Unemployment

Check out this graph on the NY Times. It's the unemployment rate according to race, sex, age, and education. A pretty awesome visual reminder why getting a college education is a really good idea. It's also a pretty embarrassing visual of racial, sex, and age inequality.

You Rock!

I want to give a special shout out to whoever is using dial up to access my blog (they've accessed the blog 9 times this month). That is dedication.

Classic Mermaid and Cousin Ez

Jesse has me organizing the photos and I'm coming across some classic gems like this one. These two are now 7 and 8.

Sunday Hikes

Jesse first remembered me as the girl in mission prep class who said that Sacred Falls was a Sunday hike. We're continuing the tradition here in Maine. Short jaunts close to home.
Our Sundays are pretty quiet now. The weather has been nice, so we've been exploring our new home. Last week, we went to the bird sanctuary. And this week, we took a stroll along the river and the graveyard. This is the mighty Androscoggin River. The graveyard had these old trees interspersed throughout.

Halloween

I made the kids' Halloween costumes for the first time ever. I love that my mom has done this all the years previous. She's pretty awesome. So here's my handiwork.

Cook Books I've Read This Week

I don't really think of myself as a foodie. I'm the type of person who watches the Food Network while eating a tv dinner. I do like food. I like to cook. I like to try new things. And I really like cook books.
I'm also liking that our library has been putting cookbooks on display right next to the checkout so I can grab them without having to haul my kid to nonfiction on the 2nd floor.

So here are my two latest finds:
Lobel's Meat Bible by the Lobel family of butchers in Manhattan. First of all, I plan on making a trip to their shop this Christmas time. They are a multigenerational butchering family and they take it very seriously. I'm not much of a meat eater. And ironically, I'll probably be eating it less since I've read this book. Most definitely, I will never buy ground meat again unless it's been ground fresh while I wait from one piece of meat. The recipes look amazing in the meat bible, but I really liked learning all the different cuts, and types of meat are available. I've been afraid of beef in the past, but no longer. The recipes look amazing, but I don't have any meat in my fridge right now, so I didn't try any.

The other book I read was Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone. Oooh La! I am so inspired! I want a canner, and a pressure cooker, and I want to can my own artichoke hearts! Her recipes are for small batches, which is brilliant for small spaces or trying out a new fruit or veg. I really want to try smoking my own bacon. How cool would that be? I love that Bone gives directions for canning w/ a water bath, pressure cooker, smoking, preserving in oil, and freezing. The information is empowering. I've done jams and jellies, but not a lot of vegetable canning, and no meat. As soon as we settle down a bit, I'm going canning crazy. If only we were still in California where the produce is amazing.

Jesse said we needed to figure out a way to earn more money. So I'm monetizing my blog. I think I'll get a dime a month or so. Oh yeah.