Showing posts with label joey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joey. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Doctor of Love
Recently Pope Benedict XVI declared that we are soon to be honored to have two new saints declared doctors of the Church. The two saints are St. John of Avila and St. Hildegard. I must confess, as much as I am excited about having new doctors, I am ignorant as to who they are and what they've written. Though I suppose that part of the point of naming these saints as doctors is to encourage the faithful to explore their writings and teachings after all.
As I got to thinking about how I knew so little about them I also began to realize how little I know about the 33 doctors we currently are blessed with. I know that the doctors have each given some new light to mysteries of God and of the Faith, as such they have been bestowed with titles such as The Doctor Grace, in the case of Saint Augustine. Some are much more particular like Saint Bede the Venerable who is the Doctor of English History (though his contributions to philosophical and theological study are certainly well beyond the bounds of either time or geography).
In my search to find more charisms and therefore, titles, of the doctors I found that St. Therese of Lisieux is not only the Doctor of Confidence, but also the Doctor of Love. Having heard this I couldn't help but to come up with the following design for a T-shirt and sticker:
Being that I am still in the (albeit final) stages of printing up the Communion with ROME gives me Extraordinary Form shirts and stickers I am not yet in the active production of the above design. However, don't let that stop you from voicing your opinion.
Is this a shirt or sticker that you'd like to exist? If they were to exist would you buy them? Did you know that St. Therese is the Doctor of Love or did you just think that was a title reserved to KISS fans trying to impress their old ladies? If St. Therese is the Doctor of Love is it too much of a stretch to call her the O.G of Love (I know space cowboy would be too much)? Feel free to add any other mildly outdated musical allusions as well as you comment below...
As I got to thinking about how I knew so little about them I also began to realize how little I know about the 33 doctors we currently are blessed with. I know that the doctors have each given some new light to mysteries of God and of the Faith, as such they have been bestowed with titles such as The Doctor Grace, in the case of Saint Augustine. Some are much more particular like Saint Bede the Venerable who is the Doctor of English History (though his contributions to philosophical and theological study are certainly well beyond the bounds of either time or geography).
In my search to find more charisms and therefore, titles, of the doctors I found that St. Therese of Lisieux is not only the Doctor of Confidence, but also the Doctor of Love. Having heard this I couldn't help but to come up with the following design for a T-shirt and sticker:
Keep in mind that imagining the text being narrated by Barry White helps really active that double entendre hinted at by the rockin' 70's font.
Being that I am still in the (albeit final) stages of printing up the Communion with ROME gives me Extraordinary Form shirts and stickers I am not yet in the active production of the above design. However, don't let that stop you from voicing your opinion.
Is this a shirt or sticker that you'd like to exist? If they were to exist would you buy them? Did you know that St. Therese is the Doctor of Love or did you just think that was a title reserved to KISS fans trying to impress their old ladies? If St. Therese is the Doctor of Love is it too much of a stretch to call her the O.G of Love (I know space cowboy would be too much)? Feel free to add any other mildly outdated musical allusions as well as you comment below...
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Recipe: Turkey Gizzard Pot Roast
This is a gizzard.
"Um... I see the picture, but... seriously, what's a gizzard?" You may be asking yourself.
Its kind of like a birds set of teeth. I know, it looks nothing like that, but let me explain.
A gizzard is a unique lil organ than many (all?) birds have to assist them in the digestion of their food. As you may or may not know, birds don't have teeth and as such tend to simply swallow their food whole or at best, cracked in twain. If the birds tried to digest such large pieces of hard food, such as seeds, they would at best hardly get any nutrients from it, and and worst have a killer case of constipation. So birds will go eat small bits of rock and gravel which they will temporarily store in their gizzard where this muscular organ effectively "chews" the food that the bird has already eaten by grinding it amongst the bits of gravel. Neat, eh?
Now that you've had your biology lesson for the day I'll let you in on the question of the day "So what?". So what? I got 15lbs of turkey giblets for a rockin price thats so what!
