Bee Debacle

It has been unseasonably warm here for a few days. On Monday when I pulled in the driveway after dropping the boys off at school, what did I see? My bees were flying! It was in the low to mid fifties and my hibernating bees had decided to take a few investigative flights. I was such a proud mother! I leapt out of the car leaving the door wide open, ran inside and grabbed my camera. My bees were flying!!!

Can you see the one bee coming in for a landing in this picture? This shot doesn't show it, but there were about five to ten bees out and about around the hive. Exciting.

Now, fast forward six hours. That day, driving rain and strange gusty winds were going to be coming through. I'm not sure at what point this happened, and I don't know for how long they were exposed. But, because of the wind and rain, on my way home from an errand I stopped by the bus stop to pick up Benjamin (10). When I pulled in the driveway, I saw a horrifying mess!! The outer covers on both of my hives had blown off completely exposing the inner cover which has a 5x1 inch hole cut out of the top!! The worst part was, on my left hive, even the inner cover had blown off, leaving the frames where the bees live exposed!! Horrible! I raced over there with my bare hands and face and threw everything back together. There were a couple bees around the entrances (thinking to themselves HELP! We've been abandoned and forsaken by our keeper!!!) but they had enough problems to be worrying about me. Plus, it was blowing a gale! 

I put everything back together, and slid the bottom boards out so that any moisture could drip out and evaporate more quickly. What a mess. This certainly weakens the hive and who knows how many of my bees have died as a result. Poor things. After two days, I slid the bottom boards out, since the night time weather was going to be below freezing. I did see some flying two days ago when the temps were in the upper 40's. I hope they are okay. I am disappointed. 

Now I have TWO LARGE rocks on the tops of both hives . . . 

The Birds, The Bees and Me

My birds and my bees have been feeling cooped up. I heard that we have had the second rainiest June on record. The rainiest June was in the 1800's. It's been raining pretty much everyday with the occasional partly sunny day thrown in there. A British friend of mine tells me this weather is just like 'home'. Know that I haven't any plans to pull up stakes and head for Great Britain anytime soon. 

Last weekend between rain showers we were able to throw up a temporary fence to let the chicks explore the great outdoors. They loved it!

They pecked and scratched and rrrrrr-a-c-e-d back and forth. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to empty out and scrub their coop. Gee, that was fun. Not. 

Victor started to dig a trench for the permanent 'chicken run'. Since then, it's been raining non-stop so all work has come to a screeching halt. This weekend is d-day though. We've got to get it done. Thankfully there is actually sun in the forecast. None-to-soon as far as the chicks are concerned. They just look too big and cooped up in their roomy hen house to be crammed in there day after day. It's supposed to house up to 14 hens, but still, the girls need to get out and stretch their legs!

Incidentally, I got the biggest giggle when at some point this week Ripley was outside the coop throwing them some green wild blueberries he'd picked, and he called out "Girls . . . . over here . . . " referring to the hens. So cute.

My bees have been most unhappy. The poor things have been doing their best, sending out a handful of foragers in the misty, rainy, overcast weather. Yesterday it was overcast and misting the whole day and you'd think it was 80 degrees and sunny. They had foragers zipping in and out and new foragers 'training' outside the hive doing orientation flights. It was a regular bee party. Poor things. They have had to lower their expectations. Me too.

The unsettling thing is I haven't been able to go in and check on them. At any point now, they well be ready for the honey super (the next box of frames in which they typically put only honey). As I've mentioned before, you don't want your bees to run out of room. However, you can't 'work your hive' in the rain. And, if you work your hives on an overcast misty day after days of rain, they will be most unhappy with you. This strikes me as being worse than cleaning out the hen house. I'm planning to go in today. Sun is in the forecast for the afternoon, but I'll believe it when I see it. 

The issue of SPORTS

This was Benjamin's baseball team last year. I have to admit, it truly was a great experience. And yet, I resented it. This year, both Benjamin and Ripley are playing baseball (well, Ripley is playing T-Ball). So, between the two boys we are racing back and forth to the fields three to four times a week. 

Confession: I hate it. I am resenting packing up that many times a week for a 5:45 game (we are supposed to be there 20 minutes early for Benjamin's games, and it's a 15 minute drive to the fields). I resent not being able to sit down to a pleasant leisurely quality dinner together as a family to eat and chat (I just can't bring myself to feed my kids chicken nuggets, boxed mac 'n cheese, cereal or worse - fast food chains 3 nights a week like many have to resort to). I resent that 4:45 is too early for dinner (plus, Victor isn't home yet) and 7:45 is too late! I resent washing uniforms several times a week. I resent sitting there in the freezing cold and rain to watch the games. I resent that I have to 'burn up' four hours of precious time on baseball nights just sitting there. 

