#Reverb12. Day 4: Cycle

"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."
-   Yoko Ono, Season of Glass

 Day 4: Cycle

Right now it is late autumn in New England. The leaves are in mushy piles and the trees are bare. Three very small snow storms have coated the land in a really tiny coating. For a moment it looked like Christmas and I remembered our actual chances of having a white Christmas are pretty low. 

I like each season for different reasons. If I lived in the desert somewhere I would have a really tough time. Right now it's  too cold to hike (we did a 33F hike recently in Maine) and there's no snow to snowshoe. The woods are bare and the critters are few and far between.

I was thinking about cycles this morning. How this time of year I can see the river from my kitchen window (no leaves blocking). How the new leaves of spring show up at my home in MA before the one in Maine. How I'm actually wearing socks to work versus getting away with flipflops late March- early October. Cycles are important. If you skip on part of a cycle things just don't work out. If there's not enough snow, there's not enough maple syrup. If there's not enough snow my shallow well freezes and the cottage does not have water during the winter. If we have 80 degree days in March (as we did last year) the bug population is fierce. If we have the hottest August *ever* in Boston that equals no fresh cucumbers (darn powdery mildew). 

What sort of cycles do you depend on?

"Gardeners , like everyone else, live second by second and minute by minute.  What we see at one particular moment is then and there before us.  But there is a second way of seeing.  Seeing with the eye of memory, not the eye of our anatomy, calls up days and seasons past and years gone by."  
-  Allen Lacy, The Gardener's Eye, 1992, p. 16    

#Reverb12, Day 3: Flavor

Day 3:

What flavor did you try in 2012 that you enjoyed? Perhaps a new type of food or a new recipe that came out well. What do you intend to try in 2013?

In 2012 I had many memorable meals both at home and in my travels. In terms of the more simple food, in the fall I had two good pretzel experiences. One was at Hannah's Bretzel in Chicago. It was a small sub roll shaped bretzel and the contents were all organic (ham from Spain...so good!). The other was while on a mini vacation prior to a business trip in upstate NY we went to wineries and one brewpub. The brewpub had a great lunch menu and served their own beer on tap. For an appetizer we got homemade pretzel bites to dip in hot cheese. It was similar to fondue except made with beer instead of wine.

We got to walk along the shores of Lake Erie (a first for us) and talk to independent winemakers. One in particular is working hard to had wind and solar to her winery Arrowhead Springs. That was very neat speaking with the owner because she was in high tech in her past life and now she's living a very hands-on challenging farm life.

As for what flavors I intend to try in 2013 I hope to make focaccia bread at some point. I read a book about Tuscany and there's some recipes I'd like to try. I'm also going to try Matcha green tea. I don't know if I'll like it to drink but maybe in smoothies. I also plan on visiting more small wineries...hopefully while on a trip to California next summer (we went to Napa and Sonoma in 2009 and it was so much fun). 

#Reverb12: Day 2, One Word

I just decided to take part in Reverb again this year. It's where you do a blog post for every day in December.

I'll do day 1 & 2 in one post.

Day 1: New Thing? (prompt taken from this blog)

What new thing did you do in 2012? For me that would be trying a new yoga studio and as a result a new class called Ballet Barre (the Barre Method). Actually, I not only tried 1 new yoga studio I tried a new one during my travels to Philly and NY. While in Chicago I took my first barre method class and I was not only challenged but inspired. I pushed through the pain and as my yoga teacher Paulina taught us this year I'm learning to "love the things you hate." Paulina often asks us at the start of our yoga class to say one pose we love and one that we hate. She works both of those poses into our hour of class. This approach is new to me and through this practice I've been able to do things I never thought possible (balanced half moon pose).

I hope to keep taking Ballet Barre on a weekly basis. It's got a little bit of yoga, pilates, weights, and ballet. And depending on where you take it maybe a little bit of kickboxing.

We can all learn from Paulina's example. Learn to love the things we hate.


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Day 2: One Word (prompt taken from this blog)

What one word would you use to describe 2012?

My word is "balance." I really got my rhythm in 2012 work-wise. In April I was at my job 2 years (still there) and it was my first year planning and attending all of the events that I'm responsible for. This was events in 10 states including some regional and national events. I figured out that sticking to my plan of flying in the day before an event is very important. There can be weather delays (Hurricane Sandy). There can be flight delays (got stranded in the middle of the night in DC and had to drive all night to make a morning meeting with a stranger in the car--we all pooled together from my flight and took what car rentals we could find).

