Growing together.
Scientists estimate Earth to be about 4.5 billion years old and yet today (April 22, 2012) marks just the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day, which obviously means that we have a few billion years of neglect to overcome.
Rectifying such an oversight with an annual observance is a noble gesture, but it seems much of the general public has yet to totally embrace the concept. In fact, most people know very little about Earth Day’s history or true purpose.
By American standards, Earth Day is certainly not a traditional holiday. There’s no time-off from work or school, for one thing; and the typical excesses connected with such festivities seem counter-intuitive to appreciating our exhausted Earth. Decorations, fireworks, holiday spending sprees, even feasts appear wildly inappropriate.
There’s also no jolly elf, magic bunny, winged cherub, or leprechaun to sell the story of Earth Day to our kids. And, what exactly is the story of Earth Day? Shouldn’t it have some sort of folk-tale or myth to explain its creation and convey its true meaning—something to build our traditions around?
The real story of Earth Day involves student activism in the 1960’s, the city of San Francisco, a maverick U.S. senator, and a “luminary with a major passion for peace, religion and science.” It also contains a small measure of controversy.
There are actually two dates officially recognized as “Earth Day.” Two men are credited with creating separate Earth Days at approximately the same time, and their unique, competing visions of the same concern both shaped the sentiments and practices commonly associated with the event held today.
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John McConnell (1915- ) is an intriguing, American character—a New Age, Christian peacenik with traces of counter-culture bohemian marbling his earthy righteousness. He developed a concern for ecology while working for an early plastics laboratory (1939). During WWII, McConnell delivered religious services aboard Merchant Marine vessels, taking the position that “prayer and love could be more powerful than bombs.” Since then, McConnell has dedicated his life to “relieving human suffering and promoting the common good.”
McConnell’s philanthropic activities, which included the highly successful “Meals for Millions” campaign, eventually led him to the 1969 National UNESCO conference in San Francisco. It was in this historic city, named for St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, that McConnell unveiled his idea for an “Earth Day—to celebrate Earth’s life and beauty and to alert earthlings to the need for preserving and renewing the threatened ecological balances upon which all life on Earth depends.”
McConnell proposed Earth Day to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors which eventually issued an “Earth Day Proclamation.” McConnell drafted his own Earth Day Proclamation for worldwide use which quickly gained the support of the United Nations, and the initial event was celebrated in San Francisco (and other cities) on March 21, 1970.
If there is a spiritual element to how we view or celebrate Earth Day, it most certainly originates from McConnell. In his interesting (and visionary) essay, 77 Theses, McConnell outlines a path toward a utopian global village where citizens serve as “Trustees of the Earth.” He combines religious sensibilities with an idealistic faith in humanity’s ability to liberate itself from its seemingly unenlightened existence. While acknowledging tremendous challenges, he suggests a possibility for redemption by embracing an “inner point of unity”—a collective concern for the Earth and each other. “The greatest challenge in history,” he writes, “is the present challenge of destiny involving all humanity; a challenge to reclaim the Earth for all peoples and to free them from the fear of war and want.”
Clearly, Earth Day’s overriding sense of community, inclusiveness and shared responsibility for the well-being of the planet comes largely from McConnell’s passionate vision, but what about the other guy?
Gaylord Nelson was known as The Man from Clear Lake. He was a U.S. senator from Wisconsin at a time (1963-81) when being a Democrat with liberal leanings wasn’t considered such a bad thing. Born in 1916, he fought in WW II and served as the 35th governor of his home state before becoming a senator. He was largely responsible for side-effect warnings on birth control pills (“Nelson Pill Hearings”), in addition to being a strong advocate for small business and, of course, initiating his own Earth Day.
He was said to have been motivated to create an “environmental teach-in at university campuses” after witnessing the devastating effects of a 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. The original concept was shaped in a large part by the protest movement blazing across college campuses throughout the turbulent 60’s. Nelson, considered a conservation activist, envisioned an event similar to the highly effective Vietnam War teach-ins going on at that time.