I am sorry. I know there are some aspects of baseball that are wonderful. Learning to play together with team mates, learning to think of others and 'the good of the team', getting outside and exercising. But three nights a week (and most Saturdays) for three months is a big commitment and I'm just not sold. Is this all really necessary at this age?

So yesterday while getting all of my ducks in a row to make the nightly trip to the field I lost my patience with my boys. I left them 15 minutes to get dressed and get their bags in the car (which they are perfectly capable of doing) while I finished prepping dinner and taking off my garden clothes. They were getting side-tracked, chatting and then arguing. We decided that next time I should leave 30 minutes for them to get ready. But really, the stress and strain comes from my resentment of the entire event. Help me out . . . am I just a bad mother? Am I just selfish? How can I be at peace?!

The moral of the story: Surrender. Leave more time. Get organized. Have snacks ready for when Benjamin gets off the bus at 4:00. Start making dinner and getting organized at 3:30 and keep it simple. Get the boys started on dressing etc. at 4:40. Get in the car at 5:10. Get a lobotomy. Do you think people would snicker if I brought my laundry to fold while I sit there?

Bees, Baseball and Pizza Pie

Before I get to the nitty-gritty of going into one of my hives yesterday, let me first present to you my adorable assistant Ripley. Can I just tell you that this was his natural pose? I just told him I was going to take a picture -- and this is how he stood. He loves the camera, just like his Avo (Grandfather in Portuguese). I had to go into my hives in the middle of the day, so Ripley was around. I just had him sit by the garage at a safe distance away. He really didn't need the whole get-up, but he was eager to have a bee suit like his older brother. So, I got out a white dress shirt and Victor's veil and -- Voila! Pleased as punch (as you can see).

Now, the nitty-gritty. Yesterday's task was to go into each hive and check to see that the queen had gotten out of her cage through the soft candy plug (consistency of salt water taffy - but not stretchy) that I'd already poked a hole into with a large nail to help her attendants dig her out. If she was still in there, I was supposed to pry open the cage (over the hive, so as not to lose her!), set it down on top of the frames and watch her crawl out. Although she can fly and all, that's really not her main thing. Unless you drop her or squash her, she will happily go into her hive to do her work. These honey bees have a mission. They have work to do! The other thing I knew I'd probably have to do is take out / off some burr comb, which is comb that the bees build in areas they are not supposed to. They will fill up any open spaces with comb. Because of the queen cage, my frames were askew so I knew this was a possibility. Okay, so that's what was supposed to happen.

Now, let me tell you what did happen. I got myself and Ripley all suited up. Ripley took his safe place back by the side of the garage and dutifully sat down and watched. I told him, no talking or moving. He's a very mellow reliable 4 year old from that perspective. Check. Got my smoker stoked and lit. I don't know how good a job I did with it. The thing is, all of these tasks are so foreign and new. Every move you make feels like you've been plunked into Saudi Arabia (a country with a foreign language and culture I've never been to or experienced first hand) and are expected to function properly. So, I got all of my props - hive tool, bee brush, smoker, more fuel for the smoker (pine needles) and I went over to the right hive (still need names, any suggestions?). 

You always approach your hive from the side so you're not in the line of traffic (bee line? :) ). Did that. Check. I puffed smoke from my smoker into the entrance and then as calmly as I could muster I took off the rock, the lid, the top box and feeder. There were bees sucking away at the sugar water in the feeder -- not knowing what on earth to do (being a skittish novice) I just slowly put the thing down and hoped they crawled out. At the time I didn't even think to put it on the ground right side up, or to bee brush them off. Can you say overwhelmed? And I hadn't even opened the actual hive body yet! 

