To Self Compost or Not to Self Compost?

Yet another composting question, prompted by a friend's sharing a link to a new technique being researched to provide an alternative to burials and cremations.

It is "recomposition" or "human composting" as described by NBC.

Screenshot of the image from the linked NBC article.

This, or, rather, alternative burial methods, have been under consideration for a while.  There is a cemetery somewhere in Kentucky or in Appalachia that accepts only unembalmed corpses so that the soil microbes can just come and do their thing, without caskets and chemicals to get in the way.  [Edited: There’s one in Newfield, New York!; Further edited: And more sites!]  It seems the gentler way to depart the earth.  And if not this, then cremation, which apparently consumes quite a bit of energy.

Back in high school there was a Vanity Fair article that described a novel practice of disposing of the departed: in a monastery in Tibet, there is a monk whose job it is to chop up the bodies of deceased fellow monks in the open courtyard of the monastery so that the vultures can descend and have their meal.  The vultures know, so they come quickly.  It was at once a grisly description, but resonating in how true the practice is to Buddhist philosophy.

That particular method of departing the earth would not be especially feasible or green, at least from New York City - flying a body over to Tibet leaves a definite carbon footprint.  But finding a gentler way of departing seems a good aspiration.  The loved ones already know of this aspiration, and here is the public statement of wishes 😊

To Vermicompost or Not to Vermicompost?

That is the question - triggered by a Facebook feed sponsored post for the Urban Worm Bag.  And then the rabbit hole opened up and off down into it went this urban terrace jungle girl.  YouTube review videos are a black hole.

Screenshot of the product from the Urban Worm Company site.

Seems it produces fast, or relatively fast, compost.  Not sure about tending to all those little worms.  One summer the vermicomposting happened accidentally - there happened to be worms when the bin was opened for the usual stirring, they appeared inexplicably.  Maybe they came with soil from plants transplanted from the Mother Garden.  But those wormies - they seem awfully high maintenance.  And what to do with them in winter?  Seems a lot of people keep their bins inside, which is not feasible in a New York City apartment.

The answer keeps coming back to "no."

The Big Chill

More to come ...

Marathon Sunday

(More to come.)

Autumnal Colors

(More to come.)

The World Is Your Oyster

Although perhaps not quite so much on a predominantly vegetarian diet.  But exceptions can always be made for those occasions when oysters are on the menu and good company is at hand.  Liberal invocation of those types of exceptions is highly recommended.  Life is short; YOLO, as the kids say.  Balance - duty to the animals, on the one hand; nature and self-care, on the other.  Everything in moderation.

And with that approach, maybe the world really can be your oyster - the best of it all.

Like the Billion Oyster Project - an educational program in the New York City public schools that teaches marine conservation techniques and seeks to seed oysters in used shells to plant in New York Harbor, both to clean the water and to act as a defense against the strong currents of global warming.  And, bonus, the participating restaurants save money by reducing the need for waste disposal, and the shells that yield all that deliciousness go back to the ocean from where they came.  Not just win-win, but so many wins all around!

Love those stories!  Environmental goodness, educational goodness, gastronomical goodness.  Like the little urban (terrace) jungle.  Now how is that for bringing it all back around?

By Agata Poniatowski, from the NPR article linked. 

(Also the best of it all: Finally coming back around to making time to blog after a long absence, finally getting to use inspirational material saved and emailed in hopes of sharing it further, finally getting to take a little step toward building and sharing a version of the ideal and integrated life - that elusive goal of living....)

Peachy Days of Late Summer

Brunch at Tom's
Abbreviated tour of the alma mater
Office cleaning
Root dying
Dinner makings shopping
Travel planning
Salad assembly and dining
Relationship straightening
Blogging

(More to come.)

Summer Weekend Lunching

Something old, something new, something borrowed, nothing blue .... Wedding-inspired edition of this Sunday's lunch, although there were no particular weddings that prompted this lunch - just ingredients on hand.

The old: croutons from the cupboard (not sure from how long ago - now in the fridge), Trader Joe's Thai chili lime cashews from the fridge (love those - they make any salad), Parmesan cheese from the freezer (big 2-pack bag from Costco, purchased for an extended houseguest who often used it in dishes - but houseguest has departed).

The new: heirloom tomatoes from yesterday's farmer's market (not the most flavorful, a little on the mealy side, seeds not worthy of saving - maybe it's all the rain we've gotten this summer), Vietnamese balm from the garden (aka rau kinh gioi, now more easily accessed since the scaffolding has started to come down).

The borrowed: the yellow dish (purchased by Sissy, left behind when she decamped downstairs).

