I was out and about today riding my bike from downtown up the hill, scratch that, a hill, one of many, to the suburbs...although, I don't know if they can really be called suburbs. I guess this is sort of the central point to my musings, was it the suburbs? Or, if not the suburbs, what then? I think it could be safely called the suburbs but it was densely wooded (for the suburbs) and the houses were large, sprawling across goodly sized lots with tall firs and cedars sprinkled throughout. I wouldn't say they were gigantic, but considering where I live in the city and my pathos of small and elegant, these were multistory, multi garage beasts and they were bigger houses than I've been in for a while. I guess they're pretty common, it must just be that I haven't been out that way in a while and when I have it must have been in a car which provides a much narrower viewing angle than a bike. I can't tell you how much I've noticed by being astride a bicycle rather than encapsulated in the car environment. Especially these last few weeks I've been without my headphones.
What is it with headphones, anyways? I can't seem to keep an unbroken pair of nice/decent headphones on or around my person for longer than several weeks. Fifty dollars for a pair of freaking headphones that I no longer have and were not even close to being worn out. On the contrary, I was rolling them up and zipping them into their case each and every time I took them out of my head. They were on the path to good condition for an extended period of time. Except for that one time, when I didn't put them back where they go. That one time, my subconscious made sure that I would lose them for good. The one time I didn't put them back in their case (like I always do), some part of my brain that secretly plots against everything another part of my brain puts into action, went and released my fingers as I was holding the 'phones above some small crack and they fell behind the bookcase or the filing cabinet or something equally trivial and likely to be frustrating once found.
But I guess that is not really the point. The point was, without my headphones I notice even more of my surroundings than if I was only on a bike (with headphones on versus a car with or without the stereo on, although car with no strereo on, versus car with the stereo on produces a similar phenomenon of me, noticing more) with headphones installed in my ear canals. And on this particularly sunny and warm day (with plenty of dark ominous clouds on the horizon) as I was riding my bike without headphones in, I was noticing these large houses with long driveways and plenty of varied green and colorful flora on the property, I thought about how much some of the houses must have cost or were worth and a thought struck me at that moment (prepare for a generalization, although I believe it applies to a fair amount of people). Some of these people who inhabit these houses must have worked or are still working at jobs that pay fairly well. Many of those jobs probably decrease the vitality of the earth or pollute in some substantial way. Or they contribute to the epic levels of dissatisfaction/discontent of our (where I live currently, Washington State, Seattle, America) society and whether or not they realize it they have worked or are working, hard(er) than they need to) to purchase a piece of the nature and contentedness of spirit that they are helping to diminish by working. I think the actual phrase I thought of was, "they are working to buy a part of the nature they are helping to destroy." Nature, meaning also the equilibrium and ease of existence that native cultures had, using what they needed and not wasting as much as we have become accustomed to.
Pretty deep. I know. Actually, I just had to get it down before I totally lost the thread. Thanks autosave.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
New Farm Friends
Just picked up my new chickens, well they're not chickens yet, the other day from Seattle Farm Supply. They are currently cheeping, eating and pooping in their brooder, I hate to sound like an adolescent girl but they are super cute! Very interesting to watch too, I haven't been responsible for a small creature in a while and it's fun, hopefully they turn out okay. Two Americauna chicks are two weeks old and the Speckled Sussex and Brahma are three weeks. I guess I better get cracking on the coop. We've got the design worked out, but I need supplies and an extra body to get it up in, ideally, one day. I'll see how much I can prep this week and potentially erect it Friday or Saturday.
This is also going to be my kick in the seat to start on the garden/yard project I have tentatively set for myself this year. Just had my interest piqued in "The One Straw Revolution" about a sort of Zen approach to farming and gardening, I need to pick that one up from the library or maybe Elliott Bay Books, I do love buying books...
This is also going to be my kick in the seat to start on the garden/yard project I have tentatively set for myself this year. Just had my interest piqued in "The One Straw Revolution" about a sort of Zen approach to farming and gardening, I need to pick that one up from the library or maybe Elliott Bay Books, I do love buying books...
Friday, February 10, 2012
Know the Enemy, the Ants.
The days are getting longer and the weather seems warmer to me, at least compared to a few weeks ago with the ice and snow. I wonder if it's all a ruse and we'll get hit with some more freezing temps. The forecast for the next week is gloomy, but I the chickens are coming soon and the garden needs work and I have been inattentive. Feelings of being overwhelmed with the backyard project loom large, I really need to crack the whip on myself.
