>What’s the middle class – does it still exist?

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A few years ago, a colleague told me that we teachers were part of a dying breed; the American middle class. Teachers, police officers, firefighters were a few of the socio-economic level in the middle – not rich, not poor. Not overburdened with too much money, not stretched to the breaking point with too little. Owning a house, a very very very fine house, with two cats in the yard — you get the picture. Not wealthy, but secure enough to buy bicycles for the kids and eventually send them to college without too many loans.

No matter what the outcome of the so-called “Budget Repair Bill” that guts bargaining rights, we’ll remember those who took action and those who listened when we expressed our concerns. We’re willing to invest more in our insurance and our pensions; we know that the state deficit is very large and everyone must contribute. If the right to bargain is lost, however, we also face the loss of the security that allows us to buy bicycles and still buy groceries, send the kids to college and still pay the mortgage. Is that too much to ask?

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>Amigo gets political

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>It was a typical Friday night. I pulled up to the store parking lot to meet the bus from the school for blind, gather Amigo and his bags, and head home.

As he got in the car, he was full of excitement. “Mom, did you hear what’s happening in Madison?” He continued talking, telling how he’d been learning about how the legislature works, what a quorum is and why it’s important, and a lot about the process of writing and passing a law.
Then he dropped the bombshell.
“Mom, I wish I could go to Madison tomorrow for the demonstration.”
I offered, “How about downtown on the plaza tomorrow afternoon?”
Amigo responded with an enthusiastic “Yeah!!”
So we made a sign for Amigo, I wore red to support my colleagues, and La Petite charged her camera to document the event. Here’s the rest of the story. The top photo shows my neighbors, both retired high school teachers, great people and great teachers. No, they’re not wearing Bear colors; those are the colors of my alma mater, West High School.

This was perhaps the youngest participant at the rally.

I don’t usually show full face shots of my offspring, but they were so great together I couldn’t resist.

I’ll have more background on Saturday’s post: personal experiences passed down through the family the old fashioned way, by the oral tradition. Well, the updated oral tradition: my relatives emailed me the stories they’d heard from my grandfather.

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>Yet another Basic Bread Recipe

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>I feel like I can never have too many options for baking bread. Lately I’ve made at least one loaf a week, sometimes two. Home made bread makes my toast and sandwiches so much better than factory-produced loaves. Since I use a bread machine, I can accomplish this task even when I’m having a difficult day with fatigue or headaches. Just throw in the wet ingredients, then the dry, topped by the yeast. Here’s my new one that (sort of, you know me) came with the new bread maker.

Daisy’s Basic Everyday Delicious Bread
adapted from the recipe that came with my Sunbeam 5891

For a 1.5 pound loaf, add ingredients to bread machine in this order.
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons water, 75-85 degrees F. (1 minute in the microwave does the trick)
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine or olive oil (I’ve tried all three; they work exactly the same)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon non-fat dry milk powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 Tablespoon whole wheat gluten
2 1/2 bread machine yeast
Set bread machine for white course, light crust, and 1 1/2 lb. loaf. Enjoy! Your house will smell wonderful.

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>Thinking ahead for this year’s garden

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>Thinking ahead – gardeners do this a lot. I’m stuck inside with a major headache, but I can look out the windows and see sunshine in a late-winter thaw. Sunshine lifts my spirits and raises thoughts and plans for spring’s eventual arrival. I don’t have a drawing yet; yes, I often sketch the garden plan so I buy the right number of plants and seeds. Most of the winter I’m in brainstorming and dreaming mode.

Random gardening thoughts:
  • I’d like to incorporate shallots and leeks. They can go in the smallest corner of the triangular garden.
  • We’ll have the fence up this year with a supporting border of marigolds, so I’ll put in broccoli. Maybe our own bunnies will actually get to eat it! Last year only the wild backyard cottontails had the joy of fresh broccoli.
  • I’m letting the raspberries expand. I moved the chives and asparagus out of the general area of the raspberries, so nothing is in the way of their spreading. Not that anything stops raspberry plants!
  • Peas will go in front of the beans on a new trellis. They didn’t get enough sun last year, so the move will help. Peas mature before beans, so they’ll be harvested and gone before the beans need the bulk of the sunshine.
  • Squash! Where should the squash go? I’m putting in butternut squash and my usual zucchini. If I plant the seeds near the beans or peas, they’ll grow toward the sun. They also mature later. This should work.
  • Bunny food! The usual lettuces and spinach and parsley will have a space. They might go in the area that will be taken over later by squash.
  • Tomatoes; oh, I love my tomatoes. I had success canning stewed tomatoes and salsa, so I’m going to put in more heirloom pulp tomato varieties. I’ll still put in the standard eating tomatoes and the cherries; they’re delicious and they freeze well.
  • Freezing: now that’s another post.
You can get a sense of my garden plans for the coming season. I’m planning on using the space well, using the sunshine efficiently, and preserving more of the harvest. Oh, winter sunshine, you taunt me! I want to get started now.

