A Great Day: Amish Friendship Bread, Morels, and One Large Malamute

This, my friends, is my story.

It started by meeting Stacie and her malamute, Taiga, at her house in Adair Village. (Psst, this is where the malamute comes in. All 105 pounds of him.) We load my stuff into the truck and we're off to Corvallis. At OSU, we add Lisa, Annie, and Jane. Five women and Taiga. A great day!

After we load their stuff, the three of them pile into the back seat with Taiga as a foot warmer. Annie and Jane brought fresh baked Amish friendship bread. You've all seen it, the one that grows exponetially. One bag turns into five! They figured, bake it and they will eat it. Little did they know the nature of the beast.

It opens tin cans with it's teeth for a snack. Pulls pots off the stove without spilling a drop. Opens the refrigerator to rummage when needed. Honestly, they didn't stand a chance.

Annie figured, one slice, we'll give Taiga one slice. That will keep him busy or maybe even satisfy. What was thought to be a foot warmer soon turned into performance art. A slip of the hand and a very quick dog was all it took for that loaf of bread to be on the floor and rapidly consumed...by canine lips. Other than retrieving the aluminum foil that once housed the bread, no human hands were needed.

After the shock dissipated a bit, we were all on the road. Our goal? The elusive morel.

But, first lunch in Sisters at the Coyote Cafe. They have a nice patio when you have a three day funk after a backpacking trip. Today, I got to eat inside (no three day funk and all) and actually eat how I should. Veggie protein bowl - lemon pepper chicken over snow peas and carrots.

While we may not have been prepared for the beast, we were prepared for morels.

I did mention this dog has a thing about food, right? That's him, eyeballing Lisa's avocado. Turns out he wasn't all that interested in Annie's pretzels though!

Unfortunately, our actual mushroom hunting was much less eventful than our morning. We went to a number of places that might produce but really didn't find much. I will brag though and tell you, of the 6 or so we did find, I found the first two. Really, they count as two right, even if they're connected?

Oh well, we think maybe we were just a bit early. With a lot of snow left on the pass, things on the east side are just now starting to thaw. It was still a great day. Any day, not working, spending time with great people, looking for mushrooms, is a great day!

Below, are my two little morels... as still life.

Just a table?

What makes a piece of furniture valuable? Is it quality, availability, color, look, versatility, or society even? Is it valuable because it's old, because your grandma had one? Or, is it valuable because it's new and doesn't remind you of your childhood? Does it have to "match" or does it have value on it's own - separate from anything else you may own?

Andy and I have been looking for a dining table for about a year now. But not just any table...it had to be the perfect table. Not a lot of moolah, maybe modern, maybe old. Probably light colored. Not sure. Not sure, you say. Why yes, not sure. That was the biggest problem.

Once in a while, we'd go to a furniture store. Or, I'd email Andy a Craigslist posting. Nothing struck us...that is, until last week. Old, simple, versatile and I was sure I could get the price down.

After borrowing a truck on Saturday, we went to check her out. She's been loved but is solid and has great lines. And, I talked them down $100. We loaded her up and brought her home.

Wednesday, Katr and I decided to figure out just what she is. Previous owners thought Duncan Phyfe but "couldn't find anything." It took us all of 2 minutes to think the stamp on the bottom of the chairs said, "Heywood Wakefield" and about another minute to find a fully legible stamp on the table itself. So much for not finding anything! Built between 1948 and 1955 or so. And, possibly to the right people, worth much more than the $350 we payed.

This company wants nearly $4000 for a refinished version (our chairs are a little different). I also saw people trying to sell the table, alone, for $700-1500. I don't think I would have ever payed that much - for us it's just a very practical table. But, I do feel like doing a little "I got a deal" dance!

Wanna join me?

Thoughts on Self-Worth

Our dog, Carson, left about 3 weeks ago. He was only in our home for about 8 months but provided me with a number of opportunities to learn and grow. The day he left was very difficult for both Andy and myself. Andy might have shed a few tears (I'm not telling). I mentioned to him that in the 6.5 years we have known each other, that was perhaps only the second time I had seen that happen. His answer was something to the extent of, "I don't let emotions rule my life. I use rational thought." In the past, he has told me that I viewed self-sufficiency as a virtue, like that was a bad thing.

Using rational thought and self-sufficiency are wonderful virtues in their place. But are they always positive or can these virtues can be a negative in our lives? And, just when, if ever, do they become a negative.

It was a rough week after Carson left. That Wednesday, I went to group meditation at my church and decided to try working on this. Later I almost wished I had stuck with, "Breathing in, breathing out," rather than try to handle such a sensitive subject. As I was working on this, I had a light-bulb moment.

For me, being self-sufficient is a virtue and I'm okay with that. In fact, I value that about myself. It had become a negative for me when somewhere along the line, my self-worth got involved. A situation, such as Carson, caused me additional pain because I felt like such a failure for not being able to fix it...by myself or with outside help.

What a light-bulb! I am still trying to figure out how I can put this into useful practice in my life. As with many things, we often learn to recognize these traits or habits after we perform them. Being able to recognize this is a step in the right direction.

Perhaps in time, I will be able to ask myself, "Self, is your worth wrapped up in being able to perform this task? Is that good or bad?" Until then, I just hope to be able to say, "Oh, that's what happened" and move on without beating myself up over a perceived failure.

