Obama Wins

Here at the Ranch, we're still celebrating. These days of sunshine match my mood. It's an amazing and beautiful day. We're not only breathing a huge sigh of relief, but maybe for the first time feeling awkward stirrings of pride and patriotism. Obama is a true leader, inspiring and heroic. The fact that he's (half) African-American is historic, but it's really secondary to his intelligence, his ability to unite and inspire and to lift up this country and its people.

It's good to win.

Something new

About two months ago, I got an impulse. Immediately I knew it was something I wanted to do and I gave it very little consideration before plowing ahead. It just felt right. It's a return to my past and revisiting something that I always sort of regretted. Things fell into place right away and with little effort I found myself in a class, ready to go. For the past seven weeks, I've been working and practicing.

And today I graduated.

Watch the video!

Getting ready for winter

Here's the little wrap-around cardigan for my soon-to-be niece. This was my first complete sweater. It's small, which was nice, and I learned quite a bit while making this. I feel like a better knitter now and want to take on a bigger project.



But first, I made some mittens for myself!



And here's a little jumper in progress...



I started knitting a sock in the round (with double-pointed needles), but got frustrated with the slow pace. I'll come back to it. For now, I want to knit something cozy to keep myself warm this winter.

Speaking of keeping warm, I've been hearing that the hoop house will create only a small amount of heat for the garden. I knew it wouldn't last into the winter, but I'm afraid it's not even going to extend the season much. I'm considering getting a little greenhouse heater. Has anyone heard about these? I'm wondering if it'll work and if the electricity cost is worth it.

This weekend, John and I finally got smart with our stunted Brussels sprouts. John did some googling and learned that we're supposed to pick the leaves once the sprouts appear. This allows the energy to go to the sprouts, not to the big, beautiful leaves. So we did it. And the plants now look like adorable, healthy Brussels sprouts plants that need at least another month to develop. Farmers Almanac predicts an unusually mild November. Let's hope they're right.

Hoop-de-doo

Last week was a doozy. Had a couple of projects going strong and a proposal to write. Also working on a couple of side projects, including a little something for my soon-to-be niece. While I'm still working on the main part, here's a little extra thing I made just so I would have a gift at the shower.





If you're wondering why I made blue booties for a little girl, let me clarify. They're lavender. Not blue. And, well, I just didn't expect them to look so blue. But they're darn cute!

The other big project around here (which I can only claim partial credit for) is the Hoop House! I helped figure out how to build it, but John takes full credit for making it happen. So, the basic frame is done. John's working on some additional support and then we'll wrap the sucker with plastic and put a little door on it.



On the right, we have Brussels sprouts and broccoli and the unstoppable Swiss Chard.



On the left, the fall crops are coming up: carrots, beets, silverbeet. And the little box is our lettuce/arugula box. It's all growing very well.

Obama 52, McCain 43

The latest polls show that Obama has a 9-point lead over McCain.

According to ABC News, Obama is pulling ahead.

He's recovered to a 14-point lead over McCain in trust to handle the economy, and leads by 13 points specifically in trust to deal with the meltdown of major financial institutions.

Obama leads by more, 24 points, 57-33 percent, in better understanding the public's economic problems.

Tellingly, after trailing by 17 points, he's pulled even with McCain in trust to handle a major crisis. And Obama holds wide margins in vote preference among likely voters most concerned about the economy.

More economic worry, plus an Obama lead among those who express it, spells a lead for the Democrat: In a head-to-head-match-up he's now supported by 52 percent of likely voters vs. McCain's 43 percent, the first significant advantage for either candidate among likely voters in ABC/Post polls.

Just thought y'all might like to hear some good news. Unfortunately, that's all I've got.

I probably won't be posting for the rest of the week. I'm on deadline for a few projects and am enjoying every last bit of this beautiful weather. I'll be back next week with some garden photos.

Thanks, but no thanks

Thank you to Bob Herbert for writing about McCain's Health Care Plan in the Times today. I'll admit I haven't been focused on health care, despite all the hard-hitting campaign coverage we've seen.

But I have, over the last couple of days, recalled Bush's old plan to privatize Social Security. Remember that? All this hullabaloo with with financial markets has prompted me to make the sign of the cross, praise Jesus, make offerings to Shiva, and generally THANK THE UNIVERSE for allowing Bush's plan to flop like a fish in polluted water. Can you imagine the disaster we would be in now if we had allowed investment banks to "manage" Social Security? Oh Lord.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your hats. There's a dumber horse in town.

McCain wants to privatize Health Care.

The whole idea of the McCain plan is to get families out of employer-paid health coverage and into the health insurance marketplace, where naked competition is supposed to take care of all ills. (We’re seeing in the Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch fiascos just how well the unfettered marketplace has been working.)

That's right. On the leading issue of the campaign that affects "working families", McCain has learned nothing, nada, zilch from the current economic mess we're in.

Read more about it here (and slightly less about it here).
And weep.

the common sense police

From NY Times:
"John McCain pointed to greed on Wall Street, and Barack Obama linked problems to lax regulation."

I think a good evaluation of a candidate's approach to an issue is whether it can explain both the cause of the problem and define a solution.

On the financial crisis....

Obama seems to believe that greed is to be expected. Given the opportunity, people (particularly highly competitive people in a culture that supports excess) will try to get more. The problem, as he sees it, is that nobody was paying attention to what these companies were doing, and they just kept pushing it a little bit further to see what they could get away with. His solution? Pay more attention; regulate.

For McCain, it's an issue of individuals (collectively) making the wrong moral choice. He sees the economy and the free market as fundamentally sound. He is a life-long deregulator. The problem, according to McCain, is a moral problem. If people were behaving, a deregulated, free-market economy would be fine. Framing issues in terms of morality might rally the people who would like to abolish greed from the human race, but it isn't very useful in writing policy. His solution? A moral shift? No. Apparently, the deregulator is advocating regulation.

Congratulations, Obama. You win the consistency game. Regulation (or lack of it) is a government problem, with a government solution. McCain, you lose. Greed is a moral problem, with no government solution.

While both candidates are advocating more or less the same solution (because it's, ahem, an obvious solution), extra loser points go to McCain for spending 26 years fighting regulation and then today deciding to support it. Extra-extra loser points for calling himself a reformer.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

And just as a side note, I don't understand how people can say things like "I strongly support free markets, but the government needs to step in". Isn't the definition of a free market one in which the government doesn't step in? I would like to see one "deregulator" stand behind that position. Bollocks to the rest of 'em.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

In more local news, Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich issued a statement today saying that he is "not a sociopath." Nor is he "cuckoo". Thanks for clearing that up, Rod.

this n that

Yoga. Remember yoga? I used to write about it all the time. Well, fear not, it's been here all along. My practice was thrown off a bit when my back went out and it's been a slow process of building up strength again. My back still feels funky at times and I'm being mindful not to push it too much. So, I've been doing a scaled back, simple practice.

