, even when they appear to make perfect sense. Much like infectious diseases themselves — beaten back by decades of effort to vaccinate the populace — the irrational lingers just below the surface, waiting for us to let down our guard."

the early morning life

2009-10-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

the alarm goes off at 4 am now. most days. reason? add one job to my list: personal driver to hopkins medicin intern. we now share a car. no there are no trains or light rails or even busses with any sort of handy route to the hospital from here. but its a rather direct quick drive.
up at four. sun salute before 6.
new productivity. thats the plan.

2009-10-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

Super awesome: toothbrush with replaceable head, handles made of recycled dollar bills, recycled wood and flax. Less expensive than many throwaways. I love this kind of stuff! Sounds like a great christmas present to me.

Fall in the Garden

2009-10-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Its pretty much fall, and has been cold and rainy for days. Check out this gorgeous leaf I just spotted in my yard!

It is time to clean up the garden. Get it all flipped and emptied Except for the broccoli and lettuces of course. And also my several puny foot and a half high pea plants that just didn't get a move on crawling up the place where the beans that came before them crawled. Why so slow peas? They have a couple blossoms. Will they keep growing as the chill sets in? Whatever peas. We'll see what happens. I am also leaving the gorgeous and delicious peppers on the vine for awhile (ditto baby eggplants). Is that ok, should I harvest them all now and freeze them? They have been so good this year! I just went out and picked off pretty much all the tomatoes. They are not going to ripen out there. Maybe it will warm up, but I decided to just bring them in. I am going to try some oven baked green tomatoes, and maybe a tomato spice cake. Meanwhile, check out this crazy volunteer tomato plant climbing up the fence! I have a small forest of tomato plants (and weeds) around the composter that I have let flourish and pulled a few fruits from. It makes me curious though - why all this babying of tomato seeds indoors and then gently transplanting and then staking so careful like? Next spring can I just bury a few tomatoes next to my fence? I want to try. Problem is, I suppose, they get a late start that way. But still, I am really fond of the idea of a no-work garden. These volunteer tomatoes like it too.

Pesto Rolls

2009-10-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Don't these look awesome? This is a pesto roll recipe from A Year in Bread. Mine, I think, are prettier than they are delicious. The last batch of pesto I made should have been better. I have decided I like pesto with almonds more than with pine nuts. Anyhow, they are gorgeous and not bad. I am looking forward to trying them with a different filling.

For Real?

2009-10-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

I am a big Obama supporter, and I am very pleased with his multilateral tone - but I have to say, I am not pleased that tone and potential won him a nobel peace prize. Too early.

Saving Marriage

2009-10-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Or: My Marriage Hipocracy and the essential importance of marriage equality.

Marriage equality would not only extend fundamental rights to same sex partners, but better the institution for all of those who are already privileged with the option.

Garrison Keillor made all sorts of funny fun of UUs today and it was pretty good. A UU football team that took equal turns being the quarterback and refused to make plans and ran every which way on the field...it was much funnier when Keillor told the story. Anyhow, today at my UU church Rev Olson was recounting stories from the fight for marriage equality over the years and was discussing the question of hypocrisy. For those who have argued against the traditional patriarchy of marriage, the burden of a past and a present of inequalities between husband and wife, how can they fight for an institution that should be torn down, disassembled and dramatically reinvented if not jettisoned? If marriage is rooted in the ownership of women, the control of women, the subservience of women, how can we praise marriage?

Well, some choose to jettison the concept. But legal union makes sense, and is worth fighting for. Marriage needs to be saved from itself. Until we arrive at complete marriage equality, marriage – my marriage – is stained with both patriarchy and discrimination.

I believe these things, but I got married. What hypocrisy. What predictable horseshit. Let me explain why I do not want to jettison marriage as a cultural and legal institution, and why instead it should be saved.

Love and marriage are not the same. You can have one without the other (though marriage tends to go more smoothly with love). Love certainly does not need marriage. Marriage, as legal union, is a singular thing. As people we have emotions and hearts that we can choose to share, and we also have a legal personality that we can choose to share. My decision to marry was a decision to intertwine my legal personality with another, because I wanted to be partners in life – not only love, but the physical material legal part of life that we experience. It was also a decision to engage in a social ritual, an announcement of the decision about legal union, and an important familial social ceremony, which, as a pretend anthropologist, feels important.

In marrying we joined an institution steeped in patriarchy, but, I believe, without essential patriarchical elements. But there is no avoiding the fact that we joined an institution that is unequivocally prejudicial. It appeared to us that refraining from marrying did nothing to further marriage equality. We made a decision to benefit from privilege. I recognize that this is difficult morality. But even if our refraining from marriage would not further the movement for equality, it is absolutely clear that equality of marriage would dramatically improve the value of our marriage. Not our personal relationship in marriage, but the historical institution to which we joined and our feelings about it. The strong hesitation I felt in making the choice to marry, every hesitation about celebrating the choice for legal unity, the sneaky guilt that creeps in, disgust at seeing old patterns, fear of mimicking them – all of these worries cast a shadow on the happiness of having a partner to traverse the day to day, the small and the big, the legal the rational and the emotional and aspirational, with. They are rooted in a history and an immediacy that would be ameliorated (patriarchy) and eradicated (discrimination) with the passage of laws that brought full and complete equality of marriage to all persons desiring to intertwine their legal personhoods.

This is an incredibly selfish perspective – saving marriage so that we privileged heteros get to feel better about benefiting from it. I recognize that sin. But it is also about rectifying the sins of a practical and valuable social institution. Marriage equality would not only extend fundamental rights to same sex partners, but better the institution for all of those who are already privileged with the option.

Composting: Tricks

2009-09-29T05:06:00.000-07:00

Well, not tricks exactly. No magic, no real secrets. But there are several things that I have figured out over a couple years of composting that have helped out.

Composting has a reputation that spans from "easy as pie - throw junk in your back yard and next week, voila, black gold" to "a big fat lie. it will smell and take two years to transform into anything useful." The truth is, like most things, somewhere in between.

The Pile v. The Spinning Contraption

We originally had two composter container deals side by side sitting on the ground along our back fence. This is the ideal scenario. Two is very helpful, so that you have one to fill while the other cooks. A pile on the ground surrounded by a purchased frame or chicken wire or whateves works great. When the pile started to cook it was a marvel to watch - you can feel the heat off the top, and if the mix is right the break down happens pretty quick and beautifully. Problem for an urban gardener - even one with a rather nice sized yard like ours - is rodents. Rats. Damn icky ugly things. Our first year of composting, something kept eating my tomatoes. No deer round these parts (do deer eat tomatoes? I haven't ever had a deer problem). We realized our compost was a delicious easy dinner for rodents and from there they found the tomatoes. Cringe Cringe. I never saw them - they were not near the house. At least that. So we got rid of the piles. Now, if you keep food scraps fully covered, that is supposed to deter animals of all sorts. But its not a perfect solution. So, for my birthday, I got an above ground spinning composter. I expected this to make perfect compost faster and easier and to solve the worlds problems. Not so fast. The first year it never ever seemed to make anything resembling what I was used to from the piles. Always mushy slimy stuff. That is when I learned about the uber importance of the brown green ratio (see below). Even with that improvement, I have still never pulled garden ready compost out of my spinner. Instead I dug a big old hole next to it and dump the almost compost (too slimy clumpy stuff) into the hole and cover/mix it with the hole dirt. I mix it occasionally with my compost turner and then, later, voila - garden compost. I have a pile/hole of good nutritious dirt that I can pull from whenever need be. yay!

Brown v. Green (or, aha! cardboard!)

To get things going you need the right balance of browns (dead dry carbon stuff) to green (live green nitrogen stuff). This is especially important in a contained spiny composter. The right balance seems to be as many browns as you can possibly add. I fill cosmo (the composter) to the top with browns before we start dumping our kitchen scrap bucket in.

I didn't know quite how to do this at first - what to use for browns? You can use dried grass from your lawn (we don't really have that). Dried leaves were our largest supply but leaves take forever to break down. If you use them, mow over them first. But I suggest leaving leaves (hee) separate. They make a great leaf mold, but it takes a long time. You can put them in a garbage bag with holes poked in and flop the bags over a couple times a year. Or, like us, just create a leaf area. We had a low spot in the yard from previous owner's pool. We always pile up the leaves there and they break down and sometimes I mine that area for layers of leaf mold as garden mulch. We always throw bunch of leaves on the garden area in the fall too. Lots of good garden food in them.

So, no dried grass, no dried leaves, what the browns are we going to do? Ah Ha, cardboard and paper! Not sure why it took so long to figure this one out. We seem to collect a decent number of cardboard boxes from things arriving in the mail etc. We stock them up. Rip them up. Great browns. And newspaper - perfect. As far as my internet research tells me, don't worry about the ink. Many gardeners I know use newspaper in their garden. Its fine. I still don't like to use colored pages though. Might be fine too. Twisted up cardboard and paper (brown paper bags!) adds space in the pile too - extra air. That's good.

Never ever throw away toilet paper tubes! Don't recycle them either! Throw them in that kitchen scrap bucket! Paper bags too!

Fruit Fly Blues

There are lots of compost crocks that I have not tried. I have tried a couple. They might work great for you. But fruit flies annoy the heck out of me and the best solution seems to be to keep the "crock" in the fridge. We use a good sized thin plastic bucketish thing that salad from the grocery store came in. Have used the same one for months and months.

Only one composter? Cosmo needs a fridge

After weeks and weeks of filling cosmo with our kitchen scrap bucket (after of course filling him up with browns) he starts to get pretty heavy to turn. Because it keeps breaking down you could fill it up way too much as it would get infinitely heavier. Instead I stop filling and keep turning and let it cook until I deem it ready to go into the dirt hole/pile for faster finishing. Meanwhile we toss our scraps into cosmo's refrigerator: these crazy durable buckets that cat litter comes in. They are recyclable but we keep them and have used them for all kinds of things. Handy buckets with good seal lids. By the time a couple of those are full its time to start a new cosmo load - browns then the "refrigerator" contents and then on and on all over again. The cycle of dirt.

its fall! turning the oven back on. first bread in months.

2009-09-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

yay fall! i love autumn. i have not made a loaf of bread in months and just turned a big ball of "family bread" dough into a bowl to rise. z helped. she can now say sentences like "me...cook...help?" and she did a nice job helping me dump cups of flour into the mixer until she decided to dip her fingers into the flour before dumping, spilling it all over. cant blame her for her curiosity though.

im going to netti. no more colds!

