Totally R.A.D.

I have a confession to make, I have been attending self-defense classes. Now, I realize these programs can be useful and I certainly don't want to give the impression that they are not worthwhile for many women. Lets just say that the idea of these things has never been "my thing". I am not a joiner (shock!) and I am not one to enjoy making a fool of myself in public. In fact, I am still somewhat haunted by a very particular "learning exercise" I participated in at Bank Street. Needless to say this class was not my idea. I even said no, many times.

But....something else you may or may not know about me is that I can be easily swayed by friends or people claiming to want to be my friend. So when several of my co-workers came back from the first class and told me it was "life changing" this did nothing. When they said, "we talked about you last night and said you have to do this class with us" I was totally swayed. I am a sucker for that you like me, you really like me moment. This and the pledge I made right here on my blog to be more socially active and involved. So I blame you.

It's also true that I work in scary downtown Baltimore where we all anxiously watch the interactive homicide map generously displayed daily on Baltimore Sun. I commute on mass transit, sometimes lovingly referred to as the "crime rail" and yes, I have seen an empty crack vial on said train. So, really it might not be such a bad idea.

The class is twice a week for 6 weeks and we learn all sorts of moves. The final voluntary test is to break out of a room wearing a large amount of protective gear. Or so the pictures in the photocopied 1990's manual and here lead us to believe. I am not allowed to show anyone said moves because you never know on whom you will need to use them. So don't ask, buster. We have already learned how to stand so we mean business if a stranger tries to talk to us. This I was tempted to use at the pet store on Sunday when a strange woman tried to tell me all about her cats. But, I don' t think I was really in danger.

Let's never speak of this again.

Local Food

Organic Turnips, originally uploaded by iLoveButter.

So I have finished the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. If you don't know about this book, click on the link to visit the website. Barbara Kingsolver and her family spent a year trying to eat locally and ethically and the book track the who, what and why of it. It was really inspiring and very worth it. I know I will be begging people to read it. Especially interesting are the agricultural essays by Steven L. Hopp outlining just how crazy our food system is. I kept thinking also about the numerous articles I have read over the years connecting processed foods with all sorts of ailments. Not to mention the number of things found in our meat supply and as a by-product, our water supply. It's scary. It also re-enforced my decision to stop eating meat because the mainstream meat supply is dangerous. Every time there is another story about tainted meat (like the one last month) I am thankful I gave it up. I am also thankful we made the decision to only purchase cage-free eggs several years ago. I have been less vigilant about where my milk products come from and this book has definitely taught me to be more careful about that.

Here is the thing: purchasing or growing local fruits and vegetables gets much more complicated in every day life. First, I live in an apartment, in a city, with no ground of my own. Add to that the fact that I kill every plant I try to grow, especially if I start it from seed. The only plants I seem to keep alive are those I have in my office. For some reason I pay more attention to them at work. Do you think I can grow a vegetable garden in my office? Would anyone notice? So, I have decided, I will try to do as much as I am comfortable with and not get too rigid. I think I can grow some herbs and maybe some tomatoes in planters on my patio. Not enough to live but enough to make a small difference. We also discovered a food co-op near our home and are planning to purchase a share. 24 weeks of fresh produce grown at Cromwell Valley.

I will also get off my lazy butt and actually visit the local farmers markets. There are several around, Waverly, Towson and Baltimore. As for the book's suggestion of buying seasonally in bulk and canning for winter, this is probably not going to happen. I don't really want to spend all of my free time pretending to be Laura Ingalls Wilder no matter how much I did want to as a child.

Adding to this is the fact that Miss Gimp needs some new food and has been forced to participate in our new plans. Since before we got her, poor Mr. Boo was forced to eat prescription food from the vet so Miss Gimp had to eat it too since they always shared their food. Well, the massive bag we bought in December is finally almost gone and we have been researching new brands of cat food. While I have never tried to force my vegetarian beliefs on my pets, after reading this book I have been re-thinking the complicit purchase of pet food with factory farm meat. So, we have discovered Pet Promise. Now, Miss Gimp is quite picky when it comes to food so I hope she likes it, if not we continue the research.

All of this is very funny when you consider the fact that I was once in charge of a historic garden at my last job, not by my own request you can be sure. I was, however, interested in the research on historic plant seeds and planning the garden to be historically correct. I was less interested in actual gardening. That I pawned off on a series of revolving staff. I did plan the yearly public program based around the historic harvest where I actually (gasp!) cooked over an open fire and churned butter. I have been thinking about this garden and this event a lot while reading the book and am kicking myself over the missed opportunity to connect past and present in a meaningful way. The garden could have represented more than just a quaint glimpse into the past. It could have fostered neighborhood discussions about where our food comes from and debated which system is better for families, economies and the environment.

