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Living in a food Desert

5/28/2015

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Picture
I published this last summer and in light of my latest blog on New Age Paleo,  I thought re-publishing it was appropriate.  If you want to see my latest blog that I published on a sister site, check out the link below:
http://www.newagepaleo.com/blog/eating-in-a-desert



From last July:
Last week, my family spent time at a rented cabin in Southwestern Ohio, in the area near the Serpent Mound.  My daughter had very much wanted a "relaxing" vacation (as opposed to one of our urban adventures which she claimed involved far too much museum-going).  We obliged and decided to have a more mellow sojourn with time made for just sitting, reading, and yes, relaxing.  With two cats and an overstuffed car (it would seem that taking it easy means taking half the house with you--books, instruments, puzzles, games, old movies, food, swim gear, hiking gear, balls, toys, etc.), we headed south. Leaving at about 9:30 in the morning, we arrived at our destination around 2:00 with some struggle to find our way.  After dropping off the cats at the cabin, and settling in just a bit, we set off in search of a meal in the nearest town.  We had seen one place as we were driving in and decided to simply head there.  Good thing we did, because our choices otherwise would have involved either Dairy Queen or take-out food from a convenience store.  After consuming a decent, albeit a bit heavy, meal at the restaurant we asked the waitress where the nearest grocery store was so that we could purchase some fresh items.  Her response, "Oh, it closed."  Now, it was a Sunday, so that could have meant "it's closed by now on Sunday"--but somehow we could tell that wasn't what she meant. Asking for clarification, we learned that indeed the only grocery story in the town, an IGA, had closed the day before--permanently.  Residents now had to drive 20 miles one direction or the other to reach a supermarket.  She did inform us that the town's two dollar stores were trying to fill the gap by carrying more foodstuffs.  Being ready to simply unpack, we headed to one of these stores and found that yes, there were packaged/dry foods and that one whole wall of the store was lined with dairy and freezer cases.  It was clear that the store was attempting to provide a wider range of goods to customers, but there was nothing resembling a fresh vegetable or fruit.  We bought bread, milk, juice and cheese and figured we'd find plenty of farm stands in the area the next day, which is really what we wanted anyhow.


Well, that's not exactly how it worked out. . . I did find a flyer for an area farm market.  We drove out to it following signs that wound us around quite a lot of country highway.  There is no way we would have found it by chance.  The stand was operated by a Mennonite family and as we discovered, Mennonites also ran a general store and a bakery along the same route.  The farm stand had some great watermelons, fresh eggs, corn and tomatoes.  But not much else. Truly, the pickings were rather slim.  There was an entire wall of jams, jellies and preserves, but no lettuces or greens--even the summer squash were small and a bit shriveled.  I found some colorful frying peppers, a purple onion and a small carton of red potatoes to round out our shopping.  We also bought a cheerful bouquet of zinnias and gladiolas at a reasonable price.  I was glad to have some fresh food to work with, but a bit disappointed that I was not in the farm-fresh produce belt I expected considering the miles of planted fields we'd passed (albeit almost all planted with corn and soy).

The general store had even sadder looking produce--it's specialty (that people lined up for every time we were there) was the deli counter, and bulk candy . . . the bakery obviously specialized in sweets and again people were lined up buying cream horns, whoopie pies, apple fritters, cream sticks, cinnamon buns--everything was mammoth in size.  Admittedly, we frequented the bakery for fruit pies--a treat for which we have a penchant rarely indulged.  Blueberry, peach, blackberry, and--ok--even pecan and shoo fly.  But truly, we had to watch ourselves because the food at restaurants was so heavy too.  Broasted chicken, fried fish, canned green beans with ham (I'd almost rather eat the can), deep-fried french toast, bbq.  Salads or garnishes, rarely offered, never ventured beyond iceberg lettuce turning brown.  

