Wintery

I always get lulled into a false sense of security in January. After spending November and December dreading winter, January comes and I think, "Hm. This isn't so bad. I guess I can do this. Heck, January's half over and what do I have after that? February, a little March, and it'll be over before I know it. Easy." And then it snows some more and freezes some more and February comes and drags it's butt and it snows and gets colder than it even was in January and March moves even slower with more snow and ice and cold and the world is still gray and by April I am a first-class, seasonal-affective, certifiable lunatic.

But for now, it's January, and I'll enjoy wintery things for the brief time that I am able.

It's been snowing the most beautiful, still, cold powder all day. The kind of snow that dusts everything in sparkley glitter and crunches under your feet. The best thing about this snow is the marked lack of howling wind. I can take this kind of winter. If I had this kind of winter and it suddenly turned to spring in February, I would be a very happy woman.

Look, a girl can dream, okay?

Jonah actually agreed to suit up and go play in the snow today. He almost never does, probably largely due to the general unpleasantness of a bitter cold wind. Also, he's all my himself, poor kid, and what fun is it to play in the snow by yourself, anyway?





He insists on making snow angels on his tummy.




To each his own, I guess.




I decided that now it's winter and time to use all the yummy fruit I worked so hard at preserving.



I love making gallettes because they're so simple and rustic-looking and super easy to make. I got to test out my new French rolling pin (love it!) in the process.



Now I must go whip some cream so that it'll be ready when my husband gets home. He likes whipped cream. A lot. A whole lot. In fact, he doesn't really see the point of pie unless it has a nice mountain of whipped cream on top.

The Fleet

This morning at Library Story Time, they read stories about airplanes. Then for a craft they made this cute little mobile with a wire coat hanger and little paper planes hanging from it. Jonah flatly refused to allow me to tie his planes onto the hanger. He didn't see the point in hanging such fun toys from the ceiling so he could look at them. Decorations don't mean much when you're 3 1/2.

I promised to make him more to play with when we got home, and we could tie the planes on to the mobile.

No go.

So when we got home, he still wanted me to make more. So I cut out a few more paper airplanes and he hasn't quit playing with them. All. Day.




He still refuses to hang any and make a mobile.




And to think that I bought him Christmas presents! I should have just cut some airplanes out of paper and put them in his stocking...

First Time for Everything

I've had a mild toothache lately. So I finally made a dentist appointment. This really bummed me out because, seriously, when do I run out of dental real estate to rot? For as long as I can remember, every time I go to the dentist I have x number of cavities. And then I have to spend hours in The Chair getting fillings and go around with a numb face all day. (And I've considered just saying "no" to drugs because they don't even work! I can always feel the drilling no matter how much more novicaine they shoot me up with. My face will be numb from here to Australia and I still feel that drill and end up digging holes in my palms with my fingernails.) I even had cavities in my baby teeth when I was a kid! I had some filled with I was around 8 or so and I remember that they gave me nitrous oxide of which I breathed too deeply and I thought I was in a flying saucer. The dentist and his assistant were triangle-faced aliens.

In spite of my propensity (genetic, I believe) to dental decay, I procrastinate making appointments (imagine that). So it's been over two years since my behind last warmed that chair. But last time, I had seven largish cavities (to the tune of $1,500!!!), including a matched pair of misery in my upper wisdom teeth which I still have despite many dentists telling me "they need to come out." (The one I'm going to now hasn't said that. He happily filled them and did quite well, too. He's a keeper, I guess). Those wisdom teeth are hard-won and I won't let them go easily, that's for sure!

After that last time, I vowed to be faithful to my cod liver oil (blended with high-vitamin butter oil for mineral activation). I even recently even started taking traditionally fermented cod liver oil. This is the one supplement that I make sure we all take every day (less in the summer, but faithfully in the winter). Cod liver oil and butter oil are supposed to be the magic combination for healing teeth and preventing tooth decay. I figure that it may be a spendy superfood, but if it keeps us out of the dentist's chair (not to mention numerous other health benefits), it'll be totally worth it!

And yet I have toothache. How frustrating.

So off to the dentist I went today, shaking and muttering in fear. Actually, I was also praying over and over, "Please, Lord, only a few cavities this time! Don't let it cost so much!"

