shaker biscuits

Reblogged from The Latest Good Recipe Blog.

Put in a big bowl:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1 rounded tsp salt

Blend in:
4 tablespoons of butter or lard, Dad uses 4 tbsp lard and 1 tbsp butter
Enough milk to make a biscuit dough, about ¾ – 1 cup
(If you use buttermilk, you leave out ½ tsp baking powder and put in ½ tsp baking soda instead)
Various seeds

The thing that makes these terrific is putting egg yolk and cream or butter on top to hold on seeds of all sorts – poppy, sesame, or plain, but even the plain ones need to be glazed in melted butter. It is what makes the top tasty.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

i’m not just lazy

i was recently made a job offer that i was ecstatic to take.  it has been a long time since i’ve had proper taxable employment of any type, and i desperately need the money.  while i’ve enjoyed the generosity of others for some time, i have taken steps to ensure that i am not actually a mooch, and this includes never asking for anything unless i desperately need it and i know the other person can spare it.  i’ve been this way all my life, not just as a result of abject poverty, and it’s part of the whole idea of a postrevolutionary economy: do as much good as you can for others, and then when you need something, ask for it.  maybe not even of another person- just of the universe at large.

as a result, i am at a point where there are things i very much need but can’t bring myself to ask for (multivitamins for the malnutrition i fear i am suffering, oil and a filter for my car, food) and so like any functional person on the planet have to go about getting them.  they are exchanged for money and so money is what i have been seeking.  thanks to some good friends i’ve been able to get some paying gigs, but that money flies away fast, and at this point i feel entirely without prospects.  and so i readily accepted this job without thinking about it and found myself in the position i hate to be in: needing money, but given to a job that i absolutely cannot do.

this inspired in me a host of conflicts.  you see, i’ve always had a difficult time with soul-eating jobs.  the aversion that i feel about some tasks- sales, canvassing, any situation where i’m made to interrupt a person’s life and ask for something from them- goes beyond a mere eye-roll at mind-numbing employment.  i can do mind-numbing, but not soul-eating.  i’ve never known why this is.  after all, soul-crushing jobs are a person’s lot in life as human.  your soul is meant to be eaten.  souls are, after all, very edible.  no one has said outright that i am just a lazy hippie, but it occurred to me that maybe they ought to.  the thing is, i experience physical symptoms of illness when made to do things in this capacity.  i can work at a desk, talk on the phone, make spreadsheets, sandwiches, recommendations of local restaurants, as part of any job position- but if things move in the aforementioned direction, i will get literally sick.  my body shuts down.  my stress skyrockets.  i get the feeling that if i were forced into a sales job i would soon suffer ulcers as a result.  i don’t get why it is, but one thing is clear: i am simply no good at these jobs.  and so i take that as a matter of course, and generally don’t have to deal with them because i avoid them when looking for jobs.

in a way it’s a pity.  these jobs pay and pay well.  but it is simply not worth the tradeoff for me, and as i said, i would be useless as an employee in this capacity because i am incapable of performing the work.  picture the job you couldn’t be paid to do: south american garbage man, fetish prostitute, poop scooper.  other people do these jobs, obviously.  but not you.  and that feeling you get when you consider what would happen if you were made to do the job- well, that’s the feeling i get about jobs that most of society doesn’t seem to have a problem doing.  and the point of this blog is to announce: i am not just lazy.

for all my lack of education and gaps in employment, i have never been fired and usually leave a job on excellent terms with my bosses.  i have more than once had offers to contact my bosses if i’m ever wanting to come back.  this is because when i get a job i can do, i do it to the best of my ability, and i’m damn good.  but in the interest of “saving” my damn soul, i have, at least in the past six months, been living a lot more consciously.  this involves readily identifying my feelings as they happen, rooting out bad ones, examining them, determining their legitimacy, and acting upon them from there.  for example, if i’m having a day where i get pissed at every billboard and television ad, i try to figure out why that is, and decide if it’s just a crazy, frantic reaction to some hangup, or of i can be legitimately angry at the fact that advertising is all-pervasive and ridiculous.  if it’s the latter, then i can decide to leave the house while my mother is watching TV or keep my eyes on the road while i’m driving.  (that may not be the best example, because there aren’t really any “remedies” in that case.)  in this spirit, i have had the good fortune of making massive strides in my emotional health, which has been better for all of my relationships.  and it was only after considering all the options in this case that i decided it was best to email my boss and let him know i am not capable of doing the job he is asking.

i did, at the same time, point out where i could be an asset to the organization, if he was interested in keeping me on in that capacity.  he hasn’t replied yet, so i don’t know how to tack an ending on to this story.  but whatever the outcome, despite my deep and abiding fear of disappointing people, i felt that i did the right thing, even though it sets back my moving plans for quite some time.

in all of this, the best lesson i have learned is that don’t let uncertainty about your future dictate your decisions about current situations- at least not entirely.  it’s fine to not want to quit your job because you have bills to pay and don’t know how they would be paid if you weren’t working for a while.  in that situation, however, if you feel that you simply cannot continue at your job, plan for what you can, take action to fulfill those plans (save money to pay your bills for a few months, remove some bills from your life, sell unwanted items that you’ve been letting gather dust, etc) and then make the change you want.  i currently have no bills that aren’t expendable (people have come to consider me a drug dealer for the frequency with which i get and then lose prepaid cell service) but that isn’t the case for everyone.  the point is- don’t be afraid of the unknown, if what you’re doing feels like the right decision.  i think it’s called faith.  and how do you know you’ve made the right decision?  my sister summed it up for me, when i ended my last major relationship:

