The Honest Scrap, or something like that

 So here I've dragged out of bed at my usual 5 a.m., and while catching up on my blog reading, I see that I've been tagged for an Honest Scrap award. Still trying to figure out just exactly what I'm supposed to do, and as it is O-Dark/Cold 30 atm, I'm not sure how well this is going to go, so hang on to your merkins and hit it!

 Here's my list of 7 peeps who I think deserve the HS award:

NoCelery

Green Roof Growers

Zaftigs

Do No Harm

Corpulent

Big Fat Deal 

The Purple Foodie

 So now I'm supposed to state 10 'honest things' about myself.....

 1. I'm lazy. I admit it.

 2. I am a great cook, but a sucky chef. (As defined by Julia Childs)

3. I'm a "50/50" bi. (Means I have no preference of the sex of my lovers)

4. I spent nearly every day from age 8 to 14 in a bar.

5. I identify more with my Pagan name, Dragon, than the one given to me by my family.

6. I love for people to bring me rocks they picked up off the ground from other parts of the world. (Thanks Mark, for all the cool ones from your overseas trips!)

7. I'm a cougar, and was before they had a name for it.

8. I hate housework.

9. I'm fiercely loyal to my friends, but will dump you in a heartbeat if you screw me over even just a little.

10. I love people to come visit at my house, but I hate to go to theirs, no matter who it is.

 So, what do I get besides brain freeze from trying to think this early in the morning?

Stupid and the MSN journalist

 As I'm sitting at my desk reading the morning news sipping a cup of tea, I headed over to MSN earlier this morning to read whatever tippets of news they have decided to give me today. One of the writers, a woman named Donna Freedman, has been writing about her life of extreme poverty over the last couple of years. Now, I like Donna just fine, was even interveiwed by her last year for an article. She always had good suggestions on how to make due and stretch and all those things poor people have to do.

 So I read her first article about how grand life is without a car. OK, well and good, but I live in TEXAS, not feasable, even in the cities. And I have a child who goes to school several miles away, across roads that I'M afraid to cross with a vehicle, let alone on foot. The store? Miles away also, across a freeway. (I live in the middle of the city, btw.) I've been without a car several times in my life. No thanks. The second one was how that if you couldn't get a job, you should dump your stuff and move. Uh, no. Let's tell our child that we're dumping his clothes, toys and pets and moving with nothing more than what we can get in the car. Oops, I forgot, we're not supposed to HAVE a car! The third one I couldn't even read by this point. What has possessed MSN to put these lame ass articles online??  If you REALLY want to help, how about things like a couple of years ago, more practical ideas like how to make a turkey last a month's worth of meals, or fix a torn garment. I guess they are just out of ideas. Glad I'm not.

 Even though we are 'poor' by Austin standards, we are living a great life. We have income, great insurance, own a house, two of our three vehicles are paid for. We eat steak almost every week, due to my awesome grocery shopping abilities, taught to me by my Depression era mother and grandmother. I can sew well enough to repair our clothes instead of buying new every time a hem drops or a seam rips. I was a chef until I became unable to work due to physical problems, but even my 13 yr old son can cook well enough to not have to eat out every meal. (More of my doing, he will be totally ready when he leaves the nest.) While living our urban homestead lifestyle makes much more work for me, since I grow/raise some of our food, fix things that break, and figure out how to do without, it is still better than many other people have it.

 I'm just not in the mood lately to hear people whine and cry about how bad they have it. One of my friends lives in San Francisco, is homeless, and still lives what he considers a good life, and wouldn't give it up, even when I offered to help him come back to Texas. I know what he means. We could sell everything, pack up, and move to a less expensive town. Ugh. I grew up in small town Texas, and have NO interest in going back.

 Do I want to live the rock star life again? (Yes, I am a musician also, and DID live that life for some years.) Hell YEA! I'd love to be able to go out to eat on those days when my body has rebelled against me and it is all I can do to cook a simple meal. I'd love to be able to go clothes shopping without having to look at the price tag, even at Target. I want the swimming pool/hot tub/shiny new kitchen and bath. I want an Ipod, a laptop, a Wii. Will I die without these things? Obviously not, since I don't have them. There's an old saying, I forget who said it, "I've been rich, and I've been poor, rich is better." Couldn't agree more, but I'm also going to be practical while I wait to be rich again.

Band no more?

 My bass player is totally MIA. He got evicted last week, and no one has heard from him since. Even when he did have a phone he never answered it, and probably hasn't got any kind of wireless ability on his laptop. *sigh*

 I really LIKE being in a band. This was my third, and I still haven't found a group I can love. Certain members, yes, but not the band. Himitsu was fun for a long while, but I'm SO not into techno. And now some other band has stolen the name, so I really don't feel like we should use it any more. Our drummer has already gone off to greener pastures, to the band Long Vacation. Very nice group, kind of folksy and mellow. Check them out if you get the chance.

 I need a plain old rock band, or something I can play my congas or ashika. *sigh* Maybe next year.

A new hope?

The new surgeon general was finally sworn in yesterday, congratulations to Dr. Regina Benjamin. Dr. Benjamin is the third black American to hold this office, and from what I have read about her, she will do her best. What I am waiting to see is whether or not she scales back the obesity witch hunt, seeing how she's a little chunk herself.

With every new appointee, I have the hope that they will actually do the right thing, instead of what's politically correct at the time. We'll see how she does. Dr. B, we are expecting good things from you, like HAES training for medical professionals and others, abolishment of the BMI (so stupid I can't even talk about it) and help with placement of actual food selling establishments in areas where getting actual food, not plastic food-like substances can't be done, because there are NO stores anywhere near. Areas like these would also benefit from urban agriculture, a subject near and dear to me, teaching the people in such areas to grow their own food. We should not have to rely on shipments of staple food items from other continents!

Good luck Dr. Benjamin, the country will be watching!

Happy Samhain!

Happy Samhain!

A poem for my garden

Oh morning dew
Sun-kissed sparkle of Mab herself
Visiting my garden so very early
Like the first hot day of summer.

Grow, my little garden
And think of those days of summer
When the ground is dry, and the air hot
And remember why here is now.

OK, so it's not too hot a poem, but I'm hoping it will appease whatever sprites, pixies, fairies, mini-goddesses, etc that might be lurking out there into protecting the winter garden. This past summer, they apparently all decided to take a long vacation, except for a couple who hung around, trying to take up the slack for the other slackers. So far the garden is looking good, and actually producing food. We've been eating lettuce twice a week, and there are a large batch of Brussels sprouts that need to transplanted. If it doesn't rain today I might get to that.
In other news, we have a new pet in the house, I'll be posting pics later on my Food Porn blog. And after short debate, I've decided to start a blog here about the Farm, since the Cat Creek system is clunky and not at all user friendly, and a pain in my ass.

Whew...

Is it time for cake yet? The Fatosphere is awash with name calling, finger pointing, and various other nasty things going on, like always happens when you get a bunch of people all hanging out in one place for any length of time.
I fully admit that there are those PMS days where I jump right in, give my Aspie two cents (Which is actually 4 or 5 cents, if you are an Aspie!) and get downright shitty like the rest of them. Other days, I just want to sit in the garden and eat cake. Today is one of those days, so I'm off to find some cake.