I did, however, get up early and work in the garden, so I guess I wasn’t entirely lazy.  The garden is still stuck in a holding pattern. The beans I planted (bush and pole varieties) are still young. The tomato plants are finally starting to fruit, but not very much, and we haven’t had a single red one yet. Or yellow. One of the plants is supposed to have yellow tomatoes.

Even the zucchini isn’t really doing much this year. Usually we’re overwhelmed with squash. Now I’m lucky to get two or three little ones (4-5 inches long) for dinner.

After lots of weeding, I settled down and got caught up on Google Reader items, which is my version of reading the Sunday paper. And then after lunch I read my book (a Beatles biography) and took a nap!

So, no real challenges today — but I did notice that we’re running low on toilet paper and milk, so I’m planning an Xtracycle trip to the store in the morning.

Can you go car-free for one day? I’m doing FIVE days right now; sign up for one car-free day and I’ll match it by adding one more day to my time.

Thank you to John Metta, Jessica Weissman, Kathy Baxter, Juan Roman Magdaraog and Melody Murray! Please remember to leave a comment about your experience or post your own blog entry.

I was surprised that many people who responded said that they were already car-free all or most of the time.  I guess that makes sense, given that you’re actually reading this blog!

I’m scheduled to start tomorrow; five days will take me through Thursday.  Tomorrow I was thinking about taking the family to an event called Trek in the Park, where live actors re-enact an episode of the original Star Trek Series. It’s a free event, but attending would cost us $14 in bus fares round trip (or 15 miles on bikes, which I don’t think is doable for us). So, we have to decide whether it is worth it.

I’ll keep you updated.

ONE MORE! Adding Aaron Walker to the mix for 6 total days.

I’d never thought about it much before, but Confederate history is part of my family’s history, too.  My maternal grandfather’s family originated from the southern states.  My aunt recently forwarded to me a history (written by a cousin) of my great-great-great grandfather’s Civil War service — in the Confederate army. And he’s not the only ancestor who served on that side.

I’m always interested in family history, but this case is a little different. Is it something to be proud of, or should I be ashamed? I have no idea. I don’t think I can even frame it in those terms. For one thing, I didn’t know the man, and I don’t know anyone who did (he died in 1909). So I know nothing of his motivation for fighting in the war.

Great-Great-Great Grandpa Russell served in the 42nd Regiment of the Mississippi Volunteers.  In his pre- and post-war life, he was a farmer with a wife and children (14 children with two different wives!). He never rose above the rank of Private; he was probably just one of many ordinary men in Mississippi.

No doubt Russell thought he was doing the right thing by serving in the army, whatever his reasons were. But thinking it’s so doesn’t necessarily make it right, no matter how sincere you are.

My cousin included the text of a letter Russell wrote to his wife. He wrote with obvious affection, which is good to see:

My dear Melvina I will have to close as I havnt time to rite more  I will have a chance to send this by hand by one of the 17 Miss.  I wante you to write if you pleas for I havent recvd a letter from you sence in June…

But he also says this:

I am so vary tierd of the way we have to liv lying in brest works I haven’t had but 2 clean shirts in 2 months I am vary black and dirty and stink as bad as a negrow…

Ouch.  So he clearly also shared the prejudices of his time and place in history.

And that leaves me with mixed feelings. While I certainly recognize that Russell was wrong in saying things like that (believe me, I winced while reading it), and that the Confederacy was wrong in defending slavery, I don’t hate or condemn my ancestor for it, either. And while finding out more about family history is fascinating, I don’t feel like celebrating this part of it, either.

I do have to agree with the view that it’s a good idea to know history, though. Not just so that we won’t repeat it, but so that we understand who we are as a society, and how we got to be this way.

On that note, fellow blogger Gunfighter will be taking a look at some incidents in Confederate history in a decidedly non-celebratory way. I’m interested in seeing what he has to say. You might want to take a look as well.

However, I started thinking about it, and I really DON’T like the image of myself teetering along a rooftop, or walking a tightrope. Nor to I like to think of myself carrying a heavy bag on each shoulder in an attempt to remain balanced.  And I am definitely NOT a scale.

Yes, it’s just a saying – but I believe the way we think about these things matters. If I keep visualizing myself barely staying on the tightrope, I’m going to be scared and stressed out, and that is definitely not healthy.

