Shopping

Today was the day that approximately 400 teenage girls decended upon the Dillards at Woodla nd Hills Mall in Tulsa. And I got to be there, yay! I forgot to mention that all 400 of them decended upon the formal/prom gown section. Double yay! But, I got to do some quality shopping bonding with my stepdaughter, which was a good thing. Apparently, there's a Valentine's Dance in two weeks at every jr. & high school in this state.

So, there they were, parading in and out of the dressing rooms in their chosen attire - some looking like sausages stuffed in a casing, others looking anorexic enough to enter the ER, and some looked healthy and happy. Most were arguing with siblings and mothers about the style and fit of dresses, some were being downright bratty. My girl was being wonderful, thank goodness. She has good clothes sense. But, I'm exhausted. I forgot, in my middle age, how exhausting shopping with a teen can be. It brought back memories of when I was young and used to hang out at the mall, flirting with boys, and spending my money on cosmetics. Little did I know then that I would need the cosmetics more thirty years later than I did then.
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Quote of the Day
"It's not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages."

Friedrich Nietzsche

I keep forgetting...

To put my quote/Fact of the day under my posts!!! Arggggghhh.

"America is the greatest of opportunities and the worst of influences."

George Santayana (1863-1952)

Testing Links About the 100 Mile Diet

This is a test...for the next 60 seconds you will hear...............I'm testing a link for the
100 mile diet. Let's hope this works. Anyway, the 100 mile diet is just what it says...a diet consisting of foods obtained only within a 100 mile radius of your home. The purpose is to realize that each time we sit down to a meal, almost all of the products have travelled over 1500 miles to reach our plates. Big deal you say? Well, with the price of oil, and the pending scarcity of oil, this constitutes a big deal. When the price of a gallon of gas reaches $5 a gallon those potatoes on your plate won't be costing no $1.89 a bag--nope. You'll be paying for the cost of gas reflected into that bag-o-spuds.

Eating locally helps support your immediate community and save oil all at once. But, sadly, some things just can't be produced in America. Like coffee, and olive oil, any many other foods to numerous to mention. This can put a damper on the 100 mile diet. But many adherents to this diet try and do a large percentage of their diet with locally grown foods, while supplementing with the imported coffees and olive oils.

It's a start. This summer I'll try and visit my local farmer's market more often. It's fresher and cheaper!

Forgotten Quote of the Day

I neglected to post[below] my Fact/Quote of the Day!! Here it is:

"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair."

George Burns

Robin Hood Restaurants

What in the world is a Robin Hood Restaurant? I just now discovered this awesome enterprise today on http://sustainablog.blogspot.com . What RHR's do is eliminate prices on their products they serve, which happen to be all organic and usually locally produced. Instead of having a set price to pay, customers pay what they can afford. According to the proprietor on the link I gave you, the income evens out in the end, with the wealthier patrons making up for what the less fortunate patrons can pay. What is so good about this concept is that everyone, including the poor, can enjoy a good meal, and organic at that, which is healthier to boot. Usually organic means $$$$, and lots of them. But this concept allows everyone to partake.

For those customers that can not pay anything, the proprietor says they can barter work for food...activities like washing dishes, repair work, some have helped to lay tile in the kitchen.

This is just another of many concepts out there that help to lessen the gap between the rich and poor. I'm on the lookout for others.

Food not Bombs

I've become interested in an activist concept called Food not Bombs. What it does is promote peace and awareness of the homeless plight in America by distributing free vegan meals to anyone in need. The groups do this in front of government buildings to boost the effect of the activism. Several FNB members have been arrested for their activist activities because it apparently brings to light the plight of the poverty stricken in America. The government does not like this and thinks it's doing a good enough job all by itself. Hmm.

The point of the vegan meals is a several pointed one. First, to promote awareness of peace no animal products will be used in the making of said meals. Vegetarianism is a key concept of eco-friendly activism. Second, purely vegetable products do not spoil as readily as animal products. Third, everyone can partake in a vegan meal; not everyone can eat meat for either religious or other reasons. Thus, no one is left out.

ALso, helping the homeless by cooking and distributing meals as a group effort helps build community. Community is a quickly diminishing concept in our country. Everyone is out for their own needs---to hell with everyone else.

I would like to start a community of Food not Bombs individuals. However, where I live there appears to not be a substantial homeless community. Perhaps FNB would work better in a larger metropolis like Tulsa or OKC. I'm going to research to see if there are any FNB networks in those areas and get to work. Of course, though, the reason there appears to not be a substantial homeless community in my area is because they may be well hidden. It may be a mistake to ignore this, and should go about trying to start an FNB in my area.

I forgot to mention how FNB goes about obtaining the food for their free meals. What they do is go around to farmers markets and health food stores and ask for any produce that is going to be thrown out or may be past the sell date yet is still a viable food. Some FNB individuals have been arrested for dumpster diving for perfectly good produce thrown out by big box supermarkets, so the way to go is to kindly ask the small grocers/stores if they would like to help out.
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Fact for the day: Pineapples are a member of the Bromeliad family of plants. Bromeliads are a popular tropical houseplant and a variety of Spanish moss.

A new Semester

I am a week behind in posting on this blog because I can not think of anything important to write about. My last post was about Procrastination---so there it is!
How bout "Ice Storm 2007? Are we all sick of it yet? Last Thursday night people at the stores were Nuclear Holocausting it on their way through the aisles. Really Rude stuff happening there. Like Oh Crap I gotta get the last can of cream of mushroom soup before that guy behind me gets it!!!
Yep...we're gonna live on those no-named casseroles with unknown canned ingredients for the duration of this ice, so shut up!
The folks in Minnesota are surely laughing at our survivalist capabilities. I'm embarassed for all of us.
"This is NewsChannel 9 and we're here to keep you advised that the entire state has shut down due to ICE STORM 2007"
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Fact for the day: Did you know that the venerable vanilla bean comes from a type of orchid appropriately named the vanilla planifolia?