Words to Live By:
“It is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all.” —Laura Ingalls Wilder
Thoughts from Last Week’s efforts to waste less food: by Liz Melville
After writing a list of goals to avoid food waste in last week’s substack, I felt ashamed when I got home with a load of groceries from Costco last Sunday. My shopping plan, or so I told myself, was to run into the store, pick up some dried fruit for my parents for Christmas, and then run right back out. Two-hundred and thirty-seven dollars later, I was loading romaine lettuce, a bag of mixed greens, carrots, asparagus, artichoke hearts, toilet paper, salmon burgers, ice cream bars, mushrooms, and coffee, all Costco size, into my car.
“Well, why not?” I told myself. “I am here and the food is a good deal.”
Unfortunately, the ‘why not’ became apparent when I got home. We already had a bin of fresh greens, several heads of romaine lettuce, and two crisper drawers full of carrots from last summer’s garden. Most of these items were in the extra refrigerator in the basement, an often-forgotten place where we store food. The carrots from Costco needed to be used, but only after we ate the small garden carrots. To waste the garden carrots after a summer of planting, watering, and weeding is almost criminal.
Was it really just last week that I wrote about cleaning out and taking an inventory of my refrigerator before shopping? Most of the new purchases could be stockpiled, but we would need to eat a LOT of greens and a LOT of carrots.
Looking at this excess led me to do what I often do: blame somebody, or in this case, something else.
“These darned city chickens!” I thought.
That was truly the excuse that went through my head.
My chickens, Penelope and Nimbus, like corn and store-bought pellets. They stare at me puzzled when I give them scraps. When I lived in the country, my chickens loved scraps. They would frantically feast on the carrot peels, potato ends, extra noodles, beans, and any loose extra greens in the scrap pot. These happy birds helped to minimize our food waste. They would have eaten the extra food in this situation.
But not my city chickens. I can’t quite figure out if Penelope and Nimbus truly don’t like food scraps or if they just need lessons from a flock of older, wiser chickens as to what is good to eat. I can’t help but think that perhaps my generation is a little this way also; that we too are in need of learning some lessons from our elders as to how to save, scrimp, reuse, and eat our leftovers.
This Week’s Focus: Try to Buy and Give Extraordinary, Ordinary Presents
Every year I say, “I am going to buy less.” And most years, I still feel pressure to buy more. It is as if I need to prove my love to my family and friends. I worry that if I don’t do enough they will be disappointed or worse, feel like I don’t care.
But there are many ways to give. Below are a few ideas for giving simple sustainable gifts.
Simple Christmas Cheer
1. Homemade Easy to Serve Food - Everyone is busy. If you are like me, easy-to-cook meals are coveted. I don’t make extra meals to create these gifts, but rather I just double or triple recipes that I am already cooking. Then I freeze the extra in small containers. I can either give the containers with the food away or I can pop the frozen food out of the containers and put it in a zip-lock bag before I give it away. The latter method makes it so there are no containers to return.
2. Flowers - There are so many ways to give flowers. Anything that is growing or has recently been growing feels like light to me in December. There are many choices: a bouquet, a plant, or a pot of bulbs. This year, I went to one of our local feed stores, Spokane’s Northwest Seed and Pet, and bought individual narcissus bulbs. I then planted these in saved containers, and pots. And as I love digging in the dirt, this project was a gift to me as well.
3. Books - Sharing a beloved book is like introducing someone to a new friend. One year I asked my friends to share a list of their favorite books. I then picked up used copies of these favorites and gave them to other friends. If I had to do this over again, I would have added a note that said: “Recommended by_____.” I try to buy books, new or used, from local bookstores. Spokane has many options: Aunties, 2nd Look Books, the Wishing Tree, and Book Traders. Most towns or cities have a few independent bookstores. Or if you are really resourceful you can look through the little free libraries which are scattered around town. It is several steps up from dumpster diving.
4. Home-made Coupons - For household jobs, a date, an outing, a home-cooked meal…Coupons are popular in my family.
5. Bulbs and plant cuttings ready to give as well as vegetable soup that I froze in small portions that I popped into a zip lock bag.
On a Tangent: A reflection from history
I have been re-reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prarie books. I was first introduced to these books when my mother read them aloud to me when I was growing up. I loved them then and I love them now. There is so much wisdom in these stories.
One constant theme throughout all of these books is the appreciation for having enough food and adequate shelter, and the joy in giving and receiving simple, home-made gifts.
In On the Banks of Plum Creek Ma tells Mary and Laura that Santa is everywhere and all the time. She tells them that when anyone is unselfish, that is Santa Claus. That Christmas along the creek in Minnesota while the family is living in a home dug out of a hillside, Laura and her sister Mary received six pieces of candy. Their little sister Carrie, who was a toddler, received four pieces of candy and a button necklace that Mary and Laura had made for her. Mary, Laura, and Carrie were each thrilled both to give and receive these gifts.
In By the Shores of Silver Lake, the Christmas bounty was larger. That winter the family was invited to stay at the Surveyor’s House, a home in South Dakota, that was stocked with enough food to get them through the winter. Here they gave each other aprons, handkerchiefs, mittens, ties, and bed slippers, all made from materials from Ma’s scrap bin. The highlight for everyone was seeing Grace, the baby, in a beautiful hand-made coat that Ma had sewn for her. Each person received a few gifts and each family member was joyous about sharing and receiving these gifts.
Laura asked her Ma On the Banks of Plum Creek: “If everyone wanted everybody else to be happy all the time, then would it be Christmas all the time?”
“Yes, Laura,” was Ma’s simple answer.
I would like Ma’s words of wisdom to be my guide as I navigate the upcoming holidays. I wish to give sustainable presents with love and to be present with my family while we are all together.
I hope December is a happy time for each of you!