crazy dumbsaint of the mind

New URL

Jupiter — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:10:22 +0000

I’ve migrated the blog contents over to here: http://dumbsainthood.wordpress.com/

And that’s where’s I’ll be updating from here on out. See ya there!

Misty,Moisty Morning

Jupiter — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:27:06 +0000

We found this poor little thing on the sidewalk on our walk to school this morning.

The walk to school from there on involved nothing but talk about the bird. How did it die? Where was the Mommy bird? What will happen to it now?

We had quite a harsh storm last night so the scenario that the kiddo came up with was that the bird was blown from the nest by the wind and as if that wasn’t enough, was struck by lightening on the way down to the ground.

The Boy decided the bird needed a name. I can’t recall now what he finally came up with but as I left him at the school, he reminded me that I had to go get the bird to take it home for a proper burial. “You can carry it in your umbrella since it’s not really raining anymore”.

“Also, the grave should be marked “Here Lies -” and then the bird’s name.”

It’s a good thing my kid can’t read much more than sight words. I’m safe telling it here that all I did was push the bird off the sidewalk into the bushes with a stick.Besides, even if the kid could read, would he really be checking out my blog?I doubt it.

That's a grape hyacinth being thrust in my face,out of focus. Apologies to the neighbors whose yard the boy picked it from

[review] YOU: Raising Your Child by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen

Jupiter — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:12:05 +0000

YOU: Raising Your Child’

Get Healthy Parenting Advice and Tips From Authors Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen

I’ve never really read a straightforward parenting book before, unless you can count Our Babies,Ourselves or Last Child in the Woods. I did attempt once to read one of those books about raising a spirited child but tossed it aside when the author advised to not allow the Spirited Child to engage in superhero role play, as it would likely make the child aggressive. Maybe that is true for some children but with my own “spirited child” (a nice euphemism for Satan in a Cute Kid Suit) , superhero role play is a very helpful outlet for channeling imaginative energy.

I have no idea why I chose this book in particular to be the book to pop my cerebral input cherry. Mainly, when I pulled it off the shelf at the library , I saw it had recipes in it and was interested.I don’t really know who Dr Roizen or Dr Oz are. I had a vague idea of who Dr Oz was from seeing Oprah once on a TV that was on when I visited my Grandma in her nursing home but other than that – nada.

When I mentioned I was getting ready to read this book, a friend warned me about Dr Oz’s stance on circumcision…a friendly preparation for what might be a trigger to my emotional senses. I’m told that Dr. Oz is in the pro-circumcision camp and has made statements about circumcision not being painful to an infant. So of course, the first thing I do when I get the book home, I look in the glossary: Circumcision. I flip to the page it says discusses circumcision. There I find a page that advises parents on how to shop for a pediatrician. For instance, parents should ask questions to help decide if the pediatrician shares the same overall views, such as “Do you think circumcision is necessary”. That’s it.

However, when I was actually reading the book, I found a paragraph that discussed circumcision much more in depth, even though it is only one paragraph. it states that circumcision is an elective, non-essential surgery (true) and even though it is not essential, it is beneficial for controlling infection and cleanliness (not really true).The issue felt glossed over and not enough information presented. Regardless of the inaccurate information, I’d say there’s a huge flaw in the glossary. That was a much more direct discussion of circumcision,yet never mentioned in the glossary. So, GLOSSARY FAIL.

Nitpicky,yes but hey…if you’re writing a book meant for reference, it’s good to have your glossary in order,no?

Aside from the whole circumcision and glossary thing, all other information is presented in a fairly neutral, level manner. The basic philosophy behind this parenting book is that you can’t make every single decision based on instinct so it’s all about informed decision making. I can respect this . I’d say about 90% of how I’ve parented over the past 21 years has been purely instinct but even I recognize there can be times your instinct feels wishy-washy and needs a little input from outside sources.

There’s an excellent section on vaccines which I felt was presented in a great, common sense manner. In a handy chart, it spells out reasons why each vaccine is disputed by the anti-vax camp and advocated by the pro-vax camp. It’s recognized that the vaccine issue is a complex issue that confuses many new parents and gives resources for further reading that represents both positions. There’s also a great Vaccination Guidelines chart which shows the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations and also Dr Sear’s schedule.

