Lassi's and Hippies

Good morning! It is a cloudy/foggy day out and about in the Hubbardston/Gardner area of Massachusetts. The temperature is currently 34 Fahrenheit degrees and the ground is wet. Not a bad beginning for the second day of December. It has only been white a couple of times and there hasn’t been much of the white stuff when it has been. Last year we had already had a snow day by now and I have heard people complain about how cold we’ve been. I think some people are just crazy; I was thinking that if we continue on as we have, it will be a fairly mild winter. After all, we haven’t been below 0°F yet by the thermometer although we have been to that because of wind chill.

The good news of this morning is that Amena did not miss the bus. I didn’t even have to wake her up. The bad news is that I need to go finish putting together lunches for the boys. I will be back. See? I am back. Three boys have three lunches ready to go. Only one boy has his in a lunch bag because he is the only boy who provided me with one.

The other good news is that my burning the turkey carcass did not result in a ruined pot. I was bemoaning the fact that I’d used my Pampered Chef pot because I didn’t want it to be ruined. Now I’m thinking I’m glad I used it because any of the other pots I might have used probably would have been.

Yesterday was a pretty good day once we got over getting ready to leave for church. Julia asked me if the adversary seems to attack right about 9:30 (that’s about time to leave). I agreed that he does but it seems to be about an hour to an hour and a half earlier than that. It’s true. I think he’s just mad because there are people going to church and he’d like those of us who do to not; it is a growing trend in the United States.

Church itself was pretty good other than the fact that Brother Peterman told me I need to be thinking of someone for a current and/or upcoming empty spot in the Young Women. Oh, the thrill and joy of thinking of names. These women need to be: someone I can work with, someone who will be a good fit where needed, someone the girls will be able to relate to and learn from. I also need to keep in mind what callings they currently have and any personal circumstances that might hinder them. A big sigh here. I do know that things have a habit or working for the best and I’m pretty sure this will follow suit but between now and then is the fun part. Too bad Laura is in Utah.

Our Thanksgiving was good. Somewhat low-key because it was just us. Since just us still constitutes seven people, it’s still a decent gathering and comparable to those experienced by other people (I specifically heard one woman talking about having to cook and there were going to be eight or nine people at her house—that’s a fairly common occurrence around here and before the accident was an everyday occurrence. Before Laura took off for Utah it was an everyday occurrence; well, every day when everyone was home, anyway. I think I already told you what I was making so I won’t bore you with details.

Friday was a pretty good day. We didn’t do a whole lot. Paul and I went out to the Indian restaurant in Fitchburg. It’s called the Bombay Tandoor Grill and they have the best lassi that I’ve personally had. There’s a place in Shrewsbury called Bollywood Grill where Paul really likes the Tandoori grill and I’ve not been disappointed there, but their lassi isn’t as good. Paul has had a tradition of taking the missionaries out to the Chinese buffet in Fitchburg on New Year’s Day for years but it has been going downhill as of late and so he was thinking about taking them to Bombay instead for their lunch buffet. We’ve been before and it is good.

Saturday I was going to take Joseph to Gardner to play with Gil Souza but after talking about it with his mother, I forgot to write it down and so it didn’t happen. Paul did get the truck back Friday so Saturday he took two loads of wood to the Fuller’s. He took Cedric shopping to look at bicycles because Cedric wants a new one. They did some looking but didn’t get anything. Other than that, they were going to get carrots and fuel and came home with a lot of other stuff. That’s all well and good but I don’t like having so much celery that some of it goes bad before it gets used. The ‘good deal’ that it is becomes something less than ‘good’ at that point. I really hope we’re about done getting egg noodles, too. Other than that, no complaints. And, Cedric and Paul went to a new Chinese take-out place in Westminster and discovered that it isn’t that great so I don’t have to worry about going there (Cedric’s garlic chicken was very bland and Paul’s General Tso’s chicken lacked in spiciness and flavor—I didn’t try the fried rice but Paul said it wasn’t that great and his egg roll was greasy).

I’ve been reading Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin again. It is one of the options for the doula certification. I’ve read it at least a couple of times before and contemplated just writing a book report based on what I remember and a good skim but decided to buckle down and just read it again. I’m glad I chose that route because I’m remembering why I love it so much and noticing new things.

The people who formed the Caravan and went to Tennessee and began the Farm were a bunch of hippies; they admit that and it seems clear. There is much talk of tripping and getting high and being telepathic. While it is true that these things are often ‘goals’ of using drugs, they are also things that can happen in life without the use of any. Whenever I used to hear the word ‘hippie’, I would think of lazy bums with long hair and beards who sat around smoking pot when they weren’t working in the garden or playing a guitar singing. I don’t think my preconceived notions were entirely correct, actually, I know they weren’t. All hippies are not lazy bums and all lazy bums are not hippies. All hippies do not sit or lay around smoking pot and all people who sit or lay around smoking pot are not hippies. You catch my drift? Anyway, it seems to me that the people who formed the Farm were hard working; they carved a community out of the wilderness. They knew what they wanted, and they worked to get it. They saw something wrong with society and went somewhere they could build their own. How many of the rest of us can say that?

One of the things that I have noticed this time around (and I’m not very far along—only about one fifth of the way through) is how accepting and lacking of preconceived notions they were when it comes to childbirth. They consulted with a doctor when they didn’t know and couldn’t find the information they needed. They worked together for the common good. They didn’t go about hospital/doctor bashing. They went about quietly doing what they wanted/needed to do. Honestly, I think we could do with a lot more of that in the world.

That’s it for now. Have a terrific day!