Ding-Dong: The Junipers are Dead!

So this is what my front yard looks like. After many years of sneezing and scratched up arms, I have finally had payback.

"Honey, what are we going to do with all these juniper branches?" You might think this is what my husband said after tunneling his way into the house. Unbelievably, he didn't even comment. In his defense, he is working through a bit of a stomach bug.

Another logical question might be, "Why have you hacked apart the only defining landscaping in your front yard?" And that is a question that can create some excitement. I am dreaming of south facing garden expansion. Imagine strawberry plants and bean trellises with marigolds all in a row. It makes more sense now, doesn't it?

Now, I must track down someone who will turn this fire hazard into wood chips this time of year...

THINGS TO DO: Make Homemade Popcorn

It's fun to make, fun to eat, good for you, and oh, so economical. Buy it organic in bulk from your local health food store and support organic corn seed production. Control the amount of fat and salt you add. Pop extra for school lunches the next day. Eat it up. YUM!

Though I am far from being a great cook, here is my version of how to make popcorn:
1) Place enough oil in the bottom of the pan so your popcorn won't stick. I try to make a lot of popcorn at once so this is about .25 inch for me.
2) Place several kernels in the pan while the oil heats.
3) Once a kernel pops, your oil is hot. Add as much popcorn as you would like to pop.
4) Wait while the kernels heat and pop. You can shake the pan to encourage the "old maids" to fall to the bottom and pop also.
5) Place popped popcorn in a bowl.
6) Melt butter in the pan and then pour over popcorn.
7) Add salt to your liking.

Me and My Blog

So I don’t know much about the electronic world. At one point – okay, just last year – I was content with dial-up Internet access. I would open my browser and then go change the laundry before I even bothered to look at the screen. Doing anything online was usually a multi-tasking proposition – a good time to cook dinner while helping kids with homework, while checking my email.

The addition of high-speed Internet was life changing to say the least. How great to be able to look up that plant my son just ate quickly so to know if I should call the poison control center! But I must confess I still don’t take things too seriously in the online world – I am still not a daily email checker. So, you must forgive me if I don’t know what your anachronism means, or if I’m not knowledgeable about the latest online thing. I take it blogging has been around awhile?

There is always a slight war inside me when it comes to technology. I’m not afraid of it mechanically – at one point I actually earned a living in part by building databases for a small company. But I do fear how it has changed our culture. How does one have time to bake one's own bread if one has to check out every new You Tube video?

And what of the kids – always back to the kids – I live daily with the, “Mom. Can I play my Lego Star Wars game on your computer?”

“How about building a fort in backyard?”

“It’s only 20 degrees out and it’s snowing!”

But really isn’t it better that our children get a slight case of frostbite rather than sitting in front of a computer for half of their free time? Blah, blah you’ve heard it all – obesity problems, attentive deficit disorders, violence infused youth.

Those who’ve known me a long time know of my aspiration to join the Amish so I could live like the pioneers. That Laura Ingalls Wilder, she had it good with a fiddling playing Pa and an orange at Christmas. I have romanticized “living off the land.” But when you throw indoor plumbing and antibiotics into the equation, modern times do have their advantages.

So why this blog you might wonder? I must confess I am purely, selfishly motivated. I want the world – okay – at least the USA to think more like ME so I don’t feel like a granola infused, fiscally conservative, eco-wierdo all the time. I have noticed within myself that when I hear of others who drastically change their lifestyles – for example living without a car – it inspires me to change my reality and question what can be.

SO THAT IS MY GOAL - AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS TO CHANGE OUR REALITY ABOUT OUR AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE.

As an aside – I went to my son’s school today and sat in for a few minutes on a presentation by Eco-cycle. Apparently my son’s school is 24^th “in the world” to establish a eco-cycle program. Does this mean that only 23 other schools in the whole world are recycling and composting, or does it mean other schools are taking part in other programs?