Monday, December 21, 2009

Quick update

 Today's the last day for J in the studio. Six hours of work, then a party. I love my job!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

The World turns and things change

 Wow. Just....wow. I was amazed to find out that John's idea of opening a recording studio wasn't just a dream, he's got the goods and the moolha. Oh my. And when I expressed a desire to work in the music biz as something more than just a musician, he whacked me on the head with his mojo stick, and now I'm a record producer. Just like that. My.Oh.My.Oh.My.
 I had always thought I might be interested in production, and now here I am, thrown into the deep end to sink or swim. (I hate you John, I hate you so very much.....) My first gig is Tuesday, evaluating a young rapper to see if we want to produce him. So far I'm the only producer in the stable, so I'm hoping to pick up a few more gigs and see what happens. Wish me luck!  

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

PETA strikes again!

Once again PETA has put out an ad guaranteed to piss off most of the American public. I am so not a fan of PETA. They might have had a good idea at one time, but these self-righteous shitheads think that the entire country should follow a vegan diet. Ooookkkkaaayyy.....if we are supposed to be herbavores, why do vegans have to be sure to eat plenty of PROTEIN, the best digestable source found in ANIMAL FLESH??? I never liked PETA to begin with, and I really didn't care for their tactic a few years ago of taking their graphic violence comic and handing them out to young children. How about we shoot all the PETA ppl and use their skins for clothing? Have to feed the meat to the cats and dogs tho, I'm sure they taste foul.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Another dead turkey day come and gone.

Thanksgiving, Dead Native Day, Turkey Day, or whatever you call it has come and gone for 2009. It was a quiet uneventful holiday this year, W was a bit sick, but it appeared to have been allergies, and it didn't really slow down his computer time at all. We had a nice dinner, traditional this yea, nothing fancy.

 I've been catching up on the news, and it's not a pretty sight. Shootings and violence and cop killers, oh my! Makes me seriously not want to leave the house. I haven't been stupid/desperate enough to brave Black Friday in many a year, pretty much since Amazon.com when online. More and more, brick and mortar places are giving way to online. With gas prices the way they are, some of those sci-fi movie plots aren't looking too much like fiction any more, now are they?

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Definitely a WTF? moment....

 So, this eye doc in North Carolina tells a patient that she's fat, has thick thighs, and is irresponsible for being unemployed while pregnant. Then he put his comments in writing. The regulatory agency is "considering" to revoke his license. I'm not real sure what they have to consider, except helping Mr. Sunderhaus find a new line of work, preferrably in the fields of refuse collection or perhaps oil drilling.  

Thursday, November 19, 2009

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?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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.

Monday, November 9, 2009

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.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

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!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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.

Friday, October 23, 2009

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.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Cheating, poly and other things

Interesting convo going on over at Casa De Zaftig about cheating. Even tho the ex demanded a poly relationship, he continued to cheat on me and break the rules.

While my SO and I are not monogamous, we also are not seeing anyone else at this time, and haven't for some years. We're just too much into each other, and have no need to. The whole idea of polyamory is to be open to getting what you need from another while maintaining your primary relationship, instead of serial monogamy. Maybe some day the SO and I will see other people, maybe not. It took us too many years to find each other. We're a near perfect match, true 'soul mates' if you will. So no need for anyone else. We're totally happy, and that's what counts!

Friday, October 16, 2009

A little cheese with that whine?

OK, I am not the most tolerant person. Hell, I'm pretty intolerant in most instances. I have seen injustices personally in my life that would make another person weep. So I have a hard time with people who whine and cry about their circumstances, but do nothing to fix it. If you just want to vent, SAY SO! Don't ask me for my opinion/help if you don't want it. I will give it to you! If you're homeless, and it's your fault, then do something about it. If you are treated poorly at a store, quit shopping there. If you are fat and hate it and yourself, then do something about it. If you just want to whine and cry, fine, but let me know first this that is all you want. I have a limited amount of energy, and don't want to waste it. I'd rather save it for the important things. Quit blaming everyone/everything else, and take some responsibilty.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Speed kills, but first it makes you an asshole

I am watching two ppl committing slow suicide. One is a musician who is prescription pill addict. The other is a musician who has fallen back into speed. It's really hard watching the slow slide of two people who are smart and talented, and know better. The cold dead hand of addiction has grasped them in its bony fist, and doesn't look like it will let them go this time.
I know why musicians turn to drugs. Playing is painful. It looks easy, but a couple of hours playing makes your body feel like a 10 hour shift at the steel mill. The drugs dull the pain, ease the exhaustion, but they do more harm than good.
My bass player had it all twice; speed took it away both times. My drummer friend feels like there's nothing left, since most of her friends have fallen away because of her pill use. She has become a user of people as well, she never calls unless it is to take her to get her fix at the so-called 'pain management clinic'.
My bass player is smart, funny and great fun to be around. Unless he's tweeking. Then he's a loud asshole. I dropped the band a few years ago because of his speed use, looks like I might have to do it again. I have all but cut my drummer friend off because after I said my piece, she has decided to continue on her path of destruction. I'm sad. Very very sad. And depressed over this. But I also know that I have to save myself, or get drawn into their drug induced drama. Both of them do nothing at this point except drugs and sleep. Pass. thanks. I have entirely too much life and talent to wait around for that. I learned my lesson a long time ago, and I can't help them. I tried, and got burned for my effort. Never again.

