Today's holiday solution...Robert Mondavi's merlot...my sister...a husband who takes our children swimming...gentle breezes tickling cheeks as dusk descends...

Ahhhh...holidays are a fantastic invention!

What to do with Bountiful Chives?

[Apparently yesterday's topic of consideration should have been "how to find time to blog?"!?]

Chives, chives, chives...any fans of chives out there? Being prone to grab, chop, and add them to just about everything, I am quite content with the two massive mounds that have expanded out near the back garden. Having originally relocated them closer to the vegetables I realize that this autumn the 'to do' list will include modifying their current position to one closer to the house, enabling us to trek merely feet outside the kitchen door for retrieval.

What to do in the winter when those green sprouts no longer stick out in their spiky fashion begging to be tossed with salads, swirled into soups, and sprinkled on to potatoes? Yes, yes, Epicure has fabulous dried chives and I do have a jar in my spice cupboard for wintry needs. But with our own summer horde I am wondering how easy it would be to keep some for the snowy season? Dried? Frozen? Bringing a clump inside to continue growing on the windowsill? (The kids would like this option as cutting chives is about the only freedom I allow with scissors, since too many items of clothing, not to mention the tent, have suffered the fate of "cutting curiousity". Oh, and the chopping of Larry's hair - see picture below of the homemade/camp project 'Chia Pet'.)



Advice on preserving bountiful chives? 3 to 7 hours in the oven at 110 farenheit or the intriguing solution of utilizing God's drying power by drying them outdoors: "Spread chives in a thin layer over trays. Dry in a well ventilated area out of sunlight 8 to 10 hours". http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/mod01/01600642.html It sounds as though freezing them may well keep a better flavour? (And I could even freeze my purple basil?)

"Problem": bountiful chives. Solution: Somehow keeping the suckers for wintertime useage...

Cutting with sharp knife/scissors apparently damages the original plant less.



Wash in the sink, and sort to get rid of those wonderfully woody or wilted brown bits.



The tray on the left is destined for outdoor location for drying, whereas the one on the right, chopped into small bits, is going to be our freezer experiment! A couple of suggestions involved freezing first on a tray to avoid "clumping" (I do this when freezing strawberries - first "flash freezing" them individually, to keep shape, before putting them all together into a larger bag - advice thanks to my clever, canning & freezing fiend friend Amy) The only thing left to do: shovel a smaller clump into a wondowsill-sized pot to keep indoors. And...when the snow flies, we'll taste test!

Be it Bald or Make Your Own Shampoo?

Because my soapbox rarely makes its way into hiding, or collects dust (and not because I am a clean freak), I am sure I must have shared my views about chemicals in shampoos - the sodium lauryl sulfates and parabens and other fancy schamncy names that basically translate to "cancer" and "environmental destruction". Jeff jokingly asks, "why worry NOW when we've had those lathery shampoos shinin' up our locks for forty years already?"

So what to do about it? After briefly considering shaving every hair off of every head in this household (cats included) as well as the alternative of simply not washing above the ears and forehead anymore, I knew there had to be another way. What did the pioneers do before Head and Shoulders? Oh wait, it was either water, ashes and lard, or simply little hygiene at all. So perhaps my friends, family, and hostesses would prefer something - anything - as opposed to "eau de armpits" and "sparkly dandruff powder puff shoulder pads"?

Combining two recipes (because I can never really follow recipes exactly as written) I came up with the following homemade shampoo: boil 6 cups of water and add to 1 TB of lemongrass tea (could use chamomile as suggested in original recipe), in tea basket or ball/spoon so you can easily remove the 'remnants'. Add 4 TB of baking soda (it will fizz up, so it could simultaneously provide a volcanic experiment for children and adults alike). Add in 2 sprigs of fresh lavender (or few drops of lavender essential oil or even dried lavender could be added initially to lemongrass tea basket). I left the concoction overnight and this morning, with playset pitcher, poured on and massaged on to hair and scalp.

