fotos by Meg

Rebirth of an Onion

2012-01-15T19:38:00.000-08:00

The ledge above our kitchen sink is home to an ever-changing assortment of sprouting potatoes, herbs and this month...onions.

One month ago, I took the compost-bound end of an onion...

...and planted it into a small pot.

I had kind of given up on it ever doing....anything...but last week it finally sprouted.

Now I need to get back on the internet to find out where to go from here...I'll keep you posted.

2011-12-26T01:21:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Flag

2011-12-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

Sam made this flag when he was in the 6th grade. On his own, with lights and a scrap of cardboard, he worked for hours before presenting us with his creation. Over the years it has survived rainstorms, freezes and the occasional neglect...but the lights have never gone out...not once.

I love this flag.

...my yearly reminder.

2011-12-21T11:26:00.001-08:00

Homecoming

2011-12-12T11:01:00.001-08:00

For the past 6 months our family has lived with the very real possibility that our soldier might not come home...ever. For 197 days we have gardened, grocery shopped, done our banking and budgets, gone to work and to school. We've attended soccer games and back-to-school nights and hosted a wedding. We've visited relatives, had lunch with friends and watched parades. We've sat in front of the TV, built fires in the fireplace and brushed our teeth at night. But every one of those 197 days had an edge to it; every one of those mundane activities felt different. Today, for the first time in 6 months, the edge is gone. We finally got the call we've waited for since he deployed to Iraq; the one that told us he was back on American soil. Today, we can think of Sam in terms of what he will do for the rest of his life. Going to college, deciding on a career, having a family. . .things we couldn't let ourselves think about when he was in harms way...are a reality again. It's like that scene in the movie, Sleepless in Seattle where Tom Hanks talks about getting up every morning and having to remind himself to breathe and hoping that someday he could get up and not have to remind himself to breathe.

Today...I didn't have to remind myself to breathe.

Turkey Day...

2011-11-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

...literally :)

OK, it's lazy, but go here and here to see how we spent our Thanksgiving.

(warning~ it involves a 40lb. turkey and minor bloodshed)

Football Tribute to Veterans

2011-11-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

I used to photograph and cover sports for the local paper. I fell into the job writing because the paper hadn't sent a reporter to the last game of a basketball season that I was shooting (not a single game won all year, not much interest) . As it turned out, the team won on a last second shot by it's star player. The stands were filled despite the dismal record and the game seemed more like a championship event than the only win of a very long season. I felt the evening deserved more that a couple of pics and a caption, so I wrote what I thought was a decent tribute to the hard work and effort that these young men had put in all year. When my editor responded by saying, "I didn't know you could write" it was high praise indeed.

And so began my career as a sports writer....part time and very limited, but a good initiation into the world of deadlines and fact-checking and quotes from coaches. It was fun for awhile, and the money was a bonus, but other than one near-perfect football season where I tried in vain to imitate the feel of a SI story, coming up with creative ways to cover yet another track meet was beyond my abilities as a writer. So after about 3 years, I decided to pack up my typewriter and concentrate on the budding farm here at the Garver homestead. I even sold my legitimate I'm a sports photographer telephoto camera lens because I was only shooting 3 or 4 games all year. I miss the lens occasionally, and I miss standing on the sidelines, but I don't miss the deadlines ...not even a little bit.

This past Thursday the high school football team decided to honor Veterans by donning camouflage uniform tops, letting anyone with a military ID in free and having a couple of local veterans toss the coin before the game. It seemed a good time to pick up my camera and brave the cold (she says with a straight face, this is California after all) to take a few pics of the guys for posterity. Without my fancy schmancy lens I was mostly relegated to shots of the sidelines, but those are my favorite anyway, so it was all good.

These are for you Sam.

Happy Veterans Day

2011-11-11T10:02:00.001-08:00

To all the men and women who have served, or are serving in the United States military....THANK-YOU.

...we miss you Sam, every second of every day.

*********************

October Unprocessed

2011-09-24T11:11:00.001-07:00

For a family that prides itself (ok, mostly I pride myself) in eating a healthy homemade diet we sure do have a lot of frozen pizzas in the house. And last month, during college boy's summer vacation, there was actually a box of....cue the gasp...corn dogs in the freezer (thanks Wilson;) So when I stumbled upon this challenge on Eating Rules blog, it sounded like just what we needed to getting back on the road to completely ditching the prepared (aka processed) foods we continue to buy. It doesn't hurt that Wilson is back at school so only Annie will have to put up with our idiosyncrasies. (we really miss you Wilson...honest)

Our biggest problem with this challenge is the timing. Our garden is in transition from summer to winter crops so not a lot of produce will be fresh home-grown stuff. We do have winter squash, sweet potatoes, and black beans coming out of the garden...so soups will definitely be on the menu...and we've got quite a bit of home-canned and frozen goodies. Guess we'll just have to hit the Farmers Market on a more regular basis and keep our trips to the grocery store to a minimum... staying on the outer aisles.

This will be a good exercise to see just how much processed foods we actually are eating. I think when you have a lot of fruits and veggies around it seems ok to have a bag of Kettle chips in the cupboard to snack on (hey, they're GMO free). It'll be interesting to see what we miss the most and if it's possible to duplicate those items with home-made versions.

Turkeys Can't Fly...

2011-08-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

...but they can hop. This is what we've been waking up to since we moved a rabbit hutch next to the tool room a few days ago.

Problem is....he can't quite figure out how to get down. I had to climb up and drop him onto the bunny cage; at least he figured it out from there:)

ps. we will be moving the hutch....soon!

What's up.....

2011-08-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

...at the Garvers?

First day of school for dad and Annie...and last 'first day' for our high school senior.

Kitties are ready to go....now.

Steven next to the surviving tomato plants (he's 6'2").

New (for us) car....we love it!

(nice to have A/C, working windows and no deer hair in a broken headlight:)

Home-made catsup....the best ever!

Dad and Wilson trying out the new toy at the shooting range. (note to self...bring EXTRA ear protection next time)

...and painting Annies room.

Tomatoes!

2011-07-27T00:12:00.000-07:00

I posted about our tomato woes on our other blog, and considering we are pulling out a sick plant pretty much every other day, we are harvesting quite a few tomatoes.....good thing we planted ALOT!

This one is called Gold Medal....or at least that was what it was supposed to be. This is NOT what we grew last year, and not what the seed package promised....but hey, it's big and was delicious.

Huh?

2011-07-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

The comment button has disappeared.....not sure why....not sure anyone cares.....sigh.

(bit of an eeyore today, aren't I?;)

Peaches

2011-07-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome summer! I think I can safely say that peaches are our families absolute favorite fruit (strawberries a close second:) We have planted several different varieties so that when they mature we should be able to eat tree-ripened fruit from June thru August. This is the first real harvest from our 4 yr. old Sun Crest tree, and we are thrilled. This is the peach made (relatively) famous by David Mas Masumoto in his book Epitaph for a Peach.

Sun Crest is one of the last remaining truly juicy peaches. When you wash that treasure under a stream of cooling water, your fingertips instinctively search for the gushy side of the fruit. Your mouth waters in anticipation. You lean over the sink to make sure you don't drip on yourself. Then you sink your teeth into the flesh and the juices trickle down your cheeks and dangle on your chin. This is a real bite, a primal act, a magical sensory celebration announcing that summer has arrived.

The family still farms organically on 80 acres south of Fresno and David Masumoto also writes a column for the Fresno Bee. Ironically, for a peach developed and grown in the Central Valley, we had to drive to the coast to find a tree to purchase. But we've not been disappointed; they are absolutely delicious peaches. Definitely worth the wait... and the drive!

Gobble Gobble...

2011-07-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

Isn't our Tom Turkey quite impressive? He rarely goes into full macho mode but apparently today he felt like showing off.

It's been a busy couple of months, what with son's wedding, Mom in the hospital, visits from relatives, working in the garden, cars breaking down...you get the picture (and probably have a similar busy life). Anyway, hopefully I'll have a moment or two this week to sit down and write something a bit more substantial (like how many mentally ill people there are on Facebook;) till then... happy summer!

Happy Day!

