Hungry Times Two

It’s officially eight weeks into the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” directive here in Asheville, NC, and today I had the most epic day of mishaps thus far. In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper and state officials tout the three Ws as “flattening the curve” practices. I’d like to propose a fourth, inspired by the opening line of most of actor Leslie Jordan’s Instagram posts . “Well, shit.” That’s my motto. Casual, to the point, and very much over it all. (This being said, I am aware of my privilege to work from home and remain inconvenienced thus far, and I send much love and respect to those who cannot.) Ouch First I woke up with a sore neck. What could I have done? I quit doing half-assed yoga weeks ago! Then I remembered last night I washed a particularly gritty bag of romaine lettuce using my salad spinner. I recall thinking at the time, "This is why I don’t use this Ikea spinner that often. This thing is stubborn and churns like a cement mixer.” I must have over-aggres...

I'm planting my garden this spring like I always do, but it's got extra meaning for me now.  It's May 7, 2020 and we've been living amidst COVID-19/coronavirus since early March, and in addition to so many other upheavals, food security's come up.  Meat-packing plants  are shut down due to employees falling ill, food banks have miles-long lines, and restaurant owners are feeding their former  bar/restaurant workers . Additionally, there have been some references to the Victory Gardens of World War I and more so from World Ward II. Things are nutty right now, so looking to history, and gardening, can teach us some things. Gardening is Good for Your Mental Health Just as COVID-19 really started becoming a reality, and subsequent lay-offs happened at bars, restaurants, etc., I ironically started a job on March 20, 2020.  I'm a warehouse worker at a local garden center, stocking shelves, loading 50 lb. bags of soil and fertilizer [manure] into customer's cars...