First of all, I freakin love turkey. Secondly, growing up I have fond memories of going to the store and getting a package of fried chicken gizzards. I don't know if its because I live in a less ethnically diverse part of town now, or if that was some now antiquated hold over from the Wild West but they're tough to get right now. (Incidentally, here is a great lil recipe for Fried Gizzards in Buttermilk Brine to appease either your curiosity or in my case, nostalgia.)
At Sprouts turkey giblets were for sale for $1.99/lb which isn't terrible for meat in general, and certainly isn't bad when you consider the fact that the organs are nutrient dense (especially livers). However, thanks to a little perseverance, the owning of a food-safe bucket and asking nicely, we were able to get 15lbs of turkey giblets for a mere $0.99/lb. Not too shabby and its also edifying to know that we're stocked to fulfill one of our Catholic patriotic food rules, namely using "cheap cuts of meat."
Inexpensive, nutrient dense, delicous meats? Whats not to love? Well, since the gizzard is a muscular organ used to grind food it has a tendancy to be very tough, plus there is a significant amount of connective tissue. What do you do with tough meat full of connective tissue? Did anyone say potroast?!
Without further ado: Turkey Gizzard Pot Roast.
Ingredients:
2-3lbs Turkey Gizzards
2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
1 cup Poultry Stock
1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1lb Sweet Potatoes
1 large Onion
4 stalks of Celery
In a 4-6 quart cast iron dutch oven brown Gizzards in hot Coconut Oil. It is important that you use a cast iron dutch oven because the lid needs to be heavy enough to create a hot, stewing atmosphere inside of the pot without letting heat and moisture escape.
Combine the 1cup Poultry Stock (since we had some left in our bucket o' giblets I just used 1cup of blood) Poultry Seasoning and Salt. Pour over Gizzards and bring to boil.
Meanwhile, peel and cube Sweet Potato, cut Onion into wedges and cut Celery at a bias.
Add half of vegetables to meat. Place in 300 degree oven for 3 hours or until tender, adding water occasionally if necessary.
At this point all of the sweet potatoes should have effectively broken down and, along with the now liquified fat and connective tissue from the gizzards, created a delicious gravy.
Add remaining vegetables and return to oven for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Serve on a platter and enjoy the deliciousness that ensues.
Due to the nature of organ meats, gizzards actually have a somewhat beefy taste (eg. minerally and mildly metallic) I won't pretend that this is a recipe that would fool anyone into thinking that they actually were eating beef pot roast but I do think that this is a splendid way to introduce "cheap cuts" of meat into your family's diet without having to convince anyone to eat it.
Its kind of like a birds set of teeth. I know, it looks nothing like that, but let me explain.
 |
| (photo credit) |
Now that you've had your biology lesson for the day I'll let you in on the question of the day "So what?". So what? I got 15lbs of turkey giblets for a rockin price thats so what!
First of all, I freakin love turkey. Secondly, growing up I have fond memories of going to the store and getting a package of fried chicken gizzards. I don't know if its because I live in a less ethnically diverse part of town now, or if that was some now antiquated hold over from the Wild West but they're tough to get right now. (Incidentally, here is a great lil recipe for Fried Gizzards in Buttermilk Brine to appease either your curiosity or in my case, nostalgia.)
 |
| (photo credit) |
Inexpensive, nutrient dense, delicous meats? Whats not to love? Well, since the gizzard is a muscular organ used to grind food it has a tendancy to be very tough, plus there is a significant amount of connective tissue. What do you do with tough meat full of connective tissue? Did anyone say potroast?!
Without further ado: Turkey Gizzard Pot Roast.
Ingredients:
2-3lbs Turkey Gizzards
2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
1 cup Poultry Stock
1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1lb Sweet Potatoes
1 large Onion
4 stalks of Celery
In a 4-6 quart cast iron dutch oven brown Gizzards in hot Coconut Oil. It is important that you use a cast iron dutch oven because the lid needs to be heavy enough to create a hot, stewing atmosphere inside of the pot without letting heat and moisture escape.
