A proud member of the reality-based community
This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, January 17, 2009 One of those days Last night the temperature was supposed to dip to 3 degrees, which is pretty darn cold for around here. Not the coldest I've ever experienced--it went below zero once about ten years ago. But cold enough. So I left the cold water running in a steady stream, and at 3am it was still running, the pipes not frozen. At 4am the power went off, the water of course stopped running, and the inevitable happened. Unfortunately, I didn't discover that the power was off until around 6am, when it was too late to turn off the pump and drain the system. We had to be other places all day today, so I just flipped the switch on the pump and left. At about eight tonight, we got home, found the lights back on, but no water. Again. I am not amused. I was going to spend tomorrow baking bread, making cheese, making yoghurt leather, other enjoyable pastimes. Instead, I'm going to be under the trailer with the milkhouse heater, unfreezing the pipes and praying that nothing has broken. And if the pipes and the water filter have split again, as I expect, Billy will be spending Monday replacing them instead of working on the woodstove installation.On top of that, as I left the house this morning, I bumped against a canister on my pantry shelving. It jostled something else, which knocked the cocoa can off whatever it was sitting on, which pushed my mug rack off the shelf . . . you get the idea. All my favorite coffee cups in pieces on the floor. Plus the contents of the half full can of cocoa all over everywhere. It was not a good start to the day. And Blogger has been acting up so I couldn't even rant. The first couple of times I tried to save this post it just disappeared. If I hadn't first saved it somewhere else, I'd be a mumbling wreck by now.But I did teach two little girls to knit this afternoon, so the day wasn't a total loss. I said teasingly that now they'd have to learn to spin, and then to raise sheep so they'd have fleece, and to my amusement (and their mother's), they said with huge eyes, "Oh, could we! Would you teach us to spin too?" I told them we'd have to work on that another day, but I promised to bring the wheel with me next week so I could at least show them the process.It was a wonderful treat to see two kids that age (roughly eight and ten) completely engrossed in a task that requires a fair amount of manual dexterity, and absolutely determined to master it. Taylor, the older girl, figured out the mechanics of knitting pretty quickly--which strand of yarn goes where, which loop to pull through the other one--but had less dexterity than Hannah, the younger girl, who was doing it all by rote, but making more progress. Taylor is obviously going to be a "process" knitter, while Hannah will be a "product" knitter (enjoying the results more than the actual knitting, like Taylor). These children do have computer access, but there is no television in the house, they're home-schooled, and they're so unlike most kids their age that they might almost be living in a different country. As I was gathering up my knitting to leave, the mother said, "When you get to be good at this, you'll have to teach someone else, like Liz is teaching you," and they nodded solemnly. I believe they can do it too. It's people like these who give me any kind of hope for our country. These are the kind of people that I think most Americans have in mind when they wax nostalgic about our country. They're not Amish or Mennonite, though I think they do have strong and specific religious beliefs. But I don't know what church they attend--their faith comes through in their actions, not in formal "witnessing." They're independent, self-reliant, hard-working, determined and completely outside mainstream America, especially the children. And I feel privileged to know them and to help teach their children. posted by Liz @ 10:00 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
Last night the temperature was supposed to dip to 3 degrees, which is pretty darn cold for around here. Not the coldest I've ever experienced--it went below zero once about ten years ago. But cold enough. So I left the cold water running in a steady stream, and at 3am it was still running, the pipes not frozen. At 4am the power went off, the water of course stopped running, and the inevitable happened. Unfortunately, I didn't discover that the power was off until around 6am, when it was too late to turn off the pump and drain the system. We had to be other places all day today, so I just flipped the switch on the pump and left. At about eight tonight, we got home, found the lights back on, but no water. Again. I am not amused. I was going to spend tomorrow baking bread, making cheese, making yoghurt leather, other enjoyable pastimes. Instead, I'm going to be under the trailer with the milkhouse heater, unfreezing the pipes and praying that nothing has broken. And if the pipes and the water filter have split again, as I expect, Billy will be spending Monday replacing them instead of working on the woodstove installation.On top of that, as I left the house this morning, I bumped against a canister on my pantry shelving. It jostled something else, which knocked the cocoa can off whatever it was sitting on, which pushed my mug rack off the shelf . . . you get the idea. All my favorite coffee cups in pieces on the floor. Plus the contents of the half full can of cocoa all over everywhere. It was not a good start to the day. And Blogger has been acting up so I couldn't even rant. The first couple of times I tried to save this post it just disappeared. If I hadn't first saved it somewhere else, I'd be a mumbling wreck by now.But I did teach two little girls to knit this afternoon, so the day wasn't a total loss. I said teasingly that now they'd have to learn to spin, and then to raise sheep so they'd have fleece, and to my amusement (and their mother's), they said with huge eyes, "Oh, could we! Would you teach us to spin too?" I told them we'd have to work on that another day, but I promised to bring the wheel with me next week so I could at least show them the process.It was a wonderful treat to see two kids that age (roughly eight and ten) completely engrossed in a task that requires a fair amount of manual dexterity, and absolutely determined to master it. Taylor, the older girl, figured out the mechanics of knitting pretty quickly--which strand of yarn goes where, which loop to pull through the other one--but had less dexterity than Hannah, the younger girl, who was doing it all by rote, but making more progress. Taylor is obviously going to be a "process" knitter, while Hannah will be a "product" knitter (enjoying the results more than the actual knitting, like Taylor). These children do have computer access, but there is no television in the house, they're home-schooled, and they're so unlike most kids their age that they might almost be living in a different country. As I was gathering up my knitting to leave, the mother said, "When you get to be good at this, you'll have to teach someone else, like Liz is teaching you," and they nodded solemnly. I believe they can do it too. It's people like these who give me any kind of hope for our country. These are the kind of people that I think most Americans have in mind when they wax nostalgic about our country. They're not Amish or Mennonite, though I think they do have strong and specific religious beliefs. But I don't know what church they attend--their faith comes through in their actions, not in formal "witnessing." They're independent, self-reliant, hard-working, determined and completely outside mainstream America, especially the children. And I feel privileged to know them and to help teach their children.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
Powered by BLOGGER Template made possible by BLOGSKINS.