Yes, being so used to lather, it WAS odd to have bubble-free hair cleanser. And sure, I had to deal with one friend's taunt of "you are such a HIPPIE", but today's shiny hair is surely worthy of one days testimony...

Solving Problems One Day at a Time

Okay, so despite what I may wish to believe, not everyone wants a daily recount of my life and opinions. So, what shall I do instead? How about we try to solve atleast one problem every single day? What problems we solve may scan a multitude of issues, a variety of what could even be considered problematic to begin with. What I determine as "problems" will certainly be revealing in itself, so in many ways an extension of my life and opinions. (And here you thought you were getting out of it!?)

The July 2010 ToastMasters (an organization that promotes self-improvement and speaking skill advancement) magazine has an article about how to increase your brain power. "Become a Better Thinker" screams the title, just above a photo of a barely pubescent lad gravely considering something, hand on chin in true Michaelangelo fashion. Author Howard Scott suggests: asking questions, becoming a serious reader, being a "skeptic" who is not "hoodwinked by labels", and making people "your school of life". http://www.toastmasters.org/ What questions should we now ask?

Jeff's suggestion for problem solution is one with which he is momentarily dealing: how to enable the toilet to flush when it doesn't seem to be sucking anything into the depths of the sewer. A constant issue around here - even when we have a brand spankin' new toilet tucked away in the basement waiting to be installed. My solution would be simple in speak: install the new one. His solution: flush flush flush flush and flush. (Comment from the sidelines: Doesn't appear to be working!)

Here's a suggestion from "Rustic Girls" (http://www.rusticgirls.com/repairing/the-best-way-to-unclog-a-toilet.html) "Homemade Unclog Recipe: Wait till the water level in the bowl is fairly low then measure 5 tablespoons of common dish soap into the clogged toilet bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes and then add a pot full of boiling/hot water, then try using the plunger. This usually works after 1-2 plunges."

And apparently as I write this his howl indicates his success...so let me know if the dish liquid works! (Although with the frequency of our non-flushes I am sure we will have the opportunity to try it out soon enough!)

"Should Have" Mathematics

Vacation Bible School + 2 kids old enough to attend = a vacuum. Not vacuum as in the apparatus that suctions up bits about the floor but rather a vacuum of time crying out to be filled...

I know what I should have done with this vast and open number of minutes (and hours, even! 9 until noon - wow!). I should have been working; making phone calls and business contacts and all the administrational "stuff" I just should have been completing.

[A side note, since detours off focus and topics seem to be allowed by me to guide my existence: "Should be"s and "should have"s must be one of the ruling forces in a mother's life. Scratch that: "Should be"s and "should have"s must be one of the ruling forces in a person in our must-be-busy-all-the-time society's life.]

Instead, after my chiropractor appointment, I felt nudged to visit a woman from church - a pillar of calm strength and someone I hope I can refer to as a friend. And now, as minutes dwindle away, I think of readying myself to leave for child pick-up. Another day filled with blessings.

Table to Table

Did you know: for every Canadian EVERY SINGLE DAY 1 pound of food is wasted... Isn't that insane? How much is that? That means that Jeff and I put together weigh the same amount as ONE PERSON's annual waste. Wow. (Now just don't ask how much of that weight configuration is mine?!?!)

This morning's factually mindbending presentation by the Canadian "rep" for Leket Israel (http://www.leket.org/english/) was shocking. I have known by what Jeff ports home from vegetable growers - ripe and juicy and wonderfully tasty though somehow classified as imperfect "seconds" - that food waste is abundant. I survived my first job last night as catering help and scraping wedding guest plates made it even more obvious how much many of us squander. But a whole pound every single day for every single one of us???

How many more people could eat...

Leket Israel (known as "Table to Table" here) performs "Food Rescue" - from cafeterias, restaurants, army bases, catered events, leftovers are scrounged and given to the needy. For a cost of about 33 cents some hungry soul gets a $100 leftover wedding feast. (Apparently about 26% of Israelis regularly go hungry.)

