My Obsession with Canning Jars

It started with a dozen. The next day I bought 2 more dozen. Then I went back for another dozen. There isn't any more room on the pantry shelves, unless I start removing other things. They are already two rows deep. We're trying to avoid storing food in plastic, and these work so well for small quantities. I love them dearly.

What do I use them for? They are filled with ingredients for healthy cooking. I always have something available to make. The list rotates, but this is the gist of it: dry pasta, whole grains, dry beans, coconut, flax seeds, kosher salt, nuts, rice, sun-dried tomatoes, vital wheat gluten (for baking bread), pinenuts, couscous, dry fruit, seeds for sprouting, raisins (golden & regular), oatmeal (rolled & steel cut), raw cane sugar, brown sugar, tea bags, bay leaves, hot chocolate mix, bran, lentils. But that's just the pantry...

I also use them in the freezer. Since I don't want to go through the whole boiling canning process, when I cook from scratch, I just throw the item in a jar and keep it in the freezer. Right now I have homemade marmalade, strawberry butter, and tomato sauce. I store a jar of yeast for baking in there too.

Use Less

Driving in the car, listening to an NPR story about the costs of food, we heard the announcer say, "Food costs less, because people are eating less."

Brad thought this was ridiculous, "How can people eat less?" He didn't understand the concept.

I, on the other hand, agree perfectly. People are eating less. And they should. We Americans suffer from an abundance of food. The grocery stores are overwhelming with the amount and variety of things to buy. Fast food on every corner. It's everywhere, always cooked, always ready.

You can eat less. Put less cereal in the bowl. Take a smaller portion of meat. Put fewer toppings on your pizza. I bet you'll still feel satisfied. You don't have to eat until your bursting every time. Oftentimes, water or tea will can fill the void until the next meal.

Along the same lines, you can use less of so many things in your life, use less toothpaste, less laundry detergent, less shampoo, less water. If you cut back by one third, you'll probably never notice a difference and you'll save a lot of money, time, weight. It's got to be the easiest way to conserve.

Heathly Living

It strikes me that no matter what health issues are being discussed, the same tenets are always put forth as the solution. It doesn't matter if it's weight loss, headaches, PMS, cancer prevention, arthritis, diabetes, or scurvy. They always say the same thing. I'll summarize for you:

1. The majority of your diet should be fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
2. Drink water.
3. Sleep 8 hours a night.
4. Eat lean proteins and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts).
5. Walk.
6. Eat fish.
7. Cut down on simple carbs, including alcohol and processed foods.
8. Don't smoke.
9. Focus on good thoughts.

This, combined with whatever vitamins and medicines your doctor recommends, is all you really need to know. You're welcome.

Quick Hint Tuesday

Labeler--As much as I don't like gadgets, this is pretty handy. I labeled all the office files already. Now I'm looking around the house for other things...address labels on the recycling bins, pantry containers, homemade CDs and DVDs, what else? It's kinda fun. If you want the labels to be removable, put a piece of clear tape down first.

Stewed berries--with all the tantalizing berries available now, this is a quick, easy dessert. In a saucepan cook 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 sugar (adjustable to your taste and the sweetness of the berries), and a small dash of vanilla or Framboise. Add a variety of berries, except not raspberries, simmer gently for about 3 minutes. Turn off the stove and add raspberries. It's nice to start this just before serving dinner, allowing it to cool while you eat, then serving with a nice dollap of high quality vanilla ice cream.

Freeze banana slices--If you have overripened bananas, slice them into chunks and freeze on a plate sprayed with PAM. After they are frozen, you can transfer them into a freezer bag. They are great for adding to a smoothie instead of ice cubes.

Closed

I have a confession: I spend way too much time on my computer~and I mean way too much. As of today, it's over. I want to return to real life, it's a beautiful spring. I want to be outside enjoying it, not inside re-reading the gloomy news. Years ago, I weaned myself off television for the same reason.

Many times a day I feel the pull, a phantom tug that draws me towards the computer, just to check. It sits open, online, ready at all times right there in the middle of the house. No more. The box is closed for business. All weekend, when I would feel that familiar yearning to see what's happening inside the box, I would firmly say, "NO," and immediately move to do something else.

I will check e-mail and news once in the morning (and probably again in the evening, quickly). I will continue to write the blog, because I feel that it's an important component of my life--examining what's important to me. But I'm letting go of the rest of it. Instead of checking the RSS feed fifteen times a day, I'll do it once or twice a week--most of these people don't write daily anyway. I don't need to read it the first minute it gets posted either. Also, I have subscribed to many e-mail "notifications." Each time one arrives, I take a deep breath, and hit "unsubscribe." There, it's gone from my life and I'll never miss it.

