Category Archives: encore

She’s baaack – an encore from Grandma Daisy

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She couldn’t stay quiet for long. Grandma Daisy is back, just a few weeks before election day. This is an encore, but it didn’t need much modification to be current.

Fiddle-dee-dee. Tomorrow will be another day.

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!

Big Brother is watching.  

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Wilbur didn’t want food, he wanted love.

I have created a monster!

 

Well, grandkids, all of these are lines from classic books. Let’s see how many you or your mother can identify. What? So few? What are they teaching these days — never mind.

Let’s look at the last one. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,  of course. Truth be told, though, young ones, this particular quote isn’t a direct quote from the novel. It’s kind of like crediting  Buzz Lightyear with “To infinity and beyond!” when he only said it twice in the first Toy Story movie.

The truth is that Shelley’s work inspired the phrase.  An English teacher I knew (they’re always handy when you need a good literature quote) mentioned that there is no exact quote in which Dr. Frankenstein says or another character says that he/you have created a monster–it’s more of a thematic draw from the overall text. Frankenstein warns the man who meets him at the end of his life how “dangerous is the acquisition of knowledge,” as a way of saying, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!” in keeping with the “created a monster” idea.

So, young ones, back to the upcoming election issues – like the state budget. Governor Talks-a-lot claimed to have innovative changes for our fair state’s education system. His changes consisted of a straining-at-the-seams budget for public schools and a significant increase in a program called Vouchers. Vouchers were grants, money, scholarships paid by the state for students to attend private schools. Private. Not public charters, not home-schooling, but private schools. Governor Walk-on-by ignored the evidence that current voucher schools in Milwaukee were not doing any better then their public counterparts down the road. In fact, if they measured success by the standardized tests of the day, voucher schools did a poorer job of educating their students.

Governor Walk-all-over-you decided that his “innovative education reform” would expand the voucher program into other middling to large-ish cities. Make it bigger. Spread the money around. Around the state, that is. One city, one school district at a time.

The Governor, despite his lack of scientific or educational background, had created a monster. He wanted to open up the private vouchers, damage the state’s education budget, and further gut public schools.

Governor Walkerstein was ready to create his monster. He didn’t have the wisdom of my English teacher friend to tell him that just because he could, didn’t mean he should.

Oh, young ones, it was a tough time to be a teacher. In fact, I could use a cup of coffee. Let’s take a break and talk about classic television. Have you ever seen WKRP in Cincinnati?

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Multi-tasking is Real Life

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I had started a load of laundry and was sitting in the bedroom recliner watching the Packers play the Dolphins – and stain treating a few of Chuck’s t-shirts. You see, Chuck is the ultimate jeans and t-shirt guy, even at work. He wears his tees until they  fall to pieces or become stained and untreatable. I tear his old ones to strips to use in the garden. But we were discussing multi-tasking.

I had a stack of four or five t-shirts, mainly Chucks, with stains on them. While the jeans tossed and tumbled in the washer, I used my last bottle of Grandma’s Stain Remover to treat a variety of stains. As the Packers marched down the field, I dripped stain remover on Chuck’s wardrobe.

And I thought of an old post, one that explained what a multi-tasking weekend looks like in my household – from the perspective of the Daisy Reality Show.

The Daisy Reality Show Goes Passive Productive

You read that correctly. It’s not passive aggressive, it’s not passive vs. active. It’s the Daisy Reality Show, starting the composter mom herself, recorded live at the O.K. Chorale. The show’s director has replaced her bumbling assistant with a new, highly motivated, almost hyperactive intern.

Scene: Daisy’s bedroom. Daisy sits quietly in the recliner with her laptop computer,uploading pictures and blogging.

Intern: Daisy, you’re not doing anything! This makes for dull television!

Daisy: Not doing anything? I’ll have you know I’m over achieving right now.

Director laughs and leaves the room.

Daisy: I am multi-tasking, dear intern, a concept dear to the hearts of moms and teachers everywhere. See that cord? I’m charging my laptop. I’m downloading pictures for future blog posts. I’m blogging! And at the same time, the laundry is sorted and the third load – third load, mind you – is in the washer. That’s four tasks at once. Good enough for you?

Intern: Um…but it doesn’t look like you’re doing anything! How can I show this visually? It doesn’t work!

Daisy: I admit, it’s a challenge. But it’s your challenge, not mine. All I do is act like myself. And right now, that self is multi-tasking and resting my weary body at the same time. I feel rather proud of my productivity at the moment.

