Organizational Tadasana...

Organizational Tadasana...

This conference is blowing my mind.

For L: AI is Organizational Yoga in the true meaning of the word.

AI connects work with spiritual formation.

And watching the sun set on the GoM doesn't hurt either.

How is it?...

How is it?...

Here we are living a few weeks shy of 2010 and my airplane seat today was 14D, which was right behind 12D.

Get your boogie man on.

In other news, a hardshell f-style mando case fits crossways in an overhead luggage rack on a 727. It is kind of amazing what traveling with a mando case does to your status in an airport. Banjo players make eye contact and smile at you.

I'm in Sarasota for a 4 day training class in Appreciative Inquiry. The GoM is lapping about 50 yards from my hotel window making the cool December weather more or less irrelevant.

Sustainable...

Sustainable...

Tonight Ben and I drove up to Valpo to hear this man give a speech.



I was impressed.

I bought his book. He signed it.

I think I'll be loaning it out.

Tilting windmills...

Tilting windmills...

I went on line this morning to the websites of both of my senators and my congressman and sent them the following emails. Probably a waste of my time, but I did it anyhow. Maybe if you do the same something will happen.

Senator Lugar,

I'm deeply concerned about the health care debate.

We need health care reform and we need a public option of health insurance. I urge you to support the public option for health insurance. This is a matter of justice. We need affordable health care for all in our country.

I know you're concerned about the cost of a program. I am too. But I'm more concerned about the cost of continuing our current path.

I'm tired of being manipulated by special interest groups who stand to gain from blocking reform. I'm sure you've read of Wendell Potter, the former Cigna VP of Marketing. If you haven't, I encourage you to watch this interview: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html.

Please support health care reform.

Health care debate...

Health care debate...

If you're unsure about the health care debate, watch this.

Eagle Marsh...

Eagle Marsh...

I'm in Ft. Wayne on business. Been here since Wednesday night.

Before you say, "So sorry to hear it..." I want to tell you about Eagle Marsh. My hotel is in classic hotel row within whining distance of the Interstate. But last night while I was looking for nearby restaurants on Google maps I saw this big open space. So after dinner I took a walk and discovered this rather large wetland that has been reclaimed in the last few years. I think the satellite image on the map was taken before the wetland was reclaimed.

It is about 1/2 mile wide by 2 miles long, and it is a beautiful space filled with lots of interesting wildlife. I spotted a couple of herons and a great egret. There was another bird that I could not identify. I had a very nice sunset walk.

The website provides a lot of information about the reclamation project, and the history of the valley. Turns out this was a major transportation route in the early exploration of this region.

Bad influence...

Bad influence...

Lizzy Comet and her mom stopped me on the street this morning and told me she is going to start Suzuki violin next week.

I told her she could come down and practice on my porch anytime.

All done...

All done...

For those of you who have been following my trials with a certain pair of #@&%#n' Canadian @$$#**s, we have reached a resolution. While I'm not entirely happy with the conclusion, I come away with the things that are most important to me intact. I can live with it.

How to get to heaven...

How to get to heaven...

Here are step-by-step directions to heaven. If you have trouble locating the ingredients, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help.

1. Pick one hand full of fresh raspberries from the crop that is about to explode.
2. Place 1 double-chocolate brownie in a bowl and microwave for 15 seconds.
3. Remove from microwave and test temperature with finger.
4. Microwave for another 15 seconds.
5. Place 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream on top of brownie.
6. Scatter raspberries artistically over ice cream and brownie.
7. Eat after sunset under a clear summer evening sky, but before the mosquitoes come out.

Ahhhh...

Why should we wait 'till we're dead?

Repurposing...

Repurposing...

A couple years ago L did an extended research project on recycled art in West Africa. One of the things I learned in proofing the paper for her is the difference between recycling and repurposing. Recycling is where the original material is ground up or melted or reconstituted in some way to make into new material. Repurposing is where you take something that has served one purpose and use it for another.

This weekend I went out and bought the smallest chest freezer I could find. My fridge freezer is jam packed with applesauce and strawberry jam and blueberries, and I want to be able to add some other stuff when I see it on sale, or while it is fresh.

So today I borrowed Kevin's truck, picked up my shiny new 5CF freezer from Sears and hauled it to the basement. As I was cutting off the cardboard carton I was thinking about recycling and repurposing, and how my kids used to love big cardboard box forts, and my 2 year old next door neighbor. I went up and asked his folks, and they were all delighted. In 5 minutes dad had windows and a door cut into it and little Nahum was all smiles.

Its a cheap thrill, but its nice to be someone's hero for the day.

Congratulations...

Congratulations...

Congratulations and best wishes to Ben. Today he wraps up his assignment in Dasmarinas and prepares for an extended tour of South East Asia.

Twenty-seven months wrapping up this week. I can hardly believe it.

Uncomplicated pleasures...

Uncomplicated pleasures...

Eating

• Homemade pesto on linguine (thanks Ralph)
  
• A glass of Concha y Toro
  
• Homemade applesauce, and
  
• Green beans, fresh (I mean FRESH) from the garden
  
• Mozart quartets on the stereo
  
• After the thunderstorm
  

Sigh.