The attitude on breastfeeding in this book is what makes this an overall winner. Breastmilk is called THE perfect food and it’s very clear that it’s held in very high regard. There is a section on formula but it’s given over as a, “Well, if you really MUST use this stuff, do it this way”. Personally, I love that the book is so over the top pro-breastfeeding but also appreciate the representation of women who cannot do it. It’s just as important to put the information out there on correct formula-feeding for the sake of nutritional infant health.

Now…the recipes. The first thing I noticed, most of these recipes call for chia seeds. Chia seeds?? Yes, I knew you could cook with chia seeds but it just seemed such an out-there thing to base a collection of recipes on. Annoyingly, nowhere is an explanation of WHY chia seeds. What’s the purpose? I did a little bit of research on chia seeds specifically and found out 1) they aren’t exactly easy to find and 2) they have a zillion (or at least 10) nutritional benefits and they have a very unique property of being able to absorb 12 times their weight in water. This causes people to feel full faster so they don’t eat as much and also full longer so they don’t eat as often. As far as feeding kids, this sounds convenient and like maybe it might save some money on the grocery bill but it goes against everything I know about how kids eat. With childhood obesity a topic of great concern these days, maybe this is what inspired the addition of chia seeds into the recipes?

The other thing I learned about chia seeds is that they slow conversion of carbs into sugar (again, doesn’t seem especially ideal for kiddie health). While this doesn’t enlighten me in the realm of parenting, it did give me the idea to use chia seeds when baking or cooking for my hubby ,who is diabetic.Luckily, we have Wegman’s ,where chia seeds are easily found (although not exactly cheaply) so I plan on finding some recipes to throw them into for him.

Overall, I’d probably recommend this for a expectant parents just starting out on their new parenting adventure as an augmentation to other books,just because it covers so many of the fundamental stuff about early childhood. It’s sort of like the user manual that doesn’t come with the baby but should. It doesn’t concern itself with a lot of in depth discussions about personal philosophies and ideologies but more about the plain basic stuff.

Read an excerpt here.

Gone, ga-gone, cause you done me wrong

Jupiter — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:49:14 +0000

I don’t know why I feel compelled to share this. Maybe I’m just looking for someone to go “What the …??” along with me.

I wish I’d heard this before seeing the video because I can see loving this . Now I just have to disassociate from the imagery.

Last night I watched Gone Baby Gone. Holy cats and kittens,one of the most frustrating movies I’ve watched in awhile. I might as well say this now…there will probably be spoilers in this bit.No, not probably. Definitely. It probably doesn’t matter at all because most likely ,you all have seen it already. I’m just way behind.

First of all, it’s about the abduction of a 4 year old girl from a Boston neighborhood. This is bound to get me good and emotional from the start. One of my worst nightmares is having one of my kids taken from me. I can just imagine how it would feel like part of me was missing and I doubt I could ever be sane until I knew where the kid was.And even then, I doubt I’d be quite right in the head afterward. So, as if child abduction isn’t enough, the child in the movie is taken from a coke whore mother who doesn’t seem to really give a shit that her kid is missing. I mean, she does…. but then again she doesn’t seem to really be horribly broken up over it. Plus, she lies to police saying she was at a neighbor’s watching TV when the kid was taken but really, she was at a bar and left the kid home alone.

Related sidenote: Years ago, there was a house fire in my area. 7 kids died. The mother had left them alone and was out drinking. Know what she was overheard saying after the funeral? “I can make more”. Meaning, kids. While watching this movie, the mother -Helene- sort of reminds me of that “mother” in that “Meh….it’s all good” respect.

This was a movie that got me laughed at by family members because I was way too emotional and yelling at the TV. I was also cursing ,”Frickin’ Casey Afleck there! Gah!!”. Casey Afleck’s character is this PI who really just wants to do the “right” thing. He wants to find the girl….but when she’s presumed dead, he goes after other scumbags who have taken a boy. Patrick (Casey Afleck) does what *I* think is the right thing and shoots the murdering pedophile right in the head. Now,I’m no bloodthirsty wench but that was a pretty satisfying moment for me but not for Patrick. Nuh-uh. He’s all worried about God judging and sins and blah blah blah.

