>A Bridge Party

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This was the view in front of us.
Behind us, the river.
Amigo applauded the band when the ceremony was done.


Then we visited Chuck, hard at work keeping the news of the Bridge Grand Opening on the air.
Doesn’t the inside of this truck remind you of the cockpit in the movie Airplane?


And finally, we walked the length of the bridge (before traffic was allowed!) to get us back home. Home, for a warm drink and a snack.

The bridge is open to traffic now; maybe soon I’ll drive across the brand new span!

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>Apples and Banana and Dump Cake – Oh, My!

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>I was making supper on a school night: planned-over brats from the weekend grill, a can of beans, and whatever fruit was handy.
Boring.
A big bowl of ripe almost-becoming-soft apples sat on the table. One lone ripe banana sat on the counter.

You guessed it. I baked. Here’s the result.

Apple Dump Cake Plus

Fill the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan with thin-sliced apples (about 4 cups) and banana.
Top with 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened and sliced.
Dump over this one bag of basic yellow cake mix. I keep a store-brand box of yellow cake and white cake in case this kind of situation arises.
Top with another 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened and sliced.
Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cool — a little — and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

P.S. I also added 1 cup of frozen blueberries from last July. They added color and a little fun. If I did this with apples again, I might add a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg. Come to think of it, cranberries might be a nice combination, too.

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>The frugal and green teacher

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>A sign of a teacher both frugal and green: provisioning, using repurposed and reused materials.

From left to right: coffee cans for ‘found’ writing utensils, wire basket (second hand) filled with notebook pages donated by last year’s class as they cleaned up in June, box of re-usable paper with one blank side (extra worksheets, memos, newletters), and junk mail envelopes (under the chunk of our state rock, red granite) for field trip slips and lunch money.

My students take to this like ducks to water. They even “play school” with some of the old worksheets! That box helps me empty my old files with much less guilt because there is much less waste. Those with messy desks often jump for the wire basket rather than dig into what resembles an archeology site.
Tune in next week for The Frugal and Green Teacher, NaBloPoMo edition.

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>Just Another Saturday – or not.

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>It was almost a typical Saturday.
The to-do list read as usual:
Laundry
Correct papers
Clean kitchen
Clean bunny cage

Added to the list yesterday:
Prepare Halloween candy for trick or treaters
Set up pumpkin, light candle
Start fire in fireplace
Rake leaves off sidewalk so trick or treaters can find their way

Here’s the Ta-Dah! list:
Laundry (dull, boring, but necessary chore, got done in between everything else)
Correct papers: lots of them! (Science, spelling, language arts, and more science: more than usual due to make-up work in the latest wave of H1N1 in my school building)
Clean kitchen, and re-do it after supper (and wonder why I manage to want to run the dishwasher when there’s a load of laundry in, every time)
Clean bunny cage (Why does she get so anxious when I’m taking away her dirty box? I replace it with a clean one right away. She doesn’t have to wait.)
Rake leaves: done, but only in the front yard and only enough to clear the sidewalk. It was so windy that raking is almost pointless, like shoveling 2 inches of snow when there’s a dozen more coming. (Did I say snow? I didn’t mean to even think of snow. Not yet. You didn’t hear that.)
Prepare Halloween candy; I tested one of each kind to make sure they were all fresh. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.
I set up the pumpkin, but it was too windy to light the candle. Next year, we’re getting the battery operated tea lights.
Start fire: while I was out replenishing the candy supply, Hubs started a fire. Sort of. Eventually. It was kind of like this.
1. Open damper.
2. Set up wood.
3. Set up firestarters in form of old Braille paper or cardboard.
4. Light fire.
5. Realize damper was left open after last fire, and now it’s closed.
6. Open damper.
7. Take down smoke alarms.
8. Turn on ceiling fan, open windows a crack, turn off heat.
9. Blow on fire; get it started, finally, for real.
10. Wait patiently for house to clear of smoke.
11. Sample new supply of Halloween candy to make sure it’s suitable for late trick or treaters.
12. Settle down on couch in den – Ah. Saturday night. Life is good.

Now the to-do list begins for Sunday. That, folks, totally revolves around the Big Game that kicks off at 3:15 at Lambeau Field.

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>Dreams, strange though they might be

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>I wasn’t sleeping well. I’d call it more of a series of naps between coughing fits. But during those naps, a collection of dreams floated into my subconscious.

