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Showing posts with label casualties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label casualties. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The plain enemy

Hello Greeen Sheeepers.  I have kidnapped this blog out of sheer desperation.  I am concerned about my wife.  You see, her behavior has changed dramatically in the last few years.  The woman who was once an animal eating, SUV driving "normal" person has turned into something else.  She says she has gone "green".  I believe it is something more sinister.  Something so dark and so disturbing that I am fearful of even talking to you about here on these electronic pages.  The boundless love for my wife pushes me on however.  Dear readers, be warned.  Look long and hard into your souls and consider your own fate before deciding to read further.  The evil forces at work may look in your direction next. 

I do not believe my wife has gone green...I believe she has gone...Amish.

That's right.  She has fallen  victim to Mennonite Mendunugu magic! 

Before you dismiss me as a crazy, insane, mad, demented, deranged, unbalanced, unhinged, mental, dotty, crack-brained, out to lunch, bananas, cuckoo, dippy, batty, daffy, loony, absurd, foolish, nonsensical, inane, ridiculous, preposterous, laughable, ludicrous, asinine, stupid, harebrained, out to lunch screw ball hater of the plain people who's cheese has slipped off their cracker, nut job, let me present my evidence:


Just a few short years ago, this was my wife.  A snowmobile racing, demolition derby driving, environment killer.  (Damn I loved that)!  Then one shadowy day things changed.  

She announced that she would no longer be using any chemicals in the house for cleaning.  I found this rather odd.  She explained that they were harmful to your health.  I rebutted as any good Republican would  that large corporations would not harm people just to make a few billion dollars. This had no effect. (The Amish infection had already taken hold). So what will we be cleaning with?  She proudly proclaimed that we would only be using vinegar!  I was confused, but seeing the proverbial writing on the wall agreed. (But only after she explained how much money it would save us).  Every day since, I come home to a house that smells like someone just got done canning pickles. 

That is a great segue to my next piece of proof.  Soon she is turning the back yard into an organic garden. (Again with the whole no-chemical business).  And what are we going to do with all of this bounty of nature?  Can it of course.  Well at least if the house is going to smell like pickles, I may actually get to eat one.  A garden needs fertilizer.  So naturally a compost pile was next to rear it's egg shell and banana peel encrusted head. 

The no chemical illness next manifested itself in the form of aversion to known bodily hygiene products.  Suddenly deodorant, soaps, and shampoos were replaced by A Dr. Bronner and his "magic" hemp oil elixir.  Even shaving cream became a victim of the good doctor.  Next the razors themselves fell prey. Exchanged for some archaic metal contraption that appears to eat the blade.  It wasn't long before deodorant fell under her scrutiny.  Good bye Secret and your powder fresh scent, hello Arm and Hammer and your...powder.  And if you don't think it could get any weirder than that...it did.  She may not enjoy me sharing this with you, but I will anyway.  She started making her own "feminine hygiene products" out of felt or something...I don't know...they are purple and kind of fuzzy.  I try not to touch them.

The move to Amishness started speeding up as the summer grew hotter.  The Maytag Neptune dryer that was once her prized possession was now an object of wasteful disdain.  Our clothes now dried non-pollutingly in the wind like sun dried nuts. And were nearly as crunchy.   But summer drew to an end as it has an annoying habit of doing.  The clothes had to move to new accommodations in the basement.  If she gets her Christmas gift request they will be joined there by a worm composter.  One can only dream.

As the cold Wisconsin winter settled in, the old fuel oil furnace in the basement came to the chopping block.  Lacking the funds to replace it with a geothermal unit the only course of action was to turn the thermostat down to 55 degrees.  If we had a fireplace, I can assure you I would be getting real familiar with an axe.  

As winter begins its slow retreat we start to dream of spring.  While most peoples heads are filled with visions of beaches and boats.  My newly Amish wife can only think of replacing my riding lawn mower with a goat.  

All electrical appliances are now plugged into power strips that must be shut off when said appliance is not being used.  Curtains are opened and lights are not turned on during the day.  I know in the deepest regions of my heart that the day is not far off when the electricity is gone forever.

I was finally compelled to face this evil menace when I discovered her making butter in the kitchen.  She was using a Kitchen Aid mixer, but the vision of her not behind the wheel of a derby car but behind a butter churn was disturbingly easy to conjure.  Do not fail to head this warning.  The threat is real.  Don't let hard work and polite manners of the Amish fool you. They exist only to lure in new members under a green guise.  


Amish Paradise - Watch more funny videos here

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Friday, February 27, 2009

Strange side effects of life at 55...


Degrees.

In an effort to curb our atrocious fuel oil consumption, mostly to reign in the exorbitant bill that inevitably comes with it, I set our thermostat at 55 degrees back in November and we have been freezing our buns off ever since.  Okay not really, but keeping our house at a constant cool 55 degrees in Wisconsin has brought about some unexpected side effects.


1.  Your plants die.
Apparently there is a reason palm trees grow in tropical regions.  Sadly, my 8 foot palm tree is half dead.  I should have pulled it into the interior of the house, but the solarium receives the most light.  I guess it needed warmth and light.  I am not sure it is going to survive the winter.