What I find concerning is what does a person do who lives in that town and for whom driving 20 miles is impossible?  Elderly folks, or those who cannot afford an automobile, or the disabled who cannot drive?  This is what is referred to as a "food desert" and unfortunately it impacts those who can least afford it, both in terms of finances and health.  A couple of years ago Scientific American ran a cover feature about this, I've included the link below.  Most of us are aware enough to know this happens in the inner city, but would we suspect it happens in rural farming regions? This experience has me pondering my own food habits and leads me to pose a few questions for readers.
  1. Where do you get your food?  Local grocery stores? Farmers' Markets? Stands?  Chain supermarkets? Local artisan shops?  (I buy local produce at the local family supermarket where the prices are best and the produce cheapest--as compared to the farmers market).
  2. Have online stores improved your ability to eat healthy?  Two of my favorites: Swanson Vitamins and DrVita.com offer health foods, like specialty flours, organic cacao nibs, and coconut oil at lower prices.  And, of course, there is Amazon.  I get my dried shiitaki mushrooms in bulk from them.
  3. How much of your food can you make yourself? No-knead artisan bread is a great place to start. There are tons of recipes on the web.  Even I have managed to master a good cinnamon raisin that is really filled with raisins.
  4. What restaurants do you frequent?  Can more of your business go to local establishments, ethnic food places, or places that focus on healthier fare?

Depending on your geographic location, you may live in a desert or a grassland when it comes to food choices. Thankfully, more options exist than used to, but that doesn't necessarily help those without means or mobility.  This isn't a problem with an overnight solution, but if we consider our food choices more carefully we can support and grow an economy that will hopefully provide better for everyone and increase our national health.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/high-and-dry-in-the-food/

Artfully yours (and laying off the pie)-- Lisabeth
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On parents

5/15/2015

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Picture
The Artist's Father, by Paul Cezanne, 1866
This past week two close friends have had parents pass away which has me pondering relationships with one's folks.  I am fortunate in that both of my parents, in their mid-70s, are alive and living five minutes away. Over the years, many friends have lost one, or both, of their parents and each time it sets me to thinking about how we relate to the people who gave us life, and more generally, how we treat the elderly and handle old age.
This is a big topic because medical science is providing the opportunity for longer life, but this brings up many ethical issues about quality of life, cost and utility.   I don't want to talk about these topics today but if you're interested the 2012 book Shock of Gray by Ted Fishman broaches the subject of how the world may be thrown into chaos with a boom in the population aged 65 and up.  



My consideration of aging parents is more personal. I've noticed over the years that many middle-aged adults still carry around old resentments , neuroses and grudges centered around their parents.   The painting above, which depicts Paul Cezanne's father, was born of a tense relationship between the artist and the wealthy patriarch.  Louis-Auguste was a formidable elder--what one might call "old school"--who didn't view art as an appropriate or mature profession. To be fair, his son Paul, though brilliant, was irresponsible with his personal relationships and obligations.  He had a son by a peasant mistress, and though he married her for the sake of their child, he did not care for her--and perhaps rightly so (she later gambled away the small inheritance she received from Paul's estate). The two lived separately for most of their marriage.

Paul was also not particularly successful as a painter and got into many spats with fellow artists, art dealers and authors. He was a tough and tortured genius who didn't really want the company of others.  He did, however, reconcile with his father who eventually bestowed his blessing and left Paul financially stable with an inheritance. Despite that assurance, Paul Cezanne died young, at the age of 67, when he caught pneumonia from being outdoors painting in a storm. Soaked and frozen to the bone, he could not be saved from the illness nor from the madness and obsessiveness of his own genius.

Cezanne's story mimics the same problems that so many people face with parents.  Our moms and dads often have high expectations which we struggle to meet.  They may not approve of the partners we choose or the way we raise our children.  On the flip side, we look at parents and see idiosyncrasy or obstinence.  We see people who are set in their ways and close-minded, maybe even autocratic.  We may witness marriages strained by too many years of bickering or putting up with one another's quirks and this can be distressing. We can come up against old prejudices or attitudes that seem antiquated and unappealing.  Parents may have health issues, money problems, mental illness, substance problems, or begin getting forgetful or even fading into dementia.  In other words, they are flawed--but so are we.

