Voting in Wisconsin

Today was a historic day in Wisconsin's history.  The 3rd recall of a governor.  As I type this, the results are still coming in but currently Walker is in the lead.  However, as I would like to point out to the people cheering Walker's win, only 26% of the vote count is in, the remaining 74% may tell a different story (so shut up already!)

Politics aside, I'd like to share the story of my voting experience.  After school I went to the city building to vote.  As I pulled into the normally rather empty parking lot, I realized I would be hunting for a spot for a while.  There were dozens of people streaming in and out of the building all going to do their civic duty and right.  I noticed several former students in line or actively voting and I passed the time waiting in line guessing which way they would vote.  "Oh, J would definitely be voting for Walker, M for Barrett, D, hmm, not certain."  My next door neighbors were in the line right in front of me with their granddaughter.  I noticed former students there with their grandparents, parents with small children, and people like me, just going to vote after working. 

While I stood there waiting,  I realized I was tearing up.  Now, please realize, I cry frequently.  Matt teases me because I cry at Hallmark commercials. But this was different.  I was crying because I'm proud.  I'm proud that even though Wisconsin is divided right now and even though I'm afraid to tell people I'm a teacher, we live in a country and state where we have the right to make our voice heard. AND we take advantage of this right. 

When I vote I always think of the women who struggled to ensure that I have this right as well as the men and women who have fought and continue to fight to protect our nation and ensure my right.  Voting, to me, is not a civic "duty." "Duty implies something that you have to do but is not enjoyable like paying taxes.  Voting should be considered a civic privilege. It is a privilege that we all have, some take advantage of, and others would give anything to have.  We take our privilege for granted but complain when we don't like something.  Folks, there is something that you can do: VOTE!!! Especially in state and local elections, your voice matters.  Don't agree with the direction of your state? Vote!  Agree with how the city is handling local taxes? Vote!  People have died and continue to die to give you this right; don't let their deaths be in vain!

Crockpot Oatmeal, yum, yum!

Matt and I have been enjoying this recipe for sometime now. The original recipe says that it takes all night for this to cook; I find in my crockpot it takes about 4-5 hours. This recipe doubles VERY well. I usually double it. It has lasted for over a week and reheats great!

The only ingredients you need! Look at those lovely steel-cut oats!!!

Crockpot Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats

4 cups water

1/2 cup half & half

Combine & cook on low. Feel free to add fruit while cooking. Matt eats his with honey, I'm a brown sugar girl. :)

Before, after all ingredients are mixed!

And after, when oatmeal is finished!!

Students

I don't really blog about teaching. I'm not certain why, I just chose not to. But something happened last week that I really need to share. I teach psychology and we were in the middle of our emotion, stress, and motivation unit (I noticed that these spell MES which could be a description of my desk ;)

To inspire discussion about difficult topics, I started handing out slips of scrap paper and having students write answers to questions like: What makes you mad? What causes you pain? What makes you happy? and other difficult questions to discuss out loud. I then read the answers and we talked about what we heard. We ended up having some wonderful discussions.

But the sad part was some of the answers I received. "It makes me mad when my dad ignores me." "It hurts me that I can't have a closer relationship with my mom." "It hurts when my friends make fun of me." "It makes me mad when people call me names." (These aren't actual answers; just my paraphrasing.)

These answers just break my heart. I wish I could share them with the parents of the authors. How could a father ignore a child? And what type of mother doesn't allow for a closer relationship with their child (daughter, I think) Some of them almost made me break Absolute Teaching Rule #1: Don't cry in front of my students (that's different from my Classroom Rule #1: No bleeding) Seeing the answers in stark pen and knowing the courage it took to write that made me very proud of my students. And this is just a little activity in one class.

Teenagers always get such a bad rap: They're loud, dumb, rude, disrespectful, etc.


On the other hand, they want closer relationships with their parents.


When parents choose others over their children, it cuts deep.


It hurts them when they're made fun of by the people who are supposed to be supportive and they don't know how to handle the situation.


They're just kids. Stuck in adult situations that no one is helping them with. A little empathy goes a long way.

What to do with squash? New Recipe

Gesh, it's been some time since I posted. School started again and the harvest swung into fashion. We were able to save quite a few veggies and still have about 1 1/2 bushels of apples in the garage/root celler. (For some reason, I prefer to think of it as a root celler, more romantic!) Part of what we have left are a multiude of squash. Now, I like squash but after a while, they get, well, boring. So I developed a new recipe for Christmas:


Squash Tart

1-2 squash ( I used Delicata and some other type that I forgot the name of, but I think any winter squash would work)
cream cheese (I used 1 1/2 boxes), room temperature
onion
bacon
puff pastry, thawed
spices

Clean the squash and cut into 1 inch-ish squares. Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and salt, bake until soft.

