Margie Clayman

Pinteresting Ideas

Hi there!

Last week I began my growing adventures, but I sort of didn’t get around to actually getting things started till about Wednesday, so…I don’t have much to report. I am anxiously awaiting the sprouting of spinach, kale, and thyme.

In the interim, I have started a Pinterest board tied to this project. Mainly I am looking for container ideas, as in different things you can make containers from. There are some pretty cool ideas. In the past I have been one of those people who runs to Lowe’s the first time it hits 60º and I try to buy all the things. This year we hit 70 around Christmas so I am already confused, but that’s beside the point. This year I definitely want to have a plan ready so I use everything I have and don’t buy anything needlessly. After all, that IS kind of the point. Breaking down what I want will also help me budget better.

The duh factor on this is like wow, right?

Anyway, if you see any neat pictures or articles about container gardening let me know so I can add them to the board. Maybe some of the ideas will help you out as well.

Stay tuned!

Should I Be Growing Something Now?

by Margie Clayman

Here in southeast Ohio, winter has arrived. Wait, no, there it goes. It’s here. Nope, there it goes. Well, it’s supposed to be here, anyway. I have always thought it was virtually impossible to grow edible items during this time of the year, even when the weather hasn’t been completely psychotic. Shows what I know! As it turns out, there are lots of plants that can flourish in super cold environments. This begs the question, should I be working on my gardening as we speak?

If I had my own land…

Ah, the constant lament that spurred this project on. If I had my own land I would have a fall/winter garden that would already (hopefully) be colorful and edible and otherwise charming. I have extremely limited outdoor space, however, so I have to be extremely picky about what I plant in the actual ground. This has its pros and cons. The con of course is no land! Duh! But the benefit is that I pretty much have to use containers, and those can start indoors and then move outside if the plant can handle changes in temperatures.

Should I be starting my gardening now? Yes. Well, kind of.

So what’s the plan, Stan?

Thanks to the awesome people at GrowJourney (by Tyrant Farms) I essentially have a cheat sheet of epic proportions for any seeds I get from them. Here is the online guide for just one of my seed packets:

Kind of insane, right?

So, I have chosen three different types of seeds that I am going to try to start on over the next week. Now the thyme up above is technically a spring/summer plant, but since I’m starting it indoors where the temperature hovers in the 60s, I think it will be ok.

The other two plants are intended to be fall/winter plants, so once they get big I might move them outside. We are definitely not having a typical winter so it’s impossible to say when the last frost will hit.

We will see how this goes. I haven’t had a whole lot of luck starting plants from seeds over the last year, but I am going to diligently read everything like a good little monkey and see if that helps my results. I will also try to see if there are different locations in my apartment that might yield different/better results.

What three plants am I trying?

In addition to German Winter Thyme, I am going to be taking a shot at kale (Russian Frills) and Spinach (everlasting). All three come from seeds I got from the GrowJourney folks. If these start off well I might add more as the “winter” progresses. If they don’t I might hold off a little on new plants and try different approaches with these.

We’ll see where I am a week from now. Stay tuned!

Deciding what to grow

by Margie Clayman

The first challenge I am having is thinking about what I actually want to try to grow. It’s easy to think of plants and foods that I love, but it may not be practical to grow those, or they might look pretty but may not be foods I would actually eat a lot. With the goal of trying to at a minimum cut my grocery expenses in half over the summer, I have to think carefully about what I actually will eat, and then go backwards from there to figure out what I should grow.

To get me to this first objective, I am gathering some recipes that I don’t think will get old any time soon. Here is what I have come up with so far. Do you have any suggestions?

“Paleo Tacos” – A different kind of take on your favorite food, the gist here is that you put all of your fillings into a cup of lettuce instead of into a shell. I could grow the lettuce and tomato of course, and I could work in growing pinto beans perhaps so that I could make my own refried beans instead of buying the can. Olives would probably have to be purchased but that’s ok.

Farfalle with Cauliflower and Bread Crumbs: This recipe sounds pretty amazing. I would grow the cauliflower and maybe sometimes replace the pasta with zoodles. Speaking of…

Zoodles: I got big time into making zoodles (zucchini noodles) last year, to the point where I actually got pretty sick of them. However, this makes growing my own zucchini a major goal. Zoodles are surprisingly tasty, but I need to learn how to dry them out a little.

Polenta with Chard and Mushrooms: I make this recipe quite a lot. I am not sure about growing mushrooms but I would certainly love to grow the chard.

I of course won’t bore you with any salad “recipes” but of course spinach, carrots, and cherry tomatoes would be good.