So how can I visualize my life and manage all of the different demands it brings me?

Story is one way, and it’s something I’m learning more about. What is my story right now, and what do I really want it to be? How do my job, child-rearing, housekeeping, marriage and writing all fit into my story?  And how am I part of the larger story of God and the universe?

Big questions.  And I’m starting to find answers. I’m cooking up something on the writing front, and have a long-term goal in mind. But I think finding my story is about more than just goal-setting. I mean, a story is supposed to have a plot, and a theme, and a conflict to overcome.  It’s not just a steady plod toward a goal.

The glimmerings are there, in my head. I just have to put it all together.

I had this post half-written when I found that Chris Brogan was asking people to post about the importance of story in their lives. And he’s offering free books, so I figured I’d better get it done!  This post was also partly inspired by Christina Katz’s piece on balance in her weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. And further inspired by a retreat I attended with Narrative Actualization.

Actually, I’m suddenly wondering whether balance is really a good metaphor for life after all. I’ll have to think about that more.

But for now, here you go:

Author Christina Katz (The Writer Mama) recommends A Lovely Little Book About Claiming the Physical, Mental, and Emotional Space You Need to Write. Christina also has a new ebook out, Author Mama.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi interviewed Katz earlier this year on Time Management For Writers.

Fellow Portlander Katy Wolk-Stanley recently noted that control is an illusion.

And here’s a post from Zen Habits on The Lost Art of Solitude.

Good night!

What I really hate, though, is that I’m afraid to say this because I’m afraid it will make me a target. Someone will decide I just don’t have a sense of humor, and I really just need to lighten up, and perhaps they can help me with that. Or they’ll just be cruel because they think I’m humorless and deserve to be mocked.

I get humor, people. I even retweeted a ProBlogger April Fools’ Day post yesterday, because I did find it funny. Darren Rowse didn’t go out of his way to make people really believe that he’d sold out to Google.  The end of the post tells you it’s a Foolish piece, if you didn’t get it before.

I read pieces from the Onion, too. They’re funny. What I don’t like is when someone deliberately tries to make people believe something and then laughs at them. This doesn’t only happen on April Fools’ Day. A few weeks ago, malicious Twitterers pretending to be the New York Times obituary page told people that first Dick Cheney and then Gary Coleman were dead (believable at first because each had been hospitalized). Yes, I believed the Gary Coleman tweet at first, and was really annoyed when I found that it was false — not because I adore Gary Coleman (I don’t), but because I don’t like getting fooled. And I didn’t like it when the perpetrators told me that yes, it was funny and I should lighten up.

In a more recent incident, yesterday, the student council at Fargo North High School in North Dakota decided it would be funny to have the assistant principal announce that prom had been canceled due to previous bad behavior.

What’s funny about that? They did it a day early, so that fewer people would suspect, and they actually had students in tears and parents calling school administrators.  And the administrators went along with it until they decided they’d gotten enough calls — about an hour into the day. They’d intended to let it go until 2:00.  The assistant principal is quoted as saying it was a “great, great, great joke.” And the article says everyone was laughing by the end. Really? Are you sure?

If you can make me laugh with you, great. If you want to laugh AT me, I’m not amused.

1. Decluttering the house. We have too much stuff. We’re going to do the Clean Sweep routine and pull everything out onto the lawn to decide what to keep, toss or sell.  We won’t be redecorating, just decluttering and cleaning, one room at a time.  If we don’t get them all done, that’s OK.
2. Clearing garden space. We have a big, weedy, sandy patch in our back yard. We need to clear out the weeds and either get some soil in there or put in more raised beds and some bark dust.  Well, we might be able to at least clear out the weeds. I have a new, organic,  non-toxic spray that seems to work.
3. Planting. We planted some veggies already, and they’ve sprouted a bit. The peas and lettuce are doing well. The fava beans, carrots and green onions only have a few sprouts each. We’ve also got more space in that bed to plant, so we can start more veggie seeds for later.  We could also start some herbs in pots.
4. Reading books. We all love to read. I’m sure we can make time for that. We’ll probably visit the library at least once, too.
5. Watching movies. My husband apparently intends to watch a movie every night. This probably means non-kid-friendly movies.
6. Visiting with friends. I have plans to spend time with friends in town and with some coming from out of town.
7. Playing outside. It should be nice for at least part of the break. Our middle daughter just started playing softball, and we need to get out and throw the ball around with her and the other kids.

