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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Thursday, January 15, 2009 You never know where you're going to find a kindred spirit Bill, my all-round helper, builder, and stove installer, is an acquaintance of several years. We worked together for a local landlord--Bill doing maintenance and I running the office--and I realized very quickly that there wasn't much he couldn't do. We must be very nearly the same age, though his children are much younger than mine, but he reminded me powerfully of my father--one of those men who sees what needs to be done and just does it, whether it's mechanical, electrical, automotive, or building something. And I think he appreciated me too--I ran into him one day after I left the company and he said a bit wistfully, "That was a good place to work when you were there." That's about as nice a compliment as I've ever had.But in the six or seven years now that I've known him, I've never really had a chance to spend any extended time with him. We've talked off and on about what I'm doing with the property--his helper joked once that "Everyone else is going forward, but Liz is going backward"--and Billy said, "She knows what she's doing." But our conversations have mostly consisted of, "What would you think about putting a concrete pad at the end of the wheelchair ramp?" and "Yes, you're welcome to use my table saw to rip the molding for the porch--don't bother to haul yours over here."Today we went down to Greensboro to look at a wood cookstove advertised for sale. I know next to nothing about wood cookstoves, while Bill--though claiming he was no expert--had at least grown up with one. So I had asked him if he would go along with me to look at it and offer his advice. The stove turned out to be a piece of junk (even I could see that much), but the conversation down there and back was invaluable.I said I hoped he was going to have a garden this year, and that his wife liked to can and freeze. "I do all the canning," he said, "but I try to dry most everything--that's even better than canning." And away we went, from discussions of how to can a big batch at a time (sit a #2 washtub on concrete blocks, build a fire underneath it, and separate the jars with towels) to global warming ("I don't know a whole lot about that, but I watch all those tv shows on the climate, and something sure is going on") to pastured meat (turns out he got a side of beef from the same place my milk, eggs and meat come from).I asked if he had ever used a scythe, and he nodded. "We grew wheat when I was little, and that's what we cut it with." I mentioned that I had thought about sowing some of the wheat I have, and seeing how it would grow. "You have wheat?" he asked, obviously surprised. I told him that I grind it to make flour for bread, and that if he wanted, I would show him the mill when we got back to the house. He definitely wanted.So I took it out, connected it to the Bosch mixer, dumped a handful of wheat kernels into the hopper and turned it on. "Well, look at that," Billy whispered. "I gotta have one of those." At the door, he turned to me and said, "I got first prize for my bread when I was in high school. I entered it in the county fair and won first prize."You have to love a guy who can fix a car, a lawnmower, a well pump or a lamp with equal facility, and knows how to make bread too. His family just got added to the "people you want to make sure get through the bad times" category. posted by Liz @ 2:46 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
Bill, my all-round helper, builder, and stove installer, is an acquaintance of several years. We worked together for a local landlord--Bill doing maintenance and I running the office--and I realized very quickly that there wasn't much he couldn't do. We must be very nearly the same age, though his children are much younger than mine, but he reminded me powerfully of my father--one of those men who sees what needs to be done and just does it, whether it's mechanical, electrical, automotive, or building something. And I think he appreciated me too--I ran into him one day after I left the company and he said a bit wistfully, "That was a good place to work when you were there." That's about as nice a compliment as I've ever had.But in the six or seven years now that I've known him, I've never really had a chance to spend any extended time with him. We've talked off and on about what I'm doing with the property--his helper joked once that "Everyone else is going forward, but Liz is going backward"--and Billy said, "She knows what she's doing." But our conversations have mostly consisted of, "What would you think about putting a concrete pad at the end of the wheelchair ramp?" and "Yes, you're welcome to use my table saw to rip the molding for the porch--don't bother to haul yours over here."Today we went down to Greensboro to look at a wood cookstove advertised for sale. I know next to nothing about wood cookstoves, while Bill--though claiming he was no expert--had at least grown up with one. So I had asked him if he would go along with me to look at it and offer his advice. The stove turned out to be a piece of junk (even I could see that much), but the conversation down there and back was invaluable.I said I hoped he was going to have a garden this year, and that his wife liked to can and freeze. "I do all the canning," he said, "but I try to dry most everything--that's even better than canning." And away we went, from discussions of how to can a big batch at a time (sit a #2 washtub on concrete blocks, build a fire underneath it, and separate the jars with towels) to global warming ("I don't know a whole lot about that, but I watch all those tv shows on the climate, and something sure is going on") to pastured meat (turns out he got a side of beef from the same place my milk, eggs and meat come from).I asked if he had ever used a scythe, and he nodded. "We grew wheat when I was little, and that's what we cut it with." I mentioned that I had thought about sowing some of the wheat I have, and seeing how it would grow. "You have wheat?" he asked, obviously surprised. I told him that I grind it to make flour for bread, and that if he wanted, I would show him the mill when we got back to the house. He definitely wanted.So I took it out, connected it to the Bosch mixer, dumped a handful of wheat kernels into the hopper and turned it on. "Well, look at that," Billy whispered. "I gotta have one of those." At the door, he turned to me and said, "I got first prize for my bread when I was in high school. I entered it in the county fair and won first prize."You have to love a guy who can fix a car, a lawnmower, a well pump or a lamp with equal facility, and knows how to make bread too. His family just got added to the "people you want to make sure get through the bad times" category.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
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PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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