So, then I went about taking off the "inner cover" which is this thin (5/8"?) top that covers the frames where all the bees are busy in the frames. When I lifted that cover off I immediately felt and said quietly out loud "Oh my gosh, I don't know what I'm doing. I have no clue. What am I doing in here?!" (Not to mention a few unmentionable sentences.) So much for positive thinking and positive 'self talk'. You can read all you want and go to every single bee class (like I did) and still feel totally inept and overwhelmed at opening up that hive. In reflecting on it, I think the thing is -- it's simply unnerving to go into a buzzing hive of bees at first. When I pulled the inner cover off there was this large piece of burr comb stuck to the underside of it. It looked like the dorsal fin of a dolphin -- every millimeter of it was packed with honey bees. I just froze. Okay, now what? What to do? I grabbed my smoker and puffed a few puffs into the hive and onto the comb. Not one bee moved. Okay, now what? Uhhhhh, pry off the comb (which is very easy to do, no 'leverage' required). I got out my hive tool and pryed it off so that it dropped gently on top of the frames with the other bees. Then, I placed the inner cover on top of the other box to the side. I turned back to the hive and slowly picked up the burr comb. I tried to give it a little shake. Nothing. All bees stayed put. Again, not knowing what to do, I decided to grab my bee brush, which looks like a very soft, long 'haired' dust pan brush. I brushed the bees off. That worked just fine. But the bbbbbuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzinnnnnnggg got louder. They didn't like being brushed. Who would, right? Even Benjamin and Ripley complained. I puffed the hive with a little smoke. (maybe I should try that with my boys?) I don't know that the smoke did anything . . . it was effective when I had 2 or 3 bees come at me -- granted I had the full on bee suit so they couldn't get to me if they tried, but I smoked them away anyway. 

I put the burr comb to the side and then looked at the queen cage wedged in between the frames. It was packed with bees all over the outside of the cage. They want their queen out! I could see that the hole was bigger. I held onto the little cage and pulled it out. I could still see (sort-of) through all of the bees clinging to the outside of the cage, that there were still bees inside the cage. I didn't know what to do. I felt like the hive was already mad at me, even though I felt like I'd done what I was supposed to and I didn't know if I should proceed. I was supposed to pry the little wire mesh off the cage and allow the queen to crawl out . . . but the thing was covered in bees. I shook it. I smoked it. Nothing. I just didn't know if I should bee brush them off. They were teeved at me as it was. Can you bee brush the queen cage?? That will really get them mad (I guessed). No knowing what to do. I just buttoned that hive back up. I put the queen cage back in it's place with all of the bees crowding on it and closed her up. It's one thing to not know how to bake bread and to get through it by trial and error. It's a whole 'nother thing to go into a buzzing hive and feel clueless. Overwhelming. 

I immediately called my friend Diane the beekeeper and talked her ear off. Poor gal. Thank God she's a nurse. She calmly talked to me about the whole mess and encouraged me and told me (in the end) to try going in tomorrow. I took that advice and ran with it! After the fact I felt like I'd accomplished nothing and had been a complete and utter failure. I've never done drugs, hardly ever take even aspirin -- but I was thinking that right about then a Valium would have been helpful. I was a mess. 

In hind sight, and thanks to listening and encouraging friends, I can see that I did learn something by going into my hive. This was my main accomplishment. Learning. But it was tough unnerving learning. Unsettling. The bottom line was not knowing what to do moment to moment. When Diane had been by my side during the install, I was totally calm. I felt comfortable even! And there were many more bees just flying around not knowing where they were or where to go. Fear of the unknown. Like walking into Junior High for the first time, but with more bbbbuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzziiinnnnggggggggg. 

And, I also removed a large piece of burr comb. Deep in each cell glistened fresh nectar (or sugar water) that the bees had put there. Here it is.  Neat, huh? Today I am going in again. Pray for me. 

Incidentally, I asked Ripley afterwards if he found watching overwhelming or fun and interesting. He said "fun and interesting". So, that's good. At least he enjoyed it.

On a completely different note, Ripley had his very first T-ball game last night. There was a mix-up with his uniform shirt, so he didn't have one, but thankfully that didn't bring the tears. I was worried.

Here he is in the outfield at the ready -- in the white shirt.

Here he is glowing on third base -- having the time of his life.

Afterwards, I made two variations of asparagus and goat cheese pizza. I didn't have a recipe, so I was winging it. It was very yummy, but I don't know if it was 'perfect'. The first one has garlic and olive oil on the dough -- I cooked that for a few minutes, then added the asparagus. Cooked it for a few minutes, then added the goat cheese and red pepper flakes. 

This one I put a thin layer of red sauce on the dough. Experimenting with pizza is a lot easier than experimenting with honey bees - - just so you know.

