I'm dreaming...

Christmas is coming, and I'm trying to get ready for it.   It's a time of year that I used to love, but now I have mixed feelings.  Family traditions have changed or fallen by the wayside, victims of the relentless march of time...kids grow up, people move, people die.  I miss the excitement of the whole family getting together, cooking a big meal to share, even decorating the tree. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I'm really not much liking what modern lifestyles have evolved into.

Speaking of evolving, I continue to observe and communicate with the occupy movement as it takes two steps forward and one backward, growing, turning on itself, pulling itself together, changing, adapting, growing some more, etc. It's thrilling to see people at long last reaching the end of their tolerance for the corruption that has bought their government out from under them, but it will probably take a painfully long time for them to throw off the binary brainwashing that divides them so they can begin seeing themselves without the divisive labels and the assumptions that go with them, as people of equal worth and members of the human family.



As for our the status of our little home, the construction is done. Sort of. We have a still unfinished --but insulated and heated!-- second story, with temporary access by aluminum ladder (kind of like life in a submarine, if you can imagine). The cat has taught himself to climb up and down the ladder, and we can hear claws scrabbling on metal in the middle of the night.  He has new windows on the world up there.  He especially seems to enjoy sitting at the top of the ladder and looking down on the dog. Eventually, we'll have finished rooms and real stairs.  But for now, it is quiet here again. The invading workers and their muddy boots have retreated.  We're battening down the hatches. Bring on winter.

Just checking in

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We spent Black Friday enjoying the company of family, and we did not buy a thing.

Now it's December and time to kick it up a notch and finish those gifts I started making.

I've been lending support to Occupy Erie, while occupying my house and thinking about what occupiers might eventually do here in Jamestown. I am working with the social justice committee at church to organize a film and discussion series that will be open to the community. It's disappointing that most people get their information from television. They know all about child molesting coaches and Michael Jackson's doctor, but have no idea how their jobs, healthcare, pensions, and homes are being stolen out from under them. They really ought to know.

Still waiting for The Invasion of the Contractors to end. Went a whole afternoon this week without electricity (the candlelight when it started getting dark -- which it does very early these days-- was rather nice actually)--and overnight without internet -- while the electricians came in and did the big upgrade. We're almost finished now. Weather has made this a long, drawn out process, but the gutters are supposed to be hung tomorrow... and that should just about do it for now.

Look out! Here come the holidays

Wow, this month has gone by fast. I can't believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away. We've had snow a couple of times already-- just a teaser, I'm sure, of what's in store for us.  Birds are showing up in droves at the feeders, left alone by squirrels and deer since we switched to the safflower seeds with chili peppers. Gloves and hats have become necessities when walking the dog.  And it's holiday shopping time again, so the predators (and pine scent) are everywhere.

The season "officially" kicks off with "Black Friday,"  the day after Thanksgiving, when the shopping fest pushes retailers' balance sheets into the black.  Some people have been so successfully coerced into believing they MUST HAVE the advertised specials that, not only will they forego sleep for an advantageous position when the doors open at 5 a.m.,  they will trample other shoppers in their frenzy to get their hands on imperative stuff -- while others will refuse to give up their place in line to let the paramedics reach the injured.

(Now some stores like Target are going one better and planning to open at midnight on Thanksgiving, so people can go from sucking down turkey and pumpkin pie to sucking up door buster specials, hardly breaking stride.)

Come on,  people! I know those 42-inch televisions and the Ultimate Optimus Prime are cool stuff, but shouldn't you really ASK yourself their importance in your life?

I guess it's easier to recognize crazy once you've stepped back from the brink of it.  Everyone likes a good deal, but that's not the problem. The crux is that nobody even needs all this stuff we're so deadly keen to acquire.

Now, some of us peasants are wising up and becoming more protective of our assets. I stopped shopping on Black Friday some time ago, because I really don't like being in crowds of frothing at the mouth batshit insane people. I avoid shopping malls like the plague, because the mass produced soullessness of everything is so damned depressing.

I personally like to infuse extra love, care, and meaning into gifts by making them myself, but I realize this takes time, a little skill, and patience that are luxuries not to be found for many people in these hurried, stressful times.

The other really good option is to  spend a Saturday shopping at your local and independently owned business establishments. You will find uniqueness and charm that are missing from all the McStores, and shop owners who conduct business as if people really matter. You will be strengthening your community by building relationships and keeping money circulating within that community. And you just might have a great time while you're at it!

What kind of options does that give you?  A gift certificate for dinner at a local restaurant, a pound of fair trade coffee from the local coffee shop (shout out to Labyrinth!), locally produced pure maple syrup and wines, an endless variety of items created by local artists and artisans, tickets to local arts and sporting events, books from the local independent bookseller-- just to name a few. 

Don't rule out secondhand items-- there are treasures to be gleaned from others' discards, found at thrift stores and garage sales (especially if you shop throughout the year and put things aside for future gifts).  You can find brand new (or barely touched by human hands) hardcover books for under $5 (sometimes much cheaper at garage sales), exquisite sweaters and unique jewelry, housewares, toys, games, and puzzles. At 2nd Chances, I recently found (but did not buy because I didn't need it and did not want to ship across country) a beautiful set of 8 vintage midcentury drinking glasses @ 89 cents apiece.

Some cities have started Shop Local organizations to promote local businesses. Jamestown has a fledgling effort underway with JTNY that I hope will blossom. 

Forget about the Lexus with a big red bow on it. Get a bike.

Indian Summer!

November has brought the beautiful fall weather that we got cheated out of last month. We've been enjoying walks (which make the dog very happy) and doing outdoor cleanup. My borders are all trimmed back for the coming winter, outdoor furniture is put away, and Tom has built another raised bed for vegetables. Soon I'll be able to move my dollhouses and crafting materials in from the garage and up to our new second story space. It's going to be unfinished space for a while, but after having NO space for working on projects, I'm not complaining.

