Tea/Coffee

Someone made a comment the other day, that rubbed me the
wrong way. I had just come out of my local Tea/Coffee house with a wonderful glass of iced chai. A person who shall remain un-named, said that they couldn't believe that people would pay 4$ for flavored water. I was immediately upset by this comment.
As you can tell this person is NOT a tea/coffee lover, for anyone who does love these drinks, knows that they are very much worth it. In fact I do, have, and would pay more for certain varieties. Now for all of you that do not dig these wonderful beverages, here are some reasons these products cost what they do.

#1. Good Tea/Coffee is handpicked, and as you can imagine this is a labor intensive process that is hard on the hands and back. Now I also do a job, as many others do, that is also labor intensive. But what makes the Tea/Coffee harvesters different, is the fact that they work in these two specific industries. You see these two industries are the biggest industries that brought the Fair Trade movement into the main stream. To learn more about Fair Trade visit TransFairUSA.

#2. While there are many Tea's/Coffee's that are in abundant suppy, there are quite a few that fall into another catagory. These are called single estate Tea's/Coffee's. Single estate means that these strains or types are only grown at one site, by one grower. These strains are of the heirloom variety, meaning that the seeds and plant have been passed down through generations of families.

#3.It is in this catagory that you find some of the finest Tea's/Coffee's in the world. Since these are normally small operations, with small harvest's each year, this is where supply and demand comes into play.

So, those are some reasons why lovers of Tea/Coffee, like myself, are willing to pay the price for the beverages that we love. This is also something that people in general need to realize about most of the products they purchase, Those items had to have been made by someone. And like most of us, these people are just trying to make it, trying to feed their family.

Diggin' the tunes

I was at work and a song came on the radio, and by the end I was hooked. Except I did'nt know who it was. Because I was at work, and our air compressor is extremely loud (as compressors go) I did'nt hear the voice of the radio personality as they announced the song. I then went (crazy) for some months before hearing it again. Finally about 2 months ago I was on my way to the grocery and I heard it. "Here's "Atlas" from The Wood Brothers debut album "Ways not to loose"."

Extremely excited to hear more I rushed through the store (forgetting a few items) and as soon as I got home I went online and started searching. I quickly found their web page thewoodbrothers.com as well as Myspace page http://www.myspace.com/thewoodbrothers. I learned that The Wood Brothers was a duet composed of Oliver Wood - Guitar&Vocals, and Chris Wood - Bass&Vocals.

It was then that I realized that Chris, (the younger of the brothers) was Wood from the experimental jazz trio Medeski, Martin, and Wood. Now I was getting, dare I say, overly excited. Chris was a musician I already listened to and loved. And I always get excited when I find something new in any genre of life. While I had listened to some blues before, it had never been my favorite style of music. Until Now.

"ways not to loose" is the brothers first full length cd project together, though they learned to play together in their youth. All the songs on the album are original composition minus one. "Angel Band" is a traditional gospel tune of great depth. The most well known recordings of this song are that of The Stanley Brothers. Though I have heard quite a few artists put their own touch to it. The most notable include a rendition on an album called "That High Lonesome Sound" by a collection of artists that called themselves "Old and in the Way". This group of artists includes one of my favorites Jerry Garcia.

But what inspired Oliver&Chris to include it in the album was the fact that their father Bill Wood was very proud of that song. He had had a radio show in the late 50's around the Cambridge/Harvard area. And he played and performed a bit with Joan Baez, that was how he ended up being on a box set of her, singing a duet of the song.


As for the rest of the tracks on this album my favorites are track #1 One More Day track #2 Tried and Tempted Track #3 Luckiest Man track #5 Chocolate on my tongue and track #6 Atlas. "Atlas" being the one that first hooked me. However I strongly recommend that all 12 songs on the album are listened to closely. The song writing skills of these two brothers speaks to me in ways most modern music does not. The words sometimes feel as if they are are my thoughts. But I guess that's what great music is supposed to do. The album was recorded in one week of September 2005, at Allaire Studios in Bucilic Shokan, NY. Almost all was done with the musicians playing live together in the same room. Now I find that quite impressive and a testiment to their link as brothers. Which you will hear them speak of in interviews. The album was produced by Chris's band mate and friend, John Medeski, keyboards for Medeski, Martin, and Wood.