This week, Johnny has joined me every day for morning practice. (Surya Namaskara A + B, then he does some closing poses and I continue on with some standing poses and a modified closing sequence. Today I did some backbends.) It is so nice to practice together. Just the two of us, moving in silence in the morning sunlight, taking care of ourselves and each other.

My students have come back from their summer vacations and the studio is hopping again. The design biz seems to be picking up as well. I'm submitting proposals for some nice projects and am very grateful that things seem to be falling into place a bit.

The garden is still chugging away. Some of the new seeds are sprouting and we're making plans for a small greenhouse (hoophouse) to prolong the season.

Here is Saro in front of the Brussels Sprouts plants, displaying his utter impatience with their slow growth.



But the really exciting news is the shed. I didn't think I could be more excited about this thing. But look! It's become a barn! Johnny and I picked out the colors, and he painted it. I just adore it.



(Incidentally, I just learned that this is the time to clean out the shed. According to the Farmers Almanac, this task is best done during Virgo. And yes, you'll be reading all sorts of tips from the Almanac in posts to come.)


Here's Johnny, putting on the finishing touches. (Note the size of his paintbrush.)

The Day Job

When I'm not doing yoga or having adventures in farming, I work as a graphic designer. I've been spending some time lately updating my website. It's not live yet, but I'm posting a secret link here. This is just the portfolio page -- none of the other links are active. Feel free to leave a comment with your feedback.

Here's one of my recent projects: an invitation for an animal-assisted therapy organization. If you've been paying attention, you might recognize one of the dogs pictured here. Although he's not an actual therapy dog, he does someday aspire to such a calling.

Fall planting schedule

I haven't kept good records of planting, transplanting and harvest dates. So I'm going to start now.

Sept 5 - sowed seeds in outside bed: Dark Red Beets, Dragon Carrots, Five Color Silverbeet

Sept 4 - Kale and Spinach seeds started indoors (For the second time; I had a few sprouts, but the heat killed them, and then Saro munched on those that remained.).

St Valery carrots were sowed (sown?) outside sometime last week.

Farming plans thwarted

Johnny and I had a date this morning. 5:15 a.m. Meet out at the Vegetable Beds. Till the soil, plant the seeds and let the day's rain do its work. Oh what a harvest it will be: bright red Dragon Carrots, Dark Red Beets, and Five Color Silverbeet. Oh my.

Alas, it was not to be. We woke to rain. And it was dark at that time anyway. So John went off to work. I went back to bed. Our beautiful fall planting will have to wait till later in the day.

In other farm woes, when oh when will the brussels sprouts and broccoli be ready? The plants are huge and healthy and there are little sprouts and florets, but they are growing at a snails pace. The seedlings were transplanted around June 1. The seed packet says 58-90 days (broccoli) and 80-115 days (sprouts) from transplant. We're at 96 days now. Hmmpf.

Live Blah-gging

I had the idea to listen to what the Republicans have to say about things. It started with a yawn. Is anyone there? It sounds like an empty hall.

Then came Mitt with a forced-sounding speech in which he decried the mortgage crisis and then complained that there is too much regulation. He demanded a change from "liberal Washington." This, after eight years of a conservative President. Hmmm.

Huckabee yelped about the need to give Americans more control of their money, but didn't have a peep to say about giving women control of their bodies. And though I missed the story that preceded this, he did say: "John McCain helped me have a schooldesk."

Ah Guiliani. After lauding McCain's war experience, he laughed --laughed!-- at Obama's work as a community organizer. Apparently, McCain has been tested. He has passed the Ultimate Test. No, no, he hasn't figured out "the Google". That wasn't on the test.

Then it was back to the old playbook: lower taxes, less government. (Unless somebody wants to have a war. Then we'll have bigger government, less privacy and we'll spend like there's no tomorrow. But that's, um, different?)

Well, Rudy got the crowd good and riled up for Palin, that's for sure.

And here comes Miss Wasilla now...

And we're off to a nice, if dull, speech. She's very average, which, I guess is the point. People seem to like her. But she's not saying anything new.

It's hard to listen to a long, political speech if you don't agree with the speaker. Not because I don't agree, but because it's so political. I'm not learning a whole lot about Republicans from listening to all this ballyhoo. Except I kind of am.

Ho-Hum. Blah. Signing out...

Save Our Seeds

I've discovered a new hobby. As an extension of growing flowers and vegetables from seed, I've begun to save seeds from my plants. First, I figured out how to save sunflower seeds by watching the birds. After that, I experimented with a few other flowers in the garden and found that it's quite simple. Once the bloom dies, there is usually some sort of dried pod. Inside the pod, you'll find the seeds. It's pretty neat to grow things from seed. But it's even more amazing to grow things from seed that you saved from something you grew from seed.

This is, incidentally, how it was always done. Farmers saved seeds from their most beautiful or tasty plants and thus kept the best quality varieties alive. In more recent times, seeds apparently no longer belong to nature. They belong, all too frequently, to Monsanto or other large agricultural businesses. These companies invest lots of money into developing genetically modified seeds that suit their growing conditions. Most notably, Monsanto scientists have developed corn varieties that are resistant to pesticides. Not all pesticides, of course; Monsanto pesticides. These genetically modified seeds (hybrids) are patented, which means that it is illegal to save and replant them. And it's not just corn. I saw a hibiscus plant at Home Depot yesterday with a tag warning against reproduction.

I find this very sad and not at all an example of progress or modernism. There's been a lot of talk in this Presidential election about candidates not being owned by lobbyists and Big Business. I'd rather not be owned (or fed) by them either.

I am happy to be a member of and buy my seeds from Seed Savers Exchange and I was pleased to come across the Save Our Seeds pledge at urbanhomestead.org.


S.O.S Pledge

• I pledge to take back control over the most sacred form of plant life - seeds
• I will strive to save my own seeds, encourage self pollination and self seeding “volunteers”
• Refrain from purchasing seed varieties controlled by Monsanto
• Support local seed banks
• Purchase organic, heirloom or open pollinated from independent seed companies who’s mission are to save seed diversity

Share your pledge with the world with this nifty icon - feel free to “save as” and use! Also join other homegrown revolutionaries at our sister site FreedomGardens.org

Another reason to grow your own

The government will allow food producers to zap fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce with enough radiation to kill micro-organisms like E. coli and salmonella that for decades have caused widespread illness among consumers.

