Buckwheat pancakes, by Henry's mom
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, grown and ground by Miss Jenni Hoene
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, also grown and ground by Jenni
- 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 cups buttermilk, from the last batch of butter we made from Jason Hobson's cows' milk
- 1/4 cup melted butter, from said cows (named Huckleberry and Bridget)
- Smidge of local honey
- 2 eggs, from Teresa Birtles' lovely hens
Regardless of the semi-scathing comments from the youngest love of my life, I pursue this dreamy dream of finding a way to live in elegant simplicity, spreading it out to create a common experience of abundance- or at the very least, enough for folks to eat. And it's so tricky to expand my perspective from the little "immediate family" concerns to the big picture. I can't seem to think on that scale, but I think that's why I'm in school...
The food is so good here in Bloomington this time of year. The abundance of the Farmers' Market is insane right now. I love that I can feed my family so well, from farms and friends so close. Yesterday, after working at the Market all morning and seeing over 10,000 people in five hours (what a job for an introvert!), I decided once again that food is more important than homework, and roasted and froze a huge box of San Marzano tomatoes. Yum for the winter. Why am I in school?
Yummm! (Ok, so this probably doesn't count as one of my 4 comments, but your pancakes sound great!)
ReplyDeleteLove the post! You're in school to teach all of us...just as much as you are learning yourself. I aspire to live more like you in my daily life.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I often find myself in the very same position. Large scale worldly thinking often stresses me out and overwhelms me to the point of shutting down. Therefore, I wake up each and every day and do my best to make an impact at the local level. Maybe one more bike rack or sidewalk will inspire one more person to walk to school or bike to work...maybe one more tree will make the park that much greener...or maybe just one more smile will make the person's day I am passing by.... such is life, and THAT life is what keeps me going!
I'm glad to see you have figured out this "elegant simplicity". I'm not getting rid of my TV, but I am trying life without cable. Food is the hardest part for me, though. It's good to see that you can feed your family using just local products!
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring and rings true for me, as well. That's the way I think it has to be, though...everyone doing their part, as best as they are able. This is one of the hardest problems of all, too...because when the going gets tough, who wouldn't stick to their home first and foremost? I think that's the real origin of the logic of social dilemmas like the "collective action problem"...a generic way of saying that, in order to achieve a benefit for all the members of a group, some portion of these people must accept a risk of paying extra for that benefit, which will be shared by everyone. Generally, people are wary of paying for more than what they gain, so people seek to pay as little as possible to still maintain the same gains. If these people are unable to know how much their fellows will contribute, this risk of contributing something and receiving nothing makes people reluctant to contribute at all. Thus, in situations where everyone can benefit if they each make a contribution, certain risks - like not knowing who else will contribute or like contributing more than you receive - make it difficult for people to work together for a shared goal.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, there's a host of people, on this very campus, finding resolutions to this problem...and many more people in this town acting to to overcome it...like you!
I love your idea of "elegant simplicity." That is my idea of life. If I could have my way, I would be living in
ReplyDeletethe middle of Montana knitting sweaters and tending to my garden. But, where would all my hard work
from school go? I completely respect your ideas of trying to "spread the wealth" so everybody has equal
chances of receiving good food. I wish everyone else was so motivated.
This post makes me think alot about Roseland's six components of community capital, specifically social capital (the relationships, networks and norms that facilitate collective action) and cultural capital (shared experiences) (pgs. 5-8). In a sense, you ARE doing your homework because you are creating these foundations with your little boy.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I was ADHD before it "existed" in medical literature. The only thing that saved me (and my poor mother) was a little wooded lot behind our house where I could go explore and immerse myself in natural things and how they worked. Though a work of fiction, My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn addresses the importance of children learning in and from the natural world. And don't worry, all the things I thought were so "not cool" about my parents as a kid turned out to be the most important lessons of my life! :)