Intern (stammers): Oh-oh- okay for now, Daisy. (turns to camera operator) Let’s illustrate the various tasks she’s doing right now. Laundry. Charging computer. Can you do that?

Folks, it’s the normal life for so many adults. Get the passive chores started, like the laundry and plugging in the laptop, and then while those items are in progress, work on something else. And so it goes, at the O.K. Chorale.

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Harvest Season

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It’s fascinating to look at blog posts from harvests past. Last year, I was doing some of the same chores I’m doing now.

I’m bringing in tomatoes and peppers every day, but I’m still watering the plants left behind because they’re still producing (quite a bit of) fruit.

I’m pruning the tomato plants so the water and sun can go into the leaves and stems that are still growing and still producing. Meanwhile, I’m searching for a source that will sell me garlic bulbs to plant now. Now, I tell you. Not next May. And since no one in town seems to carry garlic for planting, I’m reduced to ordering online.

I bought garlic near Lake Geneva on a visit to La Petite. It grew well. I’m thinking about planting garlic again, but not in the same place. That spot, behind the garage, will be a mess next spring because we’re replacing the garage. We’ll lose half of that plot, and the rest will probably be a mess from the construction itself. I’ll cope; I’ll use a few more containers than usual this time.

Also in that post, I mentioned sunlamps for the herbs. Chuck bought me lamps for my birthday and a timer for Christmas. That helped with the seedlings and the herbs. We also followed through and bought a daybed with a trundle bed that tucks underneath. We didn’t know at the time that this would become my sickroom after surgery in January and late in April. We’re just glad we bought it when we did.

Like last year, I’m cleaning up the containers. Unlike last year, we have straw bales to deal with. The peppers in the bales are still growing, so we’re not ready to pull out the plants and spread what’s left of the straw. I’m still bringing in jalapenos, poblanos, and sweet yellow banana peppers. The tall tomatoes in the Jungle need pruning; I’ll get to it, sooner or later. No pictures, though. Things are looking spindly and scrawny.

Meanwhile, school goes on. My music classes take more of my time this year, and that time is spent well in helping my students.

So, readers, how does your garden grow? How are you handling the fall harvest and putting the garden to bed?

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Friday Night Lights – encore

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Many of my online friends have high school age offspring, and those offspring are celebrating the Rite of Fall called Homecoming. We had some memorable homecomings of our own – our own progeny, that is. Here’s one.

Love is attending a high school football game on a cool Friday evening and watching the moon rise between the bright lights.

(Photo Credit: Husband’s first camera phone, several years pre-smart phone. Not bad, eh?)

 

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Salsa season!

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One of my go-to books for canning is Put ‘Em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton. The first time I made this, I had a lot of tomatoes, but we had to buy the jalapeno peppers. Mine were not growing very quickly – or they’re being eaten by the furry creatures that bounce through the yard. Maybe that’s why the bunny was collapsed under the rain barrel? Never mind. Just kidding. This year I had the opposite problem – loads of peppers before the tomatoes were ready.

Heirloom Tomato Salsa
1 cup distilled vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes (any kind – or a combination of types)
1/2 pound onions, diced
1 cup chopped cilantro (optional; I use very little if any cilantro.)
Bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan. Add the tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, and return to a boil for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and remove from the heat.
To preserve:
Either refrigerate (for up to 5 days) or use the hot-water method.
For the boiling water method:
Ladle into clean, hot, half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Release trapped air. Wipe the rims clean; center lids on the jars and screw on jar bands. Process for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let jars rest in the water for 5 minutes. Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours. Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
I made a double batch Saturday night. I’ve made triple batches some years. It all depends on tomatoes and peppers and how they grow. No matter how much I make, we seem to eat it or cook with it. None goes to waste.

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Four Burners Theory: Back to School Again

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An encore post with a few updates – all updates in Italics. 

In the midst of Back to School preparations, it seems appropriate to discuss the juggling act we call work-family balance. Sometimes we’re juggling tennis balls, all the same size, all the same weight, all responding the same way. Then someone tosses us a watermelon, and the whole juggling act changes.

