Category Archives: NaBloPoMo

>The Great Small Purse Drive

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Mocha Momma is who I want to be when I grow up. Oh, wait; she’s younger than I am. Oh, well, she’s wise beyond years and simultaneously young at heart. Did I mention generous? Creative? Resourceful?

She is a high school administrator in Springfield, IL, at a school with, well, lots of difficulties. Safety is a big concern, and with that in mind, students cannot carry backpacks around with them. Boys complained that girls were allowed to carry purses, and the policy was updated to limit purse size.

70% of the students in this high school live at or below the poverty rate. These girls can’t afford a second purse just to keep themselves together at school. Mocha Momma came up with a solution: the Great Small Purse Drive.

I’ve been reading Kelly’s blog for several years now, she’s read mine, and we’ve emailed back and forth. She’s a woman of integrity, with great taste in coffee and a great sense of what’s important in life. I trust she’ll get these purses into the hands of girls who need them.

Purses should be smaller than a standard 8.5 X 11 piece of copy paper. Send any donations to:

Kelly Wickham
P.O. Box 9465
Springfield, IL 62791
Let’s do it, readers. Pass the word and pass the purses. One big closet clean-up for you; one small purse for a young woman.

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>Adventurous Thanksgiving Side: Arroz con Gandules

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>Disclaimer: We haven’t tried this yet!! I have no idea if this recipe will become a regular on our table or will be a complete flop. In fact, we’re searching for the right beans (gandules, also call pigeon peas and also called Jamiacan beans) as well as the spicy sauce, sofrito. At this time, Chuck is considering chickpeas or blackeyed peas as an option for the gandules and Tiger Sauce for the sofrito. Advice is welcome!

Arroz con Gandules

1 1/4 cups uncooked white rice (we can do this)
2 1/2 cup water (yes, accessible)
1 1/2 tablespoons sofrito (Chuck is planning Tiger Sauce instead)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 can Gandules Verdes (Jamaican beans)
1 cup cooked ham, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, roasted and chopped (Chuck prepared these in advance on the grill)
1/4 cup green bell pepper, roasted and chopped (see above)
salt to taste

In a pot, mix oil, sofrito, ham, and peppers for 2 minutes over medium heat.
Add rice and water and mix well, then add gandules verdes and cook uncovered until water is absorbed (about 20 minutes).
Stir, cover pot, and simmer for another 25 minutes.

Well, bloggy friends, will this work? Does Iron Chef Chuck with the Cool Shoes have suitable sauce and beans? Or should I shun this dish in favor of the traditional mashed potatoes that I’m making for the more conservative types at the family table?

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>Breaking news: Teacher Cleans her Desk!

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>I told my friend the Reading Teacher that I planned to clean my desk. Really get it down to the desktop. She replied, “It really doesn’t look that bad, compared to some.” Well, “compared to some” was the key phrase. I wanted to be able to wipe down the entire surface to prevent further spread of – well, whatever might spread in an elementary classroom.

And when I got a little closer, it really did look that bad.

I attacked one pile after another. Filed. Corrected. Recorded. Returned. Sorted. Filed again. Recycled. But when I assessed the progress mid-day, it looked worse, not better.


But I was relentless. My gradebook got a workout. The kids’ mailboxes were full of completed work. My wastebasket was full, and the recycling bin rustled with papers I couldn’t reuse. Even (gasp) the pile to the left of the keyboard, the infamous Pile I Cannot Face, was organized into file fodder – er, file folders. And finally (drum roll):

The bell rang. And it was clean. And the poor little Girl Scout who came in after school with her fundraiser must have thought I was the nuttiest teacher ever, taking pictures of my desk!

