Monday 28 July 2008

Buy locally

Carmen and her friend made $45 dollars at their lemonade stand at the end of the street on Friday afternoon.
How great that my neighbors decided to buy locally!



I like the idea of buying locally, but going to the farmer's market is a major excursion. I'm trying to do it more often because the rumblings out there are that it is more healthy to buy locally grown food. I'm warming up to a new theory: the wing-nuts might be right. (Remember when we debated the reality of global warming? Wasn't it the wing-nuts who believed in it first?)
Fifteen years ago I had a friend (mild wing-nut) who wouldn't put plastic cups through her dishwasher, and despite the chaos of her life and home she washed all her plastic dishes by hand. Score another one for the wing-nuts because now we all know about pseudo-estrogens in our plastics that become unstable at high temperatures, like in the heat in dishwashers, and that we should be hand washing our plastic water bottles. Or throw away our plastic water bottles and buy metal ones. (Scary BPA's!)



In my grandmothers' time there was some belief that aluminum pots contributed to Alzheimer's, but we're still using aluminum foil. Different? Or were the wing-nuts wrong on that one? I don't know. Yesterday for dinner we had baked potatoes with sweet peppers and onion inside for moisture and seasoning - my favorite way to have a baked potato. We first had these on a pack-in horsey camping trip with Ken's family (let's see . . . how old is Ross?) 17 years ago.



Here's a buy-locally product. This organ was $5 in a garage sale right around the corner from me on Saturday morning. Ken wasn't home to talk me out of it, and Jaclyn was home to talk me into it, so now we have a little organ. Tomorrow night the home teachers are going to carry it upstairs to Jaclyn's room where she can practise hymns and occasionally creep us out with a little bit of Phantom of the Opera. Jaclyn played the organ (foot pedals and all) for Sacrament meeting 2 weeks ago, and I think this little organ will cut down on trips to the church to practise. Ken wonders if we are blessing her or cursing her with this particular area of talent development.

I'm considering organ lessons myself for the second season of The Year of Barb. But I might keep it a secret. So I won't tell you if I do.

14 comments:

Kelly said...

$5 Organ? How do you do it! I just signed myself up for piano lessons. After 5 years of Cub Scouts, I dream of being cursed with the Ward Organist calling for the rest of my days!

I'm pretty naive, I know I've heard about plastics and heat, but I didn't realize it was food storage/tupperware'y plastics. I need to buy glass? Wee! I LOVE buying kitchen products! I mean, of course I'll do it if it will protect my family, anything for them.

Ortensia Norton said...

Well blogging about organing won't keep it a secret. Awesome deal though.
The wing-nut world is a great one. My mother is one by genetics. She gets it from her mom. I mocked and laughed but I am becoming more of one.
Who knows what to believe though.

Humphreys Family said...

Yup, maybe its cursing both you and Jaclyn. A job-share calling??

Cecilia said...

Organ for $5??? That's a great deal!

I never heard of puting onions and peppers inside for moisture and seasoning, but I think it's a great idea.

I can't wait to hear about organ lessons! Ooops...I'm not supposed to know. {{giggles}}

nic said...

That organ was the deal of the century!

I want to know the rest of the potatoe recipe. (I'm simple.)

So, I didn't realize I'm killing my family. Thanks for the info.

*sigh* Now I have to hand wash plastic. More work. *sigh* But I could totally get into buying glass food containers.

Neighbor Jane Payne said...

So much to comment on! Hmmm.

First, the organ. Ken is right, being an organist is a two edged sword. People assume you can always play anything, so you're asked to pinch hit at the last minute and embarrass yourself and drive any spiritual residue out of the meeting single-handedly with your unpracticed feet and hand notes that do NOT forgive or fade quietly like a piano. On the other hand, if you can't sing it's a nice cubby to hide in and it is a sweet feeling to play at funerals to help comfort the family. So, Go Jaclyn. Go Barb. (I doubt either of your hands hit notes wrong or accidentally.)

Secondly. I JUST bought plastic cups--the first we've had in YEARS. Obviously I need a few more eco-friendly friends. (And our microwave? Sometimes it won't turn on UNTIL we open the door. What do they say about that?)

Thirdly, peppers and onions in potatoes? I can't wait to try that one. I've never heard of it.

Marie said...

So, just how many instruments is Jaclyn up to now?

Laurie said...

Good job on buying local. I completely understand the dilemma associated with encouraging certain talents in your children. Great deal though, you could not pass that up!

Tiffany said...

lemonade stands, plastics, and organs...wow! It sounds like you're having a great summer. Your post about the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Centre was fun--what a place!

Amanda said...

Good job buying local! We are lucky to live close to a lot of fresh produce and we pick it on a regular basis. I would never go to the trouble of washing plastic cups! Why go through the trouble of all that when you can wash your glasses?

I need to switch over from plastic to glass...I've seem some awesome vintage pyrex at some antique fairs I need to pick up.

The organ. Kudos to Jaclyn for learning and playing. You can't walk away from a $5 organ.

My daughter would kill to earn $5 at a lemonade stand.

Bond Girl 007 said...

now that is a major deal! wow.....and that potato looks very good.! I love the phantom of the opera that is cool...

Denise said...

Locally grown is DEFINITELY better. It's often less expensive, it's always fresher, and many times it's also organic. Plus, you're supporting the local economy, and you're not importing salmonella on Mexican jalapenos. Yay!

I have never learned to play the organ. I will play the keys under extreme duress, but I won't even attempt the pedals. And I confess, there are two major reasons for my refusal to learn: 1) I don't like the organ. There are no dynamics in the touch, no sustain pedal, none of the things that make piano such a joy to play. And 2) I don't want the perpetual ward organist calling. yes, I realize this makes me selfish. I'm learning to forgive myself.

I put plastic in the dishwasher and I use aluminum foil (but stainless-steel pans) and I use the microwave daily. I think global warming is overblown and the polar ice cap isn't as bad off as they say. But I'm a wing-nut about other things, so it all evens out. For instance, I go overboard on emergency prep, I'm convinced there are secret combinations all over in the government, and I write obnoxiously long comments on other people's blogs.

michelle said...

$45 at a lemonade stand?? I've never heard of such success!

Obviously a $5 organ is too good to pass up. I purposely have never learned to play the organ, but somebody needs to do it!

I love your wing-nut term. Brilliant.

I want to make baked potatoes like that -- yum.

Anonymous said...

Great Lemonade stand. Mine earned about $5 which they all split, ending up a dollar per person.