There is also a seven song EP called Live at Tonic, witch was recorded at the brothers fist ever concert at New York's Tonic on March 5th, 2005. This EP is only available through the Coalition of independant music stores, at live shows, or online.
But I am most excited because the brothers are going back into the studio in June to begin recording their second LP for Bluenote Records. Which, from what I've heard, should consist of mostly if not all, new material.

Now you may be surprised to know that I do not work for them. And I in no way receive payment for this blog.
I AM JUST THAT EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Cent Spice Jars

Ok, at first this may seam like a rather mundane post, but I promise I do have point. I am excited about my new spice jars, it's something rather simple but I greatly enjoy them. They seal better than any others I have seen, and the mouth of each jar is just the right size. My measuring spoons fit right down in so there is no trying to shake the stuff into the spoon. To put it simply, they are attractive to the eye, and they work properly.

Now, these are not actually sold as spice jars, when I bought them they had candles in them. They were 10 cents a piece, and the candles actually burnt better than most I've seen. At first I just bought a couple of candles for the smell, they were pumpkin spice scented. But one day I was doing dishes and had one burning next to the sink and noticed how nice the shape was. Now in my family if something had only one purpose it better be really important. So instantly I thought spice jars, I had been looking for a better set anyway.

So when the first one was done burning I cleaned out the leftover wax, washed, and sterilized it. The first herb that I tried in it was cumin, because when closed, if you can't smell cumin then they are sure to be properly sealed. Sure enough they worked perfect. So with a price of 10 cents, I was sure to buy many more the next time I went to the store.

Now this is where my point comes in. While I was filling my shopping basket with candles a woman said to me, "Boy, you must really like candles!" To witch I replied, "Yes, but these will become my spice jars after the candles are done." She then said, " How did you think of that? That's really cool." And I went on to say that it's just re-purposing. To witch she said, "What's that mean?"

I have a question, when did re-purposing become a new idea? I mean every generation of women in my family, and countless others, had a firm grasp of the idea. For the entire modern era, up to a couple of decades ago, people had to do this. The general public did not have the money to go buy a new item for every little task. I mean it's the same thing as using an empty can from some green beans as your bacon grease container, or to catch the drips from your outdoor grill. It seams as though people have forgotten alot of the things that our ancestors taught us. Things that allowed them to have things that ordinarily they wouldn't have had.

I hope that with the masses finally waking up to the fact that creating a sustainable environment is paramount to maintaining life as we know it, that they will remember this old method of recycling. It is ideas such as this that will help us minimize our footprints on this rock we call home.

Autumn is coming!

Autumn is coming! I am so excited! (Can you tell?! LOL) The crisp clear air, the sweet smells, and the beautiful fall colors. But boy oh boy, the food! What has to be the biggest reason that I love fall is definitely the food. It's harvest season, all the pumpkins and squash, persimmons, I could go on and on. One of my favorite things about fall is all the pumpkin stuff that is either only available during this season or just better right now. Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale, Pumpkin Pies, Pumpkin Spice Chai, Pumpkin Spice Candles! Again I could go on forever!


As you can tell I love pumpkin, but I also love the spices that are generally used with pumpkin. Nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. These spices pair so well with my beloved orange behemoth that I find dishes like pumpkin pie to be pure Ecstasy. And it is now that I come to the point of this rambling. I have never made a pumpkin pie! So I make it my mission this harvest season to take advantage of the abundance of this wonderful squash, and try my hand at a traditional pumpkin pie!

Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes.

The Bell

There is a field, with two horses in it.

From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you

stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite

amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His

owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home

for him. This alone is amazing..

f you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.

Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes

from the smaller horse in the field.

Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It lets the blind

friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.

As you stand and watch these two horses, you'll see that the horse

with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the

blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the

other horse is  trusting that he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each

evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the

blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just

because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us

when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing

bell of those who God places in our lives.

Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way...

Good friends are like that ... you may not always see them, but you

know they are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.

