Encore: Autumn Garden Chores

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Was this really only two years ago? So much has happened since then. I was looking forward to spring, not knowing what awaited me. I still look forward to spring – as soon as I can get the tomatoes indoors for the fall harvest.

I’m looking forward to spring. I know, it’s not even winter yet, but autumn is the season when I pull apart the fading foliage of my garden and take steps to prepare for next spring. Chuck got into the thick of it this year. Take a look.

Straw bales and repurposed boards

Straw bales and repurposed boards

Another Angle

Another Angle

Rather Awesome, I'd say.

Rather Awesome, I’d say.

Yesterday and today I took to the task of harvesting all tomatoes that could ripen indoors. The herb pots are already inside. Next, I pulled all the tomato plants and tossed them on the brush pile at the back of our yard.

We’re adding leftover potting soils to the new patch as I deal with most of the containers. If weather permits, I will dig out compost from the base of the brush pile and from the base of the compost bin and fill in what I can of the new patch. It’s going to be a raised bed, built inside the repurposed lumber that Chuck assembled so nicely. Whatever I don’t fill this fall, we’ll build up next spring.

It’s another experiment: straw bale gardening. As long as we were expanding the once-triangular plot, we decided to try the bales. A year from now, when the growing season is done, the straw-based soil will become compost for the future. Planning ahead, we are.

But stay tuned, folks. There are still piles and piles of green tomatoes ripening indoors. I’m sure there will be stories.

So, readers, what kind of autumn tasks have fallen your way? Leaves? Lawns?

 

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Baking the Opponent – leftovers

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Actual conversation at the O.K. Chorale – as I measured out ingredients for a half batch of Mississippi Mud Cake for Eating the Opponent, St. Louis —

Me: I’m going to have a lot of marshmallows leftover. Do you know what that means?

Amigo: S’mores?

Me: Rhubarb upside down cake.

Chuck: I was thinking Rice Krispie bars.

Me: We don’t have any Rice Krispies.

Chuck: I can fix that. Amigo, add Rice Krispies to the shopping list.

Yep, they were preparing the grocery list, and they added the key ingredient for the bars. I might have enough for the rhubarb upside down cake, too. It was a large bag of marshmallows to begin with. This might be the last rhubarb harvest, so it would feel good to make something good with it.

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Elvis Endorses –

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I almost feel like I should jump into Grandma Daisy voice for this post, but it’s not necessary. I’m old enough to remember and explain it myself.

It was a long, dark, and stormy campaign. We Wisconsinites were getting tired of the negative ads, the name calling, the nasty back and forth in the race for one of our Senate seats. In fact, I don’t remember the two candidates who were throwing their campaign war chests into battle. I just remember wishing I had a television that had a newfangled remote control with MUTE button.

Then there was Russ Feingold. He wasn’t wealthy. His supporters were the everyday middle class folk who could donate small amounts. Russ did have a major advantage: a sense of humor.

Feingold’s commercials were made with a home video camera. His script was largely improvised – opening a closet door and saying, “Look, no skeletons” was one highlight. While the front runners tore each other to pieces, Russ found an endorsement that people would remember. He held up a tabloid style newspaper that proclaimed “Elvis Endorses Feingold.”

I remember when Russ Feingold was the only member of the Senate to actually read hte Patriot Act – and the only Senator to vote against it.

I remember when Russ Feingold created a truly bipartisan bill with none other than Republican John McCain. When someone refers to McCain-Feingold, people still recognize the names behind bipartisan campaign finance reform. If you doubt me, ask Alex Trebek.

Who is Russ Feingold, of course.

Who is Russ Feingold, of course.

Russ is a man of integrity and intelligence. If he’d go on Jeopardy himself, I predict a win. In fact, I look forward to helping him win in November of 2016. Blue suede shoes or basic Oxfords, Senator Feingold is on his way back to Washington.

 

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Random Shopping – it’s what we do.

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I went to the Farmers’ Market alone on Saturday because Chuck was dealing with the stone guys – the contractors finishing up our backyard patio. I came home with all this.

Full disclosure: the squash cost $1 apiece.