Combine the 1cup Poultry Stock (since we had some left in our bucket o' giblets I just used 1cup of blood) Poultry Seasoning and Salt. Pour over Gizzards and bring to boil.
Meanwhile, peel and cube Sweet Potato, cut Onion into wedges and cut Celery at a bias.
Add half of vegetables to meat. Place in 300 degree oven for 3 hours or until tender, adding water occasionally if necessary.
At this point all of the sweet potatoes should have effectively broken down and, along with the now liquified fat and connective tissue from the gizzards, created a delicious gravy.
Due to the nature of organ meats, gizzards actually have a somewhat beefy taste (eg. minerally and mildly metallic) I won't pretend that this is a recipe that would fool anyone into thinking that they actually were eating beef pot roast but I do think that this is a splendid way to introduce "cheap cuts" of meat into your family's diet without having to convince anyone to eat it.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I'm a Winner! - Update
So we received our wonderful drawing from Reading (and chickens) the other day and its, well... awesome.
(note, just so you aren't confused, the drawing is the second image)
(note, just so you aren't confused, the drawing is the second image)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I'm a winner!
So I was over at Reading (and Chickens) the other day and noticed an awesome little contest that she was putting together in which there was a drawing for some goodies inspired by nothing more than the goodness of her heart. The goodies were sweet, but I was much more interested in getting one of her trademark drawings, so I do what any sensible person would do: pretend like the drawing included a custom drawing and put my name in the proverbial hat. (its like a situational red herring) Since she's a nice lady, and since I was the only person who was in that particular part of the drawing that I made up, I won!
After many attempts to get me to email her I finally sat down and composed the following. It was so absurd that I figured I'd share it with you all (and posting here fulfills my part of the contractual obligation at the end of the email) So without further ado: my email to Reading (and Chickens):
Thanks for graciously accepting my entry into the drawing drawing that weren't even aware you were having. And to boot I won!?!?! woohoo!
My wife seems to think a portrait of me would be fun because I'm kind of the personification of a cartoon character as it is. (fat beardo who is often holding either a baby, a dachshund or both)
However, a fun project that I sometimes subject my family and friends to is the aesthetic version of mad libs (don't have a name for it yet, maybe you can assist in that avenue). Essentially you ask 3 separate people for 3 separate words which you them must incorporate into an image (or object for that matter, but the internet hasn't come so far as to be able to deliver things of the 3rd dimension through fiber optics...yet)
To give some semblance of sense to the would be image it is permissible (read:recommended) that you give the prospective word giver a category to refine their seemingly random word choices.
To further complicate things, other individuals can supply the categories as well.
Since that is highly convoluted, lets set a scenario:
(cast of characters: Artist: a woman who percievably loves reading and chickens, Person 1: her husband a man who loves women who love reading and chickens, Person 2: her son, lover of reading sentences which include exclamation marks, Person 3: Joey, [as noted above] a fat beardo who is often holding either a baby, a dachshund or both)
Artist (to person 1): Give me a category of nouns.
Person 1: Things you'd find in the back of the fridge.
Artist (to person 2): Tell me something you'd find in the back of the fridge.
Person 2: That sticker that explains how the fridge works.
Artist: Hm...very accurate, thank you.
Artist: now give me a category of verbs
Person 2: things you'd do to a penguin
Artist (to person 3): Tell me something you'd do to a penguin.
Person 3: um.. cuddle it, I'm not sure there are any other possible answers to such a question.
Artist: touche', now give me a category of places
Person 3: places you'd never want to work
Artist (to person 1): Tell me a place that you'd never want to work
Person 1: hog rendering plant
Artist: *begins diligently working on a drawing of Joey cuddling a fridge sticker at a hog rendering plant*
See? Isn't that ingenious? It has all the esoteric class of fine art, but all of the shenanigans of blog art.