Slightly more complicated pleasures:

• 17 Quarts of homemade applesauce in the freezer
• Relaxing after my fourth week of yoga class

Maybe my sights are too low, but can it be any better than this?

Umm... maybe a little dish of ice cream when the wine is gone.

Yep, Better than a crocus...

Yep, Better than a crocus...

Remember back in mid-March when I posted a photo of tiny sprout and claimed it was better than a crocus?

Tonight I harvested the first handful of my garlic crop. I'm tickled. Aren't they beautiful? This is maybe a third of the crop. The rest looks like it still has some browning to do. Maybe I need to plant more next year.

Does anyone know - do you also eat the hard part that grows out the top?

Otherwise my garden is not doing all that great. I followed the advice of the Square Foot Gardener when I put my garden in. He claims to have figured out the magic formula for dirt, so you can just buy all the components at a garden center and instantly grow a stupendous garden. 'Cept it doesn't work. I followed his recipe to a tee - and everything is stunted and takes forever to get going. I'd blame it on the weather, except I biked past Wilmer's victory garden and where I have about eight inches of winter squash vine and a couple of blossums, he has a couple dozen eight inch long squash. Where I have a couple of golf-ball sized tomatoes on spindly bushes, he is growing great mounds of plants and I'm sure he has watermelon sized tomatoes about ready to ripen.

So I'm loading my boxes with compost every chance I get to build for next year. And the year after. I need to go raid the buggy lots around town and let that stuff mellow for some fertilizer in the fall.

Wendell Berry says you can't break stuff into it's component parts and think you can match the mystery of something as complex and wonderful as soil. I'm proving him right.

I've been a negligent blogger in recent weeks. Nobody seems to be complaining. Maybe it's the weather.

We the people...

We the people...

Thomas Friedman has a column today on the Clean Energy Bill that just passed House. He includes this great line:

Attention all young Americans: your climate future is being decided right now in the cloakrooms of the Capitol, where the coal lobby holds huge sway. You want to make a difference? Then get out of Facebook and into somebody’s face. Get a million people on the Washington Mall calling for a price on carbon. That will get the Senate’s attention. Play hardball or don’t play at all.

And speaking of civil disobedience - the New Yorker had a great piece recently on James Hansen. In addition to being the top climate scientist in NASA, he is a grandfather who wants a livable world for his grand kids. He was arrested recently for protesting at a coal mining field.

1968...

1968...

My friend JohnL sent me this email this morning:

I received an email this morning from a friend that included a 1968 quote from Robert Kennedy. It struck me as timeless, words worth remembering as we continue to struggle with the challenges of our troubled economy and its human fallout. It also reminded me of a conversation that we had some time ago regarding the Country of Buhtan, and its quest to measure the quality of life of its citizens via a “happiness index”. I seriously doubt whether many American economists will put much effort into quantifying the GNP measurement criteria espoused by Robert Kennedy.

Worthy thoughts to start the week:

"We will find neither national purpose nor personal satisfaction in a mere continuation of economic progress, in an endless amassing of worldly goods," Kennedy said. "We cannot measure national spirit by the Dow Jones Average, nor national achievement by the gross national product. For the gross national product includes air pollution and advertising for cigarettes, and ambulances to clear our highway carnage. It counts special locks for our doors, and jails for the people who break them. The gross national product includes the destruction of the redwoods, and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads . . . It includes the broadcasting of television programs which glorify violence to sell goods to our country.

"And if the gross national product includes all this, there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of public officials . . . the gross national product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile; and it can tell us everything about America - except whether we are proud to be Americans."

Great oratory.

Tomorrow morning I head north for a five day retreat. I'll be back a week from tonight, so keep an on my place while I'm gone.

To be or not to be... a gear head...

To be or not to be... a gear head...

Today was the 10th annual Pumpkinvine ride, and a friend and I decided to ride. This was to be my first organized ride, and while anxious is too strong a word, I wondered what it would be like with all those people.

We agreed to meet at 7 - when the hard-core 104-milers were taking off. My friend was a little late, so I watched all these really serious gear heads ride away. They had all kinds of expensive and flashy gear - from the cycling skull caps to clip on shoes, and really, really high-end bikes. I clearly wasn't in their league with my 20 year old second-hand road bike, tennis shoes, a normal tee-shirt and 'cages'.

Once upon a time I had a cyclometer - a little gadget with sensors that measures your speed and distance. It died on me a few years ago, and last week on my ride I pondered replacing it. I had concluded that I really liked not having all that information; I felt then that it would have distracted me from the pleasure of the ride and the countryside.

Today my riding companion had one and, as I suspected, I really wanted to know how fast we were going, and how far, and what our average speed was, and how many RMP we were cranking. You can get all that stuff. And you know, it really was a mixed blessing.

Our route took us up and down the Bristol Hills, and it was a blast. But our focus turned from the exhilaration of the ride to how fast we were going, and could we go faster.

It was as if we believed knowing our speed made the experience better.

But you know what? It didn't.

All that information competed with the feel of the wind in my face, and the beauty of the landscape flying by.