2009-09-26T05:55:00.001-07:00

About a week ago I finally stopped coughing from a lingering cold, and now I have a new worse one. Apparently it is common to get frequent colds when you have a toddler. Kids get sick a lot as they build up their immune systems. Z isnt so bothered by the cold, just a snotty nose but every snotty nose she gets, I get knocked down it seems. Doesnt matter if I wash my hands or keep things clean. With a little snuggle bug you are bound to get a snotty kiss now and then. So. I am going to start sinus cleaning. I have long known about the benefits and yet never tried it. I even bought my brother one such little teapot nettipot for christmas. So, my promises to myself: remember to take a vitamin each day, go get the flu shot, and clean out those sinuses each time I see the zoster's nose run. Lets see if I can make it the rest of the winter without another bought of sick!

UN Week!

2009-09-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Climate change, nukes, and speeches galore. What to expect when Obama, Hu, Qaddafi, and 120 other world leaders descend on New York. From Foreign Policy magazine.

cookies cookies cookies

2009-09-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today I mailed my baby brother cookies. Because he is in college now! So I sent him a care package of cookies. I didnt send all of them and I am trying to not eat the rest all at once. Good enough to share the recipe - with applesauce, and oats, flax, wheat germ and nuts...yumyum!

Best Cookies
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
t2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
good sprinkling of ground flax
good sprinkling of wheat germ

cream butter applesauce and sugar
beat in eggs one at a time
stir in vanilla
in separate bowl combine flour, soda, salt, flax and germ
stir four mix into creamed mix blend well
add oats, nuts, chips

Bake 325 until slightly browned. this took me longer than expected. my notes from last year said 325 12 minutes, but that wasnt nearly enough this time, im guessing because i replaced half the butter with applesauce (more moisture). peek on them. 12-15 with convection, maybe 18ish without.

housekeeping note: i havent been using the labels function properly and im sad about it. this would be so much more organized were i doing so. perhaps i will go back and fix it. seems like a good procrastination project. but i vow to myself do better starting now.

2009-09-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

my arch nemesis: waste.

but of course i still create a lot of it. i want to see the documentary film No Impact Man. the No Impact project was about a lot more than creating waste. A family went about the project of living with no net environmental impact for a year. im really curious about the details. mostly i am interested because it can be so hard to know what the right thing to do it - sure sometimes it is obvious but, as no impact man himself says:

"Everything, if you listen to conventional wisdom, is as bad as everything else. The spin merchants have got us believing that to try to make any difference is futile. You might as well give up. Throw away another plastic coffee cup. Don’t bother with the hybrid car. Go on, guzzle."

i have found this sentiment to be really ubiquitous regarding cloth diapers.

part of the plan of this project was apparently to do real work in figuring out these conundrums. so im curious. i would like to read the book, but also the documentary comes out today i think - filmed as low impact as possible.

p.s one lower your impact thing i like - http://www.snacktaxi.com/

i pack a lunch, one day ill be packing z's lunch. i have ziplock bags that have been washed and reused to infinity, but now im switching over to these because they are great.

Glee

2009-09-18T08:44:00.001-07:00

I have watched the first few episodes of Glee and the pilot outshines the others as far as I am concerned. The best part about this show is Jane Lynch who plays a psycho cheerleading coach. Im also quite fond of Jayma Mays, the sweet but crazy guidance counselor. But the last episode left me annoyed with the tired, overdone, and arguably offensive writing for the two gay characters - the crazy ex-teacher who always wears pink with sweaters tied over his shoulders, is not allowed to come within 50 feet of children and who avidly stalks Josh Grobin; and the very likable highschool kid with a collection of tiaras and an obsession with fashion that leads him to wear a corset (which is cited as evidence that he is gay). Sure a lot of gay men are fasionistas, but come on. The real offense, in my mind, is with the ex-teacher character. Any conscious linking between homosexuality and stalker-crazy on a prime-time tv show is just disturbing and not very funny. Making fun of stereotypes may help explode them, if done right, but this seems more like flaming the fire. Or, if nothing else, its old and boring. I wonder if this has bothered any one else?

UU guest blogging

2009-09-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

I wrote a post for the education blog of our church (first unitarian universalist). It is something I would have written on this blog, so here it is again. Our early fall garden in sprouting lettuces, spinach, broccoli, peas, and still beans beans galore. I didn't know these beans would do so well so long! nice surprise. Anyhow, my "guest blogger" post:

Yesterday I knocked down a giant interconnected web craftily spun by a spider between our compost bin and the beans. Not very kind to the spider, but necessary if we were to walk around the beans to the tomatoes and pick our produce. The spider will only build another, I imagine. The web reminded me of the other giant interconnected web; The Unitarian Universalist one, of course, and of my hope that this messy little garden could teach Zoe everything that it means to me.

Perhaps it is too much to ask a modest backyard garden to teach a child about thankfulness, interconnectedness, and morality. But, here is a story about why I think it is worth a try.
Our backyard is a wild, overgrown, semi-cultivated children’s museum of educational opportunity for a toddler. Before she was born I daydreamed about gardening together. She would play on a blanket or be strapped to my back while I planted, weeded, and harvested. We would talk about where food comes from. Watch it grow out of the ground. Thank the worms that helped the dirt. Taste food right off the vine. Some of this came true in practice.
I want my daughter to understand that food is not something that magically appears in a grocery store. I want her to be aware that everything we do depends on people we do not know, plants, animals, rain, bugs, and our actions too. I do not want her to take things for granted. I would like her to think of the whole lifecycle of everything we use and the impact of our actions. There wouldn’t be so much darn litter in our neighborhood if the kids (and adults) had some respect for the things they used and some awareness of what happens after they toss it on the ground. I would like Zoe to learn respect, awareness, and thankfulness. A good place to start is to plant a garden.

I am not much of a gardener. I only started a garden maybe five years ago. It is messy and weedy and not everything grows the way it should. But every year we eat something that comes from our backyard and each year I have some additional success (and additional failures). I am learning. I want my daughter to learn from the get go.

What is she learning? Right now our biggest lesson is distinguishing between red and green tomatoes and only picking the red ones. But I don’t stop her from exploring and picking, even if it is a green tomato or a not-yet-finished eggplant. She will learn. And as she does we will talk about where the food that we buy at the store grows – who takes care of those plants? What water do they use to give the plants a drink? Is it from a rain barrel like we have at our house? Where does the water come from when it comes out of a hose? How did the food get to this store? How did this cereal get in this box? Did it come from a plant? If we can’t plant cereal in our garden, where does it come from?

Imagine that everyone thought about all the steps in the long long chain that brings a person Cheerios in the morning, and everything else that we eat, and everything else that we do.

Gardening together is a good place to start.

all by my self

2009-09-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

so strange today. my family is at the beach (except for the one that is always at the hospital, he is at the hospital). i was going to go to the beach. but i have this cold. uagh this cold. so here i am, completely alone in this house for the weekend. strange! i would like to think that if i were well i would do all sorts of interesting things. but alas i am ill and mostly on the couch.

so i listened to wait wait dont tell me and other radio and knit half a scarf.

i watched the third episode of this season's top chef on hulu (why has my tivo not been recording them! i didnt even realize it started dagnabbit. too must trust in tivo. shucks. and apparently i missed something called top chef masters this summer too. drat!).

i also got a burst of energy and planted all of the plants that the fairy plant person left on my porch. this morning all of a sudden there were plants desperately begging to be transplanted, on my porch! a surprise! i dont even know what they are! i suspect broccoli and cauliflower and something else or more of the same.

im sorry i didnt get to see you fairy plant person. probably on your way off to the farm in the early morning. thank you for all the plants. i should give you a bag of beans.

and then after digging in dirt and carrying compost and pulling weeks for a bit i took a bath and laid right back down.

and then i played guitar on the porch swing and attempted to write a song which has not happened in 10 years. the singing hurt. because of the cold.

then i sat on the swing and thought about all the time that has gone by in those ten years and how everything is so very different. tried to identify what is the same. i got a little sad missing the me and the us of ten years ago.

then i drew a picture.

and now i think i might maybe be feeling well enough and not coughing so much that i might be up to going to hamilton tavern for a beer and a copy of the paper im working on to edit and scribble on and have some breakthrough about. but im not sure. still fairly crummy/coughy. and it will be full of people who are there together. i havent been there much and am not sure about going alone. i need more friends that do not have babies at home or busy hospital jobs or anything else to do but go to hamilton tavern with me.

Starbucks Misto Misnomer

2009-09-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

On Thursdays z goes to toddler co-op. That means that a bunch of moms (no dads in this particular co-op) take turns staying with a crowd of toddlers while the other moms go do errands, nap, whatever they need to do without their sweet adorable toddler for two hours. It’s pretty great. Z loves it. Doesn’t even complain when I leave.

Two hours is not a whole lot of time, and I do not want to waste it driving around. There is a Starbucks directly across the street. So that is where I go. Coffee and the extra bonus of no free internet make me extra productive. But, it is Starbucks. I am not an Uber-Starbucks-Hater. They could do much better in their buying practices and etc etc – but they do some things right. But their corporate social responsibility is not the subject of this post. The subject at this moment is: Starbucks renames everything and it is stupid. Ok, ok, actually it is probably brilliant in terms of marketing and making money. But I think it’s stupid.

I have almost forgotten the size switcheroo – short is tall etc etc. I just say medium and they always correct me, “grande” they say. Then there is the fact that they call a decadent milkshake thing a “macchiato” when a macchiato is actually a shot of espresso with a simple dollop of foam on top. The precise opposite drink, actually. And today in the line in front of me the starbuck lady and a customer were discussing her drink: a “misto.” First off, a misto is something that you get at Rita’s Water Ice or Dairy Queen – I think they both have misto on the menu. But here at starbucks apparently its half coffee and half steamed milk…a café au lait perhaps? Silly. And then I ordered a medium (tall, er, grande) half caf skinny latte. She looked at me like I forgot something. I looked back.

“Flavor?” she said.

“None.”

“Oh, that’s a non-fat late. Skinny is only for flavors.”