In other news. a late Valentine's Day update: we successfully survived a handmade Valentine's Day in our new tradition. Mark emailed me a funny valentine and cooked an excellent fancy meal from our favorite cookbook, the Candle Cafe. I made a paper heart card and a felt robot valentine for him. I also posted on my flickr a picture of us from 1995 which may even be the first pic of us together ever, in celebration of V-day, the anniversary of our first date. Was going to blog about it on V-day but had a little wine and Mark correctly convinced me not to drink and blog. Could have been disastrous.

I Voted!

Maryland Primary Feb. 12, 2008, originally uploaded by bethjc.

It's been exciting in this house following the primary season. Mom and Dad visited on Sunday and we had a lively discussion.
Both Clinton and Obama were in Baltimore Monday. Obama was speaking at the 1st Mariner Arena which is located at the light rail stop I take to get to work! I so wanted to go, 13,000 other people made it. Not me, I had to work. BUT I still got to vote today, after work, in the ice storm. Freakin' Ice.

AND Mark made dinner! What a night!

OBAMA '08

All things FOOD

I love to eat, and if you've seen me recently you can guess this (middle age is a bitch). But, what I choose to eat has changed over the years and it continues to evolve as I continue to make small lifestyle changes every year. These changes have occurred for a wide variety of reasons: taste, economics, availability, ethics, environment and weight management. One thing that hasn't changed is that I approach food as I approach life, thoughtfully.

Cut out the meat. The biggest change I made is when I cut out meat in 1993. This single change has impacted every part of my life, and while now I don't event notice it, I certainly am reminded every time I go to a party or visit my family. Now, I am no zealot and you will never hear me preach - my basic life philosophy is that I cannot know the right path for everyone. That being said, I am very attached to my choices, so you probably couldn't convince me otherwise, not even if it is easier on everyone. Being vegetarian doesn't necessarily make you healthier and this was certainly true in my younger days. Which brings me to my next real change.

Getting to know fruits and vegetables. There are very few fruits I claim to like, but I can proudly say there are more now than there were. Lifestyle changes are hard and the best ones are incorporated gradually. I have been slowly adding to my list of acceptable produce and I have to say that forcing myself to cut out meat was the change I needed to broaden my horizons.

Ethnic foods. The gradual exposure to a variety of ethnic food traditions is a combination of my ongoing vegetarian lifestyle and my improved economic conditions allowing for restaurant exploration. Restaurants have gotten much better at providing vegetarian options and my "don't ask, don't tell" policy towards sneaky meat by-products like chicken broth also helps. Even with these concessions, American restaurants still provide few great veggie meals. I am constantly amazed by the contempt "real chefs" have towards vegetarian consumers. It makes me crazy. So, we have over the years come to explore ethnic restaurants, where the food choices are more abundant and very tasty. Our favorite right now is The Helmand, in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. Ethnic food exploration often has led me to study more of these cultures and I have learned so much about the world this way. You know, eating at Helmand has really brought the books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns to life for me.

Food and the environment/economy/social structure. This is my new frontier. I listened to a podcast last spring that really got me thinking. Now, I haven't actually read the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma but I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and so far it is very, very interesting. Thinking about where our food comes from and what kind of food culture we have created in this modern world is worth doing and worth discussing. Perhaps I will write more about this as I learn more.

So the questions is, where does your food come from?



P.S. Cool pic, huh? This is from the Library of Congress Flickr set. The picture is "Pupils on Mrs. O.H.P. Belmont's farm for girls". From what I can gather in some quick internet research, Mrs. O.H.P. (Alva) Belmont was an active suffragette who created an agriculture school for women looking to escape life in the factories or any women wanting to secure an independent life. The school was created circa 1911 and a 1912 NYTimes article states: Suffragette Farm Untilled; Mrs. Belmont Will Not Teach the Girls Agriculture This Summer. It's a mystery!

Craft Update



I finished the baby blanket I have been working on for the past 6 weeks. I tell you, with work and the holidays it just wouldn't get done. A little explanation about this blanket: This is for my cousin's baby, due in April and since I found out I have been crazy busy making baby related things.

