1) You roll out discarded tires from the garage out into your yard to stack for a compost pile - Who needs those fancy $$ compost bins!
2) You see grass clippings and think "Nitrogen!"
3) Raking leaves is not a chore, but a joy.
4) Seeing bundles of leaves in plastic bags for garbage pick-up brings a tear to your eye.
5) When your family sees you peeling veggies for dinner and asks, "What are you making?" and you reply, "Compost."
6) When your garbage disposal becomes obsolete.
7) When filling yet another kitchen container for the compost heap gives you that adrenaline rush.
8) That mushroomy earthy smell becomes the new "Obsession."
9) You find yourself stuffing leftover salad greens into your purse when dining out.
10) You actually hear your grateful plants say "Thank you" when you amend that soil.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
"The Chocolate"
Back in the day when I was a dietetic intern, we had a young, let's call her a know-it-all supervisor who was not very well liked. And she was always watching her weight. One intern discovered that this supervisor had a passion for chocolate. So, each day, the intern would anonymously leave a "gift" of chocolate candy, or freshly baked cake, or a brownie on her desk. The supervisor seemed very happy for this gift. All year the interns were watching to see if she would put on more weight eating all this chocolate.
Something similar to this happened to me. One lady gave me a "gift" of a clump of lily of the valley. "Just put it anywhere in your garden. It will grow well in the shade." Well, not only does it grow well in the shade, it grows in the sun and even under that black fabric mat I put down to smother the weeds. It even seems to thrive there! And spread, and spread... It's taking over my garden! For the past few days I've been digging it out. It has a root system that really knows how to travel.
During one moment of weakness I leaned on my shovel and considered, "this may be good ground cover under the shrubs." Perish the thought! Lily of the valley is NOT in the plan. Back to digging out the gift that keeps on giving. I do think I will be battling lily of the valley for all my gardening days.
So this morning I thought about that gift of chocolate. There's a lesson in here somewhere. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.
Something similar to this happened to me. One lady gave me a "gift" of a clump of lily of the valley. "Just put it anywhere in your garden. It will grow well in the shade." Well, not only does it grow well in the shade, it grows in the sun and even under that black fabric mat I put down to smother the weeds. It even seems to thrive there! And spread, and spread... It's taking over my garden! For the past few days I've been digging it out. It has a root system that really knows how to travel.
During one moment of weakness I leaned on my shovel and considered, "this may be good ground cover under the shrubs." Perish the thought! Lily of the valley is NOT in the plan. Back to digging out the gift that keeps on giving. I do think I will be battling lily of the valley for all my gardening days.
So this morning I thought about that gift of chocolate. There's a lesson in here somewhere. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
The Square
The business association of my Mom's hometown is sponsoring a contest about recollections of downtown. It's a contest, so I just had to enter. Here's what I submitted:
My Mom Marion was born in Town of Hull in 1919 and my Dad Alex was born in 1905 in Mill Creek. My Dad’s first job was at Uncle Pete Kaminski’s grocery store where he learned how to be a butcher. My Dad later worked at Rudnick’s grocery store on the corner of the Square, and that’s where he met my Mom.
For as long as I could remember, we traveled on vacation from Racine to Stevens Point to stay with my Grandparents Anna and Joe Bonowski. One of our first and frequent stops would be Market Square. My Dad looked forward to meeting his friends on the Square and talking in Polish, of course, about the old days. A lot of farmers would be there selling beans and other vegetables. It seemed like my Dad knew most everybody, but then a lot of people had shopped at Rudnick’s in those days, including my Grandpa. When my Mom was still a young girl, she and her sisters went with my Grandpa to Rudnick’s. The handsome butcher carried the groceries out to the car where the sisters were sitting in the back seat. He smiled and said, “I’ll take the one with the brown eyes.”
Years later, my Mom (the one with the brown eyes) worked as a maid and child care provider to one of Stevens Point’s prominent families. In the evenings she would go to Fisher’s Dairy to buy an ice cream cone. She would eat that cone very, very slowly as she walked back and forth in front of Rudnick’s, hoping to be noticed by the handsome butcher who worked there. They met, became engaged, and in 1945 they were married at St. Casimir’s Church, Town of Hull.
The Square was the center of all the activity in town. It was where my parents met and fell in love. For me, no trip to The Square was complete without including a stop at Fisher’s Dairy for a double scoop cone of raspberry ripple ice cream, and my Dad reminiscing about his days as a butcher at Rudnick’s.
My Mom Marion was born in Town of Hull in 1919 and my Dad Alex was born in 1905 in Mill Creek. My Dad’s first job was at Uncle Pete Kaminski’s grocery store where he learned how to be a butcher. My Dad later worked at Rudnick’s grocery store on the corner of the Square, and that’s where he met my Mom.
For as long as I could remember, we traveled on vacation from Racine to Stevens Point to stay with my Grandparents Anna and Joe Bonowski. One of our first and frequent stops would be Market Square. My Dad looked forward to meeting his friends on the Square and talking in Polish, of course, about the old days. A lot of farmers would be there selling beans and other vegetables. It seemed like my Dad knew most everybody, but then a lot of people had shopped at Rudnick’s in those days, including my Grandpa. When my Mom was still a young girl, she and her sisters went with my Grandpa to Rudnick’s. The handsome butcher carried the groceries out to the car where the sisters were sitting in the back seat. He smiled and said, “I’ll take the one with the brown eyes.”
Years later, my Mom (the one with the brown eyes) worked as a maid and child care provider to one of Stevens Point’s prominent families. In the evenings she would go to Fisher’s Dairy to buy an ice cream cone. She would eat that cone very, very slowly as she walked back and forth in front of Rudnick’s, hoping to be noticed by the handsome butcher who worked there. They met, became engaged, and in 1945 they were married at St. Casimir’s Church, Town of Hull.
The Square was the center of all the activity in town. It was where my parents met and fell in love. For me, no trip to The Square was complete without including a stop at Fisher’s Dairy for a double scoop cone of raspberry ripple ice cream, and my Dad reminiscing about his days as a butcher at Rudnick’s.
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