Suburban Desert

When there aren’t enough sources of fresh food in an urban or rural area – it’s called a food desert.  Could this be happening in suburbia, too?

Over the past year, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend.  Supermarkets are closing.  Right here in the burbs.  At least three within a few miles of each other.  What’s going on?

Some speculate that competition from the big chains is causing these food stores to “underperform.”  Without supermarkets, it tends to make people turn to fast food.  We’re being overfed and undernourished. 

All I know is that it makes me sad. Sad that I can’t jump in my car and pop over to Pathmark.  Sad that my mom can’t step out her apartment and stroll to Superfresh. But mostly, I'm sad for the people who lost their livelihood. 

There’s always hope, though. I heard that a new market is making plans to occupy one of the empty spaces.  I know I'll never take this oasis for granted again.

Wait ... what? Part 4

Wait … what? Part Four

In my never-ending encounters with “wait … what” moments, here are a few more I stumbled upon over the past few weeks.

An ancient statue sports a cool beanie on the Johns Hopkins campus.  He actually wears it well.

I thought it was a little odd to encounter this piece of broken peace.  It would take a brave buyer to pick this off the discount rack. It doesn’t seem to bode well, does it?

They paved paradise, but a little plant still managed to claim a spot in the middle of this parking space - through concrete - after Hurricane Sandy. We should all be that stubborn. 

Enjoy the quirky times in life that make you say, “wait … what?”

Nights at a Round Table

I think all future dining rooms should be square. Why? So that a round table can fit squarely in there.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the virtues of the round table.  It’s very democratic. There is no head and everyone is on par. You don’t have to think about where you sit and whether you’ll be stuck next to cousin Mildred who drones on about her cats.  At a round table, everyone is part of every conversation.  There’s no monopolization, polarization, or isolation. 

Legend has it that King Arthur ordered that a round table be built so that none of his knights had precedence over the other. It was a radical concept of equality.   Winston Churchill, too, apparently preferred a round table to conduct business.

So, next time you’re stuck at one end of a long table, think how King Arthur was secure enough not to be a head, but to be ahead of his time.

Four Shadowing

Last weekend I was bombarded with fours.  Was the universe trying to tell me something?

As someone always looking for symbolism, I researched a bit to find that four denotes stability and the tangible nature of things.  Consider the four seasons, the four directions, the four elements, and the four corners of the earth.  Four represents calmness and completeness.  However, four is an unlucky number in Chinese culture, so I’ll calmly and completely ignore that.

In numerology, the recurrence of four in your life signifies organization, hard work, solidity and great strength, but it can also symbolize a sense of restriction and limitation.  Guess it’s time listen to the fours and try to flex without being inflexible and hold strong without holding back.

Household Irony

I don’t know why, but whenever the leaf vacuum truck comes, I have a yard full of debris that never made it to the curb in time.

My cat completely ignores her scratching post in favor of furniture.

I swore that our exercise equipment would not become a laundry holding station.

Hmmm…irony wins again. But it will never trump the feeling of home.

Gratitude - Keeping things in perspective

How can I complain that the cat knocked over my tea onto the rug when nature laid out this carpet for me?

Why mourn the demise of the Twinkie when the earth gives us far better choices?

We may fall off the fiscal cliff, but we still have many mountains to climb.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Newton's Law of Buying Stuff

Now that I’ve attempted to de-clutter my house, I struggle to balance my new zen surroundings with my love to shop. How do you square your impulse for a bargain with the peace and calm of living simply?  Leave it to Sir Isaac Newton.  I’m borrowing his third law (sort of): For every item I bring into the house, there will be an equal and opposite item removed from the house.

For example, I couldn’t resist these beautiful Czechoslovakian canisters.  A yard sale bargain at $20.  I put them on the shelf in place of a set of margarita glasses.  They’re up for grabs to the first parrot head who wants them.

I found these JFK and Jackie S&P shakers at a local thrift shop. It makes me feel nostalgic just thinking about the excitement our nation had over our dashing president and his stylish first lady.  They transport us back to a time in history where we were blissfully unaware of what was to come.

In keeping with the equal and opposite law, it’s time to clear out another item. Sorry faux Blue Willow, but you just can’t compete with 1960’s Camelot.

Don’t get me wrong. I still love the thrill of the hunt at a great flea market. But I’m discovering the equal and opposite thrill of setting something free and putting it back into the world.