California Dreamin'

Well, school is finally done for the semester and I have so many things to do that I've been putting off! I spent some time today raking up some leaves that we abandoned a month ago, and taking them to the burn pile in the back yard. As I was burning the rubble, I began to think about all the lessons I've learned since I moved here to California. I guess that thought popped into my head because I was considering the fact that three years ago I had never gathered sticks and leaves with the sole purpose of disposing of them by fire, unless you count the many campfires I've had. I recall a decade ago being proud of the fact that I got up early once during a camping trip and started the fire all by myself! And here I was today, by myself, standing by a burn pile that I created, I managed, I saw through.

Our lives are full of lessons. One thing I've realized these past few years is that we are constantly evolving as human beings. New challenges come our way, and how we rise to meet them is what creates the person we become. I guess I never embraced those opportunities in years past, but I enjoy discovering what I am capable of, how I handle things, and most importantly, how I can stand on my own two feet and still get by.

As I was waiting for the fire to burn out, I decided to work a bit in the area nearby. It was at this point that I realized that my "voice," or, my "brand" for this blog could include observations of living in Northern California. I was born in Oregon, but I was raised in Nebraska, and consider myself a Midwest girl. On the Great Plains we have few trees--the grassland goes on forever. When I moved to Northern California three years ago I had only ever been to this state three times before: twice to LA and once when my family drove down the Oregon coast, through the Redwoods and over to Reno before heading home. So life here provides new experiences for me daily, and new opportunities for observation.

It is mid-May now, and summer is coming on us hard here in the northern part of the Great Valley. I live just outside Sacramento, on the verge of the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Our weather here is much like the weather is in the Mediterranean. Just down the street from me used to be (before urban sprawl got the better of it) several acres of olive trees. There was an olive ranch there at one time; now all that's left is the house and a few small groves of trees. I had never seen an olive tree before I moved here. The climate here, while second nature to many, always takes me by surprise. This weekend, the middle of May, the temperatures will be over 100 degrees. Granted, this is about 20 degrees over the normal range, but it's not uncommon. To me it is a reminder of the summer to come--hot and dry as they always are, but full of new adventures and wonders to take in.

More of life's little lessons

It's been a month now since I was cleaning out my garden space and planting seeds. My vision of a garden bursting forth with new plants by this time has not come to fruition, and has been peppered with few successes. I am a little disgruntled by the very few seeds that have germinated, and even more so with their very slow growth. As I was reviewing my post about the seeds I planted, I do realize that most of them have produced a few plants each. By now I have several (albeit tiny) basil plants throughout my garden. I have a few borage plants growing, and some nasturtiums. I see some of the cosmos flowers are doing well, too. The peppers are very slow, but some are coming up, and the lettuce, onion, garlic, zucchini, and squash are flourishing. My tomatoes, on the other hand, are another story entirely.

The other day, as I was huddled over my plants (as I do multiple times a day), I realized that gardening is a reflection of life itself. Seeds of thought, of action, of hope need proper germination. The right temperature, humidity, and light will either bring a seed to life, or it will lie stagnant in the soil and wither to nothingness. I find myself nurturing these little plants, feeling a love and passion for each. I want them to grow, not only for myself, but for the energy I have tranferred into each one of them. They each are a reflection of myself.

I was accused of loving my plants to death, scaring them because of my hovering. I suppose there is some truth in that to those plants that didn't make it, but for those that are struggling to survive, I say my love is what keeps them going. I nurture them as I try to do with my children. I suppose I liken these little plants' physical needs to my own children's emotional needs. Some would also say I hover, and mother my children to death, but I see myself as a protector of their emotions, helping them develop and mature into fruitful adults.

I remember one time when my son, who is now 19, was only four years old, had some emotional upheaval happen which brought him to tears. At the time we were visiting my in-laws; my husband's step-father said to my son, "Boys don't cry!" and made him feel even worse for feeling the way he did. Where does this notion come from? Why is it we stifle our sons from feeling anything and then expect them to be compassionate, loving adults? How can we expect our children to feel anything at all if we do not nurture their emotions?

I suppose, as with all things, there is a balance. But when it comes to tending my little plants, coaching them, nourishing them, and nurturing them, I won't give up. Not even when they've grown up and produced little fruits of their own.