“I am convinced,” he said, “that all we need to do to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present the facts clearly and dramatically.”
Nelson announced his intentions at a couple of 1969 speeches including a meeting of the United Auto Workers (which donated $2000 to the cause!). He invited Republican representative, Pete McCloskey, to serve as the co-chair of a non-profit organization, Environmental Teach-In, Inc., and a front-page article in the New York Times (September 29, 1969) declared, “Rising concern about the ‘environmental crisis’ is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam.”
Nelson recruited a Harvard graduate student, Denis Hayes, to organize their first Earth Day (April 22, 1970) on a nationwide scale. Nelson claims the name “Earth Day” was suggested by “a number of people,” but whether intentionally lifted from McConnell or not, the mass media preferred it to “Environmental Teach-In Day.” Hayes, who became an influential leader in the environmental movement, did an excellent job as approximately 20 million Americans participated in this first Earth Day, and it has been called “the beginning of the modern environmental movement.”
Nelson receives credit for using his government muscle to increase Earth Day’s visibility across the United States. He made public education, awareness and youth involvement key elements in the Earth Day Movement. Nelson’s outline for Earth Day also suggests a 60’s-style “stick it to the man” kind of militant edge, or a “We’re not going to take it!” reaction to environmental concerns. His Earth Day certainly contains a solid streak of social activism.
Both of these pioneering environmentalists contributed equal measures toward the establishment of not just an Earth Day, but an Earth Day Movement; and both should be simultaneously acknowledged for their efforts. Nelson’s approach, strongly rooted to democratic principles of free speech and public assembly, compliments nicely with McConnell’s ideas about mankind’s collective discovery of the inner point of unity.
So, what’s the deal with the dates? Nelson carefully selected his date to maximize collegiate involvement. With spring break, Easter and any other holidays out of the way, most universities would be in session. McConnell chose his date to coincide with the March Equinox, calling it “nature’s special day of equilibrium.” His motivation was once again a unification of public interest and concern. By choosing the vernal Equinox, when the length of night and day is equal in all parts of the Earth, McConnell hoped to show “no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another.”
While McConnell’s choice undoubtedly makes more sense symbolically, Nelson’s political clout made the April date stick. Many still prefer to observe the more metaphysically-aligned “Equinox Earth Day” instead.
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So, now that we know the story, have we gained a better understanding of what comprises a proper Earth Day? Should we go all “Age of Aquarius” and act like we’re in the Broadway musical Hair? Should we attend a protest march or a lecture? Perhaps we should think more practically and organize a nature walk with neighborhood kids, or maybe a clean-up crew?
Whether it’s March 21 or April 22, we’re still talking about spring, and that’s the traditional time to bust out the dust-brooms, shake off the winter lethargy and start cleaning things up. Lunchsense would like to mark the occasion by reminding everyone that “Reduce” comes first, even before “Reuse” and “Recycle,” so how about celebrating Earth Day by clearing out some of your old, unused stuff? Why not spend the afternoon making your own little part of Earth a cleaner, happier place? Simplify your life and for the good of the planet, keep only what you need. Start becoming an environmental activist in your own home.
Here’s Walter Cronkite’s 1970 commentary on the event … Happy Earth Day!
Darn near every moment is a “teaching moment” for me and my kids. In fact, my boys will tell you that I’m pretty much teaching them something all day long, except they call it “yelling.” Seriously though, the first time Junior says, “#$@!” and everyone giggles and looks at Dad, we all realize that behavioral modeling is a huge factor in shaping our children’s lives. My sons watch me, and they listen closer when I’m not even talking to them. The see how I work, how I play, how I dress, how I interact with my friends and my wife, how I maintain our household, what my priorities are, and yes—even how I eat.
In a recently published interview on Nourish, Cook for America co-founder, Kate Adamick, suggests viewing school cafeteria staff as Lunch Teachers, to remind everyone that “what students are fed at school teaches them how to think about food, what to think of as food, and how to behave while consuming it—all lessons that they will carry with them for the remainder of their lives.”
