...on the mend...and dreaming in color!

So, I had surgery a couple of weeks ago. Nothing BIG or SERIOUS. Just bone spurs, but whatta PAIN, huh? Wheelchair for the first ten days or so, crutches around the house. Stairs? Well...let's just say that crawling, in a bathrobe in a medication-induced fog ain't pretty. My poor mother-in-law has seen more of my hairy nether regions than she cares to admit. Poor woman. Probably had nightmares. Anyway, I've been laid pretty low since the 26th of April. And, getting porkier, all the time. Uh huh, I'm damn near back at the weight I  was when I began this trek. Yeah, I know you're supposed to boost protein intake, in order to heal from ANY operation, even stupid little ones, but... I'm looking out my back window, and there's a little tiny bunny rabbit out there; you can JUST see his little ears. Reminds me of ME, looking at my feet; I can JUST see them, poking out from underneath me. Yesterday, I sat on the porch, and began taking loose nails out of the boards, in preparation to remove said porch for renovation. THIS morning, I think I'll continue, in an effort to again, get OFF my ass and OUT from in fronna this electronic addiction, and actually DO something that makes me sweaty and tired.

Meanwhile I've re-invented the frankfurter; of all the things a person could miss, going pescatarian, I miss frankfurters. Oh, yeah, and Lee's livers and gizzards. Possibly the three WORST things I could eat: not just organ meat, but DEEP FRIED, SODIUM-INFUSED organ meat. And hot dogs? If ya don't know what to have, eat a hot dog; they have EVERYTHING in 'em. Oh, yeah, reinventing them: I looked up 'home-made hotdogs' online, got a list of the spices, and then adjusted the weight of required meat and beef fat to the same amount of seitan. Dawn thought highly of them. As a matter of fact, she's eaten over half the recipe, for lunch this past week.  Here, try it: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1628956

I don't know if I've shared any recipes in the past, but go there; all the ones I've published are there on Spark People. Try 'em. Read 'em. Comment on 'em. Whether you're just interested in different foods, vegetable-based diets for YOUR sake, or the sake of annie-mules, or whatever reason, give it a look-see. As with this forum, I've received a couple of nice comments, which is very cool. It helps me overcome this nervousness, this fear of rejection from which I suffer.

And, speaking of rejection/acceptance...the other night, I was maundering, thinking grand thoughts, idealizing wonderful ideas, when, dreaming out loud, I said, "I wonder if Carlisle would be accepting of the idea of a COMMUNITY GARDEN?" My lifemate, my princess, my love answers back, "Whyn't you email the mayor? He's in your Facebook buddy list..."

So, I did. Emailed; set an appointment to chat with Hizzonor. Hadda reschedule. Then, last night, we met, and tabled some SERIOUS ideas. SERIOUS thought. We even went and visited the one primary site where this could happen. Can you say "PUMPED"??? Holy Mother Earth News, dude, we're all smiling as we  leave that grassy field, because a) it CAN be done! and b) the far-reaching ramifications can be ASTOUNDING.

All because my wife gave me the nudge. See what the right partner can do for you? See what having someone BELIEVE in you can do? Now, all we have to do is get it past Village Council, draft a mission statement, and get started. Maybe not THIS year; it could be too late. But NEXT year? Katie, bar the door!

When I started this blog, I had a certain direction in which I wanted it to go. Strangely enough, it's gone in the GENERAL direction, but not quite exactly where I had envisioned it. Yeah, it's still about getting better in mind, body and spirit, but it's not about ME. I don't give a fig to 'change the world.' I just ain't got the poop. But...I can make a small corner of it greener. Maybe if I pray, and ask God, and seek the help of my neighbors, I can be part of educating the next generation to feed themselves better, treat the land better, come together as a real community. And, not have such an uphill fight as I am.

I'm gonna go outside and play.

Heavenly Father, thank you for keeping me outta the skull-junk this morning. Thank you for an interesting meeting with Tim. May what I do, here, and what WE do, as a civilization, glorify YOUR name and expand YOUR kingdom...not for our sake, but Thine, and, as with all things, I ask these in the name of your victorious Son, Jesus Christ.

An update...of sorts.

Hmmm...another year has birthed, right under our noses. Remember that last full post? October 2010? Where I had an interview? I got the job. Yuppers. I did. Work at Dorothy Lane Market, Oakwood, OH. Been there seven months, now, and love it. You may have seen, in FaceBook, how I cook there, and bring home inspirations to share with my family. It's again' the rules to bring home actual RECIPES, so I commit what I can to memory, and heave forth from there.

BTW...speaking of food, my darling dearest has been on a vegan kick-start for the last two weeks. That ends Sunday, which is Easter. I've been working the REST of the animal kingdom out of our menu, for the time being, and she's at the crux of a decision: vegan or simply ovo-lacto-pescatarian. Harder to say, but somewhat more enjoyable, for yours truly. S%it, I ENJOY the challenge of veganism. I just like fish. And eggs. And cheese. Yeah, I'm a dairy kinda guy. Don't get me wrong, I made a vegan pizza a couple weeks back, COMPLETELY vegan...and the cheese-alternative was, while not exACTly mozzarella, a pretty interesting substitute. People ask me if FISH don't suffer gross injustice and horrendous abuses. I'm not sure. I would guess that they do. Nah, I'm sure. Factory-farmed ANYTHING is wrong. I just cling tightly to the fact that since January of 2010, I, personally, have eaten NO footed critters. I do eat dairy and ocean fish, but in WAY lower quantities than I used to. If I could find compassionate sources for these products, I would gladly switch over to them. I may be naive, but now, I can pass by a field of cows and not feel quite so bad.

Gardening time is almost here. Time to set out seedling pots, and start watching for the emerging plants...I grabbed some seed-corn out of one of t local fields, last autumn, walking with my Babe. Can't wait to just plant it, to see what comes of it. I just wanna say that I planted and grew corn. For the hell of it. I also grabbed some jalapeno seeds from a pepper I dressed out at home, and one from work. It was a fat-boy; maybe if I can cross the two... Oh, crap, I don't really care, I just wanna say that I've GROWN jalapenos, MYSELF. And, research the technique of SMOKING them. My own chipotle...(http://bbq.about.com/od/fruitandvegetables/ss/aa100607a.htm)

Alla this in light of the fact that I face another surgical procedure next week. Bone spurs. If nothing else, I can tend the vegetables, George, and cook, sitting down a LOT when I need to. And, while I'm here, maybe I need to come out of the closet: I want to WRITE. I have tons of story lines in my head. And, I waste enough time in front of the computer to have written "War and Peace" three times over. So, how about a resolution:

Every week, from here out, I'll write for TWO HOURS a week, on one of my days off. JUST two hours, followed by something NON-COMPUTER for the resta the day.