Cook 3-4 slices of bacon. Remove from pan and add chopped onion, saute.

Roll the puff pastry till about 1/2 inch thick. Add spices to cream cheese (I added celery salt and pepper and a little of the bacon but add what you would like)

Place puff pastry on baking sheet on parchment paper. Smear cream cheese on pastry, put squash, onion, and bacon on pastry. Roll up edges slighty to form crust.

Bake at 350 for 25ish minutes, or until done. Enjoy!

"As the Jelly Jar Seals," a canning (soap) opera!

"Yes, I can!" is my punny slogan. I can and I CAN. This time of year, I CAN. Whatever I can (ha!) get my hands on. So far this year, it's been two types of pickles, pickled beets, and beet jelly. Today I think it will be carrots.

Canning is one of those things that gets a bad rap. Sure, it can be dangerous with the large pots of boiling water and glass, but the sense of accomplishment that a person can get from knowing that they are saving food for the winter, and when you open that jar of lovely summer in the depths of winter, it is a wonderful feeling. I love looking at the jars we've preserved and just enjoying the feeling of accomplishment. I have wonderful memories of helping my mom can green beans (I wiped the top of the jar) and helping my grandmother freeze corn (I held the bag). Each time I can or preserve, I think of those times with loved ones and even though Grandma has passed away, she is still alive in my memory and my heart. I feel closer to her when I'm doing something that I remember doing with her! And I still call my mom to double check things ("How much juice do I need?") Sometimes I already know; I just call to chat about a shared passion.

Canning is making a come-back. As people become more concerned about what is done to their food and where it came from plus as food prices go up, canning will continue to be popular.

I made a zesty bread and butter pickle plus a normal bread and butter pickle for Matt who's not so fond of the the "zesty." The cucumbers came from our CSA plus some from Matt's coworker.

The cukes with red peppers and onions for the zesty. So pretty!

I made 2 quarts plus 4 pints of the zesty and 3 pints of the normal. A quart jar is about the size of a large pasta sauce jar and a pint is about the size of a large jelly jar. Not to be confused with actual jelly jars which are often latticed on the sides to be "prettier" than the normal canning jars.

I also made pickled beets and beet jelly. Beets are almost the perfect vegetable. According to the Nutrition and You website, beets are full of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and anti-oxidants.

So many people don't like beets and I think they just haven't had GOOD beets. Beets need to be dressed up a bit (my favorite way is boiled with butter and salt/pepper, yum yum!) but when canning, you can use all of the beet. Cook the beets for the pickled beets and keep the juice from cooking for the jelly. The only "waste" is the skins from the beets that you take off AFTER cooking. And you can eat the tops as either a salad or cooked, how wonderful!

The pickled beets in their jar; look at that color! How many purple foods are there in the world? :)

The pickled beets and jelly. Beet jelly tastes like a combination of grape and strawberry, very yummy. I also like that in the background of this picture is my sewing machine; look at this domesticated diva! Canning AND sewing! :) If only you knew the ugly truth...

I ended up with 1 quart and 7 pints of pickled beets and 13 jars of jelly. All sealed, so it was a good canning day! I didn't can everything in one day. I made the pickled beets and saved the juice for the next day to make jelly. You heat the juice up again anyhow so why not save it till the next day. Just be certain that you label it when you put it in the fridge otherwise it looks like a funky type of Kool-Aid and people might try to drink it. (Voice of experience!)

The jelly jars cooling.

There is always one victim when I can, the stove top. No matter how hard I try to keep things clean or not spill, I still do. I think it's part of the gig to scrub the stove after canning, especially if you've been canning something that drips (like jelly) or is a dark color (like beets) or cooks for a really long time (pasta sauce). The stove always looks horrible. Here's proof:

And after some serious scrubbing!

Like new!

If someone is interested in learning more about canning or learning how to start, I can do another post just on intro-canning information or you can check out the USDA or an Extension office near you for more info.

Next time on "As the Jelly Jar Seals," will Merrilee can carrots? Will she ever have enough tomatoes to make sauce? Will Matt come home again to a filthy stove top? And whatever happened to Mr. Stripey Tomato, last seen entering the M&M household and not seen since? Will the mystery be solved? Tune in next time to find out!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!