It's been easier to get up and moving in the morning since we set our clocks back and gained an hour.  I'm feeling very productive.This morning I did laundry and some yard work, took Conor for a spin around the block, and started dinner slow cooking  in the crock pot -- all before the second pot of coffee. At noon, we packed up lunch and went to the little community park down by the lake for a picnic. About two dozen other people had the same idea! These are definitely "bonus days" to be savored ahead of the long winter.

Too comfortable

We had our first snow this past weekend. It was cold, wet, sloppy, but really not a big deal. Not like the storm that hit further east. Our grandson made his first snowman of the season, though he lives in a part of Massachusetts where the power stayed on.

We stayed in on Saturday until we absolutely HAD to go out, because there was a Halloween party at the church that evening and I was responsible for cupcakes and trivia.

The next day was better. Still cold, but sunny.  We had a special guest speaker at church and plans afterwards to visit the super energy-efficient new "green" home that Ruth Lundin, the Jamestown Audubon president, is having built. Our friend Dick Rose helped design the house, which is being insulated with bales of straw. Volunteers were invited to help out with the installation of the straw bales, compressing them and then fitting them into place. It's a very interesting type of construction, as you can see from the photo.  The house will also have a living roof when it is finished. If you'd like to see more, you can have a look at Ruth's photo gallery here.

But to back up, Sunday was a homecoming of sorts for Brian Willson, a Chautauqua county native and former member of our church, who is currently on a tour promoting his book, Blood on the Tracks. Brian is a Vietnam Vet whose wartime experiences transformed him into a radical peace activist. He lost his legs in 1987 when he sat on the tracks to block a Navy munitions train carrying weapons to Central America. He expected to be arrested for trespassing, but instead was run over and nearly killed.  Since that time, he has been on a mission to try to educate people about the diabolical nature of US imperialism while living a simpler lifestyle that doesn't feed the machine.  This is what a real hero looks like.

Because his talk was during our church service, it was a bit shorter than his normal book talks, but he stayed for a good while after the service to continue the discussion. Simply put, Brian Willson is a truthteller. His epiphany that we are all interconnected came in Vietnam, in the midst of (following orders) destroying villages and killing all of the innocent civilians in them. He understood that the war was immoral and we were murdering part of our human family. This understanding profoundly changed the path of his life.

He speaks of empathy, mutual respect, cooperation, and fairness as ancient archetypes which we humans must recover in order to survive. These are things we instinctively know, but our brains have blocked them out in order that we might adapt to our current culture, which he characterizes as the most dangerous force on the planet. He sees these archetypes now emerging in the Occupy Wall Street movement and this as an "age of consequences" when our monstrously destructive behavior comes home to roost. Because people cannot be repressed forever and the earth will not continue to tolerate our abuses.

During the Q&A, someone suggested that he was "preaching to the choir," because UU's are definitely a sympathetic audience on topics of peace and justice. Without rancor, he calmly replied that although he may be preaching to the choir, it was a very comfortable choir that no doubt uses a lot of energy.

And there it is. Even though we might "get it" and "talk the talk," most of us have not yet progressed to "walking the walk."  We still propel ourselves from place to place in two-ton vehicles as if this is our birthright. We stockpile and then discard useless stuff as if our lives depend on it, when in reality, the opposite is closer to the truth. We consume food that, besides being largely unnatural and unhealthy, is transported great distances to reach our markets and our tables. What are we thinking??

I highly recommend that you google Brian Willson and learn more about him, or listen to his Democracy Now interview with Amy Goodman, or read his book. Especially if you don't understand what the Occupy movement is all about.

Ladies and gentleman...

The growing season here is officially over.

Not much to say right now

It's been an odd week. (What else is new?) My neighbor across the street dropped dead at the age of 54. The construction drags on, but we're getting close to the end of it, IF the weather would only cooperate. Except for ONE absolutely glorious week, it has been a really crappy October! It's snowing today.

I'm working on my Halloween costume for a party Saturday night, and starting to make Christmas gifts. I've been keeping an eye on the Occupy movement, amazed at how they've been able to shift the national dialogue over to the REAL issues ordinary people are struggling with, although the corporate media and politicians are still as tone deaf and out of touch as ever.

I'm paying especially close attention to the situation in Oakland, where my son Brendan (an Iraq war vet) lives and works these days. He is outraged at the way peaceful protesters' rights are being trampled on. He points out that although the "hippies" and anarchists and other extremists play better on cable news, "the overwhelming majority of people in these groups are normal people with jobs and families." Got that, FOX?

We live in SUCH interesting times.

I am the 99%

While our home renovations continue--and believe me, you haven't lived until you've had roofers and carpenters pounding on your house when you have a blinding sinus headache--I've become captivated, almost against my will, by the Occupy movement, especially now that it has materialized in nearby Erie, PA.

Though I am in recovery from my past as a political activist (and I believe I am done with partisanship for good), I never intended to ignore the moral imperative to live in a manner which promotes equality and justice and the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. And that's what this is about.

The future of the human race depends on humans learning to cooperate with and care for one another.  The rapacious callousness and greed that has allowed wealth and power to be concentrated in the hands of the very few AT THE EXPENSE OF the majority has to be called out. And that day has come.

It's fascinating to watch the movement evolve and gain traction as people become aware of what has been stolen from them and by whom.  The corporate media continues to play dumb and obfuscate the message because they haven't figured out yet how irrelevant they are. The message is being communicated via the internet and social media and good old-fashioned face-to-face discussion. It's amazing how well people can add 2 + 2 when they tune out the distractions of Lindsay Lohan, Casey Anthony, and Charlie Sheen. When they stop getting bamboozled with buzz words like "socialist" and "real Americans." Ordinary people get smart when they stop feeding stupid into their brains and start talking amongst themselves.

I no longer have the stamina of my youth, so it's unlikely you'll find me camping overnight in Perry Square, but I unequivocally support those who are standing up to tell the truth about the purchase of the US government by corporate power and the systemic looting and gambling away of our wealth by those who just can't get enough.

