Lehman's Country Life

Here in the British Isles we refer to our vacations as our holidays. This goes back to the root ‘holy days’, those days within the ecclesiastical and liturgical calendar when even the lowliest of labourers would get their chance of a rest. I’ve just got back from my holiday and my spirit is certainly refreshed and revived.

With the cost of gas being high both in the USA and Europe – we are paying €1.33 a litre – I am grateful that we decided last April to attend a music camp that was less than 100 miles from home. With no wilderness in Ireland to really compare with what is available in, say, the North American West, camping on a low-impact, light-upon-the-Earth site is our homegrown alternative.

The Earthsong Camp is an eight-day music camp and admission includes a smorgasbord of workshops in drumming, dancing and singing. It’s family friendly with a very strict no alcohol, no drug, no cell phone, and no electronic music policy. It was rare to even see someone smoke tobacco.
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In the distant undemanding past, in those trouble-free days B.C. (Before Children), unburdened as we were even by cordless telephones, car alarms or e-mail, my wife and I were given a fluffy eiderdown comforter as an anniversary present. I expect it cost a fortune as my mother, the donor, was typically generous with this kind of thing; it certainly seemed big enough, sitting there all boxed up on our porch one afternoon, like a smallish hippopotamus packed for transport. I fancied the FedEx driver must have felt grateful to get half his van freed up for the trip home.

Interestingly, the comforter after being unpacked started to expand itself even further until it assumed its full pneumatic grandeur, an impossibly soft slab almost as thick as our mattress and considerably broader.  A Colossal Comforter.  We were impressed.

I still remember the look of serenity on my wife’s face when she wrapped the thing around herself to give it a test-drive: the poor woman nearly melted with delight.  She was instantly warm – toasty, snuggly, deeply warm, maybe for the first time since we’d moved up to Northern California from balmy Los Angeles a few years previous.
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Dear Readers,
It’s almost time for back to school! Whether you are relaxing together or working together, time spent with your children talking and listening, is essential when they are young so that as they grow up, they feel they can still come and talk to you about the everyday things (plus the really important decisions they must make). Make sure you take time to hear about their day, any challenges they’ve had and support to get their homework done. Work on building a good routine these first couple of weeks and the rest of the year will go much smoother.

One of the things I look forward to this time of year is working together in food preservation. Breaking beans, husking corn and picking tomatoes have been a regular task done by my mother, my aunt and myself. It’s a lot of work and I appreciate more each year the time and effort that many of you spend to enjoy your results when the snow is flying. I’ve received several calls on tomatoes, specifically on salsa recipes, and thought you might enjoy the following information I found from a co-worker in Huron County, Ohio, Deb Angell.

Tomatoes have long been recognized as a fairly good source of vitamin C and they contain a smidgen of beta carotene. But until recently, we didn’t realize the antioxidants that make them a favored commodity for fighting many diseases. Experts urge people to eat more tomatoes and tomato products, at least 5 servings per week. The key is lycopene and you get the best results from this anitioxidant when it is heated or cooked to release its best form.
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Journal Entry, Thursday, July 03, 2008
Clean, pack, label, lift, repeat.  Not exactly a shampoo bottle, but there is a sameness that is noticeable long about the fortieth time and it’s becoming my mantra.  The boxes that the admin assistant at work saved and sent home with me (bless you, Valda), which seemed far too numerous before, are in danger of becoming too few!

We are in Day 7 of the 9 that each of us has off during which we have committed to getting my roommate of several years moved to a new house.  The layers of Oscar Madison-ness are being peeled away, and although the herniated discs in the bottom of my back are reminding me I should be taking more breaks, the suddenly emerging empty spaces urge me on.
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