Our society is fixated on longevity and fighting aging and it strikes me as almost absurd given how we treat the elderly.  We want to live "forever" but disrespect those who are getting up there.  The problem lies in wanting to cling to life, but not wanting to age.  One of the best things I ever witnessed was in Beijing, China.  I was on a school tour and we visited a park where hundreds of retirees were recreating: ballroom dancing, playing cards, instruments, badminton, table tennis, practicing tai chi or fencing.  Some were healthy and spry, others had been wheeled there and were clearly immobile, but everyone was engaged in the social and communal aspect of the place.  So much better than fossilizing in front of a television in a nursing home!  
We have much to learn from how other cultures treat their elderly.  Additionally, we have much to learn about how we interact with our parents.

First, let me acknowledge that if you've experienced mental, verbal, physical or sexual abuse from a parent/s, then professional help is really what the situation demands.  I would never suggest that someone who has suffered at the hands of an abusive adult should feel obligated to pay respect to that individual.  However, if your issue with your parents is not of that ilk, then you need to grow up and get over your hang-ups.  I know that was what I needed.  A bit of time with a therapist talking through anger, sadness, disappointment, fear and guilt got me into the right frame of mind to have a healthier relationship with my parents.  I can set boundaries and take care of my needs without ignoring them or harboring old hurts.  It is important to make your peace because when they are gone you don't want to wish that you'd started talking to them again, or visited, or asked them about their own childhoods, or shared your life with them more generously.  If you're hesitating because your mom or dad is a real pain in the ass, well then look in the mirror! We all are in some way or another.  Say something, tactfully, when needed, otherwise just accept them for who they are.  My parents aren't perfect (and neither am I).  But, I'm proud of them for being awesome grandparents and for keeping their minds fully engaged.  Whether it's playing an instrument, cooking, doing crosswords, following politics, sports, or music,  they have remained "in the game."  If you're keeping yourself "out of the game" of a relationship because it may be a little difficult at times then reconsider what you are sacrificing either out of fear or pride.  Death for all of us is inevitable, regret does not have to be.
Artfully yours,
Lisabeth
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on living half a century

5/8/2015

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Picture "Candles"Encaustic Painting by Marjorie Masel


















This week I turned 50, which of course has me thinking about how my first half-century has progressed. We usually associate birthdays with celebration but I like to think about what it is that I am marking. Birthdays provide a good opportunity for rumination and making plans. Seeing where you've been and where you are going. Though we should never dwell too fondly in the past, nor too stringently plan the future, year 50 offers a chance to see where I'm at and where I'd like to be. Thankfully, aging has become more acceptable, even hip.  Thus we hear "50 is the new 40" and other such cutesy sayings.  I don't put much store in such things, but one cannot help but notice that people are generally aging better than they used to.  My husband and I will go through photo albums, or watch old films, and be shocked by the ages of the people in the snapshots or movies.  In the case of old Hollywood, so many actors were heavy drinkers and smokers (and died of related diseases) that they looked 10-20 years older than they were.  Of course, we don't see too many older women in the films of the 40s, 50s, and 60s--hopefully that schematic is changing with actresses like Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren still proving that they can sell tickets as they age.

