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As luck would have it, right after I assailed you with the food meme I was tagged for two more byMiz Shoes so grab a cup of whatever you like and away we go. Oh, you know I wont tag any one so if you want to play along here’s your chance.
Meme 1
Instructions: What you are supposed to do...and please don’t spoil the fun...Copy/paste, type in your answers and tag four people in your lists! Don’t forget to change my answers to the questions with that of your own.
(A) Four places I go over and over: Home, work, the grocery store and the fabric store (just looking, I swear)
(B) Four people who e-mail me regularly: Laurie, Mom, Kim, the boss
(C) Four of my favorite places to eat? The Columbian in Sarasota, Cafe Intermezzo in Atlanta, Ruth’s Chris anywhere I find it, Blue Pointe in Fort Myers.
(D) Four places you’d rather be? Savannah, Aruba, Paducah (huge fabric store there), Kawai
(E) Four TV shows I could watch over and over: CSI - all varieties, ANTM, Project Runway, Hell’s Kitchen
(F) Four people I think will respond: Not tagging anyone so...nobody.
Meme 2
Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you (see above).
2. Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading).
3. Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (This is only a game)
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up
Six Things About Me
1. I rarely tag anyone for meme’s...and that fact makes a great first thing - heh.
2. I’m left handed...but only for writing.
3. Jeans, knit top...that’s about as dressy as I get.
4. I worked for Hallmark, yep the card company, in the store planning department. I was a peon, but it looked nice on a resume.
5. I’m stubborn - ok, not news but its all I could think of.
6. I am a magazine freak. Must. Stop. I’m killing trees!
I stumbled over this while perusing sewing blog...it was from a very old post, but looked like an interesting meme, so here goes:
1)Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you have eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at Very Good Taste linking to your results.
1. Venison - at one of the first fancy restaurants I ever visited, I might have been fifteen.
2. Nettle tea - nope, cant say I have, but I’ve tried lots of other teas.
3. Huevos rancherosMmm mmm - wanna make them at home? Pour your favorite salsa in a pan small enough to make it about 1/2 inch deep, make little ‘wells’ in the salsa and poach your eggs in the wells. Slap ‘em into a tortilla, with a some of the salsa and go to town.
4. Steak tartare - no, but I’ve eaten some pretty rare steaks so I’d try it.
5. Crocodile - nope, but I have had alligator. I’d give it a go.
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue - duh! Me, pass up cheese - not bloody likely.
8. Carp - We sold live grass carp at the market I worked at, and they cooked it up in the restaurant too.
9. Borscht - Mmmm mmmm
10. Baba ghanoush s’ok, but not on my favorites list.
11. Calamari - every chance I get...when its good its great, when its bad you may as well eat your shoe.
12. Pho -nope, but I’d try it.
13. PB&J sandwich - another, duh!.
14. Aloo gobi - and I may have to go look this one up, its new to me.
15. Hot dog from a street cart -I went to school in downtown Atlanta...Sabretts all the way!
16. Epoisses - no, but its cheese, see #7.
17. Black truffle - no, but I would. I might not appreciate it appropriatly, but I’ve seen it in so many high falutin recipes I couldn’t not try it once. Especially if someone else was buying.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - yes, my grandfather would ferment anything most of it was not so good.
19. Steamed pork buns - nope, but I’m not all that food shy, I’d try ‘em.
20. Pistachio ice cream - prolly wouldnt, I’m not a big pistachio fan.
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries - not a berry person.
23. Foie gras - ...heaven.
24. Rice and beans - another duh.
25. Brawn, or head cheese - nope, I’d prolly try it, but tentatively because it has such a horrid name.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - Damn near blew my head off...and I had to go to the eye doc the next day because I still had the oil on my fingers when I put my contacts in the next day - ouch.
27. Dulce de leche - yeah but it didnt blow my skirt up.
28. Oysters - Smoked or fried - mmm mmm. Raw - strike!
29. Baklava - mmm mmm
30. Bagna cauda - another gotta look it up...cant say no way until I know what it involves.
31. Wasabi peas - yum!
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - in Boston. Never been to Boston but luvs me some clam chowder!
