More books read lately. Maybe some reviews later:
Musicphilia by Oliver Sachs
God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchins
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
Under Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
currently 1/3 through:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I am still way behind if I'm gonna hit 56 by the end of the year! Does reading Thomas Gets Tricked 100 times count?
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Love my CSA!
My favorite 3 letter acronym lately is CSA. It stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Around Ithaca many folks know what these are and bunches belong to one and enjoy the bounty. Basically, people pay to own a share of a farm and in return they are given fresh, local, organic produce every week in return. I'll post a pic of this week's share soon which included salad stuff, spring turnips, garlic scapes, strawberries, snap peas, fresh flowers, herbs and kale. Sounds pretty cool, eh? Support local farmers, get really awesome healthy food that challenges our pallet. Spend some time picking your own food, cutting flowers, talking to neighbors. It's the next best thing to owning your own farm...no wait, better because I didn't have to do all the hard work.
It gets cooler. Some folks are allowed to pay less and still have a "full share". Everyone who comes to get their share is asked to take what they need, no more than a full grocery bag. So, we all pay what we can and we get what we need. Wow... what a concept. I'm sure most people pay full price. They also take donations to help offset the people who pay less. Our family took not quite a full bag and we will eat ourselves silly and still have leftovers while I'm sure other families take more than we do and eat every bit.
This whole concept is extremely foreign to Americans. American media would call it "socialist" and paint it in a totally horrible light. I call it heaven. Why can't health care be this way too? And quality day care? That's how it works in many other countries. Why are we so afraid to be good to each other?
Watch Sicko. Write a letter or call your congressman/woman or representative. If you don't know who they are find out. I'm going to. (But probably not until July) :)
It gets cooler. Some folks are allowed to pay less and still have a "full share". Everyone who comes to get their share is asked to take what they need, no more than a full grocery bag. So, we all pay what we can and we get what we need. Wow... what a concept. I'm sure most people pay full price. They also take donations to help offset the people who pay less. Our family took not quite a full bag and we will eat ourselves silly and still have leftovers while I'm sure other families take more than we do and eat every bit.
This whole concept is extremely foreign to Americans. American media would call it "socialist" and paint it in a totally horrible light. I call it heaven. Why can't health care be this way too? And quality day care? That's how it works in many other countries. Why are we so afraid to be good to each other?
Watch Sicko. Write a letter or call your congressman/woman or representative. If you don't know who they are find out. I'm going to. (But probably not until July) :)
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Goings on
Hey all,
I know I hardly post here, especially lately. Today and yesterday were the first days I felt like I could relax after the end of the semester. We've been traveling and fighting coughing colds.
Some around the house items:
First I replaced the diverter faucet on our upstairs clawfoot tub. Remembering last time I did this, I decided to replace the turn-off valves on the upstairs water feeds (rather than literally replace the faucet with the water still dripping out). The water upstairs was off for about 12 days while we ordered it and waited for it to arrive. But it looks nice now. Evan likes to turn it on and off...
Just a note: I'm going to guess that a large number of houses in the area have this style of tub/shower in at least one bathroom, but Lowes doesn't sell any faucets for them, Home Depot only carries a really cheap one (lasted all of 9 months and never worked well), and the local high-end plumbing store offered to order one for me for well over $300. I had to order this online.
Next was the hose faucet (silcock) outside... basically it was fine except it leaked, had a broken handle, wasn't actually mounted on the house (just attached to the pipe), and was crudely drilled and stuffed into a hole in the siding. This is along the lines of the quality of workmanship I encounter at every turn in this house. I decided to mount it and trim it.
A shout out to my dad who purchased for me (out of the blue) some very very neat tools. I now realize the hole in my life that could only be filled by this Dremel set. The driver is so easy to control and the high-speed drill is exactly what a do-it-yourselfer needs to add some trim and a new hose faucet.
Note the old, old valves, silcock, and crappy clawfoot faucet (lasted less than a year) in the lower right.
Next was the refrigerator ice maker. We have one, but no water. And it's getting hot. I ran some 1/2" copper under the fridge, drilled some holes, put in a wall fixture and voila!
This is dedicated to my dad who taught me how to either do all of the above (solder, cut, mount, run pipe) or how to think clearly enough to understand how to go about it all. Also generous in just up and buying about half the tools I used. If he had been here, I know he would have insisted on helping every step of the way. I love you dad.
Here's four generations:
I know I hardly post here, especially lately. Today and yesterday were the first days I felt like I could relax after the end of the semester. We've been traveling and fighting coughing colds.
Some around the house items:
First I replaced the diverter faucet on our upstairs clawfoot tub. Remembering last time I did this, I decided to replace the turn-off valves on the upstairs water feeds (rather than literally replace the faucet with the water still dripping out). The water upstairs was off for about 12 days while we ordered it and waited for it to arrive. But it looks nice now. Evan likes to turn it on and off...Just a note: I'm going to guess that a large number of houses in the area have this style of tub/shower in at least one bathroom, but Lowes doesn't sell any faucets for them, Home Depot only carries a really cheap one (lasted all of 9 months and never worked well), and the local high-end plumbing store offered to order one for me for well over $300. I had to order this online.
Next was the hose faucet (silcock) outside... basically it was fine except it leaked, had a broken handle, wasn't actually mounted on the house (just attached to the pipe), and was crudely drilled and stuffed into a hole in the siding. This is along the lines of the quality of workmanship I encounter at every turn in this house. I decided to mount it and trim it.
A shout out to my dad who purchased for me (out of the blue) some very very neat tools. I now realize the hole in my life that could only be filled by this Dremel set. The driver is so easy to control and the high-speed drill is exactly what a do-it-yourselfer needs to add some trim and a new hose faucet.
Note the old, old valves, silcock, and crappy clawfoot faucet (lasted less than a year) in the lower right.
Next was the refrigerator ice maker. We have one, but no water. And it's getting hot. I ran some 1/2" copper under the fridge, drilled some holes, put in a wall fixture and voila!
This is dedicated to my dad who taught me how to either do all of the above (solder, cut, mount, run pipe) or how to think clearly enough to understand how to go about it all. Also generous in just up and buying about half the tools I used. If he had been here, I know he would have insisted on helping every step of the way. I love you dad.
Here's four generations:
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