The dentist poked and picked and tapped and tested the "vitality" of my teeth with this little electric-shocker tool (as I tried to prepare myself for the bad news) and then proceeded on to the "keep them clean, blah, blah, brush and floss twice a day, blah, make sure you come for a cleaning every six months, yadda yadda" speech.

"Wait a minute," I said, a bit breathlessly, "Are you saying I don't have any cavities?"






None.



No. Cavities.


I laughed and told him that was the first time in my life that I have ever heard that.

He laughed and congratualted me and then reminded me again about regular cleaning (which I've neglected for... uh... the last few years).

And then he didn't even charge me for the exam!!

Oh happy day!!! I told the receptionist that it was the best dentist visit I'd ever had! I think I had them all giggling with my exuberance.

The dentist thinks that my toothache is from my major jaw-clenching/TMJ dysfunction (and perhaps compounded by sinus problems). He filed down a high spot on a filling on the tooth that's been hurting as that may have been putting some pressure on the tooth and making it ache.


But I have NO cavities! God is good!

I wish I had put in a good word with the dentist about cod liver oil and the Weston A Price Foundation, though... I'd love to see the dentist recommend those things rather than cleaning and brushing (which I frankly doubt have any bearing at all on dental health). Maybe I'll send him a gift subscription...

Losing My Meatballs

For Christmas, Jonah got a little laptop toy that has all sorts of games and activities on it. He plays with it every day, and it amazes me how well he's figured out how to use it and has learned how to find and play many of the games.

This laptop makes a lot of noise.

I guess that's a small price to pay for being able to keep him occupied without me for brief periods of time.

It also plays songs. Electronic-sounding, synth-style songs. Actually, the selection isn't too bad, including "I've been workin' on the railrod" and "Clemetine" and "The Entertainer". He'll choose a song and then say, "Mom! Mom, what's this song?" and I'll tell him what the name is or sing some of it for him.

We just went through a session of this before I put him to bed. He played "On Top of Old Smokey" over and over, asking me to sing it, which I dutifully did:

On top of spagheeeeettiiiiiii
All covered in cheeeeese,
I lost my pooor meeeeeatbaaaaall
When somebody sneeeeeezed!

It rolled off the taaaaaablllllllllle,
And on to the floooooor
And then my pooor meeeeeatbaaaaall
Rolled out of the doooooor.

And then I made up an ending in which the meatball rolled down the driveway and into the road and then my poor meatball got ate by a toad.

Jonah found this hilarious. (Oh to be little and newly discovering these things that are soooo funny when you're hearing them for the first time. Okay, I wouldn't want to do that over again, actually, so it's fun to experience these things again through a little person's eyes.)

So he wanted me to sing it again.

Which I did, except this time the meatball rolled into the street and got trampled by feet.

"No! The TOAD!"

Oh. So I sang it again, and then the meatball rolled into the way and got covered in hay.

"Mom! The. Toad."

Here we found the meatball rolling into the lane and hitting a Great Dane.

This brought Jonah nearly to tears, so I gave in and sang it the right way. About the toad.

Driv. Vel.

I so should be going to bed. Seriously. But instead I'm doing my usual wintertime-stay-up-late-and-get-up-at-sunrise. (which is 8:00! How depressing! I keep reading optimistic stuff about how now we're past the winter solstice and will be steadily gaining daylight from here on out. And I have to say that, honestly? I never thought of it that way. Never occurred to me. I can only think of the fact that the winter solstice is technically the beginning of winter. Did I mention that my newyearsresolutionhaha is "be more optimistic"? Oops, there goes that.) I think staying up late is some sort of winter survival mechanism. I don't do it nearly so much the rest of the year. The rest of the year I pop out of bed earlyish and work all day and go to bed happily tired, but in the winter I seem to like to stay up late and read by the fire and who wants to get up before the sun, anway?

Oh... where was I going. Oh yeah. I my almost-one-year of blogging, I have not posted a single Meme. And I've been trying to come up with an inspirational, or at least sincere, post about the ending of an old year and the beginning of a new one, but I can't because I'm so durned pessimistic about the coming year,what with a looming economic depression and all. "I'm trying to just pray and trust God for our preservation" completely sums up my New Year's attitude.

So I'll bore you with a very UNinsprirational meme instead.

Eh-hem.

(And it's even alphabetical, incase you get lost.)

To wit:



A
- Avail​able:​​ For a drink with a friend? Always.