He just gets more annoying from there, trying to right wrongs that shouldn’t be righted , even though it’s technically the “right” thing to do.

Bottom line, Casey Afleck-dude – if you uncover a staged kidnapping that gets a little girl out of the hands of a neglectful mom and into the arms of a couple who loves her, JUST WALK THE FUCK AWAY! We don’t need that sort of wrong to be righted. For gods sake, don’t put the kid back with the coke whore mom,you dumbass!

At the end, he totally gets it but it’s really too late at that point. He really just should have listened to me when I was yelling at the TV before he screwed up and made all the mistakes he did.

Despite turning me into a raving lunatic while watching it, it was a fantastic movie. Generally speaking, when a movie evokes a lot of emotion in me, it’s a top notch film.

[title from "Gone,Gone" by Robert Plant & Alison Krausse ]

Meme-ish Saturday

Jupiter — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 16:24:36 +0000

First…my Second Hand Saturday post…

I scored this awesome vintage glass Pyrex Percolator at a rummage sale last week for a whole quarter. I love 25¢ scores.

I just made my first pot of coffee in it and it’s DEEEE-licious! Plus, it’s just plain fun to watch the coffee being brewed.

At the same rummage sale, I got the baby a huge stack of summer clothes for about $5. Awesome, since I have nothing for him because we truly thought we were done,done done with this baby business and I got rid of everything from previous baby.

===============================================================================================================================

Now A Bit of Me(Me) – What were your favorite subjects in school?

Well, English and History were pretty much the only subjects I liked. I always had high grades in both…not so much in other areas.I had a few terrible English teachers. One in particular assigned us to write something that reflected a character’s anger. Apparently I went a bit to far and she referred me to the school counselor because she was pretty sure I was a nutcase. I had to spend a few lunch periods talking to the school psych guy for a bit until he was satisfied I was just being creative and not a psychopath.

========================================================================================================================================================

30 Songs in ~~30 Days~~ However Long It Take Me To Do It

I really could stretch this out for an entire year at the rate I blog these days.

day 05 – a song that reminds you of someone -

On our first date, this was what was playing on the cassette deck in current-hub’s truck. I was a bit confused because I thought Jars of Clay was a Christian band and I knew that he had pagan-leanings. It just seemed so random.

One Day Without Shoes

Jupiter — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:04:16 +0000

Completely surprised Michael Franti is not mentioned in this video for One Day Without Shoes. He’s been barefoot for 10 years in solidarity with those who can’t afford shoes.

Some may flippantly say to this,”Well, I go barefoot most of the time anyway”, but I don’t think you can really get how much it sucks to not have shoes unless you have that choice completely removed. In the majority of our society, we at least have an option of footwear or none. There’s a huge difference between choosing to go barefoot and not having any other choice BUT to be barefoot.

Foodie’s Reading Challenge: Farm City,In the Green Kitchen & Growing a Farmer

Jupiter — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:07:42 +0000

Some quickie reviews for the Foodie’s Reading Challenge….

Farm City by Novella Carpenter

Author’s Blog: Ghost Town Farm

I think I said a lot about this book already before but to summarize: this book got me out of the funk I was in. I was feeling like growing any food in our postage stamp sized yard and 100ft long driveway was just hopeless. I was ready to give Grey Gardens over to the slugs this year. The I read Farm City, about a urban farm in a rough part of Oakland…where even pigs have been raised. Yes, I would rather have my 5 acres and independence but Farm City revitalized my desire to make do with the space I have and just grow whatever I can.

Keywords: Inspiring, badass, guerilla gardening

Book Soundtrack : (Remember? I do this thing where I put together a soundtrack in my head while reading?)

“Ghost Town” , The Specials

“Down in Oakland”, The Transplants

“Chicken with it’s Head Cut Off”, Magnetic Fields

“Bird Flu” M.I.A.

