Why January is a difficult month

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January tends to be difficult around the house because:

  • We’re cleaning up Christmas, a wonderful season.
  • There’s an emotional letdown after Christmas, too.
  • I start putting away my holiday music collection.
  • We’re cleaning. A lot. And I hate cleaning.
  • It’s cold outside, and I just want to stay inside and stay warm.
  • Regular everyday activities mean exposure to the cold.
    • Filling up with gas.
    • Stopping at the convenience store for coffee.
    • Driving through the ATM.
    • Driving through the coffee shop.
    • Can coffee count twice?
  • I want the Packers to win and Chuck – well, playoffs mean something else to the guy who works for a Green Bay television station.

January is tough at school/work because:

  • Going back to school means adjusting to waking up early again.
  • My office is in an old, drafty building. Brrr.
  • The parking lot fills up fast, and the overflow is a block away. Brrr again.
  • January means wrapping up first semester and prepping second semester at the same time.
  • Students I’ve pushed and pulled and nagged to get caught up in their work suddenly panic.
  • The stretch from Winter Break to Spring Break is the longest and brings forth the worst student behavior.
  • Head Count Day #2! In the virtual school world, we have alternate ways of counting and verifying our students.

January feels difficult because:

  • In two of the past five years, I’ve had a medical leave of absence in January.
  • Every January, I get this irrational fear that I won’t make it through the month without a sick leave.
  • When January comes around again, I flash back to the year of my Great Depression and the year of my Hysterectomy.
  • As the year turns, I remember all I’ve accomplished – and all that I haven’t.

Okay, January, I’m ready. My grade book is waiting, and I know how to attack it. I’m (relatively) health. I have warm sweaters and fingerless gloves in my desk drawer. La Petite gave me a (gorgeous) neck warmer to go with my warm wool coat.

 

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Slow Cooking Streak at the O.K. Chorale

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I didn’t cook in my slow cooker every day for a full year, but I did use it a lot leading up to and following Christmas. Tuesday saw bean soup with ham for supper. Thursday we had a classic – crock pot chili. Saturday night’s supper had a side dish of acorn squash cooked in the medium slow cooker. Sunday morning I experimented with overnight oatmeal, and Monday I tried out a breakfast bake for supper.

No wonder I’ve worn out almost every slow cooker I’ve owned.

The first lost the outer shell, the housing that provides heating element. One of its three feet broke off. After we threw away the broken parts, I tried planting herbs or flowers in the crock itself, but we couldn’t put holes in it for drainage (those crocks are tough).

My second slow cooker lost not a foot, but a handle. I managed to use it very carefully for a little while, but eventually the outside was so worn I couldn’t even repair it with super glue. This slow cooker bit the dust as well. Confession: the blue crock from this one is still in the basement. It’s so pretty, I feel certain there will be a way to reuse it.

The replacement for those two is still cooking – it made chili Christmas Eve. It’s wearing out, though, from the inside this time. I estimate I use either the large 6 quart crock or its 4 quart counterpart at least once a week. During tomato season, I can have several going all at once to simmer the fresh tomatoes down into a thick and delicious sauce.

I’m considering Project Slow Cooker as a 2016 project. I own five (six, if you count the little dipper) in different sizes because we use them often in our busy lives. Once a week is normal. An increase to two or three times a week would be realistic. Aha, I think I’ve found a New Year’s resolution that is an attainable goal!

Look for highlights of Project Slow Cooker here at Compost Happens. Now, readers. Do you take on new projects as the calendar changes to a new year? Share your inspiration in the comments.

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Sanctuary City of Mine

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It’s still a very white city. There’s still racism and discrimination. But there’s a light behind those clouds.

My home town is gaining a reputation as a Sanctuary City. Sanctuary Cities are municipalities that agree to shelter and support immigrants, documented or not.

It’s not formal; no one has made a declaration or introduced policy to the City Council or put up signs downtown. It’s more of a grass roots movement; a movement that starts with everyday people and then hangs on tightly.

I see the sanctuary concept most vividly in the schools. It’s common to see students of southeast Asian ancestry, Latino children, and students with African-American roots playing together on the playground. An all-white classroom is rare – the exception, not the rule. Educators don’t ask for identification or proof of citizenship from parents in order to teach children.

Immigration law, according to our Chief of Police, is a federal issue, not a priority at the local level. In order to gain trust and help all people feel safe, asking for documentation isn’t an everyday occurrence. Our mayor made the point that he hopes city staff will “…treat each person…with dignity and respect.”

It’s still a very white city. Racism and discrimination still happen too often. However, this trend gives me hope. If we can open our doors, we can begin to open minds.

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Goals, goals, goals and resolutions.

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My school-related goals get set in August, as the agrarian calendar puts the school year in place. The arrival of the New Year, the number change in the ones place, is a whole different animal.