While not exactly a revelation, Adamick’s statement is still, for many, a necessary prompt. Each meal is an opportunity to show our children how to live. Proper nutrition is a fundamental skill that is essential for enduring health and well-being. The kitchen and the school-cafeteria are classrooms where kids learn (or don’t learn) how to select, prepare and eat the right kinds of food. And yet, as Adamick notes, “frequently, school administrators appear to have forgotten that students don’t stop learning just because it’s lunchtime.”
While a good school-lunch program is imperative and can make a difference for many poorly nourished kids, I believe I’m in the best position to teach my children the importance of proper eating. Parents are overwhelmed much of the time and can make a habit of depending on schools to cover the gaps and keep their kids well-directed. For the most part, given their limited resources, public educators do a wonderful job, but considering the litany of concerns regarding most school-lunch programs (in the U.S.) this is one subject where Father/Mother probably knows best.
Eating, cooking and even shopping together provides wonderful opportunity for shoulder-to-shoulder activities that can positively shape a child’s development. Health, creativity, earth-consciousness and self-assuredness are just a few of the traits that can be nurtured by sharing good eats.
Preparing home-packed lunches for my boys ensures that they’ll be taking a piece of me along with them to school. It enables me to influence them at a critical (under-supervised) point in their day without even being there. It’s this type of unobtrusive, indirect instruction (modeling really) that makes the biggest impact on my kids, and there’s no “yelling.”
If you’re looking to home-school the “lunch” portion of your kids’ curriculum, Lunchsense provides the perfect platform—pack a lesson plan in every box:
I’ve been waiting months to do this.
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For Immediate Release
February 29, 2012
Lunchsense Creator to Appear at NW Women’s Show
Seattle native, mother of three and D.I.Y. entrepreneur, Nancy Owen Myers will be “changing the way people think about lunch” at this weekend’s NW Women’s Show.
Eugene, Ore. – For many working women (and men), lunch has become more of a nuisance than a nourishing noontime respite. Options are limited; time is short; fast-food is bad. But, that doesn’t have to mean another cup of coffee and a breath mint—Nancy Owen Myers has designed a lunchbox that’s so easy to use, it practically packs itself!
Myers will be demonstrating and discussing Lunchsense, her intuitive, cleverly conceived creation, at Seattle’s annual NW Women’s Show, held at CenturyLink Event Center, March 2-4.
An Eco-Accessory with a Side Salad
Lunchsense lunchboxes are durable, reusable, reduce waste, and they do it all with infectious style. In addition to their remarkable usefulness, Myers is promoting their smart, attention-grabbing appearance at this weekend’s event. “Lunchsense is more than food luggage,” Myers relates, “Our boxes are eco-accessories that compliment everyone.” Purpose and personality converge in the Lunchsense look to create a simple statement of sensibility. While her primary interest is improving lunch-packing, Myers has designed a box that comfortably kicks around a cafeteria with a clutch of kinders, or sachets from the shoulder of a business exec.
Business Model by Mom
Lunchsense typifies a refreshing trend seen among many web-based, Mom/Pop businesses—a modern, values-driven ethic. Focused from the start on innovative thinking, the impulse that launched Lunchsense and Myers’ overriding principle has been—there’s got to be a better way! “Healthy, easy and cool” became the framework for Myers’ product design, but her concern for social and environmental responsibility created a business that’s determined to inspire positive change.
An opinionated businesswoman and articulate spokeswoman for her product and the lifestyle it represents, Myers is available for interviews and product demonstrations at the NW Women’s Show. Lunchsense products have been featured in The Washington Post, The Oregonian, The Eugene Register-Guard, and in the new book “Vegan Lunch Box around the World.” Myers has also appeared on the cover of Mom Magazine. Media inquiries can be made at 541-515-0089.
