Oh, I've been keeping up with current events, the perfidy and evil that is Dick Cheney, the mostly inane yattering of various Presidential primary contestants, the horror of Iraq ... but I haven't really wanted to write about any of it. And besides, I've been busy.
I've been working on my bread-making (and am actually seeing some improvement). I've been checking out bagel recipes on the web. After buying 8 quarts of strawberries, I made a batch of jam and some strawberry sauce for the freezer. The garden has sucked up a lot of time and effort as we labored to reclaim it from the weeds that somehow got out of control. We've had to re-plant some things that simply didn't germinate, with plans too for a mid-July planting that will give us a fall crop of some veggies. I've harvested and dried herbs (herb-infused vinegars are yet to come). Now and then the pool has beckoned. I re-read books 5 and 6 of the Harry Potter series in preparation for the seventh and final book, out next month. I've gotten hooked on the series Six Feet Under and have been watching episodes obsessively.
Trips to our local farmer's market have been weekly, so far mainly to buy organic eggs laid by pasture-raised chickens. Connecting with the seller of said eggs allowed me to order some of the chickens, which we'll be getting in late July or early August. Ah, yes, we're spending some time checking out larger freezers to accommodate a dozen chickens, a turkey, and the side of grass-fed beef we're about to order. Finding a supplier of grass-fed beef and communicating with him--asking lots of questions, trying to figure out the cuts of meat we want, and so on--has also been rather time-consuming (though not unpleasant).
All in all, I haven't been idle, but I haven't been able to write about the consistently gloomy state of affairs. Recent decisions by the Supreme Court and the continued shredding of the Constitution by the Bush-Cheney cabal have added to the distress I regularly feel over the nation's descent into fascism--or if not outright fascism, some form of tyranny. The future I regard with some despair, and daily I see evidence that justifies despair. Who wants to write about that?
Add into the mix global warming, avian flu, peak oil ... it's hard to feel hopeful about much of anything. And I used to think of myself as an optimist.
So I've been concentrating on immediate, practical aspects of daily life to keep me sane. I hope to post soon on You Are What You Eat, so check that out in a few days if you're interested.
Now I'm going to find the coolest spot in the house (wouldn't you know it, ninety degrees and our air conditioning is out) and do some light reading. I'll be back one of these days ... Meanwhile, do enjoy the summer (which, in my opinion, doesn't include enough weekends).
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