Goals with gimmicks are most likely to catch the attention of readers in the blogosphere. Remember A Year of Slow Cooking? A blogger decided to use her slow cooker every day for a full year. I use mine a lot, but 365 continuous days would be unrealistic. The standard weight loss and nutrition goals always suggest themselves. Household chores – clean more often, clean more thoroughly – those go on the “should” list. Gardening chores – aren’t chores, really. Garden goals are enjoyable. Some of those plans get set in the fall, too. I planted onion and garlic bulbs in October. With this odd El Nino winter, who knows what will happen?

But back to goals.

We have a saying in our family: Progress in Baby Steps. To make progress on any goal, small steps are the way to go. Take my garden and canning hobbies for examples. I started growing tomatoes and a few other plants I’d bought as seedlings in the spring. The plot got bigger, and I expanded into growing a few plants from seed. One year I started tomato and pepper plants from seed – and the rest is history. But if I’d started a large plot totally from seed in the first years, it’s likely I’d have gotten poor results. Canning, too. That first batch of raspberry jam in Green Girl’s kitchen certainly was the “gateway drug” to putting up more and more. We haven’t bought commercially made jam, salsa, or pickles in years.

In that light, no big goals for January 1st. I might set short term goals and attempt short term projects. I’ll blog some of those, in particular if those short term goals are successful and lead to long term results.

Readers, what are your plans for New Year’s Goals and Resolutions?

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The To-Do Pile

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To do is to be. -Socrates

To be is to do. -Jean-Paul Sartre

Do-be-do-be-do. –Frank Sinatra

Here is my regular view at work. Course tree, student curriculum, and a lot more on screen. The computer and cubicle await my return after break, on Monday.

My students call me Mrs. O.K. The mug is awesome.

My students call me Mrs. O.K. The mug is awesome.

If I turn my head, I’ll see what replaces a to-do list in my cubicle: the To-Do Pile. Textbook teacher’s manual, student work waiting to be graded, file folder and sticky note instructions, and more.

The Dreaded To-Do Pile

The Dreaded To-Do Pile

Later in the day, I turned to reach for something in the pile, only to find out it had grown while I wasn’t looking!

Where di this second textbook come from?

Where did this second textbook come from?

In case you’re thinking “That’s not very big, Daisy” let me remind you that the majority of work I grade comes in online. This is only a tiny fraction of my workload. Some of my students worked during their break, too, so I know there will be tests, quizzes, and essays awaiting my virtual pen.

I think I like the first view better. At least that view includes coffee. Happy New Year to all, and may your to-do lists and piles be reasonable.

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So far, yet not far enough.

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While shopping in a small kitchen specialty store, I pulled out my own reusable shopping bag. As I unzipped and unfolded it, the young clerk remarked, “Ooh, are you being green this holiday?” I took a deep breath to prevent saying anything rude or stupid, and just said, “I’ve been carrying my own shopping bags for years.” I mean, it was 2009 when I posted my conflict with a local Sears store that wouldn’t allow me to use my own bag, despite the irony of it being Earth Day and that the Target store down the hall was actually giving away reusable cloth bags.

So here we are, six years later, so I’ll offer a few observations as noted in the archives of Compost Happens.

Here’s the historic post from the Earth Day not noted by Sears.

The long day of teaching that ended with me not using my own lunch bag, something unusual for the eco-conscious Daisy.

A couple years after that Earth Day conflict, La Petite and I went out late in the day on Black Friday armed with our own bags.

Some things stay the same. Here’s an example of a midweek farmers’ market, complete with pictures of my usual bags.

The Pharmacy That Shall Not be Named has gotten better. They ask me if I need a bag, and when I say no, they also remove the unnecessary papers. These papers still end up in the recycling, though. The staff at the pharmacy could make improvements.

My thoughtful analysis is this: if I was already carrying my own bag often enough to be shocked at the refusal at Sears, I must have been providing a reusable shopping bag long before Earth Day, 2009. If this young cashier thought it was unique and cool to be green this holiday season, she’s a bit behind the times, but she’ll catch up.

Readers, do you run into resistance or disbelief when you provide your own shopping bags? I hope the comments will show that it’s getting easier to be green.

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The Wrapping Battle – the prequel

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A big box store ran an ad in the Sunday inserts: Buy $20 worth of merchandise and get a $5 store gift card! I almost bought it – er, bought into it. Then I read the ad again. To get the $5 store credit on a gift card, I would have needed to buy $20 worth of gift wrapping material. What?!? Friends, if you’re spending $20 on gift wrap, you’re spending too much. When it comes to wrapping paper, a green philosophy is also frugal.

Now that the den floor has been cleared, the tissue has been stored, and the boxes are stacked awaiting their turn at recycling, let’s look at my other attempts to minimize the use of commercial wrapping paper.