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>The Fabled Fairies of Thanksgiving Reprise

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Originally posted in November of 2008 during the Thanksgiving preparation season,
reposted with very few changes
By the way, I haven’t found these fairies yet; have you? Send them my way when you do!
Thanksgiving Dinner? No problem! I’ll call in the fairies. They’ll do everything.
The laundry fairy washes, dries, and presses the table linens, including the cloth napkins. If she’s feeling generous, the sheets and towels might get folded, too.
The turkey fairy will practice her specialty and make sure the heirloom bird is cooked and carved just in time for dinner. White meat and dark, it’ll all be moist and savory and leave just enough leftovers for sandwiches and a turkey noodle soup. She’ll create gravy from the drippings and simmer the carcass remains to make stock.
The baker fairy will take care of pies, pumpkin and otherwise. He’s an expert on flaky crust, selected spices, and the perfect portion of whipped cream. Don’t let that Simple Simon guy get in the way; the kitchen’s too small for anyone who begs to taste the wares.
The brownie – the cunning little house elf – will clean the home thoroughly, put the leaf in the big table, and get the extra chairs out of the basement.
I wouldn’t dream of neglecting the wine fairy; the sommelier so tiny she only recommends, never lifts, a bottle. Her taste is impeccable. Now if we could stop her before she over-imbibes and falls asleep on top of the piano…
Did I mention the decorator faiy? She’ll fix the fireplace mantel with something tasteful and seasonal before she makes sure the couch and rocker are properly arranged for the annual holiday gladiator jousts known as NFL football.
The ambiance fairy keeps the wood fire crackling in the fireplace, the aromas wafting deliciously through the home, and the family discussion topics neutral.
The kitchen fairies; really, there must be a whole crew of these talented sprites. One to do the shopping early and avoid the crowds, another to make sure the cranberries are perfect (and Wisconsin-grown, of course), and a magical maestro with the potato masher. Then we’ll need a feisty fairy, one with attitude – yes, you, Tinkerbell, you can make the coffees.
Mom, you can send the fairies over to my house now that we’re the designated hosts on Thanksgiving Day. Let them know I”ll have their room ready and their favorite cookies baked. If they arrive on Sunday there should be enough time to get everything done.
Wait…what do you mean…they’re not real??!!?

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>50 Ways to Love your Larder

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>Never Waste Food Again – 50 Ways, 50 pieces of advice. I found this post through a link on Eco-Women.

I do fairly well on this list. Vegetables are fairly easy. Between bunnies and soups, we rarely waste a veggie.
Fruits? We’re doing a decent job on that list, too. Orange peels get composted, apple butter is delicious, and Chuck has been pulling the raspberries from last summer’s market out of the freezer to top his ice cream.
Grains – I use leftover pasta and rice in casseroles, soups, and other leftover concoctions. Bread is a little harder. I like toast and sandwiches, but Amigo and Chuck usually pass on the PBJs in favor of some other sort of lunch fare. Making our own croutons and setting aside bread crumbs is something we haven’t tried yet. Maybe we will – or maybe we won’t. I’m not a big eater of croutons; La Petite enjoys them, however.
Making the Most of Meat: I started making soup stock from meat bones a few years ago, and wondered what took me so long to discover the process. It’s so easy, it tastes so much better than broth from the jar of granules, and it is nearly no-cost.
Herbs – we moved the herb pot inside, so we’re still working on it. The basil died, the rosemary is struggling, but the oregano is stretching toward the windows in search of the elusive winter sun. If I have more success with herbs next year, maybe we’ll freeze or dry some.

In conclusion, my fellow green-folk and family, we live in the land of plenty. Let’s make sure that less of that plenty goes to waste.

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>What is Compost Happens all about? My elevator pitch in rough draft

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Who am I? I’m Daisy, and this is my blog. I write it, I maintain it, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Once in a while, I make changes. Unless we’re professional bloggers by trade (and some are), any of us in the blogsphere will change what we can and spend time within reason to keep our blogs unique and good quality.

Last summer the buzz for bloggers included creating an elevator pitch. For example, if you were in an elevator at the BlogHer conference and you had to quickly describe your blog, what would you say? Here’s my first attempt:

Compost Happens is a personal blog: part family, part garden, part eco-consciousness. It chronicles my home life, teaching life, coffee, garden, …. oh, darn it, this is getting too wordy.