Clothes Shopping Simplified

Last week I got a chance to do my bi-annual clothes shopping at the Eddie Bauer Outlet in Folsom CA. I really like EB clothes: simple, straight-forward, quality and good colors. I go once in the spring and once in the fall. That pretty much takes care of all my clothing needs.

I bought a pair of khaki twill jeans because I literally wore through my only pair of pants when we were camping. I don't wear pants in the summer around here, but I felt like I should at least have one pair.

Other than that, I got two pairs of capris, two pairs of shorts, two camisoles, two t-shirts. And a pair of yoga-style pants for wearing around the house. All in neutral brown, black, blue, and green. They all go with each other. And mix with what I already have. For 30 minutes and grand total of $202, I have a wardrobe until next fall.

What's in Your Refrigerator Today?

People are surprised that our frig is mostly empty, because we cook so much. I could easily list the things in there, but I won't bore you. We try to buy as much stuff fresh as possible and use it right away, so the frig isn't filled with aging foods. We tend not to use a lot of condiments, so there are just the basics. I have diligently eliminated as many as possible over time. Things that are always there: milk, butter sticks (real) and spreadable (real), jams, juice (lime and/or orange), salsa, pickles, eggs, parmesan cheese (real, big chunk).

One way to keep it cleaned out is to eat up the leftover bits for lunch. Today's invented lunch: Mexican whatever. Brown rice (leftover from a dinner about a week ago), about 3 Tbs of taco meat (why did we save that?), 2 sticks of string cheese, cut into chunks, sliced deli turkey meat (for more protein) and spoonfuls of salsa. Heat in microwave for 2 minutes. Serve with 3 small fresh tomatoes. Lunch!

100% Oprah Free

I did it! I cut the Oprah ties! I am free! It’s taken a long time because I felt she had an amazing story herself and brought so much good into women’s lives. But over time, it became a burden. I gave up the television show years ago when I gave almost all tv. I didn’t want to give up an hour of my life everyday to her, no matter how valuable the information was. And to be honest, as far as useful information for our real lives, maybe a tenth of it is applicable. I had to go when Dr. Phil took over. He is even more pompous than she is.

But the magazine, oh my! How exciting to get it in mailbox, heavy with potential. Ignoring the glossy ads, make-up advice, and overpriced clothing suggestions, it has real meat. Martha Beck, Suze Orman, lots of articles on being the best self you can be. But tired of so much preaching, I found it sitting at the bottom of my magazine pile, month after month. The new one arriving before I started the old one. Then it was a obligation to finish, a goal to set, a duty. When O at Home started coming out, I thought I was done for. I adore home magazines. But I glanced through it in the grocery line and none of it was even within my realm of real life.

The renewal notice came. I ignored it. Another one arrived, I threw it in the trash, without thinking about it. Another one. Another one. Another one. This month no magazine arrived. I saw it on the newsstands, but there wasn’t one for me. Can I take the pressure of not knowing the latest Oprah “Favorite Things?”

Stop Spending Now

bust_fresco, originally uploaded by c8mills.

I’m still on my high horse from yesterday, thinking about what our society does to us as women. I am torn about the whole thin vs fat issue, because the media promotes thin as “in,” but in most cases, it truly is healthier for you. You have to decide for yourself your ideal weight and work to maintain that, not because everyone expects it, but because it’s the right thing for you.

However, it is the societal pressure on women to spend money on unnecessary items that makes me crazy. As I said yesterday, the clothing industry is out of control. Women spend lots of money on clothing they will wear once or twice. They spend money on cosmetics that really do not enhance their appearance at all. Perfume and jewelry are other big money wasters. I know people write whole treatises on women’s self esteem and out of control spending, but I’m talking about ordinary women, doing everyday things.

So, this is my suggestion: wean yourself away. Don’t go near a store unless it is absolutely necessary. Have a list, and stick to it. Don’t be tempted to stop at the cosmetic counter on the way to buy sheets. While certain basic things, like shampoo, toothpaste, and moisturizer, are necessary, all those other things are just superfluous. You don’t need the $125 jar of face cream, when the $15 one does the same thing. It’s enough to buy yourself a few pieces of clothes to add to your wardrobe every spring and/or fall. That’s it, no more. New purses and shoes are not going to change your life for the better, trust me. I bet you can cut your spending on these items by 50 percent, at least, if you try. Think of all the good things you could do with that money.