2011-06-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just one of the reasons I've been neglectful on this blog lately....our oldest son Bradley got married last weekend to a lovely young lady....and we are thrilled. Brad and Laurel will be living in a cute little fourplex just a few blocks from us (we've promised no pop-ins) .

Photographs by Heather Chandler Nickell and Jamie Nickell

Our Hero

2011-05-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

-- George Orwell

Come Home Soon

2011-05-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

Take Care Son...

2011-05-27T15:48:00.001-07:00

...we are so proud of you.

Our son Sam surprised us last month by coming home for a visit during Easter vacation. He hadn't planned on coming home until sometime mid-deployment so we were thrilled to be able to spend some time with him. He ships out to Iraq in the next few days and tho we've known about it for months, I find myself in tears at odd times during the day lately....a good country song will do it every time, or a commercial that features a soldier, or a random memory about him that a friend posts on Facebook. Nothing in particular and everything in general reminds me that our son will be in harms way for the next 365 days. When he walked in the door last month, our world brightened ...and for just those two weeks our worries subsided.

Playing our favorite family game....

....that's not a word.

Wilson and Sam playing with the toy gun...

...and thankfully shooting at targets, not my glass candle holders.

(oh yeah, they can't ....he shot them all when he was 7!).

Easter lunch at the other Garvers.

Laurel and Brad.

Never too old for an Easter egg hunt!

Annie and Abel.

The Garver Men.

Playing Rock Band...

...fixing an old bike...

...and sitting on the roof.

We miss you already Sam.

Container Gardening

2011-05-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ignoring the mess...this is our back patio/slab that we poured many years ago so the kids would have a place to play basketball in the winter and where we set up our pool every summer. The hoop has since been retired but a smaller version of the pool will be up and cooling us off in a few weeks time (replacing the mound of one-gallon tomato seedlings in the center of the photo) .

The slab has become somewhat of a negative as we look for more growing spaces around the Garver homestead. Because it is one of the sunnier spots in the yard, and we don't want to jackhammer it out (just yet) we've been doing a lot more container gardening and are always on the lookout for castoffs that we can use to pot up a couple more tomatoes etc. The wooden box pictured above was a garage hutch that I spotted going into the neighbors truck headed for the dump. Placed on it's back with a few large drainage holes in the now bottom....ta da...a raised bed! Tomatoes in the deeper back section, peppers and butternut squash in the front/lower half.

On a side note ~ I found something to do with all those used canning lids I've been washing and saving. I've forgotten where I saw this idea or I'd give them credit:)

Where I need to be....

2011-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

In The Palm Of Your Hand"

If I could have the world and all it owns
A thousand kingdoms, a thousand thrones
If all the earth were mine to hold
With wealth my only goal

I'd spend my gold on selfish things
Without the love that Your life brings
Just a little bit more is all I'd need
'Til life was torn from me

I'd rather be in the palm of Your hand
Though rich or poor I may be
Faith can see right through the circumstance
Sees the forest in spite of the trees
Your grace provides for me

If I should walk the streets no place to sleep
No faith in promises You keep
I'd have no way to buy my bread
With a bottle for my bed

But if I trust the One who died for me
Who shed His blood to set me free
If I live my life to trust in You
Your grace will see me through

I'd rather be in the palm of Your hand
Though rich or poor I may be
Faith can see right through the circumstance
Sees the forest in spite of the trees

If I could have the world
If I could have the world and all it owns

In Which I Send you Elsewhere.....again.

2011-05-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

I've decided to stop writing a blog and will hereafter just keep sending you here...she says what I'm thinking but infinitely better and definitely funnier.

Thank-you Aldra....again.

Just Because....

2011-04-25T13:58:00.001-07:00

...I thought they were pretty.

No Sweetie, we Cannot get ANOTHER dog.

2011-04-13T10:01:00.001-07:00

Despite the incredible cuteness of our neighbors new puppy (a Maltese) we shall wait for one of ours to....ahem....depart before bringing another canine into the house.

But he is adorable!

Ok....the Feed Store clerk MAY have lied.

2011-04-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

The turkey chicks are bullies.....they keep pecking at the littler chicks. I'm not sure if they were the culprits but one of the baby hens died yesterday (not uncommon, but we didn't lose any last time). I'm thinking we may need to give them a very long time out.

(relax, we're just moving them to a separate box)

Yes, I'm talking about you.

We Bought our Thanksgiving Turkey Today

2011-04-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

I love that I can go to the feed store for a couple more laying hens, come home with way too many, introduce our homestead to the prospect of raising our own turkeys and all my husband says is,

"I guess I better get to work on that second pen." What a guy!

I had no intention of buying turkey chicks today but I got curious when I saw them in the same box as the Buff Orpingtons. I started chatting with the clerk about raising turkeys and how different is was from chickens...apparently, not much. So we are now the proud owners (at least until November;) of two turkeys, one white and one brown...

...and in about 5 months, the new chickens will be adding to our daily egg totals. Next thing we want for our ever growing city farm is meat rabbits.....shhhhh, don't tell the neighbors.

Win a LOT of Flour!

2011-04-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Click on the widget below and enter to win a Kitchen Aid mixer and a years supply of King Arthur flour. If you win....I win! (just go do it)

Soccer Ends

2011-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, tiring, wonderful season for the lady Monarchs.

Annie will miss her friends who are graduating this year...

...but is looking forward to being the big man on campus.

Friends since first grade ~ Annie, Alisa and Kayla.

Garden Soup

2011-03-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Tho not entirely from the garden, we're getting closer.

Decided to just see what I could harvest yesterday and came home with enough good stuff to make kale and sausage soup.

The peas are just starting to plump up and they are delicious.

We'll be picking carrots pretty much as we need them for the next several months and maybe thru the summer depending on how the second crop (just planted) does.

The kale...that has escaped our chickens....is wonderful (as is the spinach).

Tho the onions are still young, they are at least bulbing this year (finally planted the right kind for our zone) and we are using the thinnings.

Garlic left from last Springs crop.

Sauted the sausage with the onions and garlic, added homemade chicken stock and veggies plus some store bought potatoes (ours aren't quite big enough yet, but in a few weeks....)

Simmered for about an hour and enjoyed with some freshly baked bread....yum!

Happy Birthday Steven!

2011-03-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

With our lovely daughter at her last soccer game.

I know this is an anniversary song, but since we celebrated 27 years last month (and I didn't blog about it) I wanted to include it this post. So glad I can say this is true of our life together.

In Which I send you Elsewhere

2011-03-04T14:12:00.001-08:00

Just read this......it's excellent!

Goodbye Earl J.Waggedorn

2011-02-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

There was a television show in the late sixties called Julia about a single Mom and her adorable son Corey. Corey's best friend was a little red-haired boy named Earl J.Waggedorn who had a habit of using his entire name every time he was introduced. I loved that show and I loved the name. When we got ourselves a male red kitten some 13 years ago….there was no doubt what we would be calling him.

Earl J. grew up to be a big, beautiful, and fairly atypical male cat. He was not at all a wanderer and tho occasionally would get into a tussle with a neighbor cat, fighting was always in defence of his turf. He was naturally good-natured and quite charming but often overlooked in our ever-expanding feline zoo (which is why I had trouble finding a decent photo of him).

Sometime after Brad’s accident at 13, Earl J. attached himself to our oldest son. Never figured out if it was instinctive protection of Brad in his disabled state or just the fact that Brad had his own room away from easy access to other animals. Young Earl, tho tolerant, was not especially enamoured of sharing his digs.

All thru high school and college Brad doted on that cat. Every night before turning in, he would go to the front door and call out his name and Earl J. never failed to respond. Once in the house he would follow Brad to his room, hop into bed, and settle in for the night. If Brad was going to be late, had a game, or spent the night with a friend, he would always call to make sure that Earl J. was taken care of.

When Brad moved to Fresno to attend FSU he smuggled Earl into his no pets apartment and the cat kept him company his first year away from home. When he switched houses the following year, Earl came back to stay with us because of roommate issues .....and he was not happy about it. The sight of that lonely cat sitting at Brad's door (now a newly repainted girls room) quietly crying for him to come home, was slightly pathetic. We were all relieved when Brad decided to commute the second semester of that year, tho not just because of a dejected cat.