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I teach, and I pay taxes.

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Or should I say “I pay taxes and I teach”?

Folks who’ve seen the Wisconsin budget drama on CNN or Fox News or CSNBC probably wonder. “Daisy, you’re a teacher! You live in Wisconsin! You’re a progressive thinker and active in politics! Why have you said nothing about the demonstrations? Or the disappearance of the Senate Democrats? Or Governor Walker’s bad hair and desire for make-up any time a camera is near? Never mind that last one.
I haven’t posted yet because it’s so upsetting. Today I’m checking in periodically, but I’m minimizing my TV news time. My news junkie self is not compatible with the depressive self, and I’m in a pretty bad state right now – pun intended.
Instead, I’d like to share a few facts about union history. Consider it a history lesson featuring the American worker.
Early railroad worker unions were primarily insurance providers. The workers could not get standard insurance because their work was considered too hazardous, the workers too risky to insure. From Railroad Labor and its History
The first organization of working women to organize was the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association, a group of young women working in textile mills. For a descriptive piece on the Lowell Mills Girls, look to this piece, an overview of women’s labor rights at the time. From Women and Unions, early efforts
Unions helped outlaw child labor and protect worker safety. The horrible Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire spurred further movements to keep workers safe at work. Work also means outdoor work. Heard of Cesar Chavez? The United Farm Workers are glad he took the lead to improve their treatment.
Unions are about people: working people. Unions help regulate working conditions, wages, and employee rights. Benefits in union contracts include paid sick days, working conditions, grievance procedures, opportunities for advancement or changing positions, length of workday, and more. My current contract has 182 pages, single spaced. It’s a complex, thoughtful agreement between the school board and the association that represents the district’s teachers.
Every paycheck I receive has taxes taken out. Yes, I teach. Yes, I pay taxes. Yes, I’m a union member. I’m proud of all three.

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>Comfort Foods: Winter Warm-ups

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>The saying goes “If you don’t like Wisconsin weather, wait a day.” Last week we were dressing in several layers and wearing our boots for the warmth, not the snow. This week temperatures rose above freezing, and I joined the line at the car wash. I walked to the polls on Tuesday with an umbrella, thinking “It’s warm enough for rain, wow!” Comfort foods are still on the table, though. Mother Nature is just teasing. I know we could still get another blizzard or two.

When the weather outside is frightful, I go with the standards: chili and homemade bread. This is chili Wisconsin style, with beans and noodles. Trust me; it warms physically and emotionally.
Daisy’s Wisconsin Chili (slow cooker style)
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 lb. browned ground beef
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced peppers (green & red bell peppers are my favorites)
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup noodles; elbow mac or shells are my favorites.
Directions:
Brown ground beef in a skillet with the onion and peppers. Drain and rinse.
Add ingredients to slow cooker in this order:
  1. beans
  2. tomatoes
  3. ground beef & onion & pepper mix
  4. chili powder
  5. tomato sauce
Simmer on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. An hour before serving, add noodles and turn to high. Stir.
Serve with with glorious toppings from America’s Dairyland:
  • a teaspoon of sour cream with diced green onions or chives
  • grated cheese: basic cheddar or for the adventurous, pepper jack
Notes:
I’ve had good luck with dried beans as well. Measure out 1 cup of each kind, soak overnight, and rinse before adding to slow cooker. Black beans also work well; they add a different flavor and color to the mix.
I’ve also used home-canned tomatoes and home grown peppers. If you can tomatoes from your own garden, it’s such a great flavor! The home grown peppers may be smaller, but the taste will be strong and you’ll dispense with the waxy covering on many store tomatoes.
As for the beef, no, I don’t raise my own cattle. Sorry.
As for bread, I use my bread machine. You can find my basic bread recipes in these posts.

