The Internet

Who and where would I be without the internet?  I was just thinking about it and realized there really isn't anything I do that isn't aided by the internet in some aspect.  I don't know what to think about that (considering my general aversion to humans being plugged into electronics all the time).  Be clear...I fought getting on the internet.  We got connected in 1994.  Back in the days when I didn't know anyone who was connected or even what "connected" meant.  When we got connected, there really wasn't much to see.  Not that I didn't immediately get hooked on chat rooms, just saying...the internet was only a series of bulletin boards and chat rooms.  Amazon (or any other shopping site) did not exist.  I think gaming started happening before the shopping, I don't know.  All I know is it pretty much consisted of chat through AOL.  Does AOL even exist anymore?

 

 

And now?  How would I live without it?  I know I did live without it, as evidenced by the fact I was 21 when it came around, but really...how did I live?  When I consider its impact on my life and who I've become and what I am capable of doing, it's astounding.  Really.

 

 

Just for example, today...

 

 I became a Boy Scout.  Believe me, nobody is more surprised about this than I.  Really.  At any rate...the internet.  I didn't have to go be in anyone's presence (Thank God.) and in a matter of an hour, it was done.  So...now I am ready? 

 

 

(Is it just me or is it really odd they put "suitable for framing" on the certificate that says I passed the child abuse training?  Who would frame this?  Why?)

 

The whole reason I became a Boy Scout is because my child is behind in his merit badge earning.  Who knew such a thing was going to be all complicated?  There's this whole process before he can even start.  Like locating a counselor for whichever one he wants to do.  Umm...yeah.  I just decided to become a counselor and we are moving on.

Applying for "counselor" is a process.  You have to provide an explanation of how you are qualified to oversee each badge you are applying for.  Turns out, I'm qualified for all of them.  Duh?  O.K...maybe not all.  But thanks to the internet, I'm capable of most of them.  They only let you apply to do 8 initially.

At any rate...Eagle, here I come.  Yay.

I'm making progress on the scarf.  I taught myself how to knit from youtube.

I got a free pattern off of Ravelry.  The original was knit in a solid and looked nothing like this.  I'm intrigued as to how this actually happened, but I like it.

I knit on my porch.  I rescreened this porch after reading about how to do it on the internet.  And then I built that table and chairs from a pattern I found on the internet.  That Japanese Maple in the background?  I rooted it from an existing tree with directions from the internet.

My job?  It all started from the internet.  I didn't go to school to be a teacher.  I started out in the world of tech. ed. with a freelance job (funded by the National Science Foundation) researching and building a digital library for educators.  Later, I figured out how to finagle my way into a teaching job using the internet.  Of course, later, I did go to school to get some piece of paper that says "education" on it.  On the internet.

I just discovered today that I have been qualified for a license at the lowest level of social work for the past 16 years.  I didn't actually know that.  I suspected there would be a way to finagle my way in if I wanted to do so, but I didn't realize I already had enough to just take the test and pay the license fee.  So guess what I'm doing?  Trying to figure out if there would be any advantage to doing that (getting the license).  On the internet.

Last Day of School

Here's the interesting thing about kids: They don't outgrow childhood traditions.  Case in point...I forgot about the habit we have of going for ice cream on the last day of school.  They didn't. 

At any rate...11th grade and 7th grade.  It occurred to me halfway through the ice cream there is only one more year left of this, because the following year she'll have graduated.  Sigh...I guess that's supposed to be a happy face, right?  I'm just thinking "Junior" and wondering how that can be already.

My prediction is he'll be taller than she by fall.

What kind of sick individual orders a new planner before the current year is even finished? 

Truth be told, I'm not the kind of teacher who uses a planner. I thought I'd branch out and give it a try.

I keep comparing now to seven years ago.  Seven years ago, right about now, I was wondering if I was still alive.  Now?  Just thinking about next year while I have grateful thoughts about the break that is almost here.

So cliché, but how I see it.

(This isn't really about food.  Duh.)

 

First, we are babies and must rely on someone to feed us.  We don’t know what to eat and somebody has to keep constant watch over us to make sure we aren’t crawling around on the floor eating fuzz balls and Barbie shoes.  While fuzz balls won’t kill us, Barbie shoes could.  We sit in high chairs getting spoon fed until the next baby comes along and pushes us to the booster seat.

Once we make it to the booster seat, somebody (who still controls what we eat) puts the food in front of us while we learn to put it in our own mouths.  We also get to be in charge of learning how much we can eat at a time without still feeling hungry or getting sick.  And then another baby is born which pushes us to the table. 

We enter into the long period from childhood to young adult.   We learn what is good for us and what we like according to our own tastes.  We learn to balance the two.  As we near the end of this phase, we should be in charge of our own eating.