About Lunchsense
Based in Eugene, Ore., Lunchsense offers a line of durable, machine-washable lunchboxes that are designed with both kids and adults in mind. Each lunchbox folds out into a placemat and comes complete with dishwasher-safe food containers, ice pack and drink bottle, and all pieces are free of BPA, lead, phthalates and vinyl. Available in three sizes and eight colors, Lunchsense lunchboxes are designed around the containers, ensuring a perfect fit. Lunchsense has received the Green America Seal of Approval and a STELLA Service “star.” For more information, visit www.lunchsense.com.
Contact: Nancy Owen Myers, (541) 515-0089, nancy@lunchsense.com; Chris Naugle, cnaugle@comcast.net
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A new study about BPA hit the presses recently, indicating links between it and the obesity and diabetes epidemic. It’s very worthy of a read, but if you’re pressed for time, I’ll cut to the chase: researchers in Spain believe they have shown that BPA, by mimicking estrogen, compels the body to release almost double the insulin needed to break down food. Previous research by others indicates that increased insulin production may lead to weight gain and the onset of type II diabetes.
I’m glad to see such a finding making its way into the popular press, I’m a bit disappointed to report that the rest of the article is more editorial than scientific by mentioning implications and suggesting some thinly supported conclusions. It’s conjecture, not science.
I struggle, furthermore, with some of the comments, mainly those that do more to reveal ignorance than shed light on the topic. Should we just just eliminate plastic from our lives because of this report? Well, notwithstanding that the bulk of our BPA exposure comes not from plastic, but through canned foods and cash register receipts, I’m afraid eliminating plastic would be an overreaction to this research. Yes, this is further evidence that BPA has some very serious issues that warrant a cold hard look at whether any benefit that BPA might offer is outweighed by its cost.
To wit: recall that canned foods are a major culprit for BPA in our diets. Would you rather have home-grown tomatoes that are canned in glass jars (but the only lids available to seal the jars have BPA), or organic tomatoes packaged in tetrapaks that are BPA-free BUT aren’t recyclable?
In all honesty, I do not have an answer for that – not for myself, not for you. maybe the only answer is “don’t eat tomatoes out of season.” Sigh.
Not all plastics have, or are produced using, BPA. Polycarbonate is the resin of concern, and even then many polycarbonate items have removed BPA from its production. Polyethyene (#2 and #4) and polypropylene (#5, the plastic used for the food containers in Lunchsense) do not contain BPA. What’s more, the alternatives to plastics have their own issues that should not be ignored.
Returning to BPA and this most recent finding, you may ask, “Just how much research do we need to convince everybody that this is nasty stuff and it shouldn’t be used?” Great question, and one that scientists grapple with all the time. Here’s a recent interview with a researcher who has strong opinions (supported with research) about the dangers of BPA; others draw different conclusions from similar research.
It begs the bigger question still: ”Can the scientific method, in light of the extraordinarily complex network of causes and effects we have created in our modern life, even adequately examine these relationships and draw meaningful conclusions?”
I’m just chock full of questions. No answers here today, I’m sorry to say. Whether we’ve chosen to do so or not, we all have to live with uncertainty brought about by our modern living.
So NOW what do we do?
Avoid BPA whenever possible: Personally, I feel that there’s enough evidence to steer clear of it whenever possible. I strongly encourage you to read this excellent summary of BPA sources (part one and part two).
Be informed: Just like our food intake should be varied, so also should be our information intake. Please don’t allow one report dictate your every move, but do give several reports undertaken by independent facilities that reach similar conclusions a measure of credibility. Furthermore, give yourself permission to think long and hard about these topics. If there were simple answers we might have found them already.
Help inform others: Share the links. Discuss, civilly.
p.s. I chose to title the post as I have because it does indeed reflect my stance on this chemical. However, I also have another opinion which I feel passionately about, but it makes a really lousy post title: “Living with Ambiguity.” It’s what we do, so we should learn to abide with it. Embrace it, even.
