We had a few friends over for dinner the other night...good friends who are delightful to talk with and who enjoy food. (I love to cook for people who love to eat.) The "meat" course was grilled shrimp. (Hey, I live in Texas...we grill almost everything.) Some shrimp were skewered on rosemary twigs, the remaining were placed in a fish grill, all were marinated in a tequila-lime-honey sauce. The result was really tasty shrimp. It takes longer to write about it than it did to cook the shrimp. Of course, it was also messy. Shrimp like this just mandates picking it up so you can get every bite.
The next morning I knew I needed to wash those napkins. As I spread them out to use the pre-wash spray a pattern appeared. No two napkins had the same one. One napkin only had "stains" in one quarter of the napkin. One only was stained along one edge. One had only one spot on it (I don't know whose that was....but obviously it belonged to the neatest eater....or someone who surreptitiously licked fingers). One napkins was pretty much stained over the entire surface. Only one had stains on both sides of the napkin. I have no idea what this means....but I'm sure some psychologist could do a paper on napkin usage and
group dynamics!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Fight Back
It is time for us, all of us, to realize that we must start conserving. We need to drive less, use fewer things made from petroleum products, buy produce, food and other things, when possible, that were grown or produced nearby.
One way I do this is to take my own bags to the grocery.....I even recycle the plastic bags that we put our produce in by taking them to the store and reusing them....and things that don't need bagging...like bananas and pineapples...don't bag them. I try to choose products that aren't overly packaged. I shop at the local farmers market when I can...again taking my own bags (and any extras for them to reuse.) I compost my vegetable and fruit peelings....and use the wonderful dirt I get in my herb garden. I look for places that have a recycle bin for batteries and take my old batteries there the next time I go.
Of course, the best way to conserve is to buy less in the first place. I try to only buy to replace. When you have things to throw away, look at them carefully to see if they could be given to a local charity....or used for another purpose. Don't treat the landfill as if it will be there forever. England has a really strict policy on garbage...and stiff fines if a violation occurs.
Of course, I am not perfect not even close to perfection....I could do lots more....and I am working toward that goal. I am trying to break my habit of leaving the water running when I brush my teeth...living in West Texas, conserving water is a high priority. We do collect rainwater into a cistern....but when it doesn't rain.....
We need to remember that petroleum products aren't just used in cars, trucks, airplanes, etc. They are used in manufacturing almost everything we use.
One way I do this is to take my own bags to the grocery.....I even recycle the plastic bags that we put our produce in by taking them to the store and reusing them....and things that don't need bagging...like bananas and pineapples...don't bag them. I try to choose products that aren't overly packaged. I shop at the local farmers market when I can...again taking my own bags (and any extras for them to reuse.) I compost my vegetable and fruit peelings....and use the wonderful dirt I get in my herb garden. I look for places that have a recycle bin for batteries and take my old batteries there the next time I go.
Of course, the best way to conserve is to buy less in the first place. I try to only buy to replace. When you have things to throw away, look at them carefully to see if they could be given to a local charity....or used for another purpose. Don't treat the landfill as if it will be there forever. England has a really strict policy on garbage...and stiff fines if a violation occurs.
Of course, I am not perfect not even close to perfection....I could do lots more....and I am working toward that goal. I am trying to break my habit of leaving the water running when I brush my teeth...living in West Texas, conserving water is a high priority. We do collect rainwater into a cistern....but when it doesn't rain.....
We need to remember that petroleum products aren't just used in cars, trucks, airplanes, etc. They are used in manufacturing almost everything we use.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Home?
What place does one call home? Is it the place where one was born, the place one grew up, the place one lives now? Where does one want to go when one says, "I just want to go home."? In my world it can be all of those things. If I am at the grocery store, or doing almost endless errands, or on a trip that has lasted one day too long, I am referring to my current residence. If someone asks me where I am from, I usually say San Angelo. I have lived in 3 different countries, in at least 10 different cities (two of them twice) and still home is elusive.
