Saturday, June 18, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
If I make a goal, who gets the point?
A few weeks ago, a friend told me that he was proud of me. It was a very odd feeling. I've always been fiercely individual. My work ethic tends to lean "nose to the grindstone" as opposed to "squeaky wheel gets the oil." I often found myself getting passed over for recognition because I don't really seek it. I am not patting myself on the back, just making an observation - honestly, I have found this to be a weakness in many fields, the inability to sell yourself.
The friend who complimented me works with inner city children in Texas. He is an art teacher who started his own after school program for at-risk youth. He just finished his master's degree.
Here I am, one step above a college dropout with a messy ponytail eating a molasses cookie for breakfast blogging at 10:30 in the morning on a weekday. I don't think I am a poster child for success.
The show opens tonight. We don't feel ready to me. Things will be fine - we have some really great actors, and it's a funny script - but I don't feel that this show is up to my standards as a director/producer, and I am disappointed in myself. I miscast a few people, which I haven't ever done before. Our time frame was really tight before we had several setbacks, and it's really difficult working with so many volatile personalities (who are all volunteering or donating to us... so the question of how much to demand is always at the back of my mind.)
In all the bustle of the last couple of weeks, I have been neglecting the garden. (As a side note, I don't know what to call it - urban homestead sounds pretentious and clunky, but garden brings up images of old ladies in sun hats cultivating hydrangeas...) Some of the herbs are looking downright wilty, and the strawberries are dead and gone. I'm worried that the cherry tomatoes aren't getting what they need, and the pea trellis needs to be finished NOW. I have no idea how people manage a full time job and a full time farm (although I do think one full time job would be easier than three creative part time jobs.)
I am frustrated with the Housemate. He lives like a pig, and the dog keeps getting into his room because he can't seem to figure out how to shut the door after himself. The last time the dog apparently ate 25 bone-in chicken wings. He could have died. He still might. The thought of losing him is scary enough, but the reaction from Housemate was more of anger at the DOG. The dog can't open doorknobs. If your room is being accessed, it's because you aren't closing the door all the way. I hate when people don't just admit that they were wrong and try to be proactive about solutions to the problem. They have to dance around the issue and try to shirk off blame. It has been happening in a lot of areas in my life, so this particular instance is really getting to me.
Photography is a joy. I only hope that I get more business - I worry about expansion. Everyone oohs and aahs over the pictures, but finding the time in their lives to get their own pictures is another story. There is something so immensely satisfying about it... maybe it appeals to the organizer in me. It's like cataloging beauty. Which probably sounds crazy to anyone who doesn't share my particular mix of right and left brained-ness.
I have been utterly neglecting the school. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. I am already on shaky ground with my skill level...
And all the while, as part of me is working toward this great sense of community, the other part gets nervous when, say, people at the farmer's market start remembering me, or I see kids from the school out and about. Part of me likes the anonymity of being backstage - the hard worker that nobody knows about. I guess it's less pressure. Once you're out there in the spotlight, it's make it or break it time.
I don't really know what the purpose of this post is. I guess in my life I am trying to deprogram myself from being so goal oriented. That sounds odd, as it is what our culture is all about, and I definitely think that micro-goals are important. But the plain fact is, life isn't a race. It's not a game, and there are no winners or losers. We just have to do the best we can with the time we have.
And I don't want to miss anything.
The friend who complimented me works with inner city children in Texas. He is an art teacher who started his own after school program for at-risk youth. He just finished his master's degree.
Here I am, one step above a college dropout with a messy ponytail eating a molasses cookie for breakfast blogging at 10:30 in the morning on a weekday. I don't think I am a poster child for success.
The show opens tonight. We don't feel ready to me. Things will be fine - we have some really great actors, and it's a funny script - but I don't feel that this show is up to my standards as a director/producer, and I am disappointed in myself. I miscast a few people, which I haven't ever done before. Our time frame was really tight before we had several setbacks, and it's really difficult working with so many volatile personalities (who are all volunteering or donating to us... so the question of how much to demand is always at the back of my mind.)
In all the bustle of the last couple of weeks, I have been neglecting the garden. (As a side note, I don't know what to call it - urban homestead sounds pretentious and clunky, but garden brings up images of old ladies in sun hats cultivating hydrangeas...) Some of the herbs are looking downright wilty, and the strawberries are dead and gone. I'm worried that the cherry tomatoes aren't getting what they need, and the pea trellis needs to be finished NOW. I have no idea how people manage a full time job and a full time farm (although I do think one full time job would be easier than three creative part time jobs.)
