Jane: Meat

I got an early Christmas present this weekend: a pound of Italian sausage.

Odd gift, maybe. I got it from Glenda and Keith at Forest Hill Farm when I went to pick up my order of 5 pounds of ground beef made from their grass-fed herd of cattle on their farm in Northeast Iowa--they make a stop in downtown Cedar Rapids every other week with orders for people here.

I found out about their farm when I stopped at their table at the farmer's market where I spotted a copy of Omnivore's Dilemma.

"I taught that book," I said to Glenda, and we were off into a conversation about free-range hens, grass-fed beef, and responsible farming methods. I bought their eggs, about a dozen every other week, all summer. Apparently their two sons, about the ages of Robbie and Eli, run the egg business!

I tried the beef a bit hesitantly--Bruce has a bit of trouble digesting beef. But Glenda suggested that he might have a different experience with grass-fed beef, which has higher levels of Omega-3s and Linoleic acid (whatever that is). It was true--the beef was easier for him to digest, and we loved the flavor! So we're back to eating the occasional burger again.

It might be a bit more expensive than ground beef in the stores: I think my 5# were $22. But it's better for us, better for the environment, and better for the cattle--who live a decent life out in the pastures instead of in horrid feed lots. And the farm isn't far away, which reduces transportation costs.

I think my Forest Hill Farm experience would be complete if I got a chance to visit there--I'd love to see their happy pigs, the mobile pasture pens for the chickens, and the happy grazing cattle!

Robbie: Opera Unite!

I downloaded the newest version of the Opera Web Browser and was messing with the apps. Here is a link to my fridge so you can post sticky notes on it. Here is my lounge (a chatroom). Here is my whiteboard.

Jane: Early Christmas Present

The present? It was seeing Robbie in his Washington High School Wind Symphony tux. At first he wasn't crazy about wearing it--"collar is too tight!"

But I think he got used to it. Here he is with two buddies from Concert Band. They also had tuxes, though didn't have to deal with the wing-tip collars!
(Yeah, I know the hair on all those boys wants cutting.)

The band holiday concert last night--very enjoyable! The Concert band played Sleigh Ride (the horse seemed to be going very slowly . . . ) and Wind Symphony (the top band--Robbie is in it) did 5 really nice pieces, including one that evoked a joyful Jewish wedding. Robbie had to work hard on music this term.

Eli: Mitzi in cold weather

This is how Mitzi stays warm in cold weather.

Jane: Snow Days

The sound of the phone ringing rocketed me out of bed yesterday morning at 5:30. It was a robo-call from the school system saying school was canceled because of weather.

We had about 1 inch of snow.

This is kind of a Cedar Rapids tradition. During snowy weather, the schools just shut down. The rest of the town keeps going, but schools are closed.

Part of the reason for the closing was the hyperbolic discussions of a snow storm that was making its way through the area. I heard one meteorologist say it was "an epic snow event." Bruce is sure that this kind of talk is partially marketing. If it's just some heavy snow, big deal. But if it's an "epic snow event," then you need to watch the news, he thought.

So the boys were home from school yesterday, in anticipation of an "epic snow event" which didn't really start until about 5 that evening. Still, I'm glad they got to enjoy the weather. They both got together with friends and went sledding. 4 of them (Robbie and friends) ended up here afterwards, so I had to feed them and put up with the noise while attempting to write some stories and get ready for class that afternoon (Coe never closes because of weather).

The epic snow event dumped about 8" of snow on us between 5 p.m. yesterday and 6 a.m. today. Of course there's no school. Robbie is out helping Bruce get rid of the snow with shovels and a wheelbarrow, and Eli is playing around.


I'm not sure if I'll be able to get in to Coe for conferences with students. I also have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. The tricky part is the alley. Our driveway is about clear, but we're on an alley, which is snowy. I've gotten stuck there before.

Bruce is going to walk, but that does not appeal to me. Besides deep snow on the sidewalk, the winds are picking up and are expected to be gusting up to 50 mph later today!

Jane: Advent Weekend

Usually I don't get much of a chance to enjoy Advent. It's always during the last couple weeks of classes and I'm usually distracted and busy! My dad and I used to say we couldn't even think about Christmas until our grades were in. . .

But I must be getting better at this time of the year. This past weekend, for example, I had a wonderful Advent-y time.

Saturday morning I got up early so I could go with my friend Anne to Nature's Noel, an annual fund-raiser sale at the local nature center. Anne goes every year--she even works at the nature center making centerpieces out of freshly-cut greens. She also prides herself on being the first in line at the sale--which begins at 9. So there we were--first in line!--at about 8:20!

I've never been to the sale, so Anne filled me in on what to get. I bought a special decoration--a "kissing ball" which I hung outside from the magnolia tree. Isn't it pretty?


I also got a little Yule log table decoration. I couldn't resist the little bird on it!

The last thing I got was a HUGE bundle of freshly cut greens--branches of fir, yew, and cedar, all of which had been treated with a preservative. I only wanted a few branches to decorate the mantel with, but when I got the big bag, I decided to make some centerpieces myself.

Here they are:



Items like this were $20-30 at the sale. I got the bag o' greens for $4 and the baskets and doodads for about $12. I'll save the baskets and doodads for next year. Making those arrangements was surprisingly fun.

After the sale, I went off to a rehearsal. I played flute at our church's Christmas cantata. The music was very fun--kind of folk-y. The instruments were 2 flutes, acoustic guitar, and percussion. Some of the pieces were slow. "This one reminds me of the Paul Winter consort" said our director about one piece. A couple were fun and upbeat.

I even got to play percussion with one piece, a bossa-nova beat version of O Come O Come Emmanuel. The director gave me claves

and I got a very brief lesson on how to play them from Dennis McPartland, our percussionist, who's a local professional musician! Cool. I think I now want to become a clave player . . .

What a weekend to get me in the Advent frame of mind. It was all good.

Jane: Thanksgiving in Atlanta

I didn't take my camera to my sister's for Thanksgiving because I always forget to take photos anyway. And look--I was too busy making pie crust!

But Bill took some--here are his photos.