Okay. So irradiating food isn't (maybe) as bad as it sounds. The food doesn't become radioactive. It's a process, similar to pasteurization, that kills microorganisms. Sort of like a microwave. Safe, they say. But strange.

And I don't like it.

I don't like it because I make huge efforts to eat food that has undergone little or no processing. The technical term for this is "whole foods", though it might simply be called food. It is what people have been eating for, well, forever, with excellent results. I don't believe food should be developed in a laboratory. And I think that all this processing has not served us humans very well.

I also don't like it because it seems to be a really lame way to solve a problem. The problem is foodborne illness. Salmonella. E. coli. These things don't spring up mysteriously. They thrive in certain known conditions.

Accepting unsafe processing practices, then blasting unclean produce with radiation and calling it safe is a little sad. The solution seems obvious. Clean up farming practices and processing plants and inspect more frequently. Minimize food miles.

Some experts agree.

“The agency is choosing to have a high-tech expensive solution to a problem that needs a more thorough approach and one that really starts on the farm,” Ms. Smith DeWaal of the science center said.

Others are not so sure.

Federal officials say they continue to study the science behind proposals to require good agricultural practices. In the meantime, irradiation could help, Dr. Tarantino of the F.D.A. said.

While the FDA undergoes scientific study of the merit of "good agricultural practices", I'll draw my own conclusions. I'll say good agricultural practices are good! And I'll continue to buy from local farmers as much as I can.


By the way, irradiated food should be labeled with this symbol. Look for it. (And steer clear.)

And then she shed tears of joy...

Okay. I've got a thing for sheds.

I think they're ridiculously cool and I've wanted one for a long time. Living in the city, you don't see too many sheds. But, gardening in the city without a garage, we really need a place for all the tools and outdoor things. Johnny and I have looked around for something cheap, with no luck. When Liz wrote about her shed, I sighed from afar with longing. She has a shed and she doesn't even want it. Someday I'll have a shed of my own.

And when I stumbled across this article about "home offices of the garden variety," I began to see the humble shed in a new light. The article quoted this blog which showcases various "shedworkers" and their awesomely outfitted shed offices. Based in the UK, the site proclaims to be the only guide to "the lifestyles of shedworkers and those who work in shedlike atmospheres." Shedworkers! (I love the Brits.) It's not enough to be a Self-Employed, Sole Prop, Work at Homer. I could earn the moniker Shedworker!

So, here's the dream shed.



Oh, come on. That's hardly a shed. That's a house. Here's another one.



And look! Le Corbusier built a shed for his wife. "You walk down a little footpath with cactuses by the sea to get to it." Now that's love.



And this...is MY shed.



It's also, as you can see, a newspaper stand. (Note the vintage styling: Johnny got it off the John Dillinger job*.) It's not quite large enough for an office, but it would do just fine as a vegetable stand. Maybe next year we'll sell lemonade and fresh veggies. If we do, you'll read about it here!







_____________________________________


*Once they're done filming, and all the appropriate props and set dressing have gone back to prop houses, they sell any leftover props at cost (or less). Over the years, Johnny has always made good use of his pickup truck and rarely met a piece of furniture/wood/glassware/metal he didn't like. The job taketh Johnny away from home, but the job also giveth. And this one was no different. We got a beautiful full-length mirror, a few potted palms, some leftover wood that John will use to make sculptures. And our glorious little shed.

I guess I've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging. Lots of factors. Late summer and I've been spending more time in the garden and out with the dog. Also, a herniated (or compressed) disc and then a dash of carpal tunnel symptoms have kept me away from anything resembling a desk or a computer.

Yoga practice has changed with all this recent injury, but I'm still practicing every day. It's hard to do an Ashtanga practice. I went to a class and my back felt a bit tender the next day. Too many forward bends. So, I'm doing shorter, gentler sessions at home, with a little more pranayama and meditation. Most days, I do a 20-minute asana session in the morning, following by sitting and then another session in the afternoon. I've also started walking more, since I'm not able to do a full, vigorous practice. (My body noticed the slow-down and promptly demanded more movement.)

Each time I have some sort of injury, my experience with yoga becomes much deeper. I am naturally quite flexible and most poses are more or less available to me. But with an injury, my movement becomes limited and I must be hyper-aware of what I'm asking my body to do in each pose. It requires me to slow down, back off, and truly practice with a beginner's mind. The poses become a little more subtle. It's frustrating to shake up my routine of daily practice, but I'm also grateful. Injury is a great teacher. It also helps me understand how to teach students of different abilities.

I'll close with a few pictures of Saro. John bought him a pool, which we naturally thought he would enjoy. Not so. Note the look of desperation on his face as he searches for an escape.



And here he is, much happier, hanging out in the garden.





More posts coming soon.

Full Buick Moon

I’ve been following the moon cycles this year with a great calendar that tracks the name of each full moon. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the names come from Native American culture and were a way of keeping track of the seasons. Here are the year’s moons so far:

January – Full Wolf Moon
February – Full Snow Moon (this one was a total lunar eclipse)
March – Full Worm Moon
April – Full Pink Moon (this one fell on my birthday, which was fun)
May – Full Flower Moon
June – Full Strawberry Moon

I’ve been sharing these with my students (particularly when class falls on a full moon), and it’s been a fun way to inch our way out of winter and celebrate each turn toward spring and the flowering of summer. Unlike the Solstices, which happen after the season is in full swing, the Full Moons really do lead you through the seasons and make even the howling cold of January seem beautiful.

A few weeks ago, I announced that it was a New Moon and one of my students asked what the name of this one was. I don’t usually check until it’s the Full Moon, so when I got home, I flipped ahead in my calendar.

Full Buick Moon.

Wha?

On second glance, I saw that it was actually Buck, not Buick.

But I like Buick better.

As most of you know, I drive a Buick. (Hello, my name is Judy and I drive a Buick.)

It all began five years ago, with a great little Honda. A friend of mine got the Honda after it caught fire and a friend of hers sold it to her for cheap. She drove it for a few years and then sold it to me for cheap. I drove it for a few years and then when it didn’t pass the emissions test and my mechanic said it never would, I sold it to my brother for cheap.

(And then, my brother took it in and immediately and effortlessly passed the emissions test. I nearly died.)