33. Salted lassi - Yogurt and I are only semi-friendly - prolly no on this one.
34. Sauerkraut - Really really hate sauerkraut, especially the stench!
35. Root beer float - If you havent noticed the dessert trend - duh.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - Cognac, but no cigar.
37. Clotted cream tea - like head cheese, I’d try it but ewww the name.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - yeah - no all that amused.
39. Gumbo - good, but I must admit that I work around the okra.
40. Oxtail - Another specialty of the market I worked at. Good, but damn difficult to eat..
41. Curried goat - goat yes, curried no. But I generally like curry so I wouldnt hesitate having some.
42. Whole insects - You know how mom always said ‘you dont know if you dont like it unless you try it’? I know I wouldnt like it.
43. Phaal - Huh?
44. Goat’s milk - no...but goat cheese is good (again with the cheese - sheesh)
45. Malt whiskey from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - No, but I’m not much of a whiskey fan.
46. Fugu - In case you havent noticed I’m no daredevil - food that could kill aint my thing.
47. Chicken tikka masala - nope, but its chicken and I dont think I ever tried one I didnt like.
48. Eel - Smoked / grilled in sushi...a little too strong for me
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut -Hello - grew up in the south, darn difficult to avoid. Good, but I never got all hot and bothered when the ‘hot’ sign was on..
50. Sea urchin - nope, but I like sushi, I’d try it.
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi - Dictionary please…
53. Abalone - nope.
54. Paneer - cheese! duh.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal As a kid, yes. I’m more of a quarter pounder gal these days.
56. Spaetzle - yum.
57. Dirty gin martini - Rum not gin - blech.
58. Beer above 8% ABV - Nope, cant stand beer - thanks anyway.
59. Poutine - um..what???
60. Carob chips - fake chocolate - whats the point?
61. S’mores - Yep, our friend serves them around the bonfire
62. Sweetbreads - no
63. Kaolin - no
64. Currywurst - wazzat?
65. Durian - Another one from the market and the stink is like a restaurant dumpster on a hot summer day next to a turned over port-a-potty. If the guy from weird foods cant eat one I promise there’s no way I’d try.
66. Frogs’ legs - sorta like fishy chicken.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake Yep, yep, yep and yep - boy do I luvs me a funnel cake.
68. Haggis - no and I might hesitate a bit becasue I know whats in it...but I’d prolly taste a teeny bit.
69. Fried plantain - yup
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - nope and I might hesitate
71. Gazpacho - oddly, no but I would.
72. Caviar and blini - the cheap kind, but I liked it.
73. Louche absinthe - no
74. Gjetost, or brunost - nope - and its cheese, can you believe it?.
75. Roadkill - no, only shotgun kill for me
76. Baijiu - huh??
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - Sorry, no cooked fruit for me.
78. Snail - escargot - mmmm mmmm mmmm
79. Lapsang souchong - nope.
80. Bellini - yup.
81. Tom yum - Tom who???
82. Eggs Benedict - love it...cant make hollendaise to save my life.
83. Pocky - yep.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. Maybe when I win the lottery.
85. Kobe beef - sadly, no.
86. Hare - rabbit, but not hare?
87. Goulash - yummy
88. Flowers - pansies and candied violets - pretty but sorta tasteless.
89. Horse - no, and given my love of them it’d be a toughie.
90. Criollo chocolate - I missed a CHOCOLATE??? Dayum.
91. Spam - Um, hurricane food...a necessary evil
92. Soft shell crab - to much trouble to pick.
93. Rose harissa -nope.
94. Catfish yup.
95. Mole poblano Man I haven’t had mole in forever, and no, thats not mole like the little critter, that’s mo-lay!
96. Bagel and lox Liked the bagel better than the lox.
97. Lobster Thermidor - nope
98. Polenta - super ground grits...I’m thinking NO.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - Coffer and beer are both on my ick list.