So I don't think I want one.

But it was helpful, for example, knowing how far we had traveled. ("OK - we're at 34 miles and it's 13 back. Shall we do another loop, or head for Shipshe, or home?" "Um... 47 is enough for me today.")

So I want one.

Hummm...

By the way - we hit 32.6 on one hill. Then a couple miles later, with the wind to our back and pushing harder to beat our previous speed, we hit 38.4.

In the end my best guess is that I put in about 49 miles.

Hummm...

46 Miles...

46 Miles...

The forecast called for light winds from the NE, with temperatures climbing from 56 to 65 before noon, so it seemed like a good morning to go for a cross-country ride. I headed towards Shipshewana because I'd rather have the tailwind on the way home.


View Larger Map

I left at 7:15 and returned home at about 10:30. It was an exhilarating ride up and down hills on quiet county roads.

I've been reading a collection of Wendell Berry's essays, so I think I had a different sense of appreciation for the farms I rode by. The Amish work horses are impressive beasts, and the Amish gardens are enormous and immaculate. They make my little raised beds look like a toy. Which I guess they are.

Now its time to drink, stretch, eat, and rest. My hammock is calling. I feel great.

Tradition...

Tradition...

Today would have been my Dad's 92nd birthday. To bad he wasn't here to enjoy his tradition.

Strawberries come into season early in June, and every year on his birthday he wanted Strawberry Shortcake. Why would you have a birthday cake when you could have strawberry shortcake? Last night I was prepping for family dinner and I wanted to make a shortcake. Too late I realized that I was out of flour. So I called Mom and asked her if she could bring one. She was happy to. We cut and mashed up fresh berries (Ok, they weren't local, but they were still pretty good) and slathered them in white sugar.

Then I whipped up a half pint of cream. It made a big bowl (with more white sugar), and we laughed about how Pete could finally have all he wanted since Leena wasn't here to compete with him.

What a great tradition.

Breathing room...

Breathing room...

Yesterday afternoon I crashed after going more or less constantly for the prior 4 weeks. I laid down on the couch and slept for 45 minutes... woke up and went back to sleep for another hour. Usually a nap for me is about 10 minutes. And I still went to bed at 9:30.

I've been feeling a lot of stress on a number of fronts lately. Lots of it good - fun even - but still stress.

The MCCO concert Saturday night was a lot of fun. Since November I've been playing first chair in the second violins. I've always tried to do my best, but leading the section turns the responsibility dial up several notches. Besides learning the part and playing as musically as I can, I have to get all my entrances right. Before, even though I tried not to, I did rely on my stand partner to lead; when in doubt, follow. Its a very different experience.

I can't be truly objective about how I did. Our director complimented me, so that is worth something.

The weekend before I finished my seminary course. One of my classmates stayed at my place for a couple nights. I've really enjoyed the class, but it has been quite a bit of work - reading about and practicing direction. All good - but extra.

The really stressful thing is some litigation that has come down in my business. We're trying to resolve it through negotiations. We have a deadline that we're working towards (May 22). Maybe - maybe - we'll have it resolved by then. If not we have to decide how much to give in and how much to fight. Fighting is very very expensive. The whole thing sucks energy out of me like - what? - imagine the most negative coworker/employee you can. Multiply that by 1000. You're getting close. It makes for some sleepless nights.

Meanwhile the garden is getting started. When I planted the asparagus I bought a couple of blue berry bushes. When they arrived I had to make space for them, so I did a bunch of flowerbed rearranging. It looks great, but it all takes time.

Oh - and that's not to mention the skunk that I think took up residence somewhere near my house. No major blasts - just a lingering odor that seemed to emanate from under the front porch. Jerry told me that moth balls will drive them away, so I bought a couple boxes over the weekend and scattered them under the porch. No sign of them tonight. I wonder which neighbor he/she adopted?

So last night and tonight I've let myself alone and putzed around getting a few things done - but not too much. Now it's time to get to bed.

Supporting entrepreneurship...

Supporting entrepreneurship...

Tonight I had the wind to my back as I biked home. As I came screaming along the bike path east of 15th Street I was flagged down by Anna, Lydia and Esther. They had a wagon parked by the bike path, and I skidded to a stop, much to their delight. They had tricked out their wagon with little dandelion and creeping charlie bouquets tucked artfully in each corner bracket. The wagon was full of hand made crafts and art work. They had price lists, coupons, drawings... a pretty impressive display.

How could I pass them up? So I bought a hand-knit pouch from Anna and a picture frame from Lydia. Poor Esther - I hope she didn't feel left out.

They each gave me a 50-cent off coupon, so I got everything pictured for three bucks.

They were happy. I was happy. What a deal.

Then I came home and made my first meal out of the garden. My sage bush wintered over nicely, and has lots of new leaves. So I sauteed some up with a little garlic, and served it over pasta with a bunch of Parmesan, and a salad on the side. Yum.

Asparagus...

Asparagus...