With quiver loaded, Cupid is taking careful aim, but don’t let the barrage of blush-shaded marketing prompts caress you into breaking your heart-shaped budget. Valentine’s Day has, like so many holidays, evolved into a manufactured excuse to consume more stuff in greater quantities. We are encouraged by smiling, hugging and kissing couples to purchase jewelry, flowers, candies and all manner of amorous enticement. It is suggested that we solidify and reaffirm our affections by opening our wallets, yet I maintain that an expression of love need not come with a price-tag attached.
If your sweetheart requires an emailed reminder from FTD to say “I love you” and that sentiment is shared only once a year, your relationship is no bouquet of roses. The real currency of love is sincerity, shared not on single, date-book occasions but always, and mostly without sparkling accoutrement. True expressions of devotion are rarely found on racks of greeting cards. Affection is displayed in showy flourishes, but love distinguishes itself steadily, in all seasons.
I’m not totally frowning on gifts—if you’re feeling flush, by all means, share the wealth. But you don’t have to buy-buy-buy just because a cut-out Cupid offers alluring promises at 20% off. No perfume, trinket or charm can adequately prove love (though many jewelers will swear a diamond comes close). If you want to impress your feelings upon someone special, carefully consider what they might actually need before bringing out the bankcard. Caring means providing what your significant other really wants without them ever requesting it. Most importantly, remember that your sentiments are more sincere when accompanied by acts of kindness.
Of course, Lunchsense suggests…lunch. Perhaps a Chicken Caesar Salad, wedge of French bread, orange slices and chocolate truffle. Make it any day, include a sweet note and you’re positively proving how much someone is loved.
I know, it’s not Tuesday, it’s Friday. ‘Sorry ’bout that, I got busy.
As promised, here’s my favorite cookie from the Advent Cookie Calendar I wrote about last week.
Tuiles (’tweeluhs’, French for ’tile’) are thin, crisp wafer cookies. Popular and versatile, this version is a complete sensory experience: delicate and curved like a roof tile, pale in the center and flecked with brown and green, then golden around the perimeter; scented like a garden in summer; crisp and crumbly at first bite and tenderly chewy towards the center, with a heavenly, buttery, herbal flavor.
Thankfully, they are not only easy to create, they convert to gluten-free with ease. Here’s the recipe:
Lavender Tuiles, as offered by Saveur.com
3/4 C sugar
1/4 t salt (Saveur specifies kosher; I used table salt)
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 C dried lavender (I used fresh, and about half that much, and straight out of the garden, and I chopped it finely. It worked well.)
4 T unsalted butter, melted
3 T flour (converted: I used a gluten-free flour mix, and added 1/4 t xanthan gum.)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together sugar, salt and egg whites until smooth. Add lavender, butter and flour and mix until evenly combined. If using GF flour, allow the batter to rest a few minutes to allow the xanthan gum to absorb some of the moisture and do its stretchy thing.
Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto a silicon mat-lined baking sheet, and using the back of the spoon spread batter into very thin 4″ rounds. Bake until golden brown at the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and using an offset spatula or butter knife, gently lift the hot cookies off the baking sheet and drape them over a rolling pin or other curved surface and allow them to cool there.
A few more tips of my own:
- I don’t have a silicone baking mat, so I used parchment paper which worked reasonably well – I had to peel the cookies off very carefully, but they didn’t disintegrate (which is noteworthy for GF cookies).
- It’s slow going, but I suggest cooking only one tray of cookies at a time unless you have an abundance of surfaces onto which you can drape cooling cookies. The upside to this batter is that without a leavening agent it will hold well for quite awhile.
- I hear tell you can also drape the cookies into muffin tins and create bowls that would be heavenly filled with custard, fruit, whipped cream, or other filling.
- They’re wonderful in a lunchbox!
Give them a try, and let me know how they turn out for you!
