Random Thoughts on a Sunday Morning...

Photo courtesy ndwfgg's photostream

Yesterday I went over to North Carolina for a visit, and during the drive I planned a short piece, "Crowding the Line" about drivers who could not seem to stay in their own lane but crossing the center line into mine on the roads. I chose Crowding the Line to describe how I, by being aggressive and crowding my side of the line, caused a lot of them to back off. It's a sad state of affairs when we have to be overtly aggressive just to use what is rightfully ours to use.

Along the roads I noticed the small communities with the most run-down housing also had the most trash thrown along the verge. I wonder if it is the drivers passing through thinking it's okay to trash an already shabby looking area, or if the residents, just by being poor, contribute? Does being poor automatically correlate with being trashy?

I came home and picked a few sugar snaps. There's something so yummy about food straight from vine to mouth in just a scant few minutes!

I also take pleasure in my posted updated weight loss yesterday, 20 pounds over the last 2-3 months. I still have a long way to go to my earlier healthy weight, but I figure this will happen because I am not on a weight-loss diet, just a change in foods I eat. I also noticed (in my monthly budget) that very few dollars are being spent at the local supermarkets. Last month I bought un-homogenized milk, waxed paper, a few lemons and limes, kitty litter... and not much else. I can't begin to say how much I've saved by NOT purchasing sodas, chips, snack foods... anything 'prepared'. My big food budget hit was $160 for grass-fed meat for the freezer, and a few dollars for eggs. All my produce came from my garden, and cheese and goat milk for yogurt came from a local goat farm.

Speaking of waxed paper... I found if I re-wrap cheese from the plastic film it is sold in, and into waxed paper, it breathes and doesn't mold as quickly!

This morning there's a piece in the NYT about the Boom in Doom (it wasn't titled that, though). It was about bracing for life after oil. The 'boom' part probably true, as I have noticed I am more inclined lately to pick up extras when shopping, things I cannot grow or make like toilet paper... and reviewing my small heirloom seed stash. I have tried for 30+ years to be prepared for natural weather disruptions of power and food supplies. Each year I add to my home-canned foods in the pantry, and rotate what I use over the winters.

I also add a few hand tools every year. For instance, 5-6 years ago I found a small country hardware store that had some new washboards. They were inexpensive, and I bought one... although I must say I hope I never have to use it for all my laundry! (I also don't know what happened to it in my move here. I may need to buy another one.) They work best in a big galvanized tub, which I do not have... yet.

Yesterday at a yard sale I bought an old brace and bit in good working order for $5. I have an old one, but the knob on the top broke off.  I have a few bits of various sizes I have scrounged over the years, and should look for more at yard sales... and get a good set of files to sharpen them (mine are scattered). Files are indispensable if you have tools, power or not. Same for knives... no kitchen should have dull knives; they are more dangerous than sharp knives.