Monday, October 12, 2009

So I'm Confused....

So, there's this huge nasty argument going on over at the Zaftigs. I'm not sure why, I quit reading the thread that started the whole thing awhile back, for my own sanity. Something about the grrls being called puerile (Look it up), and they took exception to it, now peeps are really getting into the whole trashing thing, or if they are being sarcastic, they are falling short. (Well, not the grlls, but it was kinda obvious on their part). Oh well, it always happens no matter what you are talking about, with whom, people are people.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Yes, we're fat, get over it!

The term 'obese' has become the new N-word in the media and other places. Until the 1960's (Thanks Twiggy, you anorexic twat!) women with padding were considered attractive and desirable. It showed that she had wealth, because only poor people were thin. In many cultures, thin women were considered ugly and unmarriageable, since they probably wouldn't be able to produce viable offspring.
With the shift of cheap processed convenience foods in the 1950's replacing wholesome real food, the poor began to get bigger, and being thin was the realm of the rich. Only the wealthy could afford to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean meats. The rest of the population could only afford to eat sub-standard junk, sugar and fat loaded crap, or 'plastic food-like substances', as described by Michael Pollan. Chemicals became cheaper than real food, and that's what many of us grew up on.
I was lucky in that I had Old World grandparents. Grandma was horrified at the thought of Kraft mac and cheese. She spent a good chunk of her day in the kitchen, preparing everything from scratch. Mother cooked as well, but the older she got, and the more into her social life, the more junk food came into the house. (Grandparents were gone by that time) As society changed, she began to berate me for being "fat", dragging me to Weight Watchers, forcing me to ingest all kind of chemical weight loss crap, and then taking me to a 'diet doctor' (otherwise known as a pill pusher) at 12 to get speed and some sort of injections. (I finally refused to go after one such injection was put into a nerve cluster, causing me horrible pain for several years) And you know what? I wasn't fat at the time. I was big, but with Italian/German/American Indian genetics, I wasn't the thin tit-less standard of beauty at the time.
As an adult, after constantly being harassed, I decided to try Weight Watchers again. The first appointment they set my goal weight at 112 pounds. (I'm 5'5" and was 220 at the time.) After a couple of sessions, I went to my doc for a checkup, and told her what they had said. She was horrified. She promptly did a skeletal density test, and claimed "Stop going, your skeleton weights about 100 pounds. You're not fat, just a few pounds over. I'd like to see you between 185 and 200." I hovered around that weight for years until my husband started abusing me and cheating on me, and I turned to the only friend I had since we had moved, food. I gained alot, and even more when I became pregnant. The OB claimed that I had gestational diabetes, and I had to use a monitor 4 times daily. Then she accused me of lying, and told my husband to chart the results, and keep the log so I couldn't change it. Guess what? No diabetes. None. Nada. Not even a high blood sugar reading.
After years of abuse and self-torture, I finally began to lose weight. I was 325 for a few years. About this time was when my husband announced that if we didn't become polyamourous, he would divorce me. And as the typical abused spouse, I agreed, since I was terrified to be alone. Well, that backfired on him big time, as women (and men) flocked to me, and pretty much ignored him, except for the mental patient he'd been cheating on me with for years. (They met when he was an aid at the state hospital.) Unhappy with my life, I turned to drugs and drinking to cope. I partied with the best of them, and lost 120 pounds. And you know what? I was STILL horribly unhappy. I could (and did sometimes) have a different lover every week, and it still wasn't enough. I had a closet full of beautiful stylish clothes, and they didn't make me happy. I was miserable, and headed down a bad road at high speed.
Then one day I woke up, and realized that it wasn't me that was the problem, it was him. So I finally got the courage to throw him out and divorce him. He ended up marrying the mental patient, since no one else would have him. They are a perfectly matched pair, drugging and drinking on a regular basis. I only wish my son didn't have to go over there and deal with that shit. (And no, the state won't do a thing, because the abuse is emotional, and not physical, and we can't catch them doing the drugs in public.)
I've since remarried a wonderful man who is also big. I LOVE having a partner that I don't feel like I'm going to break if I hug them too hard. We love ourselves, and each other, and he's more of a father to my son than his biological father, whose idea of parenting is to come out of the smoke filled bedroom to yell on occasion. (SO 1950's of him!)
Americans will not get less fat until we as a culture get rid of chemical crap pushed on us by the food industry. In many places, there are no grocery stores, and the corner markets are a thing of the past. As food prices continue to go up, more and more people are turning to fast food dollar menus to feed their families, because they have lost the skills and knowledge to prepare wholesome food. Many families are dual income just to be able to keep a roof over their heads, and are too tired and stresses to fix food from scratch. I was one of those until I decided my health and my family's health was more important than being able to buy the newest electronic toys and things we really didn't need. So now I spend a good portion of my day raising and preparing our food. And I love it.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Real beauty in a mag, for a change!

