I Am SuperWoman

Why the picture of a big pile of construction waste, you ask? Because that pile was carried from my basement into the yard by me, after I ripped about half of it out myself! We moved into this house last August and since then, there has been nothing but talk, talk, talk about what we are going to do in the basement. Meanwhile it has remained a pile of boxes and construction waste from when we fixed the plumbing. Also, the moldy walls and old shelving units, installed by the previous owners probably 30 years ago, were still there. So, I screwed up my resolve and decided to do something about it. I've spent two days ripping out a wall and a crappy built in cupboard. Hurray for power tools! Hurray for me! I am a handy woman! I can do anything! I've moved all the boxes and soon the room will be not beautiful, but usable, with an old couch and table, a rug and some curtains. The daughter will finally have the play area we've been promising her.

When I emerged from the dark basement for a break, what do I hear but the sound of the mail truck driving away? On my porch is the final package from my wonderful Secret Pal. She is Sherrill from Washington State and she has been a true Pal in every sense. I've been so lucky. In this package are two lovely balls of sock yarn, a set of circs 2mm and sock knitting instructions. Is she trying to tell me something?
Check out her blog. Baa Bonny Belle. I am very impressed with her craftiness and productivity. Particularly interesting are her entries on eating local as this has been a topic that's come up frequently in my circle as well. Not only does eating local support the local economy, but we need to think about the sustainability of importing all these modified foods from all over the world. Mass farming for North American consumption is so damaging to the environment. For example, did you know that large scale lettuce farming trashes the farmland eventually because of massive irrigation requirements and the huge amounts of pesticides. Something to think about.
Remember when Ontario peaches were an event? For 2-3 weeks every fall, we would gorge ourselves on sweet juicy peaches. People would can and bake the Christmas pie for freezing. Now, peaches are available all year round. They've been picked green, packed and shipped using how much paper and fuel? And they're hard and taste like potatoes, so what's the point?
I could go on but I won't. (This rant inspired by Sherrill, so thank her.)
Malcolm followed me about the yard as I photographed. He's awful nice!