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C-3PO: “He says the scouts are going to show us the quickest way to the shield generator.”
Han Solo: “Good. How far is it? Ask him.”
[3PO turns to ask, Han pulls him back]
Han Solo: “We need some fresh supplies too.”
[3PO turns again; Han pulls him back again]
Han Solo: “Try and get our weapons back.”
[3PO turns; Han pulls him back yet again]
Han Solo: “Hurry up, will ya? Haven’t got all day!”
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
I learned a valuable lesson today.
If you want to get rid of free homeschooling-related stuff quickly, announce it on the General Board at The Well Trained Mind website. I’ve dwindled the Watto’s Junk Shop list by at least half over the course of just a few hours.
I feel so free.
“I’m a Toydarian, mind tricks don’t work on me. Only money. No money, no parts, no deal!” – Watto, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
Maybe I’m not quite as bad as Watto, but I do love a good deal – especially now that I’m being forced to rein in the budget something fierce. Since I don’t know if everyone else knows about it, I’m going to put in this link to Amazon.com’s bulk-buying Subscribe & Save program. I l.o.v.e this program. Every time I order something from it, I get free shipping and an automatic 15% discount. Woo-hoo!
What reminded me was that I just ordered some more HE detergent for my front-loading washer today. I get paper products (my much beloved Seventh Generation toilet paper, paper towels, and bath tissues, for example), Dad Windu’s favorite face wash (very hit or miss at the grocery store), “lady items” and other such bulky non-perishables this way. I’m a huge fan of buying local and supporting local merchants, but I’m also a big fan of being able to get my weekly groceries on my bicycle (hard to do when you’ve got lots of bulky items) or – if the load is really light – walking there and back. Plus the local grocery doesn’t even stock Seventh Generation stuff (yes, I’ve requested them) – and that bugs the crap out of me! So the the UPS truck pulls up and delivers 6-7 months of TP in a big o’ cardboard box.
To get the great deal, it makes me pick a recurring period (1, 2, 3 or 6 month time frames). That seemed a bit risky until I realized that I can cancel the repeat order immediately after buying something if I want to. They also send you a reminder email about a week before sending out the next shipment, too, so you can skip the upcoming order if you wish. Generally I order everything on the 6 month plan and move the order date back or forward as needed.
I hope this helps some of you out too.
Lando Calrissian: “Lord Vader, we only use this facility for carbon freezing. If you put him in there it might kill him.”
Darth Vader: “I do not want the Emperor’s prize damaged. We will test it on Captain Solo.”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Here’s a shout-out to anyone that is getting more and more afraid to look in the back of the pantry or the bottom of the deep-freeze. Kethry announced tonight that she is going to participate in Catz’ Corner’s Use it up April, and so am I. To be honest, I didn’t even know there was such a thing when I decided yesterday to try not do any but the most essential grocery shopping for April, but I think Catz is on to something. Waste is waste and reducing it is in all our best interests. This can only help to s-t-r-e-t-c-h out next month’s lean income and will be a real help in getting us ready for the bounty that will be coming with the next growing season at the CSA.
Han Solo: ”I love you.”
Princess Leia: ”I know.”
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
OK, these are just some of the cutest things in the entire world and I just bought the original Brown Bag Lunch set as a gift for Christmas. I.love.them. If you have any young-ish nieces, nephews or neighbors around that like to pretend to cook OR who like to cook and play pretend, please buy them some of these. They’re absolutely adorable!
I found them via the Etsy.com website, home to all kinds of wonderful things. For me, they were cute enough on their own to buy, but it was extra nice to know that they’re being made by a small group of hard-working America moms who use natural fibers. Every one is individually made, with lots of hand-stitched details. How could I not love them?
Just to clear up any suspicions, I don’t know the woman that makes them, although I talked to her on the phone for a few minutes yesterday when she answered some questions I had about shipping and stock on hand. She’s very nice.
What’s that? You need a little sneak peek, before you’re willing to click through? Oh, alright…
Luke Skywalker: ”Boy, it’s lucky you have these compartments.”
Han Solo: ”I use them for smuggling. I never thought I’d be smuggling myself in them.”
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
Sometimes things get a little crazy around here and I simply run out of time. Then again, sometimes I’m just plain lazy and put things off too long. An.y.way. We were having friends over for dinner and a movie on Friday night and I found myself way, way behind schedule. My revised goal, around 3pm, was to finish getting the house cleaned, take a shower, and have something more presentable than my pajamas on by the time that everyone arrived at 5:30pm. I even called in Dad Windu, who was kind enough to leave work a bit early, to make a run to the store and get the chili started.