This will be my third year at this house and each spring it seems we get several rounds of sugar ants in the kitchen. I call them sugar ants because they appear solely to be attracted to the honey and barley malt syrup in the cupboard, little else. Oh, I guess I did just see this guy with a crumb of something, not honey or barley malt, those are in a pot of soapy water in the sink, drowned ants all around.
So, I followed the trail and had to pull out the fridge to see where they were coming from, I put the syrup and honey in the middle of a pot of water, cleared and cleaned the counters and have been using the top of the fridge, right side of the counters (no ants over there) and the kitchen island to prepare food. Inconvenient, but I figure the best way to see what they're after is to observe their behavior for a few days, with no new crumbs, smells or stuff to get them excited.
I'll probably clean the counters each day and clean out the cabinet where the sticky stuff was housed and cross my fingers that they just sort of retreat. I've tried before to plug all the holes they come through, that works well for a little while, I haven't used an effective trap or poison system really, can you make your own poison? I believe this to be a preventable occurrence and it really isn't a lot of fun to deal with, I need a solution and the interweb is rife with controversy about the best ways to treat them.
This will be my third year at this house and each spring it seems we get several rounds of sugar ants in the kitchen. I call them sugar ants because they appear solely to be attracted to the honey and barley malt syrup in the cupboard, little else. Oh, I guess I did just see this guy with a crumb of something, not honey or barley malt, those are in a pot of soapy water in the sink, drowned ants all around.
I'll probably clean the counters each day and clean out the cabinet where the sticky stuff was housed and cross my fingers that they just sort of retreat. I've tried before to plug all the holes they come through, that works well for a little while, I haven't used an effective trap or poison system really, can you make your own poison? I believe this to be a preventable occurrence and it really isn't a lot of fun to deal with, I need a solution and the interweb is rife with controversy about the best ways to treat them.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Coffee? Craaack!
Why, oh why, does this happen? I swear, the makers of french press carafes know that if they make the glass thin, it will break easily, ensuring them (I'm sure) lots of return customers replacing broken carafes (although there is no replacement for the lost morning with no coffee and a broken carafe).
But why now? Why, when the coffee is ground and the tea kettle screaming, my mouth cottony and morning-y, my head throbbing ever so slightly for caffeine, that the crack in the carafe continues to widen? I'll save the suspense and just tell you, despite the breakage, my quick thinking and ingenuity saved me, my cup was indeed filled. I overfilled the press and placed it on a plate where it collected about a quarter cup of seeped coffee, leaving me 12 ounces in the busted glass.
As I stood there, watching the pre-coffee seep out/brew inside the carafe, several thoughts seeped out of my clouded mind. Those Bodun jerks! Who are they and why, oh why, is the glass so thin? Is there even a reason?! Maybe I shouldn't whack the bottom so hard when I dump the grounds in the compost, that could definitely shorten the life of the glass. Dang, I hope my coffee makes it to the cup! What a messy hassle this brewed coffee is, I should switch back to tea...and then it hit me.
1) The mechanics of the french press are simple: coarse ground coffee, hot water, brew for four minutes, strain the grounds from the liquid, drink! and be happy. 2) I only ever make one cup of coffee in the press I have which is made for three 12oz (or so) cups, so my current press is a little overkill. 3) I'm a bit on the shallow end of the money pool right now and I don't want to buy a new carafe...but I still want a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. And finally, 4) Coffee has a limited shelf life in my mind so the rest of my Christmas coffee needs to be drunk as soon as humanly possible. I need a brewing implement, for cheap/free in the next, oh, twenty hours. I'm no freezer of coffee, it's got to be fresh, it's got to be black and it has to be good quality. Once a barista, always a barista.
No one should be without their fix when their carafe breaks, a little creative thinking and some patience while straining...and I give to you, the cheapest, easily accessible brewer of fine coffee: a peanut butter jar (16oz, enough for 12 oz of brew and the grounds (I use about two tablespoons of unground beans in my burr grinder to produce a little bit more than 2 tbsp when coarsely ground) with holes poked in the lid (I tried to make sure there were a bunch of small holes that the grounds wouldn't fit through....not a totally groundless cup, that's for sure).
Seriously though, I should switch back to tea....