Seriously?

goodness bars

2009-08-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Interns work so hard that they do not have time for meals, so we have been buying all kinds of power bars lately to keep him going through the long call nights. Today I tried my hand at making some. Yum! This is fun because you can alter it however - nuts fruits etc. Whatever is on hand. Can switch out the yogurt for applesauce, or just add the sauce in addition. They have not been tested through an oncall night, so I cant yet say if they are as satisfying as the kinds you can buy, but z. likes them and I just had some with trader joes banilla, or vannana, or whatever its called yogurt and they are a good snack, for sure! yumyum. I changed up a recipe from allrecipes. here it is:

2 cups quick oats
1/3 cup brown sugar (loose)
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup ground flax
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract

preheat oven to 350, grease up a 9x13
in a large bowl (or k.a. mixer) mix all the dry stuff
in a bowl, or something, mix all wet stuff
add the wet to the dry
mixmix
smooth it into the pan, but dont let it fill up the whole pan - leave about 1 inch on one short side so that the bars are a little fatter - it will stay put while baking.
bake just until the edges begin to brown. took mine just over 20 minutes.
cool. cut. eat.

they are chewy and also good right out of the freezer.

----------
tonight z. accidentally slammed her head into the side of my nose. ughhouch. come to think of it, i should really have ice on this thing. fear big bruising. and i did not need another un-motivator. ive been too lazy lately. cant get myself to do much of anything during naps or after bedtime. and there is plenty, PlEnty to do. but i really only want to eat these goodness bars and ice my nose.

The Doctor's Wife

2009-07-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed this little story.
Oh marriage. Oh relationships. So rarely do they work, really. I've seen a good handful of divorces and other big separations up close. Munson writes about taking responsibility for your own happiness, about being strong and independent. And she is. There are so many ways that a person might react in her situation. She seems brilliant and cool and so collected.

I'm not interested in this because my family is falling apart. But I aspire to her "end of suffering" attitude in all situations, and have been thinking about personal happiness and family and independence a lot lately. See, I recently find myself to be a doctor's wife. Oh those two words carry a lot of baggage for me. Someone cruel and unkind in my past once said something cruel and unkind about my aspiring to life as a doctors wife, a comment that cut strangely deep. And now, here it is, doctor wifedom. To be called a "doctor's wife" defines a person entirely by their spouse. Not even the spouse, really, but the spouse's job. The nasty jab from my past implied that I had no ambitions of my own. Which is why when I found myself a doctor's wife and a stay at home mom, with a dissertation inert as cold molasses*, wiping down the high chair again and yet again, doing the bazillianth sink full of dishes, washing diapers, mowing the lawn and cleaning the bathrooms, I, well I had a lot to think about. I was a bit grumpy and complainy. I ate too much cake and drank enough wine.

But - BUT - the grump is generally passed. The truth is that whatever suffering I thought I might be feeling continued to be baggage about perceptions about what I should be doing. How things ought to be. Predictability - oh I hate predictability. It seemed too predictable to be the stay at home mom (note: when your partner is a medicine intern you are a single mother). Too predictable that it would be the woman who is at home washing diapers and making dinner. The result is partly exhaustion of doing housework, but really I only do what I want to do - I do not do any of the things that I do throughout the day as some kind of wifely duty (spat!) by god no. I just happen to really like cooking. I want to use cloth diapers so, I have to wash them. I like to bake. So I do. Ugh it is so stay-at-home mom. But my neighbor across the street is a stay at home dad for the summer, and sometimes z and I go across the street for a playdate (and a cocktail). He, like me, teaches in the fall and spring and not in the summer. He, like me, happens to be the one in the partnership that could stay home with munchin. It is convenient and necessary and not the last word in my life's accomplishments - which is good for me because this is not what I am best at. Oh I am fine, we're doing pretty good. But preschool is going to be really good for z. And in the fall I will teach again and get massive amounts of dissertating done.

Meanwhile, I have learned to relax and enjoy this summer. Z is so amazing now, learning to talk, being hilarious and clever and silly.

And, also, I have also learned that the barb "doctor's wife" should really have a different meaning. To be a doctor's spouse, at least in the early stages, such as internship, is a time of intense independence. Interns work 80-125bazillion hours a week.

*smidge overstatement. there is movement. its happening. it will. choo choo!

Summer harvest

2009-07-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

I have rescued tomato plants that were not properly supported from the start, and i think they are going to recover nicely, and the beans are in full bloom and looking great! gathered a big bag full today and looking forward to tasting them! Our summer squash bounty has proven very easy to keep up with, even though usually the story about zucchini is how hard it is to use it all up. But I have only given away a couple to neighbors and the rest has all been stuffed or made into bread, stew, pizza, veggie burgers and even chocolate cake! delish! The cake was a first time attempt for a little dinner party last night and I dare say it was a success! I found the recipe on this food blog. Also made tomato and corn pie, which I look forward to each season. Just a biscuit-style crust filled with layers of tomatoes, corn, chopped basil and chives, and sharp cheddar cheese, then a drizzling of yogurt (plain) mixed with lemon over all that and topped with more crust. Try it!

bowl of garden yum

2009-07-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Came home from nebraska to a bounty of zucchini yellow squashes and tomatoes! Eggplants and beans are about to arrive in abundance. Yay garden! There was also a forest of bolting arugula and lettuces along with some mighty big weeds that all needed pulling. Next year i definetly need more appropriate tomator supports. I have a handfull of big green tomatoes from a plant that has fallen over!

Big Sky Love

2009-07-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Nebraska. Big Sky. I miss this!

Things and Places in Lincoln that I wish I could take back to baltimore:

Wonderful bike trails across the city and around the Zoo.

Zesto. Yum.

Indigo Bridge Bookstore - this was new to me on this trip and it is so realio trulio great. Right next to the wonderful Ivana Cone. I had the most excellent coconut muffin (made by Maggies, also a favorite) and a great latte while Zoe played with toys and books. I hope this place does well because it was Awesome with capital A.

Black Market, a store for consignment clothes. great prices. great stuff. great prices. did I say that already?

Oso Burrito. The best. drool.

can i trust the organic market?

2009-06-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen it yet. Everyone is talking about it. I haven't read the books either. But Im on board.

Food Inc. is making some waves. I have heard more than one interview with the movie's creator and I am really excited that everyone is talking about food, and that more people are growing their own this year than ever. Our garden doubled in size and I am learning more each year. I still never pretend to know what I am doing. We certainly do not grow enough to take us off the agribusiness grid. We buy plenty of groceries and I focus not perfectly but solidly on organic produce. But the movie and the buzz about it gives me a great reminder - a kick in my too often forgetful or lazy or cheap butt - to be even more mindful of what I eat, what I buy, and what I feed my daughter. I buy a lot of "nature's promise" - Giant grocery's organic store label. But the truth is that I do not trust the label. i do not have time to research the food labels that i buy. if the milk i put in my cart says "organic" i want to know that that means xyz.

turns out i have good reason to be skeptical. i do not have time to research this intently, so look into it further if you are interested, but i have done a little searching (org consumer association is a nice site to start) and there is concern that the organic milk market is not well regulated and is becoming dominated by a few large producers that supply places like costco, safeway, giant, and other stores with their affordable organic milks but do not uphold organic standards. there is a lawsuit pending. I found a great comparison rating for milk and cheese producers - have to give a shout out to HyVee, the midwest grocery that i know from nebraska, for scoring better than stonyfield! (though both are in the excellent category)

how do we - the families in this country that live in neighborhoods like mine - "vote three times a day" for a sustainable safe and humane food industry do so if, at the very least, we cannot trust the labels on the food we buy? I cannot pretend to expect my neighbors to do all their shopping at farmer's markets. the only grocery or market in walking distance is Aldi. We need to fix regulations and agribusiness political power so that there is an answer to the problem at our regular neighborhood grocery stores. meanwhile, because i can and because i feel passionately about it, i am going to be more committed than i have been and work on shopping more consistently at the many farmer's markets in b'more, not only for special veggies or treats but for the regular fridge stockers like eggs and milk. we try to be conscious omnivores, but will cut back on meat even more, to only a couple times a week and only that purchased from farmers at markets.

Wildwood, an ocean side carnival

2009-06-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Wildwood NJ has the longest boardwalk in the country, or maybe its the region, or the city, im not sure, but it is long. It is filled with amusement parks, tee-shirt shops, tons of wonderful terrible food, tattoo parlors, ski ball, and every ounce of carnival excess you might want. In the morning the boards are full of families riding bikes that look like flinstone cars, or bikes that look like giant tricycles, and normal bikes too. At night the boards are full of a crazy mix of those same families and older youngsters wearing '09 shirts and being cool and getting drunk. It is a special kind of vacation. A vacation my husbub has taken since he was Z's age and we have gone many times together. Its partly about the ocean and even in the winter we like to go and listen and watch it roll in and out. Its largely about the food - hoagies pizza boardwalk fries carmel apples and ice cream cones. We spent most of this past week there. It stays mostly the same year in and year out, although I am filled with glee to report that this year the paintball game which for several years prior has had a manikin at its entrance (displaying the character you get to shoot at in the game) that vaguely looked like osamabinladen, but also disturbingly like some portrayal of general arabness (which had gained this game-place some notoriety and some tv news time, noted by the giant sign "as seen on tv!") had redressed its manikin to look like Dick Cheney. I also want to report something that you will think I made up, but is true. Walking by a tattoo parlor we passed a girl, 18 or 19?, walking a smidge wobbly, talking on her phone, saying: "he totally shouldnt have let me get a tattoo, im sooo drunk. Are you going to break up with me? You totally have to marry me now!!"

And that, my friends, is Wildwood NJ. Well, part of it anyhow.

The one.