Last weekend, while walking through the Kitchener Farmer's Market after stocking up on 6yr old cheddar, I happened onto a Hutterite farmer selling, among other things, a bundle of asparagus crowns for $4. At least I think he was Hutterite. He didn't actually say, and I didn't actually ask. Anyhow, he didn't charge me anything for expert advice on how to plant them, and since they were bare roots I figured it was OK to bring them across the border. Don't tell anyone, OK?

I started preparing a place for them Monday night, and since then it has either been too wet or I've been too busy to finish it so they've been sitting in my fridge all week. I think they're OK.

Tonight just before it got too dark to see, I finished pulling all the weeds from the spot I want to put them in. Tomorrow morning I should be able to get them in the ground. Then I just have to discipline myself not to touch them until 2011.

I love getting my hands dirty.

Home again...

Home again...

Home was about a seven hour drive, given the requisite stops. Cold and gloomy welcome. Chamomile tea is soothing after fast food and fast lanes.

Safe arrival...

Safe arrival...

I arrived safely in Waterloo. The trip would have been under 7 hours, but I was stuck in gridlock behind an accident on the expressway in KW and had to drive the last stretch on clogged city streets.

Patience...

Three quick notes...

Three quick notes...

Kudos to Joe for modeling an antidote to complaining.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm driving up to Waterloo to bring #1 daughter home for a short vacation. Wish us safe travels.

Have you been following the White House garden? Let's hear it for fresh vegetables! Now there is a stink from some pesticide lobby about going organic. I'd like to hear what Uncle Leo would say about that.

PS: (The fourth quick note written Friday morning.) I peeled back my shower curtain this morning, and the new bloom on my Phalaenopsis took my breath away. For weeks this plant has been sending out a spike, with several light green balls growing slowly - oh so slowly - larger and larger. This morning the first had burst open like ... well the only metaphors I can come up with are spiritual and sexual, and it is too early to go either place.

Favorite - er Favourite - new blog...

Favorite - er Favourite - new blog...

This morning I dusted off George Monbiot's Heat - How to stop the planet from burning. Ben gave it to me before he left for PC, and I think Leena gave it to him before that. I started to read it maybe a year ago and found it too depressing, shelved it, and think I might be able to pick it up again now.

Today I stumbled on Monbiot's blog today and I'm really, really impressed. This guy writes well, and documents every claim he makes. He is British (hence the lame joke about British spelling).

I urge you to set up your RSS reader so you can keep up with him. I really appreciate the way he cuts through the crap. Take this post about the real problem with plastic bags, or this one that calculates the (non-existent) carbon benefit behind schemes to stimulate the economy by paying drivers to scrap old cars. Or for a real downer, read this one that makes a compelling case that its already too late, but we have to still try.

Evolution of philosophy...

Evolution of philosophy...

Read this Op-ed and tell me if you agree. Very interesting.

2.91 Earths...

2.91 Earths...

Today I took another one of those carbon footprint calculator tests and it told me that if everyone on the planet lived as I live we would need 2.91 earths to support all of us.


I suppose I should take heart that I'm significantly below the national average, which is 6.53 earths. This graph shows how many acres I need to support me (112.9), compared to the national average (246.4). But that is slim consolation, because where are those other 1.91 earths going to come from?
Many of their suggestions for ways to lower my impact are things I already do. But I could do more. Like improve the insulation in my house. Like get a hybrid car. Like replace all my light bulbs with CFL bulbs. Like eat completely vegetarian. But I wonder if we can get there from here. At least voluntarily.

What is your score?

Trees...

Trees...

I'm really excited because today, after nine months of planning and waiting, we finally planted the trees. Six hundred of them.

This is even be better than garlic.

Here is a photo of the space, taken last summer at the height of weed season: (click any picture to enlarge in a new window)
Here is the same space, after we mowed it last fall, and sprayed roundup to kill back the perennials.
And here is the tree planting crew - placing the hardwoods...
And here is a view of the planted space...

Dirty hands...

Dirty hands...

What a pleasure to have an evening home tonight to play in dirt. I planted spinach, turnips, radishes and Kohlrabi OUTSIDE tonight. As I planted, I added big handfuls of this composted mulch I made last fall, turning up earth worms in the process.

Inside, my kitchen table is crowded with the starter pots that I've started filling in the last few weeks. Last weekend I started tomatoes and an eggplant. They join the three or four varieties of peppers I started a couple weeks ago. I also started a few flowers (annuals) for porch pots.

And don't forget the rhubarb that is coming up, or the garlic that I planted last fall.

As I get older I get more excited about little things like seeds that sprout.

Ron Carter...

Ron Carter...

Nearly two months ago I reported on my new power amp and assorted accruments. On the theme of borrowed sound, my cousin Charles emailed me and offered me a pair of Saphire II speakers he put together a few years ago. Charles likes to build stuff and then he has this problem getting rid of it. (If you know anyone looking for a really nice guitar, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him.)

So today I finally got down to Grabill and picked them up. I plugged them in a few minutes ago and heard, I think for the first time, Ron Carter's bass on Johnny Frigo's Live from Studio A.

Right now I'm listening to Menuhin play the Beethoven Violin Concerto. These speakers, driven by this amp, give amazing sound across the range. It is beautiful.

Oh - now it's The Brubeck Brothers. Whew.