Wrapping Tip: Look for opportunities to reuse.

Wrapping Tip: Look for opportunities to reuse.

The large bag is festive on its own; I brought home supper in it last week. The red and white and fun tissues are all reused. The only part of the wrapping that was purchased new? The curling ribbon holding the tag (made from last year’s holiday cards).

Box decked with bag

Box decked with bag

I covered the Popcorn Factory logo with a seasonal logo cut out of a paper grocery bag.

Center: wine bag repurposed

Center: wine bag repurposed

Another wine bag - repurposed with grocery bag cutouts

Another wine bag – repurposed with grocery bag cutouts

another wine bag, sitting beside a reused bucket

another wine bag, sitting beside a reused bucket

I could buy a large quantity of bows, curling ribbon, or maybe clear tape. It would take an awful lot to reach the $20 minimum. I think I’ll stick to my green and frugal wrapping habits. Readers, what’s your preference? Do you reuse and reduce, or do you go for the trappings and trimmings of wrapping?

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The Wrapping Battle

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I keep trying. Wrapping paper, to me, resembles a single use plastic bag. That is, wrapping paper is a waste of money and creates massive amounts of trash destined for landfills. Almost none of it is recycled or recyclable. Very little can be burned in a fireplace due to the chemical content. Unless it comes from a thrift store or the dollar aisle, wrapping paper is not cost effective, either.

My family disagrees. This year, they took pleasure in making a mess of any wrapping paper they could. Their goal: prevent mom from saving big sheets of paper for reuse.

the chaos after opening gifts

the chaos after opening gifts

Well, I did what I could.

garbage, below salvaged tissue for reuse, above

garbage, below
salvaged tissue for reuse, above

Given the sizable stacks of gifts, I can’t feel too bad. The stack of reusable tissue is almost as big as the bag destined for the garbage bin. I also managed to set aside this collection.

cute box filled with gift bags

cute box filled with gift bags

Despite the family’s efforts to undermine my green goals, I managed to save more than we threw away. And that, my bloggy friends, is itself a gift.

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And then life happened.

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I was planning on blogging, and then —

Work exhausted me. ‘Nuff said.

I prepped my usual staff meeting night chili and had Amigo add the noodles. I almost forgot to plug in the crock pot before I left for work.

I graded a megaton of final drafts. The student who submitted the wrong document (again) asked me to send it back to her because she’d accidentally deleted her draft – again. Nope.

My boss was followed, road rage style, on her way to school by someone with a vehicle that looked exactly like mine. (It’s okay. She knows it wasn’t me. I just happened to pull in the parking lot right behind her and wonder why the liaison officer was glaring at me.)

I still can’t find my zip-up Packer sweater.

I brought my laptop to the computer store for diagnosis and repair, and was told that it might take almost a full week to get parts shipped in and fix it. A week? My holiday shopping spreadsheet

And then my luck started turning around.

I arrived at school early this morning, Kwik Trip coffee and muffin and cranberry juice (never mind why the cranberry juice) in hand, turned on my Canadian Brass Christmas CD and graded papers like a machine.

I spent the afternoon on a field trip — a tour of Lambeau Field and the Packer Hall of Fame, ending with a “tour” of the Packer Pro Shop. I wore my “ugly” green and gold sweater, and all the families on the tour loved it.

Computer store called. My laptop did not need repair after all. We took off our cozy slippers and drove to the store immediately. We bought a spare power cord, just in case the current cord is wearing out but wouldn’t show it to the wonderful geeks who fix things. That totally happens, people. It’s like the kid recovering miraculously in the doctor’s office.

We received a package with a big tin of popcorn in it. I think I’ll eat some for breakfast.

I now have my holiday shopping spreadsheet again. No one will be forgotten for Christmas.

Life is good.

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Light! More light! Mason jar light!

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That was our college motto: Light! More light! These are lights we saw at a local vintage store. They’re made from canning jars, hanging on chains that are a nice shade of blue, much like my kitchen.

Jar lights

Jar lights

We looked at them closely and decided they would be better with a more original shaped bulb, but we could do that. Then we walked a little farther down the row and saw this one.

More light!

More light!

This one is more of a plain color scheme and has no chain. It would work in our dining room, though. Then Chuck had an idea.

“Let’s call the booth owner and see if we can contract him or her to make a set of hanging lights to replace the chandelier above the dining room table. Take a wagon wheel, for example, and hang four of these lights from it. That would look awesome.”

Well, the booth owner didn’t have anymore mason jar lights, and she wasn’t interested in doing custom work (party pooper). I do know someone who might, though. She makes and refinishes custom furniture. If she’s not interested in the electrical part of it, Chuck can do that.

Think. Think. Think. This has possibilities.

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