2009-06-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I am going to stop trying different recipes each time I make some bread. This one worked great. Easy. Stuff I have. Tastes good. Maybe a little bit crumbly, but definetly worth trying again and possibly earns the spot as our regular family bread.
Found this surfing the infinite wonderweb. Someone named CookinMommaofThree on something called bakespace.com. It uses wheat germ, which is something that has been in my fridge for too long after buying it for a recipe I never made. Neglected until recently when I did a little e-research. Wheat germ is great! Add it to everyhing, anything, why not? I even through half a cup in with chopped pecans that we put on baked fish last week. And I used it instead of flour on the wood thing that you transfer pizza to the pizza stone so that the dough didnt stick, worked great. Anyhow, here is the wheat germ and flax bread recipe:

Honey Flax Whole Wheat Bread
1 c. warm water
4 1/2 tsp yeast (or two packages)
1 Tbl honey
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. honey
1 1/2 Tbl salt
2 c. milk
5 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. ground flax seed
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 1/2 to 3 c. bread flour

In mixer combine water, yeast and 1 Tbl honey. Let sit while you
combine butter, honey (1/3c), and salt in a 2 cup pyrex glass measurer and microwave until butter is melted. Add milk to butter/honey mix, then add it all to the yeast in the mixer bowl. With paddle attachment mix and add 1 cup flour at a time until well mixed. Add flax and wheat germ. Switch to dough hook. Add bread flour until dough no longer sticks to side of bowl. Knead 8 min. adding flour as needed. Place in greased bowl (spin to cover top of dough). Let rise 45-hour. Punch down, divide and shape into three loaves. place into greased pans and let rise again 45-hour. Bake 350 for 35 minutes or so.
I freeze the extra loaves until we need them.

Maybe now I will write about something other than bread recipes.

**Since this post I have baked more of this and I lovelovelove it

yumyum lentil recipe

2009-05-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

i highly suggest this recipe for a lentil soupish thing.
Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup
its really tasty and really pretty with the yellow yogurt swirled on top.
I did not have any saffron and used a combo of curry powder and turmeric instead - i know the flavor was different but it was delicious anyhow.

first bread disaster

2009-05-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

bummer. i guess its too early to think i can experiment much. what a waste of flour! its sort of bread. the dough rose, but maybe not enough? its not good. maybe i can make bread pudding?
just used wwheat recipe #1 but no egg, about 1/4 cup dry milk (didnt measure), 5 cups whole wheat and 1/2 cup bread flour. forgot the salt. dough cleaned side of bowl as it kneaded in kitchen aid but was really sticky transfering to a bowl to rise.

thumpthump

2009-05-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

this evening im wondering if ive eaten too much bread, ive baked a fair amount, and my pants are tight. the last loaf wasnt all done in the middle and my middle is doughy because i couldnt not eat it, mustnt waste bread, thats what they say. and my heart hasnt thumped much today. probably because i went to the doctor, or the nurse that is, the nurse that is my doctor and thinks i am crazy because i have told her i have asthma at night and my heart thumps at night but only at night i swear. the asthma left so thats not a problem and the heart thumpthump doesnt bother me to be honest. i only report it to her because i am supposed to be worried but im not worried, i like to feel the flopping heart thumpthump. it isnt disturbing or painful but strange. i dont notice my heart otherwise. its nice to be reminded thumpthump im alive.

Whole Wheat #3

2009-05-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread (King Aurthor)
1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 Tbl water
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
1/4 vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
3 1/2 cups KA Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Great big beautiful loaf. Smidge dry (because of all the extra flour I added to keep it from sticking to the bowl I bet) and not quite as delicious as recipe #1 was. Next time try mixing by hand before turning it over to kitchen aid for kneading.

Whole Wheat #2

2009-04-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

Second attempt at whole wheat bread and raisin cinnamon bread.
A mixture of recipes and intuitive baker attempt...
(listed in order of addition, before first rise)
2 cups WWF
2 Tbl rapid yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 Tbl butter
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 more WWF cups
1+ cups bread flour

for the raisin bread I spread a raisin/br.sugar/cinnamon/some peach juice mix before rolling the dough.

notes: this recipe is pretty different from the last one. More butter, more egg. This time I made two loaves instead of 3, but they are much bigger. I used the rapid yeast as an experiment. There isnt much difference it seems. just different moment of adding it.
Taste test: pretty good. I need to knead in the raisins to avoid air bubbles in the rolling. Next recipe should use ww proportion of this recipe but less egg and honey instead of br.sugar.

Whole Wheat #1

2009-04-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

Im going to use this as a bread recipe record keeper.

This is the first recipe I tried, and it was really really delicious. Made three loaves, mixed some raisins and cinnamon in one (not enough raisins) and put all three loaves (two sliced) in the freezer to pull out as needed. It is just as good thawed or toasted as fresh.

Traditional Wheat Bread (big fat Taste of Home cookbook)
3 1/2 - 4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbl active dry yeast
1 Tbl salt
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/2 cup honey (ran short on honey, made up with brown sugar)
3 Tbl butter
1 egg

learning to be an intuitive baker: first notes

2009-04-17T08:30:00.001-07:00

ok, so between dissertating and zoejo and my already too often ignored hobbies of knitting and gardening, im excited about this new one: bread baking. You do not have to have lots of time for a hobby if you do not spend a lot of time at it. So, every once in a while ill try my hand at baking bread. its going to be the most awesome new skill im about to gain. i love it allready! the house smelled so very very fabulous last night with the first brown loaves. a little on the funny shaped side. but so really really delicious. so here are my first notes on my journey to become an intuitive yeast bread maker (that means, to understand the basic components of bread and then play and create and make food for family and friends).

great website and materials: king aurthur

notes: two cups liquid. six cups flour. 1Tbl each yeast sugar and salt.

add salt after first cup of flour. yeast doesnt like salt.

more to come.

bread and festivals

2009-04-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

i know, blogging once a month is hardly blogging at all. and im not going to make up for it now. just popping my head in to make sure this thing doesnt get too dusty. some quick updates:

1. im going to start baking bread. ive always wanted to bake bread. the kind that rises that is. ive thought it was complicated. maybe it is, but i have a kitchenaid. must give it a try. my first attempt was braided bread for easter. it was gorgeous. i should have taken a picture. dagnabbit. it was delicious though a bit over cooked on the bottom. total success for attempt #1. totally easy. and my b.girl love love loves cinnamon raisin bread. so im now dedicated to making it myself. even though we always pick up wholegrain breads, its really hard to find them without hfcs and of course preservatives etc so, im giving it a shot. ill photograph future attempts.

2. Baltimore ECOfestival is all of a sudden this saturday.

dream home

2009-03-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

It is the first day after spring break and I have so very much to do! But at the moment I have to take a break to say, ohmygoodness I want to live like a hobbit too! This house is gorgeous and green and did I say gorgeous! Though cities are exciting, the fam and I were roasting marshmallows in our big stick burning bowl in our back yard yesterday evening to clear out some of the sticks our big tree drops and it was so happy, and we were really enjoying our outside space. And this past weekend I planted onions and peas and carrots and spinach while Zoe ran around the yard playing in dirt and wow that was fun. Now that I have decided I like space and yard and dirt, imagine living in the dirt? In a completely sustainable and beautiful home? If I could still walk to a coffee shop that happens to sell really great icecream, then it would be perfection. So, adding to the list of my goals in life: build hobbit home. Apparently it only takes 4 months and less than 5000 dollars (ok, ok, and perhaps some skills).

dance dance baby

2009-03-13T04:56:00.000-07:00

this morning i am all "music and dancing" on the brain. on the way to campus i was grooving with wtmd. i love wtmd. i am so glad we are members this year. i talk to my students all the time about the collective action challenge of creating public goods, and now we are helping create this super public good of good music, which brings me back to my topic: dancing.
baby girl loves to dance. she dances when a cell phone rings. she finds a cd in a case, she holds it up, dances, and signs "please" as in "please turn on the music already!" and she can groove. shes got groovy baby moves. and ive been dancing with her, and around her, and fitting in the only exercise i get anytime by bouncing and jamming to songs about farm animals and my personal favorite "if i had a million dollars id be eatin' ice cream for hours, if i had my own sweet shop id be eatin' taffy and lollipops" and its good and its fun. today, in the car, i wished for a more grown up dance party and felt nostalgic for particularly great dance parties, college days, old friends, yadda yadda. so ill be thinking of those good times of past while im having the good times of now with the best, and shortest, dancer i know.

digging in the dirt

2009-03-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this year's garden! For the first time I finally got garlic in the ground - sure, it should have been out there in the fall, and yes, I did initially plant it upside down. Realized my mistake as I was about to fall asleep. doh! Why did I do that? But yesterday I righted most or many of them I think. Anyhow, I am off to a start even if a less than perfect one. But this year there is a chance that I will have a garden guru helping me out. oh yes. my own garden guru. More on that later. and on the potato barrells I intend to build. I am awaiting the rest of the seeds I ordered, I sure hope they come soon because those peas need to get dirty!
Yeah spring!!!!

Courage Campaign

2009-03-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

Watch this video from the Courgage Campaign, sign the letter to invalidate prop 8.
(you may need a tissue)

oh yum

2009-03-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

i just found a really yummy food blog that i am excited to try recipes from! i am going to start with this one: carmelized tofu. ill report how it goes.

But I TRIED

2009-02-25T12:11:00.001-08:00

Grading is such a sucky part of teaching. As the nyt piece discusses, everyone wants an A for effort. I have a student who is planning to come see me to plead with me to give let her pass last semester's course - yes, the semester that has been over for months now. Suddenly she realizes that that F is going to be devestating to some scholarship. So I have to say, no, there is no legitimate reason to change your grade at this point. I extended the paper deadline. I offered optional assignments. It is too late. Its over. My classes are not that difficult. Everyone who works with me is going to pass the thing. But the "oh please, I tried, and I was sick, and the world was crashing around me" pleading, oh man it is no fun. and it might even be all true. students have drama. serious drama! but I cannot include a grading dimension for difficulty of living. i can barely figure out how to mathmatically incorporate an extra credit assignment. but how cold do professors (and part time adjuncts) have to be? and I do not want to be a pushover and I do not want to be unfair to the other students that worked or failed fairly. My only defenses are: have a clear syllabus and clear expectations, and stick to my guns. Be sensitive and understanding when there is an oportunity to do something fairly - like extending deadlines and etc. Still, no way around it, there will be occasional begging for a grade change that is simply not earned. Bleck. Oh, and its important to keep good records, which in this particular instance might be a disaster - I think I have lost my records when I had the computer fiasco. Everyone please cross your fingers that that does not cause some terrible problem. ohmy. Im not in the mood for this.

Cake in a Cup

2009-02-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

Tonight I wanted a chocolate cake. I remembered I had heard tell of a cake in a coffee mug. Intrigued, I asked Dr. Google, found it, and gave it a try. No kidding, I made cake in a coffee cup in the microwave. Pretty damn good for three minutes in the microwave. Try. By the way, use a very large coffee mug. Or a large bowl. It may overflow a smidge.