I am a lazy knitter. I love the idea of knitting and I love picking out patterns and yarn but actually completing projects is hard. I usually knit while watching TV, sometimes on the train while listening to my ipod, but either way I am easily distracted which makes complicated stitch patterns difficult to do. So I prefer garter or stockinette stitch and very easy shapes. Scarves, hats, anything square or rectangle is about all I do. But, I have discovered that baby stuff is perfect for lazy knitters because its so small. I get done before I get bored. I am loving this baby knitting stuff. I even completed a sweater which I would never try if it was for an adult. Which brings me to the blanket. I didn't follow a pattern but I consulted several to get the size right. I decided to just do garter stitch to whip it up fast (6 weeks, not so much) and I wanted to pick colors that were modern with a yarn that was thick enough to knit quick (again, what happened?) and was washable. Washable is key for baby stuff but also because I usually have to wash things as soon as I am done since Gimpy always helps me knit. She helps by sitting on my lap and holding the yarn ready with her paws and her mouth. And she sits on the work in progress. Gimpy really loved this blanket. I wanted to try doing a color combination, something simple but graphic. I like the stripe. I was not paying attention and did not change colors correctly so it has some flaws. Instead of starting a new color on a new row I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn and then added the new color, so there is no right and wrong side just two very wrong sides. Hope baby doesn't mind. Next for baby I think I will make more bibs, you can never have too many.

But first, I am already in the middle of another project. I got the idea from: Craftzine.com blog: Plastic Bag Crochet Since I don't crochet I decided to knit and instead of a hat or backpack I decided to make a welcome mat. It took me forever to make the "yarn" but Gimp really loved the process.


Also - I am very excited to announce that my new sewing machine is on it's way! I have so many ideas for that thing, as soon as I remember how to use it that is! Luckily I have this from my new favorite podcast, ThreadHeads: Sewing Machine 101 And Valentine's day is coming up so there is work to be done.

Hello again and Happy 2008!

So - when I started this thing I was still on the fence about blogging in general and how often I would write in particular. The reason I started, especially when I started was really because of the holiday cards and thinking about our annual letter. So, I kinda thought I might just write something every year. But, a funny thing happened with this blog, it sits there, staring at me, daring me to write. It put ideas in my head, every once in awhile like "hey, I should blog about that" or "hey, that would make a cool blog entry" and they have gotten so loud I cannot refuse.

It's also true that as an educator I began to see how this little blog could help me in my efforts towards life-long learning. A cornerstone of education is the process of reflection and connecting ideas together. This is not often done in the real world, I read things, I become interested in things but rarely do I consciously put it all together to see what it means. I began to see how this could work for me, connecting ideas by forcing me to write about them.

One thing I don't want to do is just blog endlessly about my life because really, who cares? But if I write about topics of interest even if it is sometimes personal and sometimes indulgent perhaps it will be of more value. Or not. The beauty of it all is that you can just ignore me. I won't take it personally.

I am also committed to taking more pictures for both my Flickr account and my blog. I may even scan in some old pictures. Especially the supa-cool family photos my parents recently entrusted to my care. hey, want to see a picture of my grandmother in her high school basketball uniform? Of course you do.

Look for more from me because I can't stop myself and if you have topic ideas, let me know!

Mr. Boo Radley

1993-2007

Mr. Boo passed away early Saturday morning, December 15, 2007. It was unexpected and happened very quickly. We are overcome by his absence in our lives.

Mr. Boo had a very interesting life for a cat. He was found in the backyard of my friend David’s rental house in Cape Girardeau, MO. David was also an animal lover but already had several so he gave me a call. I was in no position to adopt an animal being only 21 and still in college. David promised that I just had to come see him. Yeah, right. Boo was sleeping in a box in the bathroom and when David cracked the door open he looked up at me with his beautiful big eyes and I was hooked. Luckily, my roommate Celine was also an animal lover with a large dog living in our apartment so she was very understanding. The dog and cat were less understanding of each other.

Mr. Boo took a little while to warm up to me but we soon bonded. I think he was upset with the name I chose, which shall not be mentioned here. Mark actually re-named him Boo Radley which was fitting and much more appropriate. We were only separated for one summer in 1996 while I spent 9 weeks in an archaeology field school in KY and he spent the same time in IA with Mark and his family. Mr. Boo was spoiled that summer and that is where he got his signature round belly. It was in late summer 1996 that Mark and I got engaged and moved to New Jersey to start our life together.

Mr. Boo was special, not just because he helped me to navigate the adult world, gave me support when I needed it and always provided unconditional love as pets are so good at. He was also a superstar. He provided hours of entertainment as Mark and I concocted stories about what he did while we were out of the house. He often had affairs with top celebrities and went to the best parties. He was also a businessman, opening his House of Velvet (although he never divulged what kind of business this was exactly). His name was also perfect for inserting in songs which we did on a daily basis. In fact, I still catch myself doing it and that is the hardest thing to stop.

So – sing a song with Boo’s name in it and remember him for us.

We love you, Boo baby.