>You might be a teacher if:

This view has been bothering me for weeks, but I’ve had no time or energy to work on it until now. The tulips and decorative grasses have been poking out of the thawing soil and reaching for that elusive Wisconsin sunshine, and all the while the remains of last fall’s flowers have been blocking their line of light.

Today, I finally got down on my knees and cut them back.

I don’t know what’s growing there now. Are those new shoots from the old plant? This is a flower La Petite bought and planted last summer, so she knows more about it than I do. I hope I didn’t cut it back too far, but it’s too late now. I guess I’ll find out! But for now, the tulips can come up and enjoy the spring sun.

>Or: I’m taking a well-deserved break from correcting Comm. Arts papers, and thinking about my compost bin. The first load of laundry is in the dryer, the third in the washer, and I’ve finished one stack of time-consuming but valuable paper-correcting. I’m taking a coffee & blog break to clear my mind.
We had one frost warning already this week. Soon we’ll get a killer: a killing frost that’ll mean the end of my vegetable garden. We’ll let the bunnies roam freely in the garden and finish off anything they consider edible, and then we’ll leave the garden gate open for the Wild Ones who roam the neighborhood. They can browse and take shelter there when the blizzards hit.
Serious cold weather also means the end of active composting. The black bin absorbs enough heat to keep the process going in cool weather, but not when the snows fall and the thermometer sinks below the freezing mark. This month I’ll add the last scraps to the compost bin, followed by a final layer of fallen leaves if they fit. Then I won’t see it until springtime. Sniff. Sigh.
The environmentalist in me feels more than a little twinge of guilt the first time I throw a coffee filter full of wet grounds into the garbage. I know it’ll decompose quickly in the compost, but there are limits to time and endurance when I know that it’s too cold for the process to work well. By December, I’ll be resigned to the idea and no longer feel guilty. I’ll simply look forward to spring.
For non-composters, here’s an example of how pretty compost can be. The top photo is the “before” picture, complete with leftover carrots (too soft for bunny food), rhubarb leaves, and watermelon rinds.

Isn’t this pretty? Even garbage can be aesthetically pleasing if you know what to look for.

The cute pink shovel was La Petite’s when she was a little girl. Cute but sturdy, it still comes in handy for mixing and turning the compostables.

>Look in the vegetable drawer. Dice up one cup of everything available. Add a can of dark red kidney beans. Add a handful of Green Bay Packer beans if ripe at the right moment. Dice the leftover pork (from the rotisserie last night). Add water and broth crystals. Flavor with herbs if available. Turn crockpot on low for a few hours; then add barley and turn to high. Serve when ready.
On the side: make a loaf of bread in the bread machine.

Sure, you may laugh. So do I. But the truth is, my soup “formula” gives us lots of nutritious meals and makes the house smells wonderful. While it simmers, I can finish the laundry for my family and correct papers for my class.

Of course, I couldn’t do it without my appliances, including the crockpot, bread machine, and mini-rotisserie oven. Oh, yeah, and the washer and dryer. And the coffeemaker. Have I missed any?