An Imperfect Mother

Benjamin and I had a tough morning yesterday. He woke up and although he was very helpful (doing his chores from the revived job list) he was in a 'challenging' mood. Instead of doing what I asked of him right away, he would give me twelve reasons why he couldn't. He argued with me at every turn. He was flat out disrespectful. 

I am generally pretty firm. I will stand my ground and explain that he needs to do as I ask, etc., etc. But yesterday morning as I stood firm and held my ground, things were falling apart. He wouldn't cave. Arguing. More arguing. I spoke to him in a calm but firm voice. When he was explosive or disrespectful (arguing) I told him to remove himself and go to his room. But it was a mess. In spite of all of my best efforts, I failed. In the end, he flipped out and had a meltdown like he was five. Finally, we were able to talk. But it was like talking in front of a horrific car accident on the side of the road.

I love my boy. He is so talented. He has so many things to offer. He is intense. Bright-eyed. Fun. And hard to parent. What is a mother to do? Should I have backed off? Disrespectful behavior (raising your voice and sarcastic facial expressions) towards your mother seems like a dangerous thing to 'let slide' with a strong willed child on the cusp of teenagerhood. How do you guide such a child? How do you show them what won't be tolerated without allowing things to escalate?

How do you make certain you don't squash his vibrancy, but also insist that he obey and respect and take responsibility for his actions (the bad-behavior actions)?

Just look at him. He is so expressive and vivacious. 

And I love him so.

Our Addiction to Soda

I have been slowly plodding through The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It is a very informative read about the United States food system and it's evolution. And it's not a pretty picture. 

When I was reading through portions of the book that talk about "HFCS" or High Fructose Corn Syrup and how much of it sneaks it's way into our diets thanks in part to the U.S. Government's policies encouraging the modern farmer to produce corn, corn and more corn, I was taken aback when I read just how much soda the average American consumes annually. (now I can't find that exact quote in the book, so I looked it up online) As of the year 2000 the number was at 53 GALLONS of soda per person, per year. That's in addition to any other sugary / HFCS that Americans consume. Soda is the #1 source of sugar in the American diet. The average teen in America consumes 750 cans of soda a year. Soda contributes to about 10% of calories in the American diet. 

According to the USDA, in 1983 boys consumed more than twice as much milk than soft drinks, and girls consumed 50% more milk than soft drinks. By 1996, boys and girls consumed twice as much soda as milk.  Wow. That's BOYS and GIRLS! Children. This is mind boggling to me. 

Just this week I watched a segment on 20/20 by Diane Sawyer titled "Children of the Mountain" where she interviewed children in eastern Kentucky. She was exploring their schools, their standard of living, coal mining, alcoholism, drug addiction and their diet. Apparently folks in the mountains of Kentucky are addicted to Mountain Dew. Adults are putting the stuff in sippy cups! This is the children's main beverage. When a traveling dentist featured in the show (who gives children free dental care) asked children whose teeth were rotting (brown and misshapen) what they drank, the children responded "Mountain Dew". Not "milk, juice, water and Mountain Dew". Nope. Just "Mountain Dew".  As an aside, the folks at Pepsi who make Mountain Dew came out (trying to put a damper on this public relations nightmare) and explained that they were concerned "about overuse or misuse of the soda by small children" and promised to buy the traveling dentist an additional van to compliment the traveling dentist office (built on a 18 wheeler flatbed truck). This was after making a hideous statement claiming that Diane Sawyer's news was " . . . old irresponsible news . . . " and that " . . . it was preposterous to blame soft drinks or any one food for poor dental health". Really? Then how about diabetes? 

This is not just relegated to the mountains of Kentucky however. We followed our long time pediatrician to a clinic when he had to close his office. The pediatric clinic serves a lot of low income, inner-city families. When we went there recently, our pediatrician explained that there was an incredible pediatric dental office upstairs. He added that this was a good thing and a necessity because so many of the children were given so much sugar in their diet that their teeth were rotting. Children would go into the clinic and have multiple teeth pulled at their first visit. Sad. 

Since Benjamin was a baby our pediatrician has encouraged us to serve only milk and water to our children for beverages. Our pediatrician has discouraged us from giving our children juice because of it's highly concentrated sugar content (albeit from fruit). 

What are we thinking? Why are we consuming all of this stuff? It's an addiction to caffeine and sugar. There is no nutritional value in soda -- (and diet soda is just as bad thanks to all of the artificial sweeteners). Water from the tap is pretty much free -- even if you get a water bill -- and has more regulations to pass than bottled water for safety.  Mountain Dew incidentally has 50% more caffeine than Coke or Pepsi, and has a high acid level making the risk for tooth decay even worse.