You never know what your employment, projects--or even your volunteer work--is going to throw at you. Building in a buffer (my travel day) and making sure to build in time to take care of myself (trying new places to workout or hangout along the way) actually makes for better performance once you are there. Balance continues to be an important part of my life and a little painting "balance" hangs in my dining room to this day (a gift from my Mother-In-Law).

What I'm Thankful For

I've really been enjoying the posts from friend's about what they are thankful for. Some are daily posts. Others are blog posts.

After a wonderful family Thanksgiving I figured I'd post what I'm thankful for during this time of year. No matter how big or small the things on your own list are, each are important in their own way.

• Snowdays. I just read a post from a friend that took around 2 hours to drive to work in the snow this morning. Not only was that dangerous but she had no choice (she's the only one at work who does her job). My work closes when the weather is bad (the recent hurricane is one example). They put employee safety first.
  
• I'm done with my holiday shopping. I did it online and supported small businesses with my purchases. I also got a handful of stuff made right here in the USA. I also did not step foot in a mall to complete my shopping (could not find a parking spot if you want to know the truth there). So this list item now equals more time to bake, spend with friends, and go to holiday parties.  

• I'm grateful to live in a place where I have a backyard and free parking. After spending time this fall in Philly, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, NYC, and Chicago I will say this is a pretty big list item. I learned a lot about urban living this fall too. For example, in places like Detroit there is a whole urban farm movement to create jobs and provide fresh food for areas that are declared food deserts. In Chicago it is super clean and there's a culture where ideas are put in motion and EVERYONE works. Even kids graduate college and go to work (not move back to their parent's house to 'find themselves'). I also observed that my own downtown (a pretty shabby often criticized downtown Framingham) is cleaner than New York City. Wayyyyy cleaner.

• My health. This is a huge one since I had several friends be diagnosed with cancer this year. I learned to try new things (ballet barre, joined a new yoga studio) and also had to keep reminding myself that good health is not to be taken for granted. 

What about you? Do you have a little bullet point list of your own? I'd love to hear it.

What is growing in the veggie garden?

This year I did something different. I normally order seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I won a $20 gift certificate for FedCo (a Maine-based seed company). I commented on a blog post by Margaret Roach and won the gift certificate.

I was excited because this was a paper certificate and it required me to order seeds the old fashioned way (by mail). I was able to take the time and place an order not do a rush-job online order. [Here's information on Margaret in case you are interested: "Called "the best garden blog" by NY Times, ex-Martha Stewart exec Margaret Roach's horticultural how-to and woo-woo. Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/ykk9gf4"]

As usual we started some seeds inside (with a heated mat and florescent bulbs on a timer (one warm, one cool). I find that starting seeds indoors in March gives hope of warmer weather to come. However, it just creates really leggy seedlings and not the strongest of plants (sadly). This is what we have growing right now:

• Green beans (we hope to make dilly beans again this year)

• Cranberry beans for drying

• Heirloom tomatoes (these I do not do from seed, because I like to plant 6 different types). One of the tomatoes is called 'Watermelon' which pleases me greatly (it's green and red on the inside)

• potatoes (not from seed, I just put 4 organic potatoes in the ground and we have 2' tall plants at this point)
• Butternut squash  
• Sugar pumpkins (for beer-making in the fall)
• 2 types of cucumbers, both heirloom (sadly not doing all that well, the seedlings got eaten by bugs and we're starting over from seed outdoors)
• Bell peppers (from seed)
• Asparagus (this will take 2-3 years, but at least we have them planted in root form)
• Spinach and lettuce (from seed, we've never had luck with lettuce and spinach--I'm so ready to buy them in plant form next spring and just throw up my hands in defeat)
• Basil from seed (best quality basil from seed ever, thank you FedCo!). I grow this on my kitchen windowsill because I'm too lazy at 8pm to walk down the hill to harvest basil!

What are you growing in your garden this year? I'd love to hear from you! Container garden, bucket, backyard garden...all count!

Cranberry bean:

Logan Express: A school vacation week disaster

As a community we are very lucky in Framingham to have a Logan Express. This has made my life easier since I moved here in the 1990s. I use it for work, for vacations, and I even have family members use the service when they are flying out of Logan.

I rely on it pretty much weekly this time of year.

