Ahem.

Another Oldie but Goodie from the world of email forwards . . . 

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A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk’s office, was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

"What I mean is,” explained the recorder, "do you have a job or are you just a ...."?

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.

"I'm a Mom."

"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it," said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.  The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like, "Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."

"What is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.  The words simply popped out.  "I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.  Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest, "just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) in the laboratory and in the field, (normally I would have said indoors and out).  I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family) and already have four credits (all daughters).  Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanity ties, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).  But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3...
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.

I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!  And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom."  Motherhood!  What a glorious career!

Does this make grandmothers "Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations?"

And great grandmothers "Executive Senior Research Associates?"

I think so!

I also think it makes Aunts "Associate Research Assistants."

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We interrupt this program . . .

to bring you one of the neatest Ikea hacks I've ever seen . . . 

a yarn swift. :o)

It wouldn't be hard to drill a few more holes, to make the skein size adjustable.  Man, I do miss living near Ikea . . . 

Vegetables in Winter?

So I've just ordered this book:

And I'm not sure I can adequately express how excited I am.  (I know, I know.  Vegetables.  In winter.  That's what the grocery store is supposed to be for.)  But I've been seriously uncomfortable with getting all of our food from mostly unknown sources, exposed to who knows what (pollution, unwashed hands, the treatments allowed under the "organic" label), and harvested long, long ago.  A Safeway produce lady told me they warehouse their produce for two weeks before it gets to the store.  I was astounded.  Not only does that mean it doesn't keep (good for them, I guess), but the nutritional value is pretty much gone by then.  Safeway successfully changes fresh, reasonably healthy produce into empty calories.  With fiber.

Since most of our diet is now fruits and vegetables (along with sprouted nuts & seeds, and fermented foods), the idea of providing our own, even in winter, is wildly attractive.  (Have you SEEN the prices of organic produce lately?  Ay yi yi.)  And as our growing season here is between 4-5 months, knowing how to continue to provide for ourselves gives me this great, warm feeling inside.

So, I'll let you know what I think of this book.  It seems to be the small-scale farm version of his Four Season Harvest, which I really really love.  Elliot Coleman has a respect for, and understanding of, the earth, its seasons, plants, and their needs.  The kind of understanding that I'm eager to gain; first through study, and then through faith*.

(You know, I really should probably post a few book reviews of books I actually ready lately . . . like Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Thy Gold to Refine, 12 Steps to Raw Foods, Signature Family Dishes, Kabul Beauty School, La Hacienda, or any of the fourteen Georgette Heyer novels I devoured during the first half of the year.  Requests on which goes first welcome.)


*My definition of Faith: a belief which moves one to action, or the application of knowledge gained by teaching (as opposed to the knowledge gained by experience).  Faith is work--the application of principles learned and the true test of a principles truthfulness or validity.

Lemme Hear Whoop! Whoop!

Google has delivered.

Chrome Beta for Mac is live.

All y'all Mac users out there, go and try it out. Clean, light, and darn fast. And Google's home page logo today is a kick, to boot.

Have a great week!

And so . . .

About two weeks ago "12 Steps to Raw Foods" by Victoria Boutenko arrived from Amazon. It finally filled in the gaps, and made raw foods accessible and comprehensible . . . it was a book on color theory when all the other recipe books and blogs I had read were more like paint-by-number kits. (A review of 12 Steps to Raw Foods to come . . . )

Here's what I've noticed after ten days on a very nearly 100% raw menu:

1. My back is FINALLY beginning to heal. I didn't stop to think about how much better it is until I noticed a broad white "healing line" through the darker area of my right iris which corresponds to my lower back. (Iridology fascinates me, btw.) That made me stop and think about how long it has been since I really hurt . . . and it has been quite a few days. (Five-ish.) The change in diet and a slightly firmer bed have really been a good combination. (Fwiw, we were sleeping on a firmer surface before the diet change, but it didn't help much.)

2. I'm rested when I wake up in the morning. Sometimes waking up is still tough, but it's NOTHING like the days of severe hypoglycemia. Within a few minutes, I feel cheerful, and have a reasonable amount of energy (total shocker for me). Oh, and a huge bonus: I no longer have nasty morning-mouth. That was a recent development (started about a year ago), and it's just lovely to have it gone.

3. My body is able to restore itself during sleep in a manner completely different than anything I've experienced in the last three years. Or, come to think of, since I don't know when. Possibly before the critically-sleep-deprived days of high school. The last two nights, I've woken up to the baby's cries before Vern stirred at all, got up to take care of whatever it was he needed without feeling depressed or frighteningly weak or like my back would literally not hold me up, and woke up the next morning feeling better than the nights two weeks ago when I didn't have interruptions. When I don't get sufficient sleep, I'm still tired, but it's wholly physical now . . . I'm no longer a hostile, depressed, snarling wreck. (My family is glad. lolol) Last night was a chopped 7.5 hour night. A solid 1.5 hour deficit from what I really have needed lately to feel reasonable solid during the day. Today has been a phenomenal day.