(rereads the above email)
Ok, on second thought, just post and illustrate the above email, that would be super entertaining.
I'll post it on my blog if you post it on yours!
After many attempts to get me to email her I finally sat down and composed the following. It was so absurd that I figured I'd share it with you all (and posting here fulfills my part of the contractual obligation at the end of the email) So without further ado: my email to Reading (and Chickens):
Thanks for graciously accepting my entry into the drawing drawing that weren't even aware you were having. And to boot I won!?!?! woohoo!My wife seems to think a portrait of me would be fun because I'm kind of the personification of a cartoon character as it is. (fat beardo who is often holding either a baby, a dachshund or both)
However, a fun project that I sometimes subject my family and friends to is the aesthetic version of mad libs (don't have a name for it yet, maybe you can assist in that avenue). Essentially you ask 3 separate people for 3 separate words which you them must incorporate into an image (or object for that matter, but the internet hasn't come so far as to be able to deliver things of the 3rd dimension through fiber optics...yet)
To give some semblance of sense to the would be image it is permissible (read:recommended) that you give the prospective word giver a category to refine their seemingly random word choices.
To further complicate things, other individuals can supply the categories as well.
Since that is highly convoluted, lets set a scenario:
(cast of characters: Artist: a woman who percievably loves reading and chickens, Person 1: her husband a man who loves women who love reading and chickens, Person 2: her son, lover of reading sentences which include exclamation marks, Person 3: Joey, [as noted above] a fat beardo who is often holding either a baby, a dachshund or both)
Artist (to person 1): Give me a category of nouns.
Person 1: Things you'd find in the back of the fridge.
Artist (to person 2): Tell me something you'd find in the back of the fridge.
Person 2: That sticker that explains how the fridge works.
Artist: Hm...very accurate, thank you.
Artist: now give me a category of verbs
Person 2: things you'd do to a penguin
Artist (to person 3): Tell me something you'd do to a penguin.
Person 3: um.. cuddle it, I'm not sure there are any other possible answers to such a question.
Artist: touche', now give me a category of places
Person 3: places you'd never want to work
Artist (to person 1): Tell me a place that you'd never want to work
Person 1: hog rendering plant
Artist: *begins diligently working on a drawing of Joey cuddling a fridge sticker at a hog rendering plant*
See? Isn't that ingenious? It has all the esoteric class of fine art, but all of the shenanigans of blog art.
(rereads the above email)
Ok, on second thought, just post and illustrate the above email, that would be super entertaining.
I'll post it on my blog if you post it on yours!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Saturday Aesthetic Expression: Guy Fawkes Day
Editing error- Post written by Joey on Brittany's account. We're so "one" we write for each other now!
Today is celebrated throughout Great Britain as "Guy Fawkes Day". When you think of Guy Fawkes, what do you think of? As an American the only thing that comes to mind is fireworks (well, that or V for Vendetta)
But why on earth do those Brits set off explosions on Guy Fawkes? Cause that's what he did, well...tried to do.
Guy Fawkes was a convert to Catholicism after his mother married a Catholic when his father died when he was 8 years old. But he lived in England when being a Catholic was not exactly safe. So he moved to Spain for awhile and fought for the Catholic Spainards during the 80 years war before returning home to try and "replace" Queen Elizabeth with a Catholic monarch and return England to the Church. Well, that kind of backfired- with imprisonment, torture and execution.
Anyway, we're Catholic, and not so fond of all the bad things Queen Elizabeth and her ilk did to British Catholics like Fawkes, St. William of York and countless other untold martyrs for the Faith. Today the protestant Brits celebrate his defeat by burning effigies of the Guy Fawkes and of the Pope, but that's crazy cuz the Pope is great. Queen Elizabeth on the other hand was a bit of a tyrant.
And you know what they say in ol' Virginny (where Brittany hails from),
"Sic Semper Tyrannis" or in other words:"thus always to tyrants" or in
other, other words "this is what yer tyrannical ways'll get ya".