For several years now I haven't had a bike. To be honest when we lived in NW Illinois, there wasn't anywhere to ride a bike to that was safe enough to enjoy. But here in WI, there are beautiful bike trails and most towns have bike lanes on the busier streets. So we began the "let's find Mer a bike" hunt. Now, with the number of bikes in existence already, I couldn't stand the thought of buying a NEW bike. And to me, most of the new ones weren't as sturdy as the older ones or as cute. I wanted a beach-crusier to just get me around town. I'm not planning on entering the Tour de Wisconsin (not a real race); I just want to ride my bike to the library.

Matt scoured Craigslist for me and found the perfect bike (for me). It's probably as old as I am since it has a bike registration tag for a nearby town dated from the same year I was born but it's still in good shape. The lady we bought it from had bought it for her mother who couldn't ride it any longer.

We paid the huge sum of $30 for it plus new tires (and a basket) and in the end, the bike was still cheaper than a new one and is of a sturdier construction.

Now I'm trying to figure out all the places I can ride my bike to. We have a grocery store just a few blocks down from us and when we need just a couple of items, I like to ride my bike. The day I made jelly and bought 10 pounds of sugar, I drove. My basket is only rated to 5 lbs. :) And I didn't want to walk with the sugar and all the other canning supplies I needed!

I take it to the library and use a fun pedestrian bridge across the river and a route that takes me around the big hill rather than over it. The only problem with a beach crusier is the one gear: me and hills can be a killer!

And yes, Mom, I wear a helmet!

My bike!

How Much Would You Spend??

We're in the wrong profession. Anyone reading this post is in the wrong profession, trust me.



See this lovely tomato? How much would you pay for it?

$3? $4?

These organic, heirloom tomatoes, sold at a "Hole" Foods store, were....wait for it........wait.....

$5.99 a pound

The tomato was 2 pounds, hence the lovely tomato above was $12. $12!!!!!

That better be one heck of a great tomato!

But when you eat out of season, you pay for "forcing" the vegetable to ripen. Personally, I'll wait until the tomatoes are actually ripe and I'll know that they will taste even better than the one above. Don't get me wrong, I'd give plenty for a good ripe tomato and some s/p but the cheapskate in me doesn't want to pay $12 for it!

And I saw people purchasing the expensive tomatoes. One lady walked out of the store clutching a lovely Mr. Stripey like it was priceless. At those prices, it kinda was. So see, we're all in the wrong profession. We should start heirloom organic tomato farms and sell our crops at a high price!

(And yes, I pulled my camera out of my purse and made Matt hold the offending tomato while others in the store stared at me. Oh well, I'm used to be stared at oddly by others, wondering what in the world I'm doing. I am a former CP worker and a current teacher, after all! It's part and parcel of the gigs!)

County Fair Time

This summer Matt and I are exploring our new region. And anything that we can do that doesn't require much driving is even better. Sooo, we went to our county fair. This fair had all sorts of advantages:

A. Matt's bank sponsors the fair so we got two free tickets (yay!)

B. The fairgrounds are about 4 blocks from our apartment so we walked saving even more on parking!

C. There was the possibility of elephant ears (and we all know how I feel about elephant ears!!!)

D. The intrigue of an activity called "cricket spitting"



So for the family members and friends who questioned the cricket spitting, I didn't actually see any crickets or other insects being spat out, but here's proof. We did see the Mutts gone Nutts, which was really cute and advocated for adopting pets from humane societies, a great idea.





The theme of the fair was "Year of the Corn" so this picture made perfect sense. The corn was yummy too.



I think this picture sums up our fair experience. Matt holding an elephant ear in front of the grandstand while truck pulling was going on (Bret Michaels was there the next night; we didn't go.) I thoroughly enjoyed my biennial elephant ear.

Yay for County Fairs!!!!! Support Local Businesses and Local Activities!!!

Product testing: Soap Nuts

I tried soap nuts as an alternative to laundry detergent.

There were about 25 soap nuts per box. According to the box, each load needs about 5 nuts (to be placed in the bag provided) and you can get about 4-5 loads from each batch of nuts.

One slightly blurry soap nut. The nuts have this resin on them that isn't sticky but looks like it might be. They don't have any smell to them.

The bag provided for the nuts.

The soap nuts in action.

End result: They worked but I don't think I would get them again. I could get about 3 loads from each batch of soap nuts before they started falling apart and I would have to pick out bits of soap nut from the bottom of the washing machine or dryer. And this is a silly thing but my laundry didn't smell fresh. Yes, I know the "smell" is mostly chemicals but I missed it when I used the soap nuts. For me, they weren't my favorite. Now we're trying a different environmentally friendly laundry detergent.