One of the things that Michael Pollan points out in The Omnivore's Dilemma is the lack of nutritional value per calorie when we are eating processed foods with (even without) HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup). There is wisdom in eating unprocessed, whole foods. If you are looking for nutritional value, whole foods are less expensive. Sadly, an unhealthy meal from McDonald's with very little nutritional value and plenty of unhealthy ingredients, is very inexpensive. But processed foods with little nutritional value leave you unsatisfied and wanting more. Why are Americans suffering from obesity and diabetes? Gee, isn't it obvious?

What do we have on hand to drink in our home for our children? Water (filtered, from the well) and Milk, from the local milkman.  What do we have on hand to drink in our home for the adults? Water, Milk, Green Tea, Herbal Teas, Coffee (our one cup a day!) and Red Wine. 

It's official . . .

I'm addicted to my wood stove. The bad news is, we are fresh out of wood. As I mentioned previously, our wood stove purchase came last minute in the fall, so we didn't spend the spring and summer squirreling away wood for the cold winter. Poor Victor schleps outside with the kids on the weekends and chops in the cold. (There could be worse things I suppose, like a $600 oil bill!) 

As I'm typing this, I'm sitting in front of the laptop with a full length down coat on. My feet are ice cold in my slippers. I've actually caught myself fantasizing about going places where I can keep my Uggs on indoors (we have just switched to a slipper house - residents only required). Or another one I had today was catching myself considering a trip to the mall, just so I could be warm. I am my mother's daughter. Unless it's 80 degrees or I'm running in or out of doors, my hands and feet are like icicles. Is my circulation that bad?! It's amazing my hands a feet don't just plumb drop off. I digress.

The strange thing is, even if the thermostat in the dining room (admittedly on the other side of the house from the wood stove) reads 68 with the wood stove heating the place it feels warmer than if the baseboard heaters are doing the work. I've been thinking that maybe it's a control thing. I feel like I have guilt-free heat in my control with a wood stove. I am happy to "do my time" waiting for the wood stove to get the house up to temp. But, if I sit here in a 65 degree baseboard heated house -- I freeze. Is this all just in my head? I don't know. But I'm counting down the days until I have a porch full of split wood waiting for me. (No pressure Lovey. Prod. Prod.) 

While we are on the topic of slippers (above), I would like to vent. It's bad enough being a gal who likes to "dress-up" as an at home mom. Really, there is no point. An entire day can pass by and the only adult who sees me is Victor. And, he's great and all, and I want him to think I'm pretty and all, but really -- is it worth it (and justifiable) to wear something that requires ironing and / or dry cleaning? But slippers put me over the edge. I feel like a total schlep. Like, "Get a job you lazy bum!" How can a woman accomplish anything but knitting, reading and watching t.v. in slippers?! I'm just not sold. Am I the only one?

Is it that time of the month, or did I just forget to take my Vitamin D? 

Be well. 

Hopefully I made you laugh, rather than making you feel like digging a hole and moving in. :)

Southeastern New Englanders are Wimps!

You have got to be kidding me. Today it is forecast to be 16 degrees along with 1-3 inches of snow. The Midwest is dealing with -20 to -40 degree temperatures and we, Southeastern New Englanders are canceling school. I'm baffled. We have furnaces in the schools, right? We have snow plows, right? What's the problem? I have to admit that when we see folks down south on the news skidding all over the roads and getting into pile-ups, we snicker a little up here. But places that don't have enough plows, sanders and salters to make the roads safe (and why would they, since snowfall is rare?) are at a big disadvantage. And drivers don't have the opportunity to learn how to drive in the snow. We however, have no excuse. We are wimps. It's official. Our fellow Northern New Englanders are laughing their butts off at us. It's an embarrassment. Allow me to say to the rest of the New Englanders out there who know how to deal with the cold and snow: We are sorry. We have let you down. It's hopeless, we are wimps. We are going to race off to the stores before the snow begins to fall today, all 3 inches of it, (with our children in tow, because there is no school) and purchase our obligatory loaf of bread and gallon of milk. It's all we know. It's what we do. Send us down south where we belong. (Then we'd no doubt complain about the heat, the humidity, the snakes and the bugs.)

What is Clean Coal?