No idea how long it'll last, but Glamour magazine is finally crusading 'regular' size models for their shoots. Check out the pic, beautiful!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Freegans and the evil Corporate America

Was doing some reading this morning on Freegans, and either the practice has become more mainstream, the economy's getting better, or people just don't care any more. I didn't run across any new articles, and few old ones.
I've dumpster dived (dumpster dove?) on and off all my life. It's like treasure hunting, sometimes you find the chest of gold, and sometimes you find a bunch of sand. Never done it for food though. I was getting culled produce from a local store, but they got bought out by Whole Paycheck, who doesn't allow for that, no siree Bob. (The 'hippy grocery store' from Austin Tx doesn't allow poor people to make use of their discards any more. Hhhmmm......) The bread store, instead of throwing out the no longer saleable but edible items to be scavenged, they slash the wrappers, rendering it unusable for human consumption and selling it for animal food. The two racks I picked up the other day for the chickens had just been slashed, the bread was all still soft. If you were really poor and hungry, it could be eaten. Thanks the Goddess we're not at that point.
The latest thing for Corporate America to do since the freegans came out of the dumpster is to pour ammonia on any discarded food items, rendering them totally unusable, even for animals. Many places have locks on the dumpsters, for several reasons, mostly to keep people from dropping off their trash. I understand this, since they have to pay every time that dumpster is emptied, and also to keep some idiot from hurting themselves and suing. (We've all seen something like that.) But how hard would it to park discarded food products outside for awhile every day and let the poor take it? It would be an urban version of gleaning the fields, a practice that still goes on today, where poor people are allowed in the harvested fields and orchards to glean anything useable that the harvesters missed. It's probably a legal thing, but sometimes, morals need to step up. Come on Corporate America, we're all in this together.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fat Hate and general bad attitude

After a spat with my sister today that caused her to hang up on me after I called her on some BS she was spouting, I got online and typed 'fat hate' into the search engine. A lot of FA blogs/articles came up, and of course, so did the FH (Fat Haters) stuff. I'm surprised I was able to read them and not become totally outraged. In fact, I felt a sense of sadness for these poor pitiful ppl who have nothing else to do than waste that kind of energy on people they had never met and would never be influenced by.
The bad attitude is all mine, caused by my sister. She was force-retired when her department was shut down due to the economy, and while that was going on I had to listen to her complain how she'd never be able to live off the 100+K her husband makes, and we're eating rice and beans to make ends meet. (We're on ultra-frugal mode, to save up for much needed home repairs). Now, she has been more than generous in the past, buying me clothes, giving me $$, but it is still hard to sit and listen to that. And to top it off, she's gaining weight at an astronomical rate, and whining about how she hates being fat, she'll never accept it, boohoohoo. (She is a fat fat-basher, they are almost worse than previously fat ppl who like to say how anyone can do it, just put down the fork!) And is she doing anything towards it? Not really. So she's down on herself, and totally bored, and wants someone to listen to her cry about it. She doesn't want a 'solution', she wants to lie around in her robe all day and bitch. OK, fine, but I have got a ton of things going on atm, and no time to deal with it, not to mention energy. But, according to her, they aren't REAL things. Like the fact that on Thursday, I will be opening my art studio. I want to sell my art, and I've always wanted my own gallery, and this is the fist logical step. But that's not a REAL job, or even anything at all important. She sounds more and more like our mother every day. I still love her, she is my sister, but I can't deal with this any more. I have to save myself. I'm tired of being told I'm fat, my friends are losers, how I 'better hang onto' my husband, like I'm gonna run off to Boca with someone else. (Not a chance, my husband's the greatest!) Let's not even get into her husband and that whole twisted relationship.

Yes, I know my lifestyle does not meet with your approval. I love you, but get a life, and quit trying to live vicariously through me or your child. I can't deal with someone dragging me down, making me depressed, then saying "You're so negative, this isn't a good day for us!" and hanging up. Take a look in the mirror sister, YOU are the cause of my bad attitude.

One more time...

So, one more time I'm going to attempt the schlep over to see John. If this time doesn't pan, then he'll have to wait until he gets his own place. Getting up at 5 every morning does tend to put a damper on evening activities. I'm too old to be a rock musician!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Poverty sucks, so why am I happy?

We're fairly poor. Not homeless, not taking-the-bus poor, living w/o power poor, but for Austin, pretty poor. I don't really feel poor though. We've got pretty much everything we need except a lot of money. We're able to put away a little every month, are paying down debt and getting things fixed that need it. Most of the work falls on me, since much of frugal living is time/work related. Have you ever fixed a meal from scratch? OK, so add even more time on that if you raised the ingredients yourself. While we don't live on a rural farm, we do have our urban homestead, a nice little patch.
Our home is in a non-deed restricted area. When I was house shopping back in the 90's, I wouldn't even consider a deed restricted property. Bad enough I have to deal with government telling me what I can and can't do, don't want the neighbors doing the same. We're living a fairly frugal life at the moment. And yet I wake up happy pretty much every single day, and go to bed happy almost every night. Would money make me any happier? A little, some worry would be removed, which would bump up the happiness scale a notch or two. All in all, things here on the homestead are good, we're happy, mostly healthy, enjoy life and each other. Life is busy, but good.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

More rain! Oh my! And an unwelcome visitor


More rain! We're glad for the garden/wildlife, not so glad for the chickens. Despite having an awning and two tarps over the tractor, it is still leaking like a sieve. So this week's project will be the construction of a new coop.
The pic is one of our unwanted guests residing in our brand new live trap. After we took his pic, off he went down to the creek over at the industrial park. He can live there with the teenager we caught last month and eat the bugs and snakes, and not my eggs.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

When smart people go dumb....