It was then, in a fit of concern and carlessness, that my parents stepped in and suggested that I buy a car from a friend of theirs. A Buick.

I don’t know why I did it. The first time I got in the car, I hated it. Pretty much every time I got in the car after that, I hated it. Problem is, it’s been a totally reliable car. Very little maintenance required. It has a great stereo. Sun roof, leather seats, air conditioning. And it rides really smooth. I always beat the other cars when the light turns green. Even cuter, newer little sports cars. I smoke ‘em. The Buick is fast.

The first week I had the car, I went to CarMax and tried to trade it in. What they offered wasn’t much, so I figured I’d hold on to it for a bit. It wasn’t that bad.

Five years later and the Buick and I have been through a lot together. The past couple of years, I’ve moved a lot and the Buick has been a second home, a storage space and possibly the single most consistent thing in my life. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the car and have, over the years, reluctantly accepted myself as a Buick owner.

I’ll interject here to note that this is not the first Buick I’ve owned. Nor is it the second. It is, in fact, my third Buick. The first one, in all fairness to me, was my actual grandmother’s car. (As opposed to someone else’s grandmother’s car, or the proverbial Grandmother’s Car, which is what I drive now.) And I was in high school. Circumstances which totally justify the driving of a Buick. The second Buick was a Skyhawk (the less popular cousin of the Skylark). This car I paid $50 for. Again, you can hardly blame me.

So I considered selling the Buick and using the money to fix up the Jeep that John and I drove across the country last summer – the 1989 Wrangler that needs a new engine, a new transfer case, doesn’t have complete doors and the seat doesn’t go far enough up for me touch the pedals so I always need to drive with a big cushion behind me. Also doesn’t have a radio, the seatbelt doesn’t work and it has 289,000 miles on it. (But, as John reminds me, no rust!) This, somehow, seems like a much better alternative to driving a perfectly fine Buick. Then I reconsider and am grateful that I have such a low maintenance vehicle. This goes on…

Until.

I get a call from my brother the other day.

“You can have the Honda back.”

I stop to consider what this means. First, it’s a free car. Second, it’s a cute, zippy, manual transmission car. Third, it’s the Honda! I tell him I’ll think about it. Then he says the magic words: “it has permanently passed the emissions test.” It’s so old that it is now exempt. There’s no way it can fail.

The emissions test has sort of been my automotive Achilles heel. First the Honda, and then every year, I’ve had problems getting the Buick to pass.

I took the car and put the Buick up on Craigslist.

I got the Honda back!

This, of course, is not without its problems. The car is fussy when it comes to traffic. It simply does not like to idle. It’s maybe burning oil or something. There’s no AC, which is really not great in this week of 90-degree heat. It has 180,000 miles on it and it’s 22 years old. But it runs! It starts like a little Honda dream.

So now, in this month of the Full Buick Moon, things are coming full circle. I have the Honda. I can confidently sell the Buick because I have a back-up car. I can drive the Honda until I find a newer car. I can start a new chapter in my life and begin to rebuild my self-image as a car owner. I can put these years of American-car-driving behind me and look toward a brighter future of new-car-driving.

As we approach the Full Buick Moon on July 18, let’s all say a little prayer for the Buick. A prayer of thanks for getting me where I need to be. And a prayer that it will sell...quickly and for a good price.

smile!

Despite the fact that Saro woke up at 2am with explosive diarrhea (on the bedroom carpet), he seems to be feeling fine today.

Neat!

A wonderful rain storm last night was just what these little beauties needed. Everything in the garden looked so happy this morning.

The Money Chase

I've not been happy with my bank for some time. I opened my first bank account (when I was 13 or so) with First Chicago. Many years later, they were bought by Bank One. And then they were bought by Chase. Now they're huge. ATMs are absolutely everywhere. Which is theoretically kind of nice. But I end up using the same one every time. Anyway, as soon as Chase took over and the marketing exploded and they became more of a "presence", the simple act of banking seemed to get more difficult. Withdrawing money is a breeze, but they have a fairly consistent problem when it comes to depositing checks. I deposit a check and they are more likely to hold it or return it than to simply deposit it. I've resorted to making all my deposits at the teller, because that seems to work better. All those ATMs? Can't use 'em.

While I'm sure Chase is doing quite well, issuing lots of loans and credit cards and making many special offers available to people through mass mailing and email marketing and they have a lovely design aesthetic (though really not the best), I have a fundamental problem with banks who aren't good at banking.

So I've been on the lookout for a new bank.

Also.

I'm still recovering from the loss of my favorite coffee shop. It was a neighborhood institution, with couches and all kinds of people hanging out and cranky hipsters serving coffee. It had become one of my surrogate offices and I spent many days there, working on my laptop, having chance encounters and spontaneous lunches with friends. They closed about a year ago. Bought. By Bank of America.

So now there is a big shiny Bank of America branch and no humming caffeinated life on that corner. I just learned that there is another huge BOA branch opening up just 8 blocks away.

This all brings me to last night. Having drinks with some friends, talking about local economies. (Okay, we talked about baseball too, but I sort of tuned that out.) Now, I've been thinking a lot about local economies when it comes to food, but I haven't thought too much about it in terms of banking. There were some good points made about large banks supporting the wealthiest investors and dubious enterprises. Frankly, I don't remember all that was said. What stuck with me is this:

1. Small, independent community banks do exist.
2. These banks make loans to businesses and individuals in the community.

("It's a Wonderful Life" anyone?)

These two points are pretty much enough to convince me to finally close my Chase accounts. I like the idea that any money I have in the bank (ha!) stays in the community. And it's not like I'm using all those Chase ATMs anyway.

So, the hunt begins for a good, locally-owned, independent bank. With any luck, I'll find one that isn't going to be bought out anytime soon.

Dumb-avoidance

Most of the things Obama’s taken heat for saying this summer fall into these two familiar patterns — attempts to find a rational common ground on controversial issues and dumb-avoidance.

On the common-ground front, he’s called for giving more federal money to religious groups that run social programs, but only if the services they offer are secular. People can have guns for hunting and protection, but we should crack down on unscrupulous gun sellers. Putting some restrictions on the government’s ability to wiretap is better than nothing, even though he would rather have gone further.

Dumb-avoidance would include his opposing the gas-tax holiday, backtracking on the anti-Nafta pandering he did during the primary and acknowledging that if one is planning to go all the way to Iraq to talk to the generals, one should actually pay attention to what the generals say.

Finally. The anti-dumb candidate. Now that is a platform I can get behind.