About a month ago Earl J. started losing weight. He seemed fine in every other way but was getting skinnier every day. By the time we took him to the vet, he had lost a good deal of muscle tone and his bones were starting to protrude. Told that there was a laundry list of possible culprits, many of which were untreatable, the doctor gave him a shot for pain (which he didn’t seem to be in) and prescribed vitamins, wet food, and ear mite medication. The vet told us that there were a lot of tests he could run or we could take him home and let nature take its course. As much as we loved him, with no guarantee that spending a small fortune would be advantageous in the long run, the decision was made to bring Earl home.

In a week he went from looking sickly to looking like a starving kitten. He lost half his size and could barely move. The night he refused water we knew it wouldn’t be long. Trying to make him as comfortable as possible I set up a blanket on our bed and tho I hardly slept, fretting over whether he would make it through the night, I was glad we had him near us. Through the following morning, and fully realizing that I was a far cry from his beloved Brad (who just last week moved into a drafty cabin up in the mountains…hardly a comfortable place for a sick cat) I tried to offer solace. Though I was never quite sure if I was comforting him or annoying him, I did my best. Each time I walked into our room as I went about my chores, I would pet him, talk to him, and gingerly check to make sure he was still alive. His breathing grew softer and less consistent with each visit. Finally, around noon, he stopped breathing altogether. It seemed a peaceful and painless death and though I will miss him, I’m glad he didn't linger any longer than he did.

So, one week to the day after our visit to the vet, we buried our big red cat in the garden under the dining room window. When my husband asked why that particular spot rather than out in the back, I said I wanted to look out the window and see the stepping stone over his grave and remember him…just a little bit…every day.

I’ve always thought that crying over a cat is something other people do…but I guess today I’m other people.

What do I know of Holy?

2011-02-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

I made You promises a thousand times

I tried to hear from Heaven but I talked the whole time

I think I made You too small, I never feared You at all, no

If You touched my face would I know You?

Looked into my eyes, could I behold You?

What do I know of You who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood but the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out

I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about

How You were might to save

Those were only empty words on a page

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of You who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood but the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of holy?

What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?

And a God who gave life it's name?

What do I know of holy of the One who the angels praise?

All creation knows Your name on earth and heaven above

What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood but the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

~Addison Road

Urban Homesteading ala Us

2011-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

I may be taking just a wee bit too much pleasure in this whole Dervaes trademark fiasco. But then for us the shine wore off their halos some time ago and frankly, a healthy dose of reality might be just what they needed. Never pays to believe your own press, especially when a lot of it is self-generated.

The short story is that the Dervaes of Pasedena have trademarked several phrases including the widely used term Urban Homestead. While people are willing to concede that things like Path to Freedom and Little Homestead in the City are unique to the Dervaes, they most certainly are not willing to give up a phrase that captures the spirit of an entire movement and has been around for decades before the Dervaes started including it in their press releases.

When the family sent out 16 what they insist are not cease and desist letters (that sounded an awful lot like cease and desist letters) the perverbial crap hit the Facebook fan. Their hubris in insisting that they had used the phrase in a 'new and unique way' and therefore were entitled to protect their intellectual property was followed by a hailstorm of criticism and an entire Facebook page dedicated to Taking Back Urban Homesteading.

And here is where I find myself slightly tickled by their plight. There are those of us who for years have been wary of the Dervaes constant self-promotion and marketing but were hesitant to criticize one of the most recognizable faces of the sustainability movement. Now that the floodgates have opened we find ourselves in very good company and able to finally express our misgivings. It seems obvious to us all that the emperor has no clothes….and never did.

Though their website shares their adventures in growing most of their own food, running a household with minimal energy, making biodiesel from used cooking oil, and keeping chickens and goats, it is not the first to do so and it is hardly unique. The main difference as far as I can tell between their website and others is the appalling lack of helpful instruction. They have become so enamored of their image that touting how amazing they are has taken precedence over sharing any kind of meaningful information.

But even I am surprised by how poorly they have handled the fall-out from their initial misstep. Playing the victim, shutting down their Facebook pages and closing comments on their website has only served to make them look surly and childish. They’ve gone so far as to accuse their detractors of harassing and threatening them (without proof). To paint everyone who had a complaint with the same broad stroke is unconscionable. Many who felt they deserved an explanation for their actions were huge supporters of the family and it’s endeavours. Was it fair to lump them all into a mob of unruly, ignorant, thugs? Me thinks thou does protest too much.

If you are truly being abused (seriously?) how about using comment moderation to weed out the nutcases and allow for a civil discussion with your readership. Slamming the door in our faces doesn’t exactly help your cause…and it’s not a good business move. All those nice folks who buy your seeds and donate to your website will likely take their money elsewhere now that they’ve seen how poorly you play with others.

The Urban Homestead community is a big one, and as it turns out an articulate and intelligent one at that. This diverse group of individuals has become a force to be reckoned with because of the Dervaes blunder. What could have divided a community has actually helped to bind it more solidly. The Facebook page Take back Urban Homesteading is close to 4000 likes as I write this. Not since Monsanto did....anything.... has a community rallied behind a cause with such fervor. I think I love these people.

What is Work?

2011-02-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

Note to a friend~

When you tell me that I “need to get a job” you are saying that what I do has no value. That if I’m not bringing home a paycheck, I have no value. The implication is that I have 8 extra hours a day in which to do something productive. That the hours I spend gardening and canning and cooking and baking bread are obviously wasted ....frivolous. And dear friend, it hurts that you think so little of what I’ve chosen to spend my life doing.

24 years ago, the decision was made for me to stay home and raise our children. We were fortunate that Steve’s job as a teacher paid well enough for us to have that option. Though we lived without some of the luxuries that others take for granted we have never regretted that choice. As the kids have grown up and I’m needed less for child care we’ve made the decision to live a more self-sustainable lifestyle and my time is now spent pursuing that goal…and so far, no regrets there either.

I'm not sure why you think it's acceptable to judge my lifestyle choices since they don't involve dealing drugs or prostitution (and now that I mention it....those are jobs). I would never presume to tell you that you need to quit your job and stay home to take care of your family; I would appreciate the same consideration from you.

More Good Stuff with Lemons

2011-02-08T09:40:00.001-08:00

Since I still had Meyer lemons left from our haul (and since I can't ship them to mamaraby in exchange for snow;) I decided to try a few recipes from a blog post I found recently.

Zest in Vodka will become Limoncello....eventually. Ours is currently in a dark place awaiting the addition of simple syrup...see you in 2 weeks.

After juicing the zested lemons (and freezing the juice in ice cube trays for later use) I chopped the remaining pith, put it in a large pot and covered it with 10 cups of water.

Cooked for about 2 hours....covered.

Strain out cooked pith (supposed to use cheesecloth, but I...ahem...didn't quite read the directions thoroughly) and you have homemade pectin!

Then you can do this nifty test to see if the pectin is viable...pour a bit of rubbing alcohol into a glass or bowl and drop a spoonful of the pectin into it. After a few seconds , it should jell into a mass solid and cohesive enough to pick up with the tines of a fork. If the pectin droops off the tines (which I think mine is doing) the jam will jell loosely (so add a bit more?).

I think straining it thru the cheesecloth would have captured a bit more of the sediment that has settled in the bottom of the jars...but my jams are not clear anyway and I never make jelly.

Just a few pics....

2011-02-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

... of the zoo.

Because I don't want to post it Twice....

2011-02-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

...if you are interested in our seed-starting setup check out this post on our other blog.

Bread Making...

2011-02-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

....and the quest for the perfect 'crumb'. I've been baking almost all of our bread for the past several years and though my sandwich-type loaf is fine, I'm still not completely satisfied with the artisan country bread that we enjoy so much. I want to bake the kind of bread that is the perfect compliment to a steaming bowl of homemade soup or a big plate of spaghetti....crusty and chewy and tasty. The kind of bread that I...ahem...used to buy from Panera.

The bread should have bigger holes and a chewier texture....something that can handle a big slather of butter. I've tried the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day techniques but didn't really like the results or the fact that it takes up alot of space in the fridge.