As I was getting ready to clean the kitchen floor, I kept tripping over some soda cans and beer bottles. As we don’t drink much besides water and milk on a day to day basis, it usually takes a while for me to gather up a large enough collection to merit the trip to turn them in for recycling. We had arrived at the tipping point it appeared. So I did what any good homeschooling mom would do. I pulled Padawan Learner away from his books for a few minutes to make a completely overdue trip out to drop off the cans/bottles because they were annoying me assist me in reducing the amount of recyclable material that enters our household’s solid waste stream. At the same time, I wanted him to buy some more soda for the boys that would be coming over practice his comparison shopping and currency handling skills.
As he was loading everything into my bike’s baskets (Cool aren’t they? Admit it, they’re hot.), he couldn’t get everything to fit, so I grabbed a bungee cord and strapped a big ol’ box from a case of locally brewed beers onto the rear rack and we tucked several plastic soda bottles into that. I had to laugh because he looked like a “can man” in training.
He was pretty amused by the situation and begged me to take a picture. As he rode away, he said, “You should put this on your blog. You could use Han Solo’s quote about smuggling himself on the Millennium Falcon.” Smart boy, he.
Uncle D, FilmChris and WineChris will be pleased to see a sixpack of Bell’s tucked into the basket. In truth, there was another one on the other side, as well.
“Impressive. Most impressive. Obi-Wan has taught you well. You have controlled your fear. Now, release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me.” – Darth Vader, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
People who know me, know that I’m quietly environmental. I feel strongly, passionately about keeping my place on Earth as environmentally neutral as possible – and I fail stunningly at that, and often. Maybe I don’t do enough to “get the message out”, but I do try to live what I believe. In reality, I don’t think it does any good to lecture people with the “You’re bad. You’re killing the planet. You’re acting selfish” mantra. It’s rude, and rude rarely gets anything worthwhile done. But I do what I can.
I first became afraid of what was going on in our world (and what I might be contributing to with my actions) when I started to travel around the world a bit. Seeing how other people lived (in both better and worse conditions), what was considered essential and worthwhile, what other countries are like overall was very eye-opening and thought-provoking. Then I got angry. Angry at my waste, greed, laziness and entertainment mentality. I hate my own participation in poisoning the planet, keeping large portions of the world poor and ill, and sucking up more and more “easy energy” reserves through my choices, actions and inaction. So day-by-day, I try to do something about it.
I think about so many things and probably keep quiet too often. But, in the end, I think we all have to come to our own understanding. That said, I think this little video, called The Story of Stuff, does a nice job of treading the line between informative and obnoxious. I’ll have Padawan Learner watch it later. It’ll be sure to prompt a good conversation later. I can’t speak to all the numerical fact tidbits she mentions, but then I’m a little leery of all facts that don’t have reference notes attached for me to follow up on. Still, I think the basic theme of the video is worthwhile.
Side note: I want to make it clear that I don’t agree with everything in this video. I don’t think the government should “take care of us”, for instance. I think a government should care about us and consider the implications that its actions and edicts have on its citizens individually and collectively, but we should take care of ourselves, ultimately. I just wanted to make that clear.
Governor Tarkin: “The Jedi are extinct, their fire has gone out of the
universe. You, my friend, are all that’s left of their
religion.”
Admiral Motti: “Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would
be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they
have obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in
the universe. I suggest we use it.”
Darth Vader: ”Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve
constructed.”
Star Wars IV: A New Hope
I feel this way about how our nation’s food system is becoming ever more unsustainable, centralized and – frankly – dangerous. The FDA is taking comments on their decision to allow fresh lettuce and spinach to be irradiated – Use of Ionizing Radiation for the Control of Food-Borne Pathogens and Infectious Protozoa, and Extension of Shelf-Life, in a Variety of Human Foods - to kill e-coli and other nasties that have sickened so many people in the recent past. In one of the spinach recalls, the contamination was from e-coli infected fecal dust and liquid sewage leaking from a “manure lagoon” near a confined animal feeding operation located upstream of a fresh vegetable growing operation.
Nice. Here, have some pig poo to go with your leafy greens and raspberry vinaigrette.
I am opposed to allowing food to be irradiated in general, but especially food that will be served to the general public without their knowledge or consent – such as in restaurants, nursing homes, school or other public venues. Irradiation of food, in my researched and much considered opinion, is a “too late” solution to our very dirty and dangerous food growing and manufacturing systems. To me, irradiating food is similar to having nails and broken glass embedded on a highway and “fixing” the problem by having a tire repair station 100 feet further down the road. Sure, you’d be able to continue on your way, eventually. The real solution would be to remove the section of the road having nails and glass, just like the real solution to these contaminated veggies (and CAFO beef, poultry and pork) is disallowing high-density animal confinement facilities where unnatural feeds are given to animals and unsanitary conditions are the norm.
Yes, it will cost more. It will require more people farming on smaller farms. It will, in actuality, entail a retooling of 90% of the American food production “system”. But it is also the right thing to do for the safety, longevity and sustainability of the very food that keeps us healthy and alive.
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