We were traveling. Traveling where, I wasn’t sure, and eventually it turned out we were out of this world. Seriously. The other travelers were in human form, acted like Earthlings, spoke American English, but called another planet home, too.

We (Chuck, La Petite, Amigo and I) were staying in a small rental cottage on stilts. Flood plain, perhaps? I don’t know. I remember searching for a clean pair of track pants because my jeans were all dirty, and having to climb a second ladder/ staircase to get at our extra luggage. I kept digging and digging and, in true dream form, never found the clean clothes I needed. My sleepy mind kept repeating “And I need a shower, too!” as I rummaged through the bags.

Another group of (interplanetary) travelers pulled up to the cabin on stilts and told us they were in dire straits. Their cottage had been flooded by the storm and they needed a room so they could rest and get on their way. We moved our cases (of dirty clothes, apparently) and let them have the storage room for the night. They were suitably grateful for our willingness to assist, and the group leaders (parents?) sat up with us for a while to describe their ordeal.

I don’t remember the details of the experience; that dream sequence must have been interrupted by the rude awakening of another coughing jag. My sleepy impression is one of a Katrina-type hurricane, but maybe it was an asteroid shower.

As both groups (my family and the galactic folk) packed up the next morning, I once again dug through the luggage for the mythical pair of clean pants. We tried to exchange addresses with our new friends (email and snail mail) and then gave up, realizing that the postal service and Internet wouldn’t be able to figure out the ins and outs of the inter-planetary delivery. In the back of my head the little voice continued to rant “But I still need to shower!!”

Note: I put on my pajamas on this dream-filled night at 7:00 PM. After a tiring week of teaching, meeting with parents for conferences, and fighting off a cold and cough, I needed to go to bed immediately. Mid-day Saturday, I was still in my pajamas and had no energy to start the weekend laundry. Maybe the nagging voice in my dreams was telling me that the steam from a hot shower could help me fight off the nasty bug or at least ease the symptoms. Or maybe, just maybe, all was just a product of an overtired and overwhelmed subconscious.

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>Get my kicks on Route 66?

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>Amigo enjoys road trips. He can’t see the changing scenery or play the alphabet game on billboards, but he enjoys the travel nevertheless.

We’ve talked in an abstract way about taking a Route 66 vacation some summer. “Why?” you might ask. “Why Not?” we reply.

The highway itself has been largely replaced by interstates, but some of the blue highways and small towns near the old Mother Road still exist. It’s the towns, the scenery, the ambiance, the history that attract us.

Family trips usually revolve around a purpose or an ulterior motive. Our visit to Nova Scotia was aimed at following Chuck’s family history, filling in more of his research on the Lockeport branch of his family tree. Getting there by way of the Cat Ferry was a bonus. Amigo and I were along for the ride, taking our bikes around town and walking on the beach while Chuck waded through the archives of the historical societies.

Last July’s trip was a celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary. We chose the destination (Seattle) and method of travel (Amtrak Empire Builder) for fun this time, but also to include life interests. Chuck is a train lover; I’m a coffee addict and a green machine. Amtrak to Pike Place Market? The Perfect Couple.

So why Route 66? Americana. History. People.

We met some wonderful and unique people on the Empire Builder.

  • A young woman traveling the U.S. by train, filling her time by singing and playing ukulele in her roomette.
  • A couple from Fargo, one a retired teacher and one a school librarian, who deepened our understanding of the landscape around the tracks while we shared a breakfast table.
  • A family from Norway – mom, dad, and baby – heading to Minneapolis/ St. Paul to catch a flight home to Oslo. He had just finished his schooling in Chicago, and they were enjoying the scenery one last time before taking to the skies. Friendly baby, friendly couple, we had fascinating conversation over our dining car encounter.

Interstate highways are designed to get people where they’re going quickly, directly, with as few stops as possible. The stops on a back road would be more like our Funday Friday adventures when Amigo and I choose a local restaurant or diner for lunch. Diners. Local family restaurants. We run into people we know and people we don’t, but we always enjoy the encounters – and the foods. On a long trip, we’d rather sample local and regional fare when it’s available, rather than the omnipresent McDrive-Thru.

For now, it’s not a plan. It’s more of a vague “maybe someday” kind of thought. I think we’ll get our kicks on Route 66, someday, eventually. Of course, I’ll blog the experience if and when it happens.

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>Can foods really fight flu?

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>One of my favorite eco-friendly sites, Mother Nature Network, posted Ten Flu-fighting Foods. I wondered if their research would have much in common with our recent wellness newsletter.