The term: "Clean Coal Technology" is misleading, that's what it is. Haven't you seen that commercial jamming the television air waves talking about the clean coal technology? The ACCCE "I believe" ad? Actor's representing all walks of American life flash on the screen stating "I believe we can protect the environment", "I believe in energy Independence", "I believe we can limit greenhouse gasses, and keep energy costs affordable" . . . When I saw these ad's of course I thought to myself "Amen"! The ACCCE organization, or Americans Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (a coalition of the top coal and electricity companies) produces these ads, and if they truly believed in saving the environment, that would be great. This is a big deal, because COAL is used to produce half of the electricity produced in the United States. And coal is one of the leading emitters of carbon dioxide. However, come to find out -- there currently is no such technology being used. Unlike, wind, solar and wave technology which has already been created and implemented -- "Clean Coal Technology" doesn't exist. And there is still a lot of debate about how to "make" coal "clean". If you watch the ads you are left with the impression that the "challenge" is how do we implement this technology on a large scale. But, "clean coal dreaming" isn't about figuring out how to tackle such a monumental implementation. No, clean coal doesn't even exist yet. Just like the car industry, coal and electricity companies use this "commitment" to the idea of clean coal technology to put off requirements to reduce carbon emissions. The frightening thing is the EPA under the Bush Administration seems to have been perfectly fine with encouraging this type of deception and delay. Currently there are no federal limits on CO2 emissions by any industry, and just last year the Supreme Court ruled that CO2 is a pollutant. Good grief. If you can't believe it -- read a USA today article HERE . How is this any different from the car industries debacle? Experts say that this technology is probably possible and could be implemented by the year 2030. Some say 2020. Now I'm all for pushing to get it done -- as we did when we decided to go to the moon. However, listening to Joe Lucas, vice president for communications for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, on NPR's OnPoint, I didn't get the impression that "getting it done, and fast" was on his organization's short list of what needs to be accomplished. Listen to NPR's OnPoint or read an excerpt here. More information from Greenpeace here. Below is the "I believe" ad put out by ACCCE among others, and the Alliance for Climate Protection's new counter ad. Bottom line: Chances are anytime you use your electricity you're are burning coal via your local power plant. Conserve energy. Save money. Save the environment. Stop the "Clean Coal" myth madness. *Footnote* This is not to say that there haven't been any improvements in coal technology. It's the term "clean" people are (in my opinion rightly) taking issue with. If you said your house was "clean" what percentage of it would be clean? 30%, 50%, how about 90%? 100% Good Luck. The standard for true "clean" coal is 90 percent. What do you think? What is clean?

Fun in the Florida Sun

Before we get to the fun in the sun portion, will you humor me while I lament?

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I cannot find my cell phone. I've looked everywhere. Now the battery is dead, so even if I found myself in the right location I wouldn't be able to hear it ring. (I've even been listening for the buzzing sound, just in case it's on "manner mode" -- but I don't think it is.) Verizon has been haggling me for years to replace it because it's getting quite old for a cell phone. But it works just fine. The thought of replacing all of those phone numbers!! Argh! To add insult to injury, we don't have long distance phone service. We use our cell phone for this to reduce costs. I've romped through the woods in case it fell out of my pocket. I've even dug through some yard compost to see if it dropped in there! Nothing. Lament. Lament.

*Happy Days are here again! I found my phone. Downstairs in the kid's craft area. Yipee.*

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Additionally, our family has been battling a cold for weeks. I thought for sure the Florida Sun would cure us (as it has for me in the past). But alas, we are still all sniffling. It's not that bad really, which is why no one's gone to the doctor -- it just wont EXIT STAGE LEFT!! I'm not big on antibiotics simply because I want them to be effective when I really need them, but I just may need to cave. OK, I'm done.

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Speaking of the Florida Sun, here are some more cute pictures (there are more, but my new fancy camera is giving me grief ... which is another whole subject!) My father has this little boat that has seating all the way around and a table in the middle. Over the boat, named The Bluebird II from Bert and I which he has been able to "perform" since childhood, is an adorable canopy. Really it's a cocktail cruiser. So, several times during our stay in Florida, we round up cheese, crackers, fruit, juice or milk for the kids and wine for the grown-ups and go for a little spin looking at the houses or the mangroves growing along the waterways. It's wonderful. A tradition has developed that all of the grandchildren have to take their turn at the helm and a ceremonial photo documents the event. See below.

