I totally said that wrong... my point wasn’t that I have a cool job but am so evolved that I could care less, it was that my job is often considered cool but I HATE working. All I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother but I have a husband (and his family) who feel like I should ‘contribute’. Which, DUH, I guess IS exactly what you’re talking about. But I always figured it was a financial thing, rather than a value thing.

I’ll have to ask my friends. I really thought they were like me and wanted to be home but society made them work. I am known to be a bit dense at times though, so I’ll have to do some more research on that.

And you know, it really isn’t evolved... I just don’t like people enough to care what they think. Luckily, I have a husband who is concerned enough for the both of us ;)

Good column, thanks for something for me to pester my friends about.

I’ve always wondered about the statement “the only way a person validates their personal worth is through the market place or in a “career” or profession”

Huh? Am I really that messed up that I missed that line of thinking? I go along fine and then I read something like that line and am floored. Am I missing something in that there is an entire line of women who don’t feel they have value unless they have an “important” job/career? I mean, maybe that’s so in New York City or somewhere similar, but in Portland? Even in Bend? (well, Bend... that I might see)

That’s so odd... I actually have a so-called “cool” job (I produce Outdoor Tv and Radio) but I simply don’t care. I only work because the husband says I need to, financially. It pays the bills but it’s not who I am. I am the crackpot woman who’s trying to learn to can and prepare for peak oil and figure out how to get more sun (there goes another tree) in my garden. I am not the TV producer. Yuck. Truth be told, I’m not even a very big fan of tv. :(

So, I guess the real question is whether this “self worth” issue referenced above is truly that pervasive or if it’s something we just think everybody ELSE is feeling?

Do any of you personally KNOW a lot of women who feel that way?

Holy Criminy! (I just read that it is not criminently). Your kitchen is THRASHED!

I’m not gloating, I’m feeling better about mine which looks that way most of the time.

Thanks for sharing. You’ve motivated me to buy canisters. Now if I could get my parents to provide an adult sister, I’d be set. :)

The one I miss most from my life on the ranch: The one-finger (not THAT finger) wave off the steering wheel as you meet another rig on the road. Usually accompanied with a bit of a head nod.

Sadly, it never happens in the uber-trendy phony place I live today. :(

You say: when milled properly by stone mills at cold temperatures, whole-grain flours and “cracked” grains maintain their nutritional value and retain the bran and germ.

So that’s one more thing I have to look for? Cold milled? Or something like that? Because I’m just lucky to find whole wheat or white whole wheat here.

What if it’s NOT cold milled? Then how does it compare? (sorry, you’ve become the go-to expert here)

I’ve been cooking from scratch (mostly) since January. Combined with exercise, I’ve dropped 30 lbs and feel so much better. My husband’s cholesterol has dropped drastically. I attribute this to eating right, and quite honestly, the only way I can figure to “eat right” is to cook it myself.

I do feel guilty now that I look back and realize I spent a lot of years feeding my (now adult) children processed foods and pizza. :( I can only hope they do a better job than I did.

I figure I can pay now with my TIME, or I can pay later with my HEALTH. I prefer the former.

I bake because it’s the way I show love to my husband of 23 years.
And I love food.
And the pride of knowing that we are no longer eating processed food.
And I get to wear an apron, which I find totally adorable and which gives me a strong connection to history.

Amazing!! While I’m afraid I’m a ways out from where you are (canning? isn’t that where they hit you with bamboo sticks in singapore for littering? Oh, that’s CANE-ing) I too am paring away the “don’t eats” from the “healthy choices”.

Little by little I suppose. Thanks for a great read.

OHMIGOSH!! Harriet, I’ve seen your site before and it’s what made me want to learn to preserve food this year!! I’ve even convinced the husband to let me try square foot gardening! And that was a MAJOR battle, let me tell you... I haven’t even broached the subject of getting rid of the front lawn ;)

I really like what you said above. It’s what I’ve been leaning towards and what I hope my kids can do. My son (1340 SAT, 4.2 honors student, tri-lingual) left college and is working construction and would like to find a farm internship. So there’s hope! The hardest part is convincing my husband that the kid isn’t cutting himself short by making these choices.

Thanks for sharing your information and I look forward to reading/learning more.

I use sherry-carmelized purple onions on my pizzas... those, parmesan and walnuts. Onion Heaven.

I stand corrected. It says “Compostable bags can be recycled in the city’s green garbage bins”.

It won’t be the FIRST time I’m wrong today. ‘Fraid it won’t be the last, either.

I didn’t think biodegradable would really help, since they bags are buried in landfills and won’t be exposed to the things that are supposed to make them biodegrade.

Sounds like lawmakers want to do ‘feel good’ stuff, without thinking it through. TYPICAL.

I cannot believe you didn’t include BACON. Breakfast isn’t breakfast without my friend Bacon. But french toast was a close second. ;)