Kitties and reusable bags

Gus likes reusable bags.

Who needs a fancy cat-carrier when you can just use a reuseable bag!

Note to self: wash reusable bags....

Organizing the sock drawer

Hello, my name is Merrilee and I have a messy sock drawer. Very messy sometimes. I am pretty good at matching socks together but my dress socks and hose go everywhere in my drawer.

Solution: toilet paper rolls and an empty tissue box. I put my matched dress socks in a toilet paper roll, one for each pair and my hose in the tissue box. As soon as we empty another tissue box, I'll have more than one box for different hose colors but for right now, I have just one box.

However, the empty toilet paper rolls and tissue box were kinda boring so I decorated them with scraps of fabric and some mod-podge.

Much better!

P.S. Digging through my scrap bag is always fun, remembering what the various fabrics were used for originally. For example, the tissue box is covered in some scrap from an apron I made and one of the toilet paper rolls is from our curtains at our previous house. The scrap bag itself is actually an old skirt that I took off from a dress, sewed up the bottom, and put a draw string through the waistband. Ahh, memories!

Pot Scrubber, updated

I've been meaning to add more to this blog but life has been getting in the way! But that also has given me time to be reusing-crafty. I've made several of these pot scrubbers and LOVE them! They're soft enough to use on my non-stick pans but stiff enough to scrub off stuck-on items. I would be careful in using them on yournon-stick pans for the first time but they work fine on mine.

I love clementines! They're great to toss in my lunch bag and they're the one thing I allow myself to enjoy that isn't local or in-season. AND they come in this great nylon bag that makes lovely scrubbers.

The bag with the labels cut off.

Folded roughly in fourths with the raw edges tucked in.

I used some of Matt's fishing line to sew the edges together. These work really well and don't take long to make. I've also tossed mine in the dishwasher several times to sanitize it and it's worked well after that. I haven't tried anything either than my clemmy bags but it is a great way to reuse nylon netted bags AND get a great scrubber out of the bargain.

Enjoy!!!

New blog title

After some thought, I decided to change the direction of my blog. In reality, my life isn't interesting enough to blog about! I don't feel comfortable blogging about school life, and with it just being Hubby and I, there's not enough going on around here to be interesting. But, a personal goal I have is to be as green & Earth friendly as possible. I've been working at it but I think a blog might be a good place to share ideas and tips (either from me or from other sources)



So, without further ado, my new blog: Working to be Green, is created!



First tip: Reusing netted plastic bags (from onions or potatoes). Remove labels, fold into fourths, and tie into a loop using fishing line. And now you have a pot scrubber!
Courtesy of MaryJane's Farm

Things I have learned living in Wisconsin

1. California cows are not happy. Wisconsin cows are.

2. Cheese is a food group. So is beer and sausage/brats.

3. Apparently there's a football team in Wisconsin that is good or something like that. And the Bears are evil/bad.

4. A snowstorm must measure 4+ inches to be serious trouble. 1-3" is just annoying.

5. Snowboots go with EVERYTHING!!! Dress pants, dresses, jeans, sweats, everything.

6. There is nothing wrong with wearing said snowboots all day long or anywhere you go.

7. Winter is just here and there's nothing we can do about it.

8. There's no reason to not be nice to other people; you can be crabby but that's not going to help.

9. There's something wrong with Illinois. No one's certain what it is but the state is just screwy.

10. Shoveling snow in shorts or a t-shirt is perfectly acceptable.

11. No testing, prior experience, or skill is needed to obtain a driver's license.

12. Enjoy the world around you no matter the season! Be outside having fun in winter just as much as you would enjoy summer!!

Christmas thoughts

Has anyone else noticed that most Christmas stress is created by ourselves? Each year I HAVE to: send cards, make cookie plates, deliver plates, decorate, purchase gifts (includes Matt's help), wrap said presents, figure out our travel plans, and so on and so on. Matt helps with much of this, which is great but I still think, "This stress I'm feeling is being produced by me." What's the drive to do all of this? Why is this important? Why do I rush myself, purchase so much, and try to get all of this completed?