Benjamin at the helm

Ripley at the helm
Benjamin and I on board the Bluebird II

Ripley enjoying the Gulf
Benjamin, "Uncle Moose" and Reese playing the "fight the tide" game

Mom at the local farmer's market

L-R: Benjamin, Rosalie, Reese, Scott aka: Moose, Victor and Ripley

Consumption ... The Holidays

Since we were on the subject of TRASH and CONSUMPTION (see Wednesday's post) ... What will you do this year for the holidays? We celebrate Christmas and have had our fair share of over-consumption to put it mildly. Just how did we get so far off base in celebrating the birth of Jesus? The more you think on it, the more embarrassing it becomes. And the irony is, if you read through the New Testament I just don't see anywhere where Jesus would be in favor of such a display of excess, waste and gluttony. Surely we have bought onto a lie. The sad thing is, so often in our society shopping for Christmas has become a chore. Something is purchased just to cross it off the list of "to do's". We more than likely aren't filling a need. Toys upon more toys, clothes upon more clothes, widgets upon more widgets. Ugh. If we were to truly celebrate the life of Jesus, we would save all year long, and at the end of the year we would give away what we had collected to the poor, the hungry, and the homeless. Perhaps this is too radical for us all. Maybe a "green" Christmas would include recycling gifts (toys that your kids have outgrown, but are still perfectly OK), purchasing gifts from thrift shops, consignment shops or antique shops, or hand making gifts. Maybe a "green" Christmas is an old fashioned Christmas, where you received an orange in the foot of your stocking, some underwear and socks. Maybe it's making more of a committment to non-gift oriented traditions with family and friends. We have made big improvements as a family over the past five years, but it's like beating back bramble in a forest. It takes committment and discipline on all sides. What will you do for the holidays? Will you make any changes? What do you think of this pickle we've gotten ourselves into? Or, are you OK with it this one time a year?

The Flu and TRASH!

I was looking forward to yesterday. Getting out to vote and watching the whole landmark election process take place and unfold on the news. My boys both had the day off from school, so with beautiful weather forecasted and the opportunity to take them with me to vote ... I was giddy with excitement. However, around 1am yesterday morning .... I came down with the flu. Can you believe it?! Both kids at home, husband at work, chills, aches, mild fever and ... other flu symptoms that I will spare you. :) I was determined that even if I had to shuffle into my polling location with a bucket -- I was going to VOTE!! I'd waited too long! So, around 10:30am I threw on some clothes and tried to look respectable, packed the kids in the car and off we went (Not to worry, I used antibacterial gel and didn't touch or get near a soul!). Thankfully, it was very busy, but line-less. I shuffled in -- cast my votes -- and shuffled out. The poor boys were anxious to do something fun and all I could do was survive and make sure they didn't get into mischief. It was brutal. As I ached away, I watched t.v. and did manage to see all of the polling results, the concession speech and the acceptance speech. No matter what you think of Obama, as my "less government" Portuguese Citizen History Major husband said last night "That guy gives a friggin' incredible speech! He can even inspire me!"

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TRASH: I did manage to read the paper yesterday and ran into a very interesting article. The subtitle read: "Trash volumes have declined 20 percent to 25 percent across the country during the past 20 months and some industry analysts attribute that to the economy." The Providence Journal article goes on to say "Rhode Islanders are tossing out more than 20 percent less trash than they did two years ago, before the onset of the local recession ... 'It's true that recycling is on the rise increasing 6 percent during the second half of last year and the first half of this year ... and would help diminish overall trash volumes. But ... the lower output in recent years, especially last year, is a reflection of the local economy. People are buying less, so they're throwing out less.' Said Michael O'Connell, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp's executive director." Isn't that incredible?! To me, it is incredible in a good way. Now, I know this is a touchy subject. As someone whose family is in the manufacturing business (handbags) if people buy less stuff ... or a lot less stuff, companies will have to produce less and perhaps go out of business, and then we will have large losses of jobs, etc., etc. However, as I've pointed out before when posting The Story of Stuff video link, our world's and particularly our nation's level of consumption is unsustainable. The Story of Stuff does editorialize a little bit (if you are offended by that) but it's filled with a lot of great information. The bottom line is we can't keep making stuff, buying stuff and throwing it out. It's unsustainable. What's the answer? For decades now the success of our Nation's economy has been based on consumption. Ugh. How embarrassing. Maybe it is leading the world in sustainable energy. Maybe it's recommitting ourselves to servicing and repairing things again? (I actually drove by a t.v. repair shop recently and nearly drove off the road with my mouth agape. T.V. repair? This poor person can actually stay in business?) I don't know what the answer is. What to do with all of the jobs that we need? Maybe we downsize our economy, people commit to having one family member stay home to raise their children, be content with buying less stuff, and recommit ourselves to conserving, repairing, recycling and reusing things. That would certainly reduce the demand for more jobs. Hmmmm. What do you think?