100. Snake - no, but my grandfather once had me pretty convinced that a pecan roll he’d given me a bit of was snake.
Some of my Sunday was spend entertaining myself by surfing the sewing blogs. Not a great idea since it makes me want to rush out and buy fabric, but not altogether bad either as I found all sorts of projects I want to try. The thing is I’m mid project...actually mid two...err, three? I’ve always been a better starter than finisher; there’s just something about the thrill of the plan that lures me in, but when it gets down to the nitty-gritty and tedious all that steam dissipates. Some time ago I switched to smaller projects hoping that the thrill of the finish would be even more enticing, and it was, for a while. But there are no less than three prototype totes laying unfinished on the cutting table, forgotten because they weren’t quite what I was going for at the time. The wave project is slow but not huge and yet I haven’t touched it for a few days. The finish is good but the start will always be better.
Cute shoes and I are relative strangers. I have wide feet, and have had the whole of my life. When I was younger my moter took me to a doctor whose only solution was to remove my pinkie toe and its associated bones. Lucky for me mom wasn’t interested in such measures and I grew up wearing boy’s tennis shoes and penny loafers. In my teens and twenties I fought this truth every step of the way and purchased shoe after shoe that was miserably tight and swearing all the way that I could ‘break them in’. Oh the money I wasted on shoes. In my thirties I wised up. I started to seek out wide shoes or shoes that ‘ran’ wide. Nine West - good....Agners - no way. Lucky for me more and more shoes were becoming available in wide and more and more companies that produced ‘comfort’ shoes were also beginning to produce shoes with personality. Meaning, they were so ugly they were cute. I’ve always had a penchant for suede, no idea why and of late I’ve a love of Mary Janes.
Given all that you can imagine that I was less than enthusiastic when it came to needing shoes for the wedding. Happily, the third pair I tried, though not wide, work quite well and where I’m somewhat indifferent over the dress I’m all swoony over the shoes.
Yes, I suppose they are a bit ‘granny’ and a lot ‘church’, but to me that is the some what the nature of white shoes. Originally I wanted the same shoe in champagne metallic (not as ugly as it sounds) but that one of course was not available in my size. My thought was that if Stacy and Clinton could pair leopard print pumps with a green tweed skirt, surly I could do metallic and get more than one wearing out of them. But, as I said, it wasn’t to be and since they seemed cute, looked nice on my feet and were on killer sale - $30, down from $79 - I settled without too many misgivings.
Once home I decided to wear them a bit so they’d be comfortable on the wedding day and that’s when I fell in love with them. It wasn’t the fit or how cute I think my toes look it was the sole. I’d not noticed in the store that the sole on the toe box is covered in lilies and vines and every step I take will leave behind that impression. So, while there wont be an aisle or rose pedals for me to trod on I’ll still have flowers at my feet and that makes me smile in a silly giddy way that I can’t quite describe. They aren’t my first pair with a secret sole, but right now they are my favorite.
It’s funny what an unexpected day off and two doctor’s appointments will do for a week. Everything is out of kilter and I find myself surprised to find it Friday; surprised and somewhat unprepared. Normally by now I know what’s on deck for the weekend and have a plan of action formed, if not in place. Other than returning three of the four ‘wedding’ dresses I’ve accumulated and normal cleaning it’s looking to be a fairly quite couple of days. Tropical storm Fay is still futzing with the weather…we’re getting more rain now that she’s hundreds of miles north of us that we were when she was just a few mile east…and she if forecast to continue to do so through out the weekend. Is that my book, easy chair and throw I hear calling?
I have spent some of the rainy weather catching up on a few promises. I’ve sewn cupcakes and coasters, and have some ‘do rags’ for D and something for my uncle waiting in the wings. The batik wave project is still being tinkered with, but completing it by my self-imposed end of August deadline is looking rather unlikely. It takes about nine minutes to run one wave. How do I know? Because the iron shuts itself off in nine minutes and every time I’m thirty seconds or so from the end of a wave the iron shuts off…typical. Since I need twelve panels and each panel has fifteen waves I can be done in a mere twenty seven hours. Piece of cake – argh!
