Red State Green

If you have early voting, go do so to beat the rush! Our early voting opens today at the county courthouse.
Here’s some tips taken from an email I got today from ColorOfChange.org (yeah, they’re probably liberal, but I didn’t get anything like this from our party):

Vote early to beat the lines.
Double-check your polling location before [...]

I don’t know these people, but I got an email from a group I’m on from someone who does, and I think this is something we should help out with.
The Crosby Mint Farm in St. Johns, Michigan, was founded in 1912 by J.E. Crosby Sr. on two acres. The now 140-acre farm has produced chemical-free [...]

Get out the popcorn, the blaming has begun.
Total party implosion, anyone?
The sad part of this is that some people are blaming McCain. He got the nomination by being who he was, then the party by all accounts pressured him to change things.

One of the things I love about Oklahoma is that you can grow sweet potatoes here, since that’s one of my favorite foods. They’re really easy to grow if you can get hold of a slip. Slips are just sweet potato vine tips that have set in water a few days and rooted. Once the [...]

Just ran across this site, which has a list of seed exchanges. These are like clubs, where people save and trade various types of seeds. Some are big institutions, others are small and very informal, just a group of friends who swap seeds in the spring. Many seed exchanges (also called seed saver clubs or [...]

Colin Powell speaks out about McCain’s campaign, and why he’s endorsing Obama
If you watch the video I’ve linked to, General Powell references three major issues with the McCain campaign: McCain’s inability to show leadership on and understanding of the problems facing 21st century America; his lack of judgment in picking his vice presidential candidate; [...]

I love it. It’s a great way to remind myself to get out and do something every day.
Forgot to write about what’s been happening lately, so here goes:
Planted: lettuce, brassicas (broccoli, tyfon, cabbage, pok choi), beets, garlic. Some of the garlics I planted before are coming up!
Another thing that’s happening is that I had saved [...]

Wintersown.org has free seeds (after a few hoops to jump through) for anyone who would like to try sowing seeds in the winter.
But the really nice thing about this site is the whole concept of winter sowing, which is something I hadn’t heard of before. There’s tons of great information!
Ed Hume Seeds will send you [...]

[Note from RSG: this was posted on the SharonFoodStorage yahoo group by someone who wishes to remain anonymous. I have edited this for formatting and to remove anything that would identify the author.]
Here is the second part of the Plan written by Ms. Mouse – please remember that Ms. Mouse has no time for questions, [...]

[Note from RSG: this was posted on the SharonFoodStorage yahoo group by someone who wants to remain anonymous, and I'm reposting it with the author's permission. I have edited this for formatting and to remove anything which might identify the author.]
This is the first part of the food storage plan written by Ms. Anon E. [...]

Colin Powell doing hip-hop

More pictures at the link above.
He actually looks pretty good!

A friend on the SharonFoodStorage yahoo list (who wishes to remain anonymous) posted this:
I was surprised … no, shocked…when I heard Ms. Anon E. Mouse squeaking at me yesterday afternoon. Ms. Mouse and I have frequent chats, but always before they have been in the dead of night, when EvilKitty is safely shut into the [...]

The WaterBOB:
The waterBOB® is a water containment system that holds up to 100 gallons of fresh drinking water in any standard bathtub in the event of an emergency. Constructed of heavy duty food grade plastic, the waterBOB® keeps water fresh and clean for drinking, cooking, washing and flushing. Water stored in an open bathtub, with [...]

The last few days have been a lot of fun.
At the Okiefiber Retreat, I learned about types of wool and when to use what, the difference between woolen and worsted spinning, a bit about basket weaving, and how to do punch and “lockerhook” rugs. I got to see the results of various plant dyes (osage [...]

Former Representative Jim Leach (R-Iowa), speaking at the Democratic National Convention (8 minutes, YouTube, safe for work/children)
As someone who enjoys historical discussions, I think his analysis of the four major philosophical debates of America’s history is spot on. The environmental party used to be the Republican one, and we’ve strayed from more than protecting the [...]

A picture from Sad Guys on Trading Floors …

Class war, populism, and Republicans
… I was won to the conservative side by ideas and intellectuals.
Now things are different. Now it’s the conservatives who have ossified, and who have become largely defined by retrenchment around resentment. When I wrote “Crunchy Cons,” I was gratified by the fellow conservatives who wrote to say how much they [...]

I’ve brought Shadow out, collected some weeds for the rabbits, composted a bunny bin, brushed a lot of fur off of Shadow (who sits patiently on my lap while I tug the brush through her hair), and now I’m waiting for the guy to come and service our heating system in preparation for the winter. [...]

A little town in Vermont was boarding up shops. People were leaving. There were few jobs.
So what did they do?
THIS town’s granite companies shut down years ago and even the rowdy bars and porno theater that once inspired the nickname “Little Chicago” have gone.
Facing a Main Street dotted with vacant stores, residents of this hardscrabble [...]

Dinner was fried local ham, local apples and local butternut squash (I cheated and cooked them in the microwave), and homemade cornbread (with cornmeal from Kansas, so that’s regional). Simply delicious.
Planted: more garlic. I just got in a dwarf Orinoco Banana plant, which is supposed to be hardy to zone 7. So I potted it [...]