Another way to look at this is the Four Burners metaphor. Imagine a stove with four burners, each representing a task. Can you tend all four without burning a dish or forgetting to add an ingredient, therefore ruining the meal?
Is the four burners theory accurate? Realistic? If all four are equal, maybe it is. But life’s tasks are rarely equal. The first day of school requires a bigger burner. Packing a young person’s possessions in the van for the big move to a dorm is a burner that simmers for a while, then comes to a quick boil. In my life, sending my kids back to school coincides with preparing to teach another new group of elementary students. My teaching assignment is the same this year, but I need to move my materials into a new cubicle. That’s a front burner task, but it will cook up quickly.
We’ve learned to survive these chaotic first weeks of school by balancing and “cooking” ahead. Every night I set the table for breakfast, pack my lunch, and set out my (admittedly simple) clothes for morning. By planning ahead, slicing and dicing the ingredients for the next day, we can cut out one burner. Our family spends much of the summer catching up on routine appointments, too. Dealing with routine dental care and physicals and eye exams in June, July, and August means one less pot to stir come fall.
Filling the freezer and putting up foodstuffs is another step in maintaining the cooking – this time in a more literal sense. Each bag of healthy local vegetables in the freezer is one less that we have to buy. A shorter grocery list means less time at the store, less money out the door, and less pressure on us to produce the produce. Um, yeah. You knew what I meant, right? We bought an additional chest freezer when a local appliance store went out of business, so I’ve spent a lot of time prepping peas, beans, corn, and more for the freezer. That task is more like a slow cooker than a burner because I’ve been at it little by little all summer long.
Thinking of all this late August and September busy-ness makes me feel stressed already. I think I’ll go water the garden; that’s a task that provides relaxation, not stress. Turn off the burners; I’m hooking up the hose to the rain barrel. And that, my friends, is balance.

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Every mug has a back story.

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Coffee, tea, hot cocoa – no matter what your hot beverage of choice, the mug it’s in is very likely to carry a story. This came up in a thread on Facebook, and I realized I had a number of posts featuring my coffee mug collection. Most of the posts are from my first or second year of blogging. Let’s start with yesterday’s mug, Where’s Waldo, and today’s mug of choice, Ducks in a row.

Where’s Waldo? Well, if you can’t find him now, just fill the mug with hot liquid (preferably Folgers) and all of the faux Waldos’ shirts will fade away. This mug has been in my collection for a long time — at least 13 years (Daisy’s update: at least 20 years, now). I ordered it free with a few labels from cans of Spaghetti-os and a miniscule shipping and handling fee. It has served up tea, hot cocoa, and of course, coffee. I’ve had a lot of fun with this mug over the years, including watching people stare at it in the teachers’ lounge. It was worth the shipping and the stamp. And now, Ducks in a Row. Continue reading →

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Compost – it happens

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Chuck wanted to know where to put the ashes when he cleaned out the fireplace. I told him to dump them in the small compost bin. He replied “The pretty, fake terra cotta, un-green plastic one?” Hah, my dear, it’s made from recycled materials AND I got it free in exchange for posting a review. That must be worth something in the O.K. household.

Anyway, it reminded me of some fun I had with La Petite when this compost bin was new. Here you are, folks, from a few years back – the new bin. 

I’m a garden geek. My son calls me a green freak. My daughter? You’ll see.

Husband tolerates and even supports my green proclivities. In fact, he brought home my first composter and later bought me a pitchfork to go with it. Lately I’ve been hinting that I need a second compost bin. “What’s wrong with this one?” he asked. “Nothing’s wrong with it; it’s full.”

That was in May. Luckily, compost compacts as it decomposes, making room for more. Now it’s August, and the bin is filled to the brim with organic matter. It needs stirring, and then I’d really like to leave it alone for a full year – a full twelve months or more. That means next spring I would not empty the bin and till it into the garden soil; I’d let it sit until the following spring instead, giving everything a better chance to decompose completely. But meanwhile, where would my kitchen scraps and yard waste go? Enter the new composter.


My new composter is smaller and cuter than my big beautiful bin. It has some nice features, too. This composter has a base and an insert to keep the solids off the bottom and let the liquids, the “compost tea,” drain off, and a spigot in front for collection. Compost tea makes a great fertilizer, I’ve been told.

When I want to empty the compost, I simply open the back. It stays open nicely, which will make it simple to shovel the rich soil enhancer into my wheelbarrow.


The holes in the sides have purpose: they allow air to circulate and speed up the process, and the holes are big enough that I can poke a broom handle or stick inside to aerate the compost itself. And last, I mentioned it’s somewhat smaller than my old one. It’s still a hefty size – big enough to fit a college senior inside. Yes, that’s La Petite, modeling the new composter for all of my lovely readers.

As soon as I decide where to place it, I’ll post more pictures! Then I’ll fill it with kitchen scraps and weeds and other organic goodies, and let the compost happen.

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