But why now? Why, when the coffee is ground and the tea kettle screaming, my mouth cottony and morning-y, my head throbbing ever so slightly for caffeine, that the crack in the carafe continues to widen? I'll save the suspense and just tell you, despite the breakage, my quick thinking and ingenuity saved me, my cup was indeed filled. I overfilled the press and placed it on a plate where it collected about a quarter cup of seeped coffee, leaving me 12 ounces in the busted glass.
As I stood there, watching the pre-coffee seep out/brew inside the carafe, several thoughts seeped out of my clouded mind. Those Bodun jerks! Who are they and why, oh why, is the glass so thin? Is there even a reason?! Maybe I shouldn't whack the bottom so hard when I dump the grounds in the compost, that could definitely shorten the life of the glass. Dang, I hope my coffee makes it to the cup! What a messy hassle this brewed coffee is, I should switch back to tea...and then it hit me.
1) The mechanics of the french press are simple: coarse ground coffee, hot water, brew for four minutes, strain the grounds from the liquid, drink! and be happy. 2) I only ever make one cup of coffee in the press I have which is made for three 12oz (or so) cups, so my current press is a little overkill. 3) I'm a bit on the shallow end of the money pool right now and I don't want to buy a new carafe...but I still want a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. And finally, 4) Coffee has a limited shelf life in my mind so the rest of my Christmas coffee needs to be drunk as soon as humanly possible. I need a brewing implement, for cheap/free in the next, oh, twenty hours. I'm no freezer of coffee, it's got to be fresh, it's got to be black and it has to be good quality. Once a barista, always a barista.
No one should be without their fix when their carafe breaks, a little creative thinking and some patience while straining...and I give to you, the cheapest, easily accessible brewer of fine coffee: a peanut butter jar (16oz, enough for 12 oz of brew and the grounds (I use about two tablespoons of unground beans in my burr grinder to produce a little bit more than 2 tbsp when coarsely ground) with holes poked in the lid (I tried to make sure there were a bunch of small holes that the grounds wouldn't fit through....not a totally groundless cup, that's for sure).
Seriously though, I should switch back to tea....
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A New Hope
**This post should be dated 12/30/2011**
Ah, the feeling, it's almost here
It's cold and it's windy, it's the end of the year
Time for self indulgence or self reflection
A little of both, pulling me in both directions
To resolute, or is it resolve
Become a better creature, that's it, evolve
So here I am, at the end of the year. Does not feel like the end of anything, it feels good actually, to have some time to myself to reflect on events behind me, I want to think that I am always self reflecting but Kelly's week in the bahamas has really left me with a lot of time to think, by myself in my big empty bed.
I just got out of the shower, the first one I had taken in three days. I don't really sweat too much in the winter time and these past couple of days I have been up quite late and out of bed earlier than I usually get up, partly because the bed is so cold with only me in it, there's no reason to sleep in it any longer than necessary. am thinking that the temperature of the bed is significantly colder without her. Additionally I've been able to keep the curtain open which means the natural light, getting stronger by the day is really helping me to get out of bed.
Anyways, the looming new year is causing me to think about some resolutions except I am trying to keep these resolutions completely obtainable and trying to set up for them before the clock strikes.
They're easy, number one, "Be a good creature", this means taking care of my mind and my body, prioritizing my health over a good time, this includes some things that I have already begun to do and my resolution would really just be a comittment to maintain these habits. Yoga, has really allowed me to strengthen my shoulders and that will allow me to start lifting weights more confidently, I may just start with some of the bodyweight exercises in that book I bought a while back "The body you want in the time you have", that book supplies some great exercises that can be done in an hour or less that really build muscle. After going to yoga for a month, two or three times a week I feel much more confdent in my base strength level and I am definitely more aware of my posture and body alignment. This "resolution" also pertains to diet, eating mostly local plants and locally/minimally processed foods. Seems like it would be a major change for someone but it's really not. It is more work, yes, but the amount of good that it does your body far outweighs the pain and suffering you will incur when you spend more time preparing food and food products and it has long been an area of interest for me that I am enjoying exploring. Tasty!
Number two, "Watch out for myself", someone has to, right? By this I mean taking reasonable precautions for an emergency, keeping myself informed and educated about current events and having an emergency plan including a personal/family emergency/survival kit.