I went out to my friend T's new place yesterday. She's moved out of the big city into the country (or at least it will be for a couple of years, development is already creeping out there) and since she's always wanted to live in the country, and the rent was way cheaper, everyone thought it was a great move for her.
She had told me that the house needed repairs, and TLC, but this did not prepare me for the reality; Limited running water (huge leak that had been unrepaired for years, so they just leave the water off most of the time, and buy bottled water to drink and cook with, a house where the foundation has sagged to the point whole rooms are cracking off the house, walls crumpled like paper, and the floor drops several INCHES in places. Huge holes where rats, snakes, scorpions and all kinds of other nasties can get in, no heat/air, a septic tank, that due to the lack of water in it, stinks to high heaven and is collapsing in places. And on, and on, and on.
OK, I've lived in some pits, mostly when I was young. One place was a shack with a tin roof under huge pecan trees. When it rained or the wind blew in the fall, the sound was deafening. Another was the old house next to the shack, which had been build by hand, and we had to make everything from scratch or modify store bought for repairs, because modern fixtures like new windows/doors wouldn't fit. The house we're in now is definitely a fixer upper, which we are doing. I've never lived in a new house, I don't really like them, at least not the ones I can afford.
But here's the difference; we would have been saving $$ to have the water fixed if we couldn't DIY. We would be shoring up the foundation so it wouldn't sag any further and do more damage. We would be fixing or covering the holes, fixing the woodwork, painting. Yes, those things cost money, but there are many things that can be done for minimal or no money and some effort. Which brings us to the root of the issue, E-F-F-O-R-T. These women are content to live in squalor and unhealthy conditions, because to clean up and fix things, they would have to get off their asses and do it. T wants someone to do it/pay for it for her, or better yet give her a million dollars so that she can blow it on smoking, dvds, junk food and high dollar pet toys and snacks. She doesn't have a car, and she's disabled. With the money I've personally seen this woman blow, she could have a car and a decent place to live, but that's not where her priorites are. She'd rather live like this and make no effort to better her situation, because it takes effort. We call that a "welfare mentality".
T has really gone downhill, despite everyone trying to help her. She really only want someone to support her and do everything for her. I love her and she will always be a member of the family, but I realized a long time ago that I couldn't take her to raise, and had to let her go, for my own sanity. Nothing's changed about her, and sadly, nothing ever will, exept to go downhill. Poverty is one thing, but lack of pride and self-respect is totally another.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Addicted to Seed Packets

So, I admit it, I have a problem. I love seeds. And more importantly, I LOVE the packets. Doesn't matter what kind, the sight of a rack of seed packets in a store will set my heart to racing like Manolo Blahnik shoes did for Carrie in SATC. I do have to admit that the no-frills packets of white paper with black or green lettering doesn't quite do to me the same thing as the shiny bad-for-the-environment glossy paper ones.
When I spot the rack, with the packs of glittering envelopes holding their seedy cargo, my steps quicken. When I get to the rack, I stand and look at all the pictures of the plants on the fronts like a kid confronted with Toys R Us for the first time, a gaze of delight and wonder. My mind races with thoughts of what those plants would look like in my garden, how the flowers would smell and feel, how the veggies would taste. I pick up a packet of something I've never grown before, checking to see if I have the right growing conditions. Then my eyes wander to the next packet, and the next, and then to another rack, and before I realize it, I'm clutching a double handful of slippery seed packets in my sweaty hands. While I might put one or two back, I usually end up taking the whole batch home. Even at the grocery store I'll pick up a couple of the more common seeds, like lettuce or spinach.
My husband doesn't say a thing about my addiction, since he's ultimately reaping the benefit of good food. My seed collection has grown to barely fitting inside a shoe box tub. So I'm trying to kick the habit, and not buy any seeds until what I've got is used up. Oh, the agony! I'll have to avoid the garden center at Lowe's, where the seeds beckon, calling my name, begging for me to take them home. Well, maybe just a couple...

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Frugal Paganism

Doing some reading on the Web this morning, and just for fun typed in 'frugal Pagan'. Not too much stuff came up, but one page I read talked about how you didn't have to have "stuff" to be Pagan, like Tarot cards, wands, cups, tons of candles and incense, etc. Not being Wiccan, I never use any of these things in my daily rituals. OK, I take that back, there is a chalice on the altar outside, which is filled with fresh water every day for the Temple cats.
Being frugal in any realm is a matter of mind, over matter, as it were. You think you need a wand? Go find a nice branch or twig fallen off a local tree that appeals to you. Chalice? Try a half of a walnut shell, or coconut shell, depending on how many people are in ritual. Cloth? Any will do, even a dish towel (Especially good for Earth mages, it has the kitchen energy in it already!) Candles can be made cheaply or bought even more cheaply at the dollar store. Incense can be anything fragrant, even dried grass, if that's all you can afford, or dried flowers from your yard/garden. It doesn't have to be the heavy imported-from-India stuff, it just needs to smoke and smell at least not noxious, it's the smoke that's the important part, not the incense itself.
Sometimes people forget that it's the thought behind the ritual, not the actions themselves. Really, you only need yourself, and that's always with you!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Revenge of the Chickens!