I did find a recipe in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book that looks promising ...takes 2 days to prepare but I'm willing to give it a shot. And I also broke down and ordered a sourdough starter (mine always ended up tasting sour in a bad mouth-puckering way) so maybe that will be a key to the mystical ever-elusive perfect loaf.

One can only hope.

....to be continued.

Meyer Lemons

2011-01-21T22:28:00.000-08:00

Lemon season is here!

One of the many joys of living in the valley is a constant source of free citrus. There are so many people around town who just can't use all the fruit produced by one tree, and since ours are still babies we gladly take whatever excess we can get our hands on.

Meyers are our favorite lemons. Because they are a cross between a lemon and an orange, the flavor is somewhat sweeter and less acidic.

The juicing was a long process, made thankfully easier with the help of our electric juicer.

Some of the juice was poured into ice cube trays and then bagged to use all year long.

Zest was 'baked' for an hour to make sure it was fully dried before storing....

...and slices were dehydrated for use in teas this winter...and next!

I also made and canned a big batch of lemonade concentrate ~ pics to follow.

Coyotes

2011-01-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail.

A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.

Montana :

The Governor of Montana is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.

1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.

And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Montana is not.

Happy New Year...

2011-01-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

....and the joys of spending it at home watching a movie.

Alternate title~ Why being a recluse has it's advantages.

My high school class held it's 35th reunion on New Year's Eve...and though we missed it (not in every sense of the word) I had a front row seat to the planning and discussions leading up to the event. Or should I say two very separate/split events.

Even at our advanced age...ahem...and the fact that some of us remain fairly technologically challenged, most of said planning went on thru Facebook. And it wasn't all bad (stay tuned). I've reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. People I was intimidated by as a teenager have turned out to be pretty wonderful....and others who I admired, not so much.

High school was fun....some days. High school was inclusive....rarely. High school was painful....a lot. Worries over grades paled in comparison to worries over clothing and boys and the quest for popularity. It was mostly a tough time with some giggles thrown in to help you survive. My dad once said that high school should be the "best time of your life." I wanted to shoot myself in the head when he made that comment. My only solace was that life after high school would be better (which it has been). This is the best it's going to be?....that's just plain depressing.

Maybe some people had a grand ole time in high school. Surely there were those who weren't slayed by adolescent angst but I was not one of the lucky few. The best thing I can say about High school is that it was mercifully short and eventually insignificant. Revisiting that period in my life just didn't seem like a very good idea. So despite being tickled to have reconnected with a few friends from those years, the thought of spending an entire evening with people I barely knew and frankly many who I'd just as soon forget, did not thrill me....at all.

As it turned out, high school didn't end for some people. The drama and pettiness and stupidity continue. My dad used to say that he didn't like reunions because everyone looked so old and you knew you hadn't changed. The sad thing is, some of these people haven't changed...and not in the, "you look great" sort of way. The reunion ended up being split because of differences over venue and beverages (alcohol) and although I have an opinion as to who was right and who were idiots, I'm thrilled to have missed it all. This was definitely one of those, 'Life is too short' moments.

May your New Year be filled with people that make you laugh, think and rarely annoy you!

ps. Since my HS boyfriend was committee chairman (and still as charming as he was in high school...which is to say, not very) I will add that I am incredibly glad to have made at least one

brilliant decision in my youth.

Love having a Fireplace....

2010-12-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

...especially during a rainstorm.

Looking In

2010-12-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

I love looking into our house (and other peoples:) and seeing the glow of lights from the tree.

Christmas at the Garvers

2010-12-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

So glad my Mom is with us for another year (and will be for many more...you promised mom!)

Socks....always a good gift for Dad!

Wison....the comedian.

Brother Robert, Mom and our nephew Nate.

Enough computers?

Enjoying the new slipcover.

Brad and his fiancee Laurel.

Love the t-shirt from Sam, bicycle MPG-infinity!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

The tree is finally up...

...and Sam's home.

Happy happy Joy joy!

Holiday Eating Tips

2010-12-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an "eggnog-aholic" or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it.

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat - have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

thanks to Rural Revolution from whom I stole this....Merry Christmas!

Wood Floors

2010-12-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

We decided to pull up the carpeting in the family room last week...

....and wish we'd done it years ago!

The floors are not in great shape, but compared to the dirty, grimy, 'less than 5yr.old' carpeting (whole other post there....ugh) they are a breath of fresh air, literally. 9+ cats had taken their toll on the carpet (aka~ alternate litter box).

You can sort of see that the carpeting was once very pretty....or at least clean.

The red is the 'water-proof' padding.....now there's an idea. I'm not sure there's much hope once a cat chooses a spot to use to relieve themselves, but having the urine stay in the carpeting rather than soak down to the floor doesn't help.

Our Christmas tree will be going in that back corner....someday.

Notice the corner of the couch where our much loved cats (said dripping with sarcasm) have sharpened their claws. I can only assume this process is necessary for all the hunting they do around here.

And then we covered the floor with a rug...I think it makes the sitting area more cozy and we like the warmth under our feet (and the cats may need a new decorative accessory to ruin).

Christmas decorations are up....

2010-12-14T09:00:00.001-08:00

...now we must go get a tree!

And when we do, hopefully I'll post some pics of the finished product. For now, here's one of my favorite decorations made by our eldest son when he was about 6yr. old....I just love it.

Vanilla

2010-12-10T11:31:00.000-08:00

I'm making vanilla.....did you know you could do that?

(I didn't)

You need good vodka, and I'm not sure what constitutes 'good' but this was the most expensive one that Costco sold (don't laugh) so that's what I went with.

Using a fairly sharp knife, I cut down the middle of 9 vanilla beans

(3 beans per cup of vodka) ....

....leaving an inch at one end.

Put vanilla beans in a glass jar, cover with vodka, secure lid and

store in cool, dark place for 2 months.

This was started a month ago and it's turning a nice brown color but still tastes a bit like...um...vodka? Because I don't drink vodka I'm just guessing....it doesn't taste like wine:) Since commercial vanilla extract usually has simple syrup added to it, it won't ever taste quite like that. I could add sugar water but probably won't, it'll be fine for baking.

....from a recipe on Simply Recipes

2010-11-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

Good Point

2010-11-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

This is something I have been saying for YEARS....only he says it better and less passionately* than I ever could.

*passion is my husband's euphemism for the intense emotional response I have to life's absurdities...most people would just call it anger.

------------------------------------------

Hijacked planes as missiles is something that would only work once. Previously, hijacked passengers and crew had a sort of assurance that if they cooperated, they wouldn't get hurt. Hijackers were after some other kind of demands, not killing everyone on board. Once the 9/11 guys blew up that bargain, it changes the likelihood of passenger cooperation dramatically, and radically reduces the odds of another success. If people know that they're going to die if the hijacker succeeds, they're better off trying to fight off the hijacker, it can't be any worse and it might be better.

All the security stuff is pointless compared to that behavioral shift by passengers and crew.

~John Alexnder Thacker

Security???

2010-11-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" ~ Benjamin Franklin

I think it's time for a collaborative effort on our part to shame the TSA and their agents. What if every person in line watching this kind of atrocity were to hold up their cell phones to record the procedure? Let's make it OBVIOUS that they are being recorded....ALL THE TIME. Instead of laying the burden of civil disobedience on the shoulders of just the selected individuals who are singled out for searching, we all can participate in letting the government know that this must END. Even those people who are just dropping off a loved one are usually within site of the security measures. Take out your phone, hold it up, and let them know you are doing it...stand up for your rights before you have none.

Potatoes

2010-11-19T10:06:00.001-08:00

In the spot recently vacated by the sweet potatoes go our newly sprouted russet, reds, and yukon golds. We have planted potatoes from Nov. thru Feb. here and had good luck with all of them.

This year I had them hanging in our bedroom window in the 'solar dehydrator' for a month while they 'chitted' (fancy term for forcing them to sprout).

We plant them deep but don't cover with more than an inch or two of soil until they get to be about 6 inches tall. It's easier to 'hill them up' this way than to try and build up the soil above ground level. If you don't cover emerging potatoes they can be exposed to sunlight, turn green, and become toxic.

The final touch are the ever attractive 'cat guards'....doing double duty this year as protection for passers-by to keep them from falling into the holes. In other words....a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Or they could just be shade for the cat :)

More info on growing potatoes in California here.