And remember .... be kinder than necessary - everyone you meet is

fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly....

Leave the rest to God.

The day I was made

So Thursday the 6th was my birthday! And it was a pretty good one. An honest days work, and some iced chai. To then come home and cook a wonderful dinner to share with Tony. I made salad with my homemade balsamic vinaigrette, as well as oven roasted red potatoes with fresh thyme and garlic, sauteed zucchini and baby squash. And the creme dela creme, Lamb loin chops broiled to a perfect medium rare with, again, fresh thyme and garlic. I was very proud! (And Full!!!!!) No birthday cake, so I found myself a picture of a pretty one. But for dessert I made a balsamic reduction to drizzle over fresh strawberries! And on top of it all, I got to watch my colts whoop some tail!
So that was my birthday, minus a couple of things that I won't talk about because I am a lady.

Clowns Vs. Nazis

Repost from a friend...

Clowns Whip Nazi ass!!!

Knoxville rejects Nazis and Klan.

Saturday May 26th the VNN Vanguard Nazi/KKK group attempted to host a hate rally to try to take advantage of the brutal murder of a white couple for media and recruitment purposes. http://www.volunteertv.com/special

Unfortunately for them the 100th ARA (Anti Racist Action) clown block came and handed them their asses by making them appear like the asses they were.

Alex Linder the founder of VNN and the lead organizer of the rally kicked off events by rushing the clowns in a fit of rage, and was promptly arrested by 4 Knoxville police officers who dropped him to the ground when he resisted and dragged him off past the red shiny shoes of the clowns. http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7704982.html
"White Power!" the Nazi's shouted, "White Flour?" the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelt "White Flour".

"White Power!" the Nazi's angrily shouted once more, "White flowers?" the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.

"White Power!" the Nazi's tried once again in a doomed and somewhat funny attempt to clarify their message, "ohhhhhh!" the clowns yelled "Tight Shower!" and held a solar shower in the air and all tried to crowd under to get clean as per the Klan's directions.

At this point several of the Nazi's and Klan members began clutching their hearts as if they were about to have a heart attack. Their beady eyes bulged, and the veins in their tiny narrow foreheads beat in rage. One last time they screamed "White Power!"

The clown women thought they finally understood what the Klan was trying to say. "Ohhhhh…" the women clowns said. "Now we understand…", "WIFE POWER!" they lifted the letters up in the air, grabbed the nearest male clowns and lifted them in their arms and ran about merrily chanting "WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER!"

It was at this point that several observers reported seeing several Klan members heads exploding in rage and they stopped trying to explain to the clowns what they wanted.

Apparently the clowns fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the rally, they believed it was a clown rally and came in force to support their pointy hated brethren. To their dismay, despite their best jokes and stunts and pratfalls the Nazis and Klan refused to laugh, and indeed became enraged at the clowns misunderstanding and constant attempts to interpret the clowns instruction.

The clowns on the other hand had a great time and thought the Nazis were the funniest thing they had ever seen and the loud laughter of over 100 counter protesters greeted every attempt of the Nazis and Klan to get their message out, whatever that was.

Many of the local Knoxvillians that came to counter demonstrate had no illusions about why these out of state bad clowns with swastikas were doing in their town.

"KKK YOU CAN'T HIDE, WE CHARGE YOU WITH GENOCIDE!"

"GAY, STRAIGHT, BLACK, WHITE ONE STRUGGLE ONE FIGHT!"

"U.G.L.Y. KLAN YOU AIN'T GOT NO ALIBI, YOU UGLY, YOU UGLY"

Were just a few of the chants that the non clown counter protesters rained down upon the Nazis. The clowns interacted with the non clown protesters with glee and even participated in a chant or two, though apparently with no idea that the Nazis were indeed not clowns thinking it was just part of the show.

In the end the 20 or so sad VNNers left with their tails between their legs. At this point over 150 counter demonstraters were present. The clowns seeing how dejected and sad the Nazi's looked began singing to cheer them up.

"hey hey hey hey, ho ho ho ho—good bye, good bye" everyone sang waving their arms in the air in unison.