Last night saw the capture of the second possum hanging about eating our eggs. #1 was a cute little baby, all clean and fuzzy with a pink shiny tail. Last night, not so much. Our uninvited guest was about 8 pounds, and the typical possum dirty. I'm hoping to get the huge one tonight, we'll see how things go!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Food Porn 101

Since a good majority of my blog is about food, I've decided to start a food blog, and viola! Dragon's Food Porn was hatched! The blog will be dedicated to good food of any kind, and we might even throw in the occasional junk food as well. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Water and green and sprouts, oh my!

With the much needed rain this last week, we're finally seeing some life in the gardens again! A few hardy naked lady lillies have sprung up, and in the veggie garden radishes, greens, purple pod beans, Brussels sprouts and cabbages are all making an appearance. We've missed greens this summer the most I think, since I pretty much refused to buy the sad, wilted and bug chewed offerings at the stores. The rain catchers are all full, which means about 3 weeks of water at this point. I'm hoping to have enough catchers next year to cover a month or more of garden water.
Recipe of the Week will be a little late this week, as someone forgot to take the camera out of his gaming bag, and I didn't have access to it until today. Check for recipe posting tomorrow, a quick preview: Sun Dried Tomato Pesto. There, that should hold you till I get it posted!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Twig Thighs? Bad News!

A new study suggests ppl with thin thighs are more likely to die of heart disease. I think I'm good then.

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/09/03/2052314.aspx

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The Return of the Crock Pot!

Thanks to my son and husband, I got a brand new smaller crock pot for my birthday this year. The one I had was huge, old and a bitch to wash, since I have small sinks. Today I'm going to try cooking part of a brisket, I figure even if it isn't great as itself, I can always throw it back in with some barbque sauce and make sandwiches.
Today is Experiment #2 on the great clotted cream debate. Now that Sister #1 has retired, she's looking for something to fill her days, so we are embarking on cooking together. Cutting back on eating out will save her more than she thinks. Since she lives in the other half of the state, and Texas isn't a small place, we'll be doing things seperately and compairing notes. Should be fun!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

OK, so it wasn't REALLY clotted cream!

This morning I tried my mock clotted cream, and while is was ok, I definitely didn't turn cartwheels like my sisters. So, either they had something closer to the real thing, or what they had was better than what I made. I'm gonna bit the bullet and try the whipped butter/sour cream combo, and see if I like it any better. Personally, I think just a nice batch of home made whipped butter would be better, but maybe if I ever get to go to Devonshire, I'll change my mind!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Quest for clotted cream

My sister, who experienced her first British afternoon tea last year, has been on me to find/invent a recipe for clotted cream, which can't actually be made here in the U.S., due to the fact that you can't legally buy unpasteurized milk, and according to both sisters, the jarrred version sucks big hairy dog balls. So I'm trying a substitute involving simmering heavy whipping cream in a double boiler until it's reduced by half and forms a crust. Another version I found was basically home made butter mixed with sour cream and a little sugar, but I'm a bit skeptical about that one after reading the reviews. I also ran across a vegan version which doesn't even bear mentioning here, as it was too scary. I'll post tomorrow once the cream is done. Guess this means I'll have to make scones!

Garden 2.0

Now that the temp has dropped (finally) into the not-100's, it's time to attempt the fall garden. This will actually be my first fall garden I planted on purpose, instead of just having things that survived the summer. I've missed being able to walk outside and pick fresh food for supper. Hopefully we'll at the very least have some greens, as the ones in the store just don't have the same taste as fresh from the garden ones. I did manage to nurse one tomato plant through the drought, altho it never bloomed. I'm hoping the cooler weather will revive it enough to get something out of it. We'll see.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Recipe of the Week - Toad in the Hole

This is a very easy breakfast dish I first saw on the movie Moonstruck. I asked my half-Italian mother what it was, and she repiled "Oh, that's Toad in the Hole!" Ok, so the name's not so good, but the dish is!

1 red bell pepper (Must use reds, it doesn't really taste right with the other colors), cored, de-seeded and sliced longways into thin strips.
Butter
Eggs
Thick sliced bread of your choice. I used English toasting bread this time.
Take some butter, melt it in a skillet and saute the pepper strips until soft and slightly brownish on the edges. When they are done, remove them from the pan and add more butter.
Take your bread and cut a hole right in the middle of the slice. You can use a biscuit cutter, or a knife. This is where your egg will go, so size it accordingly. Reserve the round of bread if desired.
Place the bread in the skillet with the butter. The bread will soak up the pepper-flavored butter while it cooks. I also cook the cut out rounds as well. Break an egg into the hole. Don't worry if it runs out a bit.
Cook the whole thing until the bread is crisp and golden brown on the bottom, then carefullly flip it over and cook the other side till the egg is done to your liking. I like mine a bit squishy so the yolk runs out when I cut it.
Once bread/eggs are cooked, transfer to plate and top with pepper slices. Quick and easy, and very tasty!
(Sorry I couldn't get more pics up, having issues posting multiple images. I'll see if I can't get that fixed before next week's recipe post)
Enjoy!

New blog I'm reading

Was reading the Zaftigs today, for Just Move Monday, and the guest poster was a delightful woman from Tennessee, check out her green blog.

Friday, August 28, 2009

School sucks, and food rules!