I made our effigy of Queen Elizabeth, though before the addition of the portrait of Elizabeth (printed draft quality of course) it was running precariously close to being a little too blair witchy. I dunno, you be the judge.
In addition to the creation of the effigy, we also decided to rewrite the traditional Guy Fawkes Day children's rhyme:
So yea... there is a long tradition of exacting vengence upon those whom you revile or, in the least irritate you, throughout art history. You don't have to know a lot about the interpersonal relationships of Michaelangelo to guess that the fella he painted in hell with the ears of an ass and a snake biting him was probably not "besties" with the famed sistine chapel painter.
Symbolism is such a great thing. I mean, its way better to paint a guy with a snake biting his "special area" than it is to punch him in the face. Less violent, and a vengence that lasts the ages. That guy is long dead, but everyone is still quite clear of how Michaelangelo felt about him.
Similarly with Queen Elizabeth, I'd much rather burn an effigy of her to abate my personal vengeance and pray for her soul to be spared from God's Justice by His Mercy than the alternative.
Today is celebrated throughout Great Britain as "Guy Fawkes Day". When you think of Guy Fawkes, what do you think of? As an American the only thing that comes to mind is fireworks (well, that or V for Vendetta)
 |
| (photo credit) |
 |
| (photo credit) |
Guy Fawkes was a convert to Catholicism after his mother married a Catholic when his father died when he was 8 years old. But he lived in England when being a Catholic was not exactly safe. So he moved to Spain for awhile and fought for the Catholic Spainards during the 80 years war before returning home to try and "replace" Queen Elizabeth with a Catholic monarch and return England to the Church. Well, that kind of backfired- with imprisonment, torture and execution.
 |
| (photo credit) |
Anyway, we're Catholic, and not so fond of all the bad things Queen Elizabeth and her ilk did to British Catholics like Fawkes, St. William of York and countless other untold martyrs for the Faith. Today the protestant Brits celebrate his defeat by burning effigies of the Guy Fawkes and of the Pope, but that's crazy cuz the Pope is great. Queen Elizabeth on the other hand was a bit of a tyrant.
 |
| (photo credit) |
I made our effigy of Queen Elizabeth, though before the addition of the portrait of Elizabeth (printed draft quality of course) it was running precariously close to being a little too blair witchy. I dunno, you be the judge.
 | ||
| (photo credit) |
Remmember remember the fifth of November
revolution and freedom besought.
I see no reason why tyranny's season
Should ever be forgot...
So yea... there is a long tradition of exacting vengence upon those whom you revile or, in the least irritate you, throughout art history. You don't have to know a lot about the interpersonal relationships of Michaelangelo to guess that the fella he painted in hell with the ears of an ass and a snake biting him was probably not "besties" with the famed sistine chapel painter.
 | |||
| (photo credit) |
 |
| better to burn in these fires than in the eternal ones |
Similarly with Queen Elizabeth, I'd much rather burn an effigy of her to abate my personal vengeance and pray for her soul to be spared from God's Justice by His Mercy than the alternative.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Make It! - Plaster Sculpture
It mentions in our tagline that I'm an artist, but I'm sure most of you are like, "sure buddy, so where's the art?" Well, here is a little taste:
Short of some sanding and staining this plaster sculpture is essentially finished. Technically this piece is an example to show to my students which I teach art to through a local homeschooling cooperative but I am so pleased with the final result that I may make a mold of it for a future ceramic installation.
This month rather than creating work (which I love) I think that my primary "make it" has more to do with instilling a sense of beauty and creative expression in my students. Currently I am teaching Introductory Ceramic Handbuilding to a group of 15 elementary aged students as well as Art Design and Fabrication Fundementals to a class of middle-high school students. In early November I will also be taking on a brief 3 week workshop with 20 students elementary-high school.
I love teaching.
Even more I love teaching art.
Even, even more I love teaching art to kids.