The blue: none, as the open Parm had already been relegated to the freezer (although some bluish green clumps had earlier been spotted, and removed - hence the sojourn to the freezer).

Liberal sprinkling of garlic powder, Italian seasoning, Trader Joe's lemon pepper grinder.  Not a bad lunch.  Prouder about the utilization of existing ingredients - always a victory!

Old Stomping Grounds

Little bit of balance, little bit of luck allowed for a visit to the old college stomping grounds with classmates and their littles this past weekend.  A lovely afternoon.

The day had been earmarked for housecleaning in preparation for houseguest next weekend.  And, it was supposed to rain, so accepting an invitation to join in an afternoon of introducing the next generation to dear old alma mater did not seem a good idea.  But then it turns out the houseguests aren't coming (love them - but oh the cleaning, the pretense of maintaining a somewhat presentable abode!), and just before going out for a run, a text came through about the rendez vous being on after all, given the newly cleared skies.

So off for the afternoon.  The campus is ever changing with new construction.  The littles were too sweet - the eldest taking one of the younger boys under her wing.  And overheard: "Abba, your college is sooo pretty!  I want to be a part of it!"  Success!  Indoctrination takes root.

The Lake Debate

In the quest for balance, for time with family, for restorative recreation, there is the lake.  This past weekend, for Parpelade's birthday weekend and Bro's last vacation before starting a new job, it was Greenwood Lake, a favorite.  Close enough to the city, yet far enough to feel really far.

For years now, since the first visit, the internal debate has been whether to aspire for a home there.  Would it be used enough to justify the expense?  Could it generate income to offset the expenses?  Would the small lake become too much of a bore too soon?  Or does staring at a lake and hills and trees just outweigh all of those worries?

No answers yet.  The weekend was lovely.  The longing continues.  If money were no issue - ah, if money were no issue....

Improvisational Summer Meals

The bounty: Herbs galore - purple and green shiso, or perilla (tia to), and Vietnamese balm (kinh gioi).*  The original plan: The usual rice noodles with herbs and seitan and nuoc mam dressing.  The revised plan: Substitute soba noodles and a peanut butter-based sauce for the rice noodles and nuoc mam.  The hitch in the plan: No peanut butter to be found in the fridge.  Maybe it was Sis's and she took it back.  The improvisation: Sesame oil to the rescue!

The result was surprisingly filling and tasty, and absolutely perfect for summer.  A perfect weed and eat meal.  Now documented for posterity, and the repertoire.  Only improvement would have been to be able to dine al fresco - hopefully the scaffolding will come down on schedule.

* Translations per Viet World Kitchen.  It was about time to find out those translations!

"Today We Celebrate Our Independence Day...."

Midweek July 4th.  Brief little holiday.  Catch up on life day.  Roll out of bed really late day.  Venture with Sis out for brunch/lunch day.  Clean the toilet day.  Get sucked into the black hole of Facebook day.  Get lost in dreams of cute boy day.  Step out onto terrace to check on progress of roof repair day.  Harvest purple weedy shiso for dinner day.  Finally start some laundry late in the day to ready for houseguest arrival the following day day.  Bring down some paper recycling day.  Quickly make dinner of last of long-term houseguest's potato garlic soup in a carton, adding harvested shiso day.  Quickly run out to esplanade to catch Macy's fireworks with Sis and her tourist Internet acquaintance and her hostel mate day.  Take a few photos and reciprocate holiday wishes with law school friends day.  Then chill and enjoy the fireworks day.  Retrieve laundry and finish dinner day.  Look up and learn the nutritional content of shiso, and discover serendipitously it contains the iron and consuming itwilll help to correct worrisome deficiency day.  Write brief blog post day.  Vow to awake early to finish house chores the following morning day.

Romance and Humidity in the Air

Some long-married couples like to celebrate their wedding anniversaries alone with each other, reminding themselves of why they came together.  Others insist on spending time with the kids.

Marmalade and Parpelade fall into the latter group.  And so on one of the stickiest days of the year, their marriage was celebrated with a trip to Coney Island - to the New York Aquarium, more specifically (an improvement over the Bronx Zoo - Parpelade's original invitation to Marmalade, no doubt inspired by one of their courtship outings to the zoo in Saigon; sweet, romantic idea, but not in the middle of a heat wave).

Crowded day at the beach.  Lovely jaunt.  On list of things to try: getting there all the way on the Q - the MTA says it should only take an hour.  To be tested.