So far, then, it looks like my growing goals would include:

Spinach

Lettuce

Lots of tomatoes

Zucchini

Carrots

Herbs – I love having fresh herbs, especially mint, basil, garlic, and rosemary.

Chard

Pinto Beans (?)

Green beans in the summer are always great as well, especially with fresh corn on the cob (which will have to come from somewhere else)

So what do you think so far? Any suggestions? Any additions? I’d love to hear from you!

Gardening for Renters

by Margie Clayman

For a long time now, I have had the intense desire to have a small farm. This sentiment was only increased after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a book about a family that did their best to only eat their own home-grown food for a year. Although the woman obviously had some clear advantages over me (she had her 250 closest friends over for her birthday dinner), it really inspired me.

Ok, she had one other advantage. She had her own land. I’ve been a renter my entire adult life, and that is probably not going to change any time soon. But does that mean that I can’t try to grow my own food?

I have been doing some experimenting over the last few years but not in a really dedicated way. Over the next year, however, I am going to be striving to get to a place where I can cut my grocery bills at least in half over the summer and fall, if not more. Even though I have dabbled in gardening, I am a novice. Very much so. So I will be learning a lot as I work on this, and I hope that maybe you can learn along with me as I go.

Let’s see how far we renters can go in becoming self-sufficient!

Social Media and the Hypnotization of the Masses

by Margie Clayman

Yesterday I was scanning my Facebook feed in the wake of yet another mass shooting here in the United States. There were two yesterday plus a lock-down at UNC Chapel Hill. A friend had posted the breaking news about San Bernardino and I saw a comment that said, “Great. Something else to blame the Republicans for.” As you might imagine, the conversation devolved from there into name-calling and political banter. Nobody gave pause to realize that at least 20 lives had been changed forever. Hypothesizing began about the suspects and the motives. No one seemed to mention that something like this, while always tragic, seems particularly tragic during the holiday season, just like Sandy Hook was.

Many people made posts asking why no one is doing anything about this. There were charges that Republicans are responsible for not limiting the NRA’s power. I’m sure gun rights people were going crazy (I’m not connected with very many of them).

I thought to myself how sad it is that we no longer seem to care about the people who have been killed. We just want to have our chance to have our say, to prove we were right, regardless of what side we’re on. That is when I had the realization that social media, though it can be such a power for good, has taken the spinal cord out of our country’s people. This applies to many people, regardless of religion, race, creed, political party, or beliefs. It has hypnotized us all.

How are we being hypnotized?

Perhaps my story will resonate with you, so I’ll start there.

A couple of years ago, I somehow got the notion that it was really important for me to make people aware of things. Understand, I have no power, no fame, no celebrity. I would get a fair amount of comments and/or “likes” on stuff I posted to Facebook. Somehow, in my brain, that made it seem like it was important that I post important things. “People are listening to me,” I thought. “I’ve got to say important stuff. I’ve got to use this power for good.” And I tried. I tried to promote organizations that needed help. I posted horrible things that politicians said to raise awareness. I pointed to this or that situation and said, “My God, someone should do something about this. Let’s raise awareness.”

I did not see at the time that in reality, I could do something – actually DO something – if I wanted to. I did not see it in part because if something I posted did well, I felt a sense of accomplishment. “I started a conversation,” I thought as I patted myself on the back. “I raised awareness. My part is done. I mean, what else can just little ole me really do? Besides, I have my own concerns.”

They say that social media is addictive because you get that instant gratification. You post something, you get a like, then another, then a comment! Could it go viral?? But this is also how we get brainwashed. Getting likes is replacing our sense of actual accomplishment.

Here’s the ice cold water in your face – perpetually posting about things online and digitally wringing your hands doesn’t do shit.Even if you are famous, you are not likely to change the hearts and minds of people who disagree with you. At least not online. And why is that? Because online part of our instant gratification is receiving verification that the way we think is the right way, and people who disagree with us are uneducated, uninformed, or just plain stupid. We have to prove we are right because that will change the world.

We’re hooked up to the Matrix

You know that scene in the first Matrix movie when Keanu Reeves is shown the true state of humanity? Everyone is plugged into the network and is asleep. That is how I envision us all now. We are hooked into the Facebook, into the Instagram, into the Twitter, and there we create the persona we want everyone to see. There, we are activists because we post a lot, and that’s what counts in the online world.