With that in mind, any locals who are interested, I offer semester long and workshop length classes to students ranging in age from 5-adult. I can either go to a location (such as the case with the current co-ops) or I also offer classes out of my studio which is equipped with a wheel, a kiln, sundry handbuilding/carving/shaping tools and of course, the requisite studio dachshund.
While the focus of my passion (and fine arts degree) is ceramics (handbuilding, throwing and moldmaking) I also offer multi-media concept design and fabrication classes from beginner-advanced.
For those that want something less intense, with less committment I also have a ton (literally) of molds which are available for "paint your own pottery" type sessions/parties.
I offer a 10% discount to fellow Catholics as well as donate an additional 10% to charity, for those that are interested.
Finally, one "make it" that Britt and I have been discussing lately is to actually put together a more legit website for me, so stay tuned for that, which will give more images and access to my work as well as provide more details regarding my workshops.
Short of some sanding and staining this plaster sculpture is essentially finished. Technically this piece is an example to show to my students which I teach art to through a local homeschooling cooperative but I am so pleased with the final result that I may make a mold of it for a future ceramic installation.
This month rather than creating work (which I love) I think that my primary "make it" has more to do with instilling a sense of beauty and creative expression in my students. Currently I am teaching Introductory Ceramic Handbuilding to a group of 15 elementary aged students as well as Art Design and Fabrication Fundementals to a class of middle-high school students. In early November I will also be taking on a brief 3 week workshop with 20 students elementary-high school.
I love teaching.
Even more I love teaching art.
Even, even more I love teaching art to kids.
With that in mind, any locals who are interested, I offer semester long and workshop length classes to students ranging in age from 5-adult. I can either go to a location (such as the case with the current co-ops) or I also offer classes out of my studio which is equipped with a wheel, a kiln, sundry handbuilding/carving/shaping tools and of course, the requisite studio dachshund.
While the focus of my passion (and fine arts degree) is ceramics (handbuilding, throwing and moldmaking) I also offer multi-media concept design and fabrication classes from beginner-advanced.
For those that want something less intense, with less committment I also have a ton (literally) of molds which are available for "paint your own pottery" type sessions/parties.
I offer a 10% discount to fellow Catholics as well as donate an additional 10% to charity, for those that are interested.
Finally, one "make it" that Britt and I have been discussing lately is to actually put together a more legit website for me, so stay tuned for that, which will give more images and access to my work as well as provide more details regarding my workshops.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Farmer's Market Monday
 |
| Farmer's Markets are so pretty! |
 |
| Bea's got their attention! |
 |
| Mrs. Alice and Beatrice get a good cuddle in |
 |
| Charlotte enjoys her Rocky Ford Melon with Joey |
 |
| Alicia's turn to cuddle while Mrs. Alice helps another customer |
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Taking/leaving a Dump.
*sips a glass of homemade wine made from the fruits of our crabapple tree*
If you have talked to Britt and I over the past couple of months you'll likely have heard us muse about our plans to procure some land on the Eastern Plains and start out on a good ol' fashioned homestead adventure.One of the problems with this dream is that it would demand serious life changes of us, many of which I'm sure we can't even begin to imagine. But the ones which we do imagine are somewhat daunting.
As such, part of the impetus for us to endeavor into this month experiment is to prepare us for our hopeful move out into the wilds of the Colorado Plains. However, the motivator other than preparation is actually a beginning. Why wait to start living a life of wise use of the resources before us?
In fact, this idea led to somewhat of a change of mindset in general. Before I move out of our current urban environment, I should probably become accustomed to the unique resources which it offers; resources that are not only plentiful and available here, but in fact unavailable for those who are living out the rural homstead dream.
This of course leads me to today's long awaited discussion of: dumpsters.