No food crisis here

We've got more greens than we can eat. See: Tidy rows of little Swiss chard, broccoli and Brussels sprouts plants, just a few weeks ago (top pic). And now (middle pic), we're eating (and giving away) lots of Swiss chard. No broccoli or Brussels sprouts yet.

And there's Saro...guarding the garden.

(click photos to enlarge)

57 Sunflowers

No flowers yet, but compare this to the photo from June 3. Can't wait till this starts to bloom!

Well, hello there.

June has been a busy month around here. It began with a week-long yoga teacher training. Then I had a wonderful trip to Mexico for the wedding of mi hermano. (Pictures will be posted soon. Maybe.) And in between all of that, I've had a full work schedule. I'm finishing up a really great project this week. And with a few other things here and there, I've been working more or less full time. I'm so happy for the work. Now, need to get more!

Practice this morning was great. Effortless and fluid. I did Primary up to Kurmasana and everything felt just right. I remember when all those vinyasas used to kill me. Now they are a welcome break between poses. I actually enjoy them. I'm doing Chaturanga consistently, but sometimes the knees come down before Up-dog. Still, that's a lot of progress and my shoulders are injury-free. Binds were solid (fingers, not wrists). I felt the hips getting a nice stretch throughout the practice. This was followed by a pretty good lotus pose at the end of practice. Chin to the floor in Kurmasana. I heard little, barely audible cracks in my thoracic spine during backbends. This is very good.

I read recently that Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana is to be done with the free arm straight (not with hand on hip). I tried it this way today and it's kind of neat. In a way, it feels less supported. I never realized how much stability I get from pressing the hand into the hip. But finding the stability from the inside of the pose makes it ultimately much stronger.

It's cool today, but I generated quite a bit of heat and felt nicely sticky. So sticky, in fact, that I couldn't move my legs from Bhujapidasana into Bakasana. I was stuck! My practice has been very steady lately. I even survived the travel test and kept up my daily practice while in Mexico. Ashtanga is the perfect travel practice. No fuss, no wondering what pose to do next. Just get to the mat and begin. It is thanks to Ashtanga that I have a daily practice at all.

Since the teacher training, I've been alternating between Ashtanga and Tantric Hatha practices. Ashtanga has become pretty comfortable for me, so learning a new system is both fun and strange. I feel like I'm starting over again. There is a lot to learn and I'm just working with the practice sequences we did during the training. Hopefully, over time and with repetition, things will start to sink in. I will also be getting a CD soon with all the meditations we did during the training. Can't wait for that to arrive. The meditations were one of my favorite parts of the training.

It's a little confusing working with two different systems, but I think they fit well together. And since I don't teach Ashtanga, what I'm learning with Tantra will be a huge help with my teaching. Plus, the insights from Tantra carry over to Ashtanga. For example, we began studying the energetic effects of different types of practice. A forward bend practice affects the digestive and reproductive systems, pacifies Pitta and Vata, influences Samana (centeredness/balance) and Apana (downward movement/elimination). The Primary Series is basically a forward bend practice. This explains why it has been so helpful with my digestion and in regulating my menstruation.

Updates coming!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I've had a lot of new projects coming in and the past couple of days I've been at a yoga teacher training. More about all of this later. Just wanted to post some quick updates on the garden!

The flower garden

Here's an overhead shot of the flower garden. This has been a construction zone for over a year. We dug it all out by hand. With a pick axe and a shovel. The soil here is pretty bad. There used to be a building on this site, so the ground is full of bricks and foundation blocks and the gravel that covers the entire lot. We've had to replace most of the soil. But we're finally starting to make some progress. Last weekend John built the white horse fence (to keep Saro from trampling the flowers) and it has really helped to define the space and separate this area from the weedy overgrowth around it.

The big yellow flower sculpture on the right side of the picture is our seating area. The area closer to the street from here is the shady garden (mostly vinca vine and some coleus). The thing in the middle is a fountain, and it's hard to see in this picture, but the stick figure is watering the big funky enoki sculpture with a red watering can. We planted the garden around the fountain last year and you can see the plants that came back (sedum, yarrow, rudbeckia, delphinium, lambs ear and a few others).

The big curvy shape to the left (looks like half of the state of Michigan) is the sunflower patch. This will hopefully be overflowing with red and yellow sunflowers soon! We're working on filling in the areas around this with random flowers (cosmos, zinnias). It will be more chaotic and not at all planned out. We just want something growing there! We'll keep the gravel path in the middle so you can walk in between the flowers.

There's a lot of work still to be done. But it's finally starting to take shape.

First Harvest!

Mixed Greens with Arugula...picked from the garden! Crispy and peppery. Delicious!

Other garden news: The carrots finally came up. (I had given up on them.) The swiss chard is getting huge and will have to be thinned soon. Broccoli seedlings seem to have handled the transplant well and are getting established. The Brussels sprouts are doing okay. Not great. Still alive, but small. I put the cucumber and zucchini seeds in the ground yesterday. The tomato seedlings are not doing well and I think we're going to buy a couple of small tomato plants instead of trying to work with these. Same with the red peppers.

Cuteness

My Yoga Practice

Warning: sensitive readers may find some language in this post offensive.

Part 1

My practice Saturday morning was difficult. Actually, that’s sort of an understatement. My mind rebelled. I didn't...want...to do it.

Surya Namaskara A: Inhale arms up, all is going well. Exhale forward fold, inhale monkey pose, exhale plank. Pause. Muscles tighten, jaw clenches. Curse the practice. Remember to breathe. Exhale, lower down, inhale cobra. Despair. Exhale downward dog. Hold for five breaths; resist the urge to pound the floor and throw a tantrum. Inhale step the feet forward, monkey pose. Exhale fold. Inhale up to standing, use all available effort to keep from throwing something across the room. Samastitihi*. Gratitude for the practice.

Repeat three times.

Pause. Breathe.

Surya Namaskara B. The body is alternately limp like a rag doll and rigidly tense. Throw several mild tantrums along the way, but manage to muscle through.

Pause. Surrender. This is the practice. Forward fold. Child’s Pose. Supta Virasana. Then get up and make coffee. No rest.

Part 2

Driving to the auto shop…the driver behind me became irate. I probably could have made the left turn, but didn’t. I believe this upset her. When the light changed and I came to the next stop, Angry Lady pulled up beside me.

ME: What’s the problem?
AL: You’re a stupid bitch!
ME: Oh?
AL: Yeah, you stupid bitch!
ME: Hmm. (pause) You’re a beautiful person.
AL: Yes I am! You stupid bitch!

