This and that.....

TV dinner…..
To make a long story short, I have recently discovered that my thyroid levels have been extremely low, for quite some time, resulting in low energy and a major lack of productivity. My energy levels are on an upswing now as a result of medication, and I’m trying to get back into the groove. It’s a different groove, but a groove nonetheless. Having had 2 heart attacks, which impacted my thyroid gland, and consequently having to make some fairly major life changes, I appreciate what Reynolds Price has to say about life-altering events…..

"When you undergo huge traumas in middle life, everybody is in league with us to deny that the old life has ended. Everybody is trying to patch us up and get us back to who we were, when in fact what we need to be told is, you’re dead. Who are you going to be tomorrow?"

I know I’m a different person than I was prior to the heart attacks, and am still trying to figure out "who am I going to be tomorrow?" Maybe reinventing ourselves should be an ongoing process, no matter whether we’ve been through life-altering events or not.

All that said, last Saturday was a particularly productive day for me. Having had a long string of unproductive days, being (relatively) productive was a welcome concept. I loaded my 65 cu. ft. kiln with pots that are being glaze fired as I write this. Utilizing a quart of yellow squash puree and a quart of smoked turkey stock, along with bacon, potatoes, onions and garlic, I made a big pot of soup. I also baked a couple of loaves of whole grain bread, and mixed up dough for use later this week. After all that productivity, I vegged out in front of the TV, something I rarely do, and enjoyed my TV dinner of potato soup, homemade bread with cheese and sprouts, and my nightly glass of red wine. Aaahhhh, it’s good to have some energy again.

In other news…..
Anybody that believes the US Dept. of Agriculture is looking out for the best interests of American citizens has apparently been living under a rock. This whole Farm Bill imbroglio goes on and on, small family farms are still going under at unprecedented rates, and our kids are becoming more obese and more likely to develop diabetes. To make matters worse, there is now a small movement of support for local, ethically grown, organic, sustainable and healthy foods, BUT the USDA is doing just about everything they can to thwart the movement. Jack Hedin, a Minnesota farmer, attempts to shed a little light on this in an op-ed entitled My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables), which was published in the NY Times.