This week, there were signs on the Mass Pike that instructed people not to park at Logan Airport. This was because the lots were full. I left for a 3 day business trip and as expected the Logan Express Lot was full (overflow as well). This was not a huge deal for me.

I had a few travel issues this week (ended up only getting 2 hours of sleep in 2 days thanks to Continental Airlines). I landed at Logan without issues (US Air this time) and I was ready to get home and sleep. I got to Logan Express within a half hour. I went to my car. I was blocked in by two other cars.
It turns out that MassPort paid for a valet service (nice use of tax dollars) and had people double and triple parked. I had to wait 1/2 hour to get my car out of the lot (could have been home for a good 20 minutes at that point). I was not comfortable having my car blocked in like that without my permission (it's a used Jeep, but it is still a well-loved car). Also, the Jeep was blocked in so horribly that the valet had to help me navigate in the dark lot (two of them had to guide me out of my LEGAL parking spot). And yes, I still had to pay (as did the others).

My question to you all--is this a good business practice? Using tax dollars to illegally park cars? Pack in as many as will physically fit in there (I know MassPort needs the cash, but this was absurd). I have the phone number for the supervisor and I'm tempted to call her. Was I right to be angry? I was so sleep deprived I was actually shaking by that point. I just wanted to hop in my car and drive home. Instead I had to deal with the valet and also other drivers struggling to get out of the lot (very difficult to navigate all the illegally parked cars--both rows were double lined with cars behind each row of parking spaces).

Again, we are lucky to have Logan Express. I was leaving at 3:30pm so I did not have a way to get dropped off there. I use Logan Express to save my employer money (and me time).

I'd love to hear from people that experienced this and what my next step should be. Is calling the supervisor really the answer since the 'park at Logan Express' sign on the Pike was beyond their control.

Saying the Right Things

As humans we often struggle with the great power we are given: the ability to communicate. Sometimes we isolate ourselves (I work in my own office--the last one in the hall of 25). Other times we jump right into a crowd and pretend all night long that we enjoy being social. Or in fact, on that particular day we might actually feed off the group's energy.

I've been traveling for work since 1999. I work with folks I've never met until I speak to them at an event or conference. It's always been the best part of my job. It breaks up the monotonous nature of working in an office. Plus, I don't travel all year long so it's a refreshing change. Each time I go somewhere new I discover things I've never noticed before. Like in Minneapolis (for the first time this late February/early March) I realized that they are one of the greenest cities I've ever seen. Even my hotel room at the Hyatt had 3 recycle bins (3!) and my food each day was locally sourced (no food deserts there apparently, despite being in the Midwest).

One thing that never fails to surprise me is people I encounter that clearly have no sense of manners. It might be someone that pushes me in line (and nearly knocks me over because I'm carrying a bag, box, laptop case). Or it could be someone that asks me something that is not appropriate or none of their business. I remember when I was engaged to be married and a client stated "Well, I sure do hope you're marrying a nice Jewish boy." (my maiden name is Silver, so I actually got that comment several times while at conferences--and clearly while wearing a name tag).

Recently a colleague told asked me how I was going to start having kids "now, at 35 years old?" Then awkwardly she replied, "Not that it's any of my business..." I told her I was not having my own kids and that here and there we tossed around the idea of adoption. I've been married nearly 12 years and I get that question a lot. I think...I got it twice just last week from complete strangers "And why have you not had any babies yet?" I keep saying I need a snappy reply. Something better than "I don't think my reproductive choices are any of your business."

I know that people mean well. They are just making small talk. The conference attendees that inquired about my fiance at the time were just being polite. They were also being a bit close-minded and were quite shocked at my answer. The same goes for individuals that ask when a woman is due if she's not even pregnant at all. Yes, that still happens. First off, I know women that have had a hell of a time carrying a baby full term or even getting pregnant at all. Can you imagine asking someone "when are you due?" that had just lost a baby?

Please, the next time you want to ask someone (a stranger, a client, a colleague) a VERY personal question--take a step back. I'm also welcome to any type of comeback I can give to someone that asks why I'm not a Mom yet. I've thought about saying "Yes, because clearly I'm not a complete person until I have children." or "Yeah, I lost 2 babies in the past few years. It's been nothing but heart break and devastation. You probably should not ask strangers that question." (totally made up of course, and not making light of women in that situation...I just feel at this point I need a shocking reply to squash that person from ever asking that again (or implying that someone is 'over the hill' at 35).

:(