In the end Fay was little more than a blustery gray day for our house, but inland was certantly different. My dad was without power for a time and still has no phone service. One tech reported some ‘scary’ moments. Its amazing what a few little miles can do. According to the weather man Fay isn’t done yet, but she is at least done with our area.
It was a day home for us, as we decided around noon to remain closed. Amazingly I received seven service requests today, and numerous other work phone calls. I was surprised at how many of them seemed appalled that we had elected to not put any vans on the street when authorities are still requesting that people stay off the roads. More surprising is that more than one of these calls was from a grocery store. I can understand a restaurant expecting business tonight - folks are without power. But, after two days of hurried grocery runs by most of the populace I cant see anyone expecting too many shoppers.
I spent much of the day working on my ‘wave’ project and doing laundry. We had all the clothing done prior to the storm but I took advantage of the off day to do the throw rugs and dog toys. Yes, dog toys. Mackie has always preferred soft things as toys and we’ve obliged by giving her stuffed animals. It always cracks me up when I do the monthly toy wash because after the wash comes the retirements and repairs. Her toy bin looks a little like the island of misfit toys...we have a three legged elephant, a one eyed wolf, a nose-less dog and a multitude of others criss crossed with Frankenstein like stitches. We generally get a year or so out of each so we cant say we dont get our monies worth...but its hard not to laugh when she presents one of these monstrosities to us for play.
As you can tell it was a fairly do nothing day...a good thing overall 
Yawn....7:10am. I snagged about an hour more of sleep and then the alarm went off. Evidently the storm turned sometime after my last post and she’s already ashore. She’s much farther south than anticipated but she’s slooooooow. We are just beginning to get rain and expect very, very heavy rain in the next half hour or so. I’m actually having trouble getting a weather report because all the stations want to show is their fool cub reporters standing out in the wind and ankle deep water talking about power outages and trees blowing in the wind. Not trees down mind you, but Blowing. In. The. Wind. I have seen a forecast that expected she’d stall and dump 10 to 25 inches of rain - wow. South Florida and the central area of the state is gonna get stomped, in fact I’d bet my office, 16 miles away, will have far worse weather than we will at the house. They are advising staying off the roads for the time being, but I guess I’ll go take my shower (while there’s hot water) so I’m ready to go when things calm down. There is bound to be much to do at work and as customer’s get power back you can be they’ll be calling with machines that didnt properly come on line when it was restored.
Its a little after 3am and I’m awake due to a few large plastic items bashing around outside; a trashcan, a wheel barrow and a garden sink. The early edges of the storm are just reaching us and the wind has picked up significantly. I dont relish being awake right now but in the end its a good thing. One because tomorrow we might be able to find the sink, trashcan and wheelbarrow now that they’ve been secured, and two the dog was able to go out while its still mostly dry. For all her retriever genes she seems to have not gotten the one for loving water. The weathermen are nearly wetting themselves with glee over the storm. All the ‘big’ meteorologists are awake, many from different time slots now teamed up because it seems to take more than one to follow a STORM. Eeeeee! Everybody run! Believe me, I’m not downplaying it, I really do believe they are way over the top with their reporting. I dont know what they will do when we have big one...they’ll have used up all the good adjectives.
Based on what they are reporting the storm will go to ground slightly south of the house - the best case scenero as it puts us on the weak side of the storm. Inland from us will actually get worse weather than we will. Hmmm....maybe I shouldn’t have left all those dresses at work. The largest concern now is the weather that the storm spins off and that’s a risk we run with nearly every summer thunderstorm. We’ve a couple of hours yet before those areas reach us ... the way the storm is coming in our bad weather will come from inland, which is just weird to me. Seems like if its a hurricane and coming in over the ocean the bad weather should be coming from the ocean - right? But, since its a big spinning top we only get weather like that when the storm goes north of us - when it goes south it has to make the big circle before we see it so it has lots of time to wear itself out before we see it.