There's no place like home

Maybe it's a sign of impending old age. But we're really becoming creatures of habit. Disruptions in our routine are discomfiting in a way they haven't been before.  We like our small town life in the middle of a big rural county. We're settling into a rhythm much more in tune with the earth. It took us a lot of years to take this step back from the manmade stresses superimposed on the natural world, and it's too bad we were too busy running marathons in our hamster wheels to figure this out earlier.

But with our entire roof being torn off and rebuilt to accommodate a (small) second story, it seemed like a good idea to take a trip for a few days. So we boarded the cat, packed up the dog, and took a road trip to visit my sister. Who happens to live in the nation's capital, one of the most densely packed (in terms of people, vehicles, buildings, and white collar criminals) areas on the planet. It used to be fun to visit--the museums, the monuments, the restaurants, the cosmopolitan vibe--but after a while, the novelty has disappeared and the overall unhealthiness of the environment has become suffocating. DC is about as unnatural as it gets this side of Disney World, despite the small green oasis my sister has created in her back yard. It confounds me that people who have a choice would voluntarily reside in a city where anything not bolted down or barricaded behind triple locks is fair game for thiefs.  The roadways are so choked with vehicles (many with only one person in them) that a lane closure due to construction turned the last three miles of our departure from the beltway into a 90-minute crawl. How do you evacuate a place like that in the event of disaster? The answer is, YOU DON'T.

So after our short and sweet visit with people we still love anyway, we thought we'd head for the mountains and camp out. Well, camping in October is way more popular than we ever knew. Especially on a gorgeous holiday weekend, which we somehow overlooked in our plans. It's October, how hard can it be to find a place to pitch a tent?   The campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park were full.  Plan B was a motel room outside the park. We found a Red Roof Inn, a chain that is dog friendly.  Not the camping experience we had hoped for, but it worked. We still got to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.  And free wi-fi!

We finally got to pitch our tent in Allegany State Park, almost in our back yard. It's an amazingly beautiful 65,000 acres open year round for all kinds of outdoor recreation-- boating and fishing, camping and hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.  Proving it doesn't require a LONG road trip to get away. And the wildlife like it too. You can find deer crossing signs everywhere, and even this sign on I-86 between here and there.

The campgrounds are pretty well populated with people and dogs, not the kind of place a shy black bear is likely to wander into, but we know enough about raccoons  to know that you don't leave food lying around your campsite.  Heck, you can't trust the omnipresent birds and chipmunks. We keep our site clean. Even the dog food gets locked up.

We had a nice hike around Red House Lake.  Conor met lots of other dogs.  We prepared dinner, ate, cleaned up, and got settled around our cozy little campfire. It gets dark early in October, but we had a beautiful, clear, moonlit sky, and a fellow camper with a guitar kept us entertained until lights out.

We retired to our tent and drifted off to the soothing night sounds of the forest. Only to be jolted awake by a sudden sharp WOOF! in the dark, which was immediately followed by a direct strike on our tent. Alas! Nailed by the diminutive striped terrorist of the woodland.   Conor, responding as good dogs will to movement outside the tent,  had unwittingly given away our position to the enemy. The front corner of the tent took the brunt of the chemical attack, but within seconds, the odor molecules permeated everything inside with a gagging stench.  Who knew that military surplus gas masks should be required gear for camping in state parks?

We're back home. The new roof has been built, but we'll be dealing with the continued commotion of construction for a while yet. Our days are noisy, temporarily, and there are all these guys with power tools all over the place, temporarily.  But the dog and cat are getting used to them, and I can sit on my own couch, sleep in my own bed, and cook in my own kitchen.  It's quiet and safe here at night. Oh, Auntie Em...

Gas Facts Fall Fest

I'm posting this FYI, in case anyone is up for a trip to Buffalo on Sunday.

There is  a fundraiser from 2-5 pm for WNY Drilling Defense and Protecting Our Water Rights (POWR), two grassroots environmental groups, at the Buffalo Irish Center,245 Abbott Rd. in Buffalo.

Tickets: $20 at the door. (pre-sale tickets available at Burning Books 420 Connecticut St, Buffalo, NY.)

The afternoon will feature:

- Film Premiere of a short documentary about Western New York families affected by hydrofracking: "WNY Frack Chat".

- Informative presentations about how high-volume fracking in NYS could affect WNY.

- Live music by Babik.

- Pizza, soda and beer included!


Cosponsored By: WNY Peace Center, Veterans for Peace, Sierra Club Niagara Chapter, Arden Farm, Above & Beyond Tree Expert Company, Rezults Consulting, Body Glyphix Yoga Studio, For the Love of Toulouse: Shiitake Mushroom Pate de Faux Gras, Eco-logic Studio, Burning Books and Peace Education Fund.

I love this

I found this on the Unstuffed blog this morning and I have to share. I hope you find some little thing here that you can use.

Rainy weekend

It's cold, dark, and damp, and for the past two days, I have retreated into my cocoon, reading, cooking, and surfing the internet. It hasn't been completely unproductive.

I've been able to try some new recipes --a "dutch baby" apple pancake and a friend's slow cooker Italian beef. Today, I'll be roasting root vegetables...the latest local harvest.

By net surfing and reading my eyeballs out, I've learned a lot about other communities'  GO LOCAL programs-- something I would love to see happen here in Chautauqua county.  We have some unique locally owned businesses run by community-minded people. They are the ones who build a community and keep it humming. These places are far more interesting to out-of-town visitors than the usual ubiquitous chains. But where do you find critical mass for this kind of GO LOCAL program in a county whose Chamber of Commerce includes the  "local" WalMart in its version of a "shop local" promotion?  So much to ponder.

It's the "usual suspects" like Bellingham, WA and Austin, TX that have the most  fully developed programs up and running.  Sonoma county, CA also has some great ideas.  Feel free to explore these links and do your own brainstorming and dreaming of what could be.

And I WILL get out of the house this weekend.  On Sunday alone, there are choices like Oktobenefest at Southern Tier from noon till 4 to benefit the St. Susan Center; "Seed Saving 101" workshop from 3-4, led by Sharon Reed and Jim Wilmoth, Chautauqua County Master Gardeners, at Friendly Kitchen in Dunkirk;  and a 7 pm Music Salon featuring a JAZZ QUARTET at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown. 