Stop in sometime for a listen.

But not now. I'm heading down to the CS soon to mark a page that turned over. You can join me if you want.

Twitter...

Twitter...

Maybe this won't be funny if you're not on Twitter. Mainly what I've found Twitter useful for is connecting to great stuff like this. Which is kind of like lifting yourself by your hair.

Part of the buzz...

Part of the buzz...

Sunday night I was telling my mother about the group from Jubilee Mennonite Church in Meridian, MS, that was visiting Goshen. The group had arrived Saturday to spend the week in town doing volunteer work in our community, and we had hosted a pot luck dinner for them that afternoon at our church.

I spent a week each January in 2006 and 2007 doing volunteer work with people from my church. You can see my blog posts from the 2007 trip here. We made our first trip to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina. This year the people from Meridian decided they wanted to help us out.

Mom suggested I contact the paper, so I wrote an email the next morning to HungryMarshall and told him to contact our pastor. This morning the story was on the front page of the Truth, and by noon two area TV stations had crews on the ground doing stories. One of them already ran tonight. I tried to embed it here, but it runs a car ad when the page loads and I didn't think you'd want that.

Interesting side note that Kevin told me about the first interview with the Truth: Apparently the reporter kept asking "So you heard about our economic crisis up here and decided to come help out?" "No. We just wanted to return the favor with the people we've come to know and appreciate so much." "So the economic crisis is what brought you here?" "No, we got to know this group from the Goshen church and this is were we wanted to volunteer." The story actually seemed to get it right, but Kevin said the reported really seemed to know how he wanted to frame the story.

Congrats to Mom for getting the ball rolling.

Better than a crocus...

Better than a crocus...

What could be better than a crocus poking it's head up in spring?

Easy - the garlic I planted late last fall - 'cause they're edible.

I couldn't believe my eyes this afternoon when I pushed back the leaves I had piled on top of my garden back in November or December and found a bunch of these little guys poking through.

I'm not sure that the squirrels didn't dig a bunch of them up though. I don't want to be too hasty in casting judgment, but it looks a little suspicious.

Crocuses are starting to poke through, as is the rhubarb. One of my ornamental grasses is showing signs of life too.

Late this afternoon I went for a long bike ride - up along the mill race to the dam, then back up to the bike trail south from College Church to Waterford School. Then I found myself heading west on CR 40 - took CR 21 south to 142 and back up to 15 and home past my mother's. I took a little detour through a corn field down to the river off of 21. Everything is in flood down there, but it was a beautiful back in the woods. Is there anything prettier than last year's lacy leaves on a beech tree before the new buds come in?
Actually it was beautiful everywhere I went.

Infectious...

Infectious...

If you can watch this without moving, you need someone to check your pulse to make sure you're alive:



The second tune from Donnell Leahy's first set (where he really starts rocking - at about 5:20) is "The Bank's Hornpipe." I've had it on my 'to learn' list for maybe 20 years.

This is enough to get it up near the top. What a romp.

In memory...

In memory...

Read this deeply moving remembrance of CPTer Tom Fox.

Premio Dardos...

Premio Dardos...

Some Bird tagged me with a meme with a title.

Premio Dardos means 'prize darts.' This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

Some Bird thinks I deserve it because she's my favorite daughter. I'll show her. Here are the rules:

Step 1: Respond and rework — answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: Tag other bloggers to do the same.

Here are the questions:

What are you wearing right now?

Jeans and a button down shirt - green plaid

What part of your house never gets cleaned?

Basement - although I've been thinking about doing it because sometimes I drop clean laundry on the floor when I'm hanging it up to dry.

Do you nap a lot?

No. Except on weekends.

Who is the last person you hugged?

Sara

What websites do you visit when you go online?

Every morning I hit Google reader to check the family and friends blog feed. Then I check the hourly weather forecast to decide if I can bike to work. I usually check etruth for headlines and obits.

What was the last item you bought?

Tonight I swung by MacIntosh and bought 2 dozen 3 1/2" peat pots, a drainage tray, and assorted seeds (flowers and some red peppers) for porch pots and garden.

What’s the last book you read?

Actually completed? I guess that would be Susan Howatch's "Absolute Truths". I have about 3 or 4 that are floating around half done right now.

If you could go to the Oscars, who would you want to sit next to?

Dumb question.

What did you last eat?

Sigh... Tonight was family night comfort food @ Pete & Marilyn's: Cab Sauv and cheese appetizer, Baked Macaroni & Cheese (ok penne & 4 cheeses - this was not kraft crap), green salad with feta and olives, steamed brocolli, homemade apple sauce topped with tea and homemade chocolate chip cookies. It isn't just because I didn't have to make it that it was good.

What is one skill you wish you had, but don’t:

I wish I could play piano - really play it.

What was the last movie you watched?

Lewis & Martin: Scared Stiff.
Dumb.

My substitute question: Do you believe in luck?

Not really. I think 'Shit happens' is a profound theological statement.

If you had a whole day to yourself; no work, commitments or interruptions what would you do?

Start with a nice breakfast and a good cup of coffee and make the rest up as I go.

Is there a major goal you have that you haven’t yet achieved?