And what about here in Canada? Why should any Canadian ever go hungry with the abundance so many here have? An age old question...and thankfully for you I won't sidle into discussion on capitalism here...

So now what can we do? What do we have a moral responsibility to do? What if it was us starving, or our children, neighbours, friends?

What Epicure Spice Goes with Turtle Burgers???

In remembrance of the "fallen snapper" the kids viewed near Mom and Dad's fire pit ("taken in the prime of her life as she painstakingly tore at gravel, trying to carve out a nest for the fifty or so little ones thriving in their ping-pong-ball-like eggs within her belly"), my sister emailed this picture with the recipe instructions: "Handmade ground beef patties, topped with sharp cheddar cheese, wrapped in a bacon weave, then the next step, add hotdogs as the heads, legs with slits for toes and tail. Next step? Place on an oven rack, covered loosely with foil and baked for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees. A little crispy, not too crunchy...just how a turtle should be, no?"

So what Epicure spice goes best with turtle???

www.epicureselections.com

Free Kittens? How much?

The latest humorous "buzz" at the Holstein General Store involves a poster on the info board that you see immediately upon entering The Mall: a cutely drawn illustration of two kittens, one popping his red and orange head out from behind the other fat feline's bluish bushy tail with huge bubble/balloon letters, written by a girl of about 7, across the bottom stating a phone number and "FREE KITTENS FOR SALE".

Embarassment...

One "problem" with having ex-diaper pantyliners: they don't stick....one has gone AWOL somewhere in our morning travels downtown, printers, park? Thought this may actually bring a groan of slight amusement to some....

Blessings in Construction Disguise

When construction notice papers were tacked to mailboxes up and down our street I began praying that this devouring of our potted roadway and dusty inconvenience would bring our neighbourhood together in a positive manner. It is incredible to watch what has happened: people who barely spoke combining brain and braun to release broken chassis-ed trucks from mudpits; kids "too cool" for one another banding together in dirt bike races and puddle jumping; elderly ladies and gents being helped halfway down the block and back over rocky, mucky terrain to access their mailbox; backyard fences and bushes whacked down to make paths from the old arena parking lot behind to adjacent properties. Blessings abound.

Ladybug Ladybug Fly Away Home

Did you know the following facts about ladybugs?

· The black spots on their wings fade as they age
· Ladybug wings move very quickly, like a hummingbird’s, as much as 85 times per second in flight
· A ladybug can live for up to three years
· The male ladybug is smaller than the female
· Long ago, doctors used mashed-up ladybugs to cure toothaches
· The Swiss call ladybugs “Good God’s Little Fairy”
· The Ladybug is the state insect in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Delaware, Tennessee and Ohio

http://www.howdididoit.com/home-garden/how-to-start-a-ladybug-garden/

Somehow, as is apt to occur in this household where non-linear thought and behaviour seems paramount, our search for information about earwigs (where we discovered the photograph below of one mimicking a scorpion) meandered off into other discoveries about praying mantises and ladybug gardens.



Our children are convinced that we need a garter snake because they pull weeds. (I deduce this to the slightly mutilated garter snake my dad came across - or rather, it came across my father - while he was whipper-snippering...it catapulted towards him from the weeds, sacrificing a few inches from its tail and eventually its life. He saved it for our kids to see - eyes wide open, it looked in a peaceful slumber save for the shadow of burgundy blood about its body. I imagine that this connection between weeds and snake somehow led to their belief that these scaly creatures actually yank unwanted weeds. Had I only known...!?!?)

Afterpangs

Yesterday's entry...

The Unexpected Emotional Afterpangs. How could I not have suspected, and how come I have been so surprised, by how I am feeling? Makes me think of how I was absolutely unprepared for the lack of sleep after new baby arrived; later, shaking my head, I mused on my pre-kid ignorance of sleep patterns and unbroken sleep in general. And now I feel the same: how did I not realize that today would be continue to emotionally drain us all? Did I really believe a valve would simply be turned, stopping all of this pain and confusion and guilt?