Okay, here goes again.

Compost Happens is a personal blog: part family, part garden, part crunchy green eco-writer. I’m Daisy, and I’m the groundskeeper here. I take care of family, garden, and coffee, when I’m not teaching and doing laundry.

That’s a little better, but it’s still a rough draft. Should I mention A Mother’s Garden of Verses or Mid-Century Modern Moms? Maybe. Now I’m thinking and revising, and that can only lead to positive changes.

Any changes, however, need to retain the integrity of the blog. Reviews, for example. The FCC is now regulating bloggers’ reviews, calling for clear disclosure of donated items and paid posts. Frankly, BlogHer ads have always required that kind of disclosure; it’s not new. Mothertalk/ MomCentral, unfortunately, is getting some negative exposure. I commented on a post related to integrity of reviews, and the emails came flooding in.

When I posted an honest review of James Patterson’s Dangerous Days of Daniel X, Mothertalk quoted a select few lines that made my post sound neutral, if not positive.
When I reviewed Return to Sullivan’s Island, I was again honest. Mothertalk asked me to change the review. I modified a few lines, but I could not make the book sound good. It just wasn’t. In fact, the first Sullivan’s Island was so much better I wondered if the author had really written the sequel.
Since then, I’ve been blocked from doing further book reviews.

Mothertalk/ MomCentral doesn’t seem to get it. Glowing sugar-coated reviews are not credible. If I encourage people to read a book, it’ll be worth their time. I’m a teacher, published in professional journals, a teacher of reading and writing, an educated reviewer. By telling me to change a review or not post it, they compromise their site’s integrity.

Frankly, I don’t plan to compromise mine.

Compost Happens is a personal blog; part family, part garden, part crunchy green eco-writer. I’m Daisy, and I’m the groundskeeper, taking care of family, garden, and coffee. I post honestly and straight from the heart. Count on it.
Like it or not.

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What is Normal? Who is Normal?

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“But you seem so normal!” It was a phrase in a post from Deafmom, a post she titled “You’re not really deaf, are you?” This one got me thinking – a dangerous pastime, I know.

Normal = neuro-typical, non disabled.
Normal = typical, following the norm.
Normal = expected, unsurprising.
Normal = cool forehead, no fever.
Normal = just another sheep following the herd.

Is Normal good or bad? Is Normal something in between? Is Normal a comfort level, don’t rock the boat, or is Normal that’s-the-way-we’ve-always-done-it?

  • Does Normal have an IEP (Individualized Education Plan)?
  • Does Normal need an adapted cell phone?
  • Does Normal stay in the background or insist on action?
  • Is Normal pink, red, or mauve?
  • Does Normal get on the right track, just stand there and wait to get run over?
  • Does Normal slow for yellow lights or speed up?
  • Does Normal walk to school or take her lunch?

The last one is the really telling question. “Normal” in the sense of non-disabled or neuro-typical is a label that doesn’t really make sense. It implies that the disabled person is someone out of the norm, out of the mainstream, off the track. It implies that the person with a disability isn’t one of the crowd, sticks out, doesn’t belong.

“Normal” doesn’t need to go the way of the R-word (retarded). Normal is, after all, a city in Illinois. But all of us, not just the so-called Normal folk, need to think before we speak. Telling a disabled person that they are not Normal is inaccurate, hurtful, and just wrong.

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>Thinking of Thanksgiving

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>The random thoughts that come with Thanksgiving planning sometimes surprise even me, the blogger with a category label for Random Thoughts.

Let’s try an organic heirloom turkey this year! Last year the Fabled Fairies earned a Butterball coupon (or two). This year we noticed an ad for a nearby meat market and their turkeys and decided it was worth a try. Local business (all of 6 blocks away), quality product (we’ve bought their sausages and pork chops and other meats in the past), what’s not to like? If we decide we prefer the (gulp) mass-produced meat, we’ll go back to it next year. But seriously, I hope not. A few more dollars on a special turkey will be dollars well spent.