Staying home and watching football is an option, but it's not the only one.

More changes!

We've decided to go ahead and add some square footage to our house by raising the roof to create an attic that can later be finished into upstairs living space. And now, in preparation for the assault,  I am having to undo the (slight)  illusion of  order I've managed to create here, taking pictures off the walls and securing other breakables. I am resigning myself to life in a construction zone for the next several weeks and convincing myself that the end result will be worth the mess and inconvenience.

It occurs to me that I have gone several years now without being able to settle into a natural rhythm and routine, and I am hoping that something like that will finally happen when the crew packs up their ladders and leaves.

The house is currently fragrant with apples. I have shazammed (with the aid of my handy dandy corer/peeler/slicer gadget) our backyard bounty into applesauce, apple pie filling, apple pies, apple crisp, and dried apple rings. There's still plenty more of the fruit on the trees, but we would have to call in the fire department with their hook and ladder truck in order to reach them. Guess we'll leave those for the wildlife when they eventually fall.

Speaking of pies, this week we met the guy who, with his wife, owns Portage Pie.  They're up in Westfield, but they're a locally owned business that makes and sells yummy pies using only locally grown fruit, so they deserve a shout out, as well as your patronage if you happen to be in the area.

We expect to be spending more of our days hanging out in local coffee shops and other businesses while the work on our house proceeds. When the weather is nice, we'll also be out on the greenways, which is one of the top reasons for living in this county.

News you can use!

I'm working on those goals I said I'd be writing. At some point I will share them. It's humbling to realize what a novice I remain.

In the meantime, I've added a link (in the right hand column over there) to an upcoming event that is definitely worth a road trip to Buffalo.  Daemen College will be hosting the 8th Annual World on Your Plate Conference October 14-15.  Clicking on the graphic over there will take you to their website for more info, and you can register online (although pre-registration is not necessary).  Some of the workshops and speakers look outstanding, but I am especially excited about the screening and discussion of The Economics of Happiness and keynote speaker Judy Wicks, co-founder of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). 

So now it's apple time here. The Busti Apple Festival is this weekend, and we've harvested a couple of baskets full from our own trees (it doesn't get much more local than that!), which I'll be turning into applesauce and pie filling today.  We had planned a trip out to the farm to help dig up potatoes, but it looks like the weather has other ideas today.

Random thought: I've decided to start thinking of dandelions as food. I will even share recipes.

A year goes by

I've been away visiting the Massachusetts branch of the family tree and getting great advice from my three-year-old grandson on how to hide myself and keep safe from prowling lions and dinosaurs.

But we're back home now, and I wanted to take a look at where we are, a year after I started this blog, on our journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

The good news is that we're moving in the right direction. But I'm glad that we have the luxury of time. Recent events (tropical storms that cause damage far from the tropics) have highlighted vulnerabilities in infrastructure we (perilously) depend on. But our typical response is to slap on a few bandaids and get right back to business as usual. Till the next time. I'll say it again: we (myself included) should all be better prepared for emergencies that can cut off our electricity, our access to fresh water and food, medical care,  shelter from the elements. We can't assume that FEMA, State Farm, or Superman will be there for us.
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But, in seeking to find or build a sustainable community, we're looking for something beyond a disaster kit to see us through the next emergency. And there will be emergencies. Climate change, rising energy costs, and incompetent governments guarantee it.

So how far have we come towards our goal of positioning ourselves, our family, friends and neighbors to weather the storms and protect our common security?

NOT FAR ENOUGH.  To begin with, we've defined the goal in the most nebulous of terms. So, its time to clarify what exactly it is we're trying to do and come up with a task list for measuring our progress.

In a very general sense, we're moving along by downsizing our home and our stuff, thereby using less energy, creating less waste, recycling more, and driving less. We've located some local food sources (including growing some of our own) and local businesses and made them part of our habits. We're getting to know our neighbors and others in the greater community who share some of our concerns.

So, what if a cluster of storms or a major solar flare took out the power grid tomorrow? Oh man, would there be trouble.

Time to start writing those goals.

A Farm for the Future

Instead of your regularly scheduled program, please watch this stunning BBC special on the future of our food. It may terrify you, it may leave you hopeful, but most of all, it will leave you informed with powerful knowledge.

Fall is in the air

The neighborhood kids are going back to school this week. We've already had a couple of below-50 degrees mornings. The handwriting on the wall sez, summer is over.

Fortunately, autumn tends to be one glorious season here. September and October have always been my favorite months. We're hoping the nearly perfect weather we've been having lately decides to hang around for a while.

Last weekend, we held our garage sale and it turned out to be a lot of fun. It brings out all the neighbors and you get a chance to know each other better.  Plus, it's gratifying to rehome your unneeded stuff with people who have a use for it. And not because it's wildly profitable (though it's always nice to get a little spare cash), because we price things to sell. We marked the couch FREE and a neighbor snapped it up for his daughter who is starting out on her own and needs a helping hand.

I've already gotten two neighbors all in for a neighborhood garage sale next year, so I'm off and running with that idea.  We can all get together for a shared cookout in somebody's yard afterwards. I hope we get good participation. I'll be working on it!

With that in mind, Katy's latest blog post,  The Mini-Economy of a Neighborhood, was really nice to read.  I don't think of it as a mini-economy exactly, but I live on a street where neighbors share and help.  That's how you build friendship and community.  And that's the sane way to be prepared for emergencies and hard times. No need for bunkers and shotguns. Some of the people I heard on the radio yesterday, talking about emergency preparedness in the aftermath of Irene, were pretty scary.

Another sign of fall:

I love a parade

We've been having a parade of contractors here as it's getting down to decision time about how much we will or will not do in the short term to improve our living space. The economy has never been a scarier mess than it is now, and taking risks with our financial future seems like a very bad idea.

