>Could be worse: at least it’s not H1N1

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>The table at my side holds tissues, the television remote control (off), my current pleasure reading choice (Knit Two by Kate Jacobs), and three, count ’em, three beverages.

Yes, I’m feeling under the weather. But it could be worse!

My class has been almost holding the record for most kids absent for the past few weeks. I thought missing 5 kids was a lot until the day I had 8 out and one more left by 9:30. My attendance sheet sounded like a laundry list of flu-like symptoms: Fever & cough, fever, fever, fever & cough, fever and headache, fever… you get the picture. In between cleaning like crazy (wiping down the computer lab with antibacterial wipes, among other chores) I’ve established a file of make-up work and another file (color coded in red because I use it so often) of homework lists for families able to pick them up. The workload has been increased, and I’ve had to modify instruction considerably to allow for reteaching as kids get back.

Meanwhile, I opened a fortune cookie that told me, “Good health will be yours for a long time!” While laughing out loud, I realized it could be worse. I’m sick on a weekend! Yes, that’s a pain in its own way, but it means I don’t have to call in sick or prepare sub plans. If I really had influenza, I’d be planning on a sub for a week, minimum. Most of the kids who have been sick have missed five days of school or more.

Chuck and Amigo are visiting La Petite for her college homecoming. We knew I’d be too busy to enjoy the festivities after a week of parent-teacher conferences, so I planned to stay home. That worked out well; I slept on the couch last night to prop up my aching, coughing chest. Between coughing jags, I napped. Really, it could be worse: I didn’t worry about waking anyone except the rabbit, and she (like a cat) never suffers from insomnia. She’ll catch up on her little furry beauty sleep.

So today I rest, stretched out on the couch with my laptop for a friend, beverages and comfort foods by my side. The cough is under control, only breaking out now and then, and I can nap all I wish while the Boys in the family are gone.

Seriously, it could be much worse.

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>Twitter vs. Plurk

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>I’m the last holdout in my family – the last one without a Facebook page. I just feel like I don’t need it. Of course, I don’t need Twitter or Plurk, either, and I’m still on both of those.

What’s the difference? And why, you might ask, am I on these sites to begin with?

Conversation. I keep up with friends, both virtual and real-life, on both sites. Some provide interesting and informative (and fun) links to news articles and blogs. I’ve posted my own links on Twitter now and then to bring in a few more interested readers.

Twitter reminds me of the old chat rooms. There are several lines of conversation going on at once. Following a single topic isn’t always easy. Twitter posters respond to a single question: What are you doing? Well, that’s the intent.

Plurk’s timeline is rather nice. I like knowing how recent a particular post might be, and I really like seeing all the responses to any one post all together. It’s so much easier to feel like a part of a true conversation when the chatter is organized in one section.

I’m not a major collector on either site. I’ve blocked as many Twitter followers as I’ve followed in return. Sorry, marketer-folk, I’m just not that into you. To me, Twitter is social. Period.

Plurk has Karma. Plurk Karma ratings grow as followers and friends increase in number, but most of all Karma goes up as Plurkers Plurk more and more and other Plurkers respond. The eventual reward with higher Karma is Plurk Nirvana, which comes with a whole new set of emoticons. Emoticons! They’re part of the fun of conversing on Plurk. Silly little smileys that convey a thought or feeling, bananas that dance – well, you have to be there.

But Karma, like lengthy lists of Tweet followers, is largely irrelevant. Both sites for me are all about interaction and relaxation. Conversation, chats, back & forth and give & take. Purely frivolous; pure fun. Well, I should consider the PLN, the professional learning teacher network and the discussions we have about teaching and technology…nah. Still fun.

I don’t need Facebook. Not yet.

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>Tuna Salad

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>It’s not local; tuna do not live in the Fox River or even in the Great Lakes. I do like tuna salad, though, and it’s an easy dish to make ahead of time. Serve it on bread, a bed of lettuce, or crackers.

1 6-oz can of tuna (packed in water), drained
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish, well drained
2 Tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion or scallions
2 Tablespoons finely chopped green or red pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

I like to drain the tuna and relish in a colander over the sink while I gather all the rest of the ingredients.

Mix well; store in refrigerator in covered dish. Leftovers? We rarely have them, but they’re good for lunches.