Brother and Sister-in-law will be staying at their Chicago-area home this year. They’re expecting a tiny new addition to the family, and mama-to-be may feel uncomfortable fitting into a seatbelt. Staying home will allow her to relax and maybe, just maybe, start timing contractions in the comfort of her own home. We’ll host a slightly smaller party: our own nuclear family, including La-Petite-home-from-school, my mom and stepdad, and Chuck’s parents.

Sister-in-law usually brings the pies; maybe it’s time to try the bakery down the road from the meat market. I love to bake, but pies are not my specialty, and I don’t think a mixed-berry dump cake would fit the Thanksgiving menu.

Now I just need to decide if we’re having rootmash or regular mashed potatoes – or both. Opinions? Preferences?

Yes, I KNOW there’s a Packer game. Chuck is thankful that it’s in Detroit; he’d have to work if the game were at Lambeau Field. We’ll plan our dinnertime around it, and squeeze a radio into the kitchen so the cooks don’t miss a play.

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>Basic Wheat Bread for the bread machine

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>Wheat bread is usually more dense and heavier than it’s fluffy white counterpart because the flour is lower in gluten than regular bread flour. This bread machine’s instruction book suggests vital whole wheat gluten as part of any wheat bread. I found gluten at a natural foods store after searching the aisles of two large groceries. I advise you to call ahead and save yourself a trip! The gluten helps the bread rise better. Now that I’ve tried it in this straight wheat recipe, I’ll adapt it into my mixed white/wheat and the honey wheat with oats bread that Margalit shared with me.

The wheat cycle may start with a rest period to let the flours & grains absorb the liquid ingredients, softening slightly before mixing and rising. The bread is still more dense than the standard white, but that’s exactly why it’s so good.

Whole Wheat Bread with Gluten

1 1/4 cup water (warm)
2 1/2 Tablespoons oil (I prefer olive oil)
2 1/2 Tablespoons molasses (if you measure the oil first, the molasses will slide right off the measuring spoons!
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons dry milk
3 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons Gluten
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Bake on whole wheat cycle.

I served this as a side (chili was the main course) with a variety of spreads and toppings. I had honey (sweet, local, and delicious) on mine. La Petite chose Nutella. Husband (a.k.a. Chuck) chose honey as well. The other options were jelly, peanut butter, or plain butter. No matter how we topped it, the bread was delicious.

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>Think locally: economic impact of the NFL

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>Family and friends know that I back the Green Bay Packers, win or lose. I dress in their colors from head to toe. Chuck earns a portion of his income at Lambeau Field each year. We’re not season ticket holders; the legendary waiting list is too long to consider. We take our enjoyment of the game in our living rooms, texting or g-chatting our reactions to La Petite on her college campus.

La Petite spent her first nine years living in the shadow of Lambeau Field, on the corner of Oneida Street and the aptly-named Stadium Drive. She learned to ride a bike in the Packers’ parking lot, and learned about entrepreneurship with her lemonade stand during training camp. She’s in her twenties now and training to be a photojournalist, and she spent a day job-shadowing at a pre-season game. That’s one awesome “Take Your Kid to Work Day!”


Now one of my favorite green sites has recognized the economic value of a local football team. Most NFL teams belong to a single wealthy investor. The Green Bay Packers belong to individual stockholders, among them many Wisconsin residents. The stock has emotional value only; no dividends. Stockholders attend an annual meeting (at Lambeau Field, of course), but have no say in team decisions.

Mother Nature Network posts green news and views every day. This weekend, they included a guest post about local economies and, you guessed it, the Green Bay Packers. Win or lose on the field, the team has a great impact on the people of Green Bay and Wisconsin.

When you add into the equation the idea that Chuck does most of his Christmas shopping at the Packer Pro Shop, it’s easy to see the impact. I think I’ll go get our cheesehead hat and get ready to watch them play the Cowboys! Cringe. Wisconsin native Tony Romo might just tear my green and gold team to pieces.

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