Speaking of trash ... I just read a blurb from No Impact Man regarding how things are made to throw out and how the world of manufacturing is more or less currently based on getting rid of the old and buying a new. No Impact Man has a vision for the future. All I can say in response to him is "Amen". Link his story here.

A Bit Overwhelmed . . .

Gee, have you been wondering where I've been? (I hope so! :) )

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I have bitten off a little more than I can chew. Now, those of you who know me well will say (I can hear you .... even from here) "What else is new? Sandy always have about 100 more things going on than the average person would try to attack ... and she's wondering why she's racing around ..."

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Well, this time even I will admit I have one to many things coming at me.

• My garlic bulbs just got delivered in the mail for planting (actually VERY exciting!). I have a few more weeks before the ground freezes so this is currently waiting on the back burner.
• My cold frames are under construction. Scraping. Sanding. Caulking. Painting. Not to mention tending to what's going to be underneath them in the ground!
• Since May I'd promised the Sunday School for Toddlers at our church a circus tent curtain project. Gee ... it's now October and it's almost done ... I have a meeting tomorrow to talk about hanging it up!
• Finally I volunteered some of my time at Benjamin's school on the Enrichment Committee which plans and writes grants to get "private school" types of activities into our public school. It's a great cause ... but in typical form I'm having a hard time doing any aspect of it halfway. I've got 3 books out of the library regarding grant writing.
• Ripley's birthday is banging at my door and he's been asking about it for literally ... months! Of course my birthday parties tend to be very creative and fun ... I can't let the boy down!!
• Halloween is coming. We are having family over to "trick-or-treat" at our easy to walk around neighborhood -- which is an event I adore simply because it's really the only time New Englanders actually "drop on by" a neighbors house and say "HEY!" It's great. And of course I love the creative aspects of the costumes and personally enjoy dressing up too (no evil violent things allowed)! Benjamin is going to be a Recycling Bin!! I want to hand out flyer's and info getting people to recycle -- hopefully.
• All of that homemade food ... I can't start serving t.v. dinners, can I??

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OK, I know I'm being a little silly and need to "give" somewhere before I burst. The funny thing is ... I do love all this stuff! What to do. Does anyone else do this? Or, am I the only one?

Uuuuunnnnnncccccllllleeeee!!!!

My Father grew up living on a small farm in Montgomery County, Maryland (which his father - an executive - purchased so that his children wouldn't be "spoiled") with three brothers. They worked hard, knew how to have fun -- and from the sound of it -- there were a lot of shenanigans going on at any given moment. The boys (especially the older ones picking on the younger ones, especially the youngest, my father) would torture each other the way boys do -- twisting elbows back, for example. The idea was that in order to be "tough" you had to hold out as LONG as possible before finally giving in and shouting UNCLE!! At which point the older, bigger brother would lay off. (I'm imagining with a few insults like "Wimp!" or something like that.)

As kids, we loved to have "tickle fights" with my father. I even had "tickle me" pajamas. Scott (aka "The Moose") and I would come downstairs in our pajamas -- me in my "tickle me's" -- and we would declare "war". Of course Dad would always win and would end the game tickling us nearly to death until we declared "UNCLE!!!" and Dad was declared official winner.

I bring this up because I am declaring UNCLE!!!!! to the skies hoovering here over New England. We have had the rainiest September on record -- the most rain EVER in the month of September! ENOUGH ALREADY!!! We New Englanders have our fair share of challenging weather of all kinds, but most of us couldn't imagine living in Seattle (God Bless Them) or London (God Bless Them). As if we feel our weather is challenging enough. We are all starting to get cranky and unhappy. Please, just a few days of sunshine .... PLEASE!

UUUUuuuuunnnnnnnnnnccccccccllllllleeeeeee!

Plastics ... Again.

Click on the link below to play short video on more news about plastics ...
src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/26743908#26743908"

I know, we already know this. I don't know why I keep adding. The thing is ... I'm so infuriated with the lobbyists and "big business" that is pushing on the FDA to support their bad products. I'm infuriated that the FDA seems to be spine-less. So, I post.