I am frustrated with the Housemate. He lives like a pig, and the dog keeps getting into his room because he can't seem to figure out how to shut the door after himself. The last time the dog apparently ate 25 bone-in chicken wings. He could have died. He still might. The thought of losing him is scary enough, but the reaction from Housemate was more of anger at the DOG. The dog can't open doorknobs. If your room is being accessed, it's because you aren't closing the door all the way. I hate when people don't just admit that they were wrong and try to be proactive about solutions to the problem. They have to dance around the issue and try to shirk off blame. It has been happening in a lot of areas in my life, so this particular instance is really getting to me.
Photography is a joy. I only hope that I get more business - I worry about expansion. Everyone oohs and aahs over the pictures, but finding the time in their lives to get their own pictures is another story. There is something so immensely satisfying about it... maybe it appeals to the organizer in me. It's like cataloging beauty. Which probably sounds crazy to anyone who doesn't share my particular mix of right and left brained-ness.
I have been utterly neglecting the school. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. I am already on shaky ground with my skill level...
And all the while, as part of me is working toward this great sense of community, the other part gets nervous when, say, people at the farmer's market start remembering me, or I see kids from the school out and about. Part of me likes the anonymity of being backstage - the hard worker that nobody knows about. I guess it's less pressure. Once you're out there in the spotlight, it's make it or break it time.
I don't really know what the purpose of this post is. I guess in my life I am trying to deprogram myself from being so goal oriented. That sounds odd, as it is what our culture is all about, and I definitely think that micro-goals are important. But the plain fact is, life isn't a race. It's not a game, and there are no winners or losers. We just have to do the best we can with the time we have.
And I don't want to miss anything.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Warm days, old friends...
The fact that the Chippewa Nature Center can exist and be as well-funded and well-maintained as it is says a lot about what a community values. It is an amazing piece of land with passionate, well-educated staff. I loved working at their day camp, and hope someday to have a part-time job as one of thier naturalists.
It was great to spend time with Miker again - talking to someone about common passions is very important, and there aren't a lot of wilderness junkies in the area (at least that I know of.) I would really love it if he were to get a job at the Nature Center's preschool and land in the area for a while!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Do Re Mi...
We finally got the piano moved in! Now I can practice my lovely music ALL DAY LONG, which Husband LOVES. The strains of RE-RE-RE DO-MI-SOL over and over again are not maddening at all. I am currently working my way through our Harmony Road 2 book, which puts me at about the level of one of our five year olds. (I am exaggerating, but only mildly.)
The Children's School of Music is pretty awesome. I am easily the worst pianist (to be fair, I have never taken music lessons outside of school, and wasn't even in band...) This frustrates me, because I like to be the best at everything. I feel like it's very important to be prepared and work my hardest at what I do - I partially learned it working Outdoor Ed... being obsessively prepared with a million and one things to do when things go wrong. It's important when you work with kids.
The problem is, my musical "bag of tricks" is so much smaller than my teambuilding or nature hiking ones. I had a great time working Nature Day Camp, was confident and awesome because I had so much experience. Music is a much more technical thing, and being enthusiastic and good with kids isn't enough. I have always had the background knowledge in nature and cultural history - add literature, and you have my passions. My musical knowledge is much more organic, and I am a little frightened that I will accidentally give a kid the wrong information.
I think my niche here is going to be in recruiting and running the young children's programs/music on the go programs. I find my confidence and skills with infants and toddlers is already skyrocketing compared to what it was (I definitely was not a baby fan prior to this job), and the more I do it, hopefully the better I get. We teach them the building blocks of rhythm and tone... but hopefully I can do more. If I can teach kids to love music, to have fun with music... and then the more experienced musicians can give them the knowledge they need.
That's my plan anyway.
The Children's School of Music is pretty awesome. I am easily the worst pianist (to be fair, I have never taken music lessons outside of school, and wasn't even in band...) This frustrates me, because I like to be the best at everything. I feel like it's very important to be prepared and work my hardest at what I do - I partially learned it working Outdoor Ed... being obsessively prepared with a million and one things to do when things go wrong. It's important when you work with kids.
The problem is, my musical "bag of tricks" is so much smaller than my teambuilding or nature hiking ones. I had a great time working Nature Day Camp, was confident and awesome because I had so much experience. Music is a much more technical thing, and being enthusiastic and good with kids isn't enough. I have always had the background knowledge in nature and cultural history - add literature, and you have my passions. My musical knowledge is much more organic, and I am a little frightened that I will accidentally give a kid the wrong information.
