"Joe" the "Plumber"

Sorry, I just couldn't resist this. So ironic. Turns out "Joe the Plumber":

1) Isn't named Joe. His name is Samuel.

So.... "Sam the Plumber"? Well, no, because he:

2) Isn't a plumber. He's not even a journeyman or apprentice plumber, and therefore may have been working illegally in Toledo. (Though there are no complaints against him, so no proof there.)

But those are details, right? The point is that this upstanding, middle class American doesn't want to pay more taxes. Is that so wrong? Well no, but actually not paying them kinda is. Turns out Joe/Sam:

3) Has a lien on his house for the $1,182.98 he owes in back taxes to the State of Ohio. Oops.

Poor guy. This may turn out to be 15 minutes of fame he could have done without!

Source: This article from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

Back to the Garden

I took a break from my garden this year, since Ethan was at a very attention/vigilance-demanding stage during the spring and summer. It was absolutely the right decision, but I've missed having my own produce right out the back door.

Next year, Ethan will be able to toddle around the garden with me, digging holes and generally entertaining himself. So I've been getting ready for next spring. Having a baby in September of last year meant that the garden never did get "put to bed" in 2007. There were dead garden plants and weeds everywhere. Not to mention gobs of grasshoppers, which I recently learned thrive in messy, weedy garden plots. Earlier this fall, I got out and cleaned up the mess. Then last week, Alexander and I weeded one corner and planted lots of garlic.

This week, we finally managed to get the tiller from my parents' house (thanks solely to my father -- thanks Dad!) Firmin tilled up everything but the garlic patch yesterday before dinner. After dinner, I worked like a maniac until after dark, picking out as many quackgrass rhizomes as I could -- a whole wheelbarrow full, and there are still more than I want to think about left in the garden! Those plants play to win.

Today, I gave the kids the day off from homeschooling so that they could help me get the composted manure in and plant the cover crop (field peas and fava beans). A trip to Lowes for the manure put Ethan to sleep, so we were able to work uninterupted by him. Brianna and Alexander were incredibly helpful and we got the work done in about an hour.

Here's what it looks like now:
It's not much to look at, but my garden has never been so nice and clean in the fall! I think I'll add some straw or mulched leaves when I can get some. This isn't the final look, however, as the cover crop will come up and cover the plot during the winter, fixing nitrogen into the soil and discouraging weeds.

It feels good to get back to the soil. It feels good to work hard and see progress. It feels good to share this endeavor as a family, each of us doing our part to provide some portion of our own food. It feels worth every minute.

It also feels small. I'm starting to gently work on Firmin (because I'll definently need his help) about putting a large plot further back on our property. I'd like to grow quantities of bigger crops -- squash, melon, potatoes, corn -- that I don't have room for now. But that would entail breaking a lot of sod and building a good fence to keep out the many critters (including deer) that inhabit our urban "nature oasis" back there. Getting it set up would be a project for next summer, with planting beginning next fall at the earliest. I'll let you know how it goes. Those of you who know Firmin can help me butter him up! You know -- what a great husband he is, how nice our land is, how it would be perfect for a big garden, how educational it would be for the kids, etc., etc. ;o)

Remote Rant

Unlike our TV, VCR, stereo and DVD player, which all have buttons for the most basic functions, our cable box* is NOT operable without the remote control. Whose dumb idea was this?? I don't know about other families, but in our house, remote control devices can be harder to find than an empty parking spot the day after Thanksgiving. Sure, the kids bear part of the blame, but I suspect even childless adults occasionally find themselves wandering around the living room, tossing sofa cushions and cursing. (And without kids they can curse with impunity, lucky bast... er, dogs!) Firmin and I have been known to carry a remote out of the room and absentmindedly set it down somewhere unlikely, such as the kitchen counter, the dining room table, and once, inside the refrigerator! So kids or no kids, who in their right mind would create a cable box -- the device which not only must be "on", but is also the only way to change channels -- without at least basic on/off buttons and channel up/down buttons? Then you could at least watch the show of your choice while you search for the remote!

You won't be surprised to learn that today I spent 10 increasingly frustraing minutes looking for the cable remote. I had Ethan on my hip wanting to nurse, the other kids were outside, and all I wanted was a few minutes of veg time in front of the TV. Too much for a busy homeschooling mom to ask?? The box was already on, so I could turn on the tv manually and get a picture, but all that got me was 10 minutes of some unbearably manic show on Cartoon Network before I finally found the remote...

In the trash.

Sigh.


*Background: We are in the middle of our bi-annual cable TV phase. We get the 3 or 6 month deal for World Cup Soccer and Summer Olympics/Presidential election years, then turn it off again. :o)

Obama Rally

The Big Guy came to town today, and we were there! (Along with about 17,000 other people!) It was a whole-day affair, since we had to get there early. Even so, the line stretched half-way across (the very large) campus when we got into it 3 1/2 hours before the start of the rally. Note the que in the far background of this picture:


The kids held up great, all things considered. We ran into some friends with kids, so that helped a lot. As long as the line was, we ended up in a pretty good spot. I was unlucky in my attempts to get a good shot of Obama (they were all blurry), but here's a picture of Debbie Stabinow, Michigan's junior senator, who introduced him. It gives you a sense of the view we had.


Here we all are! Ethan loved flirting with everyone around us. College girls especially are a real sucker for him, and he eats up the attention. Xander was bored by the end and kept wondering why Obama kept talking for so long! (We sweetened the deal for him by ending the day at an ice cream shop in downtown East Lansing. Yum.) Brianna didn't pay close attention to the speech (of course), but she seemed to appreciate at least a little bit how historic this moment is. She was glad we came. By the time Obama took the stage, the skies were threatening, but luckily the rain held off. Only one person in the audience fainted. All in all, a great day! :o)