This came across my sights the other day:
How American Giant Hacked the Supply Chain For years, it was cheaper to produce goods overseas. But Bayard Winthrop believes that’s changing, in part because of one big culprit: The Internet. “There’s a general growing comfort level with not only consuming online but buying things like shoes and apparel online,” says Winthrop. “I think one of the reasons we’re so excited about what we’re doing is that we’re in a new time now in that for the first time you can begin to really assess the non-manufacturing related costs. Even two years ago you couldn’t do that.”
For years, it was cheaper to produce goods overseas. But Bayard Winthrop believes that’s changing, in part because of one big culprit: The Internet.
“There’s a general growing comfort level with not only consuming online but buying things like shoes and apparel online,” says Winthrop. “I think one of the reasons we’re so excited about what we’re doing is that we’re in a new time now in that for the first time you can begin to really assess the non-manufacturing related costs. Even two years ago you couldn’t do that.”
In a nutshell, start-up clothing manufacturer American Giant, which opened its ‘doors’ this week, is doing the improbable – high quality, reasonably priced, American made clothing – by only having them available online, thereby short-circuiting the overhead of retail space, distribution, and everything else that goes into getting products into traditional brick & mortar retail.
Market forces and cultural forces have conspired against US garment manufacturing for decades. However, with that loss has been the unfortunate loss of quality and durability. Sociologist Julie Schor has verified what many of us have assumed for some time: garment prices have flatlined or dropped in the last 20 years, in large part due to cheap overseas labor but also because of cheaply made, low quality materials and deferred environmental costs. We therefore buy many more garments now than we did in the early 90’s, partly in response to the lower (real) prices, but also in part because of diminished quality and durability – the old saw “they just don’t make ‘em like they used to” is quantifiably, verifiably true in the garment and other soft goods industries.
Thanks to the reach of the internet and the comfort level we have achieved with online shopping and financial transactions, however, it’s very possible to do an end-around the biggest costs of bringing a new item to market – namely, renting retail space, hiring and training staff, or hiring sales reps to shlep your shiny new thing to stores in hopes they will add it to their inventory.
I’m really delighted to see this hit the big time, and I strongly encourage you to take a look at the link in the title of the quote above – there’s a succinct video demonstrating the plight of, and the hopefully bright future for, American manufacturing. The U.S. is full of the hand skills, the machinery, and most of all the people who can, simply put, manufacture great stuff.
I’m also compelled to say, “It’s about time somebody else caught on to what we at Lunchsense have been doing all along, and why.”
After the design for Lunchsense lunchboxes came into being and I realized I wasn’t the only person on the planet who needed a better way to pack lunches, I started scouting around for local manufacturing. I hit paydirt with Oregon Sewn Products – they are the right size in the right place and the right price, and wonderful, entertaining individuals to boot.
It’s noteworthy to temper my enthusiasm with a shot of reality, though. If everyone were to do what American Giant is doing, it would be at the expense of American retailers.
I do manufacture a fair number of my lunchboxes in Vietnam, at a factory I visited (trip of a lifetime!) and vetted for its labor standards, working conditions, and environmental initiatives. I’m pleased to say the factory not only passed muster but holds SA8000 certification. Yes, the lunchboxes I manufacture overseas cost me far less than the US made lunchboxes. They do allow me, however, to sell lunchboxes to stores, which then can sell them to you, which allows us both to make an appropriate profit in the endeavor. In other words,
I manufacture in the U.S. (and support a local manufacturer) —–> I sell to you, directly, on the internet
I manufacture overseas —–> I sell these lower cost (but identical quality) items to stores (and support a local retailer) —–> they sell to you.
Doing it this way allows me to support both U.S. manufacturing AND U.S. retailing. I wouldn’t want to cut either business type out of my model. There are plenty of folks who just want to buy a lunchbox off a store shelf, and I am happy to meet their needs. There are plenty of others who are fine with buying things online, and I’m here for them too.
Lastly, note that if you want a lunchbox assembled in the U.S., just say so in the comments field when you place your online order, and I promise you will get exactly that.
