Rant

     Never have I seen so much hate, so much fear and distrust, such a lack of "Christian" charity. I'm buried in negative media - TV, FaceBook, Twitter, e-mails. Even positive messages get torn to shreds by negative comments. It's starting to get me down.

     Thank goodness for 
       baby animal pics!

     What's causing all this? - intentional and unintentional misinformation, ignorance, biased media, propaganda, international affairs, insular national characteristics...?

     Many are seeing Syrian refugees as terrorists, dressed like Muslim women in burkas with machine guns tucked under their "skirts", or as jihadists with suicide bombs strapped under their jackets. Why are we so afraid? Why can't we see a family, traumatized by war, seeking asylum?

     Some view our own governments, Provincial and Federal, as crooks, out to get our money in one form of tax or another to line their own pockets, make the rich richer. Others see police forces as sinister covert agencies further restricting our freedoms. Many blame our economy on our governments, ignoring international influences beyond our borders. And there may be partial truths in all of these views.

     It seems to me that our disgruntled natures are fed by our own ignorance and/or refusal (laziness) to ferret out the truth, jumping to conclusions before all the facts are on the table. Ignorance can be taught (things like racism). It can be perpetuated by traditions, by religions, by xenophobia. If we see a video clip, an article, a meme, anything that supports our view of the world, it's easy to hit "like" and/or pass it on without fact checking, spreading fear and hate while thinking we have ours and our family's best interests at heart.

     Knowledge can alleviate fear. Knowledge can provide understanding. Knowledge can combat gossip and misinformation.

     Everyone does have a right to their opinion. Anyone who reads my blog knows I'm opinionated, and admittedly I have been guilty of hitting that "like" button on FB without checking facts, and I appreciate feedback when I do. We all have a desire to sway others to agree with us, but before we perpetuate outright falsehoods, it might be a good idea to check facts, educate ourselves, and make an attempt to broaden our viewpoint.

     Otherwise, those baby animals are really nice, and toddlers dancing, and music videos, and wildlife pics, and jokes, and good cop stories, and...











   

Gourmet Doggy Cuisine

 
    There's a gigantic pot of moose meat boiling on my stove. I've just finished cutting a 5 gallon pail of moose meat scraps (not suitable for human consumption, bloodshot, sinewy, harbouring a few pieces of grass - residue from hunting) into cubes so I can process quart jars of it in my pressure canner or freeze packets outdoors. It's been a 2 day project. By the time I neared the bottom of the pail, filled with blood as well as meat, my knife was getting dull, my feet were beginning to hurt, and I was beginning to question my resolve to preserve "found meat"* for making dog food for our 6 dogs.
      I was also thinking about hungry people - how this bonanza of "waste" meat would be sufficient to provide meals for a small village - that is if it were clean. Sadly, desperate people might not care.
      I was concentrating so hard on my cube cutting I let the wood stove go out. 90 minutes in a pressure canner, hmm, I wonder, should I really be using propane to cook this meat when the wood stove should be going to keep us warm? Better get on it! Then again, my poor back, should I be carrying a full canner of meat across the room from one stove to another to save a bit of gas?
     All of this brings me to a realization, well not really a realization because I have always known - economizing, conserving, avoiding waste - it can become an obsession, and it's hard work!
     So here I am, in the 21st century in a fully modern western country where I could easily avoid much of this work, but I do it anyway, for an ideal... Maybe I need to give my head a shake, maybe I've gone OCD over all this subsistence, off the grid life-style. Ahh well, nice to know what you can do I guess, especially when you know you don't have to. And I'm sure the dogs appreciate the effort, the oldest Border Collie especially. She hardly eats at all unless her store bought kibbles are mixed with the specialty of the house.
     Some dogs eat better than people. Some people eat dog food.

My dog food recipe:
      Amounts of all ingredients listed are approximate and quite jiggle-able. Also the size of your dog(s) play(s) a role along with available fridge/freezer space. Amount of water used is dependant on need. Try for a very thick stew when done.