After the VNNers left in their shiny SUVs to go back to Alabama and all the other states that they were from the clowns and counter demonstrators began to march out of the area chanting 'WHOSE STREETS? OUR STREETS!"

But the cops stopped the clowns and counter protestors. "Hey, do you want an escort" an African-American police officer on a motorcycle asked. "Yes" a clown replied. "We are walking to Market Square in the center of town to celebrate."

The police officers got in front of the now anti racist parade and blocked the entire road for the march through the heart of Knoxville. An event called imagination station was taking place and over 15,000 thousand students and their parents were in town that weekend. Many of them cheered as the clowns, Knoxvillians and counter protestors marched through the heart of Knoxville singing and laughing at the end of the Nazi's first attempt at having a rally in Knoxville.

On June 16th the Stormfront Nazis are trying to have a second rally in Knoxville. Clowns, anarchist, activist and others are all invited to come and creatively and nonviolently help us confront these Nazis and give them an even bigger counter rally than the first. If you can come, or can help email.

knoxvilleantiracistaction@yahoo.com

Growing

So I will be 27 on Thursday, wow. I feel as if I am still 16 in so many ways yet, I have changed and grown in so many as well. I am proud of who I am today, but around my birthday it is hard not to think of all the things I have not accomplished.

I can remember being a child of 5 or 6 thinking that by this age I would have kids, be married, and working in the arts. That I would have traveled all over the world by now. To be honest, it is kind of scary to think about how much I still have to do in comparison to how much time I have left.
I think these are thoughts that we all face at least once in our lives. When we realize amidst our everyday hustle and bustle, that our lives haven't turned out the way we had planned. But I also think that it is in this time that we find out exactly who we have become and how happy we are about it.


I may not have a big career in the art world, or a house on the hill. But I live everyday of my life as if it were my last, and I work a good job, an honest job. My house is an apartment, but it is nice and clean, and warm. I may not be married, but I have a man who shows me more love and respect than most women I know who are married. And kids, well that I am glad I have not done yet, that will come in time. And as for travel, well I've seen some places, and I'll see some more, once again it will come.

So I guess that I have learned, that in growing older, what I have done is grown. I think things out, I have learned to accept what cannot be changed and to change what can. I have grown older, wiser, stronger, and calmer. And I hope the cycle never stops, because it's been a fun ride.

Thank you to anyone who reads this for listening to the thoughts trickling out of my head. It's nice to let them out sometimes.

3-day weekend my arse!

3-day weekend my arse! Mine started on Friday night when a going away party for some friends that were moving cross-country, ended in shambles. I'm never cooking in my future mother-in-laws kitchen again! Don't know where anything is, and she's got one of those ridiculous glass (or ceramic, I'm not sure witch) cooktops. See with those, when grease burns on it really burns on and then you and your 3 friends end up polishing it for an hour with this strange polishing cream that is the only thing you can clean it with!

Not me, give me my old shabby electric coil, or a gas range anyday! At least I can scrub those with anything I like! I hate other peoples kitchens! I mean we had plans to go swimming, play games, and relax. And all night all we did was cook!

I then woke Saturday morning to realize I had slept half my day away. Now we had not gotten home the night before until around 2am since we had cleaned up the mess in the kitchen before we came home. And I probably needed the extra sleep. But I absolutly hate sleeping that long, it always ruins my mood for the rest of the day. There are just so many things I could have done in that time, and I feel like such a useless sack!

With that start to the day, I was then drug out for bowling that evening. Now don't get me wrong, I had fun, I just had a little too much. I woke Sunday morning with my head split in two. An thus spent my day in recovery.

As for today it seams to be the first relaxing day of my long weekend and of course it's the last! But tried my hand at some french toast for the first time, and it wasn't bad. Plans for some simple grilling and games at a friends house. (And I'm not cooking!!!) At least today might work out, as they say "all's well that ends well"

Golf

So I've only played golf a hand full of times, but I played yesterday, and had a ball. Went out for a quick 9 at a local course, And had a pretty good round. Shot a 62, not bad for playing with clubs much too tall for me. I think I might have to invest in a set that fits me better. Anyway, plans to go again the weekend after next. Can't wait