Yes. (Look - I answered the question.)

Where did you meet your spouse/partner/bf/cat?

I have no spouse, partner or cat. I assume bf means best friend, and I have more than one. If you're asking about the person that I'm dating, I met her on the church bus.

What is something that those in blogland might not know about you?

My mother reads my blog. My children read my blog. Do you really think I'm going to tell you something about myself that they don't already know? You can take that anyway you want.

What Countries have you visited as an adult?

Canada (OK - I lived there), Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia, Burkina Faso, Germany, Finland, Russia, France (very briefly), Britain, Philippines, Texas

What do you do to relieve stress?

Work and get the job done. Meditate. Drink herbal tea. Ride bike. Play squash. Drink wine. Remind myself that there is nothing to fear in the moment.

What is your first clear memory from your childhood?

I sometimes wonder if I remember being born. I have a fragment of memory of being in an oxygen tent that my mother says happened when I was 9 months. I definitely remember at 5 when Pete was demonstrating how to use a shovel and I got the scar on my lip and forehead.

As this is supposed to be a cultural award, what is the most recent piece of painting or sculpture that really impressed you?

Some Bird's pictures of 125 Hollywood.

What is the last piece of music that you heard and what did you think of it?

The other night I was listening to Edward Aldwell's CD of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 and I thought "This just doesn't sparkle like Glenn Gould's recordings."

My new question: If you could have dinner with anyone - living today or a historical figure - who would it be and why? Name the runner-ups if you want.

I think it would have to be Jesus. I'd like to know if it - meaning the last 2000 years - turned out like he thought. Runner ups: probably Wolfgang Mozart, because he was such a genius; Leonardo daVinci, another genius; and Carl Jung, to talk to him about dreams.

Who will I tag to receive the honor after me?

Not that far, because he writes so well and friends and family want to hear more about his life in Philippines; and IrregularReflections because he is just back from Guatemala and he has probably seen some good art that we should hear about.

Much better, thank you...

Much better, thank you...

Over the weekend I ran into several people who told me they hoped I was feeling better. I've been over that cold for a whole week. This morning it final dawned on me that I haven't updated my blog since then and these were people who are following and saw me in person for the first time since.

So, thanks for your concern. The cold was actually short-lived, I think because I slept much of one day and took it easy the next couple of days.

Since then I've been very busy dealing with some snarly stuff at work and balancing that against two days at the seminary last week for my class on spiritual formation. The class is going well - I'm really enjoying it and learning a lot, and I've gotten to know some wonderful people.

Cood in d' noes

Cood in d' noes

Tonight was to be an Owl's practice, but a few minutes ago I canceled out so I could stay home and rest. Sometime this morning I instituted the 'wash my hands each time I touch a kleenex' policy when I realized that the sneezing wasn't from dust. Everybody I know has been fighting colds so I guess it is inevitable that I'd land one. I think this is the second of the winter. Blech. I looked in a mirror this afternoon and wondered if I was turning into a raccoon thanks to the black circles under my eyes.

All of a sudden I have a bunch of music gigs coming up. The Schmaltzentrubers agreed to play a few tunes for a fund raiser for the Northridge Dollars For Scholars programs next Tuesday.

This Saturday night the MCCO is playing a concert with music by Mozart, Telemann and Villa-Lobos. The Mozart (Symphony #35) is pushing my chops, and I've been putting a lot of practice time in. I wish both my fingers and memory moved faster. But it is a beautiful piece of music. The Villa-Lobos is the sleeper on the program.

Finally, next Saturday night (the 28th) the Owls are playing for the Empty Soup Bowl benefit. You will have to donate to attend this one - $15 for a bowl and supper.

Come on out to any and all of these.

Speaking of music, last Sunday afternoon I got over to ND to hear the Turtle Island SQ. Great music.

Last but not least, it isn't to late to catch my friend Floyd's blog about his time in Guatamala. Great photos about his hike last weekend on an active volcano. Wish I was there.

Bartered and borrowed sounds...

Bartered and borrowed sounds...

Not too long ago I landed a really nice power amplifier in a barter arrangement. A really nice amplifier.

Then last week I won bids for a preamp and a tuner in two different auctions on ebay. They'll arrive sometime next week, so in anticipation of their arrival I bought the special cables I'll need to get everything connected. Since I don't have speakers that can handle all this power, and I haven't had time to make the speaker choice, I borrowed some PA Monitors from my brother. He dug into his kit bag and came up with a jury-rigged collection of cables and connectors so I could run those out of the amp until I can get what I want.

But that got me thinking: my little boom box has a headphone jack... could I use that as a preamp? This afternoon I borrowed a jury-rig Y-adaptor from Bruce, and tonight I put the borrowed speakers, the nice amp and the boom box all in line, turned it all on, and...


Of course the first selection was Elana James' Tschavola Swing.

It blew me away.

Then it was a little Paul Simon from the old Graceland LP.

Right now I'm listening to Palestrina. It sounds like I'm in a chapel.

And all this is with speakers that are designed for a PA system, and a boom box that is well, a boom box.

I forgot what a good system can sound like, and this one will just get better.