Mix these things into the coffee mug:
4 Tbl Flour
4 Tbl Sugar
2 Tbl Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder

Then mix in:
and egg
3 Tbl buttermilk (milk+splash lemon juice works) or just milk
3 Tbl + a little more Oil
dash vanilla

Then sprinkle the top liberally with chocolate chips

Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Charm City and a Charmed Life in a Less than Charming Economy

2009-02-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Notes on a community and an economic downturn.
When I spend a dollar I lovelove to spend it someplace nearby and quaint and local and ecoware, and I have lots of such options in Lauraville and also Hamilton which is officially closer to me than Lauraville but less explored, by me, so far. Red Canoe, Grindon, Zeke’s, Spinster Yarn and Fibers, Bediboo, I am a devotee of them all. Chameleon Café was fab that one time and we will go back. Hamilton Tavern and Clementine I am looking forward to trying you. Alas, I do not spend much money out and about, I admit a serious stinginess, but when I do I want to open the wallet its so great to have these places to go. I do not pretend to be all perfect about this local-commitment; I can spend a good penny at Target too. But point is that I these shops have definitely boosted my love for the b’more. And especially the northeast b’moria. And we are staying in charm city for a few more years now. That economic downturn made the brilliant idea of investing in a house a decisive factor there – would lose a couple limbs trying to sell it now. So no San Fransisco, no Boston, No Philadelphia, No Rochester MN (well, that’s ok with me) and hello to re-commitment to loving the place you are. And it’s true there is a lot I like/love about this place. Yes. A lot. And I love my home and am excited to start up the garden again. But I digress: the lauraville sweetness gives me a set of local friendly great places to support, and bam, the times are hurting them. Well, some crazy number of independently owned small places close good times or bad, so who am I to know what the story is, but of the lot both Rock Candy and now Bediboo have/are closing shop. I admit, I only shopped the Rock Candy awesomeness once. It was awesome though. But Bediboo I have had a bit closer relationship to with the cloth diaper classes and buying of gear and toys for ms. noodle and all. So it’s sad. And none of this even touches the facts of life that the woman living in her car next to where I parked yesterday is facing. Housing crisis, living crisis.
Sorry to be depressing. In my family’s corner of the world we lead a really charmed life and perhaps the most important thing is that we are aware of that and be appreciative.
Now I am going to go buy a new part for the back of the sink and try and be a plumber.

update on soymilk maker (thanks tim!)

2009-02-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

would hate to put incomplete information out there.
The customer reviews for the soybella soy-milk machine are quite terrible. Difficult if not dangerous to clean with inconsistent results. However, another brand, the SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P, is uniformly loved. Check out the review on amazon. It is more expensive though (~$180).

of course! make your own soymilk.

2009-02-02T09:49:00.001-08:00

This never occured to me before. Making your own soymilk is apparently easy, will save you lots of money, and avoids packaging and transporting those boxes. Brilliant! I don't know if we will be getting our own bean-milking device, but I'll consider it, and I will let you know. I go through phases of soy cereal and soy coffee and soy fruit smoothies. There are other kinds of drinks and soups that can be made with it too. Very tempting.

Eat the View! A White House Garden Petition

2009-01-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

This is so fantastic. Sign this petition to encourage President Obama (yay!) to turn part of the White House lawn into an organic vegetable garden for the White House kitchen and DC food pantries. It would not be the first time there was a garden on the premises. Speaking of olden days conservationism, check out this WWII era movie made by the UK Ministry of Education for the Ministry of Food about how to cook cabbage (spoiler: with little water and with the lid on, otherwise it will be "soggy and nasty"). Modern update: boys can cook cabbage too. And another thing about cabbage: its a very efficient water consumer, especially compared to lettuce which is the most water-intensive crop grown, and holds many more nutrients and antioxidants to boot. Just one of the things im learning from The Ethical Gourmet.

a consideration of the last year and home

2009-01-22T07:27:00.000-08:00

ive been waiting until i had several other important things to do - finish a syllabus, write a conference paper (well, cut and paste other projects into some semblance of conference paper) - to return to this blog. ok, i havent actually had any intentions about this. i just feel like returning to it. its a yo-yo yarn, and im sorry about that.

2008 turned me into a mom and a knitter and a baltimore hon. no beehive, no glasses, no accent, but appreciation for b'more as a place i actively like, not a town i tolerate well. so there have been several personal transformations. the global political historical transformation goes without saying. we watched yesterday on a wall of tvs at the bloomberg school of public health with a rapt audience. zoe was wonderful and seemed nearly as interested in parts of the inaguration as her adults - clapping and dancing (and dumping blueberries on the floor).

noodle is the funniest most wonderful person. she smiles and laughs and hugs and kisses and learns so fast. im crazy about her. having a little person has introduced me to a whole new community, and to neighbors i had not met before. charm city is teeming with cool people with cool kids and an interest in sustainable community living. lauraville, nearish our 'hood, is booming with locally owned kid friendly small green shops; coffee, yarn, food, books, cloth diapers, beer. places that we can afford to visit and support and enjoy. And after seriously considering moving to places like san fransisco and boston, our budget (well, the future one that includes a little income, a pleasant addition coming in 2009) suddenly looks so much fluffier. going out, enjoying the town, enjoying the region, seems all the more possible.

There is also grit, blight, crime, violence, and poverty. Urban standards, but a bit of a heavy dose. I had not heard gunfire before moving to Charm City. But I like this town. I like its size, I like the neighborhoods with the bungalow homes with old wood and stairs and porches. I like that there are slightly better neighborhoods with beautiful old homes that we can imagine being able to buy in not too distant a future. Thinking seriously about moving to other cities - urban places that I always thought I would prefer to live in - helped me realize that this is the kind of home I always hope to live in. quality of life is dependent on many things, and for me the space that i live in is important. windows and sun and enough dirt to dig in. and our porch swing. i could be happy elsewhere. but i am happy here.

so thinking about the last year and the next year and how i want to live, i am finally getting ready to determine a list of resolutions. this is when blogs are especially useful. i feel all the more commited when publishing into space, even with no readers. and i cant lose the list.

1. i will always buy organic milk, even with its twice the price and i feel cheap.

2. i will not buy ice cream at the store to eat at home. (unless special occasions involving guests.) i will only eat ice cream when its delicious and we are at places like pitango. or if we make it at home.

3. i will start regular stretching and yoga, regular as in before my back hurts, not just when it acts up. if i cant keep up a regular home practice, i will join a class.

4. we will buy bikes and start to use them.

5. i will visit with friends in baltimore that i do not see often enough more often.

adicted to politics and palin brewhaha

2008-09-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Im always interested in the political back and forth and election coverage, but I do not sit down in front of the tv and watch pundit boxing back and forth coverage (except for the clips john stewart makes fun of), at least not until Sarah Palin. The crazy stories flying moments after we first heard her name, the shock that McCain would pick a running mate whose drama would take the campaign so far off message...so intriguing, so addicting, I had to turn on the tv. I found James Carville and Michelle Bachman yelling at each other. I couldnt turn it off. She says he's sexist for questioning her experience. I think, ridiculous! What a terrible horrible abuse of sexism and what a cheap lousy trick to pull on Americans. Grrr uurr rarr. But then I watched and listened some more and goddamnit the sexism started to fly, for real. To be fair, not from Carville (that I saw) and more importantly, not from Obama. But from women who started to question if she could possibly do anything but be a mother. Hello. This doesnt even need a reply. But even beyond these anachronistic few (im optimistic that there are not too many), sexism is present. Cafferty thought he was only knocking her inexperience, but he said, and I paraphrase, "That pretty little woman lady cannot stand up to big powerful strong men like Putin, who just killed a goddamn lion for christsake - these are not the kind of people you deal with in the PTA!" Is that what the debate would sound like if McCain picked a new novice male governor from Alaska? In that case we would likely debate his experience, but not with the same fervor and shock and dismay. So this is my appeal to Obama, who has generally stayed above the fray I think so far: keep it about policy. We do not want Sarah Palin because of her stand on policy - not because she is new to politics, not because she is a woman, but because she is on the wrong side of policy. period. I watched her speech. She was pretty good. She and Guliani terrified me. Yikes. So mean. Reminded me, who has been thinking this campaign should be a slam dunk for Democrats after the past 8 years of Republican disaster, that this is a real fight and Palin - a "hail mary" may she be - might just make it even harder. So we have work to do. Here are some hilarious buttons to show your support for the O.

taming the locks

2008-08-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

been in nebraska for several days - a real busy quick trip. its great fun to see zoe with her grandparents. sad to take her away from them.
classes start on wednesday and i best prepare. i would like to do so with a slick new haircut (and some lecture planning, of course). i never cut my hair. seriously. once or twice a year maybe. its a curly long au natural mess. it could use a professional edge now that i am going to be leaving the house and educating young minds. problem is, im a serious cheapskate. when you never have your hair cut or colored or styled it is damn hard to start spending bunches on such things. particularly when you are cheap and without much money. but, i think ill go for it. time to growup, or something. i think i might try Sprout, an organic salon that looks like a good place to dive into the grownup world of haircare.

