The goings on

We bought a house. Our back yard is smaller than our current garden, but the sun is far more agreeable. Due to the size of our yard, and subsequent gardening space (we intend to cover every inch), Meg and I are planning a little experiment. Actually the experiment isn't exactly little, nor is it really unique.

Our goal will be to go without supermarket produce for one year. Like I said, it's not unique; there are many people out there who live and eat this way, but we want to really focus on how those with little to no yard can buy their produce locally and seasonally all year round. In order to make this happen and not starve on in the winter months, this will involve a lot of canning, freezing, and dry storage.

On a side note:
I have not forgotten about the grace in small things challenge. However, the challenge hasn't been thinking of five kick ass things from our day, the real obstacle has been making time to post about them. I think we're at forty-something. What we'll do is make it to fifty and call it a day. The challenge did refocus the way we looked at things, but we're both pretty cheery and optimistic people to begin with, so...

Grace in small things #43

1. Damn, it's gorgeous outside.

2. We cleaned out Bertha's coop.

3. The Pens have crawled their way back into the playoff hunt.

4. I found time to post.

5. We started talking to the mortgage people.

Grace in small things #42

1. Happy Fat Tuesday.

2. NPR's morning edition.

3. Compost. I know that sounds random, but with all the seed talk I can't help but think of the mounds of black gold Meg and I made last year. Our last spring garden will certainly be the best.

4. We got a $52 tax rebate from our local taxes.

5. Have I told you all about Deadpod? If you like the Grateful Dead, you've got to subscribe to this blog and download his podcasts.

Grace in small things #41

1. Erotic spray bottles.

2. The Dean approved my relocation to a new office space.

3. For lunch, Meg had a some leftover tuna sandwich.

4. Meg did something to my computer so I can watch YouTube videos again. It had something to do with my flash player.

5. I received a confirmation that our seed order has been processed. I have a terrible itch to grow something.

Grace in Small Things #40

The Grace in Small Things challenge is supposed to be done every day for one year. It has been fun so far and eye opening to say the least, but dammit if I didn't need to step away from the blog for a bit. Shit got a little busy around here. But, we're back.

1. I gained a valuable lesson in humility. Remember that grant I was working on and thought was a shoe-in for approval? Well turns out our project was a little too big for the grant cover. The news was a kick to the stomach, but I must admit that I was getting a bit overconfident. It is a great project that we proposed, though, and I won't let the grant denial stop me continuing the research.

2. Friday was the end of a week of one-on-one conferences with my students. This was the first of three solo meetings I will have with them, but the first is always very rewarding. I think that it's important for students to have a bit of quality time with their instructors. It gives the opportunity to get to know each other a little better and it also gives us time to make sure we are on the same page.

3. Raisins for my oatmeal.

4. Today is laundry day. This is a grace.

5.We just put in a strange seed order. Since we won't be here for the entire growing season, we are limited to early Spring crops only. This means a great deal of leafy greens. We still plan to start tomatoes and peppers, but they will be a lot fewer than in previous years.

Grace in Small Things #39

57. Michael Perry strikes again. For those of you who have been with us a while, perhaps you will recall a post we did in review of Michael's book, Truck: a Love Story. Well, the other day we received this gem (pictured) in the mail from his publishing company. It was pretty cool that they thought of us and sent a galley copy. The actual release date will be April 21st in hard cover. Hopefully I'll have the time to read this copy over Spring break. If so, we'll be sure to post another review.

8. To make a book theme of today's post, we also have a copy of Vanished Gardens, a book about Philadelphia, by Sharon White who is a professor at Temple University. This book is in the queue to be reviewed.

13. The book list goes on. Meg's former writing center director at Moravian College, Joyce Hinnefeld, published a book this past Fall titled In Hovering Flight. Meg said that she is just about finished reading it and will be sure to post a review.

4. I've been working on my own bit of fiction. It has two narrators who exist in each others' subconscious. I think I'll leave it at that.

8. This weekend has been consumed with reading student essays. I must say that I have been privileged this semester with some very creative students.

Grace in Small Things #38

1. We met Kate and Tom from Living the Frugal Life and had lunch at Victory. Our conversation revolved around gardening, food, sustainable living, and beer. This was the first time we have ever met someone from the blogosphere and we had a blast. Thanks for the visit, guys.

2. For the first time in a while I had eggs for breakfast.

3. Ben and Jerry's put out a new flavor of ice cream.

4. Home made tomato sauce with ricotta cheese.

5. There were free pottery books at the studio.

Grace in Small Things #37

1. The ground thawed enough to harvest some carrots.

2. Meg got an iPod shuffle.

3. We made some beef and barley soup.

4. This warm weather has given us the gardening bug in a big way.

6. For breakfast I had a peach muffin that was absolutely fantastic.

Grace in Small Things #36

1. Deconstruction

2. Meg cooked us up some tortellinis for dinner.

3. I cooked us up a cocktail to go with dinner.

4. Bertha got to play in the mud.

5. Have I told you how badass my students are?

Grace in small things #35

1. Meg saved Bertha from a possible hawk attack.

2. itunes u. If you've never heard of this, and you value education, you gotta check this out.