Gardening Lessons learned

The Seed Saver seeds arrived and as I posted earlier, I eagerly planted as many as I could in peat pots to get a jump start on my garden. Here in Northern California we're still experiencing relatively cool temperatures. Highs in the 60s, with a few days in the 70s, and nighttime lows still into the 30s and 40s. Not knowing any better, I filled my little pots, set them in a tray of water and set them in the sun on a table near the garden. I watched anxiously and nothing happened. I watered and watched, watered and watched, but still nothing. After several weeks a few little brave seedlings began to emerge (not the 4-6 days most seed packages claimed!), and my peat pots began to get some green moss on the top. Jack so kindly pointed out that 1) you cannot drown the seeds and expect them to grow, and 2) you need heat to make the seeds grow. I was beginning to get so disheartened that all my efforts were for naught.

I must step back a moment and explain that this gardening venture is entirely new to me. I've never tended a garden of my own from start to finish. I've never tried to grow seeds, unless you count those elementary school lessons on seed germination. So this is all a new experience. What little I know, I've learned from books, or from sage advice from experienced gardeners.

Jack, in all his wisdom, found some building materials that were laying around the yard and bought some insulation, and built a box around my seeds to create a cold frame box to get those seeds started. He pulled out the excess water I thought was so necessary as he explained that damp soil works better than soggy soil. A few weeks ago he and I pulled down the greenhouse that I photographed for my previous post, and from that he salvaged a window that he used for the top of the new cold frame. Within a couple of days more seeds were popping out thanks to the warmth and the drying soil.



I did succumb and buy a few plants already started in a nursery. I bought garlic, a few onion sets, a couple of rhubarb plants, a horseradish plant, and a six-pack of Lobelias. Another lesson I learned was that the onion sets have multiple onions in each cell pack. I made the mistake of planting each bunch in one clump, but last night I took the time to dig them back up and separate each little shoot and plant them individually. I'll be digging up a lot of onions this fall!

As I discover the ways to live tight in tight times, I am learning how to make do with what materials we have on hand as much as possible. The cold frame box illustrates the ingenuity of utilizing scraps to make something new and useful with very little monetary output. Stay tuned for more on this topic, and the story of the creative garden fence pictured at the top!

Turning over an old leaf (several!)

If you've ever read The Secret Garden, you'll understand when I say I feel like Mary Lennox these past few weeks. I have been taking advantage of the 60-70 degree temperatures and unearthing a space for a garden. The idea has been lurking in my brain for a few years, but finally, thanks to my friend Carol's help, I am making headway toward a real garden. For the past few years I have primarily grown herbs in containers, with an unsuccessful attempt at tomatoes. The space I've been clearing was previously used as a garden but was abandoned at least five years ago, with some parts of the garden not receiving attention for a good decade. I've been hacking, pulling, digging, raking, and in general just clearing the space in which to grow vegetables.


I've been doing a lot of reading lately about organic gardening methods. A little more than a week ago we went to the Goodwill where Carol ran into the book Carrots Love Tomatoes. She and I had been talking about that book a few weeks back, so she got it and gave it to me. I've been pouring over it considering the benefits of companion gardening. I also started a compost pile where I am putting all the debris from my garden clean-up along with scraps (not meat) leftover from the kitchen. It won't be done "cooking" for a few months, but when it is, there will be some prime soil for future gardens!

In the meantime, as I've been raking out a very neglected section of the garden, I discovered some well-composted soil from years of leaves, sticks and dirt piled in the same area. I'll make use of that in my garden!

I was recently reflecting back to a time in the not-to-distant-past when I refused to dig in the dirt because "there are bugs!" and how I now boldly rake through leaves that just as well could have snakes, knowing that what I am doing now will benefit our grocery bill this summer.

I did go to Seed Savers yesterday and order several seeds. I may be a bit ambitious, but I'm trying to limit what I grow to those things I know we buy on a regular basis in the summer time. I have also been planting other seeds that I already had, and some I bought locally. So far I've planted:

• Basil


• Turnips


• Lettuce


• Green Onions


• San Marzano Pole Tomatoes


• Beefsteak Tomatoes

I'm waiting on the following seeds from Seed Savers, which I will plant immediately upon their arrival!