Barack - never gonna let you down

2008-08-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

love this

knitknit

2008-08-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

so, the whole preserving/canning idea fizzled - we dont really have that many more tomatoes than we can eat, especially when there is fresh mozerella around. seemed a lot of hassle anyhow. but knitting - hasnt fizzled yet! I bought myself the famed stich'n bich book and reminded meself how to cast on and purl and started a scarf. i also bought a book of adorable patterns of baby/kid things and quickly realized i they are all crazy too advanced for me. maybe ill be able to exchange it for some yummy yarn or a book for beginners. the neighborhood knitting shop is a big inspiration. the current goal is just to finish one scarf (would be a first for me) then I can plan up baby and christmas gifts - even if they are all easy beginner square-shaped things.

oh, and I have started doodling my next tattoo on my wrist...think its a go. its been ten years, could use a little ink.

turning granny as i knit and make jam

2008-08-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

Now that Zoe has seen the ocean and the tomatoes are turning red, it feels so very summery. Yet, I am starting to think ahead to fall. This is probably because I just planted pumpkins and butternut squash. I have never managed to time out a fall planting properly, but I am hoping to have pumpkins sweet potatoes and butternuts ready in time for thanksgiving. Along with the fallish mode, I have decided to (once again) try to knit. I am a very impatient person, and I have never really been able to keep at knitting. Once I did knit an entire bag; which was a rather failed project as my clever one-piece knitted bag's handle stretched out miles...which is evidence as to why someone like me should follow some instructions. I am also not that good at following instructions. This is why I am going to march down to Spinster Yarns, the wonderful tiny green and hip knitting shop in my favorite nearish neighborhood, Lauraville, and buy myself one of those hipster knitting books. I figure there are lots of babies due in the next year, and certainly will be more the years after that, and I should learn to knit baby hats, blankets, etc. Best gifts. Centering calming habit. Can be done while watching So You Think You Can Dance. And when the end of the world comes I can knit my family socks. Speaking of the end of the world - which I do because husbub is taking a class on environmental health at Bloomberg that is constantly filling him with dread about the upcoming Apocalypse caused by depleating resources - I also think we should buy a pressure cooker/canner. Wouldn't it be fabulous to preserve my own diced tomatoes, carrots, etc? Maybe make our own jams after a trip to some quaint berry farm? Or if we ever get a good harvest from our grape vines, homemade concord grape jelly! The picture of me knitting and canning jam is 100% hilarious. I will have to buy really hispster glasses and get a funky haircut, maybe a new tattoo, to balance out the grandma.
these are just ideas though. i havent yet picked up the knitting needles or bought a pressure canner. well see what happens.

slow cooking summer, #2

2008-07-14T14:25:00.001-07:00

the slow cooker experiment is going well and i have a second recipe suggestion. Lentil Tacos!

Lentil Tacos
1 chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp olive oil (actually i forgot to add this, and we didnt miss it)
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1 tbl chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup salsa

throw it all in the crockpot and cook on low for about 5 hours
warm up some corn tortillas on the stove flame, add shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, baby spinach or whatever, dollop of sour cream, yum yum.

love in the time of cholera

2008-07-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

last night we watched the movie adaptation of love in the time of cholera and i have to say, wow. it is probably the most honest novel adapted movie i have ever seen - didnt stray from marquez one iota. why would you stray from marquez? but i was sure the movie would. they always do. not this time! and the casting was, in my opinion, fabulous. it really was an artistic compliment to the book. so, if you love the novel, dont fear the movie. its yummy.

what's growing

2008-07-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

this is our messy main garden bed

baby watermelon
yellow squash

banana peppers

baby bell peppers - i recently learned, if you let them ripen to red (my favorite) the plant will not live as long or produce as much. So its best to have one plant for green and another to let ripen to yummy red.

jalapeno

tomatoes!

cherry tomatoes!

grapes

baby beans .

lettuce

turning down the kitchen heat

2008-07-08T09:54:00.001-07:00

Im on a new kick: slow cooker summer cooking. Dont heat up the house! Use less energy! Make yummy food!
We have a nice big crockpot that has not been used much - aren't crock pots only for roasts and chili? So I thought. But I was wrong! Im excited to have realized that the crock pot/slow cooker is a way to cook most anything in the summer without turning on the oven. For instance, I love making lasagna, which in my house is basically a way to use any and all vegetables I happen to have around. But I never wanted to make it in the summer when we basically abandon the oven and pretty much move all cooking out to the grill. But, right now I am making lasagna in the slow cooker! (note: I have a largish oval shaped one) Ill let you know how it goes, but assuming it works this will be great for using garden bounty: spinach, carrots, eggplant, zucchini, you name it. Yesterday I made macaroni and cheese and it turned out great. Later this week I am actually going to attempt baking bread. totally. Ill keep you updated on the progress. Meanwhile, here is how I made the macncheese:

crockpot macaroni and cheese
combine 1/4cup corn starch (or flour), 1tsp salt, 1/4tsp pepper, 1/2tsp paprika and 3 cups milk in a saucepan
heat and whisk until no lumps and it thickens to a nice sauce
add a heap (2ish cups) of sharp cheddar
i also added some chopped onion and red pepper + garlic
add 2 cups macaroni (i used mostly elbow and some penne)
pour into slow cooker,
sprinkle bread crumbs and Parmesan
cover, cook 2 hours on low

first harvest!

2008-07-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

Zoe and I just harvested our first summer squash and hot peppers of the season! We are going to have lots of zucchini, which is sort of a tradition I guess. Its just so easy to grow! And I was tempted to try a new variety this year - eight ball. Its the nice round squash on the right. That particular one may have been plucked a bit early, but there will be more! I am excited to make stuffed zucchini bowls out of them. I have some ricotta that needs using so I am looking forward to a zucchini lasagna this week. Although eggplant is also good in the sauce our eggplant plants seem to have forgotten to grow. Not sure what their problem is. Maybe I am being too impatient, which isnt out of the ordinary for me. Speaking of impatient, I am still awaiting our first good batch of compost. grumble. Must have not had a good balance of browns and greens. Apparently the balance is more important in an enclosed tumbler. Added a bucketfull of browns last week and will try to be patient, spinning it and waiting a week or two. I actually had a dream that it was finished and overflowing with perfect compost soil ready to use - so I guess I am officially a garden dork.

baby carrier giveaway

2008-06-27T05:11:00.000-07:00

here is a link to a drawing for five baby carriers - what a great prize!

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

home grown mulch: an ode to trees.

2008-06-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

Trees.
oh how tall you stand
with roots searching the deep
gathering up tasty nutrients
and depositing them in your
leaves.
oh leaves.

ha! im not much of a poet, but im feeling the love for leaves. its tragic that zillions of leaves get raked up, sacked up (in plastic so frequently) and tossed in the dump. tragic! these little sheets of nutrients are gold for plants and i finally utilized them just today. we have a big wonderful tree that leaves us gobs of leaves each fall. gobs. we have always raked them into a pile in a low spot of our yard, slowly filling the low spot, tossing shovels full in the compost and letting the rest get covered by grass (and mostly weeds). the result is a big area of layers and layers of "leaf mold" - partly decomposed leaves full of nutrients and the perfect mulch. so this afternoon with zoejo chilling on my back in our new ergo i mined the low spot for bucket after bucket full of leaf mold, read:mulch, and covered the herb/kitchen corner garden. it looks pretty. weeds will be kept down. good good nutrients will be delivered. moisture will be kept. this weekend ill do the larger vegetable patch.

cold brew and coffee perfection

2008-06-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

its summer and time to break out the toddy maker. cold brew coffee is the best thing ever and if you havent tried it here is why you should:

1. more caffeine

2. less acid

3. powerful concentrate of coffee deliciousness + milk = perfect perfection

4. no plugging in

with a cold brew drip bucket system deal you let a pound of ground coffee sit in water for 10-12 hours, pull the plug and let it filter into a decanter, and you have coffee that can be made hot or iced, depending on the temp of the water you dilute it with of course. its damn sweet in a glass of cold milk and a bazillion cheaper than what you pay to have iced coffee drinks made for you. and if you find coffee is bad on your tummy, cold brew probably wont be. see, it is heaven's elixir. and its green: no electricity needed.

appreciation for a daily tree pose

2008-06-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

carrying around zoe is apparently hard on my back. we still take weekly family trips to the chiropractor, but adjustments and yoga are like peanut butter and jelly, good on their own but so great together. so, i started fitting in a quick - im talking 10 minutes or so - yoga practice in each (or most) mornings during zoe's (hopeful) nap (or for a few minutes while she should be napping but isnt but also isnt yet crying about it). i actually started the habit only partially for the benefit of my aching spine. i was also going through a small emotional frizzout, and taking a deep breath alone to myself each morning was a huge help. so, in the guest room looking out the window to our big backyard tree i practice a sun salutation, a tree pose, shoulder stand, plow, a twist or two, and a brief bit of savasana meditation focusing on what i need that day (energy, calm, forgiveness, patience, chocolate, ok not chocolate). if i have time i fit in a few others, or later in the day while playing on the floor with mszozo i will sit in lotus, or pop up into bridge, practice a yoga stretch while reaching over for the spitup rag - it reminds me of a little bit there used to be (still is?) in yoga magazine that was about fiting yoga poses in during the regular daily routine like buckling your seatbelt. anyhow it has helped me tremendously.

a note about the cars: thank you for all your sympathy. its going to be fine. we dont yet know if the homeowners insurance (of the tree owner) will pay for any repairs (our car insurance doesnt) and we cant afford any as it is. BUT one of them is drivable, bent up but drivable, so we can get where we need to and its fine. Practicing non-attachment, right? And giving copious amounts of thanks that we were not in the car, especially that Zoe and her backseat car seat were not in the car when the back window broke. blessedblessedbe.

cant believe this happened

2008-06-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

A tree fell on top of both of our cars. That's all I have to say about that.

gardening instead of buying

2008-06-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

apparently there is a huge explosion of gardening because groceries are so darn expensive, especially organic ones. this is great! as I have written before, the more vegetables grown in our backyards the better. I hope the trend continues. the prices encouraged me to try harder at gardening this year, however, i still have let things get a little wild back there. and something is eating the leaves of my beans and peas. arrgh. i know i should read about what organic something i can spray on them to scare away the bad bugs, but im too busy watching 30 Rock season 1 on netflicks online. im going through a phase of laze. but I did plant cilantro and fennel to attract good bugs to eat the bad bugs. thats a start. maybe next year we will extend the garden plot - thats a lot of work. but it fills up so quick. I definetly want to berm around the fence. need room for pumpkins. one thing at a time...

to attach or to train

2008-06-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

basically, these are the two camps in the parenting style wars. ok ok, its not a war. but there is a choice about how to raise a little baby and though i haven't bothered to choose sides, am not interested in any philosophical battle about parenting, the lack of ms.zo's napping forces the issue. do we follow the book and seek the holy grail of laying zo down awake in her crib, saying goodnight and shutting the door? do we continue to seek this goal if she cries and i cry and spend all day trying to make the nap happen? i change my plan every day. this morning i decided, even wrote down, that i was going to try and get zoe to nap at 9 and at 2, and if n9 didn't work then at 12, and i will let her lay in her crib for an hour if she is not crying (sometimes she plays and hangs out awake) and if she cries ill go in and comfort and leave and repeat for a while, up to a half hour unless the crying is big (there are so many gradients of crying). so today the 9:00 nap didnt work. so i tied zoe on in a hip carry and we walked to the store for onions to make soup. she was quite and happily blissed out in her sleepy stare at everything open wide eyed way, and by the time we got back and the potatoes were chopped she had fallen asleep so sweetly against my shoulder. i didnt want to go lay her down in her crib, risk waking her and miss out on the cuddles. tim had a similar experience yesterday. thing is, she will sleep fine if cuddled in a sling or in bed - who wouldn't? and i would rather not struggle with her about napping. so what is the problem? i worry that im setting us up for difficult toddler years where naps are needed but not taken. humph. but this is what we decided just now: (problem is we keep changing our minds, well, especially me) she is so sweet and cuddly and small and wont be for long and its wonderful when she naps on your shoulder or chest or belly to belly snuggling on the bed. we will deal with any problems later, and while clockwork naps would be nice, and saying "goodnight zoe" and shutting the door would save time, oh well. whatev. parenting is the hardest and best thing ever. we'll deal.

ok, so i miss it.