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>Planned Overs

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>Freezer diving. Shop-the-Shelves. Pantry raid. Call it what you will: it means cook or bake something with what you already own. My family cooks Planned-Overs.

Like Leftovers, planned-overs are the extra: the chicken breasts thawed on the grill as the fire dies, the double batch of chili in the crockpot with half intended for the freezer, the extra spaghetti without sauce that will become carbonara later in the week.

Planned-overs are frugal, green, and efficient. Starting a few potatoes on the grill (I live in tailgate party country, okay? We honestly cook this way) lets me turn them into bakers or twice-baked in the next day or two. When sweet corn is all over the farmers’ market, I cook at least one extra ear each meal. Sliced off the cob, it makes a great addition to any casserole or soup of veggie mix. I’ve even added corn (along with the perpetual grated zucchini) to chunky tomato sauce. Steaming extra veggies one night to become soup the next saves time and doesn’t take any more energy.

Planned-overs. At my house, it’s what’s for dinner. Enjoy.

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>Top Ten Ways to Enjoy a Backyard Kitchen Garden

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>10. Watch the bean vines grow higher and higher.

9. Sneak a fresh raspberry before the rest of the family sees them.

8. Harvest lettuce and tomato for your BLT while the bacon is cooking.

7. Clip fresh herbs for a sauce or salad, making the kitchen smell great.

6. Freeze spinach and add it to everything.

5. Admire the cute little cauliflower head alongside the blooming broccoli.

4. Have a zucchini give-away contest: the most creative idea wins (Just don’t announce that the winner gets all the zucchini).

3. Make a garden vegetable soup in the crockpot; take the leftovers to work and gloat that you grew your own soup.

2. Bake rhubarb muffins – in January, from your frozen stash of rhubarb.

1. Serve fresh food to the family, nutritious and delicious – whether they like it or not!

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>More tips for flu prevention!

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>Fears of pandemic, both legit and overdone, are all over the emails and the newsletters. The latest came from our healthy living advice source: the Lifestyle Enhancement newsletter. Here’s the advice, along with my serious and not-so-much responses, of course.

Yogurt for probiotics
We went through a lot of yogurt when Amigo had his tummy troubles. He was eating it every day, sometimes twice a day. He then graduated to chewable acidophilus tablets, or yogurt culture without the yogurt, as the nurse practitioner told him. Now that he’s healthy, he eats yogurt a few times a week to regulate his tummy chemistry. I’m eating a little yogurt; that’s an area I could increase.

Citrus for Vitamin C
Amigo and I both take daily vitamin C supplements, and I pack fresh fruits in my lunch bag. When winter comes and along with it the music department fruit sale, we order oranges and grapefruit galore. Lately I’ve been cooking and baking with fruits, and I hope that will increase our vitamin C intake a little bit.

Mushrooms for Beta-glucan
What the heck is beta-glucan? Is it like the Betazoid race on Star Trek? Or is it more like glue in a can? Didn’t they call that stuff paste long ago? Mushroom paste. Now there’s a concept.

Seafood for selenium.
This category is a little tougher for us Midwesterners. Locavores have to go for Great Lakes fish, not ocean harvests. Freshwater, not saltwater. Do they still provide selenium? And why am I humming Tom Lehrer’s “Periodic Table of the Elements” song?

Green Tea for — what was that? Oh, she said Catechins.
Cat-a whatsits? I find green tea relaxing on a cold and stressful school day, catechins or no catechins. It doesn’t add to my doublechins, either.

Nuts to, er, for Vitamin E
I’m putting nuts in more of my baking. Does that count? It might not be enough. How about Nutella?

Our locavore effort has been helpful in encouraging us to cook from scratch, use fresh ingredients, and feed the family more vegetables and fruit. I think I’ll just keep it up and use my neti pot regularly. Oops, TMI. Sorry for that image. Go back to Tom Lehrer. He’ll make you laugh, germs or viruses or perfect health.

P.S. Spellcheck didn’t like this post. Catechins? Beta-glucan? Acidophilus? Yikes.

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>One change a Month

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>I saw the idea on Over Coffee: the Green Edition. She suggested twelve recommendations, one per month, for a person who wanted to become more eco-conscious but could only handle one change a month.

Imitation being the most sincere form of flattery, I stole the idea. Here’s my list: one action per month, meant to be additive so that after a year’s time green behavior feels natural.