First of all, we live in a city which does not provide municipal trash collection, rather our community is rife with trash collection companies, many of which offer very reasonable rates and some of which even provide pick up for recycling. That's all fine and good, but since our family caught a bit of the "sustainability" bug before we even began this blog we frankly don't produce a heck of a lot of trash. At our best, between recycling, composting, and re appropriation we were down to something like half of a garbage bag a week that was being taken away from our sidewalk. Talk about a frustrating weekly chore to have to gather all the trash particulates from around the house only to lug this measly bag out to the curb, knowing some guy I'm paying 15 bucks a month is coming to take it away. Nuts to that.
Enter: the dumpster. My folks own some property that has not only municipal trash collection but an actual dumpster which the city collects from weekly. While the dumpster is about 15 minutes away, the site is near to both of my sisters' houses, so its an easy excuse to throw a bag or two into the back of the car and huck it into the dumpster. Some more ardent sustainable types might argue that using a dumpster to dispose of trash isn't "off grid" enough, frankly not only do I disagree but I don't really care.
For me seeking an economical and ecological solution to finding resources to provide for my family is fundamentally an action of having eyes for available resources and taking advantage of them, in whatever manifestation they may come. In this case, I'm saving $15 a month, reducing the trips that our old trash collection company has to take, and all for adding no additional stress to the system. Afterall, my trash would end up likely in the same landfill or two and the city is going to dump that dumpster whether my bag of household trash is in it or not.
That takes care of dumpsters as resources in somewhat of an obvious manner and leads me to the other side of things. I'm sure that you know as well as I do that people tend to throw out things that others would consider still useful. Heck, the idea of giving someone else's trash a second life as a part of your livelihood is hardly news; bag ladies collecting aluminum cans, metal scrappers, and even entire communities of individuals have known this for years. What some of you may not entirely realize though is that there's some pretty awsome trash out there.
On my first night of dumpster diving I wasn't looking for, or really expecting to find much. When a friend of mine asked me what kinds of things I was looking for my first answer was, "knowledge" afterall, this is what this experiment is all about: being aware of resources and how to take advantage of them. Its funny that I live in a community where I don't even know what the back side of half of the buildings I walk by day to day look like, let alone what kind of little treasures can be found for free.
Thursday I was hoping to find some scrap wood, something that I could use to make some more raised garden beds in the back yard out of. Well I did find some kind of old shelving...thing in the dumpster next to a thrift store. I loaded that in the car and felt pretty proud of myself, but decided to go peruse a few more dumpster seeing what I could find. While I became aware of a few things (such as easily sourced bread from bags in Subway's trash and about 30lbs of pizza dough behind Papa Murphy's) I didn't find anything else which I was actually provoked to take home.
That is until I found myself behind a Rent-A-Center with my flashlight pointed directly on a couch. I know what you're thinking "oh boy, a couch in the trash great find Magellan". And don't get me wrong, it was a used couch. But this was no frat-boy, burlap-plaid, urine-reeking couch. This was a couch that was used in the same way a couch at a Mariott is used. Its probably had a dozen butts over the course of 6 months on it. Heck, this thing is in better shape than the first couch I obtained from Arc to impress my then new bride back when Britt and I were first married.
*shrug* if nothing else, Charlotte likes it.
I'll close this post by sharing a little secret. I know what dumpster diving is, I've even done it before but it took two local mothers to inspire me to make me really believe it to be a serious urban resource.
These ladies went from poverty which was less than what they needed to care for their families to full closets, furnished homes and stocked freezers of food, not to mention getting hundreds of dollars from reselling items, all thanks to just being aware of the free resources in their very own neighborhood. Bravo ladies, and thanks for the inspiration.
If you have talked to Britt and I over the past couple of months you'll likely have heard us muse about our plans to procure some land on the Eastern Plains and start out on a good ol' fashioned homestead adventure.One of the problems with this dream is that it would demand serious life changes of us, many of which I'm sure we can't even begin to imagine. But the ones which we do imagine are somewhat daunting.
As such, part of the impetus for us to endeavor into this month experiment is to prepare us for our hopeful move out into the wilds of the Colorado Plains. However, the motivator other than preparation is actually a beginning. Why wait to start living a life of wise use of the resources before us?