Simplify Your Life

I know the exact moment my life changed forever, (besides the obvious ones like deciding to marry, have children, or quit my teaching job). It was ten years ago, August 3rd, when my niece Allison was just born. I flew out to Michigan to help Lisa and Wayne with their brand new baby girl. When I went to bed in their guest room, I found a little book on the bedside table called Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James. I intended to cruise a few pages before I fell asleep. But, there it was, the answers to all the crazy pressure society heaps on us, set out in 100 concise little essays. I turned page after page, soaking it all in. It was truly one of those epiphany moments.

Since then, I’ve tried to live up to the tenets of living a simple life. I do not need, nor want, the things that our culture and their marketers cram down our throats, things like perfume for $120 an ounce. Why? What does it do that is worth that? How about $500 for a bottle of wine? Does it taste that much better? Sorry, I digress.

We sold our big house to move to a little normal suburban home. I drive my 10 year old car. I shop for clothes twice a year; every fall I buy two pairs of jeans, a few tops, a sweater, every spring I buy two pairs of shorts and a few tops, new sandals if I need them. I rarely go near stores. I don’t tivo and I don’t own an ipod. Don’t get the wrong idea, we have a plasma tv and I am infatuated with my new laptop. We spend money on travel because we feel it’s important to see the world. We aren’t in debt and we pay off the credit card every month. My point is that we make conscientious decisions, based on what we need or will give us ongoing pleasure, instead of buying the newest, bestest, wowiest thing being promoted.

Are you one of those people who need a little reassurance about letting go? Can you think of someone who seems frazzled, who needs a boost? As a gift to yourself or someone you care about, buy Simplify Your Life or one of her other books, Inner Simplicity or Living the Simple Life. They’ve been around for awhile, so I’m sure you could find them in your local used book store.

Mondays

I know most people dread Mondays, but I kind of like them. They give me a chance to put my life back together. If we’ve been gone for the weekend or I’ve been extra lazy on Sunday, I get an opportunity to keep the edges of life from fraying.

I do these things in no particular order:
Put away all the items that have been scattered about
Clean the kitchen counters
Wipe fingerprints off the microwave, frig and stove
Unload the dishwasher, load it back up again if needed
Vacuum edges of kitchen floor
Change the sheets, fluff the bed, and throw in a load of laundry
Change the towels in the bathroom
Wind the hall clock, water the plants
Take out the trash from the office, study, and bathrooms
Clear old stuff out of frig, take out kitchen trash

None of these things take more than a few minutes. I save heavier housework like vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, etc for later in the week.

In the shower, I deep condition my hair, shave my whole legs (all the way down to my hairy toes), use body scrub instead of soap. This usually takes about three minutes longer than normal. I make sure to moisturize 'cause it's probably the only time all week that I'll remember to do it.

Then I move into the office, going through all the paperwork. I don’t have to actually do any of the work, if I don’t feel like it. I just put it where it belongs and make lists of what needs to be accomplished during the week. This gives me the rest of the week for appointments, projects and errands.

I always do a clean up on the computers. I run the disk defrag, the spyware program, the disk clean-up. Then I restart them. This seems to keep them running well enough.

If I work diligently, I can finish all this by lunchtime. And the rest of my week runs smoother because of it.

If you work and need to be there on Monday mornings, pick another time, maybe Tuesday evenings. Will you share what systems to you use to make your life better? We all need help in this department.

Down with Television

You'll never see comments here about Desperate Housewives, The OC, Lost, ER or any other regular television show, simply because I've never watched any of them. The only shows worth the time are The Daily Show and Colbert Report. Since I don't stay up late enough to see them, I mostly watch them in a long catch-up session on ComedyCentral.com. Once or twice a week I see the local news when Brad turns it on. I like to say that Brad only watches shows with gunfire, explosions, or screaming. That covers sports and movies. It's not totally true because he spends a lot of time watching nature and history shows too.

People often ask me how I get to read so much. I never read during the day, unless I take a short break and read a magazine article with a snack. It's a real luxury for me to climb in the hammock or snuggle up on a rainy day and read, because it's such a rare treat.

When I was insane crazy with teaching, and raising kids, and doing all the office work, I took a long hard look at my life and made a list of the things I wanted more of and what was taking up my time. Most things were mandatory, but I realized that I could eliminate tv and add other good things like walking, reading, sleeping! It had been years since I read a whole book just because I wanted to. So my rule became that no matter what I would go to bed and read for as long as I could stay awake. Often that was less than ten minutes, but at least I was reading something.

So now I read almost every night. These are my favorite fiction books that I read in the past few years:

Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Lolita by Vadimir Nabokov
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I will spare you anymore, 'cause I could go on and on. What are your best books? How do you find time to read? What else would you do if you had more time?