1 quart of meat boiled until tender - do not trim off the fat**
      Add:
 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
 a handful of dried parsley (1 Tablespoon)
 a couple good shakes of granulated or powdered garlic
 1 quart potatoes (skins too), cubed
 1 quart carrots, cleaned not peeled, cut in pieces
 1 quart zucchini or any type of squash, cubed, not peeled
 1 cup dried beans (black, pinto, soy, lentils, white, peas, etc...not pre-soaked)
 may add a few green beans, and/or peas
      Boil until nearly tender then add:
 2 cups uncooked rice
 1 cup oatmeal, optional
     Boil until the rice is soft.

     The dried beans should be just tender enough to provide a bit of crunch to the finished dog food. Store in appropriate sized containers to facilitate the way you feed your dogs. Keep cold, freeze if kept more than a few days.

 Notes:
     I have never had this dog food analyzed so I cannot make any nutritional claims for it. I use this food along with a portion of good quality kibbles, not as a complete substitute for commercial feed.
    This dog food is not a money saver unless you use "found meat" and have a surplus of garden vegetables available.
 
*My definition of "found meat":
     Meat for dogs (who have excellent garbage eating abilities and stomachs of iron if they are treated more or less naturally and not treated like citizens of the realm) which has for one reason or another been deemed unfit for human consumption. Examples are wild or domestic butchering scraps, freezer burnt or stale dated meat, fresh road kill, animals trapped for their fur, fish heads, old farm animals, restaurant or catering leftovers. Some of these are more pleasant to deal with than others.
 ** Dogs require a fair amount of fat (especially if they live outside). Feed should contain about 18% fat.

November 9th, Winter's Here!

Lamb's in the freezer, last "Other" necessity.

North of 54 there's 2 seasons,

Winter & Other. 

In Other prepare for Winter, 

(gardening/preserving-hay-wood-wine-meat)

In Winter enjoy the fruits of Other.

Today Other is complete

Winter begins...

The Not-So-Humble Rag

     Once again I clamp my lips shut to stifle my desire to comment. I'm watching a friend react to a spill at the table by grabbing a handful of paper napkins to blot it up when the kitchen sink and a dishrag are 3 steps away. I've also seen people using large quantities of paper towels to scoop bacon grease from their fry pan when they could easily pour it into a can, then use just one piece to mop up the remaining bit. I watch TV ads showing the use of supposedly "sponge" like paper towels to clean up messes the kids make, and more ads promoting the use of disposable, scented, antibacterial cloths to wipe counters. Many folks pay lip service to our society's overuse of disposable products; shake their heads and talk about all the trees being cut down. But purchase and use of these convenient products has not followed the environmentally conscious public's idealistic thought processes.

     People are surprised when I use cloth napkins at my table. They're almost afraid to use them because they might get them dirty!  At my house we use napkin rings to identify our own napkin and toss it in the wash when we decide it's time. And, to quote a cliche, they wash like a rag.

    When most people think "rags" they think about old clothes torn up, usually cotton for better absorbency (synthetics make lousy rags). Rags like that are useful, especially in workshops and garages. If you have no cotton garments ready to toss you can often purchase rags from non-profit agencies that make money on the sale of rags. Good for these agencies to recognize "use" where waste was before and good for those who support their cause.

    Rags, in the 21st century, have come a long way! You would be amazed at some of the unbelievably absorbent, washable, reusable, super efficient wiper-uppers there are out there. One that comes to mind is advertised on TV, that shammy like rag that works pretty darn good. But my son recently introduced me to an even better, more absorbent rag, one that wrings out almost dry and picks up liquids better than any paper product on the market. (I was resistant to buy them despite his praises. He had to buy some for me.) They are so good that I use them to remove all the hard water drops from my stainless steel sink and my cooking pots, making them look clean instead of spotty. I can soak up a spill like a super vacuum cleaner! And, unlike kitchen towels which break water droplets into smaller water droplets but don't really dry, these rags actually dry things! Their only drawback is their colour (bright yellow) - they do stain easily. So I keep some for floor rags and others for counters, tables or dishes, not because they don't wash well, but because a stained rag is not pleasing to the eye.

     Why not join the yellow revolution and put a not-so-humble rag within easy reach? It'll save space in your trash bin, it'll wash like a rag, and you can, as is commonly said, be the change you want to see.