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>As heard on Social Networking

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“Has anyone seen my ambition? I’ve lost it.”

“It eloped with my patience. They’ll make a lovely couple.”
“I think it kidnapped my get-up-and-go. They’re living it up in a warm climate somewhere.”
“I like to suck the guts out of kiwis. Just thought you’d li
ke to know.”
“Kiwanis?”
“No, fuzzy fruit, not fuzzy-hatted drunken men.”
Lately Twitter has been full of comments on the action in Madison, pictures of the protests, links to articles and news videos with more information. This picture was shared by an American school administrator currently working at a school in the Middle East.

This one gave me a lump in my throat. Thanks, @scarter. Win or lose this battle, we Wisconsin teachers feel supported.

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>Super Bowl – victory to the underdog?

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>The Green Bay Packers were not expected to even make it into the playoffs this year. Early in the season they stumbled, and mid-season they fell. Then they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and started all over again.

It wasn’t a true do-over; they still stood with a record of 9 wins and 6 losses going into the last game of the season against the dreaded Chicago Bears. The Bears had already clinched the division title and playoff eligibility. The Packers? They had to win if they wanted to play post-season games.
They did it that cool Sunday. They beat Da Bears 10-3 in a defensive battle. The underdog, the one not expected to win, pulled it off and won themselves the right to keep playing in a Wild Card slot.
The team headed to Philadelphia to play the Eagles. We served Philly pepper steak with cheese; delicious. Aaron Rodgers and company ate up the field and pulled out a win and the privilege to travel to another away game, this time in Atlanta. The Falcons had beaten the Packers early in the season in a heartbreaker of a game. Both teams had played their hearts out, but the Falcons scored a field goal in the last minute of the game to win 20-17. Heartbreaker? It hurt to watch, and it hurt to remember.
The Packers had lost the last meeting with the Falcons; that’s the main focus. Would they lose again? Or would they turn the tables and win a close one? Coming in as the underdog, what would the results be?
They beat the heck out of the Falcons. Underdog? They outplayed the birds 48-21. No doubt about it; this was not the same Packers team that had barely lost the previous contest in November.
This was the game that had me re-thinking the term Underdog. An underdog, according to various dictionaries, is one who is not expected to win or one at a significant disadvantage. With a final score of 48-21, I had a hard time considering Rodgers et. al. to be at a significant disadvantage. They had the ability, the motivation, and the advantage that day. Underdog? The only disadvantage they had in Atlanta was that as a Wild Card team, they didn’t get home field advantage. In the end, it didn’t seem to matter.
After eating peach cobbler and drinking Coke products during the Packers-Falcons game, we prepared for the big one: the NFC Conference Champions, a re-match with Da Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago. We decorated the house in green and gold, served bear claws for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and ribs for supper. The Packers had won the last meet-up; were they an underdog this time?
Nope. No underdogs this week; the only disadvantage was the condition of the field, a problem for both teams. Green Bay played another strong game, winning the Halas trophy and the right to play in the Big Game: Super Bowl XLV!!!
Sometimes the opponent underestimates an underdog, one not expected to win, leading to an upset or unexpected dramatic score. The Pittsburgh Steelers organization sported five Lombardi trophies to Green Bay’s three, not counting championships won before the Super Bowl began. Terry Bradshaw, while admittedly biased toward his old team, waved a Terrible Towel and predicted the Steelers to win handily. Steelers starting quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger had been playing longer than Aaron Rodgers and had a Tough Guy image to go with the experience. We almost expected Ben in a black cowboy hat and Aaron in a white one coming out for a duel at the 50 yard lines instead of a coin toss.
Chuck served up kielbasa and pierogies with Klondike bars for dessert as we awaited the kick-off time. Commercials? We were here to watch the game!
Ultimately, the “underdog” didn’t play like one. Green Bay had one weak quarter (the third, after injuries to two major players hurt their momentum and concentration), but otherwise controlled the game. They forced three turnovers and scored from each one. The defense refused to allow Pittsburgh to move downfield one last time, knocking down a pass on a critical fourth down.
Underdog? Not this Green Bay Packers team. Led by a talented and classy MVP quarterback, the boys in green and yellow were more like late bloomers. They started the season with some inconsistency, lost many important starters to injuries, but then they pulled together and became the team that wouldn’t lose any more.
A week later, the city of Green Bay and the state of Wisconsin are still basking in the glory of our Green Bay Packers. XLV was no underdog accident; it was a well-deserved and well-earned achievement.