We Can Never Thank Them Enough

2010-11-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

Having been raised in a Military home, Dad was a Naval pilot for 28 years, and having lived thru my brother's deployment to Kuwait as a Marine...it should not have come as a big surprise that a child of ours would decide to join the United States Army. But it did...and the feelings that go with it continue to overwhelm me.

Not a day goes by that I am not incredibly proud of our son's decision to serve this country. But I am astonished by how much emotion I feel every time I see a uniform in the mall or in a video, or in a movie...a really good commercial can bring tears to my eyes. A dear friend of ours, whose own son recently returned from Afghanistan, told me that joining this 'club' would change everything for us.....and it has.

We are so proud of our son Sam. We are so thankful for his service to this country. And we pray every day for his safety and the safety of his fellow soldiers.

Thank a Veteran today.

Sweet Success

2010-11-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

We dug up the sweet potatoes last week ...

...and got a little more that we had bargained for weight-wise. I couldn't help but think of the 'Gilligan's Island' episode where they eat vegetables grown from radioactive seeds...because of course Gilligan had thrown away the top to the box which was clearly labeled DANGER (Gilligan did things like that....alot).

Anyhoo, we ended up with some rather large specimens and over 100lbs. total. We're not huge sweet potato eaters (no pun intended) so we're giving away probably half of these. But we will be enjoying sweet potato fries for the next couple of months, as well as my famous (to me) 'Roasted Sweet Potatoes in Lime Syrup with Chives' for Thanksgiving...yum.

On Education

2010-10-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Good video on our public school system.

Yet another reason to DUMP standardized testing....and a really good argument for home-schooling.

The Governors Race

2010-10-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm...... he makes some very good points.....definitely worth considering.

Just My Opinion

2010-10-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is not an insignificant thing. A military officer addresses his SUPERIORS as Sir and Ma’am….his subordinates are addressed by their rank. The higher an officer succeeds to in the military, the less people he will be calling Sir and Ma’am. So the officer in this case, a Brigadier General, was actually affording Senator Boxer an elevated position. Add to that the fact that military personnel are SPECIFICALLY taught to call members of congress by the more respectful term and you have a Senator that doesn’t understand the most rudimentary of military traditions. She shouldn’t be allowed to determine their fates.

In Which I Take a Drive

2010-10-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

Had to go into town yesterday to run a few errands, and after a few miles I notice that my darling teenage ‘doesn’t have a job but likes to drive’ daughter had left the car on empty. Not almost empty but EMPTY. I happen to be driving thru Farmersville (yes, that’s a real town) when I discover the problem so at least I’m close to civilization. Driving past the Shell station I opt to buy from the ‘10cents a gallon cheaper’ mini-mart. Tho I’m only getting $10 worth, I want that 30 cents. I’m just that cheap.

I pull in, turn off the car, get out, unscrew the gas cap and set it on the trunk.....where it promptly rolls off onto the ground and under the car...sigh. I stick the nozzle into the tank (I’ll get the cap later) and start the process of paying with my debit card. Sliding in and ‘quickly’ removing my card, the screen lights up with an ‘Enter your zip code’ command…and that’s it. The prompt appears on an otherwise blank screen. Hmmm. While trying to figure out the situation...beep, ‘Transaction canceled.’ Apparently I have exceeded my time limit for entering said code. It’s obviously some kind of intelligence test...and I will not fail. Once again, in and out with the card. Once again ‘Enter your zip code.’ Once again a blank screen. But at least this time I consider the 4 buttons on either side of the screen...also blank. Maybe this is like a phone where there are standard numbers assigned to each button and I could just guess which one of the eight buttons would represent the number NINE. Beep.....transaction canceled. Ugh.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” I will need to enter the store. Minor inconvenience. Not a big deal...so far.

Handing my card to the clerk I smile and cheerfully say, “Your pump doesn’t work,”...no response. She asks if the card is debit or credit to which I respond, “Either, whatever is cheaper.” She rings up $10 worth of gas and hands me my receipt with a total of $10.49. “There’s a fee?” Yes, there’s a fee. Double ugh. I walk out the door mumbling something to the effect that I would NOT be frequenting their establishment in the near future. Ok, I believe my exact words were, “I’m not coming back to this joint.”

I approach my car ruminating on the 49cents I just spent in order to save 30 and I notice a hand written sign on the pump:

Credit and cash same price, We no longer charge a fee for credit card use.

Hmmm...heavy sigh. Back into the store. “Your sign says there is no extra charge for credit cards,” I say, not so cheerfully. “Yes, but yours was debit.” Wait for it...wait for it...WHAT?

When I repeat my statement about “whatever was cheaper,” …she sort of frowns and says, “Well, I can give you 50 cents.” Really? You CAN. I don’t even respond; I just put my hand out.

I’m still not sure if this is a calculated effort on the part of the market to make a few bucks from their distracted customers or if this gal was just a...ahem...moron, but I will definitely NOT be going back...geez.

At least I got my 50 cents back and felt good about standing up for myself. I felt good until I got to the grocery store and found that in all the commotion I had forgotten to retrieve my gas cap from under the car. Yup, that worked out well.

Something to Think About

2010-10-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from an article by Jerry Mander. I found it interesting and a bit frightening.

-------------------------------------------------

There's a missing link in the discussion (on ecomomic growth), ignored by nearly everyone in the mainstream debate: nature. They speak about our economy as if it were a separate entity, its own ever-expanding universe, unconnected to any realities outside itself, not embodied within a larger system from which, actually, it emerged and can't escape. Nature cannot be left out of the discussion. It may be the most important detail of the entire conversation. Leaving it out of consideration is, well, suicidal. Here's the point: never-ending growth on a small planet with finite resources is a profound impossibility. It's an absurdity. A fantasy. It's time to wake up.

The whole situation is something new for capitalism, a shock. For two centuries it's been like a closely guarded secret that the entire economic system we live in, and assumed was forever, is actually part of another larger system, but with only so many resources and dump sites. But the secret is out. We are eating up the materials that sustain us, and the feast is almost over.

During the great heydays of capitalism – the last two centuries of spectacular development and growth – we lived in what the great ecological economist Herman Daly called a "full world" of resources. We thought they were unlimited, some kind of permanent gift to the human race from God, so we could display our stewardship, or something. But it's not a "full world" any more. Somebody should tell our leaders.

Watch for the big announcement: THE PARTY IS OVER. Without ever-expanding resources, ever-expanding production and consumption, our economic growth model becomes a relic, instantly obsolete. But so far, no one in leadership roles is admitting to that. If they know it, they're too scared to say so.

So, we are left with a profound dilemma: do we serve the short-term interests of profits and growth? Or do we face reality and serve long-term planetary survival? How to solve one problem without exacerbating the other? So far, the decisions have favoured the corporate side, as usual. But circumstances may change that.

President Evo Morales of Bolivia, the only head of state from an indigenous heritage, made his position clear, first in Copenhagen, and then in Cochabamba: "We have a stark choice between capitalism and survival," he said. "The countries of the world have failed in their obligations … Either capitalism lives or Mother Earth lives."

The conclusion is clear. From here on, no one gets off easy. Everyone's in the same boat, caught in the same systemic conflict. The conundrums apply as much to Morales as to Obama. Growth is over, and they need a real, clear vision of a way forward. That's true for all of us. Surely it's time to agree that the first step is to start drawing curtains on an obsolete, out-of-date system that could kill us all, and to shape a new one. Which brings us to the good news.

The universal quest is to define systems that that can deliver economic sufficiency and equity, permanently, while remaining within the carrying capacities of the planet. Most accept that systemic economic growth will soon be over, though growth is encouraged in specific timely activities – for example, certain renewable energy forms, local agriculture practice, sustainable building and the arts. Other ingredients of a new economy that some groups advocate include:

• Adoption of an international "oil depletion protocol" for an orderly, equitable decline of fossil-fuel use and a transition to less total energy use; a commonly used term for this is "powering down" – that is, aiming at minimum energy for sufficiency and equity.

• Universal emphasis on conservation and efficiency in all activities.