At the same time, the longer we live here, the better we like the smaller space.  We're letting go of those old ideas and images of what a home "should" look like, and we're learning how to live in an apartment-sized space.

Reading blogs like Simpler Living and The Non-Consumer Advocate is helpful because of the many useful tips offered up by the authors and their readers. Katy (of the latter blog) doesn't live in such a small space, but is nonetheless achieving a comfortable level of simplicity by giving up the costly consumer lifestyle and freeing herself and her family of useless stuff.

I'm becoming more organized than I have ever been. Baskets, bins, and drawer dividers are great things. Walls with shelves are amazing.

But I still need to get rid of more stuff. I have too many clothes that I rarely wear and they need to be weeded out.  (I'm no fashionista either, I dress for comfort.)  I have a lot of cookbooks that I no longer use because when I want a new recipe, I go googling for one. I really don't need three potato peelers, three graters, two hand mixers, or a panini grill that I've used twice in three years. And here's a real shocker for you--I may not need a microwave oven either. Mine fritzed out a couple of months ago and I haven't replaced it yet. I've remembered that there are other ways to thaw frozen meat and warm up leftovers. No more microwave entrees--oh well!  I may just cave when the weather gets cooler and I want baked potatoes. They cook so much faster in the microwave than in the oven. On the other hand, I may just plan my meals better and allow more time for cooking.

Speaking of food, the tomatoes have been producing so well that I've been able to share them with my neighbors.We've had fresh tomatoes in salads, on sandwiches, tuna-stuffed tomatoes, and lots of salsa.  I'm really looking forward to having a much bigger garden next year so I will have enough tomatoes for canning, and maybe even dehydrating.

Soon, the apples will be ready.

If this seems a little disjointed, it's because I've been writing it in bits and pieces over about four days. I've been busy out in the garage, sorting through things and trying to organize another sale before summer ends--all too soon.

For your reading enjoyment and "food for thought," I've posted a couple of new article links to the "Recent Articles" list over there. --->

German Village Achieves Energy Independence details the amazing results of effective local leadership, and I hope Americans (somewhere, somehow) can learn something from this example.

In "THE OILING OF NORTH AMERICA"  nutrition journalist and food historian Sally Fallon documents the politics behind the cholesterol theory of heart disease, and offers a detailed description of what fats and oils are good for us (and which aren't). I feel that this is essential reading for everyone who is interested in good health.  It certainly seems to validate the adage that "if your grandma wouldn't recognize it, it probably isn't food."

I hope you will read these and share your thoughts with me.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

We finally got a decent amount of rain here, and the heat wave is over. Tom is baking bread again and even  experimenting with bagels.  They were more like soft pretzels shaped like bagels, but they were good! I'm not sure what a real bagel tastes like anyway, being accustomed to the grocery store variety.

We're starting to get lots of fresh veggies. We got tomatillos and cilantro from our CSA this week, and I made my first-ever salsa verde, which was very easy and very tasty.   My tomatoes are looking good, and we're going to have a whole lot of them soon!  In another corner of the garden, it's a race to see how many more zucchini I can salvage  before the plants give up the ghost. They've been attacked by powdery mildew. I learned the other day, from a bit I noticed when leafing through the Jamestown Gazette (while waiting for my sub at Jumbroni's), that you can protect squash plants from mildew diseases by spraying them with a homemade mixture of baking soda, liquid soap, and water, when the weather is hot and humid. However, it doesn't do much good once the plants are already infected. Oh well--I'll tuck that  info away for next year.

The recent rainy weather provided an opportunity to get some more work done inside the house--now that we have this mountain of stuff from our other house in the garage, and we have to figure out what to do with it.

This is hard. It's like...culture shock. Nothing in my experience has prepared me for condensing my life into such a small space. The ever-pervasive media (magazines, TV shows and ads) bombard us with messages that we need MORE square footage to adorn with the latest, most fashionable paint colors, flooring and counter-top materials, appliances, cabinets, furniture, art, ACCESSORIES, you name it. These things improve your lifestyle and make your real estate more valuable! Stainless steel appliances, outdoor kitchens, water features, master suites, king size beds, BONUS ROOMS--all MUST HAVE! So our homes have become "investments," and our "success" is measured not by the content of our character, but by the amount of really cool stuff we can accumulate.

Which is nuts. Why do we buy this crap?

But, giving up those lemming-like ways is like learning how to live all over again, in such a way that functionality has more value than status, fashion, cachet, prestige, however you want to characterize what is basically "keeping up with the Joneses."  We don't even do it consciously, we're just running with the pack, going with the flow, until we reach the dawning awareness that life is finite, precious, and we waste so much of it in pursuit of what is JUST STUFF.  Stuff that we nonetheless manage to get emotionally invested in.

There's nothing wrong with creating living spaces that are comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. When I had too much space, I didn't have to think very much about how to arrange things and where to store things. There was always room. Now I am really challenging myself and often getting frustrated because old habits have become irrelevant in my new reality, and I can't fall back on them.  I'm uncomfortable because everything feels so transitory and unfinished, but I haven't yet figured out what "finished" is going to look like.

I just know that when it finally "gets there,"  it's going to make a lot more sense than the lifestyle I've been accustomed to for so long.

Happy 100th Birthday, Lucy!

So I grabbed the camera and we went downtown yesterday to check out the fun at the Lucy festival. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say, I'm going to let my photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

   

    

 

 

 

Catching up

We've spent the past week catching up and getting back into the local groove.

The unpacking is going well, I think, if a bit slowly, as we figure out where everything belongs. We are still going to need a little bit more indoor space, and it's a matter of how and when, not if.

Meanwhile, we're really enjoying the new outdoor space and the "white border"is coming together pretty well. Yeah, I know, you're seeing pink things and a hydrangea bush with NO flowers, chewed to nubs by deer.  But should it recover and bloom, those flowers will be white; ditto the rose trellis intended for the front of the shed, which we can get now that we've gotten our Element back from the body shop. (Even though the rose is...pink. Okay, so I thought a little pink went nicely with the white.)  In case I forgot to mention it, while we were in the middle of moving, I got my car door crunched by another driver in the Home Depot parking lot. $2000 worth of crunching. And we've been driving a little itty bitty rental car for the past week while the door has been getting replaced.