So, my returning to college venture didn't quite go the way I expected. After looking at the prof's webpage for the US Gov class I'd registered for, it occurred to me that I really, really did not want to be doing this. Sure, if the Degree Fairy came by with an anthro degree, I'd take it. But the bullshit of math, foreign language and US Gov just hit me like a ton of tofu. So I dropped the class, and began to look at things I really liked to do. And food is the top choice.
As I've started before, I love food. I read about food, think about food, have sex with food, (Well, and a partner, but that's another post!) Food, food, food. After my guest post on the Zaftig Chicks blog, I started thinking, "Hey, what about that cookbook you were working on??" Yea. Something to think about.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Beauty of Yesteryear

Ran across this on Big Fat Deal, pictures of Miss Universe contestants back in the day. These women, compaired to modern 'standards of beauty', look healthy and are still beautiful. I'd love to see some full body pics, in the headshots, the women have round plump cheeks, a hint of a double chin, and no visible collarbones. And they were considered the height of beauty in their day. We need to get back to this ideal, instead of the Twiggy image, and even Twiggy came out a few years ago and said she was sorry, that she wasn't healthy (major eating diorders!) and she was appalled at the deaths of young girls she's caused over the years. Fat is not a disease. Don't treat it like one.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Contact!

John has arrived safely home in Austin, and actually has a phone number! And it's Tuesday. Coinkidink? I think not!
In other news, it's Tuesday, check out the Zaftig Chicks to see my fabulous recipe for lasagne rolls.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

School, ZC and Other Things

Today is the last day before class starts. I really don't want to take US Government. I really don't want to take forign language or math. And I have to take all this crap to get my degree. (Why? How stupid is that??) So I'm faced with a delemma: take the crap, and hopefully get a degree, or don't, and not have something I've wanted since I was a little child. I think maybe I waited too long to go back. So many other things beg for my attention, like my artwork, cooking, and home repair. I really do not know if I can go through with this. *sigh*
Today I also write my post for the Zaftigs. I am enjoying their witty humor, and the many pics of their boobage. Hope they enjoy my Lasagne rolls.
School starts for the weiner tomorrow as well. 8th grade. Seems like just last week he was heading off to kindergarten in Mrs. Fickett's class. Before we know it, he'll be graduating high school.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Whoring on Facebook.

Now, I have nothing against Facebook, or ppl playing around. But when I see my s-i-l whoring around there, and knowing what I know about her, it makes me so very angry. This little twat has caused her entire family nothing but grief. Got pregnant, moved in with mommy and daddy, who paid for everything, let her live there without working, dumping her kid on them at every opportunity to go party with her friends, totalled their only car, caused them to lose their house and be in debt to the gov for pretty much the rest of their lives. And what do I see when I log onto Facebook? Her picture, in a slutty teddy. Excuse me? A single mother with a kid to feed better get their ass out and get a job. And she STILL lives with them, crammed into an apartment now, and not working as far as we know. I am disgusted.
Unfortunately, I have this sinking feeling that my in-laws will be the cause of the destruction of my marriage. They almost were last year, and I feel it in my bones that it is coming again, this time much worse. I love my husband more than anything except my child, but I will never be held hostage by in-laws ever again.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Activism and Other Bitchings

So, here I am, fresh from a trip to get Round Rock donuts and reading the FA blogs, and some of the stuff I read this morning was enough to put me off my succulent chocolate glazed breakfast.
It's been a fairly craptacular week. First off, the Period from Hell. Ain't menopause grand? Second, having to listen to someone complain that their partner spends thousands of dollars on a monthly, sometimes weekly basis, while I'm struggling to pay my electric bill. (I could ask them for the $$, but no, I'd rather not. I'm a big girl.) Then the idiots who think that a red light/stop sign means "I can go, there's a space I can squeeze my big ass SUV into!" Crap with banks, crap with friends, crap with exes, crap with insurance companies.
The one constant, that keeps me sane and not homicidal, is my husband. He is the light at the end of the tunnel, he will do whatever it takes to make me feel better. And I thank him for it. He is the most wonderful person I have ever had the privilege to know, let alone live with. I love him, our life together, and everything about it.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

First Zaftig guest post

So, I cruised over to check out the first guest post on the Zaftig's Wining and Dining feature, and it looks soooo good! Chicken fried in bacon grease, with the bacon crumbled on top. I am so making this! Hhhmmm.....I think I might do it with the breast off the turkey I'm going to make next weekend. Yummers!
Tonight is Dog Heaven Night, also known as Rib Night. Genghis has taken up residence in front of the oven, afraid if he even goes outside for a moment, the ribs will be stolen by the felines. He'll pretty much stay there until we finish eating, giving us sad pitiful looks while sucking in his cheeks in an attempt to make us think he's starving. Yea, right, he's a 75 pound Chow. Not even close.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Zaftig Chicks, lasagne, and other things.

Getting ready to write my guest blog for the wonderful Zaftig Chicks, complete with pics of my lasagne rolls. I love reading their posts, it's nice to communicate with someone who doesn't spend all their time whining about how disgusted they are because they are fat, while scarfing down a foot long chili cheese coney from the Sonic. (You know who you are!)
I'm fat. Not just plump, or overweight. FAT. I love food. I love to read about food, think about food, shop for food (MUCH more fun than clothes), prepare food, and then EAT food! I love, love love it. I love the way it tastes, smells, feels when I rub it on my naked body. (OK, iit was just the once, but still!) And I love my life. Why should I hide and be ashamed? I'm 46 now, and I STILL get hit on in public. I have had lovers of both sexes who love my fat-ness. I don't care if they are 'chubby chasers'. Better than being a modelizer. Sex is great, my health is generally good. I'm in a band, and I have groupies. I have friends who love me the way I am, a big fat bitch. I have a wonderful husband, and my bass player, a wild Norweigan guy, never misses an opportunity to rub himself on me.
I have met many ppl who got a gastric bypass. Funny how ppl think mutilating their bodies will make them happy. Guess what? NONE of those ppl got any happier! In fact, they were even more unhappy, because now they have actually ruined their health, can never eat normally again, and face a much earlier death than if they had been fat. So sad.
Not me. I'm happy the way I am. I don't need validation from ppl I don't know. I've been thin, and I was profoundly miserable all the time. And hungry. Not any more.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Even more horrifying!