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>Home Made Ice Cream!

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QUICK VANILLA ICE CREAM
I’ve used this simple vanilla ice cream as a base with other fun add-ins. I use egg substitute to reduce the risk of using uncooked eggs; when using real eggs, 1/4 cup egg substitute = 1 egg.
Makes: Ten 1/2 -cup senings
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup egg substitute
2 cups heavy cream
1-3/4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Place sugar and egg substitute in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric
hand miser until light and fluffy, about 2 – 3 minutes. Add cream, milk and vanilla. Mix on
medium speed until combined, about 1 – 2 minutes.
Pour into freezer bowl of ice cream maker and turn the machine ON. Let mix until mixture thickens, about 20 – 25 minutes. If desired, transfer ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer until firm, about 2 hours.
Variations:
Add hard pieces 5 minutes before ice cream is done mixing in ice cream maker. I added green, yellow, and brown mini-m&ms as a lead-up to the Super Bowl. Why brown? For the footballs, of course.
In general, add a total of 1/2 cup of solid add-ins. If you’re using two, such as chocolate and nuts, use 1/4 cup of each.
The vanilla extract can be replaced by a more appropriate flavor if desired, such as peppermint or almond extract. Be creative! This recipe is a basic vanilla; I start with the basics and then make changes.
Other add-ins:
crushed candy canes (use peppermint extract in place of vanilla)
chocolate chips
nuts (consider almond extract)
As my family says, “Good stuff, Mom.” Enjoy!

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>Drama. Too much Sunday drama.

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>Let’s work backwards.

It’s evening, we’re watching the Grammy Awards, and I’m feeling almost uncomfortably full. I should have saved my dessert for tomorrow. Pumpkin cheesecake would have made a great breakfast with coffee. It was delicious; I’ll have to admit that it was delicious, and on top of a great pre-Valentine’s Day celebratory dinner. Chuck had rib eye and lobster tail; I had tenderloin with shrimp scampi. Both were fabulous.
It was a fitting end to the evening, though, being able to relax and reboot after all the drama.
We spent the afternoon computer shopping. I’d like a smaller laptop, maybe even a netbook, for traveling. Amigo would really like to have a laptop available with his adaptive software. We found a few good laptops on sale in the same price range as the netbooks, and decided to check them out. We took a rather anxious and tense Amigo to the Big Box Store to ask questions and try them out. We put him in charge of trying out the keyboards while we read the specifics and asked questions about repairs and warranties and features included (or not). He relaxed as he worked the keyboards and found out what they felt like and confirmed that yes, he could learn this new type of keyboard and use it successfully.
Back up again. Midday, while introducing our two smaller bunnies in the hopes that we can program them to coexist in the same space, Chuck let them get too close too soon. Fur flew. Scent trails were presented. Chuck had to reach into the melee and separate the two. To reassure you, readers, neither bunny was injured. They’re back to their Safe Mode with Krumpet in her cage in the corner and Sadie running freely through the room. They interact through the cage bars by sniffing, licking, and looking at each other. We’ll wait for another day to put them together without the firewalls.
Back up to the day’s beginning. I slept late – much too late. I’m not sure I like this new medicine; I’m in such a daze in the mornings that I just can’t move. But I digress. While I was dragging myself out of sleep mode, Chuck was already downstairs toasting frozen waffles for Amigo and turning on the desktop computer – well, trying to turn on the desktop computer. It was dead – overheated from a malfunction in the fan and cards that triggered the fan to function. We repaired this a few weeks ago; we were warned then that if it happened again, it would signal the end.
A destroyed computer is a problem. Due to Amigo’s needs and due to our tech-addicted family, we need to replace it ASAP. But this week? Chuck, the hardware and software expert, is extremely busy this week. He can’t take off from work, and he wants to do this on his own. I trust him to do it right, and he’ll stress out and send his blood pressure sky high if he’s worried about me taking care of the purchase. So… he did the research today. It’ll make the act of choosing and buying simpler and faster.
Backing up; No. I think at this point we need to move forward. I’ll take my evening medicines, leave La Petite in charge of the bunnies and Chuck in charge of the computer(s), and I’ll go to bed. To sleep, perchance to dream.

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