Last Sunday, we went to our church picnic, graciously hosted by Len and Carole Faulk at their lovely home (with a lovely pool that our grandson would have enjoyed if only he had visited us a week later!)  We  had a wonderful time catching up with some of our favorite people and met a few new ones too, like Angelo and Ylsa Giuffre, a  young hometown couple who are starting a new non-profit to support local artists. It's exciting to see young people plunging ahead with building the community. We need more young people to stay (or move in) and contribute, of course--the latest census shows Jamestown is strong in the baby boomer category, but especially weak in the 25-44 group. Can anybody say...JOBS?   We've got to stop sending everything overseas.  Support your local economy, people! 

We took time out this week to do some browsing at antique shops and estate sales (we weren't really shopping--we have enough stuff to deal with right now) and had lunch at some local establishments. Jamestown is especially bustling right now with the Lucy Fest--celebrating hometown gal Lucille Ball's 100th birthday.  This brings in fans from everywhere--and being a milestone year, there is special entertainment with  big names like Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone.  This Saturday at 2 pm, everyone is being urged to "Be a Lucy!" (for a $5 registration fee, you even get a basic costume to help you out!)--as an attempt is made to set a Guinness Book record for the most Lucy impersonators in one place at the same time. Tracy Plaza will be the site of this people watching event extraordinaire. I'll be there with my camera!

This morning we went out to the farm in Cherry Creek (Roots & Wings, our CSA) to say hello to the chickens and pigs and put in a couple of hours of work. It's been a very hard year for the farmers (and gardeners!)  because of the lack of cooperation from Mother Nature. The weeds always manage to come out ahead in the struggle, which is why they are weeds, I guess.  Well, we took part in a weed massacre and uncovered a couple of rows of potato plants!  It's also garlic harvest time, and we spent some of our time laying them out in trays to dry.

Afterwards, we stopped by the "Wild West Side" garage sales in the Royal Avenue neighborhood, which is one of the Renaissance Block Challenge groups.  These are older neighborhoods engaged in collaborative efforts to make improvements and revitalize their neighborhoods. They are eligible for matching funds, discounts from sponsoring merchants,  and design assistance. The old houses are looking good,  their porches dressed with flower boxes and hanging planters...which I think of as "jewelry" for houses. And the organizing efforts of some residents are evident in their well planned garage sale event. It gives me ideas.

But right now, I'm ready for a nap.

Escape from Suburbia update

Well, hello there. We're back. 

My unexpected hiatus from this place began with an event that suddenly forced us to spend a lot of time in Cleveland: the property management company found a tenant for our house there.

That meant we really had to move, finally.  All the careful staging and stuff just resting there until we could find a place for it had to be cleared out.

We did it. Sold a lot of unneeded furniture and stuff via Craigslist and a three-day moving sale. Donated tons more to Goodwill, Easter Seals, and the Salvation Army. Even placed a few items on the front lawn with a "FREE" sign and they disappeared as they were supposed to.

A plant-loving neighbor took in "Gorgo," my so-huge-it-has-its-own-zipcode tree philodendron which has occupied front and center in the 12-foot bow window for about 15 years. Gorgo was like family, but she practically needs a room of her own, and I could use a couple more of those myself in this little house. So she needed to be rehomed. I know she will be well cared for.

The tenant was okay with us leaving the dining room set and piano (two items too large to rehome on such short notice)  in the house for him to use for the next 24 months. And voila! Our home of 23 years is now a rental property. It feels weird, but the monthly income is appealing.

We picked the hottest days of the year for moving (heat index was 110 as we loaded up the last of the boxes and mopped the floors and wrung ourselves out), but we survived. Now, our garage here is chock full and the thinning out process continues...but at a more leisurely pace. Our house is still too small, but this photo of a skinny house in Warsaw, designed as a writer's straitjacket retreat,  made me feel like I'm living large by comparison.

In the midst of the chaos, we had visits from both of our kids, which was crazy fun.  Our new outdoor living space was very much appreciated. I was craving that "dinners on the patio" ambience, and we made it reality.

We finally got to do some of the things with our grandson that we've been wanting to do--picnics and the beach and his first boat ride and kite flying and a trip to Peterson's candy store.

My garden is getting daily attention again. I have a new blank canvas (pile of dirt) in front of the garden shed, and Mike's nursery has 25% off on all trees, shrubs, and perennials, and $10 roses this week! Since I have so much color in the front garden, I'm considering an all-white border in this space. We'll see.

Looks like another rainy day today. It's very welcome, after the extended hot and dry spell. I'll be unpacking some boxes and rearranging my space. This is home now.

We have a patio

The pavers are in place, though we still have a few details to finish. We also have a crushed stone pathway between the patio and the garage deck, so it is now possible to make the trip from back door to garage without feet touching mud. Yay!

Our neighbor Ronnie got into the act by mowing our lawn for us while we were busy spreading  gravel.We are lucky to have such good neighbors.

We still have a lot of dirt that needs to be moved around (so much that I'm thinking about offering to make raised beds for my neighbors on both sides) and planting beds to be designed.  Today it's cool and cloudy, a good day for working outside, once I reach the optimal level of caffeination

Then, this evening's event:  a $5 Tasting Party at Labyrinth.  From 5-9 pm, $5 buys you samples from their newly introduced yummy dinner menu. This is THE place in town for vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Even if you're not a vegetarian or vegan, it's just very delicious food. The coffee is good too. Smoothies are a specialty too.  Live evening entertainment is often part of the deal.  This is the kind of homegrown business establishment we love to support.

This week in my world

Summer officially arrived this week and with it came the first installment of garden fresh goodies from our CSA. I have discovered that garlic scapes thrown into the food processer with walnuts, olive oil and a little bit of parmesan,  make delicious pesto.