“Rabbits Dying”, Throwing Muses

“Honeybee”, Tom Petty

In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn By Heart by Alice Waters

I had a conversation about this book with a foodie/social activist a few years ago…only it was in hypothetical terms, like “Wouldn’t it be cool if there were a book that showed people how to do the very basic things?”. This conversation began when the other woman gave me a turkey carcass, which I was thrilled to receive, which surprised her greatly. “You have no idea how many people I’ve tried to give that turkey carcass to and they look at me like I’m a crazy woman!”. People just don’t know how to make a basic stock, it seems. Or how to make a pot of rice without a rice cooker. This book is an ensemble collection (anthology?) of different chefs , cooks and lovers of food presenting a very basic recipe that everyone should know by heart.

Alice Waters has sort of developed this reputation to some as being the one responsible for cultivating this current trend toward food snobbery but I feel this was a redemption. Among the chefs are recipes presented by those who believe that even poor people should be able to eat good food. The purpose of this cookbook isn’t to glorify organic and local as much as showing how easy and simple it is to do very basic things. I look at the collection as a whole as being valuable life skills, not just recipes.

keywords: common sense, the basics, stuff everyone should know

Growing a Farmer: how I Learned to Live Off the Land by Kurt Timmermeister

Kurt’s story is this: City-dwelling restaurant owner buys a cabin in the woods on four acres and becomes a farmer. The thing i loved most about this book was how totally honest he is about his naivete and inexperience as he embarked on his path to Farmerhood. Also really engrossing talk of pig slaughtering, cheesemaking and all that good stuff.

All three of these books were library loans so they count for….

The support your local library challenge

[Second Hand Saturday] Second Hand Shopping Guide:Part 1- Where it’s at

Jupiter — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 12:28:12 +0000

Alternate title to the post: How to shop second hand (like a BOSS.) Too much,right?

This will be a series of posts on tips to get the best second hand shopping experience. Part 1 deals with where to get the goods.

It always amazes me when people compliment me on something I recently acquired at a yard sale or a thrift shop and they’re shocked. I mean ,jaw-dropping,mouth-gaping, shocked that I found something awesome second hand. “I never find anything good at yard sales”, a woman recently told me. Well, what do you mean by good? Turns out , she is looking for name-brand kids clothes but seems to end up some old guy’s tool sale.

There is something to be said for that location,location,location thing.Here’s some hints on where to shop second hand and get the good stuff you’re looking for:

Familiarize Yourself with the Thrift Shop Scene

Let Your Fingers Do The Walking If you’re just not sure where to find a thrift shop nearest you,you can do it old school and check out the local yellow page directory in the phonebook. Any thrift shops listed would be used Clothing -Used BUT there are some real gems out there not listed in the phone book.
The Good Ol’ Community Rag If your community has a free “Pennysaver” or “Thrifty Shopper” paper, that’s a great place to find ads and blurbs about local thrift shops. You can usually find these papers in grocery stores foyers or checkouts or the post office lobby. Any community newspaper should also have ads.
Online Directories You can also enter your zipcode at The National Thrift Store Directory or use the Thrift Buddy app but like the yellow pages, there may be some gems missing (I know there are from my area)
Ask a Church Lady In my area, there are 3 shops not listed in any directory anywhere, all operated by churches. Two of those are only open during warm weather months – one is in a barn and the other in an old one-room schoolhouse and neither organization has the budget to heat & maintain them in the winter. So, if you’re really looking to leave no pile of old sweaters unturned, it’s worth a shot to call area churches to ask about their second hand agenda.

Once you know where the thrift shops are…go check them out! You might be surprised to see how each shop will have it’s own very distinctive vibe. Some may feel like a boutique (and prices will reflect that,usually), while others will feel like a sad,lonely place full of abandoned junk. Most are somewhere in between.Some will be specialized, like maybe selling only childrens clothing.

Remember those church shops I mentioned? Those are great places to find cool, vintage goods.