Then, revelation. Singing songs that you only get to sing once a year (Silent Night isn't the same in July nor is Jingle Bells), writing cards to family far away hoping all is well with them, and wishing people a Merry Christmas (and meaning it!). This evening we delivered cookies plates to our neighbors in our little apartment complex. Of the 7 plates we delivered: 2 went to families of four or more living in a two-bedroom apartment in which just Matt and I are cramped, one went to a dad with his two sons and another to a dad and his son that he sees only on the weekend (the son answered the door, saw me and said "Yes, ma'am?" Tough kid...), another went to a lady who has devoted her entire life to God and helping the helpless, a lady who just lost her job, and a shut-in lady. On any other Sunday evening, we wouldn't have seen them. We go inside our apartments, complain about the noise of our neighbors (!), and forget that we all sometimes need a friendly smile. Life can be hard, it can wear you down, but sometimes all we need to make life better is a plate of Christmas cookies!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. How can you not love a holiday that focuses around spending time with family and friends? And pie? I always think that Thanksgiving gets overlooked in the more materialistic holidays but Thanksgiving is great!!!


Matt and I had a marathon holiday with traveling to Indiana for a couple of days, back home to WI, and then on to Illinois. But we were able to see bunches of our family (and eat pie!). It did take us about two extra hours to get through Chicago, but still, it was a good trip.

On our way home, we stopped at a World Market, which we both love. There isn't one near us and it had been years since either of us were at one, so we stopped. I really enjoyed looking at the variety of goods and cool stuff for sale.

Back to the pie, I've cut sugar out of my diet so eating two (2!!) pieces of pumpkin pie was a real treat. But (as I told myself) how often do you get homemade pumpkin pie? And since the answer was "now," I ate the pie. I felt so sinful!

Thoughts on Fall

Tonight as I was driving home, the sun was shining through the trees and some early leaves were falling across the road. So pretty! I love this time of year with the colors and crispness in the air!

This week has been Homecoming around school. Each day has been a dress-up day and therefore, each day has been a little crazier than the one before. Today one of my students came in wearing a full body suit that covered his head (morphsuit?) and thankfully I could tell which student he was. Gesh. So far my dressing up has only been to wear a red sweater on color day! And super-hero day? I dressed up as an economics teacher. Shocking, I know.

Matt has moved up here so now our family is together again. I really missed him and I'm glad he's home!

Life

Sometimes it just amazes me at how blessed I am. I try not to take it for granted but I know that sometimes I do.

Teachers are struggling to find jobs all over the country.
I find one in a great (growing) school district.

Houses aren't selling.
We sold ours in two weeks and made money.

Banks are trimming staff and aren't really hiring a bunch.
Matt found a job about 15 minutes away from where I teach in a job that fits him better than what he is doing now.

All of this happened in about two months. We sold our house and Matt found a job in two weeks. How can I not be blessed? Look at my life!

I really enjoy teaching! I wasn't certain about teaching economics but I like it. I like that it can be current and we can talk about current events in an economic setting. Yay!

House news

We received an offer on our house!!!!!!!! It was only on the market two weeks and even then just a sign in the yard but we received an offer!!!!!!!!!! God works in very mysterious ways which is fine with me! This means that Matt can put in his two week notice, pack up the rest of things and move up here with me!! Unfortunately this means that I will also have to give up sole control of the remote control but I'll do that if it means having Matt closer!!

Two weeks!! Hard to believe!! And the couple who is buying it fell in love with the house's charm (like I did. I knew it was the house for us when I walked into the pantry and saw the floor to ceiling original cabinets) so since they love the house's charm this means that they will probably work to keep it that way, not gut it and put in modern walls that look out of place in a 1910s Craftsman. (This is what I'm telling myself since I'm a little heartbroken that we're selling it but that's life and I don't want to commute four hours each day.)

Now to tell the cats that they're not going to be able to sleep all night on Matt's side of the bed anymore....

School daze

I have now been officially employed for two days! Yay!!! It's been a while since I was officially employed since subbing is just a bit unofficial! I've been in my classroom for more than two days since it takes a bit to get through everything and to make the room look inviting. I've been hanging posters, pictures, and anything I can get my hands on to warm up the room. If anyone just happens to have some economics or women's studies posters out there and isn't certain what to do with them, feel free to send them my way!

I'm a little overwhelmed at the amount of info tossed at me in the last couple of days but it had to be tossed. I can't start the school year and not know certain procedures (well, I could but it wouldn't go well!) I had my second "start of school" nightmare last night. It's not really a nightmare but more like "worst case scenario" for a teacher. My econ. class wouldn't get to work and no matter what I said, how loud I said it, or with so much force, they wouldn't work. Even the threat of not graduating wasn't enough to get them to settle down and start working. Hence the nightmare. My first one dealt with students somehow leaving my classroom to sit in small groups and chat. I tried to give them a detention but it was the first day and I didn't know their names to give them detentions. Hopefully I won't be giving out detentions on the first day!!

Tomorrow I meet the rest of the social studies department. Wish me luck!!!