So this is my story about self-worth. I hope your self-worth is great. But if it's not, maybe you have something that might be getting in the way. Maybe it's not avoidance of emotion or the need to be self-sufficient. Do you know what's holding you back? Is there something you could lovingly ponder within yourself? How can you help yourself? Will it provide you with the opportunity to learn and grow? You are the only one who truly knows where you are.

Marion County Recycling Update

The massive amount of waste our country and world even is a situation that consumes much of my thought process. Both in how I contribute and how I can reduce, reuse and recycle. Remember, those three R's from school. Frankly, I am quite scared about how plastics in particular play into this. For those who want a good read check out "Polymers are Forever" by Alan Weisman from the Orion magazine. The moral of the story is...plastic never actually goes away. It breaks down into increasingly smaller pieces but in the limited human idea of time it never goes away. It is even killing the bottom of the food chain. Guess what happens when the bottom of the food chain dies out? Let's just say it's not too pretty for those of us a little higher up! Okay, now you have a background on why extreme plastic consumption concerns me (don't get me wrong, it's a useful product in the right situation).
Having lived in Corvallis I am very familiar with First Alternative's wonderful recycling program that supplements the curbside program. I have taken things like Styrofoam and aseptic containers there for years. Since I still go to Corvallis about once a month, I usually save these containers and take them down with me. Well, last week I noticed a sign stating that Allied Waste (the Corvallis office) was taking aseptic containers curbside. Oh...I thought to myself. This will require some looking into! After some dialog with First Alternative, I contacted my local Allied Waste. This is where I have to say, if all you get out of this discussion is a knowledge of what an aseptic container is then I will be happy. The woman on the other end of the line said, "Septic containers? No those are not recyclable!" I then explained what aseptic was. She referred me to the Mid-Valley Recycling and Garbage Haulers (or something like that). Basically, the people who run mrtrashrecycles.com and who tell our garbage haulers what can or cannot be recycled. There I was referred to Mary (their president or head person, nice, has been with the organization since 1986). Anyways, Mary called me back today and we had an interesting discussion about aseptic containers and their recycling. They do have a program with the local schools for recycling these containers. They do not accept them curbside or at the transfer station and Mary did not anticipate this happening anytime soon. Why might that be? Well, aseptic containers are a "bug-a-boo" to recycle. First issue is they must be clean! On a side note, this really goes for all recyclables! The second issue, even if they are clean, is that they are layers of paperboard, plastic and metal. Great for the manufacturer and consumer, not so great for the recycling. According to Mary, only about 15% of the aseptic containers that end up at NW mills (this is how Mary referred to them) are actually recycled. The rest, due to cleanliness issues or just the inherent nature of aseptic containers, is basically sludge that is land-filled. This is disappointing but...maybe we can minimize our usage of these products (maybe you don't use them at all and this is a mote point) so that we are not contributing to our landfills. Now of course the Aseptic Packaging Council (APC) wants us to believe these containers are wonderful and the wave of the future. And, they are wonderful in the right situations. The APC also make the recycling process sound so easy. Just put it in a blender and like magic you have usable paperboard with plastic and metal on the side!
So what are I missing here? On a somewhat lighter note, according to Mary, Marion County leads the state in recycling at 60%. I followed up on this a bit and it looks like closer to 58% with Metro at 56%. What she failed to mention is that the energy facility (burning our garbage) makes Marion's levels higher. If you're really interested the DEQ report is an interesting read.
And in case you were interested,here is APC's list of the cities in Oregon with aseptic recycling programs:
OREGON
City of Eugene
61,444
City of Portland
237,307
City of Troutdale
4,671
Clackamas County Incorporated Cities
66,266
Clackamas County Unincorporated
60,997
Lane County
79,500
Washington County
102,000

Why do we eat it with our other food?

Last week we discussed mayacoba beans and eating them with our other food. This week I would like to take you on a trip down my Fiber One bar list of ingredients - straight to confectioner's glaze or even refined lac. Ahhh, you say, what is this wonderous ingredient. First, know that it is in a number of products, such as Junior Mints, to make the hard outer coating shiny. It is not however, according to this website, what makes M&M's shiny (don't read the link just yet though). You may be more familiar with this ingredient as the hard coating on your furniture. What? Yes, confectioner's glaze is made from shellac the same stuff that can be used for furniture coatings. But before you get too grossed out realize that this process is similar to a bee making honey. According to woodworking.com, "Shellac, like silk, honey, and beeswax, is made by bugs, not of bugs. Laccifer lacca, a small insect about the size and color of an apple seed, swarms on certain trees in India and Thailand. Like most bugs, it eats during its larval stage, then settles down and creates a sort of cocoon in which to mature. In this case, the bugs create a huge, hard, waterproof, communal protective shell on the branches of the trees they live on. Soon, the adult males emerge from the shell and fly away. The females do not fly -- they attach permanently to the tree and stay there."
So, perhaps not something we had thought of but not so terrible. And just in case it wasn't already enough of a Saturday Night Live skit, Fiber One includes carnuba wax. We can spiff up our car, seal our furniture and have a tasty (if not exactly healthy) afternoon snack at work. Ummm, why do we eat it with our other food?