• Emphasis on localisation not globalisation (thus reducing negative impacts of global transport). Local production for local consumption, especially in crucial areas such as food, housing and energy. Restrictions on the conversion of food-growing lands. Emphasis on the revitalisation of sustainable local agriculture systems. On national levels, revival of the "import substitution" model; an emphasis on local production for essential needs, rather than trade. Greater regulation and less movement of capital across borders.

• Less long-distance shipping, not more.

That is the tiniest sample of what thousands of people are now discussing in various forums, including Cochabamba, World Social Forums and many others. For more information, I suggest internet searches of some of the following: Post Carbon Institute, Transition Towns movement, Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, New Economics Institute, Global Footprint Network, Ecosocialist International Network, New Economy Working Group, ETC Group, The Story of Stuff, 350.org, left or green biocentrism, Dark Mountain Project, Indigenous Environmental Network, Tebtebba foundation, Food and Water Watch, Navdanya, Third World Network, International Center for Technology Assessment, Global Alliance for Rights of Nature, Rainforest Action Network, Institute for Policy Studies, International Forum on Globalization. These will doubtless lead to dozens of others.

Read the entire article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/oct/15/climate-change-economic-growth-capitalism

It makes me cry...but gives me hope.

2010-09-17T15:04:00.001-07:00

For Sam ....our Superman

2010-09-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

Our boy is in Louisiana this month being the 'bad guy' (training) for a battalion that will deploy to Afghanistan in the next few months. Prayers to all our brave men in uniform.

Going to Church

2010-09-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just me that needed to read this....but I just had to share.

(seriously....go read it!)

Garden Talley

2010-08-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit remiss (don't you love that word?) in posting the garden totals this year, so here's a recap of what we've harvested from the garden(s) this year...

...so far.

January – 32 lbs.
4 lbs. broccoli

3 lbs. cabbage

2 lbs. lettuce

23 lbs. pecans

February - 47lbs.

21 lbs. broccoli

8 lbs. cabbage

5 lbs. lettuce

5 lbs. cauliflower

2 lbs. snow peas

6 lbs. oranges

March – 22 lbs.

1 lb. broccoli

2 lbs. cauliflower

4 lbs. lettuce

4 lbs. snow peas

5 lbs. potatoes

6 lbs. spinach

April - 89 lbs.
4 lbs. broccoli
3 lbs. cabbage
3 lbs. lettuce
1 lb. snow peas
35 lbs. potatoes
43 lbs. peas

May – 76 lbs.
43 lbs. potatoes
28 lbs. onions
5 artichokes

June –68 lbs.
8 lbs. potatoes
2 lbs. onions
3 lbs. carrots
37 lbs. beans
18 lbs. zucchini

July – 232 lbs.
13 lbs. onions
21 lbs. carrots
13 lbs. beans
7 lbs. zucchini
27 lbs. cucumbers
7 lbs. peppers
5 lbs. peaches
139 lbs. tomatoes
- 81 lbs. slicing
- 58 lbs. paste

566 lbs. total

So for the first 7 months of 2010 we have harvested a grand total of 566 lbs. In comparison, at this time last year we had a grand total of 319 lbs. ....but we hadn't started our sharecropping garden so that's not really a fair comparison. The tomatoes have actually been a disappointment this year. Despite harvesting more overall (in July) the production per plant was lower, and August totals will be significantly less than last year......sigh. But I've not quite given up hope yet. A lot of the plants are getting new growth and there are flower buds on them. We'll see if we can leave them in the ground long enough for fruit to develop. We have until the first few weeks of Oct. before we'll need to clean out the beds for our winter crops. The race is on :)

Truth

2010-08-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of peopleI've ever dealt with. They never assume the worst. They appreciate the importance of having different perspectives. They're slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rash judgments or act in anything less than a spirit of total love. . . . No, wait—I'm thinking of golden retrievers!

- From today's reading in "Our Daily Bread"
(thanks for sharing this Jean:)

Summer in the Kitchen

2010-08-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

I love walking into the kitchen in the morning when the counters are covered with produce and cooling jars.

Tomato sauce, catsup and relish.

Everybody's Shot

2010-08-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

-by Peggy Noonan, 2002

There's a small but telling scene in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" that contains some dialogue that reverberates, at least for me. In the spirit of Samuel Johnson, who said man needs more often to be reminded than instructed, I offer it to all, including myself, who might benefit from its message.
The movie, as you know, is about the Battle of the Bakara Market in Mogadishu, in October 1993. In the scene, the actor Tom Sizemore, playing your basic tough-guy U.S. Army Ranger colonel, is in charge of a small convoy of humvees trying to make its way back to base under heavy gun and rocket fire. The colonel stops the convoy, takes in some wounded, tears a dead driver out of a driver's seat, and barks at a bleeding sergeant who's standing in shock nearby:

Colonel: Get into that truck and drive.

Sergeant: But I'm shot, Colonel.

Colonel: Everybody's shot, get in and drive.

"Everybody's shot." Those are great metaphoric words.

Let me tell you how they seem to apply metaphorically. An hour before I saw the movie, I was with friends at lunch, and they filled me in on the latest doings in our beloved country while I was away. Cornel West is very, very angry at Larry Summers for suggesting that Prof. West shouldn't essentially perp-walk his way through the halls of academe. A Secret Service agent--a presidential Secret Service agent!--had a hissy fit when an airline pilot refused to let him board a plane carrying his gun with dubious paperwork. The agent is not only threatening a lawsuit, he says he doesn't want money when he wins. He wants the airline to be forced to give sensitivity training. I thought: I think someone needs sensitivity training all right, but I don't think it's the airline.

Just after the movie, I picked up Ellis Cose's latest book, "The Envy of the World," about the "daunting challenges" that face black men in 21st-century. I read and thought, Earth to Ellis: Everyone faces daunting challenges in 21st-century.

Because everybody's been shot.

What does that mean? It means something we used to know. It means everyone has it hard, everyone takes hits, everyone's been fragged, everyone gets tagged, life isn't easy for anyone.

I turn on morning television and see Rosie O'Donnell referring again to the fact that her mother died when she was young. This of course is very sad, and Rosie has spoken of its sadness very often, and with a great whoosh of self-regard. Her sympathy for her loss made me think, the other day: She doesn't really know that other people lost their mothers when they were young. She doesn't really know that some people never even had mothers.

She doesn't know everybody's been shot.

I put on HBO and see their new young poet's show. Young poets--well, they say they're poets; I guess they're more like performance artists--come on and sort of strut around a stage and yell, and the more authentic their anger seems, the more the audience applauds and hoots. These poets seem attached to their separateness and in love with their grievance. "I am one angry Lebanese lesbian," "I am one angry NewYorican mother-lovin' whatever." They pour out their pain. But they don't actually seem to be in pain. They all look like they went to Brown and hang out downtown and have invested fully and happily in the Misery Industrial Complex. They look like they want an agent.

They're not old enough or, in spite of Brown, bright enough to know: Everybody's been shot.

A young friend of a friend is still so depressed by Sept. 11 that school and social life and going to a show are now out of the question. "I'm staying home. I'm hurting."

I know, I said a few days ago when we talked. But everyone's hurting, I explain. Then I thought of Tom Sizemore. "Everyone's been shot," I said, "ya gotta get in and drive anyway."

When I was a child in the old America, people said things like, "It ain't easy." Then they'd shrug. Or, "Whatta ya want, life ain't easy!" I think people actually sighed more in those days, issued forth big long sighs that said: Life is hard. There was a sort of general knowledge that each day would not necessarily be a sleigh ride, and that everyone hits bumps along the way, and some of them are really hard, and everyone sooner or later hits them.

But now, more so than in the past, something has grown in our country, grown perhaps because of good things like psychotherapy and bad things like group-identity politics. And that something is an increasing tender regard for one's own sensitivities and quirks and problems and woes--twinned with a growing insensitivity to everyone else's quirks and problems and woes.

This is not progress. If we became more aware of others instead of demanding that others be more aware of our needs, we would probably get a better fix on life, a better perspective, a better sense of everyone's context. We'd wind up more patient with others, more sympathetic. We could actually wind up sensitive to someone other than ourselves.