I’m sure I’ll be back on later, but for now I’m going to try to catch a couple hours of sleep - wish me luck (and I do mean on the sleep and not the storm - but you can do both if you like - heh).
Yes kids, its time for our annual hurricane drill. My weekend plans shifted every time the storm track did. Screen repair was back-burnered since I expect more repair will be needed after tomorrow morning. Yard work was done instead of cleaning the house (removing anything that could smack a window or rip the screen). The grass was mowed extra short since we’ll likely not be dry enough to mow for some time. We did load after load of laundry as past experience has taught us that when the power goes it takes the house about a nano-second to smell like an old gym sock if we aren’t caught up on laundry. Tonight I’ll swing by the store for a few odds and ends, and top off my gas tank if I can find a station that still has gas…yes, people are freaking and things like gas and water are running short. Not to the point that I’m worried about it, I’m not; it’s just a precaution we take. We are still on the fence over hanging the shutters. If the track continues up the center of the current ‘cone of uncertainty’ Fay should come ashore somewhere between my house and my dad’s. Surprisingly if it does he’ll get more bad weather than I will despite being further inland than we are. If it drifts in north of me we’ll both be on the ‘wrong’ or ‘strong’ side of the storm which I believe means big rain and some wind but hopefully nothing more.
Truthfully that’s the worst bit of dealing with these storms…the ‘if’ factor. All those ‘ifs’ out there make it hard to make good decisions. Right now we are weighing putting up the shutters…or not. It isn’t a bad job, but it’s a job and the later in the day the more likely it is to be a job done in driving rain. The up side is that if the shutters are up you can do some serious sleeping because its uber dark and really quiet. The up, up side is that since the storm is set to arrive around 8 or 9 am tomorrow morning we wont be heading to work first thing so we actually could sleep in…if the roof is still on the house. Heh! I’m kidding, it’s a small storm and should remain that way, but better safe than sorry, ya know?
Boy did I miss out on an easy blog topic. I should have taken the video camera with me to D’s appointment this morning. No, not for a tour of D’s nethers but so you could see and hear him when he’s all hopped up on sedatives. Actually, if he were in charge you’d have probably had the tour and the show. Evidently while in pre-op the nurse took his glasses and told him he had nice eyes. He replied that he was sorry she wasn’t going to see his tookis because that really was his best side and she was really missing out. And to think – she couldn’t even tell him he was full of shit – ha!
He was equally humorous in the conference room and on the ride home but once there fell into the bed and crashed. He called a little while ago to say he was awake but didn’t know how long that would last. From the sound of him I’d say not long. For those of you keeping track the doc says it’s all good and doesn’t want to see him again for about eight years.
So, now it’s nearly two, and I feel like I just started my day, which is good because five o’clock will be a nice surprise and bad because its unlikely I’ll finish today’s work. The weekend already promises to be much the same, a lot to do and a limited amount of time. We’ve decided to have someone housesit while we are vacationing next month, which means I’d better start cleaning now. Plus there’s the ‘fix-its’ I wrote about yesterday and a couple of small sewing projects. Finally I’ve declared this the final weekend for wedding dress shopping. I won’t go into all the trials and tribulations thus far, but I will say I own three dresses right now, not one of which is quite right. So, tomorrow I’m going to the largest, newest mall in the area and if I don’t find anything I’m calling it quits on white or light dresses and finding something I feel pretty in … that’s really all its about anyway.
I’m beginning to believe that the house is trying to tell us something, namely that we’ve been neglecting it. Not our typical semi clean neglect, no, this is a little more serious. A couple of weeks ago the power went out just long enough for us to rush around shutting down computers and power supplies. When it came back on the ceiling fan in the living room began to make a noise resembling a baby butcher bird squawking for its morning meal. A few days after that the dishwasher began emitting a sound that caused me to do a quick cat head-count for fear one was being washed. Hey, I dried one once, anything is possible. Yesterday I noted in passing that the screen and the frame on the back porch door have divorced themselves choosing to live as screen and door rather than screen-door. The mosquitoes are throwing a freakin’ party…or maybe those little saboteurs caused the rift…who knows? In any case I’ve a good idea what I’ll be doing this weekend and many more to come.