When you find some shops you like and think you’ll want to make return visits to,find this stuff out:

Does the shop have any regular specials or deals? Some shops have one day a week where a certain colored tag or maybe even everything is half-priced. Some have “Bag Days”, where you can go fill up a bag for a set price.
Are there certain days new merchandise gets put out? Some shops are run only by volunteers who price and restock on certain days. Sometimes it pays to know when the “new” stuff hits the floor so you can have first pick.
If they’re non-profit, how do they spend their money? This actually may not be important to some people but if you’re someone who boycotts Big Box Stores because they don’t support gay rights or they employ children, you might like to know. For instance, if Westboro Baptist funded their funeral protest trips with a thrift shop, I’d like to know! Just saying.

Garage Sale Ahead – Follow the Arrow Signs

I’m personally not what you would call a discriminating yard sale shopper. If I had a car, I’d need one of those dumb bumper stickers that says,”CAUTION: This Vehicle Stops At All Yard Sales”. You may want to be a bit more selective in your garage sale gallivanting.

Finding the Sales The obvious place to look for upcoming sales would be the classified section in the newspaper but Craigslist is becoming more popular to advertise sales. The free listing may have something to do with that. Also make it a habit to check out community bulletin boards and random flyers on telephone poles. The number one bit of advice given to people having yard sales is to advertise in the paper but most people don’t and just rely on traffic & local flyers to reach their clientele. Ads that mention certain items or general categories of goods by name can really help you narrow down the sales you go to. Just be prepared to be disappointed. If the ad mentioned Fiesta Ware…then everyone else who loves fiesta ware is going to be all over that sale ,too.If an ad says, “dishes”, and you’re looking for fiesta ware, it might pay to check it out. The seller may not have any idea what they have or it’s value and just think of it as “dishes”, whereas you think “Jackpot!”.
Chart your Course It helps to have a good map of the area. Ask your library or local Chamber of Commerce for detailed street maps of your area. For all day sale sprees, you might find it helpful to use Google Maps to get on the right track. If you go to Google Maps, you can click on “My Maps”>Create New Map. Enter the addresses of each sale you plan on going to and save. You can print out and take w/ you or use the mobile feature (I think ).

Think of Your Town As A Giant Shopping Plaza No doubt, you’re well aware of what’s considered The Rich Part of Town and The Old People’s Neighborhood and so forth. Think of Snob Hill as your high end shops and Shady Acres Retirement Home as your vintage boutique. This isn’t always a sure bet for choosing your goods but one mom I know used to save shopping bags from Abercrombie, Hollister and other stores her teens liked to shop at, then go to yard sales in affluent areas of town and pass off her gently used purchases as ,”Oh, look what I bought you today when I was out shopping!”. If you’re looking for a certain kind of goods, think about what sort of things might stereotypically be found in the neighborhood you’re shopping in. ….BUT….
Don’t Judge a Sale by It’s House Don’t write off sales as a bust just from curb-side appearance. One of the best sales I ever went to was in a trailer park. I also will never forget the sale I went to that made me fall in love with lustreware. It was a huge, brick mansion and I expected to leave empty handed, never able to afford anything there. Instead ,I walked away with a stack of lustreware plates for $1, a mirror topped drum table from the 1940s and an armful of vintage linens and other goodies. All for less than $10. All sorts of people live in all sorts of houses and they all have stuff they need to get rid of sometimes.

FREE!

Curbside – Sometimes it’s totally worth the real and/or perceived ,”Oh my god, she’s rummaging through garbage!” snickers and looks. Things I’ve found in curbside free piles? Life magazines from the 40s and 50s, bone china and porcelain, perfectly good house plants, toys, fabric, thread,vinyl records and CDs, books,furniture,office supplies….and on and on. Tip: The best days for free piles is Saturday evenings after yard sales have ended and Sundays.
Craigslist- Yeah, we all know about the free stuff some people want to give up on craigslist but there ARE also real,honest-to-goodness things given away there. You’ll find the free section under the For Sale heading. Some sampling of what’s being offered right now for free on my local CL: a dishwasher,an unfinished dollhouse,a fish tank,changing table,a chainsaw,cats,futon mattresses and a dining room table. Not bad,eh? If you hate the idea of going to a stranger’s house to pick up something, ask if you can meet at a central location or have the friend who most resembles a bodyguard go with you.
Freecycle Same deal as Craigslist. Go to freecycle.org to find the group nearest you.

Tips to Share?