When I was 23 I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven for a system like this. I confess that 30 years later I was initially a little ambivalent about it all. My boom box wasn't that bad, after all, and it seemed like a pain to put all the pieces together.

Until I heard it.

I'm not ambivalent any more.

Happy 26th...

Happy 26th...

To #1 son. I'm so proud of you and glad to have you in my life.

Home again...

Home again...

I'm back in my hometown after paying tolls in three states yesterday and today. I always turn my furnace down when I travel, so the house is cold! I'm nuking the rice bag to give me some localized warmth while the temp is coming back up. Drive was mostly uneventful and the snow wasn't too heavy. Listened to a couple of podcasts from TAL and the Moth. Great stories. Plus a four-hour explanation of the Enneagram by Richard Rohr. Fascinating.

Snow berries...

Snow berries...

Yesterday was so beautiful - sunny, cold. About 3pm I put on my ski boots and walked down to the park and spent nearly an hour and a half down along the river.

In one of Wendell Berry's essays he talks about the wonder of exploring a locale in detail, over the seasons and over the years. I'm finding that in the little park across the mill race. I had intended to get across Plymouth and head for the dam, but there was so much to see and do in this little space that I never made it.

Being able to walk to the park instead of driving to it is part of the experience. Arriving on foot gives me a wholly different sense of the place and my relationship to it. I've also been surprised that the park itself is big enough and varied enough I don't tire of it.

On the way back I captured this photo.


These plump, juicy berries frozen in the woods reminded me of L's story of the ice wine grapes that they grow at the winery on Pelee Island. She says that the grapes ferment on the vine during repeated freezings and thawings in late fall. The biggest hazard to the crop at that point are the birds that come, strip the vines of fruit and get completely inebriated in the process. The idea of crows debauching themselves in a vineyard is almost too much to handle.

The only birds I saw were ducks and geese on the river, and they didn't act drunk - at least to my eye.

Mon béret...

Mon béret...

Some years ago my dad gave me a nice wool beret for Christmas. In my hometown, the chapeau of choice is more often a baseball/golf/seed corn cap, and at first I felt a little self-conscious about wearing it. Actually sometimes I still do.

But after dad died in 2004 I decided to wear it boldly. I also decided that if anyone called me a sissy I'd punch his lights out. Not really.

This morning as I passed through the hardware store I heard that this has been the coldest January on record. That didn't surprise me (brrrr). What has surprised me is that my beret is arguably the warmest hat I own. I used to always wear a toque (Canadian stocking cap), but the beret is far warmer. I think it is because it creates a dead air space around the top of your head. Besides it doesn't paste your hair down to your head and then electrify it when you take it off.

The beret doesn't do a good job covering your ears (if you wear it right), but I found a nice pair of ear muffs.

So far nobody has called me a sissy. At least to my face.

Library nights...

Library nights...

Tonight after supper I took care of a bunch of mundane housekeeping tasks - paid a few bills, balanced my checkbook, that sort of thing. Then I saw the stack of books that I needed to return to the library. It was only a little after eight and it seemed like a good time to take a little walk.

On the way there I was trying to decide if I had to time to read anything new. The last round of books was fairly intense, and I realized I'd like something a little lighter, and maybe not so long. A full-length novel seemed like too big a commitment. That reminded me of NotThatFar's recent post, but I couldn't remember the title or author he recommended.

Fortunately the library now has Internet access, and surprise: there was a station free. So I pulled up the post, found the title and author, then flipped to the GPL online catalog and found it is still on the shelves. So I checked it out and brought it home.

On the walk home I found myself remembering library nights in another lifetime. During the late 80s just about every week - I think it was usually on Wednesdays - I'd pile the kids into the car or in a wagon or on bikes and we'd go to the library. We'd load up with huge stacks of books and bring them home for the week.

That was back before they remodeled the GPL. The kid's section was on the right when you walked in the doors off of 5th Street. (At least that's what I remember. B seems to think it was always downstairs, so I may have it wrong. Does anyone remember for sure?) When it came time to check out, we'd bring a huge stack of books to the desk and help the librarian open them all to the back cover. Then she'd pull out all the cards and replace them with a card stamped with the due date, and feed the card from the book into this punch machine that would notch the card and stamp the due date on it.

CHUNK! CHUNK! CHUNK! Then this old machine would jamb and she'd take out a scissors, carefully clean up the edge, and then CHUNK!

I think my favorite books from the era - and there were a lot of them - were probably Vera B Williams: "Something Special for Me" and "Music, Music for Everyone" and "A Chair for My Mother" and "Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe". Something about the colors and the drawings, and the little heroine, Rosa. She had a lot of spunk, and she was a musician too.

Fond memories.

Laughter yoga...

Laughter yoga...

Here is something for my daughter:
With more information here.

Food event you shouldn't miss...

Food event you shouldn't miss...