Mushrooms – selenium and beta glucan, check.
Garlic – it’s not just for repelling vampires anymore. Check.
Salmon, especially wild caught – well, we try. Fresh water salmon does live in Lake Michigan; we could make a trip to Wisconsin’s eastern coast to find a good supplier.
Tea: black, white, or green. I crave tea when I’m feeling lousy; my body’s way of sending me a message, perhaps.
Probiotics such as those found in yogurt: Chuck and Amigo eat yogurt regularly. My intake could use a boost.
Dark chocolate!! That Reese’s Dark peanut butter cup isn’t just for PMS anymore.
Oysters? I’ll pass. I’ll have to get my zinc from a vitamin tablet. Delicious though they may be, they’re expensive and hard to find in my northern Midwest homeland.
Almonds specifically, nuts in general. Check.
Strawberries. Well, by the time they’re shipped here and displayed on grocery shelves, the amount of vitamin C is negligible. I’ll plan to freeze more next summer. For now, I’ll see if the local apples have enough vitamins and minerals to help me out.
Sweet potatoes? I love them. My family? Not so much. That’s okay; more beta-carotene for me.

No matter what dietary changes we pursue in the quest for health, I’m still going to follow the main precautions. Wash hands, drink fluids, keep sanitizing common areas in my classroom like computers, doorknobs, etc.

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>Reality show: in which I actually cook on Monday

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>Director: It must be more complicated than this. Shopping? Meal Planning? Oh, wait, we did that already.
Daisy: I was sick all weekend! Flat out on the couch, alternating coughing fits with naps and sipping fluids of all kinds. Shop? The family was lucky I didn’t just call for pizza.
Assistant (lifting top of crock pot): Mm, this smells good.
Director: Don’t wreck the shot!
Daisy: Why are all these people in my tiny kitchen? Let me baste this bird or one of you will have to do it yourself!
Director and assistant exit, but stay nearby, just around corner.
Assistant: Okay, let’s put the recipe on the air. And what’s in the rice mix.
Daisy: It’s leftover sweet corn cut off the cob, red peppers Chuck roasted on the grill last night, and a splash of smoky Chipotle Tabasco sauce, in boil-in-bag Success brown rice.
Assistant: Call Producer: potential sponsor alert!
Director: Or not.

But back to reality, not “show.” This chicken was adapted from a concept from Stephanie’s Crockpot 365 project. I was recovering from a bug, not full strength yet, I knew teaching would probably exhaust me, but I still wanted to serve a decent meal. Keeping our nutrition up is one way I can help boost our immune systems in times of craziness and stress. Sometimes it’s the only variable I can control! I mixed up the spices, threw the chicken in the pot (gently), and let it cook on low all day. When I got home, I basted it once or twice, but it was quite moist already. The meat, in fact, fell off the bones when I attempted to pull the carcass out of the crock pot.

Crock Pot Whole Chicken

Remove innards. Cook if desired (I don’t).
Stuff chicken with 1/4 onion.
Mix spices in a bowl; rub or sprinkle over entire chicken. If I’d felt up to it, I would have used fresh herbs. I still have a few growing in the living room, mainly oregano and thyme. The basil didn’t like the transition from the deck to the house.
Place chicken breast side down in crock pot.
Cook on low all day or on high for — I don’t know, I didn’t try it that way. That will have to be another show.

Spices:
2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper

Enjoy! We did.

I entered this recipe (not the “show”) in Success Rice’s Feed 4 for $10 Recipe contest. It may or may not be a winner, but I’ll enjoy reading and downloading the others!

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>You, too, could become a Ray of Hoe. Or at least a typo.

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>I read this typo in the boss’ weekly memo, and instead of automatically making it seem right, my brain started changing it around.
In the midst of an inspirational saying, she suggested we teachers might

“…become a ray of hoe in the life of a child.”

A ray of hoe? A row of hay? A hoe or a shovel? Or are we calling a spade a spade? A rake, perhaps? No, let’s just Leaf well enough alone.

Or maybe we should talk balloons. In the latest non-story, a local news report called the escaped balloon sans-child a “man-made” balloon. Um, wait a minute. Have you seen any balloons occurring naturally these days? I haven’t grown any in my garden, I know that much. If one came up, I’d probably be waiting for it to flower like my broccoli did.

I’ve got to stop working on Sundays. It makes me overtired, overstressed, and ridiculously punchy. All that and a Packers game, too — enough excitement for the weekend already.

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