2008-06-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hm, I said I was going away, and I found that 1) I am not that busy with the new job yet (the craziness will start in a week or so), 2) i sort of miss typing into space. so these are the new things that are happening:
1) there are suddenly crazy gangs of cats in our neighborhood that are in heat and make terrible noises and appear to love our backyard. husbub chases them away with a broom. but at night they just wake us up. we keep our kitty safely indoors.
2) half of my tomato seedling stopped growing. sadly stunted. pout. so yesterday we took a family trip to the lovely valley view gardening center and bought plants: tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, hot peppers, sweet potato, cilantro (supposed to attract good bugs to get rid of bad bugs eating my precious peas), fennel, and basil. so sad that the seed experiment didn't work too well once again. but the squash came up excellently, as well as my peas and beans and i have a few healthy looking broccoli! so seeds were not a total disaster.
3) also bought compost activator...hopefully it activates the compost. cook compost cook!
4) go obama go! what else is there to say? yay!
5) zozobean has a refusal to nap problem. this makes her grumpy and i get grumpy too. pout. were working on it. the good news is that tonight after an especially happy fun splashy bath she went to sleep like a charm - even laid down drowsy awake and fell asleep in her crib! (a super accomplishment that i think only other parents can appreciate).
6) i realized that even if i spend all of each day holding and playing with ms.zo i consistently have about three hours from her bedtime to my bedtime with which to work. thats plenty. so life is good.
7)now its raining like crazy. hope it helps all those plants grow big and strong. it does keep the crazy cats away. and cools this hot house. that is definitely welcome.

ah. nice to have that off my chest.

hiatus

2008-05-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

i expect this blog to be quiet for a time. now i get my blog energy out through zoejosephine.blogspot.com, but i am also about to take on a new job, which is exciting as it will allow me to work from home on an exciting project, but im also a bit freaked out about returning to work with both a baby and a dissertation to care for. so wish me luck! im pretty sure the garden will suffer for it, but i hope not.

Garden update, its a late start

2008-05-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

It has been raining and raining here, days of greyness and wetness have kept us from getting the garden ready for seeds and transplants. But the sun finally showed herself today and I realized that all the dampness was really a blessing - it was so easy to pull up the ridiculous number of weeds that covered our garden plot and flip the soil. So now it will sit a couple days and then we can plant the little tomato seedlings that sit anxiously waiting their new home, along with numerous seeds that should be in the ground by now: zucchini, squash, melons...and we will have to buy transplants for the seedling attempts that failed, mainly eggplant and peppers. Also need to plant basil and a few more herbs. Oregano, Rosemary, Chives, two kinds of parsley and...something else Ive forgotten have come back on their own - yay perennials! I have already transplanted the broccoli, which are doing fine so far. There are pea shoots heading toward the trellis, and I put beans in the ground today. I also have a new pink rose bush to plant by the fence - my first mother's day gift addition to our garden.
Im sad we havent been able to add our own compost to the soil this year. Got too late a start with our new composter, and it has been slow to begin cooking. Think we should add some compost activator for the first time - not sure what it is but I will have to look into it.

Wool diaper covers...a new obsession?

2008-05-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

One area of cloth diapers that has largely remained a mystery has been the wool cover phenomenon. I had scored two handmade wool longies (covers with legs, basically wool pants) in a freecycle bag of diper stuff, and only just tried them out today. Ive been generally totally perplexed about the whole wool diaper deal. But MsZo has a bit of diaper rash which is not normal for her, so i wanted a real breathable cover...now im thinking ooh, wool rocks. Yesterday I was all about the bum genius one size, but I cant afford to majorly increase our stash of those all at once (but will bit by bit :). Neither can I afford to buy wool covers (pricey but I bet a great deal over the longer term, and cute! check out these overalls!) BUT it is possible to make your own home made wool covers ("soakers") from old wool sweaters (happen to have two fancy soft wool sweaters that shrunk) or by knitting them. Well I cant sew and I cant knit, but I am going to try the sewing deal after defending my dissertation proposal. If I ruin the sweaters, well, im not wearing them anyway. You may think wool this time of year is crazy, but its actually breathable and nice (without the legs) but warm in the winter. And i was freaked out by the ability to not wash them hardly at all - sounds gross - but their antibacterial and water resistant nature is amazing. Here is a good list of things to love about wool from another mom that I found while searching for patterns:

1. They are breathable.
2. They don't leave red marks on baby.
3. They are biodegradable.
4. They absorb a lot of liquid.
5. If they contain lanolin they are somewhat water resistant.
6. They have antibacterial properties
7. They are full coverage and resistant to leaks
8. They are non binding and allow for very free movement.

sounds good? got to add: possible to make your own out of old sweaters. but, like i said, i cant sew. so this may be a disaster. going to have to ask for help from my friend with a machine and skill...you know who you are. (oh, and i added sewing machine to my wish list :)

Win an Ergo!

2008-04-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

quick post to link to this contest drawing for a free Ergo. I tried one on once and it was really very comfortable. We are taking Zoe on her first camping trip this weekend (as long as the weather cooperates) and an Ergo would be great for hiking. She is getting a bit wiggly and curious for the stretchy wrap - need to start being able to wear her on my back (can be done with the stretchy, but not as well, especially as she is still so little and doesnt have 100% head control) and so am looking into a mai tai or woven wrap. or Ergo. If I win one that will solve the problem!

Grey Water: the next big thing?

2008-04-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

(this post is inspired by, and most links provided by, today's email eco tip from idealbite)

In my cloth v. disposable post I mentioned that the problem with cloth (water consumption) might be easier to remedy than the myriad problems of disposables (multiple resource consumption, including petroleum products, and landfill overload for millenia). So, how to deal with the water consumption issues? First we need to improve general conservation of course. How tragic is it to see lawn (and sidewalk or driveway) watering at high noon in the summer? Or the classic, turn the water off while brushing your teeth! I'm going to guess most people still need to work on these basics. But if we are going to really deal with the problem of conserving potable water effectively we are going to have to go much further - how to do it? We are going to have to utilize grey water techniques. I am not an expert by any means, but interested to know more and wish we all were. Here are some things that can be done, some easier than others:
Rain barrel collection. I gotta get me one of these.
Green Roof. For my dream home...

Send water from your sink to your toilet (brilliant! shouldn't every new home built include this feature?)

Install a grey water plumbing system, sending bath and sink water to your yard (need a permit, not legal in every state, not for plants you plan to eat, and make sure you stick to eco soap products)

More info on greywater from Greywater Guerrillas

oh to save the world one tomato at a time

2008-04-21T07:15:00.001-07:00

please read "why bother" in the NYT magazine's "green issue" and be inspired to plant something. dont have a yard? cant find a community garden? well, lots of vegetables grow excellently in pots and containers- tomatoes, lettuce, beans, garlic, peppers, carrots... (go here and here to learn)

here is my favorite bit from the article:
"But there are sweeter reasons to plant that garden, to bother. At least in this one corner of your yard and life, you will have begun to heal the split between what you think and what you do, to commingle your identities as consumer and producer and citizen. Chances are, your garden will re-engage you with your neighbors, for you will have produce to give away and the need to borrow their tools. You will have reduced the power of the cheap-energy mind by personally overcoming its most debilitating weakness: its helplessness and the fact that it can’t do much of anything that doesn’t involve division or subtraction. The garden’s season-long transit from seed to ripe fruit — will you get a load of that zucchini?! — suggests that the operations of addition and multiplication still obtain, that the abundance of nature is not exhausted. The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. "

Spring Spring Harrah!

2008-04-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

It has been so so warm the last couple days. I went from putting zoe in pajamas, a sleep sack and blanket one night to trying to figure out the right combination of fan, onsie, blanket-or-not?, to have zoe sleep well. Its so warm on our top floor! And the car, oh my. I'm afraid to take her anywhere by car because it doesn't have air and whoa my it gets warm even with the windows down. And its only April, its going to get so so so much hotter!
Anyhow, this is not what I signed on to quickly post about. This is:

Today we finally got outside to dig in the dirt!
Zoe sat in her bouncy seat in the shade while I cleaned up the corner herb etc garden, pulling weeds and finding herbs that survived and flowers that are popping up. I created a little lettuce plot, surrounded by old bricks that are conveniently abundant under our porch. I planted carrots around the lettuce bed. Put a trellis type thing (also found under the porch) and planted peas. Grow peas grow! I set the broccoli and tomato seedlings outside to get better sun. Still bummed the eggplant and peppers never sprouted. Will have to buy transplants.

Oh, and I also managed to hang diaper laundry out to dry in the sun for the first time, and wow! the sun really does do a great job bleaching out stains! As I was hanging it up I was really surprised at how all of a sudden it seemed that there were lots of stains that I hadn't seen before - and poof! A few hours in the sun and they are like new! woohoo!

Setting Zoe in her bouncy seat in the shade lets me get all sorts of outdoor work done! (shouldn't celebrate too much, I'm sure she wont always be in the mood. but a big chunk of the gardening actually happened during nap time - yay monitor technology)

Ill post garden pictures before long.

Brita should recycle filters - make it happen!

2008-04-17T07:03:00.001-07:00

Please sign this petition to ask the Clorox company to begin a recycling program for Brita filters in the US!
Brita began in Germany and created a recycling program for its used filters. The North American division of Brita was sold to the Clorox company in 2000 and Clorox does not offer a recycling program. So while European Brita filters can be returned to the company and recycled, American and Canadian filters cannot. Ridiculous! Let's convince Clorox - which runs ads lauding itself as a way to reduce plastic bottle use - to recycle.

family on a porchswing. perfect.

