BND So Far

I am about mid way through Buy nothing day. So far I did not get up at 3am in order to make it to one of the various box retailers for the "Door Buster" savings. I have not been within 25 miles of a mall nor have I purchased anything on-line or at a local retailer.

What I have done is make strawberry pancakes, coffee, played games, read several interesting blogs, posted on a few forums, cleaned popcorn, washed the dishes, washed a load of laundry, made and ate lunch. I just might make some nut brittle this afternoon (I actually have everything one would need for such a project except white cotton gloves) and perhaps hamburger (from pastured, local cattle).

Oh yes, and I have watched both local and national news and their accounts (encouragement) of Black Friday activities. All I can say is anyone participating in Black Friday is participating in a insane event. Even the descriptions of Black Friday-Shopping Frenzy, stressful, full contact shopping, etc..-are not the descriptive terms of a sane activity. Okay, these people are getting good deals on stuff but do they really need this stuff? Most likely not and it will soon enough either be landfilled or end up in storage or maybe yard sale fodder.

Pity, especially when we are at a point in history when we really cannot afford such craven and unnecessary consumerism. It is healthy for no one.

Thanksgiving Brew

It's thanksgiving and we at Boulder Belt are not eating a turkey dinner (mainly because I did not hop to it and order a pastured turkey from the Filbruns a month ago and when I asked 2 weeks ago if they had any left they said no, they were sold out) this year. nor are we going to anyone's home to feast upon their turkey and trimmings.

No, we are staying in and the plan is to brew beer all afternoon. We shall consume the first of this beer on New Years Day. So truly a holiday brew.

Our friend Wyatt says he is coming over with home made bread and a wort chiller. Eugene made a green tomato chutney yesterday so I am thinking making a vegetarian curry for dinner. We have a lot of greens left over from last Saturday's Winter market that need using as well as peppers, onions, snow peas and leeks. I could also throw together a salad (we have a lot of salad greens too).

This is the first Thanksgiving I have not celebrated in my life. Usually I am cooking at least one meal. Some years when I was working in food service by Thanksgiving day I had cooked over 10 different Turkey day feasts. This year nothing and I gotta say it is nice not to be responsible for dinner for many.

My sister quit celebrating years ago (20 years?) when her infant daughter suddenly died of meningitis the day before Thanksgiving (nothing thankful about that!). Go forward about 16 years and the Owsleys are in Detroit dealing with our mother dying of a stroke. She died 2 days after Thanksgiving that year. The T-day dinner that year was leg of lamb, a big salad and lots of wine and beer. Not very joyous but we made the best of it. At least we were all together (except Mom who was dying in a hospital) for the first time in decades for a Thanksgiving.

So today will be about watching Parades on the TeeVee, drinking home brews and craft beers while making beer and curry.

Tomorrow will be all about Buy Nothing Day

Buy Nothing Day 2007

Driving hybrid cars and limiting industrial emissions is great‚ but they are band–aid solutions if we don’t address the core problem: we have to consume less. This is the message of Buy Nothing Day. Kalle Lasn