I don't usually say this, but...OMFG! That pretty much says it all.

Guest Blogger

How exciting! I've been picked to bew a guest blogger on Two Zaftig Chicks! I got to post a blog and pics at show me making my favorite recipe. Only problem is picking which one! More to follow!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Scary Frankenfood!

So, here I am, reading the CNN website, and this article caught my attention. I was horrified. Just horrified. The soylent green days are fast approaching.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Hell is cooler than Texas this time of year!

I'm not sure why any Texas Xtain would be afraid of Hell, it's got to be cooler than Texas in the summertime. The heat paired with a major drought (unlike our usual yearly drought, which is much shorter) has pretty much killed everything in the garden EXCEPT the xeriscaped areas. Hhhmmm.....
We have 4 struggling tomatoes which are no longer setting fruit, no matter how much water we give them, one pitiful pepper plant that will probably drop dead pretty soon, and one basil in a pot which is kicking ass. Guess what I'm planting lots of next year? Pretty much all the Mediterranean plants are thriving, like the lavender and rosemary, and the one basil. I'll be planting alot more of those next year.
We got a tiny bit of rain, enough so I didn't have to water the plants for half a day. Three days of a nice steady soaking rain is what we need.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Almost done!

I'm almost finished with my first semester back to college, and it was tough. No more summer classes!
The garden's pretty much burned up, we're going to try to start some new plants indoors where it's not 106. Other than that, working around the Farm to get things cleaned up and built. More to follow!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Almost done!

I am almost done with the killer summer semester! I don't really remember college being this hard, but then, I was pretty much in a haze those days. Grown up college is more concerned with the artical callwork, as opposed to what groups you join and what parties you go to in kid college.
I do have to admit that this semester certainly opened my eyes as to how many different specializations there are in the field of anthro. And many subsets of my own field of interest, food anthropology. Maybe experimental arxhaeology.......

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Turning the tide against sticks

I've been doing mucho reading about food and food related things lately due to my return to college. What exactly does food and college have to do with one another? Because my degree is in anthropology, and my specialization is food culture. How we relate to food at a species is totally fascinating to me, as well as body size in other cultures.
There's a new movement afoot called Fat Acceptance, which pretty much means give up the crap dieting and work on being healthy instead. We have been doing this for the last couple of years, after my partner and I had lost tons of weight during our courting stage, and gained it back after we married. I was in a band at that point in my life, and living the rock star lifestyle, with everything that entails. Little food, combined with large amounts of caffeine, little sleep, and other things produced a 125 pound loss over a 2 year period. As soon as I quit that life, I started to gain again. Funny how cooking and eating will do that to a person. It didn't help that my partner was a budding foodie, after a fairly limited food life, and as a former chef who LOVES to cook, I went hog wild. We also had a string of housemates in the early days to help make ends meet, who all loved my cooking. Even our tweeker housemate gained weight!
I began to think about halting the gain when I had to go buy larger jeans once again. As I began to take stock of my life the last few years, I realized that I had been totally happy. Was life easy? Uh, no. Some of the worst times in my life have been in the last 6 years. (But so have some of the best!) I realized that I had been cooking many foods from my childhood, as well as new things. Almost all of these were new to my partner, he really didn't have a 'food culture' like I did. My maternal grandparents were first generation European-Americans. Papa was Italian, with the family coming from Salerno, Italy. Grandma was German, and was a wonderful gourmet cook. Some of my earliest memories are tied to smell and taste, just a whiff of a certain type of spaghetti gravy or barley-beef soup will trigger a memory of my grandmother standing at the stove.
I noticed more and more the anti-fat ads, the horrific reports from the medical community, the out and out bigotry caused by someone else's phobias and fears. So it has lead me to a search of not only "Why?", but "How?" as well. Why and how did we come from the Baroque Period to The Stick Period? I'm thinking this is going to be my doctoral thesis.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Hiho, Hiho, it's off to School I go.....

So, the whole housefrau thing just wasn't working for me, and several attempts at some sort of business didn't do it either. Yea, I made a bit of scratch here and there, but was becoming increasingly depressed and unhappy, so after lots of long hours thinking "What do I want to do with myself?", I have decided to return to school and finish out that particular dream/fantasy. Returning to school took a bit of retraining, as a few things have changed since I was there 15 years ago. Looks like I can take most, if not all of my classes online, which helps with saving gas. So I'm currently working my way through Intro to Archaeology, which means at the end of the course I should be able to at least spell it! More on return to school later, it's time to do homework!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Ok, so I suck.....

Yea, yea, I know, it's been forever! I totally suck at keeping up with these things! With that in mind, on to news....
I have decided to return to college and finish my degrees in nutritional anthropology. This willb e taking up the majority of my time, but I will try to post when I can.