I sound earnest today. I am earnest today. But I will make this more fun. The week included the story of a congressman, who through no fault of his own, was humiliated, treated with great insensitivity. I am speaking of John Dingell, the Democrat from Michigan. Mr. Dingell, as you know, is an important veteran congressman who has grown used to--how to put it?--asserting his needs and seeing to it that they are met.

John Dingell was trying to get on a plane the other day when his artificial hip set off a magnetometer. He pointed out that it was an artificial hip, and I suspect he pointed out that he was a member of Congress who does not fit the prevailing terror profile. But you know what the security guards did? They took him into a side room, made him take off his pants and wanded him. John Dingell had to stand there in his underpants proving he wasn't carrying a gun.

When the story became public, the secretary of transportation called him and apologized. Mr. Dingell waved him off and told him it was OK, he understands, everyone's doing his job.

Now that's someone who knows that everybody's been shot.

2010-08-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Lay down softly in our sorrow
Lay down sister to die
And cover over, my sweet Father
Cover over her eyes

Your broken body, it cannot weather
The years your youth still longs to spend
So go down graceful, sleep with the angels
And wake up whole again

Cause it was not your time; that's a useless line
A fallen world took your life

But the God that sometimes can't be found
Will wrap Himself around you
So lay down, sister, lay down

Slower passing are the hours
To tell this tale that takes its time
But the finest moment, no man can measure
Is to look your Savior in the eyes

So take her tender to Your table
Take her from this killing floor
To taste the water that is forever
Let her be thirsty no more

It was not her time; that's a useless line
A fallen world took her life

But the God that sometimes can't be found
Will wrap Himself around you
So lay down, sister, lay down

And the God that sometimes can't be found
Will wrap Himself around you
So lay down, Rita, lay down

---Rita by Bebo Norman

First Day of School

2010-08-05T08:42:00.001-07:00

Annie and Steve head off for their first day of another year at the High School.

:)

2010-08-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

One time a cop pulled me over for running a stop sign. He said, "Didn't you see the stop sign?" I said, "Yeah, but I don't believe everything I read."

-Stephen Wright

Tomato Sauce....

2010-07-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

....Finally!!!

This has not been the best year for tomatoes at the Garver home. The plants in our yard look great but because of the amount of shade they get are not as productive as they could be, and the ones in our shared garden look horrible....sickly and partially dying (the bottom half) so that the fruit is exposed to the sun which burns the skins. We've only been harvesting around 5-10lbs. a day which makes it kind of hard to do anything with them other than make fresh salsa. So I've been freezing them as they ripen and then I saved a few days worth on the counter. I think I ended up with 50lbs. total.

Dropped them into boiling water to loosen the skins....

...then cooked until softened.

While the tomatoes were cooking, I chopped our green peppers and onions...

....and sauted them with a bit of garlic and dried basil.

Pureed the tomatoes in the food processor....

...and used the food mill to get rid of the seeds.

Then the sauce is cooked some more...

...before being poured into hot quart jars.

Leaving a half-inch head space, the jars are wiped and sealed...

...before being carefully placed in the boiling water bath.

These boiled for 35 minutes....

...and Ta Da...13 quarts of organic tomato sauce....yippee yahoo! Now I just need to do this about 3 more times and we'll have enough for the winter:)

Carrot Juice

2010-07-15T10:50:00.001-07:00

Because we actually harvested carrots this year, and are continuing to do so, I was able to juice the 8 lbs. we picked yesterday.

Steve is trying to hide the sweat on his shirt.

...note to self - garden chores need to be done in the morning!

Our kids will drink carrot juice in smoothies and with our handy dandy (Ebay purchased) juicer, it's a breeze to make.

Tho I am always underwhelmed by the amount of veggies it takes to make juice, we at least fed some of the pulp to the chickens, mixed some into our homemade dog food and the rest went into the compost pile....nothing wasted :)

Oregon Bound

2010-07-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

We have relatives who live in the most wonderful places.....we should get out more! Last week on our way to Eugene, Oregon to scope out the place that Wilson will be spending the next 4 years (Lane JC, then UofO ) we spent the night at my sister and brother-in-laws house in Mt. Shasta CA. It's an absolutely beautiful setting and their view is breath-taking.

In the morning we ate breakfast on their deck.

The kids were...ahem... enthralled by their surroundings.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-05T00:34:00.000-07:00

Spent a wonderful evening with friends watching the fireworks from the comfort of our lawn chairs (well....their lawn chairs).

Good food, good conversation, and teens lighting fires....good times!

Yippee Yahoo!

2010-06-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

Picked our first tomato of the season yesterday! Now we wait for the seemingly infinite number of green balls to follow suit. I feel like I'm in one of those old Mervyn's commercials with people standing outside the store chanting Open, Open, Open...only I'm chanting Red, Red, Red. I want salsa NOW!

ps. it is a Brandywine and fairly small but hey,

it beat out the Early Girl!

Procrastination...

2010-06-23T09:21:00.001-07:00

....or How We Spent Father's Day!

We are finally pouring more cement on a project that was started 2 years ago.

We tend to like to start projects, finishing...not so much.

Broken concrete and cement....Dad is a genius!

Now we find ourselves constantly going out back and just staring at the finished walkway.

It's just so nice to have it DONE.

And everyone contributed....

....oldest son Bradley...

....Private First Class Sam....

....future Oregon dweller Wilson...

.... beach lover Annie...

...Monarch baseball coach Steve....

....and gardener Mom.

The Family Walkway :)

Beans, Beans....

2010-06-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

...and more Beans!

Freezer is pretty much full (not sure why and not looking forward to finding out) so I decided to can the 7lbs. of green beans

I picked last night.

Added a bit of onion to some of the jars and ended up with 6 quarts of 'summer in winter' produce.....yea!

Wilson's Graduation

2010-06-06T13:42:00.001-07:00

Our third son graduated Friday night from Exeter Union High School....Yippee Yahoo!

Some of Wilson's favorite teachers.

Our Valedictorian.

With 'big brother' Bradley :)

Annie and her best friend Kayla.

Best Buddies.

Congratulations Wils!!!

The Prom

2010-06-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Our children.....all dressed up and all grown up....sigh. This last weekend our son Wilson and daughter Annie attended the High School Prom. They both had a great time and looked marvelous .....

....most of time :)

Annie didn't get quite the press coverage that her brother did....just one of the perks of being a senior....but she has 2 more years to be the center of attention.

Redo...

2010-05-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

...on Wilson's senior pic. Rushed out today and took a few quick shots because I hated the other ones. This is final....seriously...I'm not doing this again....ever.....until Annie is a senior :)

Fresno State Grad

2010-05-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

Brad is officially a college graduate.....Yippee Yahoo!

We attended his graduation ceremony Saturday at the SaveMart Center in Fresno.

More than 2 thousand young people filled the stadium floor and we spent most of the 2-hour ceremony trying to find Brad in a sea of black (which proved fruitless despite the texting between Brad and girlfriend). We were sitting about 12 rows down from the ceiling and tho we were some distance from the stage, we liked our seats.

I did find Brad later in the random photos I was taking of the graduates as they were getting seated.

And apparently we weren't the only ones trying to locate our children:)

Lots of speeches, awards and honorary doctorates (one given to Exeter High grad Kenny Guinn - former governor of Nevada) before the bestowing of the degrees on the graduates. It truly was an impressive ceremony. And on a surprise note(to us anyway:) Brad graduated Cum laude 'with praise', awarded to undergraduate students with grade point averages of 3.5 to 3.69.

Following the main graduating ceremony, there was a reception for the Kinesiology graduates

where the actual diplomas were awarded.

As we were leaving campus, we had to deal with the obligatory car problem....taken care of with a little brute strength and ignorance.

Afterwards we headed to Brad's favorite dining establishment, Brewbakers (hey, it's not just about the beer :) and then walked down the street to take in a movie (How to Train Your Dragon - Brad's choice) before heading home to open a good bottle of Pina and toast our oldest son's accomplishment.

Congratulations Brad!

AMGEN tour of California

2010-05-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

The bikes came thru Exeter today and it was pretty exciting. The riders were in town for all of about 3 minutes and went by us so fast that I had no idea what I was shooting.

The photo of Lance was a complete fluke, I was shooting the guy in front of him....duh. Armstrong was involved in a crash just outside of town and shortly after the peloton passed us, he dropped out of the race due to his injuries.

update: 8 stitches under his eye, no broken bones.

