Pat Schneider Poem

The Patience of Ordinary Things

"It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea.
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare
How the floor receives the bottom of shoes or toes.
How soles of feet know where they’re supposed to be
I’ve been thinking about the patience of ordinary things
How clothes wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in a dish
And towels drink the wet from the skin of the back
And the lovely repetition of stairs
And what is more generous than a window?"

Pat Schneider
From: Another River, New and Selected Poems

OCD

A list of my compulsive behaviors:

-Making Lists (haha)
-Checking Facebook
-Checking my email
-Checking the weather (more than three times in a hour)
-Checking my plenty of fish account
-Going to NPR on my iphone
-unlocking my iphone to then only lock it back, repeat, repeat, and repeat.

Maybe I'll take a friend's advice and get a tv again, but then I'll just watch TV all the time.

A good book- here I come! Or perhaps more blog posts?

New York Love

I met a man today, actually a customer at the coffee shop where I work who told me a great story.
He told me how he took his girlfriend to to Times Square to ring in the new year. The new year being 1960. It was of course crowded and a little scary for them to be in a big city, but they had such a great experience, that when they got married the next year they decided to do so in New York, as a way to pay homage to a city that brought them together.

It made me think that a great characteristic of a potential partner is how they can make you feel at ease in times of chaos and stress. I hope to find such a person and wish the same for all of you.

Muse?

Have you ever wanted to write something but didn't really have anything to say? That is where I'm at right now. I could list a great number of things that I should be doing with my time right now, but how boring for you to read. I'll spare you. Instead I think I'll list some of the places that I'd like to visit in the next couple of years.



Portland, OR

Cartagena, Spain

Montpellier, France

Chicken by any other name

Last night I sucsessfuly roasted my first whole chicken. Turned out well, but then I had to figure out how to cut it up. I don't think it was a textbook carving job but my friends Jean and Joe were able to have a good meal with me. The whole time I was preparing and roasting the chicken I was talking to it. (strange I know) I may have given it a complex though because I kept referring to it as a turkey.

We had the roast CHICKEN, corn, and potato wedges. Peaches a la Jean (served with toothpicks) for dessert. Check out the photos from the night:

Hot Kitchen

I made a stew with crowder peas, okra, tomatoes, squash, zucchini. ground pork, and onions.

I've been having boiled eggs and either canteloupe (the sweetest one I've ever had) or a peach for breakfast.

I made dinner for my friend Katie last night. We had Port Cutlets with onion, tomato and okra saute and a side of roasted eggplant, carrot and onions. She brought over a cucumber and tomato salad from her very own garden! It was a great meal. I had the leftovers for lunch today.

Tonight I am going to cook chicken, roasted potato wedges and maybe some corn dish for my friends Jean and Joe. Photos to follow!

Unforseen Challenges

I knew that eating only local food would be a challenge, but what I neglected to think about was all the other challenges that go along with it. (1) Menu Planning- I pretty much have never made a week-long menu before. Deciding what works well as leftovers, the whole cook once use twice rules etc. (2) Cooking every meal. This is huge! I've already cooked a meal at 9:30pm at night because I couldn't pick something up from a restaurant. (3) Wanting to eat the food you cook can be hard sometimes. It doesn't really allow for cravings or last minute food decisions. I also have had one occasion when I looked at my plate and ate a couple of bites and then put it in the fridge for lunch the next day because I was just so tried of looking at it. (4) I also am learning to cook some things for the very first time like eggplant, a whole chicken, and fresh crowder peas. (see picture below)
I promised some photos and not all this rambling so here we go:

I cooked some brats in a skillet and then used the drippings from cooking the brats and sauteed okra, tomatoes, onions, and squash. It was delicious. I've also made some ground pork, tomatoe and pimento cheese "sandwiches" minus the bread of course.

I plan to cook the whole chicken, make my own chicken stock to make veggie stew with, and make some Italian sausage/ground beef meatballs or meat filling for some bell peppers I have. I'm also planning on making a peach chutney to go with some thyme pork cutlets with roasted potato wedges.

More soon...

First Days of Locavore

Here is a brief listing of the purchases I made Saturday. I'll have photos soon.

• Eggplant
• Squash
• Zucchini
  
• Corn
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Peaches
• Cantaloupe
  
• Yellow Pepper
• Red Pepper
• Okra
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes

More Soon!

Native Meats

I just pre-ordered the meat for my week of eating only local food. I purchased the meat from a local farm in Greer, Native Meats. They come to the Farmers' Market each week.

I purchased the following items:

• 1 Whole Chicken
• Ground Pork
• Ground Beef
• Pork Cutlets
• Italian Sausage
• Bartwurst

I was hoping to get some eggs from them but they won't have any at the market. I hope to get them from another vendor on Saturday.

Locavore

The coffee company were I work (Little River Roasting Company) has been setting up a stand at the local market (Hub-City Farmers' Market) for the past few Saturdays. Being around the farmers with all their fresh produce got me thinking about how food is grown, and how much we depend on farmers to weed, harvest, care for and labor over their crops, all so we can eat. I admit that I have been an uneducated shopper until the market. I knew that bananas weren't grown in South Carolina and that most of the produce I was buying at the local grocery store had traveled a good distance, but I never really thought about buying local produce and meat.

Now, thanks to the Farmers' Market I have been purchasing some local items to supplement my grocery shopping and while that works well, I was thinking the other day what it would be like if I restricted my weekly grocery shopping to the Saturday Market.