One should neither cling to their youth so tenaciously that they are considering costly and dangerous procedures, nor adopt an attitude of eventual decrepitude that involves mainlining milkshakes and Doritos while watching "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" on the couch.  Life can and should provide ample time and space to love, play, do important work and connect in meaningful ways.  So, here's what I'm thinking about my track record on a superficial level. 
  • I've earned four degrees, including a Ph.D.
  • I'm a certified yoga teacher
  • I've held a teaching job at the same school for 17 years and was awarded a distinguished teaching chair
  • My driver's license has my honest weight
  • I've saved up for retirement
  • I've published and traveled
  • I have a child, a husband, and a good relationship with parents, friends and colleagues.  
Now I want to look at that same list from a more important angle and at a different level.
  • I've always had an interest in learning and have never thought I know it all.  I've looked to broaden and deepen my knowledge.
  • I've pursued good health by eating well, studying nutrition, practicing yoga and meditation, learning more about spiritual and healing traditions.
  • As a teacher, I have the opportunity to open young minds--as they open mine--and to teach them skills that will enable them to be productive, compassionate and happy.
  • I have been mindful of the power of money and have always been independent, taking responsibility for my financial well-being.  This awareness has allowed me to help others through charity and service.
  • I've read much, written much, and been fortunate to see many places on this globe.  All have enriched me.
  • I've enjoyed a marvelous relationship with a daughter who is smart, funny, hardworking, beautiful  and kind.  I've enjoyed every minute of it. I have a loving husband who is a wonderful partner and I've been a good daughter and friend.
I've made plenty of mistakes along the way, but I know who I am and am comfortable with that while acknowledging that there's more I want to become. Not bad for fifty years.  In the years to come I plan to keep learning, stay healthy, play more and develop more deep friendships.  I'd like to do more service, travel out west, and see my websites expand to educate more people--everyone deserves the chance to learn.  Here's to a new decade.
Artfully yours,
Lisabeth

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Beltane: Flowering

5/1/2015

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Picture
Pilgrimage to Cythera by Jean-Antoine Watteau
This weekend marks the pagan celebration of Beltane, meaning a time of flowering.  Celebrants in past centuries often danced around maypoles (like the one pictured above) in the Rococo painting by Watteau, and groups will recreate this ritual today as well.  Rococo was an eighteenth-century style of art, very popular in France, that emphasized exuberance.  The adjectives I use for this genre are fun, frothy, and frilly.   Venus is often invoked in this art and the major theme is love and sex. Beltane too is all about love and sex.

Now that the ground has begun to warm it is time for life to spring forth with energy and zest.  As humans in the natural world, it is our time to enjoy the forcefulness of life around us and to engage in our own primal instinct to bloom and grow.  Beltane provides us with an opportunity to explore our sensuality, sexuality and regenerative urges.  This doesn't have to take the form simply of sex, of course.  Dancing, creating, engaging with nature, all of these fit the bill as we enter into the heart of spring and open our own hearts too.  

Suggestions for embracing Beltane:

  • For the birds!  Explore birds in your own backyard or on nature trails.  In particular listen to their songs.  One of my greatest joys of the year is when I can once again awaken to birdsong. Below find two links to sites where you can learn about bird conservation and birdsong.  Think about buying an identification guide too. https://www.audubon.org/birds http://www.birds.cornell.edu/onlineguide/
  • Buy fresh flowers and a lushly scented floral candle (think rose, jasmine, or lilac).  Drink in the colors and scents.  Feel the texture of the petals.
  • Enjoy a big colorful salad with a homemade dressing that incorporates a fruity vinegar.
  • Buy some silky nightwear.
  • Buy a floral perfume, or rediscover one you already have.  
  • Make some homemade chocolates with a splash of orange flower water or rosewater.
  • Drink some green jasmine tea and breath in the sweet steam.
  • Rejuvenate your skin with a yogurt/honey mask (just plain yogurt with a teaspoon of honey added). Follow up with a spritzer of rosewater or rose-scented witch hazel.
  • Dance, informally, or perhaps attend a contra dance in your region, they can be found online.
  • Trade massages with your partner, enjoy the magic of touch.
  • Add some lovely pink or purple to your wardrobe.

Most importantly, think about how you can blossom and grow during the spring and summer.  Now's the time to look into retreats, vacations or summer study. Allow yourself to indulge that urge.  Should you care to study, remember Your Art of Living offers a ten-week Healing Traditions course that explores five health and wellness traditions. http://www.yourartofliving.com/our-courses.html

Go forth and frolic!

Lisabeth
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    Lisabeth Robinson

    I have been an educator for 20 years.  I create, I play, I guide and I grow.  I want to share that with you too!

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