Full disclosure: the squash cost $1 apiece.

Yesterday I picked a couple of big bowls full of tomatoes, too. Oh, I forgot – carrots and parsnips and one stray turnip (no pics, sorry).

And there are more on shelves in the other room.

And there are more on shelves in the other room.

Then we visited the neighborhood meat market for a few things. We hadn’t had a real grocery trip for more than two weeks, so we needed a significant number of staples. Armed with three bags of meats and other local specialties, we started home and drove right past our street to follow the signs across the bridge and around the block to a garage sale.

And OF COURSE we found some awesome buys. I quietly mentioned to Chuck that I would buy a few specific items if they weren’t, well, overpriced. He went right to work.

Chuck: We’re interested in a few of your big ticket items, and we’d like to make an offer.

Sale guy: You mean like a bundle? What do you think this is, American Pickers?

Chuck: No, you don’t have the beard.

Both laugh.

Chuck: We’ll offer $13 for the whole bundle.

Sale guy: I need to go inside and ask the “boss”.

Chuck: Make it $15.

We paid $13 for a sturdy cart with drawer for the garage, a new-in-package blanket throw, and a big box of kitchen utensils.

Saving money is exhausting. It’s a good thing I could relax and watch NFL football on Sunday.

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Eating the Opponent: St. Louis

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If the Packers play the Rams often enough, I might be convinced to invest in a small home fryer for making fried ravioli. This time, though, we stuck with what we know we can make.

The neighborhood meat market had pork steaks on sale (coincidence? we think not), so Chuck grilled up a batch of St. Louis style pork steaks with an amazing marinade. He boiled up fresh corn from the farmers’ market and some of my freshly harvested carrots and parsnips. Oh, those veggies were good.

I made a St. Louis Mississippi Mud Cake – delicious. Absolutely delicious.

Frankly, between our menu and Aaron Rodgers’ arm, the Rams don’t stand a chance.

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Awareness? I’ll show you Awareness.

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Every year in October I see the NFL all decked out in pink accessories and it bugs me. Bugs me no end. I could post an encore, but instead I’ll show you awareness and take it up a notch and recognize the real heroes here, and they’re not the guys with pink Gatorade towels.

The real heroes are the women who faced breast cancer straight on and won.

Women like this

Women like this

Women who’ve beat breast cancer and women who have tried are the real heroes, the real role models, the real people to put on a pedestal. That pedestal doesn’t have to be pink, either.

Awareness? Bah, humbug. That’s just another excuse to throw pink around a football field. It’s time to put the money where it makes a real difference: let’s see the NFL donating directly to organizations that fund research, testing, and research.

 

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Replace the Debates with a Jeopardy Tournament

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I am a faithful fan of Jeopardy. After concluding a Teachers’ Tournament, Alex Trebek mentioned that based on his observations, the country’s children are in good hands.

Consider the following. Instead of a Teachers’ Tournament, Alex Trebek would host a gathering of the great, er, the leaders of several states. A while back, I imagined Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and — well, I left the third spot open for speculation.

Let’s look instead at the “debates” between the multitudes otherwise known as the Republican candidates for president in 2016. How would they stand up to Alex Trebek? How would Alex handle them?

Alex Trebek: Welcome to Jeopardy’s Potential Leaders on the Right Tournament. Our contestants today are Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, and of course Donald Trump. Let’s look at the categories for the regular Jeopardy round. (beeping sound effect as the board blinks on) Coffee or Tea Party, Potent Quotables, Blood is Thicker Than Water, Dancing Around the Issues, Washington Outsiders, and Immigration. Donald, let’s begin.  

Trump: I’ll take Potent Quotables for 200, Alex.

Alex: “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?” Donald, you must ring in before I can ask for your answer.

Trump: I didn’t mean that. I meant her persona, not her looks.

Alex: You didn’t ring in, Donald! Carly.

Fiorina: Who is – every woman in the country heard what Donald Trump said.

Alex: correct for $200. Carly, choose again.

Fiorina: Blood is Thicker than Water for 400, Alex.

Alex: We sent troops to this location based on faulty intelligence. Jeb.

