I have been neglecting this podcast, and haven’t even been writing in this blog for a while. Certain events in my real life which I really do not want to go into have caused me to want to pull into myself and hide my personal self from the internet. I have been doing some posting of interesting links on my Facebook account (go ahead and friend me if you like–it’s rare that I refuse a friends request unless it’s from an obvious spammer) and have been in some rewarding arguments. I’ve also posted a few links in my LiveJournal, but nothing really personal. You are welcome to read that, for what it’s worth (my LiveJournal has devolved mostly into a link repository as well).

I’ve been very upset by the economy and how long it is taking to fix it. I am very angry that as usual there are certain charletons who are using the system to enrich themselves on the backs of the taxpayers. I am upset about the situation in Afghanistan, Darfur and Myanmar. I have been called anti-semitic and akin to a Nazi because of my linking to articles about atrocities committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip (Apparently Jews get a free pass on human rights because of their experiences in World War II.). I’ve been told off by a relative because of my activist atheism. I’ve been slammed by a vegetarian family member because of my activist veganism. And it gets more personal than that–I’m just doing everything wrong, apparently.

But the cool thing is that my oldest daughter Halley is living at home while she studies for her GRE and hopefully finds a job soon, and Dwight, Halley, and I have been putting in some raised bed gardens in our front yard (which is a pain because we live on a hill and the only part of our yard that gets any sun whatsoever is very steep). We’ve planted some cool-weather vegetables and they are growing!

Dwight and I also broke down and bought a Vita-Mix after I burned out the motor on our old blender and we’re drinking green smoothies every day. It is the most expensive kitchen appliance we have ever bought, next to the refrigerator and the dishwasher, but it is so useful! When the kale and collards come in, we’ll be blending them into delicious frosty beverages.