The Summer of Grandma

We have decided (well, Gavin and I anyways) that 2010 will be called "The Summer of Grandma".

"It feels like I am packing a kid for camp," I told Jeff as I ironed on a few name labels, rolled and packed clothing, bagged shoes. Sympathetically he glanced at me and then looked away - away from the half-packed suitcase and empty hangers. "You are," he said gently, "you are."

And that is all I can write now. It's far too sensitive for more (and the kleenexes are running out).

Is Anyone Listening? Sharing the Grief

Started last blog only to be interrupted - not uncommon of course, so now it will seem as though I am birthing multitudinous blogs (okay so 2 may not exactly be "multitudinous" generally speaking but anything commenced & completed in one week in my life, let alone one day, seems amazingly copious!).

Emotions are spiking and jackknifing here: we received a nursing home bed offer at the local facility for Jeff's mom and though Jeff's family thought they were all one "one page", situations seem to dictate emotional change, torment, and guilt. Are we making the right decision? Are we really considering what is best for Diane, and not simply for our own easy-ness?

Jean Harker writes in Help Me Coping with the Nursing Home Decision: "Frequently people being placed in a nursing home look at it as a one-stop place before dying. This feeling has nothing to do with the quality of care that the nursing home offers, but is just their way of thinking. Such thoughts are very understandable, because few people ever return to a "normal" life after being admitted to a nursing home facility. It represents a one-way street which no one really wants to travel, but people seldom have any choice. Lots of these individuals and their families and friends have little or no help during this very rough time in their life's journey. Their losses and grief seem overwhelming to them. They have nowhere to go for comfort, and quite often no one who will listen to their grief story." http://www.alharris.com/harker/helpme.htm

It is when I read this that it registered: it often feels we are alone. Sure, people are continually entering such facilities and family and friends are perpetually encountering the same situation as we currently are. We aren't so different. And yet somehow we are alone and yes, somehow, no one seems to be "listening to our grief story".

My grief story is mine alone, and is not nearly as looming as that of Jeff, his sisters, and their great aunt. I can not understand, as much as I would like to, my sisters-in-law as they lose pieces of the mother who comforted them, listened, offered advice, secretly filled her pockets with small change to take them them for ice cream after dog walks, and raised them in a strong Christian home despite the many horrors she endured. I see a new Diane every day and I can appreciate the woman she is today, this hour, this moment mainly because I don't have that long term connection and knowledge of whom she was. I am at the easy end of the stick.

Our 4 1/2 year old son and I both cry as I explain to him why Mama has to move to a new home. "Why?" he wants to know. "She's fun. I'll miss her. Will someone give her the pills she needs? Will we see her again?" Jeff cried as he told his mom and I think she was crying too. Everyone has been crying. So many tears shed. But it reminds me of the lyrics "and every tear I've cried, you hold in your hand" in Casting Crown's Praise You In This Storm. It is more than comforting to know that despite it and through it God is here, always with us, no matter what. He knows our grief story. He shares in the pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUWbmtbzDno

Caution Tape: Under Construction

I haven't posed this question of myself for some time: What is currently under construction? Besides my patience level, that is...I was hankering to cut grass that seems almost a foot high due to our 6-week negligence and discovered that even the usual "start it up with the car and jumper cables" routine failed, and that nonetheless the gas (and containers usually topped up) were bone-dry empty...Despite noxious environmental repurcussions (and yes, I still plan to rid the front lawn entirely of all grass) I now understand my father's almost-obsessive infatuation with lawn cutting. Escapism: no calf-hugging children, no smiling but absent mother-in-law, no ipod-engrossed spouse, no unpaid bills, no rattling telephone...just prayerful silence. (Well, sort-of-silence - the "heard-through-earplugs roaring murmur" of a silence.)

But as for "under construction" on non-emotional topics??? Turns out, after consultation with a contractor friend, that our year-and-a-half bathroom renovation would be simple, cheap, and likely completed already had we not chosen in-floor heating; I am gently begging Jeff to give up his dreams a HEATED floor simply so we might have A FLOOR!