4. I no longer am driven by food cravings. I know I can eat all I want of whatever whole, good, fresh food I want (even if it's nothing but dates for a couple days, which I nearly did), and when I find myself hungry and wanting to root through the fridge, I know from experience that I'll find what will truly satisfy my hunger. It's a secure, solid feeling. Gone are the days of being driven nearly crazy by a deep hunger, not seeing anything that tempted me. (Barring frozen desserts and chocolate, which quieted the hunger, but never silenced it.)

5. I'm slowly dropping weight. I shed about five pounds of retained water the first two days (which was more than I could do, even with dieting, before!), and have lost a few ounces each day since then, except for Thanksgiving Day, and the two days bracketing it. Those three days I included a small amount of cooked foods, and I simply maintained. Not too bad, though, considering what has happened in the past to myself, and others. (T-day I had a 1" x 1.5" piece of turkey, no refined sugar, a couple small helpings of maple-syrup sweet potatoes, and lots of salad.)

6. My moods have been milder, lighter, happier, nicer, and far more buoyant than they have in a looooong, looooooooooong time. I'm a woman of no small will or drive . . . but depression really had me pinned the last few years. Even the last year and a half, living in such a great spot in Oregon with such great people as friends, I struggled. It has been so good to really want to smile, and then to smile and feel that smile grow and strengthen and deepen until it fills my entire body. Smiling at people today during church was so fun . . . especially complete strangers who seemed down, worried, or reserved. I'd smile at them, looking them in the eye, and I could see my happiness enter their hearts, and then break out over their faces. That alone is worth giving up every cooked, traditional, lovely comfort food I ever knew. Driving home from church today, Vern turned to me and said: "I've never seen you this happy." I replied: "I don't think I've ever felt this happy in my whole life."

I know things won't be smooth sailing. Life happens. People will have trouble with this choice I've made, even though I will do all I can to make sure those I love and interact with (who need to know my eating habits, lol) know that this is something I've done wholly for my own well-being, and is not something that I expect them to cater to, listen to, or (heaven forbid), have forced on them. My body simply wouldn't do what I need it to do eating the way I had been (and by American standards, I was eating darn good foods: organic, natural, and mostly whole--just mostly cooked, and very few veggies). This is a gift I'm giving myself, and my family who has to live with me. :o) Before and After photos will come . . .

Have a wonderful, wonderful week!

Annalea
(Who thinks she has had a small taste of why the raw-vegans she has corresponded with have always signed their emails with things like "In Joy!", and have used seemingly too many !'s . . . )

Quite the Bully, eh?

Seen today in a Ravatar*:

ENGLISH: A language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages, & rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.

Ravelers are the best. :o)

*A Ravelry avatar.

Kids say the darndest things.

This morning, Vern was helping Lil'MissL out the door to play while she told him about her recent trip to the chiropractor. She had bumped her elbow pretty well on a hard floor, and we took her in to see if there were any breaks. Dr. Webster used a tuning fork, held against various places along her arm, to test for fractures. Lil'MissL's highly recountable account:

"We went to the chiropractor. He touched my elbow with a forky thing. It was a tuna fork."

:o)

Requisitioning Contentment

I am grateful . . .

• that packing tape holds boxes together so well
• that we can pay the bills
• that I recognize that I have the power to choose whether I grumble and grip, or count my blessings
• for playsilks (one of the best. toys. ever.)
  

You've got to see this.

These are from Sir Ken Robinson's, PhD, talk on creativity. It's a must see. (And I don't say that lightly.) If you have children, you need to see this.

"All kids have talents. And we squander them. Pretty ruthlessly."

"Creativity is as important in education as literacy; and we should treat it with the same status."

"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you're not going to come up with anything original."

"We don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. In fact, we're educated out of it."

"The problem is we educate children progressively from the waist up. And then we focus on their heads, and slightly to one side."

Please, go take the few minutes it takes to watch this. He makes you laugh, keeps it interesting, and points up one of the most serious problems facing the children of today. The fact that our educational system critically handicaps them for the unknowable world into which we're all hurtling. I remember my best friend, in fifth grade, repeating: "They're trying to take my imagination away from me." I couldn't understand it . . . but then again, I didn't have the kind of rich, full imagination she did. I had already succumbed.

Super-Cute Alert

This is one of the most adorable things I've seen. Ever.

I'll show you pics when I'm done. :o)