“you’re going to have a lot of emotions swirling around, and you won’t be able to figure them all out.  but as long as you feel relief, you know you did the right thing.”

feel relief.  go now in peace, my little hams.

how public, like a frog

I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!

simple living tip of the week!

i was geared up to write something about the term “emotional inventory” today, since it’s been something i’ve been mulling over for a while now, but then i realized that this is a simple living blog and i have yet to post anything related to simple living beyond the fact that living simply allows for many meditations. 🙂 so i’d like to present the first of what will be many entries describing simple ways of doing things that i’ve found to be inexpensive and effective in my own life.  you’ve probably read some of these before, but i hope you learn something new as well!

don’t spend money on carpet shampooing.  all you need is water, baking soda, a scrub brush (i used a brush with stiff bristles, like you use to scrub a tub, but it would really depend on your carpet) and a vacuum.

vacuum your carpet to remove excess dirt and debris.  soak it in water (make sure it’s wet but not so wet it damages the floor beneath) and then shake baking soda liberally on the carpet.  put enough on that you can see the baking soda.  scrub with the scrub brush, allow to dry, and then vacuum again to remove the baking soda.

it’s best to do this one patch at a time.  it’s a little time consuming, but it works fabulously.  i did it to remove pet and wine stains in a previous apartment.

happy summer strawberries to you!

mission mountains – ronan, MT

of all the mountain ranges i pass repeatedly here in montana, the missions are the ones that stick out the most.  every time i see them i think for a moment of what it must be like for visitors here to see them for the first time.  they appear after you crest a long hill on highway 93 like a slap in the face- you know, one that mellows you out after a bout of hysteria.

to anyone taking this route to kalispell, i highly recommend taking MT-35 through bigfork.  the drive along flathead lake is unbeatable.

gratitude

it’s my firm belief that gratitude is one of the most powerful forces in this world.  sometimes it’s the only saving grace we have when things feel harsh or worn-out.  some people don’t take the time to consider why they’re lucky, especially if they’re feeling particularly unlucky- which is the most necessary time to do it.  there have been numerous articles about gratitude and its impact on your physical and emotional well-being (here is a link to one published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter).  in a sense, gratitude really can help you fake it until you make it- by considering the positive side of your life, you change your attitude and your life, in turn, begins to change as well.

having lived in poverty for a long time, i am always reevaluating my circumstances and trying to check myself about the things i complain about.  today, while discussing the term “voluntary simplicity” with someone, i said jokingly that it seemed like the positive term for “broke”.  this made me think about basic human needs, and how bad off any of my friends or i actually are at the poverty levels we’re at.  it was then that i chanced upon this image.  i put it as my desktop background- to remind me of what i really have.

happy independence day <3

celebrate all your freedoms.

now this moment – a meditation

sometime ago i read the phrase, “dwelling quietly in the present moment”.  i’m sure it was in a book about buddhism, although it can apply to anyone in their own lives.  it is rare that we take enough time to be present; we are always thinking ahead or worrying about the past.

the meditation i have been doing recently is one i call “now this moment”.  when i have time to myself (because it does cause me to focus my mind, and so it’s not fair to do it when someone is trying to talk to me and so on) i sit and say to myself, “notice this moment.  now this moment.  now this moment.”  i space them apart by a few seconds and with each repetition i try to take absolute firm notice of the details of that particular moment.  i notice the tiniest things.  a cloud that looks like a seahorse.  a rust patch on someone’s bumper.  an osprey perched in the trees.  it’s lovely.  and it really helps me to calm my mind, especially when i find myself thinking way too much about the past or future- as is wont to happen all the damn time.

as you think about that-

here are some moments.

here’s my home.

who loves dog parks?

who loves dog parks?

the weather today was SO beautiful that i busted through my house cleaning and stuck the dogs in the car for a trip to the park.  eighty degrees, clear blue sky, happy dogs, and i found a free ice cream coupon in my wallet- i was set.  all it cost was the price of the gas to get there.  what a groovy day it’s been.  the whitefish dog park is really well maintained, and our dogs love going there.

summer

i love summer.  i have always loved summer.  it is a time of freshness, of breezes that kiss rather than bite, of the warm evergreen scent rolling down the hills.  growing up in montana i learned that summer was a precious time of year.  it is june, we just had a brilliant warm solstice, and it’s been overcast and cloudy.  but today i got the itch to be out with my fingers in the dirt.  so i went to where the old garden used to be and dug a compost patch.  our old one was never properly supervised and was never turned or anything, so it is mushy with grass growing all over it.  i want a compost patch now that i’m eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.  i hate wasting anything, and composting is so rewarding.

i also planted things.

i am just so interested these days in how things grow, how they live and create and expand cellularly.  i found an old dried sunflower head and planted the seeds in the red pot.  the blue pot got basil/marjoram/fennel/dill mix.  and an old yogurt container has a dandelion, that i am going to grow in my windowsill.  dandelions are so unfortunately typecast in the weed category.  the roots make an excellent flour, the leaves are full of vitamins and nutrients, and the flowers are delicious when fried or made into syrup or wine.  i dug in the dirt, breathed in the wet musty smell.  it is a beautiful june day in montana.  the poppies are still blooming and the bees are busy in them.

and the world is in bloom today.

for the first time in over a year, i felt wholly infused with happiness today.  everything has been beautiful and i am at peace.