I wish American Giant all the best, and I really hope they succeed beyond their wildest dreams, because their success is my success, and ultimately, yours as well.
I was looking for something different for the Christmas season last year.
Inspiration struck in the form of the Cookie Advent Calendar provided to me by Saveur magazine. Yes, it really was just that: 24 days and 24 cookie recipes. And we made every single recipe.*
As if baking a new batch of cookies every day for 3 1/2 weeks (or just HAVING that many cookies in harm’s way) wasn’t foolish enough, I also converted them to gluten-free versions (my husband is gluten intolerant). If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, no, I don’t have too much time on my hands. I DO have a splendid assistant in the person of my 13 year old daughter-with-aspirations-to-be-a-chef, so between the two of us:
And the effort, while significant, was manageable.
Without a doubt best part – really truly even better than eating them – was the immense pleasure I found in knowing that at some point in the day, every day, we’d be dropping everything…and baking cookies.
Another treat: Each recipe would be posted at midnight, but as the mag is in Eastern Standard Time my girl and I would check every evening at 9 pm here on the West Coast and find our next day’s offering ready and waiting.
All the cookies were good, but there was indeed a range of results that traveled from, “hmm, tasty sand, that one,” to “wow! oh wow! greatgreatgreat!” Many (though not all) were of a European lineage, and they were the most interesting. We all agreed that traditionally American cookies, while good, are by comparison pretty bland, generally being dominated by one flavor: peanut butter, or cinnamon, or chocolate, for example.
The down sides:
We did our best to be true to the original recipe (gluten-free conversions notwithstanding), but at times the ingredients were challenging. Among other things I now have all but a few ounces of a rather expensive, very strong, very weird liqeuer which as far as I can tell will only go for future batches of those specific cookies they’re used in…which is, thankfully, a pretty darn good cookie. If you’re in the Eugene area and want to give them a try, call me. I’ll share. I also bailed out when the recipe called for a cookie mold that I could only find on eBay for $40. THAT crossed deep into “well this is just silly” territory.
There were too dang many versions of shortbread cookies. How may riffs on a theme can there be for butter, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla? Quite a few, we found. On that note, and on the upside…
Converting all the recipes to gluten free might be considered ‘above and beyond the call’ but it wasn’t impossible, and I’d been on the hunt for a really great shortbread cookie that worked in GF flour. I’m pleased to report that I found one! Mention in the comments if you’d like to know how I converted it. It turned out crisp, tasty, and didn’t spread a whit, which had been the recurring issue with all the other GF cookie-cutter cookies I’d tried.
After the best part, above, the next best part was that we always had something to bring to friends’ houses all month long: “What’s that you say? Laura’s having a few people over tonight? Hey, we’ll bring cookies!!” In fact, I think that’s where most of them went, in the final tally.
The last best part: We still have a freezer full of cookies. Only a few remain of each of maybe half the cookie recipes, but it’s enough to know that a sweet treat – not much, but just enough – is only a few steps away.
Stay tuned: Next Tuesday I’ll post the hands-down favorite cookie of the whole season.
*Disclaimer: Okay, fine. There were actually 25 recipes. We didn’t make the last one. It was yet another shortbread cookie, and we didn’t have the right ingredients, and it was CHRISTMAS DAY, for cryin’ out loud. We all agreed that all the Advent Calendars we knew had 24 days, not 25, so we called it a wrap at 9:15pm on Christmas Eve. Mea culpa.
Oh, my United States Postal Service. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I seriously do love the USPS, and although it’s a little embarrassing, and I occasionally feel a bit coy about this affection, it’s high time I step forth and proclaim it.
I run an internet-based business, which means I spend (as do all the rest of the internet businesses, from me up to Amazon.com) a very large chunk of my time and attention into the logistics of getting your order from my warehouse to your doorstep. After we select and fill the appropriate carton with the ordered items, we all have to consider the need for packing materials; the size; the weight; the distance to travel; the desired speed of travel; whether the recipient will be present when the order arrives, and what to do if he/she is not; whether to insure the shipment; how to track the shipment; what to do if it doesn’t arrive. It’s really pretty breathtaking, when you think about it, what goes on between that “click here to complete your order” and finding a box on your doorstep.
