Girlfriend in Tacoma
Jun. 26, 2008 at 12:06pm
green-ward momentum
(footprint's still big, however...)
I thought the tomatoes I'd planted about a month ago were goners. Turns out, happily, I was wrong --after a brief period of shock, they appear to be thriving. I'm typing this with the smell of green tomato-leaf on my hands. Mmm.
My strawberry plant has been giving me infrequent but lovely juicy bites, my mesclun pots are sprouting quite nicely, and despite bad thinning, my radishes look like they're going to be pretty darn okay.
Add to that, the Smith Brothers milk delivery seems to be running smoothly (and yes, it does taste better than store-bought organic) plus I've signed up for in-home organic produce delivery via Terra Organics. I'm excited about the prospect of having fresh, healthy foods that others picked out for me, so I can learn new recipes and subject myself to an autumn of chard, despite the fact that the dogs freak out over more people coming to the house.
Next week, I'll begin The Great Commissary Experiment, to see how much money I can save with going there monthly for non-perishables. I only wish I had a bigger freezer so I could stock up on meat there, too. Who knows, I may decide to give a few days of vegetarianism a try (the idea of eating flesh kind of gives me the willies, and the kid is mostly vegetarian-- I will eat meat primarily for ease, knowing the protein content of a serving of meat more than I know how to combine grains for the same protein amount..)
And now, to tweak the rest of what I do... Namely, how to rig up a drying line in my back yard that's high enough for duvet covers? --and then there's the whole "cutting out the driving" after a $65 tank-up left me reeling. There are things to do, I've discovered, close to home. There are bus routes I can take to errands that are convenient, if I learn the schedules and give myself ample time. There's the bike. There's also consolidation of errands (like, potentially, the proposed monthly shopping.)
I dunno. I'm looking at this whole "shift" kind of in the same light as I looked on my lifestyle change when I determined to lose weight: it's not easy, but doing little things helps...
We'll see how it all plays out...
 by tacomachickadee on 6/26/2008 @ 10:12pm | I took me awhile to get your "Great Commissary Experiment." I feel silly. I thought you were trying to slyly reference Costco, which is my version of the "Great Commissary Experiment" in this vein. And we just switched to Terra Organics' Pacific Northwest only box too! We should compare notes and share recipes. |
 by escaping slave on 6/27/2008 @ 7:50am | I enjoy reading about your experiments. You're going through what lots of us are going through, figuring out what will work best, and you don't know until you experiment.
Everyone's diet is their own, but just wanted to share that plants are living things too: The Secret Life of Plants includes remarkable information about plants as lie detectors and plants as ecological sentinels; it describes their ability to adapt to human wishes, their response to music, their curative powers, and their ability to communicate with man. www.earthpulse.com/products/secret.html Plants don't have flesh, but they too are alive like animals, and feel as well. It's being appreciative of the food, no matter what it is, and appreciating that something else gave of itself so that another is able to eat and live. We've lost touch with that since we don't raise our own livestock to eat, especially since we don't kill it ourselves, or even hunt and gather in the animal sense, not the consumer sense. Much easier when it's nicely wrapped up and no eyes looking at us. Thank goodness the government has protected us! Have you tried the Meat Shop of Tacoma? www.meatshopoftacoma.com/ Bison is a great substitute for cow, which isn't good for us anyway. Cows aren't natural to the US (they were originally imported from England), but Bison are. |
 by intacoma on 6/27/2008 @ 8:09am | the best way to save money is to eat nothing but whitebread with a slice of cheese in the middle with a little mayo, repeat 3 times a day |
 by Mofo from the Hood on 6/27/2008 @ 9:10am | Thanks intacoma. That reminded me that when I was about seven, I would take two slices of Wonder Bread, butter both slices, add potato chips on slice one, place slice two on top, Enjoy.
(This practice was done without parental supervision. Doubtful whether parent ever knew of the practice.) |
by tacomachickadee on 6/27/2008 @ 9:15am | My daughter's request for today: A mayonnaise sandwich. Lordy. |
 by jcbetty on 6/27/2008 @ 10:47am | oh dear. How many times has my child requested a butter sandwich with sugar? Many. (cinnamon sugar. not that that's any better) --I remember as a kid, when we'd run out of bread, I'd get a piece of balogna, government cheese (sliced but not wrapped) --place cheese on balogna, microwave. Balogna makes a bowl, cheese makes a kind of soupy filling. Blisters the crap out of the roof of your mouth, but kills the hunger...
--good points, escaping. There are some really excellent books out about what and how we eat, One;s by Barbara Kingsolver, (cant think of the names of 'em, but Kings has 'em all and one of 'em was the Tempest Book Club's reading for this month or last, I believe) -- I think for me, I get so involved in habit and ease, that I forget to be mindful sometimes. |
 by Growing Conversation on 6/27/2008 @ 10:59am | Check out www.growlocaltacoma.com for all kinds of local food related books, resources, ideas, etc. |
by escaping slave on 7/1/2008 @ 2:37pm | Will do, Growing Conversation. |
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musing her way through arts, culture, dining, shopping, exercising, and parenting, all while wearing a pungent, truffle-like aroma.
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