Bush: That was – I mean, what is my brother’s war in Iraq.

Trump: Who cares?! Show some spunk!

Alex (turns to director): Cut! We can’t go on like this. Donald, you must play by the rules.

Trump: I make my own rules! You know how reporters keep calling me a schoolyard bully? Well, they’re right! I do things my way! I tell you, I wouldn’t hire Carly to run any one of my (audio shuts off, followed by video going black).

Readers, you get the idea. Today’s children are in good hands for now. But if the narrow and uber-conservative right get their way, none of will be in good hands. The Tea Party folk play as though they make their own rules. If we want representation of the people, by the people, and for the people to remain, it’ll take more than a game. Stay informed, and stay active.

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Eating the Opponent goes Purple

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It was a day that wasn’t quite going right – a day to make the best of less-than-average situations. I decided to make our Eating the Opponent San Francisco from scratch instead of going to the store. We combined a home-made rice-a-roni style dish with a simple fish pan fried in butter to suggest Fisherman’s Wharf. I picked a few carrots, parsnips, and one turnip from the garden to enhance the rice-pasta dish. Rice and vegetables could cook well together, I thought.

The carrots were purple. The rice became purple, too.

Purple rice

Purple rice

It was delicious. After cooking in chicken broth, then adding a little maggi sauce, onion, garlic, and despite its hue, we enjoyed every bite.

I must remember these carrots when we play the Minnesota Vikings.

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Call the little girl with pigtails.

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I am a geek-type person. I work in a geek-type office full of people just like me. We’re not all alike, though, and sometimes there is a lack of understanding or odd communication.

Take our phones – please. The phones switched to a new provider with new highly-visual dial-pads. (That is a word. Dial-pads is a word. Hyphenated, even.) Here’s what it looks like.

Hello? Hello?

Hello? Hello?

I am a verbal-linguistic type. I would rather see an abbreviation on the phone or even a passcode to use the many features. As an example, it took me over a year to figure out how to transfer a call. On the old phones, I would put the caller on hold, dial the extension of the next person, and when that person answered, release the hold and let the two of them talk while I hung up and got back to work.

Deep sigh. I lost a few calls and I had to admit to more than a few parents that I didn’t know how to forward a call. I finally asked another teacher how to handle the task. She, another verbal-linguistic type, said:

  • Push the button with the little girl with pigtails on it.
  • Then push the button on the screen for the teacher you want.
  • Then push the little girl with pigtails again.

Got it! I responded. I had been messing up the process by using the hold button, the way we used to do it. Ahem. I can do this.

Which icon? Can you see the little girl?

Which icon? Can you see the little girl?

And then my verbal-linguistic friend and I found out we were interpreting the graphic all wrong. It’s actually three people. One person in front, with the outlines of two others behind him or her. Or it.

Readers, your opinions? What do you see — a group of people or a little girl with pigtails? I’m sure there’s deep meaning here. Let’s have an analysis party in the comments. Meanwhile, I’ll get back to work.

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Fortunately, Unfortunately

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Andy Borowitz, satirist for the New Yorker, posted this on Facebook last Saturday.

You can’t complain about a week in which the Pope came and Scott Walker and John Boehner left.

I beg to differ – slightly. Scott Walker may have ducked out of the national scene, but he’s back in Wisconsin to wreak whatever havoc he can. The Pope? I’m glad the Catholic faithful have a leader that is open-minded and considers serving the poor a priority. However, I am not and have never been Catholic, and I see their view of women as negative and demeaning. Boehner? Let’s see how he does as lobbyist. He understands Congress and loves power, so I’m sure he will still support the same conservative issues he pushed while in office.

Deep breath. In, out.

Fortunately, Walker left the race for president. Unfortunately, he’s now refocused on his ridiculously conservative agenda in my state.

Fortunately, Boehner left his post as Speaker of the House. Unfortunately, there’s still a Republican majority in the house.

Fortunately, the Pope is visiting the United States and spreading his word of peace and care for the less fortunate. Unfortunately, women still play a second class role in his church.

Back to the top – the issue that worries me the most. What will Walker do next? Don’t answer that; I’m really, really afraid to find out.

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