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Dad - September 11, 2018

Tom Francis - Thomas McKay Francis - Dad - passed away suddenly this afternoon. I was fortunate to have seen my parents twice this summer, the last time only a few weeks ago at 'camp'. In return for all he gave us over the last 50+ years, I was able to fix his computer when needed, help him move a thing or two when visiting, fix a roof or build something, and give him some things to talk about with friends, but not much else. He was a rock, a very calm and collected rock, methodical, never rushed. He was thoughtful and generous, and he was a great dad who moved gracefully through life. I regularly think of the many skills, and the knowledge and care that I possess that is directly attributable to him... and the confidence to take anything apart and usually to fix it, sometimes within a few years, but often much quicker. I'm not sure how he'd have felt about this post - he checked Facebook, but didn't participate, though he often knew what was going on be...

Too much of nothing...

I wake up daily to the marvel of this world full of possibilities, miracles really, like the chestnut tree blooming in the back yard and scenting the entire yard with it's utterly natural perfume. That's wonderful, but a question haunts me, and I suspect it haunts many people when not distracted from everything I write about below. What is all this distraction with growth and stuff? I like stuff... and have too much stuff, but I'm talking about commerce, economics, the world of products and choices. More products are being added to stores, more techniques to entice shoppers to buy little pickup items they don't need, more 'styles', more 'NEW!' slogans, more claims of improvement, more smaller portions in more packaging, and more solutions to problems we don't have, like fidget spinners. Imagine a time before there were 12 brands of pasta sauce and 12 choices of flavors for each brand. And the problem I have with all of this is three-fold: One ...

SPUG - another great, telling moment in history

This year, my favorite call to counter capitalism came via Treehugger online... http://www.treehugger.com/culture/brief-history-society-prevention-useless-giving.html . It's about a 1912 effort to curb useless giving at Christmas, but you can read all about that at Treehugger... Each year, something surfaces in the media about over-consumption at this time of year. Our family has, for the most part, shed gifts, since we're spending the second half of our lives trying to get rid of useless, shiny stuff that nobody wants or ever wanted, but that someone felt compelled to give. I prefer the gift of beauty that arrives unexpected, and that accompanies us every day in our families and friends. What's eye-opening about this story from Treehugger is that it demonstrates the ability of a few to get a message to a community, then to the nation, and the demonstration of the right of a person to stand up and speak his/her mind and truth, a right we seem to have nearly forgotte...

Nectarine juice

You must let the juice drip down your chin at least once. It is quite therapeutic, I think. I find myself neatening up, frustrated when I drop a berry on the floor... 'argh, gotta wipe that up!', and when I am busy, that dust that builds up in so short a time and must be sucked up and away to keep a keen house is just another source of angst. Today, I was in the middle of a project, but hungry, and saw the nectarines on the counter watching me work. I reached over and grabbed the softer of them, and took a bite. I was doused with sweet juice, my beard now sticky and the window where it squirted eyeing me, waiting for my reaction. It was a learning experience, a life lesson, and I smiled to myself and to the walls and thought, 'hey baby, let the juice flow.' If you've read my 'other stuff', you are probably wondering what I am on about, but soon you'll nod and know. Last week I was out returning home from a midweek appointment and decided to t...

Easy peasy, saving the world

One bite at a time, I'm saving the planet. In a past blog, I noted some of the rather mundane things I do to save/conserve energy, most of which are just plain old energy saving common sense. Like hanging clothes out. When I can't, I dry them with air - it's the heating element that really soaks up the energy, so put it on low/off and dry with cool air. It works! This is me gearing up to hang clothes. I have a 50 gallon drum under one gutter downspout, and the other night, in a single night of combined storms and light rain, it filled that bucket to the brim and overflowed. Today, I dipped a bucket in and watered all my gardens with that water. Which brings me to my favorite environmental trick. Gardening - not necessarily for show, but for food. With pretty minimal purchases (some organic garden soil) I managed to raise enough lettuce and arugula to have fresh salad whenever I want, while also able to give some away. Cukes started coming two days ago, I've had...

The next blush

It's upon us, the next series of blushes, nature ripening another round of fruits, flower, vegetable... The tomatoes are showing the first color, the wild blackberries are ripening one at a time, but there are thousands. Look closely, there are large diagonal raindrops in this picture. The peach lily is blooming as if aroused to a new height this year, perfect weather, rain, sun, balance. This is one of my favorite flowers of all time, and now, I wait each year for them to bloom. This year they are welcoming July again, right on time. The cucumbers are coming alive too, dozens of flowers, a few cukes ready for the weekend.