Feel free to leave them in the comments or link to your own blog!

angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection

Jupiter — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:15:01 +0000

Ohhhh, helllllooo, Monday.After a fabulous weekend, you greet me with a feverish child with a croupy cough. You kind of suck.

At least there’s books to be read.

Right now,I’m reading Growing a Farmer: How I Learned To Live Off The Land by Kurt Trimmermeister. Title pretty self explanatory. I love how honest the author is about his naivete about how one makes themselves a farmer.

Also listening along on CraftLit to Woman in White by Wilke Collins. I don’t have nearly enough time to listen to podcasts so I’m basically listening on the ½ mile walk home after dropping kidlet off at school and the ½ mile walk to the school in the afternoon to pick up. I’ll get it listened to eventually.Meanwhile, every other podcast I love is being neglected. I’m thinking of buying this so I can listen to most of them while out and about this summer. For whole family outings: music. When I’m just sitting outside , child-minding :podcasts.Probably not at the playground,I suppose. I might annoy people. Although I think it’s better to have portable audio without headphones than to sit at the playground and have a headset on (or a cell phone to one’s ear). (sorry…personal pet peeve when we go to the playground. I HATE seeing parents actively not paying attention to their kids)

Hmmm…let’s see what else bookish…

Tons of reviews to get written and posted but that’s nothing new.

Oh…The Boy is almost 6. Unintentionally, he’s been choosing books that follow a King Kong theme…Kat Kong, Ding Dong,Ding Dong and a couple others we’ve come across. I’m trying to decide if the movie(s) is too much for him yet. I know the original is pretty tame but not sure it’ll hold his attention and the Peter Jackson remake might be too much. It’s been forever since I’ve seen either so I can’t remember particulars. Any thoughts?

In non- bookish news….

My now-21 year old kid (TWENTY.ONE.Holy crap.) moved back in with us last week. It’s been an adjustment for everyone, especially the cat, who seems to be so pissed off that she’s pissing on everything. What’s THAT all about?

Last night, he and I sat down and watched a movie together for the first time in ages, or at least a year. We watched 127 Hours… James Franco is a hiker/climber who gets trapped and has to cut his own arm off. Funny that this is the movie we end up watching together. My son has been going off on adventures since he was 16 or so. In his teen years, it was a bit more controlled and I had contact with him at regular intervals to know he was fine. As an adult, he’s not so great about maintaining contact. Usually he’s with friends but I still worry sometimes. He lets his cell phone die while he’s on backpacking trips so I’ve been meaning to buy him a solar charger. Now I’m making it a must-do purchase.

If he’ll use it is another story…. bah.

Somehow it was a James Franco weekend. I also watched Howl, which I thought was an amazing interpretation of the poem but hubby complained constantly while it was on (and he wasn’t even watching it). If you’re not hip to the Beat Generation, then you’ll probably hate it like him

Square.

This is a clip of Allen Ginsberg reading “Howl”. I liked James Franco reading it better.

[blog title from "Howl" byAllen Ginsberg]

Life

Jupiter — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:57:38 +0000

Another Saturday without a post for my self-created Second Hand Saturday. I had a great thrift shop tour planned but alas, I’ve been having techy problems with the computer & camera. Then I thought I should just write something and …yeah, time got away from me and it didn’t happen this week. It’s hard to blog when you have a life! I mean…not to say people who blog a lot don’t have a life because otherwise, if they didn’t have a life, what would they blog about?

If you make a bunch of stuff, cook a lot of good food, read great books, watch some awesome movies, experience some wonderful moments but then you don’t blog about it, did it really ever happen?

So,yeah..I’ve been busy.

I’ve been so immersed in getting my Etsy shop to be a thriving thing… it’s time consuming. I guess I will also need to start posting on the blog I created for the Etsy shop. I hate promoting on this blog..I just feel like I’m a nasty spammer. I made this blog here to be a consolidated place to bring all my entities together (before I had 5 different blogs and felt like I had dissociative personality disorder) but when it comes to businessy stuff, I think there should be separate. Although I’ll probably mirror post some things like tutorials.

And with that, the baby is awake from his nap.