Hard to say if there’s any connection between my anger-infused yoga practice and the anger directed at me just a few hours later. But it did make me think: was my resistance to and frustration with my yoga practice any less ridiculous than Angry Lady’s outburst towards me? We were both acting out emotions that had little to do with the circumstance in which they arose.

Just as I had to laugh at Angry Lady because her anger was so unnecessary, I am reminded to laugh at my own outbursts and protests. If I can recognize obstacles in life as nothing more than a crummy driver in front of me, then maybe I can respond with patience, and laugh, knowing that the situation will soon change. Even when it doesn't cater to me, the universe is beautiful.

Samastitihi. Gratitude for the practice.

Update

Today, I went to a class. That was the right decision. At times like this, when practice is really hard, it’s better not to leave me to own devices. The energy of the room and the pose-by-pose instruction of the teacher got me through it. With very little resistance. A little joy. And a great Savasana.


*equal standing pose

In the weeds

The situation is pretty dire. No, those aren't native grasses. The garden is surrounded by aggressive, fast-growing, fast-spreading weeds. These suckers have taproots a foot in the ground. And they're everywhere. Can anyone out there suggest some plants/grasses that will hold their own in (and eventually overtake) this jungle?

I know some people use a long narrow tool with a snake-tongue at the end to take care of pesky plants. Watch the video to see how we do it here in the hood. I'm thinking this will have to be done on a weekly basis. At least.

Show Us Your Food

I'll skip the commentary. Just go here.

Seedlings

(top to bottom)

Red Leaf Lettuce and Green Leaf Lettuce, Arugula, and Swiss Chard

The Farm Bill

This isn't exactly top news. I had to search to find it on NY Times. And frankly, I wouldn't have even known about it, had it not been mentioned on NPR. Given the global food crisis and the debate about ethanol (not to mention to local food movement) I think this is an important bill to pay attention to.

Farm subsidies (actual money paid to farmers) have a direct impact on what we eat. If farmers get paid to grow corn, they'll grow corn. If they get paid more for growing more, they'll grow more. In the 1970's the Sec of Agriculture began rewarding farmers who grew single crops (usually corn) in larger and larger amounts. This led to a huge surplus of corn and lower prices. With a plentiful and cheap supply of corn, American innovators kicked into gear and started thinking of new, exciting things they could do with it. Two of the Big Ideas were to process it into High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and to feed livestock with grain (instead of grass). As I understand it, this is where we are now. A huge amount of the corn grown in this country goes to feed livestock, make ethanol and make HFCS. We are producing more than we ever have, and larger amounts are going to non-nutritional outlets.

The Farm Bill passed yesterday (318-106) in the House with strong bi-partisan support. And Bush seems determined to veto. Typically, if Bush wants to veto the bill, it must be a good bill. But it's hard to unpack this one. For example, Bush's stated reason for the veto is that the subsidies benefit the wealthiest farmers. (Well, gee, I think I agree with Bush on that one.) He also said the bill "resorts to a variety of gimmicks". By this I think he means a $10 billion increase in nutrition programs.

And this is where it gets tricky.

There seem to be a lot of good things in this bill. A good chunk of it goes to feeding the poor through food stamps and other programs. There are rural development and land conservation programs. Overall, it's probably a good bill. But it doesn't appear to change the subsidy system. While I think farmers absolutely should get assistance from the government, I think we can be a little smarter about it.

From Michael Pollan's cleverly titled article last fall:
"Americans have begun to ask why the farm bill is subsidizing high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils at a time when rates of diabetes and obesity among children are soaring, or why the farm bill is underwriting factory farming (with subsidized grain) when feedlot wastes are polluting the countryside and, all too often, the meat supply. For the first time, the public health community has raised its voice in support of overturning farm policies that subsidize precisely the wrong kind of calories (added fat and added sugar), helping to make Twinkies cheaper than carrots and Coca-Cola competitive with water."

It's no coincidence that fast food and junk food are so cheap. Nutrition programs are necessary only because the government subsidies make the unhealthiest foods the most affordable. So, we're providing economic incentives to produce unhealthy foods and then creating programs to help people to eat healthier. Why not just stop enabling companies to make unhealthy food in the first place? Instead, direct more subsidies to smaller farmers growing diverse crops. Subsidize food that's good for us! Let's be a leaner, meaner and, while we're at it, greener nation!

Same with money for conservation programs. Pollan asks:
"Why does the farm bill pay feedlots to install waste treatment systems rather than simply pay ranchers to keep their animals on grass, where the soil would be only too happy to treat their waste at no cost?"

(There's almost too much to say in response to this. First, cows are not meant to eat corn. If they eat corn, they get sick. And die. That's why we pump them full of antibiotics. So they don't get sick from eating the stuff ranchers feed them. When animals graze, they are also walking around all day. They don't get as fat. If they're in feedlots, they eat and eat and eat and do not move. They get fat faster. They get to market faster. And they get slaughtered before the corn diet kills them. It's economics. And it's bad for us.)

So while there are some good things, I don't think this bill does much to address our food culture/crisis. We expect food to be cheap and easy, but we're not so concerned about quality. Programs aren't what we need. Re-thinking (or, plain old thinking about) the way we eat and produce food is called for.

So, what to do?

Say no to High Fructose Corn Syrup! It'll be hard because it's in everything. Start looking at labels; it's unbelievable.

Say yes to locally-grown, fresh vegetables! They taste better. They use less fossil fuels to produce and ship. It helps smaller farmers.

If you must eat meat, say yes to grass-fed beef! Bill Kurtis does! Or take the not-so-radical step of reducing your meat intake by 20%. It's the environmental equivalent of driving a Prius. Seems hard? You can do it.

After all, you are what you eat.


[ Steps down from soapbox...]


In other news, I'm getting my camera back today. Keep an eye out for photos of garden and dog!

Where's Obama?

I know he wasn't expected to win West Virginia, but I'm starting to get a little nervous. Seems like I've hardly heard or read about Obama lately. Just Hillary. We started this thing with two great (at the time) candidates and now we've got an invisible front runner and second place She-Bush dominating the news. I don't know what he needs to do to get people to vote for him, but he better get cracking. I'm not keen on an election decided by superdelegates. Please Obama, prove to us that the good guy can win. Win big. Win unambiguously.

