Eating in the Summer

Craigslist scams

Owen and I are hoping to push no-buy in a new, deeper direction by getting rid of both of our cars before we move to Chicago. Maybe being sans vehicle in Arctic winds will teach us a lesson, but right now the prospect of being carless is a joyful one. Both of our universities give out "u-passes" which allow students to travel on all public transportation for mere pennies a day. This is exciting because I have never been a big public commuter (no need in Portland and no real possibility to do it in Baltimore) and I look forward to the challenge of bus schedules, large bags, and strange seatmates. Something new at least. The sole detractor from all my car-free reveries is the hassle of selling a car, namely on Craigslist. What is the deal with all the scams? Why do I have an inbox full of Nigerian wire transfer offers and sketchy people who want me to drive the car to Columbia (the town in MD, not the country) because they just moved here from a foreign country? Finding renters for the house was so pleasant, and this is just so bizarre. I just want a nice person to hand me some cash and take my bruiser of a vehicle off my hands so that I can start drooling over the Chicago Transit Authority route maps and schedules.

The No-buy birthday

Dudes and dudettes--

I have officially attained quarter century status, as of 10AM MST on July 16, 2007. It's actually a pretty momentous occasion. Usually, when people ask the mock-serious question on your birthday: "so, do you feel any different, any older?" I respond with a smirky, snarky comment. But this year, I really _do_ feel different. I am 25% through a typical 100-year old life. I break that down into 0-25 childhood/major education, 25-50 career and family rearing, 50-75 begin retirement/self-enrichment, 75-100 waiting for the bell to toll for thee. In that frame, I have completed the phase in which I could plausibly be called a child. There's no turning back now, I am officially, and unequivocally an adult. The next step is just the baby in the baby carriage (and maybe marriage before that, if you want to be proper about things). To complement this momentous birthday, my family did a stupendous job of adhering as closely as possible to not buying things as gifts/buying very meaningful things. My sister Katie redeemed a free Victoria Secret underwear certificate and graciously sent me the receipt for verification. And the undies even have little pencils on them. Ironic because I was a teacher and am about to become a student again. My father continued to outfit my nascent kitchen supplies with a top-of-the line Japanese dicing knife. He says that it is the best knife in the world, and my father should know, because he cuts a lot of things up, including his own fingers. My mother thrifted a stunning near-floor length black down jacket (sleeping bag) from the [in]famous bins of SE Portland's Goodwill outlet. She says the jacket will make me look like Jackie Kennedy. Owen says I look more like Cruella Deville. Nontheless, I will be warm and bundled in Chicago. Owen made/is making a recipe binder of all the loose recipes I have collected over the past three years. It's amazing how much I like lentils. This is reflected in the fact that there is a "lentil" section to the book. In all of this using things up mentality, no one takes the cake like my grandmother though. Not only did she make me napkins out of the same material as hers and my father (what a lineage!) but gave me a book of daily meditations from the Dalai Lama called "Reaching Tranquility." I call it my "daily lama." To all my birthday peeps, big ups. You did a perfect job.

Pantry Efficiency

One of the challenges of moving to a new city is trying to use everything up before you go, so as to ensure minimal pantry packing. Coupling that mandate with not buying has made for some interesting meals of late. I would be curious as to meals or dishes that people have made in the throes of pre-packing insanity. Is everyone else as crazy as I am about using everything up? Last night, for example, I made squash soup with old apples, 6-month old chives, corn relish (purchased 4 months ago at Sav-a-lot), and dried coconut from macaroons that I made with my sister last summer. That dish was a coup for me, but I hope that the best of pantry efficiency is yet to come. If you have brilliant suggestions about how to use everything up, comment or send an email. Otherwise, look for more tales of tomato juice polenta (tomato juice from 8 months ago during a misguided attempt at healthy breakfasts) and Rice Krispie treats with Crater Lake marshmallows from circa July 2006.

Ownership is Burden

When I was younger, my grandparents would tell me sayings in German, in all their long full guttural twists and turns. I either promptly forgot the German words all together or made up some crazy personal version of the saying that usually translated to a phrase such as: "all small cows drink blue trees" or something of that nonsensical vein. For that reason, I decided not to even attempt the German version of the saying "ownership is burden." Of all the pearls of German wisdom dropped on my ears as a child, that was the one that stuck with me most strongly. Especially in our modern era of owner's manuals, one million features, planned obsolescence, and digital overload, it is just plain _hard_ to take care of all of the things that we buy. In my estimation, avoiding new ownership burdens was one of the best parts of not buying anything for a year. Unfortunately, we have not been able to escape even this pleasure thanks to the "free" bookstore of Baltimore. Take all the books you want and you don't have to leave a penny. In fact, the Bookthing would prefer that you leave nothing and take much. Be greedy! signs urge browsers among the stacks. Greedy I was, as I built my American feminism bookshelf, dabbled in French plays, amassed a collection of Dover Thrift editions, and bombarded the house with various other bits and pieces of literature and non-fiction. Faced with a move of 1000 miles, the prospect of moving 1000 books along with it is daunting. We could give all the books back to Bookthing, but they have been carefully gleaned, and it is hard to divest yourself of the sentiment that you may read each and every one of John Updike's novels someday. If I could accurately translate phrases from English into German, I would say to my grandparents: "Even things freely acquired bring burdens in the end!"

The best gift is a piece of oneself

What is it good for?

Recently, as in the last month, I have been lax on No-Buying rules. So much so that I decided to call June the month of Greatly Reduced Buy. I have my reasons and rationalizations (vacations, celebrating the end of teaching, no buy fatigue) but deep down I know that it is laziness and self-indulgence that have caught up with me lately. Therefore, beginning July 1st, I rededicate myself to this project, to thinking deeply about the connections between consumerism and personal/environmental/social well-being, and to pushing myself to plan ahead even when I am tired and just want to give in to the ease of buying. As a beginning to our redoubled efforts, Owen and I went on a cooking blitz yesterday, making 15 bean soup, brown rice for the week, and a loaf of prune/chocolate bread. Baking bread has been one of the great joys and new discoveries of the past six months. For that reason, I proudly present a picture of our very first successful loaf from this January. Behold the culinary masterpiece.