Monday, March 2, 2009

How We're Surviving the Economic Meltdown for the Everyday Person

Welcome to the fist installment of my March month long series, How to Survive The Economic Meltdown For The Everyday Person 101. I looked around the other day, and it seems like while everyone else is tanking financially, we're doing ok, on half or less of what many other people are making at the moment. So I started thinking "Why is that?"
Turns out, many reasons. Some easy, others not so much, but all doable by just about anyone. We're doing our best to live within our means, and it's not always fun or easy, but so far has been worth it.
And what exactly does that mean? In most cases, effort. It takes effort to deny yourself something, and believe you me, I know, especially when looking down the barrel of a chocolate eclair. There's lots of things you can do, you just have to try everything and see what works best. Some things, however, are a must, like reducing your debt. First you have to stop creating it, then you have to whittle away at it until it's gone. It may never be gone, but it can definitely be made less of a burden. Here's some of the things we've used successfully so far to reduce our outstanding debt and still enjoy life;
1. Pay yourself first.
I can't stress this one enough. I'd heard this all my life from older relatives, and thought "What a silly outdated idea!" OK, so I was wrong. It really means 'Have cash/money in the bank at all times' which is a really, really good idea. I'm not talking Roth, 401k, money market accounts, etc. I'm talking the most basic of basic. There are a few ways to accomplish this on even the most limited budget. Cash is a good way to start out. For every day spending like food, gas, bus/cab fair, pay cash for anything you can. Now, get yourself a jar or can, and set a 'carry limit' for yourself, like you won't carry any denomination of cash with you larger than X. We started out putting all coinage in our jar. After awhile, it got to be a game, seeing how fast the jar filled up. We now put anything smaller than a $10 bill in the jar, and when the jar becomes full, it's off to the bank to savings. The jar is great for immediate emergencies where you have to have money RIGHT NOW, like for medical stuff, cab fare the day car breaks down an hour before you're supposed to be at work, less diapers in the box than you thought and it's all the money you have access to till Friday, fun things like that. We do sneak a fiver once or twice a year for something naughty, like Starbuck's. It is NOT for things like cigs and beer.
You can get a savings account with very little effort. I started out with a basic no frills savings account at the local branch of a national bank. It didn't pay much in interest (like next to none!) but it was a good place to park some money. We eventually opened a higher interest account with an online bank. We've found this has been a great way to save, since it takes 3 business days to get the funds from the online bank to our local branch national bank, it forces us to think very hard about using it. You will be surprised how fast this adds up to a healthy savings.
2. Limited credit card usage.
Credit card usage like it was meant to be. We try really hard to not use our cards, and to pay off any outstanding balances. Yes, weakness does strike when we see that Ultimate Thing we've been Wanting for Ever So Long. So if we do buy it, then nothing else goes on the card until that Ultimate Thing is paid off. And of course there are the unavoidable things, like my mother's death last year. Had to be dealt with, plastic was the solution at the time. We are still paying off debt from several years ago during a bad spell of no employment. It'll be a few years before that's gone, but it's shrinking, and that's the important thing. Small purchases are used to maintain the cards, like using it for gas and paying the balance every month. This will hopefully keep the credit card company from doing anything really nasty like dropping our limit or jacking the interest. Fingers crossed there, there's only so much when dealing with credit card companies that the consumer can do, except not use them at all, which can be it's own hassle, unless you've got enough cash in a debit account to cover things like rental cars, which need a credit card.
Tune in this week for the next installment, paying down/off outstanding balances.


Ok, so I'm bummed now....

Reading an article about what celebrity chefs like to eat at home, I saw a link to Rocco DeSpirito's mini bio. So I clicked and read. I was doing great until Rocco talks about creating a yogurt pop for an 8 yr old girl, using SPLENDA!!!!! Rocco, Rocco, what were you thinking??? First off, SHAME ON YOU for using the stuff, and second, giving it to a child! Rocco, we just might have to not like you as much dude. Which makes us sad. :(

Monday, January 19, 2009

It's been awhile

OK, so I've been really lazy and not posted anything for awhile. That doesn't mean that nothing's been going on tho. The holidays went by smoothly, we puppy-sat for my ex, which was fun, like having a grand-puppy to play with for a couple of days then sending it home.
January and Febuary '09 are going to be our major stocking up months for this half of the new year. Come March, we enter another frugal period. We're shooting for two months this time, we'll see how it works out. Everything's getting stocked, right down to hobby items. We will be doing lots of cleaning/catching up projects around the homestead, and working on shifting our lifestyle back to a more home grown flavor.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year everyone! So far this year is shaping up to be a good one. Last year as so-so, so we're hoping for a better one this year. We did realize some of our short and long term goals, and are right on track for our Debt Free in Five plan. (Become nearly debt free in five years, 4 1/2 left to go).
Garden plans are coming right along. Producing your own food is a full time job, no doubt about it. This year we are going to concentrate on using the gardens to reduce our food costs even more. The chickies are doing well and eggs are steady at the moment, at least until the spring molt. The winter garden is growing away, and we are once again eating something we've grown.
No actual resolutions thing year, we're just continuing our long term plan, and it's working. I am hoping to get some things done, like making soap from scratch.
Hope everyone has a safe and sane year!