Happy to be home

I never thought I would say this, but I couldn't wait to come home and cook dinner tonight. After a weekend of hotel living and restaurant dining, I wanted nothing more than my own cooking. I was appalled at the food in Madison. Not in the hip, college part of Madison (which I'm sure has some great spots), but the strip mall, chain restaurant part of Madison where we stayed. I'll spare the details, but the food -- all of it -- was inedible. I also ate a bag of microwave popcorn. I don't know why. We don't have a microwave at home and I guess I thought it would be a treat. Not a treat, it turns out. I was sick for an hour and felt like I had rocks in my intestines.

So, tonight: a wonderful meal of black beans glazed in beer, with swiss chard, served over basmati rice. I watered the garden as it simmered. I am happy.

Also, good news. The vegetable sprouts did not die while I was away! I had visions of coming home to cracked, dry earth in the beds and sad, drooping plants indoors. But, no! Everything is alive and well! And with Mother's Day behind us, it's safe to plant the rest. As soon as I have time, I'll transplant the indoor sprouts to the beds in the yard and plant the sunflower patch. Then I'll explore the flower seeds that John's friend gave us and plant some in the flower garden. My camera is being repaired at the moment; otherwise you would be seeing photos of said sprouts, some beautiful blooming pink flowers that I did not expect to come back, and of course, my dinner.

Twenty-Two

That's the number of hours that John worked yesterday. 8am to 6am. Five hours of sleep and he's back on the job. Sheesh.

Yoga

I had a long, luxurious two-hour practice today. Saro and I are up in Madison visiting John. And with nothing to do, no obligations, I decided to do a full Primary practice, taking as much time as I needed and not skipping any poses. It was so nice not to have to rush* off somewhere. I lingered in poses that I like and patiently took my time with more challenging poses. I've noticed that when I have a solid daily practice, my balance is strong. After taking a few days off or having shorter practices, I am wobbly in all the standing poses. Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana is a good indicator pose for me. Lots of poses feel more or less the same from day to day, with subtle variations. But when my practice is strong, UHP feels effortless and fun and when I'm feeling weak, it is absolutely torture. I fell out of this pose several times on each side today. But no worries; plenty of time.

I often skip over some poses to shorten the practice a little bit. Prasarita Padottanasa D, Janu Sirsasana C, Supta Kurmasana (because I'm not even close to being able to do it), and Marichyasana D. I never attempt a bind in Marichyasana D on my own. But today, I thought: I know my body can do this pose because I've been assisted into it. So, just for kicks, I used a strap, and lo and behold, my hands were about 5 inches apart. That's darn close to a bind. My jump-throughs are getting a little better too. I'm starting to see how the bandhas work. I don't have much control, but I can sort of imagine how it works.



*A friend is subbing my Sunday night class and I thanked him, telling him that it'll be nice to go away for the weekend and not have to rush home to teach. He said, don't rush there either. Nice reminder.

In other words....yoga

This article in the NY Times talks about habits:

...don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

But they might as well have been talking about yoga.

From Desikachar's Heart of Yoga:
The conditioning of the mind that lets it continually take the same direction is called samskara....Through yoga we attempt to create new and positive samskara rather than reinforcing the old samskara that has been limiting us. When this new samskara is strong and powerful enough, the the old, distressing samskara will no longer be able to affect us.

back to the Times story: Ms. Ryan and Ms. Markova have found what they call three zones of existence: comfort, stretch and stress. Comfort is the realm of existing habit. Stress occurs when a challenge is so far beyond current experience as to be overwhelming. It’s that stretch zone in the middle — activities that feel a bit awkward and unfamiliar — where true change occurs.

Again, from Heart of Yoga: When we practice asanas we carry out actions that are not determined so much by our habits, and yet still lie within the range of our abilities. We are no longer so bound by our habits.

Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda also write about samskaras in their commentary on the Yoga Sutras:
Expose the mind to constant thoughts of anger and resentment, and you will find that these anger-waves build up anger-samskaras, which will predispose you to find occasions for anger throughout your daily life....Let us never forget, however, that just as a sandbank may shift and change its shape if the tide or the current changes, so also the samskaras may be modified by the introduction on other kinds of thought-waves into the mind.

So, there you have it. From ancient India to the NY Times, experts agree. We can't get rid of our old/bad habits, but we can introduce new, better habits by moving outside of our comfort zone. With persistence and practice, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Saro Prana*-meter

(on a scale of 1-10)

Saro’s average energy level: 8 or 9

In the presence of a dog/food/person/bird: 12+

Saro today: 4

I came home Thursday afternoon to a strangely unenthusiastic pooch. He lumbered around and (uncharacteristically) failed to pounce on his dinner bowl. Instead he pawed at the bowl and looked sad. I took him to the vet where he perked right up and (characteristically) showered the doctor with kisses and hugs. All seemed well, so we came back home with instructions to keep an eye on him. When I had to carry him down the stairs Friday morning, I knew I was not going away for the weekend as planned, and we headed back to the good doctor. After a long day of waiting for test results, we learned that his white blood cell count is high and he is fighting some sort of infection. Saro spent Friday night at the animal hospital while I fretted alone at home and John worried from afar.

Today, he’s home with a healthy appetite, two different antibiotics and no clear diagnosis. He’s sleeping a lot, but showing some signs of perkiness when we go out for a walk.

This was our first real health scare. The Giardia and Roundworm (in retrospect) seem tame. They affected his poop more than his mood, which was not pleasant, but less heart-wrenching. It’s hard to watch this vibrant, lively creature turn dumpy and droopy. But it's equally amazing to see the spark come back. I've always adored the wag of his tail, his little (barely containable) show of enthusiasm when the leash comes out or his food is being served. Seeing it now is reassuring.




*life force

I'm back

Well, I took more than 3 days off. On top of LH, I've been sick with a cold since Thursday. I did some yoga, but not a full practice. I even pulled my recent issue of Yoga Journal and did Marla Apt's sequence of poses to relieve sinus congestion. It was okay -- a lot of inverted poses -- but it did not deliver the "sweet relief" it promised. Also tried the Neti Pot, but was too congested for anything to flow through. So, I took a break. And a nap. And some brandy. While lying in bed, I did some meditation with the Maha Mritunjaya mantra, which is dedicated to overcoming disease and death.

When I wasn't resting, I joined Johnny (who came home for a day - yay!) and we got the vegetable beds completed and filled with soil! It was a big job and very, very satisfying. Today, between rain showers, I will plant the lettuce, arugula, carrots and swiss chard. Yeehaw! We also picked up some soil from Big D and created our sunflower bed.

I had an Ashtanga Lite practice today. Still feeling a bit run down and mucus-y, so I did most of the standing poses, a few Primary poses without vinyasas, and then most of the Finishing. I used a lot of props and did supported backbends on the Swiss Ball. It was enough to get me moving and I think it will take a few days to get back to the full practice.