All that background information to lay down my week-long plan of attack:
This Saturday at the Market I will purchase all the items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week. I hope to be able to get meat, vegetables, fruit, and eggs. I have crafted a list of things to purchase with hopes that they will be available. After I collect my ingredients I will make a menu plan.

Here are the ground rules that I am giving myself for the project:

1. I can only purchase items at the Hub-City Farmers' Market this Saturday
2. I will only used the items I purchase to make myself breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week.*
3. I will not go out to eat, or go to a friends house to eat during the week.
4. I will have friends over to eat with me.
5. I will drink only water, coffee, and RJ Rockers Beer for the week. A local brewery. (thanks for the suggestion Joe)
   
6. *I will use salt, pepper, and olive oil from my pantry, but nothing else.
7. I will keep a record of the meals I prepare and post the "recipes" here.

More after the market on Saturday!

Home Stretch

Thought I would share what lies ahead for me in MY LAST SEMESTER in school.

Organizational Management and Behavior
Non-Profit Finance
Family Psychology
Ethics
Senior Seminar

Shells, sand, and friends

July 4th I was so fortunate to be able to go down to the beach near Georgetown, SC in DeBordieu.
I spent time with my friend's family- it was much like a fantasy world of large beautiful homes and pristine, private beach front.

Here are some photos from my time there:

Drinking 1,000 Calories

I went on a tour of three Asheville, NC Breweries this past weekend. The Brews Cruise was great, the friends were great, and the drinking was great. Probably around 1,000 calories great.
Pisgah Brewing, Asheville Pizza and Brew, and Highland Brewing. All had tasty beers, my favorites were Pisgah Brewing's Abbey, and Highland Gaelic Ale.

Here are some fermenting tanks at Highland Brewing

And an artsy beer bottle photo.

Q: Where have you been?

A:
I thought it would be interesting to show you what has been keeping me away from blogging rather than merely telling you.




I have been interning with the new Spartanburg Charter School for about 5 weeks now and I'm really enjoying getting to meet people and get things ready for the big move into the renovated 1939 building (which should be this Wednesday). After we get settled in the school we will be busy getting ready for an open house and for registration days. It's all very exciting.


I have recently become involved in the planning stages of The Hub-City Co-op. It should open Feb-Mar. 2010. I'll be the volunteer coordinator for the Co-op, possibly work some hours there myself as well. Woo-hoo Co-op!

And of course, for the past 5 months or so the planning committee for Upstate Pride has kept me busy, although not as much as I wanted to help. It went off without a hitch on June 20, with approximately 560 marchers and 120 protesters. We have already begun talking about making next years' bigger and better.

Then there is that little thing called a job. I work for the best company in Spartanburg. Little River Roasting Co. If it was not for the company I would not be able to be as active in the community as I am now. Get some coffee from us by clicking here.


I'll hopefuly be back on a "regular" schedule again soon. Happy Tuesday!

Oh, here is the new me:

The view from here

Afternoon Thunderstorms
Dexter
The Wooden Pinnacle
Fresh Coffee
Joey's Brand Black and White Cookies
Brass Tacks
Manilla File Folders
Pepperoni
Moss Green Stapler
Delta Creative Acrylic Paint- Metallic Gold

Made it back

It is sometimes best to just jump back in. (JUMP)

I have applied to the Peace Corps. Have I said that? Well, some things fall into place tomorrow with all that. I hear whether or not I have been nominated. This just means that I go on to the next step of more in depth medical information, background checks, etc. After all that is approved then I can be put up for various jobs and then "invited". The invitation might not come for many many months though. If I get a position I will most likely have a departure date in April, May or June 2010.

Gervais thinks I'm going to Botswana
I think I am going to Ukraine or Lesotho.
Alix wants me to serve in Spartanburg. haha.

More when I find out tomorrow.

IceFrogTangle

Send ME

Perspective.
It turns my worries and cries into dust and chafe.
I am not a German student, worried about life/death in the classroom. Nor am I a student in Alabama wondering what made my classmate act in such disastrous ways.
My search for food does not involve treacherous travel or self depreciating acts, as in Zimbabwe. I simply go to a grocery store.

I listened to an NPR story the other day about aid workers. Instead of it being about their experiences abroad it was all about their experiences when they returned to their homes after helping others. I almost had to pull over to wipe tears from my face. Really. Most of the people interviewed expressed pain and confusion when faced with something as simple as ice.
The story was relevant to the times I'm in right now. I'm filling out an application for the Peace Corps. I have a deep, constant feeling that I am here to serve others, and I was scared to think about where I might be sent or what I would experience, but now I'm worried that the 2 years of service will go by too quickly and I won't be able to find myself when I return.

That darn white rabbit.

I admit, I'm a sap. I love a romantic comedy. I also admit that I'm behind the times. That said, if you haven't seen Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, you've missed something great.

It is sarcastic, fun, and has (as you might expect) great music.

Two Fun things

I saw "Coraline" tonight. I highly recommend it.


My friend Ginna told me about a project/website that is genius. People from all over the world take photos at 10:15am and send them to be posted. Every day there are interesting things to look at. My favorite thing about the website is that each day is sectioned off with the title "Brand New Day" and then the date. I like it.

Maybe I'll see a photo of yours on there soon.

Happy Sunday!