The day after I posted a “come in” call for the Lemon Balm, it sprouted! Two little dabs of green rose up overnight. No such luck with the Ground Cherry — maybe it needs a second pleading here? Come on, baby, you can do it! And let’s hear from some of the other plants that have only sprouted ONE sprout…
Thursday’s Independence Days Challenge actions:
* Growing Food: I dug *part* of a garden bed, pruned *part* of an apple tree, and *started* to set up a compost pile. I don’t really want to count things that I only partway do, especially since I have a history of starting what I don’t finish. But I do want to report the progress.
* Food planning/Eating from storage: Soaking some *really old* red beans that I’m finally using up. They’ll go in the crockpot Friday and be dinner, with some rice.
* Eating from storage: Thursday’s dinner, along with a salad, was baked potatoes and roasted beets, both grown in last year’s garden and root cellared ’til now. (Hey, if they’re both in the same oven, how can one be baked and the other be roasted? I guess they’re baked beets then…)
In other news, I’ve taken the next step towards a new part-time summer job that looks like it will see me once again earning more than I’m spending, at least for a few months. It also has the potential to turn into a full-time job with benefits, etc after the summer, but I’m not sure I want that, so I’m not focusing on that for now — first, I’ll just see how the summer goes and see how I feel about any other opportunities later. More details once it’s official.
At home, I’ve unpacked a few more boxes, moved around a little more furniture. A little at a time, pressing myself to keep making small progresses, seems to work best for me, rather than planning an all-out long slog of a day, which I usually end up slothing and not doing. You could say it’s the same kind of mentality needed for the Independence Days Challenge, which is why I’m hoping that challenge will be a good one for me to participate in.
May 9, 2008 at 4:38 am
From your older entries I think you mentioned that you worked for the Dept. of Interior? I’ve been thinking of working for them. It seems like many of their requirements are a perfect fit for me (no technology, no paved roads locations)…but since many of their offices are in remote locations, having a car also seems to be a requirement and I’m trying to figure out if I can deal with being a car owner and while living in an environment (low cost of living for example) that I might love.
May 9, 2008 at 6:47 am
Beany, actually I worked for the Dept. of Agriculture, because for some bizarre reason the Forest Service was put there instead of Interior (actually I do understand why, because timber was considered almost like a crop to be managed for human use, rather than a natural resource to be protected. Ugh! But I digress…) I would think working for Interior would be great! I don’t know where you’re located, or whether you’d be moving to take a job, but yes, it’s hard to combine “no paved roads” locations with not having a car. Sometimes really remote jobs will offer on-site housing, which means you don’t need a car to get to work, but probably still do to get to grocery/post office/socializing etc. It’s a dilemma for sure! Thinking about how really rural communities dealt with the distances inherent in their areas way back before cars — are you into horses? Maybe you could be the vanguard of returning rural areas to truly sustainable transportation, by trotting your way around! Also, there are of course plenty of Interior jobs/offices that are not so rurally located, but it sounds like the rural location is part of what you want. Good luck whichever way you go! Personally I think that if you feel drawn to that kind of job, the satisfaction and enjoyment of a well-suited occupation outweighs the transport challenges, and I’d say, Go For It!