January: Read and learn. Join Paperbackswap.com for trading books. You don’t have to stop buying books, but instead of hoarding them, pass them on to another reader through the swap network.

February: Switch to cloth napkins. This was so easy I wondered what took me so long to try it. I buy them on sale, so the investment is minimal. They go in with the rest of the wash, so there’s no additional expense for laundry.

March: Dig a garden plot. If you live in the north country like I do, this might be too early. If your ground is still frozen, plant and nurture a few seeds. Herbs grow quickly; try basil and oregano.

April: Start backyard composting. Really. It’s simple. Buy an inexpensive compost bin or build one yourself. There’s no need for the fancy ones – unless you want something really cute like my new bin!

May: Plant a garden. Vegetables for eating, flowers for pleasure, but keep them local. No imports, please. Vegetables can be so satisfying. There’s not much on Earth that can compare to a fresh tomato right off the vine.

June: Shop at a Farm Market or join a CSA. When you pass by the street musicians, drop some spare change in their cases. They offer so much enjoyment when they share their talents.

July: Use your own shopping bag. Keep a small one in your purse or the car’s glove box. It’s an easy change if you keep the bags handy. As the habit grows, you’ll collect fewer and fewer plastic bags. It’s worth the (small) effort.

August: Before hitting the school supply sales, check your home. Buy only what you need. This is both economical and eco-conscious.

September: Use a reusable lunch box, including containers and flatware. Build this habit early, and the brown bag will never feel the same.

October: Rake your leaves into a pile over the garden or compost them.

November: Cook local or regional specialties for Thanksgiving. That’s easy for me to say: cranberries grow in my state!

December: Give up wrapping paper. It’s not recyclable, it’s rarely reusable, it contains too many chemicals to be burned in a fireplace. Re-use gift bags or get creative with your wrapping.

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>Taco Meat: variation on a theme

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>I bought the book Eating Well for a Healthy Heart with a goal toward finding more healthy recipes for our family. With my overweightness (is that a word? it is now) and Chuck’s (a.k.a. Husband’s) high cholesterol, we needed to take action. I take action by buying books and doing research online. So far, so good.

This recipe also had toppings and crispy taco shells. I served it instead as a Make-Your-Own on soft tortilla shells. Here’s the meat recipe.

Lean and Spicy Taco Meat from Eating Well, adapted slightly by Daisy

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground chicken or ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped peppers: green, yellow, red, or all three
1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes (replace with fresh when in season, of course)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 teaspoons fresh oregano

Brown ground meats with onion and peppers. Drain and rinse in colander. Return to pan; heat with tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, and oregano.

Serve as desired on soft or crispy taco shells with shredded lettuce and shredded cheese. If you prefer a spicier taco, like Chuck & La Petite do, add a few drops of green chili tabasco sauce.

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>Are your favorite books on the Banned lists?

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>I recently dropped out of several committee assignments at school. One committee slot I preserved is the Book Challenge Committee. I get to read and review and defend any book that is challenged by a parent at school. After reading this guest post, I think Josh would be right at home on that committee with me and my colleagues. I’m excited to introduce his guest post on Compost Happens.

Three Books I Couldn’t Put Down And What They Have In Common (or not)
by Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian

I’m constantly getting asked for lists of my favorite books. When I give them, people are often surprised by how scattered the lists are. There’s very little apparent rhyme or reason—it can be hard to draw connections between the books I love.

Let’s try to connect some dots. Here are three books I could not put down.

1. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding

You probably know the story. A large group of children are stranded on an island after a plane crash. They try to govern themselves for a while but it doesn’t go too well. Eventually they splinter into two groups—you could call them the “savages” and the “civilized.”

By the end of the book one group is actually trying to kill the other. Now remember, we’re talking about children here. This is why someone is always trying to remove Lord Of The Flies from library shelves. And I get it, to a point: this is nasty stuff.

And yet, I read this book every year. I’m not interested in the Cold War parallels or the lofty commentary on violence, our primitive instincts, the failure of governments, etc.

So…why? Why do I love it? I just do. I read it every year because I can’t figure out how not to.

2. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Again, this is one I read every single year. If there is a book with more hidden meaning out there, I haven’t found it. Lewis Carroll was a mathematician, a lover of riddles, a playful wordsmith, and a genius. It’s that simple.

