Garbage in... garbage out...

Before the holidays, I spent some time with our youngest son, Malik, as we cleaned his room in preparation for my mother to come visit us. As we cleaned, we talked about organization. We had recently converted his room from a little boy room to a big boy room, and had totally emptied the place to paint and assemble his big boy bed. When we began to redesign the space, he put his 6-yr-old sensibilities to work, and created a space that was perfect for a "big boy" -- desk for Lego creations (I thought he might also use it for homework -- what do I know); little TV and stand for his gaming system and games; storage crates for GI Joes, Hot Wheels and more Legos.  All his craft and homework supplies were neatly stashed in all those desk drawers, and there was a coat rack on the back of his door for his outerwear.

That left us with a spare room full of all the toys that USED to be in his room. When I asked him which ones he wanted to put back, he took a look at his grown up layout and stated, "None of them. I like my room the way it is. Everything I really want is already in there." He made the decision which things to store in the attic (trains and tracks, and his play kitchen items), then said to give the rest to the preschool at his after school program. We were very proud of him.

As I began boxing up toys, taking time to note which ones "worked" and which missed the mark, I was struck by the assortment of miscellaneous things that he accumulated from undetermined places: toys that came in fast food meals, party favors, vending machine thingies he just had to have, dollar store bribes... In fact, most of these items were discarded within minutes of the "I just have to have it!" being uttered. And here they sit, on the Island of Misfit Toys, ready to go into the Glad Bag of Doom.

How much of our home (and life) is full of these impulsive "I just have to have it!" things and moments? I think of the space and time it took to house these trinkets, and then to the energy and time it takes to harbor thoughts, feelings and moods that serve no real purpose, but eat away at our productivity and happiness. Garbage in... garbage out...

I was reading two stories in the Bible this morning. The first was the story of Cain and Abel. Genesis tells us that Cain grew vegetables, and Abel was a shepherd. A supeficial read makes it sound like God preferred fresh meat to veggies, but that can't be the case, as God said all was good for food. A closer read shows God counseling Cain to set his heart straight, because to harbor whatever the bad feelings he had in his heart would open him up to danger. The Spiritual Glad Bag of Doom. It doesn't go into details, but the fact that he next murdered his brother, Abel, points to some kind of rivalry, resentment and jealousy. Garbage in... garbage out...

The other story I read was the story of Noah. Before Satan was evicted from the heavenly realm, he and his friends used to roam about on earth, looking for trouble. In this story, trouble was in the form of human women. So the story tells us, the offspring of these unions were giants, ruffians, and general corruptors of the planet.  Bad intentions led, ultimately, to the destruction of an entire planet full of living things.

As we begin 2010, trying to live a more efficient, sustainable life, let's not neglect the energy we spend on inside work. The garbage we let into our hearts can only lead to garbage in our lives. Time to take the time to clean house!
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Tried my hand at some Southern cooking for the New Year. This pork sausage gravy was delicious over biscuits, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Nothing low-cal about it, but it certainly was good comfort food! I found the recipe on the Dallas News site (photo is theirs, too).

Country Style Sausage Gravy

1/3  of a 1 lb pkg of Jimmy Dean pork sausage (we prefer spicy)
1 pkg (2.75 oz) country style gravy mix (with black pepper)
1 c chicken broth
7/8 c water
1/2 c heavy cream
1 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

1.  Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the sausage until fully cooked, breaking large chunks into small pieces. Drain excess grease, add the chicken broth to the skillet and bring to a simmer.


2.  Combine the country gravy mix with water and stir to dissolve. Slowly add to the hot skillet, stirring constantly until thickened. Add the milk or cream, parsley and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thickness of the gravy can be altered by the amount of cream or milk added.

Makes about 3 c gravy
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