Number three, "Put a little money in my cash bag", this is a lyric from a hip hop/dance band and it always hits me. Stack that chedda, another euphimism for making money and, I believe, saving for a rainy day. This one means I will have to write out some things that are important to me and make sure my financial life is on track to meet those goals. I'm hoping to have a personal budget done in twenty four hours that I plan to stick to, which will help me get to Ladies Army in Kentucky and Paris on New Years Eve next year. Those two trips are the only ones I intend to go to, although I'm not ruling anything out, as long as it fits the budget. I've been doing some thinking and some reading and I realise that if I want to have a nest egg to fall back on I need to start now, I'm basically stealing from my future self and using it to buy drugs, alcohol, coffee and bike parts. Which are fun, don't get me wrong but they will not compare to the freedom that having a "fat stack" will later in life.
Not even that much later, I want to be able to enjoy myself, indeed through my whole life, but especially seeing as I'll probably live to ninety five easily, no reason to not plan for that future, the one where you're this fit, good looking older gentleman who rides his sweet bikes around, lives in a small flat in the city and will be some kid's coolest grandfather and great-grandfather even. Sounds fun, I want to get there.....and I want to get to space (time for that in another post)
Ah, the feeling, it's almost here
It's cold and it's windy, it's the end of the year
Time for self indulgence or self reflection
A little of both, pulling me in both directions
To resolute, or is it resolve
Become a better creature, that's it, evolve
So here I am, at the end of the year. Does not feel like the end of anything, it feels good actually, to have some time to myself to reflect on events behind me, I want to think that I am always self reflecting but Kelly's week in the bahamas has really left me with a lot of time to think, by myself in my big empty bed.
I just got out of the shower, the first one I had taken in three days. I don't really sweat too much in the winter time and these past couple of days I have been up quite late and out of bed earlier than I usually get up, partly because the bed is so cold with only me in it, there's no reason to sleep in it any longer than necessary. am thinking that the temperature of the bed is significantly colder without her. Additionally I've been able to keep the curtain open which means the natural light, getting stronger by the day is really helping me to get out of bed.
Anyways, the looming new year is causing me to think about some resolutions except I am trying to keep these resolutions completely obtainable and trying to set up for them before the clock strikes.
They're easy, number one, "Be a good creature", this means taking care of my mind and my body, prioritizing my health over a good time, this includes some things that I have already begun to do and my resolution would really just be a comittment to maintain these habits. Yoga, has really allowed me to strengthen my shoulders and that will allow me to start lifting weights more confidently, I may just start with some of the bodyweight exercises in that book I bought a while back "The body you want in the time you have", that book supplies some great exercises that can be done in an hour or less that really build muscle. After going to yoga for a month, two or three times a week I feel much more confdent in my base strength level and I am definitely more aware of my posture and body alignment. This "resolution" also pertains to diet, eating mostly local plants and locally/minimally processed foods. Seems like it would be a major change for someone but it's really not. It is more work, yes, but the amount of good that it does your body far outweighs the pain and suffering you will incur when you spend more time preparing food and food products and it has long been an area of interest for me that I am enjoying exploring. Tasty!
Number two, "Watch out for myself", someone has to, right? By this I mean taking reasonable precautions for an emergency, keeping myself informed and educated about current events and having an emergency plan including a personal/family emergency/survival kit.
Number three, "Put a little money in my cash bag", this is a lyric from a hip hop/dance band and it always hits me. Stack that chedda, another euphimism for making money and, I believe, saving for a rainy day. This one means I will have to write out some things that are important to me and make sure my financial life is on track to meet those goals. I'm hoping to have a personal budget done in twenty four hours that I plan to stick to, which will help me get to Ladies Army in Kentucky and Paris on New Years Eve next year. Those two trips are the only ones I intend to go to, although I'm not ruling anything out, as long as it fits the budget. I've been doing some thinking and some reading and I realise that if I want to have a nest egg to fall back on I need to start now, I'm basically stealing from my future self and using it to buy drugs, alcohol, coffee and bike parts. Which are fun, don't get me wrong but they will not compare to the freedom that having a "fat stack" will later in life.
Not even that much later, I want to be able to enjoy myself, indeed through my whole life, but especially seeing as I'll probably live to ninety five easily, no reason to not plan for that future, the one where you're this fit, good looking older gentleman who rides his sweet bikes around, lives in a small flat in the city and will be some kid's coolest grandfather and great-grandfather even. Sounds fun, I want to get there.....and I want to get to space (time for that in another post)
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