It’s fun.

I can flip to any page of this book at any time and find something new. Something that makes me say, “Hmm…” Or that makes me laugh out loud.

I love the art. I love the images. The characters are, for me, the most unforgettable and striking in all of literature.

The Caterpillar with the hookah. The White Rabbit. The Queen of Hearts. The Cheshire Cat. Just thinking about it again makes me smile and also makes my hair stand on end.

Oh, and this book was banned as well, in China. Seems they didn’t take kindly to talking animals. Representing animals as having human traits is a big no-no.

3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 sort of has a story, but that’s not the point at all. The experience of reading it is all that matters. I’ve never been so constantly surprised on every page. Or even in every paragraph. This book took a long time for Heller to write, and it shows in the craftsmanship.

I read it at least once a year because, again—I can’t figure out how not to. Catch-22 makes me feel good. It’s that simple.

It also happens to be the funniest thing I’ve ever read, with the possible exception of A Confederacy Of Dunces. But this is so hard to talk about coherently—I know as many people hate Catch-22 as those who love it. There are people who think it is the least funny thing they’ve ever read.

The story, as it were, is about a group of people during World War II. Seriously, that’s about it. But what a group of people! Catch-22 is satire personified. Every single character is an indictment of some ludicrous aspect of humanity, war, bureaucracy, and language.

The book is occasionally challenged on the grounds of inappropriate language or anti-war sentiment.

What We’ve Learned (or not)

The books I can’t figure out how to put down are usually:

  • Banned or challenged
  • More revealing the more I read them
  • Like a drug. If a book makes me feel good, I want it. I’m a sick man.

Good luck making sense of all this! But seriously, go read these books, for the first time, or just one more time.

Josh Hanagarne

Get Stronger, Get Smarter, Live Better…Every Day

About the Author: Josh Hanagarne is the twitchy giant behind World’s Strongest Librarian, a blog with advice about living with Tourette’s Syndrome, kettlebells, book recommendations, buying pants when you’re 6’8”, old-time strongman training, and much more. Please subscribe to Josh’s RSS Updates to stay in touch. He’s bookmarked on my laptop; it’s worth your time to visit his blog.

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>Farm Markets, fundraising, and putting the garden to bed

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>What’s that white stuff? Snow flurries? Already?

The Farmers’ Market, two weeks away from closing, was like a ghost town. Only the most dedicated vendors and the die-hard customers (like me) were there. All were decked out in warm outerwear, gloves, hats, the keep-warm collection. It was windy, too. Brrrr. I bought honey crisp apples for lunches, a little sweet corn, peppers in green and (mostly) red. The peppers we’ve bought from this stand lately are delicious. I’ll cook some and freeze a few.

I’m a sucker for a good cause. A polite young Boy Scout asked if I was interested in buying popcorn. Chuck and I are not supposed to eat much popcorn, so we’ll probably bring the box to La Petite next time we visit. I’ll call it her fall midterms Care Package. Of course I bought it! Did you need to ask? After I finished buying lettuce and carrots (with greens) for the bunny, I passed a local nonprofit cafe and their coffee of the day dragged me by the taste buds through the door and to the counter. White chocolate strawberry, if you must know. That kept me warm while standing in a much-too-long line at the post office.

Actual conversation while tearing down and uprooting dead and dying garden plants:
Me: “I’m getting the last few beans.”
Chuck: “Give them to my parents. They love beans, and they just pulled in the driveway.”
Me: “I don’t have many.”
Chuck: “They don’t need many.”
Me: “I have, like, five beans.”
Silence.
We sent them home with fundraiser cookie dough instead.

One anti-static dryer ball is lost. One. They work in a pair, and this pair has last me 6 months already and is still going strong. Now one is lost. One. I felt a twinge of guilt adding fabric softener to the washer. Only a twinge pulled at my eco-heartstrings, however, because after all, I’ve done largely without fabric softener for six months.

The garden is nearly ready to hibernate, the last harvest is in the sink to be cleaned, laundry is in, Chuck is painting scenery for his model trains, and Amigo is watching college football. Life is good. I think I’ll make some cappuccino or hot cocoa and have a cookie from my own stash of fundraiser cookie dough. Shhhhh.

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