Weekend at Stonybrook

It's March, which means the time has come for the annual St. Patrick's Day weekend at THE CABIN (which may or may not actually fall on St. Patrick's Day). To say that I'm excited would be an understatement considering that we have not been to the cabin since fall 2010. That's WAY too long.

Unfortunately, on Wednesday, Jeremy realized he wouldn't be able to go do to his new (super awesome) job. Bummer. We had been looking forward to this for the last month! We decided I would go anyway and he would be sure to come the next time.

From Milwaukee the cabin (near Athens, OH) is a good nine hours. I do a lot of driving going between my two part-time jobs, but it's been awhile since I'd driven nine hours by myself. It ended up fine. I stopped mid way in Indianapolis, which looked like a neat place and might be another road trip destination sometime.

Things got a bit nerve wracking once I got into the Hocking Hills. My phone died and then I got lost. I had paper directions and a map, but I would have felt better if I could have called the cabin and have someone straighten me out. Thank god for day light savings. It not being dark at 6:30pm was the only thing that kept me calm enough to be able to navigate my self in the right direction. Of course the entire car ride became worth it once I stepped into the cabin as was greeted with a group hug. It's crazy to think that we only worked at Wilson for a season, but it was long enough to become part of the family.

A cabin weekend means fun, hanging with friends, relaxing, enjoying nature, eating and drinking, playing games, dogs, singing, laughing, bond fires, caves, the beer deer, staying up late, and even more laughter. This weekend was just that, and it was wonderful to spend time with friends in such a magical place.

Seeds and Soil

The other day we got seeds. Not all our seeds, but most of them. It's fun picking out seeds, it's like going to the grocery store...but then having to wait two or three months before you get to eat... It is hard not to get carried away though.

Originally we planned on getting:
-- carrots
-- peas
-- beans
-- green peppers (starts)
-- tomato (starts)
-- lettuce

And then I came home with:
-- carrots
-- peas
-- beans
-- red peppers
-- kale
-- basil
-- onions
-- lettuce
-- spinach

And my seed wish list has grown:
-- parsley
-- parsnip

The issue now is getting all these seeds tucked away into soil and germinating. We have a huge south facing window in our kitchen, BUT we also have a cat...who gets into everything. And how many seeds should we plant? We don't even know how many beds we will have. Or if we are going to do containers. More importantly, where are we going to get soil?! Or should we get our soil tested?

Good thing warm weathered is taking it's merry old time getting here....

Big plans for our back yard

One of the reasons we decided to live where we do was the MASSIVE backyard. Seriously, it's huge considering we are in a city. There is a good sized concrete slab just off our pouch, but the rest is open, with a great amount of sun (and shade, if desired).

Upon moving in, we began dreaming up how we could turn this urban lot into a productive and insect friendly space. We both love bees and monarch butterflies, hence the want of insects. Raised beds, perennial natives, compost bin, rain barrel, bird houses - you name it, we want it. But now the time has come, the question becomes, so what first? What is our priority?

-- Raised beds.  We have limited funds, so 6 beds are out of the picture. Maybe 2? And do some containers?
-- Compost bin Sure, we can build one out of found material.
-- Rain barrel. Hmm, maybe next year? Where do you even get one of those?
-- Perennials! I think there are already some planted along the fence, so we'll see what comes up and go from there.
-- Bird boxes. We got one for Christmas, now we just need a spot for it....

Paper or Plastic: reflections of a checkout clerk

Hello, how are you today? That's great! Would you like paper or plastic today?

The last 3 months I have worked part-time as a cashier in a upscale grocery store. I have appreciate having a job, and my co-workers great, however my daily interactions with customers frustrate me. This being said, not everyone is rude or condesending, but the number of unpleasant shoppers who do come through my line is depressingly high.

It bothers me how little value our society put on checkout clerks considering how consumer based it is. If you are in line for longer than two minutes you have the right to complain. If you pick an item that has no price and then have to wait for someone to find out the price you have a right to complain. If you are in line behind someone with a large order you have the right to complain. If the person bagging your groceries doesn't use the type of bag you prefer you have a right to complain. Why is this? Why is it that as a society we feel we can make a stink about the way someone is doing their job? Sure being a checkout clerk isn't rocket science, but there is more than you think going into it.

1. Your items per minute are being timed. So if the customer is slow to load their items you get told you aren't scanning fast enough - something completely out of your control.

2. Learning produce codes. Every item in the produce section has a four digit code that you need to memorize.

3. Acturate money handling. There are hundreds of people who will come through your line a day and your drawer better be even at the end of your shift.

4. Bagging items properly and quickly.

5. Customer Service - this is huge. At the end of the day, the checkout clerk is the last person you will encounter at the store, so your interaction with them is most likely what you will remember. You have to deal with all types of people, and some of them are going to be rude, others and going to tell you jokes. "Thank you" can go a long way. 

The deal is, the average checkout clerk starts our making about $8.00/hour. Monthly that is $1,280. Yearly $15,360. That is not enough for the amount of rudeness and impatience they have to endure daily. It's no wonder stores cannot keep their best employees. And why is it that checkout clerks a paid so low? We all need them. How else would we all get groceries or other goods? Everyone freaks out when factory workers go on strike, but how many people are actually affected? What if every grocery checkout clerk desided they weren't going to work? I hope that isn't what it takes for them to be respected in society.

So next time you find yourself getting impatient in line, just think about where you are. You are buying food. It should not be stressful, so take a deep breath and enjoy the moment of downtime in your schedule.