It’s time to unplug ourselves from that reality. That’s not to say that we should all quit social media platforms. I love Facebook. I’m still connected with people I’ve known my whole life thanks to that darned thing. I learn a lot online (sometimes). But this idea that “they should do something” needs to end. No, “they” don’t need to do something. WE need to do something. We need to do something real, in the real world.

The potential real actions we could take are innumerable, especially considering all of the problems we have to face.

If you want “them” to do something about gun control, check in with Gabby Giffords and her Americans for Responsible Solutions organization. Ask how you can help.

Write a letter to your congressman and senator every week. Every day.

Organize a march or marches against violence in your community.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen or buy lots of socks and donate them to homeless shelters. Follow Invisible People to learn about real homeless people and then try to get to know the homeless in your own city. Tell their stories.

Run for political office.

I could go on and on.

One small thing, every day

Imagine if we all replaced each post we do with one really small act of kindness to move the needle forward. For example, I am horrified about what is happening because of Boko Haram. It’s not getting much publicity. I could post about that to “raise awareness” or I could find an organization that is working to protect women and girls and donate to them.

Instead of pleading with someone to do something about the environment, I could volunteer some weekend to clean up a park (I would clean up a beach if I lived near one).

Instead of asking who is going to do something to end violence and shout out against Republican Fascists or “Libertards” (a great term I learned yesterday), I would think about what I can do against this force of hatred. One thing, every day. In the real world.

Of course I realize the irony and hypocrisy of posting all of these thoughts here online and sharing them online. I hope that this sparks a good conversation. But what I really hope is that it sparks people to get up and MOVE. Anything you do in front of your computer screen pales in comparison to what you could do in “real life.”

Let’s break free and try to make the world that we want.

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/malavoda/2789900134/ via Creative Commons

#PassionPlayers Jennifer Leggio

by Margie Clayman

So this #PassionPlayers feature is neat in that it was actually this series that introduced me to Ms. Leggio. She thought it was a cool series and enjoyed some of the other profiles I posted, so I invited her to play, and here we are 🙂 Jennifer put a lot of thought into these answers – check ’em out!

1. How do you define “passion”?

Passion is not something that you do; passion is something that is. Passion isn’t an endless love, or a surefire success. It’s something that’s deep within you, and it’s a commitment that you honor regardless of how challenging it is, or how much it might hurt. It requires bravery, and a keen understanding of the blissful line between love and hate. It never stops. It’s never satisfied. It moves you forward, and it keeps you alive.

2. What is your passion?

I have two core passions, and they are of equal intensity.

The first is music, which has been my lifeblood since my youth. I have a modicum of talent, but I am not passionate about creating music. Music can change my emotional state, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad, and it can create “quiet” when I need it. That quiet is actually the sound of whatever music I choose at the moment. It’s such a part of me that it could never be considered noise. If I’m not presently engaged in a conversation, a movie, or a book, you can almost guarantee that I have music playing — especially while I write or I work.

The second is supporting technology innovation, specifically in the area of computer security. Protecting users and organizations is critical, and everyone should be educated on risk, threats, and protection resources. It’s not something I do; it’s something I believe in and choose to action with my talent. This also includes fostering and empowering innovators, by pushing them toward their desired successes, helping them to grow their companies, or using my network and marketing prowess to spread the word about new tools and technologies that can provide better digital privacy or security.

3. How did you know that this was a passion and not just a passing interest?

Oh, that’s an easy one. Because I’ve never been satisfied with any of my passions, and I’ve always wanted more. And even when I’ve had to step away from focusing on them for a short time, I’ve always taken great comfort in the fact that they will always be there.

4. How do you make sure you follow your passion and nurture it?

Simply: I’m honest with myself about who I am and what makes me who I am, and I just live it. I had a talk recently with a brilliant man who emphasized the importance of staying true to one’s “mission.” Sure, we all need and want to make money and pay the bills, but if you stay true to why you do something, you’ll always be successful. Never forget the mission.

5. What is your advice to other people who are trying to find or follow their passion?

Listen to yourself before anyone else. Take the steps to form a level of self-awareness that can indicate your passion, and don’t let your fear stand in the way of you engaging with it, or hinder your benefitting from the potential success of pursuing it. Don’t let others cloud your judgment; no one will ever know your passion better than you do. And there is rarely a passion that is “wrong.”

6. Anything else you want to say?

For some reason while answering these questions, a quote from Elizabeth Taylor popped into my head: “Now is the time for guts and guile.” Guts are required to stay true to your passions and truly live them; guile is required for actively pursuing them in a way that complements and even better fuels your life. I think now is always the time, and the rewards are sweet.

Margie Clayman

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