In other news, guess what D is doing tomorrow? I had a photo clue but I left the memory card at home so we’ll have to go with a written hint. “It involves a bottle of Miralax, two bottles of Gatoraid, two Dulcolax tablets and all the plain Jello he can eat.” Depending on how he feels after we are considering picking up our marriage license…or we were until he read in his prep directions that he should avoid ‘making important decisions for 24 hours’. You think he’ll also find a direction stating that ‘honey-do’ lists should also be avoided?
For some time now I’ve been mulling over a quilt idea in my head. I wanted to stack waves of color, from light to dark and back again. No two alike and no real pattern other than the order of the colors. If you don’t sew it sounds like no big feat – at least not one that required lots of thought. In reality if you sew a curve what you get is a three dimensional bump…think ‘boob’. But, if you figure out how to fit the two curves together and ‘ease’ the fabric in well then you get flat. I think I figured it out.
A few days ago I was reading a blog, jumped to a news link, and then another and another before finally winding up on an article about women who live as though it is the 1950’s, 40’s and 30’s. They drive old cars, decorate their houses with vintage knick-knacks, and never leave the house without their gloves. Most importantly, and they are very, very clear about this, they are devoted to their men. More than one said if she had her way she’d happily spend her entire day in her ‘pinny’, which I took to be an apron, baking and sewing and creating a perfect home environment for her husband. They all believed that their relationships with their men were better because they kept to their proper place in the home, acted like ladies and had dinner - with drink in hand - ready when the man of the house returned from his tiring day at work.
Over the weekend I was watching ‘Say Yes to the Dress’, a reality show about a huge bridal shop and brides-to-be who are searching for perfect gowns. One woman arrived with her husband and two boys in tow hoping to find a gown for an anniversary re-taking of their vows. She was very clear with the sales person (with hubs looking on) that she wanted a contemporary gown, simple, clean lines, and modern. She had poofy-floofy on her first wedding and not being twenty she didn’t feel it was the right style for her any longer. The first gown the saleslady brought was a hit. It was elegant, simple, extremely flattering on her and exactly what she was looking for. Had someone – I don’t remember who – not suggested she try a few more just to be sure she’d have probably been done right there. So, the sales lady directed hubs and boys down to the stock room where they picked out a gown. You guessed it – traditional and dripping in beads. Still very pretty, and pretty on her, but not what she wanted. She chose the first gown, albeit timidly, but when she made the announcement to her men she was met with so much whining and moaning (mostly from the boys) that she demurred and left with the gown she did not want saying “Its just so easy to make them happy.”
Today, while blog surfing, I stumbled over one that echoed similar sentiments. For her, however, it’s not the love of a bygone era or love of her ‘men’, it’s religion that spurs her on. She does not wear shorts, slacks or jeans, only dresses. She does not leave the house without covering her head. She does these things because she believes that God has directed women to a very specific place in the household – and that place is serving her husband. She allows that there it’s a fine line there and women in abusive relationships should leave, but failing that the woman is at the man’s beck-and-call; it is her place to care for him, his home, and his children. Of course, a few posts later she wrote of enjoying plucking insects off her garden plants and watching them die in jars of kerosene…in the name of science, mind you, to find the most effective way to snuff the little buggers out – so of the three examples she could be a little off.