2.  Bread never rises.
Proofing dough requires warmth.  We have none, or at least very little.  Baking bread was a laborious weekend long project.  I would follow the sun; moving my bowl of dough from room to room, letting it rest on the floor in a sunny spot.  Eventually, it would end up overnight in the upstairs bathroom, seemingly the warmest place in the house.  Until you stepped out of the shower that is.  Holy sh*t it's cold in here!  Luckily, Santa brought me a bread machine for Christmas.

3. Room temperature butter.
Nearly all baking calls for room temperature butter.  Just whose room are they referring to?  Obviously not mine.  Room temperature butter in this house is still rock hard.  Frustrating to a budding baker who spends hour after hour asking, "Is this soft enough?".  Three hours is about as patient as she can be.  Her cookies always taste good, they just come out a little flat.

4.  Friends and family come equipped with their own slippers.
On the rare occasion someone is actually brave enough to visit you in "Siberia", they bring half their bedroom with them.  It did not take long for our family to start showing up with slippers in tow.  We do not wear shoes in the house, but several pair of socks and slippers are a must to prevent frostbite on your little piggies.

5.  Athletes foot.
This is something you would expect in much warmer temperatures.  All those socks and slippers I referred to above?  Pair that with leaping from the shower and getting dressed in less than 30 seconds.  Does not leave a whole lot of time for drying off.  My feet go directly from shower to socks and stay there indefinitely until the next shower.  So yeah, athletes foot.

6.  Clothes can be "forgotten" in the washer without becoming "funky".
You know what I am talking about.  You do a load of laundry late in the evening and are too tired/lazy to hang it.  I'll get it in the morning.  Morning comes and you forget all about it.  Two days later you open the washer to throw in a load and eww... What's that smell?  Funky clothes.  Damn.  Oh contrare monfrare!  Not in a cold house.  Clothes can sit in there for days without acquiring a musty smell.  Much like food in the refrigerator.

7.  Your washer freezes, along with the clothes in it.
Our laundry room is also our mud-room and entry to the house.  It is a small enclosed heated porch, but not insulated.  The only heat vent is directly beside the washer, about an inch away.  Last year this was never a problem, but then our thermostat was set slightly higher at 62.  Felt cold then, would be a heat wave now.  At 55, our furnace does not run nearly as much, which is the point, but on really cold days the washer will freeze.  Luckily we have had no accidents or broken pipes, only a few giggles when pulling frozen underwear from the washer.

8.  There is no need to apply blush.
My cheeks maintain a youthful rosy glow from the chill in the air.  I'm not just talking about the ones on my face either.  My hands, on the other hand, ha ha are an eery shade of purple.  Like a corpse, but that is another story.

9.  Steam rises from my Diva Cup.
Strange, but true.  That actually happened once and it totally freaked me out.  A sudden drop of 43 degrees and you can visibly see the temperature change.  Just like seeing your breath on a cold winter day.

10.  You are either asked, "Are you leaving?" or "Did I wake you?".
We dress in layers, lots of layers.  On any given day I am wearing long underwear, socks, jeans, multiple shirts, sweatshirt or down vest, fingerless gloves, scarf, and fleece jacket.  And of course, slippers.  But, that goes without saying.  Inevitably, surprise guests think I am on my way out.  Or, on really cold days we can be seen wandering around the house all hours in a bathrobe (over our layers clothes).  They really hold the heat in.

No, I've been up for hours.  Come on in - hope you brought your slippers.


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Friday, January 30, 2009

No use crying over spilled buttermilk.


I hope I mentioned keeping your mixer covered during my bread & butter post. This is why! This is also why you do not leave your mixer unattended while replying to comments on your posts. The irony of it all is that I was replying to a making your own butter question.

Oh, it's sooo easy. You just pour the cream in and let the mixer do all the work. You can walk away and .....shit, Shit, SHIT!


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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Shattered Dreams

Today I am lamenting the loss of a dear friend.


One of the perils of a plastic free kitchen is that things will get broken. And that's exactly what happened. I had baked a batch of Oatmeal Raisin cookies (with zucchini and banana) and had the bowl soaking in the sink. Later that evening after making dinner, I balanced our cast iron skillet over the sink, as I often do, to soak it as well. I distinctly remember seeing my beloved batter bowl in the sink below it and had a fleeting thought of maybe this isn't such a good idea. But alas, I let it pass. No one will mess with it. We're all going to bed and I am the only one who bothers with the dishes anyway. Or, so I thought.

The next morning Hubby wakes me with "I've got some bad news and you're not going to like it". Like anyone ever actually likes bad news. I already knew the inevitable. You didn't?! Yep. I wanted to chew his ass up one side and down the other. Why couldn't he leave those four plates sitting in the sink?! It not like he needed to use it. Or, was putting them in the dish washer. No! He thought he would tidy up by placing them in plain sight on the damn counter! Only for me to place them in the dishwasher as soon as I came down stairs. WTF. Was that extra move really necessary? Arrrrgh!!!! But instead I whimpered silently and shed a tear. It was my own damn fault for putting it in harm's way. He was so apologetic and only trying to help out, albeit in his own unnecessary annoying kind of way. He even asked if it should go in the recycling bin. How can I be mad at that.


So, good bye dear friend. We've had some good times - the cookies, the pancakes, giblet stock at Thanksgiving. *sigh* You will be sorely missed. *sniffle*