In fact, this idea led to somewhat of a change of mindset in general. Before I move out of our current urban environment, I should probably become accustomed to the unique resources which it offers; resources that are not only plentiful and available here, but in fact unavailable for those who are living out the rural homstead dream.
This of course leads me to today's long awaited discussion of: dumpsters.
First of all, we live in a city which does not provide municipal trash collection, rather our community is rife with trash collection companies, many of which offer very reasonable rates and some of which even provide pick up for recycling. That's all fine and good, but since our family caught a bit of the "sustainability" bug before we even began this blog we frankly don't produce a heck of a lot of trash. At our best, between recycling, composting, and re appropriation we were down to something like half of a garbage bag a week that was being taken away from our sidewalk. Talk about a frustrating weekly chore to have to gather all the trash particulates from around the house only to lug this measly bag out to the curb, knowing some guy I'm paying 15 bucks a month is coming to take it away. Nuts to that.
Enter: the dumpster. My folks own some property that has not only municipal trash collection but an actual dumpster which the city collects from weekly. While the dumpster is about 15 minutes away, the site is near to both of my sisters' houses, so its an easy excuse to throw a bag or two into the back of the car and huck it into the dumpster. Some more ardent sustainable types might argue that using a dumpster to dispose of trash isn't "off grid" enough, frankly not only do I disagree but I don't really care.
For me seeking an economical and ecological solution to finding resources to provide for my family is fundamentally an action of having eyes for available resources and taking advantage of them, in whatever manifestation they may come. In this case, I'm saving $15 a month, reducing the trips that our old trash collection company has to take, and all for adding no additional stress to the system. Afterall, my trash would end up likely in the same landfill or two and the city is going to dump that dumpster whether my bag of household trash is in it or not.
That takes care of dumpsters as resources in somewhat of an obvious manner and leads me to the other side of things. I'm sure that you know as well as I do that people tend to throw out things that others would consider still useful. Heck, the idea of giving someone else's trash a second life as a part of your livelihood is hardly news; bag ladies collecting aluminum cans, metal scrappers, and even entire communities of individuals have known this for years. What some of you may not entirely realize though is that there's some pretty awsome trash out there.
On my first night of dumpster diving I wasn't looking for, or really expecting to find much. When a friend of mine asked me what kinds of things I was looking for my first answer was, "knowledge" afterall, this is what this experiment is all about: being aware of resources and how to take advantage of them. Its funny that I live in a community where I don't even know what the back side of half of the buildings I walk by day to day look like, let alone what kind of little treasures can be found for free.
Thursday I was hoping to find some scrap wood, something that I could use to make some more raised garden beds in the back yard out of. Well I did find some kind of old shelving...thing in the dumpster next to a thrift store. I loaded that in the car and felt pretty proud of myself, but decided to go peruse a few more dumpster seeing what I could find. While I became aware of a few things (such as easily sourced bread from bags in Subway's trash and about 30lbs of pizza dough behind Papa Murphy's) I didn't find anything else which I was actually provoked to take home.
That is until I found myself behind a Rent-A-Center with my flashlight pointed directly on a couch. I know what you're thinking "oh boy, a couch in the trash great find Magellan". And don't get me wrong, it was a used couch. But this was no frat-boy, burlap-plaid, urine-reeking couch. This was a couch that was used in the same way a couch at a Mariott is used. Its probably had a dozen butts over the course of 6 months on it. Heck, this thing is in better shape than the first couch I obtained from Arc to impress my then new bride back when Britt and I were first married.
I'll close this post by sharing a little secret. I know what dumpster diving is, I've even done it before but it took two local mothers to inspire me to make me really believe it to be a serious urban resource.
These ladies went from poverty which was less than what they needed to care for their families to full closets, furnished homes and stocked freezers of food, not to mention getting hundreds of dollars from reselling items, all thanks to just being aware of the free resources in their very own neighborhood. Bravo ladies, and thanks for the inspiration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)