By tossing these happily subservient women in my path the universe might be trying to tell me something, but I must admit – in this instance, I’m more than a little hard of hearing. I do plenty to take care of D. I cook dinner every night but don’t feel guilty if it’s not homemade. I do the grocery shopping, and sew the occasional button. I normally give him the nicer steak, or chop or chicken breast when making the dinner plates – not that he’d notice, but I do. Hell…errr…fiddle-dee-dee…I pay the mortgage, because it’s my house. Don’t be misled, he does plenty to take care of me too, and I don’t mean trotting off to work everyday. He also helps with housework, yard work, and laundry. Sometimes it feels a little lopsided but I generally chalk that up to ‘girl clean’ taking that much more effort than ‘guy clean’. In all honesty I don’t give him a lot of room to coddle me; I’m just not the coddling type and I’m pretty quick to take care of myself. The down side to that is when I am in need of a little tenderness it just confuses the crap out of him – but I’d wager he’d be more confused if I met him at the door in a circle skirt, dinner on the table and a martini in hand. It might be worth trying just once, providing there was an ambulance standing by to take care of the coronary it would surly cause.
I’m comfortable saying that I don’t – possibly can’t – do demure. I cannot imagine not being allowed an opinion, or that my only talents be baking cookies and servicing my man. To the first group of ladies I say, “what you are simply living a variation of S&M; but if it makes your muffins, well you just go right ahead”. To the gown lady, “honey you’re just tired, and I feel sorry for you … sorrier for your ‘boys’ when you decide you need to go find herself.” And lady number three. Well, I’d have cried religious freedom until I read the bug killing narrative—so now I’m not sure I know what to say. Ultimately you have to do what make you happy, but living under someone else’s thumb just isn’t for me. I can see how D would appreciate a pretty, perfect me all the time, and a pretty, perfect house...I can even see the appeal to it...I wouldn’t mind coming home to that myself. You better believe the day I’m expected to be rouged, heeled and aproned when D hits the front door is the day the front door will hit back!
If you’ve been around here long enough you know I’ve lost a couple of family members to cancer. A few days ago we were told that a friend was in the hospital fighting a recurrence of cancer – and, happily, doing well. Last night D’s father called to say he was undergoing treatment for the same. This morning I had an email from a friend to tell me that her mother has cancer.
Without offending anyone or demeaning anyone’s battle with this disease I must admit that the commonality of it makes me wonder. Is it so common because it has become a catch all term for any oddball cell? Or was it always common but we’ve gained the knowledge to detect and diagnose it? Or maybe – and this is what I believe – we are causing it ourselves either through the pollutants we pump into the environment, or the chemicals we put into our food, or by an insidious combination of both.
Every day the news announces a new cause for cancer: bacon, soft drinks, cell phones, alcohol, tobacco, pesticides, the sun, artificial sweeteners, and on, and on, and on. The apparent common factor for most of them? Chemicals. It seems like no matter how hard we try we cannot escape them. Plastic, paint, preservatives, fragrance, dye, you name it, there’s probably a man made chemical in there somewhere. Even our local natural foods store is laughable; shelves are stocked with high priced ‘safe’ foods and every were you look are fiberglass-faux-furred animals staring back at you, plastic covered check stands, and petroleum based rubber wheels on the carts. It’s inescapable. Chemicals are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the cleaners, soaps and cosmetics we use everyday. They are in our cars, houses and work places, children’s toys and even the clothes we wear. The base reason for their commonplace existence being that they are often cheaper than their natural counterparts and nothing drives a company like ‘cheap’.
The bottom line is that though we may feel we cannot control our exposure to chemicals we are not without leverage. We are consumers, we are intelligent, and we have freedom of choice. We can choose not to purchase chemically laden products. We can choose products made with production standards that involve fewer chemicals. We can choose natural fibers, safer cleaners, and non processed foods. But most importantly we are able to educate our selves as to what these better choices may be, and which of them are the best fit for our lifestyles and our families. It’s doubtful that we can eliminate all contact with chemicals, but we can make informed decisions about which ones are worth it and which are not. If a few changes added up to a few more years wouldn’t they be worth it? Simply put, take care of yourselves people, the government is clearly not going to do it for us.
I’m the biggest dork around, and Mackie said she’d help and most importantly .... ITS ROX’S BIRTHDAY*
*Actually, its almost over, but it took me forever to get this silly video off of my camera - argh!