It's also strawberry picking time, but the uncooperative weather these past couple of days has thwarted our plans. No worries, we'll get to it. I love having my homemade strawberry jam in the middle of winter.

We made another dash to Cleveland this week to tend to the garden at our still-not-sold house there. These are such frustrating times in the real estate market. It's not as if we're peddling some derelict property--it's a nice, spacious, mid-century suburban family-size home, safe neighborhood, all the major updating done, freshly painted in neutral colors, and the price considerably reduced from our original starting point.  STILL NOT ONE OFFER.  Maybe if a tree fell on it, it would be more attractive to prospective buyers in this market. 


We've switched over to hoping for a good tenant on a 12-month lease and have given up on the idea of expanding This Little House anytime soon. Instead, we're taking on mini-projects, one at a time, to improve our quality of life. Things like a new ceiling fan in the bedroom, and a new toilet--one of those high-efficiency models that can flush a bucket of golf balls (were we so inclined) to replace the ancient water-waster that came with the place when we bought it. 

Bring on the pigs!

We're planning to lay pavers for a new patio in time for the kids' 4th of July visit, but this week's frequent downpours have turned the site into a mud-wrestling pit and slowed our progress.  The forecast for this week is hopeful, however...


With regard to my veggie garden, so far so good! I will definitely have more raised beds next year, since this one has required so little effort.

The rain seems to have stopped (there was still a fine drizzle coming down when I took the dog for his morning walk), but it remains cool, dreary, and muddy, which tends to kill all ambition.  Time for a mocha and a good book!

Random stuff

Yesterday's unseasonably cool weather kept me indoors for most of the day, googling photos of backyard landscapes in search of inspiration for our own ongoing projects. The big goal--to create an outdoor living and gardening space minus lawn mowing and MUD.  The first step is complete: Tom finishing the decking between the garage and garden shed, so no more mud there!  We still have a long way to go, however, and a lot of dirt to move around. We should be able to manage a halfway civilized space for July 4th, when the grandson and his parents will be here.

I did go out twice yesterday to walk the dog,  which led to this recurring random thought...we clean up after our pet, is it really too much to expect others to do the same?  Especially those who walk very LARGE dogs and leave landmines right in the walkway. You can buy biodegradable bags for this very purpose. Picking up dog poop isn't one of my most favorite activities either, but it's one of the responsibilities of pet ownership.

I was reading about the Kansas City Chiefs player they're calling a hero for diving into a swimming pool at a party to save a friend's young child who had gone under. Which reminded me that my daughter Erin, at the age of 12 or thereabouts, did the very same thing at a Girl Scout "splash party" when one of my 6-yr-old Brownies strayed into too-deep water while the lifeguard was zoned out. The news didn't go out worldwide over wire services, but Erin was a hero too, one of the everyday unsung kind who do the right thing every day.

If you looked at the photo of my Baffin rose last week and thought "Big deal," you probably didn't notice all the tiny buds. It looks like this now.

The safflower bird seed with hot peppers--which songbirds like-- that I buy to keep the squirrels, deer, and "bully birds" from hogging it all has attracted... pigeons.  Who knew they like hot, spicy food!  They look like 747's coming in for a landing on the feeder.

Today is a beautiful day in the neighborhood, which means it's time to mow the lawn.   Namaste.

Summertime

The summer season is unofficially here. The traffic has noticeably increased on Fairmount Ave. and in Wegman's and the liquor store. Welcome tourists!

At the same time, we've moved almost instantly from cold and rainy to hot and steamy. What comes next is anybody's guess as "global weirding" continues. The record breaking storms and tornadoes that seem to be part of the the "new normal" have me wondering if we really want to add a second story to our little house. A storm cellar sounds like a better idea.  Moot, since we're still dealing with our two house problem and major renovations are delayed. We're working on small projects instead, to improve our outdoor living space.

                                                                            
Some parts of the perennial garden were drowned out this spring. I've been working through the drainage issues and replacing some plants, including the two butterfly bushes.

My William Baffin rose, on the other hand, is ecstatically happy, and the other roses will soon follow.

The peonies are looking their best ever.

Activity choices have exploded.  Chautauqua in June-- a countywide learning festival of classes in everything from gardening to sailing,  painting to yoga, wine pairing to birding--is currently in progress.

The farmers markets are opening for business.

The festivals are starting with the Celoron Ribfest & Classic Car Show, happening now, and a Strawberry Festival  this weekend at the Merritt Estate Winery in Forestville.

There are golf tournaments and sailboat races and dirt track auto racing.

 The very popular annual Book Sale at Prendergast Library is this weekend.

The Riverwalk Summer Concert Series is beginning--free concerts on the lawn (bring your own chair or blanket) every Wednesday evening from 6:30 - 8:30 in Riverwalk Park.
 
The Jamestown Jammers, our professional baseball team (Single A affiliate of the Florida Marlins) will open their 2011 season soon.

Seasonal restaurants and shops have opened their doors.  The Labyrinth is now serving Saturday brunches and has added a dinner menu from 5-9 pm Wed. thru Saturday.

Life is good.

Working towards zero waste

One of the goals I am pursuing is reduction of the amount of garbage we send to the landfill every week.

Living in a place where recycling is mandatory, and where beverage cans and bottles (aluminum, glass, and plastic) can be returned for a deposit has made for a good start. Metal, glass, and plastic food containers are washed and placed in their respective bins. Corrugated cardboard boxes have a bin. Ditto newspapers, junk mail, and magazines.

Another item has been reducing the amount of packaging we bring home, including plastic bags. We have gotten much better about taking our reusable shopping bags to the store with us. The next step is choosing items with minimal, or at least recyclable, packaging.  Best places to accomplish this are the produce department and bulk bins. But you still end up with plastic bags to dispose of, unless you have your own reusable produce bags. I am about to order some as we speak.

Yard waste goes into the compost pile behind the garden shed. This provides fertilizer for the garden. Coffee grounds go straight into the garden. We have not yet developed our composting skills to the point of including kitchen waste--which needs to be done right to avoid scavengers and unpleasant odors. After all, we have neighbors. But the amount of food that we discard is minimal, because of planned use of leftovers.