The USPS has been going through a rough patch lately, I know, and if it’s been difficult to understand why, I’ll try to summarize the issues, which were also mentioned here. You might have heard that the PO is looking squarely at an almost $10 billion deficit. It has come about in part because of the drop in First Class mail service thanks to the increasing popularity of online bill-paying services, the weakened economy, and competition among package delivery services. However, some of that deficit is the result of a 2006 law that required the Postal Service to prepay retiree health benefits. It is the only agency, public or private, that has been required to do so at this level – the Postal Service was required to prepay 75 years of health care coverage in 10 years’ time. Further, the USPS overpaid the pension obligations from 1972 to 2009 and has requested (but not received) a refund on their overpayment. Their deficit would become a $1.5 billion surplus if these issues would corrected; Congress is looking at bills to address them. In the meantime we face the prospect of slower service, shuttered facilities, and thousands of layoffs.
I find this heartbreaking.
So: why do I love them?
First and foremost, they are the green team of shipping.
Think about it – the postal carrier comes to your address just about every day anyway, yes? Remember that the other services have to make a special trip to deliver your package. Besides that obvious green advantage, here are a few more:
As if that’s not enough, some other things you may not have known about them:
They hire more veterans than any other civilian employer: 135,800 of their 570,000+ person workforce, according the the American Postal Workers Union.
It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the US Constitution, and does not receive a cent of tax money – all its operations are funded by the revenues it generates. It is also obligated to deliver to every single U.S. Postal address, and in many rural areas the post office is the de facto community center.
Only the items shipped via the US Postal Service have federal law enforcement protection. If you are leery of online monetary transactions and banking, there’s no safer way to deliver your personal checks.
Their annual food drive, “Stamp Out Hunger,” surpassed 1 billion lbs. of food collected in 2010 after 18 years of this annual event. Held every year on the second Saturday in May (May 12 this year) it has become a major source of non-perishables for food banks across the country.
Personally, I like the US Postal Service because I like their website better than the website of those guys in brown shorts.
And the postal carriers are the underrated masters of navigation in your neighborhood. If I’m ever in a new part of town and I’m lost, or I’m unable to find a business or a house, or if I want to find the homes for sale in a particular neighborhood, or I want to know where I can get a cup of coffee, or my gas tank is about to hit empty, I KNOW that I can ask the postal carrier and he or she will set me straight, every single time.
How can you help remedy the sorry situation the Postal Service finds itself?
First of all, use the postal service to ship packages when you can. For cross-country shipping they may be a day or two slower than the other guys for the standard, every day, ground shipping option (parcel post in USPS parlance) but you’ll probably find they are cheaper in many cases. If you’re shipping within about a 500 mile radius, you might even find the faster service (Priority Mail) is cheaper, not to mention faster than the other ground services, and their flat-rate cartons are free!
Second, buy your postage online. Besides the fact that you’ll avoid the lines at the P.O., you’ll get a bit of a discount. What’s more, it’s really easy, and even kind of thrilling to see postage come out of the printer. Even though you’ve paid for it, it feels a bit like printing money, or at least what I think printing money would feel like if I did that. The down side of printing your postage is that you may get cold stares from the unfortunates that are waiting in line at the P.O. when you breeze past them to the counter and drop off your packages.
Third, contact your congressional representative and let them know that you do care to keep the Postal Service operating at its current level of service.
So, in honor of the mighty men and women in blue stripey shirts and black socks with shorts and whatnot, I’m offering free shipping all the time to orders of $80.00 or more. That’s two lunchboxes, in most cases (for two smalls you’d have to throw in a couple extra food containers, which is usually a good idea anyway – have one at work, have one in the dishwasher). It’s the least I can do to keep those fine men and women going!