I think my niche here is going to be in recruiting and running the young children's programs/music on the go programs. I find my confidence and skills with infants and toddlers is already skyrocketing compared to what it was (I definitely was not a baby fan prior to this job), and the more I do it, hopefully the better I get. We teach them the building blocks of rhythm and tone... but hopefully I can do more. If I can teach kids to love music, to have fun with music... and then the more experienced musicians can give them the knowledge they need.
That's my plan anyway.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Rabbit Season...
Our plan for this year was to get the garden up and running, and make it productive. If all goes according to plan, our next step will be raising meat rabbits.
I have never raised rabbits, and frankly don't really care for them as pets; that may be why I found it easy to make the jump to the idea of rabbits as a food source. They are ideal for urban homesteads, since they are quiet and don't need much space. Their manure makes an excellent fertilizer (it is the only manure that won't "burn" plants if put directly into the garden), and their pelts are nice too. Apparently they are relatively easy to kill and dress, which makes them an excellent starter animal.
But there was one problem - we had never eaten rabbit before. That seemed the most important thing to consider if we were seriously considering them as our first livestock. Luckily the last time I was at the Farmer's Market the Amish man was there (don't get me started on the Amish man's booth... I spend at least $10 more if he's there than if he isn't.) He sells cheese, eggs, granola, and meat... lo and behold, he carries rabbit!
I found this recipe online (combined a few, actually... most called for heavy cream soups or sour cream, and we're trying to be more healthy...)
INGREDIENTS:
- Rabbit meat, dressed.
- Herbs and Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Plain yogurt
- 1 can vegetable or chicken stock
- Carrots and Potatoes, quartered and rinsed.
Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low. Meat should be under or nearly submerged in the broth - add water to mixture if the broth isn't high enough.
This was really tasty! Rabbit tastes a bit like a VERY lean pork to me - there was virtually no fat, which means that the meat can run a bit dry (most people fry or slow cook it for this reason), but it also means that if you're picky about fat on food (Husband and I both HATE to eat a piece of fat...) rabbit might be the meat for you! The meat fell right off of the bone, and most of it was edible. I think next time I might coat the rabbit in the yogurt before the spices, as this might keep more moisture trapped in the meat.
Overall, if more people ate rabbit (or other low-impact livestock) and kept the cows for the special occasions, the planet (and our bodies) would be in MUCH better shape right now!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Blueberry Muffins with Honey
One of my biggest goals this summer is to improve the quality of the foods Husband and I eat. I love living in a town that has an amazing Farmer's Market (see past raves about that...), and there are several smaller-scale markets nearby. The problem, of course, is what do you do with all of this bounty once you've made the purchases? Too often my compost bin bulges with all of the fruits and vegetables I had every intention of using... until the idea of ordering a pizza seemed more appealing.
That being said, I plan to really make the most of fruits and vegetables this season. My homesteading plans are underway, the plants and herbs are in the ground, and now I need to make sure that I will make use of them! Anyway, here's a favorite family recipe for amazing blueberry muffins!
INGREDIENTS:
1 Egg (Beaten)
3/4 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Blueberries
1/2 Cup Oil
2 Cups Flour
1/3 Cup Sugar
3 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Salt
Brown Sugar to Top
Rinse your blueberries under cold water!
Mix all wet ingredients.
I used 3/4 cup honey instead of 1/3 cup sugar to sweeten the muffins. I love the subtlety of the sweetness... and honey has amazing health benefits and NEVER goes bad!
Add the dry ingredients and blueberries. I added 1/2 of the blueberries, mixed them in, and then added the rest... it makes some of the berries mushy and flavors the batter, and others whole.
Bake at 400 degrees Farenheit for 20 minutes. When the muffins have been baked for a few minutes, pull them out and top them with brown sugar. This makes a lovely crusty top! I waited a bit too long with this, my first batch, so the sugar didn't stick as well as I would have liked.
Monday, May 16, 2011
A new little person has come into the world this past weekend. I know it sounds cheesy, but every birth is really quite a small miracle - one minute there's a little thing inside of you jumping on your kidneys, and the next that little thing has a face and a voice and a personality. It's amazing.
Along the lines of new life, the home has really sprung to life recently - I fenced in the raspberries, the apple tree is finally in bloom, and the garden is officially in. I love my backyard in the spring.
Even though my yard is horrible and full of violets and grubs, it's so pretty! And the grubs attract all sorts of birds and small mammals (my first time mowing I got a rare above-ground glimpse of a little gray mole!) So, even though I try to keep the front yard neat and tidy, I have sort of married myself to the beautiful chaos of the backyard.
Along the lines of new life, the home has really sprung to life recently - I fenced in the raspberries, the apple tree is finally in bloom, and the garden is officially in. I love my backyard in the spring.
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