School Prayer?

2010-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

In 1992 the Supreme Court ruled that an invocation at a High School graduation was in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Writing for the majority Justice Kennedy states that “the government’s involvement in religious exercises at graduation is ‘pervasive’ and unavoidable. The state creates both public and peer pressure on the students to rise for and remain silent during prayers. State officials not only determine that an invocation and benediction should be given, but also select the religious participant and provide guidelines for the content of the nonsectarian prayers.”

I'm not sure I completely agree with the original reasoning, but not being able to pray at graduation isn’t going to diminish my faith or my relationship with God in any meaningful way. I usually spend the invocation fuming over the incessant chatting that goes on in the midst of it...yet another reason to abhor graduation ceremonies. Frankly, it’s amazing that in our small town the high school has managed to avoid detection for the last 17 graduation ceremonies. It ends this year.

At the center of the controversy is a student whose questioning of the legality of prayer led to an overly-cautious administration shutting the practice down. Rumors abound. The discussion around school and around town has been rather heated and somewhat ridiculous (talk of "going back to where they came from"....do atheists have a homeland?) Most of the banter has borne little resemblance to the truth and certainly no resemblance to Christianity. It’s understandable to be upset over having yet another of our traditions stripped away, but it is unacceptable that people would be vindictive and cruel to an 18yr.old girl because of her beliefs. And it's not a very compelling method of persuading anyone to our side of the argument; coercion is hardly an effective conversion tool.

Wouldn’t it have said more about our faith if we could have accepted the decision with grace and a determination to be a positive witness in the situation? I don’t like the idea that God is being taken out of much of the public arena, and I doubt the sincerity of many who are determined to strip our lives of any religious references. But our reaction to this minor persecution is much more important than securing the right to say a prayer at graduation or have a crèche on the courthouse lawn. If a moment of silence is all that is offered...use it. Let’s pray for our country, our town, our neighbors...pray for the non-believers.

And while we’re at it, thank God that we live in a country where taking prayer out of graduation can even be considered a problem.

A thought

2010-05-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

This world has all that I could want and nothing that I need.

...Caedmon's Call

Busy busy busy

2010-05-14T08:13:00.001-07:00

Taking senior photos last weekend with Beatles fans....this is what happens :)

I've been in the garden pretty much non-stop this week, pausing only to attend various 'senior' activities and occasionally cook dinner (very occasionally). Hopefully, I will get some time this weekend to take a few pics (with a borrowed camera-another sad story) and post our progress. Bye!

Prayer for today

2010-05-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

There's a place in the darkness that I used to cling to
It presses harsh hope against time
In the absence of martyrs there's a presence of thieves
Who only want to rob you blind
They steal away any sense of peace
Though I'm a king I'm a king on my knees
And I know they are wrong when they say I am strong
As the darkness covers me

Chorus-

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory
I am not afraid
To bare all my weakness knowing in meekness
I have a kingdom to gain
Where there is peace and love in the light, in the light
Oh I am not afraid
To let Your light shine bright in my life, in my life
Oh I... am, I...

There are ghosts from my past who've owned more of my soul
Than I thought I had given away
They linger in closets and under my bed
And in pictures less proudly displayed
A great fool in my life I have been
Have squandered till pallid and thin
Hung my head in shame and refused to take blame
For the darkness I know I've let win

(Chorus)

Can you hear me?

Well I've never been much for the baring of soul
In the presence of any man
I'd rather keep to myself all safe and secure
In the arms of a sinner I am
Could it be that my worth should depend
By the crimson stained grace on a hand
And like a lamp on a hill Lord I pray in Your will
To reveal all of You that I can

(Chorus)

There's a place in the darkness that I used to cling to
It presses harsh hope against time...

-Jennifer Knapp Martyrs and Thieves

Just Because

2010-05-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac.

A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.

"One thing leads to another"? Not always. Sometimes one thing leads to the same thing. Ask an addict.

I don't have to tell you it goes without saying there are some things better left unsaid. I think that speaks for itself. The less said about it the better.

In El Salvador they declared a cease fire after ten years. Why didn't they think of that at the beginning?

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.

-George Carlin, 1937 - 2008

Disappointment

2010-05-11T08:40:00.001-07:00

Senior awards were last night. Wilson got his CSF gold cord, number 7 class ranking and one small scholarship award.....out of hundreds. We were kind of disappointed (ok, I was disappointed, Wilson ate Panda Express.....and was fine).

Our young man wants to go to Lane Junior College in Eugene Oregon and eventually to the University of Oregon. We normally wouldn't even consider an out-of-the-area community college because we have one 10miles away. But to establish residency and save $14,000 (a year!!!) on out-of-state tuition, it seemed reasonable. It seemed more reasonable when we thought we would be getting

a bit more help here.

I absolutely LOVE seeing the kids who have worked hard, given back to their community and used their talents for good get the recognition they deserve. Other kids....not so much.

Sour grapes? Perhaps, but what do I tell our daughter about working hard when she's watched 2 of her brothers graduate with 4.0 GPA's and little else to show for it? Yeah, I know hard work is it's own reward, and the efforts they have put in will pay off in the long run....yada, yada, yada. We've been saying those things to our kids for years, why doesn't it make me feel any better?

Wilson is a good kid, he's worked very hard this year, he's smart and personable (senior picture day not withstanding) and I'm frustrated that his efforts weren't recognized. Financially recognized.

....sigh. But it's my frustration, it's my issue and one that I need to deal with. Maybe I'm just being a bad sport. Maybe I need to stop whining and get on with it. Maybe I need to pray for wisdom and a tiny bit of the joy I used to know......and maybe I should eat a little Panda Express now and then :)

Wilson's Senior Photos

2010-05-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

...and the reason I'm not a professional....eek I hate doing these!

And just for the record, he actually has a very nice smile.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

To Mom

For Sam

2010-05-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home!

2010-05-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sam is back on American soil.....Yippee Yahoo:) He and the last remaining brigade of the 82nd Airborne arrived back in North Carolina on Saturday after 3 months of duty in Haiti. These are some of the photos he took of the earthquake damage. The country is obviously still in need of our continued prayers and support.

Free Kittens!

2010-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Wilson and soon-to-be-adopted friend.

(this one is yours Mom:)

Foraging

2010-04-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Once again we are benefiting from an abundance

of unwanted citrus in a friends yard.

We picked enough oranges to squeeze and freeze 15 quarts of juice...

...and we still have several more trees to plunder :)

Broccoli

2010-04-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

We are eating the last of the broccoli this week.

We had planted several in the front yard a couple weeks after the other broccoli plants in the garden but they seemed to be stuck in a state of suspended animation for a month or so. I wasn't sure we were going to get anything off them, but they finally woke up and developed nice big crowns.

Broccoli soup for lunch last week, and as a side dish for chicken tonight...yum!

Sweet Potatoes

2010-04-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

Starting slips in the kitchen window. Hoping to get these in the ground by the first of May.

That's our Boy!

2010-04-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Let the bragging begin....Wison graduates this year from Exeter Union High School and has managed to put himself in the number 7 position of the top 10 seniors. Yippee Yahoo!

As well as having brains, Wilson pitches on the baseball team, plays shortstop and 1st base...

....and is one of the teams top hitters.

Way to go Wils!

View from our Front Door

2010-04-15T09:53:00.001-07:00

Something to brighten my day.

Now I must go pay taxes...sigh.

Potatoes

2010-04-13T09:26:00.001-07:00

We have been digging up potatoes for the past couple weeks, tho the plants are not flowering and not ready to be completely pulled up they are producing edible (and delicious) little spuds. Every couple of days when I decide potatoes would be a good side dish, I go out in the garden and search in the dirt. Usually I just feel around under a plant, trying not to disturb the littlest spuds, until I find one big enough to pull up and ta da!

What's strange to me (and this is only our second year growing potatoes) is the difference in size of the tots attached to the same plant. Yesterday I found a couple that were quite big, tho they still had the lighter, undeveloped skin of 'new' potatoes. Hard to know just what we're going to find under there, but so far we've eaten over 13lbs. of potatoes...Yum!

(egg is in photo to show size)