Eek! It does start to sound like a lot. I do have ideas for how to handle it, though.

1. If we don’t finish everything, it’s OK.  If we only get two rooms decluttered, and if all we do in the backyard is spray weed-killer, that’s OK.
2. Don’t expect kids to work all day, even with the promise of a reward. Set a reasonable amount of time or a reasonable number of tasks for them to complete.
3. Balance work time and fun time; schedule a bit of both each day or alternate days. And don’t forget that work can be fun.

As a busy mom, what’s a typical day like for you?
I’m really disciplined about my time which helps me be super-productive most of the time.  After I eat breakfast, drink coffee and help kids get off to school by 8:30, I take my dogs for a walk in the woods, often with a friend (this is my prime social and exercise time) for 45 minutes to an hour.  Then I spend most of the day from 9:45 to 3:30 or 4 working while the kids are at school, with breaks for lunch, a shower, and a snack or other sanity break.

After the kids get home I try to stay off the computer and have a little time to engage with them and/or drive them or pick them up from activities (we carpool as much as possible).  I also use the afternoon time to spend at least 30 minutes on home-related stuff like dealing with the mail, cleaning off the counter and conquering items on my to do list.  By 6 or 6:30 I’m making dinner, depending on what we’re having and what the carpool schedule is like, and we usually sit down for dinner at 7:00.

After dinner and after the kids go to bed I often read and respond to personal emails for 20 minutes or so.  I try to go to bed between 10 and 11 depending on what time I need to get up the next morning.  Of course if the kids are sick or I’m travelling or anything else comes up, the schedule gets turned upside down.

How old are your kids now? Do they help with meal preparation?
Solomon turns 13 this month and Celia is 10 (she’ll be 11 in May).  These days they have a fair amount of homework and sports and music practice so they often don’t have time to help with dinner during the week.  They usually take turns setting the table, though, and if either of them is finished with all their responsibilities they like to help with dinner.  Celia likes to make salads and loves to bake, while Solomon loves to peel potatoes and other vegetables, squeeze citrus, and other hands-on tasks.  He’s also my videographer and editor for cooking videos.

Your new book (SOS! The Six-O-Clock Scramble To the Rescue: Earth-Friendly, Kid-Pleasing Dinners For Busy Families) focuses on making meals more environmentally friendly. What else would you like to tell us about the book?
I’m really excited about the new book—it comes out next month, just in time for Earth Day.  The book has new recipes (about 300 of them) and some great strategies for growing your own herbs, composting, eating sustainable seafood and more meatless meals, deciding when to buy organic, and other earth-friendly tips and suggestions.  It’s also seasonal to help you shop locally and enjoy the best flavors, and it has a fabulous seasonal fruit and vegetable chart to help you plan your meals and grocery lists.

Do you have any plans for adding breakfast and lunch menus to The Scramble?
Not at this time, but we may be adding a dinner party planning feature and we have a new app coming out soon to help people use their grocery lists and menus on their iphones and other “smart” phones.

Thank you, Aviva! SOS! The Six-O-Clock Scramble To the Rescue comes out April 13, 2010 and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com (affiliate link).  If you’re interested in trying The Scramble meal-planning service, use the promo code GLKAT4852 to get $3 off on a 6 or 12 month subscription. I don’t get anything for recommending it, and I don’t get anything if you sign up. I’m just a satisfied customer.

Here’s how our evenings go: I leave work somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00. I weave through neighborhoods and past traffic on my Xtracycle (rain or shine), and pick up my two older daughters at their after-school program.

I ride home carefully with both girls on the back of the Xtracycle.  We check the mail and park the Xtracycle in the garage.  By this time, it’s probably almost 5:30.  If I’m feeling energetic, I start getting dinner ready; if not, I take a few minutes first.  My husband picks up our youngest at daycare, and arrives home soon after we do.

And yet most of the time, we eat tasty, healthy dinners with fresh fruits and vegetables.

I don’t know if I could do it on my own. I mean, I could, but The Six-o-Clock Scramble is what really keeps me going.

The Scramble is an online meal planning service. For about $5 per month (depending on the length of your subscription), you get five pre-planned dinner menus each week, along with a complete shopping list.

