Showing posts with label Monsanto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monsanto. Show all posts

Monday, March 26, 2012

A delicate situation...


  ...around these parts.  People do not want to believe that Monsanto is as bad as everyone is making them out to be. On two separate days, in two separate places, I was asking about the seed potatoes and no one knows anything. Now, I don't even know if they've been fooling around with potatoes or not, but I'm suspicious. And at the second place, where we have often bought seed in the past, I asked about where they get their vegetable seeds. They told me about some seed place in Missouri that gets their seed from different places.  Asked me why I was asking and I said that I was making sure I didn't buy anything that came from the Monsanto Corporation. And that I knew that seed that came from a company called  Seminis was owned by Monsanto.  The proprietor told me that they weren't doing anything to garden seed..just farm crop seed.  I said I wasn't so sure about that, and he laughed at me. "More conspiracy theory stuff" he said.  "Maybe" I said, and whistled my way out the front door.

  Here's the thing. I do not trust any money grubbing corporation with my health. None of them. That includes (often) pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and giant medical corporations. It's just how I roll...

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   It has been absolutely gorgeous here.  Even the rain was nice, and afterwards everything just went over the moon.  The fruit trees are all 'abloom...the peaches are even leafing out now, with only faint wisps of the beautiful pink blossoms peeking through.  The Japanese maple in the front yard that I brought from my house in North Carolina is full and red and looks to have grown another foot.  The irises and the lilies are all getting big and beautifully green, the lilacs at the end of the driveway are blooming--I cut a small bouquet yesterday to bring into the house..they smell so wonderful.  We have redbuds, dogwoods, and another tree I don't know the name of--all blooming and coloring up the landscape and hillsides. The myriad shades of greens and golds are stunning. I do love spring...

  And beautiful in a different way are my garden beds, all topped with luscious dark brown composted manure. The grass needs mowing and I thought about getting out there to see if I can get the mower started...but I haven't done it yet.  And it's already 2:30 in the afternoon. Almost time to start supper.  Well--there's always tomorrow !

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  I'm thinking about making adzuki beans and rice for supper.  That's a nice dish to make because there are a lot of different things you can do with the leftovers...like burritos. The big question is: do I go into town for buttermilk and make cornbread to go with ??  mmmmm....I love to throw a little chopped carrot and celery and garlic into the beans when they cook, and then right before they're done, throw in some ribboned kale too. It adds a sweetness and a lot of nutrition to the pot. And looks pretty (prettier with white beans, but, pretty enough with the little red beans too!)

  We are planting some Christmas Limas (a pole bean) this year, and are making teepees of branches for them to climb. It's a really fun and very efficient use of space when you're planting.  We'll dry them right on the vines, so they'll be a low maintenance crop. I adore lima beans...next year maybe we'll plant pintos, as they do well here too. But I have a lot of pintos in my pantry this year, so--limas it is !

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  The baby chicks are growing like weeds. I put some greens into their pen yesterday and they've eaten every bite. lol   They're getting big enough to look a little gangly now--taller and more active. They are not, however being very cooperative about letting me hold them....grrr..

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  Guess I'll get out and do something.  I'm feeling lazy and sleepy, after eating a baked potato and a pint of home canned green beans for lunch. lol  Yes, my dears...I ate the beans RIGHT OUT OF THE JAR..  Didn't heat them or anything, and man--were they good.  This is one of those days when I am reminding myself of the old woman who shall wear purple...remember her??


         


When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purpl
e.


~Jenny Joseph (1932 - )
Visit Jenny's WebsiteGet Jenny's Book at Amazon: "Warning: When I Am an Old Woman"


  Oh, yeah.  That's what I'M talking about.....


Have a grand Monday my dears!!!


Namaste.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Day 2 of Month 3.....

  My new Baker Creek catalog came today.  yeehaw!!

   We had a lovely supper tonight with 2 women friends who were intelligent lively conversationalists. They are basically city women. They had no idea about the whole Monsanto/GMO issue...and as we explained it all, they were dumbstruck.  The Irishman and I looked at each other and had that old married couple telepathic moment: How can anyone not know about this ???  It all leaves me wondering : is my own world so small that it doesn't occur to me that everything central to my life is not also central to everyone else's ??  lol  Oy vey.  But you can bet your bottom dollar that we schooled 'em...yes we did, sir !

   I delighted and amazed them with a supper of aglio y olio accompanied by a beautiful mixed salad of all organic  greens and veggies, and freshly made Italian bread. Then we had angel food cake and our sliced peaches and whipped cream  for dessert. It was heavenly. I love that pasta dish!  I used a whole head of garlic and simmered the thinly sliced pieces in about 2/3 cup of extra virgin organic olive oil. Tossed with thin spaghetti, fresh chopped parsley and shredded parmesan cheese.  Oh. My. God.  

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  It has been a crazy weather day around these parts. From a high yesterday of 65 to a morning of rain and hail and madness. Tornadoes whirling around us, but not close enough top notice. I let the dogs out for their last potty break of the night, and the cars are covered in a very thick frost.  The smart phone says it 36 degrees out there, but it sure feels colder...


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  Been on a spring cleaning frenzy that concluded today. Got all the curtains washed, the slipcovers...dog blankets (don't ask),  furniture vacuumed, floors cleaned....whew.  Did 5 loads of laundry yesterday and hung most of it outside on the line. So everything smelled really good.  Took things off my kitchen counters and scrubbed those, cleaned the microwave, and even the ceiling fans. Got most of my office cleaned up...desk calendar updated for March, bills paid and all the bookshelves dusted. Took the big kennel apart and put it in my car to return it to it's owner tomorrow.  Cleaned it up and cleaned all around where it was sitting.

  There's still stuff to do, but I'm not doing anymore for a few days. I'm tired.  lol

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   It's time for me to go to bed....spent a bit of time chatting with a friend who's having health issues  and now it's way past my bedtime.  But I'm trying to be more consistent about posting here and wanted to stop in and say something...anything....lol

  Going to my sisters tomorrow and we're going to lunch I guess...I don't know where we can eat that will have any decent vegetarian food.  She's  not a very...adventurous...eater.  And there's not a lot of places to go near where she lives. Oh well....we'll find someplace.

  And yes, Kristin---the Irishman and I are embarking on a vegetarian diet. About 2 weeks now, I guess...we were trying to finish off whatever meat we still had in the freezer first, but we're not eating  and there's still some left. It's been going quite well, actually....we've been eating several meatless meals a week for about a year now anyway...

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  I'm going to bed. And dream about heirloom vegetables and planting seeds and making my own way in the world, as much as I can.  Hope your dreams are sweet too!


Namaste.