My emotional home is always Austin. It is the place I fled to for college. There is something about Austin that seemed to give me a safe place, a welcoming haven and freedom. I have not lived in Austin for almost 35 years, yet when I go back, I have the same feeling that I had those many years ago. I felt free to be whatever I wanted to be at any given minute.
Austin has changed dramatically since I left. Many of my favorite places have disappeared or have been demolished in the name of progress. Yet, it still manages to work its magic on new arrivals and those of us who make the trip back home....maybe you can go home again....if the home is Austin and you can accept the changes.
My emotional home is always Austin. It is the place I fled to for college. There is something about Austin that seemed to give me a safe place, a welcoming haven and freedom. I have not lived in Austin for almost 35 years, yet when I go back, I have the same feeling that I had those many years ago. I felt free to be whatever I wanted to be at any given minute.
Austin has changed dramatically since I left. Many of my favorite places have disappeared or have been demolished in the name of progress. Yet, it still manages to work its magic on new arrivals and those of us who make the trip back home....maybe you can go home again....if the home is Austin and you can accept the changes.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Kindness of Strangers
I hardly noticed it at first--doors being opened and held, checkers at the grocery store asking, a little more loudly than necessary, if I would be needing help getting my groceries to the car. Then we went to Paris...ah lovely Paris. One day when we got on the bus, a middle-aged woman got up and insisted I take her seat...really, she was almost my age or the age I usually feel...somewhere around 45 or so. I thought, "Oh, how nice the French are to American tourists!" My husband was grinning broadly. He pointed to the sign that informed one and all that these seats are reserved for veterans and the elderly and must be given up if a veteran or elderly person boards.
After returning home, he relished telling this story. The following year, we returned to Paris...boarded another bus (this is our favorite form of transportation in Paris...slower than the Metro, but we get to see the sights) and a young woman offered her seat. She really insisted and finally he thanked her and sat down. ( I smirked, I'm not proud of smirking, but I did, I even enjoyed telling the story after we returned) Later that same day, which was cold and misty, we were looking for a quick lunch and found a sort of fast food sandwich shop. The line extended out the door. We stood there, looking in, trying to decide if we should wait or look for another place, and I became aware of a young woman inside at the table just inside the door, waving at me. I smiled and waved back. She got up, came to the door and invited us to share her table. We did, Tom got in line and waited to order our lunch. She told me that we looked so cold out there, and continued "and you reminded me of my grandparents."
Slowly but inexorable, the reason for all this polite kindness was working its way into my thought processes. On morning as I was brushing my teeth, I saw myself in the mirror...no makeup, hair unbrushed...and I realized I am old. People aren't just kinder and gentler lately...they are simply doing what they have been taught to do by their parents...Be kind to the elderly.
There may be a word that describes my dual feelings of gratitude for the kindnesses and resentment for their noticing that I am old....but I can't remember it because I am old.
After returning home, he relished telling this story. The following year, we returned to Paris...boarded another bus (this is our favorite form of transportation in Paris...slower than the Metro, but we get to see the sights) and a young woman offered her seat. She really insisted and finally he thanked her and sat down. ( I smirked, I'm not proud of smirking, but I did, I even enjoyed telling the story after we returned) Later that same day, which was cold and misty, we were looking for a quick lunch and found a sort of fast food sandwich shop. The line extended out the door. We stood there, looking in, trying to decide if we should wait or look for another place, and I became aware of a young woman inside at the table just inside the door, waving at me. I smiled and waved back. She got up, came to the door and invited us to share her table. We did, Tom got in line and waited to order our lunch. She told me that we looked so cold out there, and continued "and you reminded me of my grandparents."
Slowly but inexorable, the reason for all this polite kindness was working its way into my thought processes. On morning as I was brushing my teeth, I saw myself in the mirror...no makeup, hair unbrushed...and I realized I am old. People aren't just kinder and gentler lately...they are simply doing what they have been taught to do by their parents...Be kind to the elderly.
There may be a word that describes my dual feelings of gratitude for the kindnesses and resentment for their noticing that I am old....but I can't remember it because I am old.
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