Do I always like the menus provided? Do they always work for me? No! And that’s why The Scramble is really cool.  It’s super-easy to swap out a meal you don’t like for one that you do, and create a custom menu plan. The website will create a custom grocery list based on the recipes you choose (although you do have to choose from the ones on the site; you can’t put in your own).

Sometimes I even skip the whole weekly menu and create my own custom plan. For instance, one week I looked at the calendar and knew that I wouldn’t have time to mess with anything unfamiliar or time-consuming. So I went to my saved recipes (yes, you can save your favorites) and chose five easy, familiar dinners that everyone likes.

You can also search the recipes on the site for specific dishes. You can search for certain ingredients, or for low-fat, low-sodium, meatless, etc.

All of the recipes on the site are designed to be healthy. Goldfarb usually keeps the salt content down (and of course you can leave out salt in most things if you need to). She also includes significant helpings of fruits and vegetables. Most of the main dishes contain 1-2 servings of fruits or vegetables, and she also includes side items, which are usually fruits or vegetables.  I often reach the grocery store checkout line with more produce than anything else, which pleases me.

What are the meals like? Tonight we had maple-soy glazed salmon with rice and stir-fried sesame-soy broccoli. Another family favorite is Italian Sausage Linguini with Grated Carrots, served with a green salad.  Most take 30 minutes or less to prepare.

Could I find good recipes and make my own grocery lists? Sure, but it would take a lot longer, or I’d forget to make a list and end up buying the wrong things.  The price is worth it to me.

Aviva Goldfarb is the founder of  The Six-o-Clock Scramble and the author of a cookbook by the same name. Come back Monday for an interview with Goldfarb, including information about her newest cookbook, to be released 4/13/2010.

Visit The Six-o-Clock Scramble website for more information or to subscribe.  Want to try it? Use the promo code GLKAT4852 for $3 off a 6 or 12-month subscription. I don’t get any compensation for recommending The Scramble, nor do I get anything if you sign up. I just love it, so I’m telling you about it!

Then, this past week I saw a suggestion from the local Master Gardeners’ twitter account:

Cover crop that feeds nitrogen to your soil? Plant fava beans now for spring eats, plant tomatoes when they’re done. Bam! Bam!

That sounded good. I Googled “how to grow fava beans” and found Harvest to Table, which told me that fava beans are a perfect cool-weather crop.  The site also told me how to plant and grow the beans, how many to plant per person in the family, and that they can be eaten fresh or can be frozen, canned or dried. I already knew that fava beans could be used to make both hummus and falafel, which are favorites of mine.

I didn’t, however, click the link for how to prepare and cook broad beans and fava beans. It didn’t worry me. I’ve cooked beans before.  So we planted them on Saturday. But on Sunday, my sister asked me “Have you ever actually cooked fava beans before?”

“Um, no,” I answered. “What?”

“Aren’t those the ones you have to shell twice?” my mother interjected cheerfully.

“Yes,” Wendy answered, explaining that while you’re supposed to be able to just eat them unshelled when they’re young, with mature fava beans “you have to shell them and then cook them and then shell each one individually.”

Uh oh.  We didn’t say any more about fava beans.  I looked it up later on Harvest to Table, and it’s true. Mature fava beans have to be removed from the outer pod, just like shelling peas, but then you have to cook them and “skin” them before eating.

That will be time-consuming. Perhaps we can just pre-cook them all and have a skinning party!

I’m still pleased to be gardening again.  And it’s not just fava beans. We’ve got an 8 X 8 raised bed (it’s the one that had pumpkins last year), and this time I’ve divided it down the middle with a small footpath, and then into squares à la Square Foot Gardening with twine.  My youngest helped me set up the squares; she handed me nails and cut the twine with scissors.

One row of squares is all fava beans, planted four seeds to a square.  There’s also a square each of carrots, lettuce and scallions. We planted these with some old-ish seeds to see if the seeds are still good. If they are, we’ll plant more (and if they’re not, we’ll open a less old-ish packet).  And we planted peas along the wire trellis.

In addition, the daffodils are blooming! I don’t do flowers in a big way, but I do like to have something blooming, and the daffodils are super-easy (as in, I do nothing whatsoever with them except deadheading).

I know some of you probably live in the land of still-frozen ground (I’m in zone 8, by the way), but is anyone else planting or starting seeds now?

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Photo credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodista/ / CC BY 2.0