Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!
Showing posts with label back to the basics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back to the basics. Show all posts

Monday, August 16, 2010

The collapse of masculinity

Maybe it's because I live in the city and most men I know are more metrosexual than macho, concerned more with the quality of the foam on their cappuccinos and whether or not they remembered to put "product" in their hair that morning, but I know very few who actually know anything about doing anything for themselves. And, by that I mean, the ability to fix stuff, make stuff and do anything self-sufficient.

They rely on specialists for house repairs (electricians, plumbers, roofers, etc.) instead of tackling the problem themselves. They hire out yard work, preferring to spend their time reading or doing something online rather than get their own hands dirty. And, I'm mostly referring to North American males born after 1970.

Yes, there are some that still know how to chop wood and the like but, generally, skills that would prevent them from being dependent on corporate goods are lacking - unless they grew up on a farm or were raised by off-the-grid parents. I suppose the same argument could be made for girls - those skills that were traditional to women (cooking, baking, sewing, quilting, etc.) have been lost as well, although there at least seems to be a resurgence of interest, even if it is just as a hobby.

Have you noticed the same thing where you live? Are the young(er) men in your area capable of hunting, raising and killing animals and food, fixing the stove or building a house? And I'm not talking about an architect. Or are they just more interested in electronics and looking good rather than the more traditional stuff? Are we all just turning into a generation of ladies who lunch?

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Back to the basics - crazy food lady

Sunday Family Meal NightI'm going to spend the next couple of posts discussing some of my "back to the basics" lifestyle habits. No, I don't mean trying to live lightly, growing my own food and the like. You already know about that.

What I'm talking about are the things we do that are somewhat the antithesis of modern America. Primarily, we don't watch TV. The kids don't watch TV at all and only the occasional movie from our collection of maybe 8 DVDs. They just don't like watching TV for whatever reason. And we don't exactly push it. They weren't exposed at all the first two years of their lives and that probably set the stage for finding other things to do instead.

So, we need something to do to fill all those extra hours that are freed up. To start this discussion, I'll tell you about what I call "Sunday Family Meal Night" wherein any family member in the area is welcome to come over for Sunday dinner. I love to cook and this gives me a great excuse to try out new recipes from my favorite cooking magazines and books, integrating my principles of local and organic eating. This is when we set up the formal dining table, making the night seem more special than the average dinner.

At the very least my mom is in attendance. She's the gorgeous lady in the photo above. No, not the one stuffing her face in the corner - that's me. When my brother-in-law was in town for two months earlier this summer he made most of the nights. He's the one drinking the enormous beer. He recently joked after coming over that it was liked visiting the Amish since we pretty much hand-made or grew everything served.

Hopefully, my brother and his wife will be joining us occasionally once their schedules calm down a little. I suspect there will be times when it will just be my husband and the kids and me, but that's okay too.

I really look forward to these nights. It's not like we need to celebrate anything in particular to get everyone together to reconnect and enjoy each other's company. I also enjoy the planning, shopping and preparations involved. It's not so overwhelming as having a holiday, birthday or other celebration, so it's much more relaxed.

This is a great, casual way to keep in touch with people and it doesn't need to be just for family. As long as people let you know a few days in advance whether or not they are coming, it can be rather stress free. And, if you have last minute guests, they can always bring their own food, too.

By the way, I realize I dropped the ball on The Perfect Meal. I've spent many a sleepless night wracking my brains trying to figure out how I'm gonna wing this one. I didn't want to cheap-out with a vegetarian meal with just grabbing crops from the backyard and stealing some neighbors' fruit. But I don't fish, I don't trust shellfish and the thought of shooting something is beyond my grasp. I'm still working on it though...

Tomorrow, in the Back to the Basics series -- reading. (I know, what a surprise.)