• 2 kinds of cucumbers: lemon and pickling


• Beets (Detroit Dark Red)


• 2 kinds of peppers: Hinkelhatz and Cayenne (I put red pepper flakes in almost everything I cook!)


• Purple Tomatillos--this is something I grew by accident a few years ago and we really enjoyed them!


• And 3 more kinds of tomatoes! Cherry, Black and Green

It may seem a bit ridiculous to have five kinds of tomatoes, but we go through a lot of tomatoes in this house. In the fall I will can tomatoes, tomato sauce, and salsa. I love canning pickles too!

Watch this space as spring progresses and see how my garden grows!

Hung out to dry

The other day our dryer went out. It just stopped wanting to run. In a house of four people this almost seems tragic. In our debate whether we should try to fix it or replace it I decided to run out and get some clothesline in order to get us by until the decision was made. After we stretched the line, and I took the first load out to hang up, I began to think about the potential savings this could provide us down the road. Yes, it's a hassle to hang up the clothes, and the clothes take longer to dry. The day I hung my first load of clothing, they were dry in six hours. I got to thinking about summertime and how the California sun is so hot, and realized that as the days get warmer, my dry time will be less. I could conceivably get two loads washed and dried in a day. The potential savings coupled with the intense summertime heat as well as the mild winters makes using the clothesline as a penny saver a natural choice for us.

We fixed the drier, but this won't stop me from using my new line. I read in an article online that clothes dryers consume 6% of a household's electricity usage. The other day we were reviewing our most recent PG&E (gas and electricity) bill, and were shocked at the monthly cost for gas. We calculated that we are spending no less than $5 a day just in gas usage. This may not seem to be a lot at first glance, but over the course of a year this can add up! We began to debate what we could do to cut this cost. Naturally I considered the clothesline!

It's a strange world we live in. Just 50 years ago people hung their clothes to dry on a regular basis. In that time somehow we, as a society, have become dependent on this machine to do what the sun naturally does. According to the same article, over 83% of households view the drier as a a necessity. There are even bans on clotheslines in neighborhoods all around California. Over 35,000 subdivisions in California ban the use of clotheslines. Why? Because they're not pretty and it makes things uncomfortable for the neighborhood if your undies are hanging up to dry. It's this kind of thinking that has us in the mess we are today.

Consumer Reports has a nice list of green ways to save money when doing laundry. Take a look at their site if you want more energy money savers too!

1. Wash clothes in cold water. You might guess that most of the energy used by a washing machine goes into vigorously swishing the clothes around. In fact, about 90 percent of it is spent elsewhere, heating the water for the load. You can save substantially by washing and rinsing at cooler temperatures. Warm water helps the suds to get at the dirt, but cold-water detergents will work effectively for just about everything in the hamper.

2. Hang it up. Clotheslines and drying racks spare the energy a dryer would use. You'll also get more useful life out of clothes dried on indoor or outdoor clotheslines--after all, dryer lint is nothing but your wardrobe in the process of wearing out.

3. Don't overdry your laundry. If you opt to use a dryer, clothes will need less ironing and hold up better if you remove them from the dryer while they're still just a bit damp. If you are in the market for a dryer, look for one with a moisture sensor; it will be less likely than thermostat-equipped models to run too long.


One last note, The Clothesline Shop asks Did You Know:

1.  clotheslines can save
you money?
2.  electric dryers use 5 - 10 percent of residential energy?
3.  clothes
and sheets smell better when hung outside?
4.  solar dryers save energy, thus preventing
pollution?
5.  fabrics last longer when air dried?
6. spending a few minutes out in the
sun is good for your skin?

Libraries and lean living

The other day I was reminded that not everyone (even those I consider part of my closest circles) remembers that the public library is an excellent resource in tight times like these. As a library school graduate student I feel it is my duty to remind you that there are some awesome things available for FREE to you with your local library card.

