Enclosure

Several friends have forwarded a message suggesting I not pump gasoline April 15. They feel if enough people avoid buying gas on a single day gas prices will naturally fall. It’s a clever idea, but it has a few flaws. First, April 15 is a Sunday. I never buy gas (or anything else if I can help it) on Sunday. So my failure to buy gas this particular Sunday isn’t going to make anyone sit up and notice. Second, if everyone who would have bought gas April 15 simply buys it a day earlier or a day later, the only result is service station employees will have one really boring work day. Since prices are largely a result of supply and demand, you can only lower the price by increasing supply or decreasing demand. I can’t do much about the former, but I can certainly work at driving less and walking more. Who’s with me?

Japanese Flower

March 28 is Something On a Stick Day. No, really. There's actually a holiday to celebrate eating food on a stick! Corn dogs come immediately to mind, or caramel apples. If you're feeling creative, you might try this recipe:

SHISH KEBABS

1 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons A-1 Steak sauce
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons oil
1 ½ pounds boneless sirloin, cut into cubes
Mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, pineapple, and cherry tomatoes, cut into chunks.
8 wooden skewers, soaked in water

Combine first seven ingredients in saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool. Place beef in zipper bag and pour cooled marinade over. Seal and chill several hours or overnight. Place meat, fruit and vegetables on skewers and grill until meat is done. Serve with wild rice and warm bread.

Silk Blossom

I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that I own too much stuff.  I’m running out of space in the cupboards, drawers and closets faster than I’m running out of things I’m trying to cram into them. I’ve already taken four carloads of stuff off to the thrift shop; things I haven’t used in the past seven years and am unlikely to need in the next seven. My rubbish bin is filled to overflowing, but I still don’t feel like I’m on top of the matter yet. Clearly I need to make a rule about the things I bring into the house. For every bag, box or parcel that comes in, something of equal or greater size needs to leave. If I need any incentive to follow this rule, all I have to do is watch a few episodes of Hoarding: Buried Alive or How Clean is Your House?  

Moonlit Dance

It's been five weeks since my last post, and a lot has happened during those weeks. Our tenant moved out of our house and we set to work. We ripped out nearly all the flooring and replaced it. Every single room got two fresh coats of paint. I’m in love with the new colors. The paint is a delicious warm cream, and the carpet is exactly the same shade as the inside of a Milky Way bar. Our household goods arrived from England a week ago, and we’ve been busy as beavers putting it all away. Yesterday we had Internet access and a phone line installed, but we won’t be able to use the phone until Thursday. That’s when we’ll get back the things we put into storage three years ago, including all our American appliances. I can hardly wait! Just think: in two more days, I’ll be able to make myself a piece of toast!