Juneteenth Reflections

New York Today in the New York Times is a lifeline of local events - a distillation of significant historical dates, of the current events of interest to New Yorkers, of the myriad options to entertain and learn and do. 

And so it was the link to Night at the Museum in lower Manhattan - free entry, late hours.  As well the reinforcing reminder that June 19th was "Juneteenth" - the date that the last of American slaves learned of their emancipation. Different celebratory events for the occasion in and around the city were listed.  The first of the listings for Night at the Museum was the African Burial Ground National Monument, a mere fifteen minute walk from the office.  Perfect overlap. 

So that day was all about getting done and out in time to arrive by 7:30, a half hour before closing time.  It was lovely, and educational, and a nice break from routine and an excuse to take a walk on a warm evening.  Juniors were corrupted by yours truly into playing hooky and joining.

My beloved city - built by many hands - some of those forced.  It is cathartic, in some ways, to reflect, give due recognition, to be grateful for the benefits bestowed.  And to be reminded to strive to not allow injustices and slights to be normalized. 

An hour out.  Then back to the office.  Not as productive as aspired to, but ah well.  All about balance, trying to live in the moment, not miss out.  The essence of freedom, and a good way to honor the toil of those before.

Father's Day Coveting

Coveting time.  Coveting food.  Coveting plants.

Staycation's All I Ever Wanted ....

Visits from out of town friends and a little gentle arm twisting to spend down a vacation day can yield the best returns - a perfect, gem of a day playing low-key tourist in the city.

Ahhh - exhale.

Memories of Memorial Day Weekend

There are two types of extended holiday weekends - the ones that require hours in a car moving nowhere on traffic-choked roads, supposedly quick exits via train or plane, transiting from stations or airports with hordes of other harried passengers, with lots of advance planning of itineraries and activities and reservations, or the ones that are low-key, low-plan, ease into summer types.  The latter are infinitely more enjoyable, if far less glamorous ...

Mother's Day and Beyond - Catch Up Edition

Yes, Mother's Day was two Sundays past.  This post comes late.  Time is always in short supply.  But with this, the hope is that some sort of post is better than none.

For a mother as wonderful as mine, of course the celebration could be nothing less than a weekend.  And mother hens like to stick close to the nest, so an excursion to Queens was in order. 

Mother hens who like to garden tend to ask for shopping trips to places with plants.  So off to Lowe's in Garden City, with their very plentiful choices.  In years past, the outcast shelves have yielded some wonderful treasures.  The white rosebush was a find from the Hick's outcast section some years back.  Once you go with the outcasts and orphan plants, it's hard to go back.  Probably akin to adopting a rescue rather than buying a purebred for the animal people.  This time around, the outcast shelves yielded some slightly sad specimens, but they were just a little dry.  The clerk affixing the deeply discounted price stickers said just as much - they just don't have the time to water, and then the plants get rejected.  But anyone who knows plants can pick out a lively one that just needs a little hydration.  So that's how 6 little petunias (color undetermined) made it out, and a lily of some variegated form.  And Mother Hen, who had been looking at some full-priced retail versions before being urged by yours truly to consider the outcasts, found a lovely multi-color hanging basket, some mandavillas, petunias, a whole host of goodies .... We walked out with about $100 worth of plants for $40 - score!

And then off to Costco, including shopping for ingredients to make Mother's Day brunch.  Then off to Spring in Flushing for the best shabu shabu.  And the next day, said brunch, only mildly aided by sweet, well-meaning, but somewhat useless siblings.

And then it was time to go.  But not before Mother Hen offered to dig out lilies of the valley - those thrive-in-low-light-of-north-facing-terrace plants that, apparently, are also highly invasive and the scourge of Mother Hen's edible elephant ear patch.  So homeward headed, there were Costco treats, Lowe's orphan plants, and Mother Garden transplants - food and plants, the essence of Mother Hen's love transplanted into tangible gifts. 

Bunking up.  Lily of the Valley transports from the Mother Garden on the left, bunking up with the daylilies.  Lilies of the valley from years past on the right, sprung back to life, bunking with the white rosebush (that may be no more).

Lily of the Valley.  Transport from the Mother Garden.

Peonies, at Mother Hen's, plucked from the Mother Garden.  It is a bastion of abundance.  Mother Hen picked her own flowers for Mother's Day.

The petunias from Lowe's.

Rainforest Sunrise Plantain Lily.  It's really just a hosta. 

Self-Watering Container - Home-Grown Variety

More fulsome account and tutorial to come.  But here are some photos in the meantime (raw and unedited - and in no particular order).

Today was the test day.  Tomorrow will be the major work day.  Oy.