For instance, did you know that you can

• RENT MOVIES at the library? Absolutely. And many libraries have the most current movies available too. Be aware, however, that not all libraries check out movies for free (mine does, but I know not all do), but even if they charge it will be a nominal fee. I've been renting movies at the library for at least 15 years now!
• Check out music CDs? Certainly! My son was surprised at some of the music I have on my computer. "Where did you get that CD, mom?" At the library! I've converted him now too!
• Use the Internet and computers? Almost every library in this country now is outfitted with computers (a lot in part thanks to Bill & Melinda Gates!), and these computers are available for you to use. You can write a letter or paper using Word; you can jot off an email or shop online; you can bring that disk of pictures and view them on a computer monitor. The only thing you cannot do, however, is check out lascivious web sites. Children may be watching!
• If you have young children, most libraries have story time and other activities for the children.
• And most valuable of all (in my opinion) are the online databases that virtually all libraries have. It's a hidden resource that not many people are are of. I was chatting online one day with a friend of mine who lives in Wyoming and he was commenting that his children, when they write a paper for school, tend to gravitate to the Internet to find sources for their papers. I told him about how his public library no doubt has access to encyclopedias, newspaper articles, and magazines and journals where his children can tap into reliable information from the comfort of their home. He was surprised to hear about it! In my library system, you simply have to go to library's web site and find the link that refers to the "online databases" (every library will call it something different) and out of curiosity I went to his library's web site and found out that their databases are not at the local library level, but on the State Library level! What a great resource for Wyoming residents!
  

Recently I posted a blog about how the economy is affecting museums and the arts. Though library funding is way down, the need for public libraries is increasing. Watch this video and see what I mean, and then get out and see what your library has to offer!:

Recalling Grandma's lessons

"During the Depression, when the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time, it is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles."

-President Franklin Roosevelt

Last Friday I was mid-discussion with a group of people when the economy came up. One young adult (I'd guess she was in her early to mid-twenties) piped in and said "I still go to movies and out to eat, and I see all kinds of other people doing the same. People are still going to go out and spend money."

Perhaps so, but I would venture to guess that this gal is single, has a small apartment, perhaps with a roommate or two, and very little overhead. I would definitely guess she does not have children. I think her mindset is still fairly representative of the majority of the country. Perhaps she's right. Perhaps it is not as bleak as the mainstream media would like us to believe.

Historically speaking, during the Great Depression unemployment rates were much greater. From 1923 to 1929 (the year of the Stock Market Crash), unemployment rates hovered around 3%. Annually the rate leaped upward to a high in 1933 of nearly 25%.* If I consider my young acquaintance's mind set, that would mean that 75% of Americans were working--and out there spending money. Perhaps this is true. The movie industry at that time was enjoying incredible success. 60 to 70 million Americans still managed to patronize movie theaters weekly during the Great Depression. Stars like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney made big money by putting smiles on peoples' faces. It was a form of escape.

Yet at the same time people were also learning to do with less, making cuts where necessary, living tight in tight times. My grandmother lived through the Great Depression. As a young, single mother, with three mouths to feed, she made do by sewing their clothing and sending her children out on the street to sell her homemade baked goods. She grew a garden and canned her food. For the rest of her life the lessons she learned during that time stuck with her. When she passed away in 1981 among her possessions were stacks of aluminum TV dinner trays, bundles of string she saved, and more bags than a person had a right to.

Our generation has forgotten these lessons of the past. We are a throw away society. I admit I'm as guilty as the next person, but I am trying to recall Grandma's lessons, and learn to reuse as I can. When I bring home vegetables from the grocery store in those flimsy plastic bags, I no longer toss them out as soon as I've emptied them. I save them to cover leftovers for the fridge, or to wrap the remainder of a home baked loaf of bread. I use the plastic grocery sacks for my lunch bag when I need to pack a lunch. I save spice jars once empty and buy replacement spices in bulk to refill the empty jars.

Maybe there are those who are still out there spending money and oblivious to the economic change upon us. There are others of us who are cognizant of the changes occurring, however, who are making a conscious effort to make due with what we have. Maybe our economy won't sink to the levels of the Great Depression, but in the meantime it doesn't hurt to become aware of what we throw away and how we might reuse it.




* For more information about the Great Depression and unemployment rates, check this site out: http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20030124ar03p1.htm