2008-04-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is the swing my uncle made for us. You cant see the fantastic and colorful carving/painting behind us. But its lovely and says:

Love is the Whole and more than All (e.e.c)

cloth v. disposables. seriously?

2008-04-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

While hanging out at my mothers I watched daytime tv for the first time in forever and saw one of those morning "news" shows, you know that one where they go outside and talk to the screaming people, Good Morning America I think. Anyhow, they did a little bit about how many resources the average person uses in a lifetime and they talked about disposable diapers. Showed images of the amount of plastic, paper, cotton, etc used in all the diapers needed for one child - working on shocking us into disgust. But I was very erked that the punchline of this story was not about how to cut down on all the waste. Missed a big chance to give some tips for decreasing the maddness. They didnt seriously talk about cloth diapers but instead said "and in case you thought cloth was the answer"...well you have to wash cloth diapers and that takes water which is precious, so were screwed either way. Hellooo? Yes, washing cloth diapers uses resources. Duh. But after all that calculating about the environmental disaster of disposables its ridiculous to dismiss cloth so flippantly. We need a serious comparative study people! I am so so so so so so so so so tired of people telling me that they have heard that the environmental impact of 'sposies and cloth come out equal in the end. Why not disposable clothes then? Disposable dishes? We can improve our water conservation habits (grey water etc) easier than we can remedy the massive use of plastics and dumping of non-degradable diapers (filled with human waste mind you - also bad for the earth and for us). I was two extra loads of laundry a week. I use warm, not hot water. Cloth users know that bleach is bad for diapers, and many many use earth friendly detergents. A child uses around 3 thousand diapers in their first year (a little less the following years), and typically go 2 or 3 years in dipes. If 'sposies and cloth are comparatively equally earth damaging, somebody better prove it to me.
harrrumph.

happy at home

2008-04-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

So many things to talk about. Here is a relatively randomly generated list:

Glad to be home. And really glad ms. zo has gone back to happily sleeping in her crib for good long bouts of time at night. It was all about co-sleeping on the road, which was nice in the cuddle department and not so nice in the get-good-sleep department.

So proud of my baby girl who rocked as super traveler for three days of driving to Nebraska and a long flight home with too many hours in Chicago (but thanks for the rocking chairs in the airport, thats nice!)

So proud of my little brother who rocked as Tommy in his highschool's production of Brigadoon.

In Nebraska I had the chance to record a couple tracks for a lullaby cd my mom's group Baby Needs Shoes is working on. Lots of fun. The first time anyone sang while nursing a baby in that particular studio...probably not common in any studio. And Zoe may make an appearance as well. We tried to record cute cooing sounds, but she was mostly interested in yelling in a way that wont really jive with a lullaby album.

Zoe had her two month shots today and I almost got teary. Poor thing has been hurt so few times in life so far. Wish I could always protect her from pain. I don't actually think that vaccines cause autism, and I do think that vaccines save lives. But I nevertheless couldnt help but think about it and feel a little worried...

I got a spinning composter for my birthday! Yay for the husbub who took up a collection among family. N0w to start diggin in the dirt. We have plants still in the ground from before winter...the broccoli has bloomed in lovely little yellow flowers. Who knew broccoli produced lovely little yellow flowers? But unfortunately only tomatoes and broccoli seedlings have grown, the eggplant and pepper seeds failed to rise up. shucks.

Yay for roasting marshmallows in the backyard! (see pics :)

my current worry

2008-04-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Zoe doesnt like to nap anymore. She has slept fantastic at night lately, but not so much during the day. I got great amounts of work done in her 3 hour morning nap of time past. But apparently she believes she has outgrown that. I am a bit worried about the dissertation proposal that I am presenting the second week of may, which has tremendous amounts of work to be done - work that first requires a few brilliant solutions to be worked out, which requires time. But this evening my family arrives (which of course means that today and yesterday my bits of time were spent cleaning) and then on Sunday Zoe and I will get in the car and drive back to Nebraska with them. Yes, Baltimore to Omaha. Its going to be a very, very long drive. When I get back there will be about two weeks to do all that brilliant dissertation stuff. I hope the fates are on my side, because it will take serious amounts of luck.
Meanwhile, even when I have a moment to do so, I cant seem to think about International Organizations or academia. Just not in the groove.
When Im back I will tell the story of the long road trip, cd recording, brother's star role in his musical, and Zoe's first plane ride - all planned during this grand adventure.
wish us luck.
please.

lights out

2008-03-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight at 8 everybody's turning out the lights. Well, a good portion of us. You?
I love that Google made it their theme today - like a holiday.
So turn off those lights and electronics and enjoy yourself a candlelit dinner.

(two posts in one day, whoa me)

San FranTastic

2008-03-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

I am back from my quick little getaway. In two and a half days I packed in some serious activity: professional, rejuvenating, and fun. The conference that took me on this excursion went well enough. The time in a quiet comfortable hotel, cozy bed and relaxing bubble bath was fantastic. A tiny holiday from mommyhood can do much to energize the spent spirit. But of course my favorite part was visiting some of my favorite people. Now I want to move west. Go West! yes. lets.

And Here is the store and community center that I wish was in Baltimore. Thank you Sara for finding it and taking me there. And here is the diaper cover that I got while I was there, which I had been coveting for its adorableness while it has been sold out in zojo's size at the online store that I frequent for its free shipping on covers policy. No shipping when you buy in person! So much better to buy in person anyhow. So fun to be at a store that let me do so!

So thankyou friends for a wonderful time. So glad to have finally introduced you to each other. Next time I'll bring ms zj and her papa and well have even more fun.

Stonyfield yogurt election

2008-03-19T13:32:00.001-07:00

I have big big love for stonyfield yogurt. You should go to their website and vote for the next flavor, and maybe win a years supply, which would only be the best prize ever. ever.

But also, the "flavor election" deal is pretty funny.

Social Entrepreneurship, and an ode to Natalie Portman

2008-03-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

The New York Times Magazine this week has a great article called The Celebrity Solution. Traub writes about the power that celebs have to get interviews, to raise awareness of issues, to raise money, and controversy. While it is may be absurd that being an actor should give one some authority that allows them audience with politicians, royalty, policymakers, movers and shakers, absurdity doesnt matter as much as truth. And in truth, a movie star can bring all sorts of money and influence with no more than a brief mention of a cause, the wearing of a t-shirt, or a life's dedication -- the spectrum of celebrity cause involvement is wide. I can not help but to love the portrayal of Natalie Portman,who is hollywood's sole microfinance celebrity promoter. Portman, as portrayed, knows that the extent of her influence is bizarre, and yet uses it. I am interested in the fact that she uses it to promote Finca, one of the many microfinance organizations. Microfinance, or microcredit, has seen a huge boom since its incarnation and success with Yanus, his winning of the nobel prize, the publishing of his book, and the UN' year of microfinance in 2005. The current debate in the microlending world is over its commercialization - the entrance of for-profit lenders into the game of credit for the poor. The whole topic is fascinating. Is giving credit to the poor a "human right" as Yanus argues, or a simple expansion of capitalism into a new market, taking advantage of and profit from, a sector that has the least to give? I believe that microcredit is an incredibly powerful development tool when done properly. The current question is whether or not for-profits can do it properly, as well as, or even better than non-profits do. Can you promote development while profiting? There are a ton of new businesses that seek to do so. These "fourth sector" organizations profit and promote, save the world and self sustain. I am currently (supposed to be) writing a conference paper on this very topic: the blending of non-profit and for-profits and the implications for International Politics.
This post has struggled to stay on point, there are just so many aspects of celebrity philanthropy, microfinance, fourth sector, social entrepreneurship, and Natlie Portman to talk about. The Ecorazzi regularly posts about Portman; her vegan shoes, how Toby Maguir veganized her, etc etc. And in a final note: I just watched The Darjeeling Limited (which I loved to pieces) and the pre-movie with Portman and Jason Schwartzman was fantastic too.
and in a final final note: if i wasnt writing a dissertation and raising a baby i would be one of the social entrepreneurs in the slide show in the NYT magazine (or like them). (or want to be anyway).

Now Im a Baby Wearer Too!

2008-03-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

Yay! I have a new wrap and can now carry Zoe around hands free! I have been so anxious to be able to do this, and have had difficulty getting they tying thing down and finding something that works for us. But it finally clicked and I ordered a stretchy wrap that is great while she is so little and I am hoping will also work well as she gets bigger and heavier, but if not we will cross that bridge when it comes! This one is a CuddlyWrap, and one of the nicest features is that it is one of the most affordable out there. But beyond that, so far I think it works great. Really comfortable fabric. Interesting tying technique which varies a little from the other carry ties I have read about, but works really well - especially for popping her in and out. So today when we went for the 1 month doctor visit I put the wrap on at home and when we got there took her out of the car seat and into the wrap without having to retie anything - totally handy! Anyhow, I am really enjoying the handsfree thing, and Zoe likes to fall asleep in it, which is also a nice deal!

Being home so much and spending all my time with Zoe (Changing Zoe's diapers, Carrying Zoe, Cuddling Zoe, Feeding Zoe...) has made it really tempting to shop online for handy Zoe related things. In the last two days I have bought two nursing bras (on sale!) three cloth diaper wraps (shes outgrowing two newborn ones!) and this wrap. Im really happy with all these purchases...but I better put away the credit card. Online Shopping is so darn easy and tempting!

Wishlist

2008-03-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

While nursing (which is what I spend the vast majority of my time doing these days) I find myself dinking around the Internet (and sometimes doing research or writing. but not often.). Today I spent my time picking out the composter I would like to buy if I had 200$ in my pocket with no where to go. But one of the reasons I picked it is that 200$ is the best deal I can find, for one of these off the ground pest-resistant (urban friendly) spinning composters. We have an on-the-ground contained pile, but as we live in Baltimore it of course eventually attracted rodents (which were responsible for eating so many of our tomatoes last year). Luckily its far from our house, and so I haven't seen them, but as the evidence was there we had to abandon composting. That has seriously bummed me out as its almost spring and I have big hopes for my garden this year and the thought of buying compost is so annoying. But we have never been able to bring ourselves to shell out the money for one of these self-contained units. But its almost my birthday...

anyway, the one I have chosen is the "world's best organic compost tumbler" (with free shipping!)