Now we are adults and responsible for getting our own food.  Some of us will grow gardens, some of us will go to the store.  Likely, those with gardens will trade with their neighbors and those Safeway shoppers will occasionally go see what Weis has in their produce dept.  We learn which store has the best meat and who grows the best tomatoes.  We form eating habits.  Some of us will exist on a cheap diet and some will become pigs who eat more than their  share of the available resources.  Some of us will eat at McDonald’s every night, because while we know we still have to eat, we are looking for the easiest option.

 At some point, we become responsible for feeding others.  This is where it gets interesting.  You can tell a lot by what a person eats.  You can tell a lot by what a person feeds someone else.  Here’s something for thought:

What about the mother who makes sure her child has the best food possible while she eats a diet of junk?  I might infer she knows about nutrition and wants to give her family the best there is to eat.  However, I might also infer she doesn’t, for whatever reason, think she’s valuable enough to warrant the same “best of the best” she’s giving to everyone else.

How about the mother who eats well, but feeds her kids McDonald’s every night?  I might decide this mother is selfish and has not fully matured.  While she seems to understand the value of eating properly and knows which foods are best, she (Because it’s easier?  Because she doesn’t know how to tell her child “no”?) gives in and allows her child to eat whatever he wants…even though she knows that’s not really good for him.

What about the mother who makes sure everyone eats well?  I would view this mother as someone who knows the value of nutrition for both herself and her child.  She knows the foods that are going to make her child healthy and able to grow.  She understands those same foods are going to benefit her.  She realizes they both need to grow (in different ways), but growth is essential if she is still going to be able to be an effective parent as her child continues to grow through adulthood and who will need different things from her as that process continues.  The important part of this scenario is that mother knows she still needs to eat, she knows what food is good for her and she knows where to find it. 

*This is not to be read from place of judgment.  Not all mothers like the same food.  For example, not everyone loves sushi.  One might get her zinc from eating seaweed snacks and another might get hers from a multi-vitamin…both realize if they don’t get enough zinc, anemia will occur.  They know they need to keep themselves strong, because, while needs evolve, their kids are always going to need them in some capacity.  The mother who chooses less than the best for herself ultimately is choosing less than the best for her child.  I suppose that opinion is arguable, but it's doubtful my mind will change.

 

'Round the Garden

 

Every year, in regards to the garden,  I say "This is the year." Is it strange when the kids were small I had a HUGE garden and now that they are big I can't seem to even get a small one together?  Seems backwards to me.  In my defense (this year), the weather has been strange.  It's either too cold or too hot or pouring down rain.  My goal: Get the thing planted by the end of the week.  Because if I don't, what would be the point?  It's getting late.

 

My exact words: "Hold this so I can take a picture of it."  And then I said "Now put it down.  It might be poisonous."

The rabbits and I are fighting over the beans.  The other half was going to be a second planting of beans, but I had these other plants that needed to go in the ground and, well...I put them in the ground.  Heirloom tomatoes from East Rivendell Farm, a couple of random peppers and purple basil.

Brussel's Sprouts with my favorite, phallic gnome hiding in the background.

lemon thyme, nasturtiums and a wayward rosemary bush

Umm...not in my garden.  I only get the live version...in herds.  The Izaak Walton League has it hanging on the wall with some others.  You ever wonder why men like to sit around and look at dead animals on the wall while they do whatever men do?  Hmm...  It's kind of creepy.

Just to be clear, I wasn't there to do "man things", per se.  The boy was getting a couple of promotions and mothers are supposed to attend those things.

Is it worth mentioning I might have decided to become a merit badge counselor?  That's another "Hmm..."  Take the "might have" out of that sentence.

Sometimes I do weird things.

Checked out?

I've been absent, I know.  Sometimes, there's just a lot happening.  It's that time of year?

Wanna know how absent I've been?  I was planning on serving dinner tonight (kind of a rare event these days) and put the thing in the oven.  Went out and messed around in my garden, watched it rain, blah, blah, blah...  Went up to get dinner out of the oven only to realize I never turned it on.

Umm...yeah.

At least we have peas?

Memorial Weekend

Yes, I am aware it's a week later.   It's how I roll these days. ;-)

 

Colonial Heights, VA

Grammy and Granddad's house:

This picture makes me laugh.

Guess who brought home more irises?

Haha...everyone is almost the same height now.  :-)

Whose child is this?

I wish I could do that.

Back in Damascus...

By now, you all know I take the same thing to every summer bbq I go to, right?

One random shot...don't I look innocent?

Saturday Morning Views

My second favorite flower...they are out of control with their blooming this year.  The whole front yard smells like irises.  :-)

Up early couponing...if I was good at it (or was willing to spend more time on it), I probably could have figured out how to get this for free.  But...I can deal with $15.  Is it weird I get all excited on Saturday knowing new coupons will be in tomorrow's paper?

Reading for the week.  I'm not done.  Basically, every night, I read a chapter or two from each of these.  Except for the sewing book...I just like to look at that one.

Smoothies!  A daily event for her.  Sometimes twice.

New yarn.  There's nothing like new yarn (except for maybe a new book) that makes my world go 'round on a (pretty sure it's going to be rainy) Saturday morning.