Friday thoughts 8/24/2018

Happy Friday! This was my son's first full week back to school, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I struggle to get going in the morning, but I've been packing his lunch the night before (I agree that he should be doing it himself, but he's in desperate need of healthier eating after this summer, and this way I can ensure that he's getting *something* nutritious) and making batches of breakfast, freezing them, and heating them up in the morning. I'm hoping this will be sustainable for the whole year; get back to me when it's a freezing, dark January and we'll see how I'm doing. ;)

Here's what intrigued me this week!


*Americans Own Less Stuff, and That's Reason To Be Nervous*

There are really two articles here. The legal ownership conundrum the author points out (where we think we own certain kinds of purchases but the fine print points out that hey, no, we really don't) is definitely bothersome, but what interests me in this article is the concept that ownership is moving in a different direction- so much of what used to be strictly a physical purchase (books, DVDs, music) is now solely digital. How we own things has changed, and that's not something I've necessarily considered before on that level. I'll date myself here, but when I think about, it still feels like something off of the Jetsons (remember them??? I used to love that show). I can buy one device and read zillions of books on it; I can buy music without wrestling that awful plastic wrapper from the case (which will eventually get stepped and and the shards will slice my foot and linger under the couch for ages); I can buy a movie and not have to worry about where I'll store the case. How cool is all of that? It definitely fits in with my 'less is more' philosophy I've been cultivating lately, which is why this article jumped out at me.


*Living Tongues*

This week, one of the books from my Goodreads To Read list, which I finished, was The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages by K. David Harrison. Harrison is a linguist who studies endangered and dying languages, documenting both the language and the struggle (or lack thereof) to revive it. This was a fascinating and deeply moving book, and the Living Tongues project is something he's involved with.

Language is important. Language conveys not just information, but history, culture, a connection to the past. When these languages die out, humanity loses so much. We're so much the richer for having a wide variety of languages and cultures, and it hurts my heart to think of the last speakers of any language dying. We're a bilingual French-English family, and we struggle with our daughter refusing to speak French. Now, she's four and has a stubborn personality in the first place; this is a normal, known phenomenon among bilingual families with the kids refusing the minority language; French is in no danger of dying off. But I liked how one person in the book phrased it: are you richer when you have one dollar, or two? Having a second (or more!) language is exactly like that. I absolutely support the work that the Living Tongues project is doing, because humanity is so much better off, for so many reasons, when these languages live on.


*The Connection Between Busy Hands and Brain Chemistry*

You know this one is right up my alley! ;)

In short, working with our hands can affect our brain chemistry in a positive way. Now, that's not to say that picking up a project is going to cure mental illness for good and replace the medicine needed to help people function. It's not quite that simple, unfortunately. But there's a connection between brain happiness and handiwork of all sorts, and as someone who has dealt with crippling depression in the past and who has learned to live with what is at times pretty fierce anxiety, I've definitely noticed that. I always have what I refer to as a stress-knitting project going (I seriously need to get a post up about my stripey blankets!), and it definitely helps at least take the edge off when my brain is in turmoil- or if not, it gives me something else to focus on.

A really fun book that touches on this concept is Made By Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World by Mark Frauenfelder. I stumbled upon this in the library this past spring and it looked interesting. Frauenfelder also noticed that we as humans tend to feel more accomplished, more content with ourselves and our lives, when we're creating, when we're doing, when we're making and producing and not just consuming the products that other people created. There's a sense of accomplishment that is sorely lacking when we outsource our tasks, and so he set out to become the king of DIY. I very much enjoyed reading about his adventures, and while I'm not going to trick out an espresso machine or build a cigar box guitar like he did, I definitely found his enthusiasm inspiring. This book has stuck with me and I think of it often when my brain and body want to get lazy. "You'll feel better if you're producing something," my subconscious taunts me, and so I get my rear in gear. :)

Have you noticed this in your life?


*We Are All Accumulating Mountains of Things*

Oof.

Online shopping makes it vastly easier for us to engage in mass consumption. Instead of needing to get dressed and drive or walk to the store, we can have things delivered right to our doorstep after poking the screens of our phones a few times. And that definitely has its advantages, don't get me wrong. We have a superstrong enzymatic cleaner coming to the house today (one that I couldn't find being sold anywhere near me locally) so that I can scrub down the little storage room where we keep the cat litter box. But online shopping can be dangerous, as it's *so* much easier to buy copious amounts of things we don't necessarily need. It's more important than ever to designate the difference between a want and a need, both for the sake of frugality and so that we don't all end up on an episode of Hoarders.


*Open the door to your...Mystery Loaf!*

Now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head...

Oh, how I miss the Vegan Lunch Box blog. I used to love seeing the creative, healthy lunches that Jennifer McCann packed for her son. I remember wondering how she got her son to eat all those vegetables (especially since, at that time, I barely ate vegetables). And then I was diagnosed with high cholesterol, and I decided to take charge of my health. I went vegetarian and began cooking a LOT of vegan food (along with exercising). My cholesterol dropped 80 points in three months, and I was hooked on veggies in a bad way. If that's a thing. ;)

Anyway, I was going through her blog the other day, trying to get some inspiration for my son's lunches. He's okay with having a peanut butter or cheese sandwich every day, but this year, one of his friends is allergic to peanuts, so I'm all about keeping that kid safe, even if it means a little more work for me. And as I scrolled through the old posts, I came across this link for creating a vegetarian loaf- you know, like a lentil loaf (which is SO good). I think vegetarian loaf recipes often get a bad rap, but I've had really great success with a lot of recipes, and they're super delicious as a sandwich with ketchup or Sriracha the next day (my mouth is watering just thinking about this right now!). And not only that, they make excellent pantry meals, as the ingredients are almost always stuff that I already have on hand. I was absolutely delighted to see that this link to a loaf recipe generator still worked, and I'm planning on trying a few out.

Do you enjoy vegetarian loaves? Any suggestions on recipes that you'd like to share? We're also really big fans of this one; whenever I tell my teenage son we're having this for dinner, he says, "YES!" Not exactly the stereotypical response, eh? And if anyone has an update on how Jennifer McCann and her Shmoo are doing, I'd love to hear it!



That's what caught my attention this week; what's been on your mind?




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