I'm trying for more construction on the mental level - it feels incredible to fit in hurried moments of book ingestion...while in the backseat on the way to church, a minute here while kids slide, a moment there while supper brews, anywhere, everywhere...

Go ahead...Posess an Experience

"People who spent money on experiences - such as traveling, eating out, or attending concerts - were happier with their purchases than those who bought possessions, regardless of the amount spent, according to a recent study at San Fransisco State University" p.152 Martha Stewart August 2010 "Living" magazine.

Normally I don't get my paws on such literature but why turn down a free copy? "Summer, Simplified" squeals the cover. Sure - if spending $145 US on a serving bowl emblazoned with a stripey horseshoe crab and 85 hours tye-dying every piece of fabric and object from area rugs to candles and baskets is YOUR idea of "simplified"...I admire...without the necessary patience and attention to detail. Yummy recipes and intriguing "plant swap" article....

Back to original point: experiences versus possessions. Possessions certainly don't and can't define us whereas experiences certainly can alter our very being. New book on my bedside: The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, provides incredible insight into neuroplasticity and the human brain previously thought to be un-changeable. I am definite he would heatedly argue for experiences.

Surprising Discoveries

This search for a block of soap base has led to many fascinating discoveries (one NOT being the presence of a block of soapbase!). The local bulk store "Ingredients" surprised us with a section loaded with all natural sunscreens, deodorants, and toothpastes. Chicory Common in Durham, a pleasant drive through hail-like rain and constant questioning from a 4 year old about tornado weather and on what level of ground we drove, provided Eco-Pioneer products.



"As the early Pioneers knew, cleaning does not need to be complicated. Our products are designed to be simple, effective and environmentally sustainable. Besides being all natural and readily biodegradable, our washing powders leave a small ecological footprint. They are sourced from local suppliers and are minimally packaged in 100% recycled paper fibre boxes and printed with non-toxic, vegetable inks." http://www.puresource.ca/vervenaturals/EcoPioneer.htm

So my soon-to-be-need for washing detergent that I mix myself from soap flakes, natural Borax and pure washing soda has been fulfilled.

An amazingly friendly "temporary staff" (friend covering while boss on holidays I believe) at The Colour Jar took my number and offered, in small town fashion, to inquire from her soap-making pals as to their bulk soapbase source. http://www.thecolourjar.ca/

The journey has proven gratifying... "the hunt", as Gavin calls it, continues...

The Sweet White Stuff

No soap yet. But a dandy, philosophical visit with my sister, freshly returned from a little more than a week on British soil. Piping hot coffee ingested curbside, under overcast skies, while seated in contemporary (almost too funky for our small town?) metallic armchairs. Raw sugar crystals, amber brown and reminding me of Polish stones encircling mosquitoes and whatever else managed to be bogged down in their gloopy-ness before becoming eternal ornaments, embellished her latte.

And what's so special about raw sugar? I know, I know: it's not processed in the same unhealthy way as white sugar, but what is the more specific reason it is better for you? Google research begins (which I realize isn't TRUE research before you condemn my methods! but it has some merit?)...

Here's what Michael Bloch shares: sulphur dioxide is added, phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide or carbon dioxide are mixed in to "rid the impurities" and pretty it all up. (Whereas raw sugar simply has lime added followed by a centrifuge method to separate crystals.) It's a threat to our environment due to pesticides, clearing of forest/land for sugar cane plantations, processing = loads of energy, waste & chemicals. http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/73/1/White-sugar-vs-raw-sugar.html

It's a threat to us for many reasons, one being that refined sugar raises our insulin level which in turn means a depressed immunity system, causes weight gain, and forces our body to utilize much-needed vitamins and minerals to help our body metabolize it.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-is-Refined-Sugar---Known-As-White-Sugar---Bad-for-You?&id=119462

Sugar lesson of the day.