Holiday!

Ladies Holiday showed up unexpectedly today and that means a 3 day break from practice. I will stick to my waking schedule, but I'm looking forward to easier mornings for the next few days.

Saro and I greeted the morning with a long, lovely walk in the park. It's another beautiful, sunny day.

This just in: carbon-negative water

Fiji Water Co is planting enough trees to offset (and then some) the environmental impact of its bottled water. The net result will be an improvement to the environment.

Well, that's just fine, but what about all those plastic bottles? Have you heard about the swirling mass in the middle of the ocean?

Nice idea, Fiji, but I'll stick with my Sigg and fill it (and refill it) with tap!

Earth Day

I stumbled on this article not knowing what it was about. The title "Why Bother?" was promising. Turns out it's Michael Pollan's assessment of the climate change situation and what we, as individuals, can do about it. It's a smart piece.

His final analysis: the best way to make a difference is to grow your own vegetables.

As we are starting our very first vegetable garden (soil is being delivered today!), this is good news! The article is inspiring; I even got a little choked up at the end. Ever since I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I've been thinking more about connected-ness, especially when it comes to food. Growing food (or preparing to grow food) is so humbling. All we need are seeds, sun, soil, water and care. How amazing is that? It's this wonderful thing that anyone can do. Now, I don't plan on growing all my own food and foregoing big box grocery stores (though I can't recall the last time I bought a meal-in-a-box). Aside from the massive amount of work that would require, I simply don't know enough about gardening. But if we can supplement our groceries with one or two fresh crops at a time, I think that will be significant.

And we're on our way! The Broccoli and Brussels sprouts have been joined by cherry tomato and red bell pepper sprouts! The hot peppers will poke through any day. Just can't wait to get the raised beds finished and filled with soil so we can get the rest of the seeds out there.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Practice yesterday was fussy and fidgety, but on the upside, I have no shoulder pain. The Plank Plan is working so far. Today, I got a late start. Without Johnny here to get me up and going in the morning, this week will be a real test of will. I finally got on the mat around 7.15 and was very slow to get going. After each sun salutation, I had to pause and remind myself why I'm doing this. (And I only did 3 Surya Namaskara B.) Once I got through that, the rest went pretty well.

Swami T gave a nice little talk about effort. Any accomplished person (e.g. a musician) gets that way only through practice. Yoga and spiritual growth are no different. You have to practice every day and if you take a few days off, you notice it. Once you are accomplished (read: enlightened), you don't have to practice any more. "When the rice is cooked, you don't have to keep cooking it." Since I don't expect my rice to get cooked in this lifetime, it's practice, practice, practice.

I've incorporated Handstands in between each Navasana and it is pretty tough. Navasana is challenging on its own, but including 3 handstands really amps things up. Going right into Bhujapidasana after that feels like a lot. I wish there was a resting, catching-your-breath pose in between. Other than that, the late-primary poses are going well. I feel good!

"losership instead of leadership"

That's an actual response to Bush's statement about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is from an actual (German) government official who is actually concerned about actual changes in global climate.

I've been enjoying Gail Collins op-ed pieces in the NY Times lately. She writes with a sense of humor that makes reading the news almost bearable.

Since the president never suggests actual behavior changes on the part of American citizens, that leaves us with what? More efficient refrigerators?

Lots of things! There is, for instance, the ambitious new fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020; we sure do have a lot to look forward to in the future, people. There’s new federal spending on biofuels. Much of this is for ethanol, which has the unfortunate side effect of creating more greenhouse gases than it eliminates, and, of course, helping to create a planetary crisis over rising food costs. But nothing’s perfect.

Go America. Way to lead the world.

I did a Yin practice (lot of hip openers) Friday morning to give my shoulders a break. It was what I needed, but it's not my favorite style of practice. I'm determined to have a safe, injury-free Ashtanga practice. It's such a great series of poses, and now that I've been doing the full sequence regularly, I'm enjoying it even more. It feels flowy and meditative and I'm feeling nicely energized at the end of practice.

It occurred to me that binding poses might be aggravating my shoulder just as much as Chaturanga. So I'm easing off on that a bit. (The Marichyasanas are less fun.) And in a flash of brilliance this morning, I decided to hold Plank for 5 breaths during the Sun Salutations (instead of Downward-facing Dog). I felt pretty good after practice and I'm going to try this for a week and see how it goes. My shoulders remain stable in Plank, and I have to activate my core, legs and back to stay lifted. This is exactly what I need to do more of in Chaturanga -- distribute the effort throughout my body rather than relying too much on upper body muscles. If I can build this strength in Plank, that will hopefully carry over into Chaturanga. I also might start including a Handstand or two after Navasana.

In other news, Saro graduated from Basic Obedience class today! He's been very good in class and is definitely a teacher's pet. He responds so well to training and he's become much easier to handle. We got very lucky with him. (He just trotted past me with a bone in his mouth. So cute.)

The Brussels sprouts and broccoli seeds are sprouting! I put two little sunflower seeds in the cruddy rocky soil outside as an experiment. John thinks it's too rocky for anything to grow, but I'm not ready to give up. I mean, if weeds can grow there, so can sunflowers. Right? Well, we'll see.

Mung Bean soup!

Mung bean soup with collard greens.
From Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Are we ready for a smart president?

Okay, I was open to Hillary at one point. Before Barack was a contendor, I thought it would be pretty cool to have a woman president. I liked Bill when he was in office. But it didn't take long for Hillary to distinguish herself as, well, utterly indistinguishable. She is a perfectly stereotypical politician.

Ironically, the Bush II years have raised my standards in Presidential candidates. Before Bush, a President like Bill Clinton was okay. At least he was intelligent. But now the stakes are much higher because we've sunk so low. I don't want someone who is better than Bush. I don't want someone in the same ballpark as Bush.

But now, Hillary has made the decision to play the anti-intellectual card by calling Obama (the community organizer) elitist. This from an Ivy-league educated millionaire lawyer and known policy wonk. Fear of smart people is what allowed Bush to fumble his way to the top. More than anything else Hillary is doing to destroy Obama, this one is too much. She's destroying herself in the process. It's a supreme act of self-loathing and it is actually pretty fascinating to watch. Sad, though. It says quite a bit about the level of discourse in this country and how hard we are willing to work intellectually (not that hard, as it turns out). Her only shot at winning is to be mean and act dumb. And that's why it's so important for Obama to win.