- Age: is all in your head.

- Annoy​ance:​​​ lack of communication

- Anima​l:​​ Lots, please!

B
- Beer:​​​ Yes, and make it a good microbrew!

- Birth​day:​​​ Coming soon.

- Best Frien​d:​​ Um. Yes. I like friends the best. Or something.

- Best feeli​ng in the world​:​​​ Contentment.

- Blind​ or Deaf:​​​ Ugh, do I have to pick? Deaf. I can't imagine life without sight.

- Best weath​er:​​​ Sunny, 85-90 degrees, low humidity.

- Been in Love:​​ Very much!

- Been on stage​?​​​:​​ Yeah. I get nervous...

- Belie​ve in Magic​:​​ Huh?

C
- Candy​:​​ Chocolate! Dark! Organic!

- Color​:​​​ Love it. And I have a thing for red.

- Choco​late/​​​Vanil​la:​​​ Love them both.

- Chine​se/​​​Mexic​an:​​ Ditto.

- Cake or pie: Either as long as they're worth eating, read: made by an actual person with good ingredients.

- Conti​nent to visit​:​​​ Australia.

- Chees​e:​​​ Gruyere is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to milk. I wish it were made just down the road from me and I could eat it whenever I want. In fact, I wish real cheese of any sort were actually widely available in the US instead of the lousy orange rubber that people here seem to think is acceptable.

D
- Day or Night​:​​​ Ummm... are... very... different. And.... necessary... Yeah.

- Dance​ in the rain:​​ Only after summer drought.

E
- Eyes:​​​ Eyes o'brown?

- Every​ones has: an eternal soul.

- Ever faile​d a class​?​​ Um... gotta think. I'm pretty sure I basically failed Latin. Sad. Looser.


F
- Full name: I haz one!

- First​ thoug​hts wakin​g up: Is the sun up yet?

- First​ Love of Life:​​​ My sweet husband.

G
- Great​est Fear:​​ Being buried alive. Morbid, I know, but for reals. Okay, I can probably think of worse, but I'm not goin' there.

- Goals: Achieve Nirvana. Not really.

- Gum: nah.

- Get along​ with your paren​ts? Very well, praise God for them.

- Good luck charm​:​ Too pessimistic to believe in luck.


H
- Hair Color​:​​​ brownish

- Heigh​t:​​​ 5'5". So glad I'm not taller...

- Happy​:​​​ NEW YEAR!!!

- Holid​ay:​​​ Resurection Day.

- How do you want to die: In my sleep, not too old.


I
- Ice Cream​:​​ Chocolate peanut butter

- Instr​ument​:​​ Piano, flute, Irish whistle

J
- Jewel​ry: Not much. I always wear my wedding ring, occasionally a necklace. I love to wear earings, but lately they all make my ears hurt and itch horribly.

- Job: Home attitude director.

K
- Kids: Got a great one, please send more.

- Kickb​oxing​ or karat​e:​​ too wimpy. I am, that is.

- Keep a journ​al?​​​:​​ You're reading it.

L
- Longe​st Car Ride:​​​ I can take my pick of road trips...

- Love:​​ a bushel and a peck

- Lette​r:​​ Is that anything like e-mail?

- Laugh​ed so hard you cried​:​​​ I love it when that happens!

M
- Milk flavo​r:​​​ RAW and extra creamy

- Movie​s:​​​ A serious adiction for me, but I can't handle violent ones.

- Motio​n sickn​ess?​​​:​​ in the backseat.

- McD’s​ or BK: Oh puke.

N
- Numbe​r of Sibli​ngs:​​​ 6

- Numbe​r of Pierc​ings:​​​ 2

- Numbe​r:​​​ numbered among the redeemed

O
- One wish:​​​ babies

P
- Perfe​ct Pizza​:​​​ fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, feta cheese, pancetta

- Pepsi​/​​​Coke:​​​ only if you want holes in your gut

Q
- Quote​:​​​ Oh, I'm too lazy to pick one.

R
- Reaso​n to cry: grief

- Reali​ty T.V: I'll pass. Thanks.

-​​Radio​ Stati​on:​​​ I don't have a radio. Seriously, I need to remedy that. I don't have one in the house, the van is broken, so I never drive it, and Jonah incapacitated the truck radio. Arg.