I first heard of Joel Salatin when I read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. This book radically changed my thinking about what I eat, and Salatin was a central character in the book. I'm going to be hard pressed to make it to this, but I urge everyone in the area to get there. Here is the announcement that was in the local CoC newsletter today:

Local Food to the Rescue: an Evening with Joel Salatin - Internationally renowned “local/sustainable food” advocate Joel Salatin presents “Local Food to the Rescue!” at the old Goshen Theater (216 S. Main St.) on Tuesday, at 6:30 pm. Salatin is a terrific speaker in the sustainable/local ag movement. His presentation will highlight "buy local" economic principles and is geared toward the food consumer, as well as the producer.www.millrace.org/Calendar

Brrr...

Brrr...

Eleven below. I wonder what the temp is in Guatamala City tonight? The Trolley has been chronically late, so I've been outside more than I had hoped.

It is "refreshing".

I'm driving tomorrow.

Follow up to Breaking News...

Follow up to Breaking News...

Trust Google to know when something is being written about them. By late Sunday night they posted this rebuttal to the research reported in the Sunday Times (London). By 4pm today they had added a link to a new story where the original researcher rebutted the Times story.

Update - Originally I wrote a long post here that described how I used the web to make at least a 100x reduction in my CO2 generation tonight. The Internet provided information so I could walk instead of drive to run an errand.

But that post missed the main point: North Americans have a moral responsibility to the rest of the world to curb our disproportionate consumption of resources and our environmental impact. My little exercise comparing walking versus driving is fine but in reality we all need to do a lot more. For example, I could lay another 10 inches of insulation in my attic and insulate my basement. The list goes on and on. How much am I really willing to change?

Breaking news...

Breaking news...

Check out this story on Google, Twitter and CO2 emissions. And by extension blogging.

Lost and found...

Lost and found...

Look what I found when I downloaded a bunch of photos today:
I took this late last fall and left it neglected in my camera. That's my crop of raspberries just before the killer frost. Yum... can't wait until next season.

This is in contrast to the snow storm we Friday and Saturday. Today it cleared up and late in the afternoon I dug out my (x-country) skis, carried them across the street to the park and spent an hour or so breaking trails. We have six or eight inches of beautiful powder. Gorgeous conditions. Lots to see, like this ice sculpture down at the river.

This is the first time I've been out in years (took me a while to remember where I had left my boots and the wax.) Maybe three or four years ago I went out in very icy conditions and I thought "I hate this game." Today was different. I actually got some rhythm going: kick - glide - kick - glide... It felt great.

Except when I fell on my right knee - the same on I dented last Tuesday. Ouch.

Yesterday during the storm I made up a batch of homemade hand lotion. Sometimes in winter I get painful cracks in my thumbs, and my skin seems to react to most of the commercial lotions I've tried. Once upon a time I had some lanolin lotion that I liked, and I can't find anything like it now. When I found this recipe online for a lanolin and beeswax based cream I remembered that I had a chunk of beeswax sitting with my wood finishing supplies. I had purchased it years ago from a bee keeper at the Kitchener Farmer's Market to make furniture polish. I found the rest of the ingredients I needed locally. Here is the recipe.

3 Tbsp. lanolin
3 Tbsp. distilled water
3 Tbsp. grated beeswax
1/2 cup almond oil
3 Tbsp. witch hazel
1/8 tsp. borax powder

Mix the beeswax, lanolin and almond oil in an oven-safe dish and set the dish in a pan containing about an inch and a half of water. Place them in the oven and heat until the beeswax and lanolin have melted.

Mix the witch hazel, borax powder and distilled water in a saucepan. Heat the solution until just boiling and then slowly pour it into the melted beeswax/lanolin/almond oil mixture. Stir thoroughly and leave to cool.

When the mixture is completely cooled, you'll have a thick white cream to soften your skin.

Extra notes: I have everything I need now for several batches of this stuff. Actually I had to buy a 4 lb box of Borax (20 Mule Team), so I have enough of it for about a thousand batches. I made mine in a double boiler instead of the oven. The biggest trick is to stir it vigorously while it cools so that it doesn't separate out. I had to reheat mine because it didn't blend well the first time. This makes a great lotion, but it does feel oily when you apply it. Use it very sparingly.

Feeling Owlish?...

Feeling Owlish?...

The Barn Owls will be playing at Rachel's Bread from about 6-8 tomorrow night. Come on down for some really good food and some not bad music.

Vital to national security too...

Vital to national security too...

When I saw this earlier today I had to double check that I wasn't reading The Onion.

Larry Flynt says that the economic downturn has been mirrored by a sexual downturn. "Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex... With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America."

And he knows how to help.

I want to say 'fucking amazing' but this is a family blog.

Slip-slidin' 2

Slip-slidin' 2

Did you know that hurrying doesn't pay?

The roads were clear this morning and I chose to bike to work - ignoring the snow warnings for midday. However I couldn't ignore the 1/4" of snow that stuck to the roads by the time I was heading home.

It was great for the first 3/4 mile - wind was behind me, the track worn clean by the cars seemed to have good traction - I was moving right along.

But there was a car closing in behind me and I wanted to get off the road before he caught up to me. I tried to approach the turn from a high angle, but I would have been smarter to slow way down first.

I got away with a cut on my knee, a pair of torn trousers, and a slightly bruised ego.

It all turned out ok, but next time I'll take the bus or slow way down.