3. Cabbage and Potato Soup.

salt
olive oil
garlic (none of that jarred shit)
1 part cut onion
2 parts sliced potato
2 parts chopped cabbage
2 parts water

sweat garlic and onion in hot olive oil
add potatoes, water, and a bit of salt
bring to light boil
cook until potatoes are mashable
mash in pot
add cabbage and cook over medium heat for a little bit
serve

Sorry for the recipe delay, Local Zone.

4. The Honda's washer fluid is full.

5. It was warm enough today that I could drive with the windows cracked.

Grace in small things #34

1. hulu

2. I am finally starting to putz around with podcast subscriptions and I've got to tell ya that they are pretty damn cool.

3. My little brother turned 23 the other day. 23 and 30 were my favorites.

4. The cat got a new scratching post. I hope she uses it and leaves the furniture alone.

5. It's in the 50s today.

Grace in small things #33

1. Six'burgh. Oh boy was that a good game. Meg's dad, Mick, was giving me hell this afternoon for slouching on the graces, specifically with the opportunity provided by the huge win. I think he's a closet Steelers fan.

2. We've had some gorgeous snow falls.

3. The other night the Pens had a huge overtime victory against Tampa.

4. Bertha's laying eggs again.

5. It is impossible to fall from the face of the earth.

Grace in small things #32

1. Holy shit, it's Friday! I love my job, but damn this week felt long.

2. We got new pillows. IKEA was having a sweet one-day sale on some choice items.

3. Oil and vinegar.

4. The other day Meg was on the train sitting behind an Amish lady who was reading a comic book.

5. I heard on NPR today that Rob Blagojevich is no longer governor of Illinois. That guy is an incredible shithead.

Grace in small things #31

1. A new session of pottery classes has started.

2. I learned some more of my student's names.

3. The grant writing is still moving along nicely. My partner on this project is a real joy to work with.

4. I'm not in a car right now.

5. Our recent issue of Mother Earth News came in.

Grace in small things #30

1. We had a snow day. I was mildly bummed at first, because I like to keep my course calendar in check, but the semester is new and it was nice to get some things done.

2. The vehicles are dug out and ready to go.

3. The Pens are playing their first game since the All-Star break. They need to get their shit together and start winning some games.

4. We finally found the right light bulb for Meg's little desk lamp.

5. Sleep will be on us soon.

Grace in small things #29

1. I had a research grant approved. The project will be to work on a replacement for the current text we use for our Basic English class. The end result will be a more effective learning and teaching tool, and it will save our students a shitload of cash.

2. Would anyone like to Tanqueray?

3. Nonstop Jazz.

4. Nonstop Classical.

5. With luck and charm, Meg has gained a private parking spot at the train station.

Grace in small things #28

1. Inquiry based learning. Students should be allowed to have control of their own education.

2. I started the Odyssey on audio book today.

3. It looks like some more snow might be coming our way; we may actually have a winter this year.

4. The Steelers are in Tampa.

5. Bertha ventured out of her coop. Ever since she started molting, she has done nothing but eat, drink, shit, and roost. It's about time she aired herself out.

Grace in small things #27

1. Falling Water never gets old.

2. The sun is setting right now and it is gorgeous.

3. James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son. Both Meg and I teach first year composition and our theme is gender, race, and class. In a way, all of the readings we assign touch on these three qualities, but this one is an obvious nod towards race. It's always interesting to how students react to these readings.

4. Speaking of school, Meg and I got a lot of work done today. If we can get some prep done over the weekend, it always makes for a smoother week to follow.

5. Meg does the taxes. Believe it not, this is a grace for the both of us. I have no mind for taxes or anything of the sort, but thankfully, Meg looks forward to the challenge.

Grace in small things #26

1. We made the most kick ass chuck roast for dinner. The recipe will be up soon.

2. Clean overalls.

3. We invested in some miso paste.

4. Seinfeld reruns. I never saw the show the first time around, so the reruns all seem new to me.

5. We got to witness our cat trying to hold a conversation with a squirrel through the living room window. It really was quite funny. Unfortunately the squirrel wasn't in the mood to talk and just kind of ran off to do its own thing. What a rude little shit.

Grace in small things #25

1. Meg and I had dinner with some good friends.

2. I just finished the first week of the semester.

3. Guess who's sleeping in tomorrow.

4. I got to talk to my Ma today.

5. There was some serious housekeeping done to my filing cabinets at school.