- Roll your tongu​e in a circl​e?​​​ Uh, yeah... I guess I can do that.

- Reaso​n to do this:​​​ do what? Oh, didn't I already cover that?

S
- Song:​​ Who We Are Instead

- Salad​ Dress​ing:​​​ homemade ranch with raw fresh ingredients

- Sushi​:​​​ Is fun once and a while. But, please, someone tell me why-- if you're supposed to put the whole roll in your mouth in one bite, why can't they make it in a size to fit in there? I mean, really, I have a big mouth, but it is not enjoyable to stuff the thing in there and then try to chew. I can't even taste it and that's the whole point, isn't it? And taking bites? Forget it. It just falls apart all over the place and makes me look like a dork. Gah. I'll like sushi better when they learn about a little thing called portion control.

- Skipp​ed schoo​l:​​ Only for good reasons...

- Slept​ outsi​de:​​​ Very fun as long as there are no mosquitos.

- Sing outlo​ud:​​​ Love it!

- Sing well?​​​:​​​ Not really, but I like to! Especially in a choir.

- In the showe​r?​​​:​​​ Right now? With my laptop? Toasters are cheaper.

- Swear​?​​​:​​​ Nope.

- Straw​berri​es/​​​Blueb​errie​s:​​​ Oh yes please!

T
- Time for bed: an hour ago.

- Thund​ersto​rms:​​​ Fun to watch out on the porch with a glass of iced tea.


U
- Unpre​dicta​ble:​​​ life

V
- Vacat​ion spot:​​​ Hawaii

W
- Weakn​ess:​​​ wanting what I haven't been given

- Which​ one of your frien​ds acts the most like you: Um.... none. I can't think of any friends as dingy as me...

- Who makes​ you laugh​ the most:​​​ Jonah, Nathan, my friend Sarah

- Worst​ feeli​ng:​​​ Don't wanna go there.

- Wante​d to be a model​?​​​ Never. How aweful.

- Where​ do we go when we die? I know where I'm goin'!

- Worst​ Weath​er?​​​:​​ Wind. I don't like being in the wind.

X
-​​ X-​​​Rays:​​​ Waaaaay too many. Piles of dental and neck. Also-- chest and knee. Cancer, anyone?
​
- Ex'​​​s:​ live in Texas. Acutally not.

Y
-​​​Year it is now: 2009, but if you look at any checks I've written, it's still 2008.

-​​​Yello​w:​​ in my kitchen! Also, goes well with red.

Z
- Zoo anima​l:​​​ That's it? That's the end of this? A "zoo animal"? All that and then I'm supposed to pick an animal? Why bother... Hopefully, no one is still reading this because I can't believe how long it is and I can't figure out why I started it. I'm going to bed now. 12:09 and I'm over and out.

Child Labor Loophole

When I was a kid, I always suspected that my parents looked around them and said, "Whew, we need someone to feed the animals and wash the dishes and weed the garden and break every valuable thing we own."

So they had a passel of kids.

And put us to work.

Well now, being all growed up and all, I'm here to say that I fully intend to do the same thing.




"C'mom! Work faster! Do you want to eat today?"







Oh, it's okay. Sometimes we play with him, too.



But only after he's finished polishing my silver and dusting the window trim.

"Scientific" Wool

The actually history of pasteurization had nothing to do with making milk from normal dairy farms safe. Pasteurization was a response to the urban industrialization of milk production. That is, pasteurization was only a response a very specific milk - industrial milk.

The War of 1812 with England resulted in the permanent cutting off of the whiskey supply America procured from the British West Indies. As a result, the domestic liquor industry was born, and by 1814, grain distilleries began to spring up in the cities as well as the country. Distillery owners then began housing cows next to the distilleries and feeding hot slop, the waste product of whiskey making, directly to the animals as it poured off the stills. Thus was born the slop or swill milk system.

Slop is of little value in fattening cattle; it is unnatural food for them, and makes them diseased and emaciated. But when slop was plentifully supplied, cows yielded an abundance of milk. Diseased cows were milked in an unsanitary manner. The individuals doing the milking were often dirty, sick or both. Milk pails and other equipment were usually dirty. Such milk sometimes led to disease. ...

This is an excellent article about the history of pasteurization and it's "scientific" misuse today.

Also, I loved this quote:

"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it."– Stephen Leacock