Garden Status

These are the bush bean flowers, which are pretty, especially against the green, green bush bean leaves. Next is the bush bean,

This is the sage after I cut off the tops, you can see that it then sprouted many more new leaves,

The corn is now taller than the fence, and that is its tassel top trying to peak out,

Mom told me about her friend's potato bag and I think I will get one. There are several kinds, but here is an example,

http://www.amazon.com/Island-Grow-Container-Tomatoes-Potatoes/dp/B0055EQ0E6/ref=wl_mb_hu_m_1_dp

Potatoes do better because they get more air circulation, the ready potatoes are more accessible, and they do not take up space in the garden.

After you bake your own bread for a while, you remember why they invented french toast and croutons. I rarely get through a whole loaf before it starts getting a bit stale. This week, since I am now eating so much salad, I made my own croutons. They are really easy to make and once I figure out the right spices they will be better than the ones in the store.

Another reason for making my own croutons is that the brand I like disappeared from the local grocery store. They now only have one brand of most things, usually their store brand and nothing is ever on sale. Prices seemed to have jumped even more lately. I checked at Target for another Pyrex dish with a lid to take my lunch and it was $10, twice as much as I paid for the last one a few years ago. I didn't buy one. Is anyone buying anything right now except food? I heard a guy on the radio interviewing people about what they've done lately to cut back on their expenses. Cut back lately? I was surprised more people, like me, did not call in telling him they started cutting back years ago and now there was nothing left to cut.

My garden and my training class keep my mind active and keep me learning, but it is the baking that I do when I am scared. The last few weeks of news scared me and I now have home-style bread, cheese bread, and pita in the freezer. I was going to make some walnut raisin bread this weekend, but thought I was getting carried away.

People can say that we've had times as bad as these before, but then we did not have chemical weapons or see militants destroying sacred temples. It was Malian Islamists destroying the door to the Sidi Yahya mosque in Timbuktu that set me off. This door was not to be opened until the end of the world. The militants wanted to prove that it was really not the end of the world, but it seems to me that it proved that it was, at least the end of the world as we know it.

Not many understand that these times are about character. At the end of Orwell's 1984, the main character faces his worst fear and betrays love, and therefore, his soul. We see this over and over again now, people are confronted with fear and they crack, they shoot their entire family and then themselves, or they open fire on a movie theater and kill 12 strangers. The anti-gun lobby immediately moves in and promotes their cause, further emphasizing that we can no longer hold individuals accountable for their actions, we need to blame a piece of hardware. The ability to face fear starts with the ability to take personal responsibility and the ability to take personal responsibility is something most people no longer have.

If people are unable to face losing their job, or their house, or failing in school, how in the world are they going to deal with the economic collapse right around the corner?