Some communities are turning to organic waste recycling, which involves large scale composting of  food scraps and yard clippings.  The technologies used not only produce fertilizers, but also biogas that can be used to produce electricity or be processed into compressed natural gas for transportation fuel.

When it comes to discarding non-organic things, the first question that must always be  asked is, "What else can this be used for?"   Unwanted clothing, furniture, housewares can be sold or donated to be used by others.  CFL lightbulbs can be dropped off at Home Depot for recycling. The Salvation Army accepts computer equipment and televisions for recycling. Most things can be broken down into reusable or recyclable parts, and if you don't want to do it, then there are people willing to do it for you. I will be adding a handy recycling resources page for your information. But--STOP! and think before you toss anything into the trash bin.

In a more evolved world, we would stop producing so many easily disposal items and instead create things with regard for their environmentally safe longterm use and reuse, designing "ecologically intelligent" products, industrial systems, buildings, even regional plans--a manifesto laid out in the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. The authors make our recycling efforts sound primitive and shortsighted. But since we are a long way from being the society they envision, we must make do with what we have.

Cycling in Chautauqua County

I have been made aware that May is National Bike Month. This is an actual event sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, about whom I knew nothing (despite being married to a cyclist for 37 years), but the internet is an awesome place for learning new things.

In fact, last week was Bike to Work Week, but I doubt that many folks around here were participating, unless they were wearing water wings. Come to think of it, you just don't see too many people cycling for transportation in Jamestown, ever.  Kids have bikes (and I've seen lots of scooters), and there are the recreational cyclists.

But biking to work, to school, to the store? Not so much. The terrain around here can be a bit challenging, but there are routes that just about anybody can handle.

Rising gasoline prices and greater awareness of the environmental impact of fossil fuel use may be starting to change things.In crunchy, environmentally aware areas of the country like Portland, Oregon, they have bike trains--where kids and their parents participate in a group ride to school one morning a week along a pre-planned route. What a refreshingly healthy idea!

And if handling the hills is an issue, there are electric bikes to give you a little extra zip.  Available in both throttle and pedal assist versions, there are models ranging in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars. The eZip bike pictured retails for $499 and has a real rack-mounted rechargeable battery with a range of 15-20 miles. I have to tell you, this is looking pretty darned good to me.


Holly Loft has 4 basic group rides (depending on your riding ability) every Tuesday at 6 pm. They even have a racing team.  I understand that there are also Saturday 9 am rides that leave from Ryder's Cup coffee in Lakewood, but I don't know anything about the abilities of these riders, so if you're interested, you should probably inquire before you set out.  Just about all of them would leave me in the dust, I'm afraid. Unless I go electric.

Next time: REcycling.

If our young people ruled the world

I just finished reading the cover story in the current Chautauqua WORD, and I am encouraged.

WORD editor Steve Lafreniere surveyed a sample of people under 30 about their hopes and fears for the future and their opinions on what needs to be done locally "to remake Western New York into an economically sound and culturally attractive place to live and work." I'll give you some snippets of their responses, but you really should read the whole thing, no matter where you live. Some of the ideas are really spot on.

Q:  What would you like to see done differently locally?
A:  Successful/profitable businesses now housed in the mall should receive tax incentives for relocating to the downtown area...Look at avenues such as actual, real businesses that provide goods and services to people locally, instead of people coming into this area once a year, or once in a lifetime, and spending a few hundred dollars...buying locally grown and produced food...abandoned factories and houses should be torn down or sold at low prices with stipulation that they be fixed up within certain time limit... 


Q: What would you like to see on the increase locally?
A: Buying 60-70% of our food locally...opportunity, support for creativity, innovation, and entrepeneurship to keep young people from leaving the area...positive attitudes, people taking pride in the area...more support for local institutions, including libraries as centers for community events

Q:What is your biggest fear for the future?
A: A return to feudal-style anarchy...poor decision making with regard to transitioning to different forms of energy...climate change...being able to pay for medical expenses...permanent unemployment

Q: What is your greatest hope for the future?
A: Our great natural resources in close proximity...that people with ideas and real solutions will come to the forefront...human ingenuity and problem solving ability

These young people have got it going on. They already know things it took me an awful lot of years to learn. Maybe because our current problems are all they've ever known.  I hope they don't all pick up and move to bigger cities to seek their fortunes. We need them right here to lead the movement towards greater local sustainability, to make their hopes and dreams happen right here.  I really believe that if communities everywhere started looking after their own in a responsible and sustainable way, we would live in a radically improved world.

I do have a couple of random comments that came to mind as I read this article. I hear the complaints about the focus on tourism, but I think anything that improves the area can be turned into an asset for local residents as well as visitors. If tourism that motivates the local activity, it is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as someone picks up the ball when the tourists leave.  As a newcomer actively searching for what's going on in the community, I have found that there are lots of options, year-round. More than I have the time or desire to immerse myself in.  And those not satisfied with what's available are free to make something else happen!  Starting a new restaurant may not be an economically viable option, but you can organize your own Thai dinner party at any time. The Jamestown Unitarian Church has held a couple of dinners in the past year, open to the public, featuring fabulous foods of India. Just be open to every possibility for enriching the local culture and see what happens.

About the substandard houses, is it possible to create a small scale urban homesteading program in a city like Jamestown? Meaning, making vacant but repairable houses available, cheaply, to people willing and able to make the repairs and upgrades in a certain amount of time, and then I live in the property for a minimum of 5 years. It requires a commitment, not just an opportunity. I know this is done in larger cities, with mixed results. Seems to me it would  work best where the available properties occur in blocks, so that the whole neighborhood gets an upgrade. People are unlikely to jump at the chance to improve and live in one lonely property in a sea of decay, but if several properties in the same area are undergoing transformation, it changes the dynamics. I ran across this article online from several years ago and found it interesting, though I haven't yet really researched the topic.  But it fits with the idea of making your hopes and dreams happen right here. What are the possibilities?