The Conspirator

Tracy and I just finished watching the movie The Conspirator about Mary Surratt who was tried and hung as a conspirator  in the plot to kill President Lincoln.  The movie was fascinating and what I liked most about it was the way it really dug into thorny historical issues while still telling a compelling story.  

A lot of historians (including me occasionally) gripe about historical films, and while I still think it's important to try to be accurate to the issues and events of history, I also think there's something to be said for using a good story to interest people in the events of the past.  As I've mentioned before, I'm not sure I would have become a historian without things like the Little House books and Young Riders.    I think historians need to look pop culture straight in the eye and acknowledge it's strengths and it's weaknesses. 

A great example of this - On the first day of my graduate level "History as Archaeology" class my professor showed a pivotal scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark,  not as a cautionary tale, but as a way of acknowledging it as the first place many of his students heard about and became interested in the field of archaeology.  He then used it to prompt a discussion about what archaeology is and what archaeology isn't, all while admitting that he too wanted to be Indiana Jones. 

D.C. Quake

I recently tweeted that the thought of cracks in the Washington Monument, however small, is making me a little gloomy.  As anyone who knows me can attest, since Tracy and I lived there for a summer five years ago I have had a real affection for our nation's capital.  I'm really thankful that it wasn't serious, and that everyone is okay, and I'm really hoping the attack of Hurricane Whatever isn't going to make things worse.

Confederate Cosmetics

A few years ago my friend Michaele, who is getting her PhD at William and Mary (I am not jealous, I swear), sent me a wonderfully silly souvenir package from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, including, believe it or not, Monticello Hand Sanitizer.  It was such a ridiculously non-historic souvenir that it became a bit famous, in fact one of my coworkers from the Archives protested that she wanted her own ludicrous historical souvenir, and so when I was in Virginia last summer Michaele helped me locate yet another goodie,  a Jefferson Memorial nail file.

However, recently I received another souvenir from Michaele that I think, once again, takes top honors in the bizarre historic souvenir gift contest -The Authentic Civil War Era Lip Salve (it actually says this on the tube)  Johnny Reb Natural Beeswax Lip Balm in "Mint Julep."  I am not kidding.  It even has a little picture of a soldier in a gray uniform standing in front of the Confederate flag.

Michaele and I have talked in the past about the problem of the glorification of the Confederacy throughout historical monuments in the south, and now I have my own little piece of odd Confederate memorabilia.  And yes, I am using it.  While working on a dissertation about Civil Rights no less.  The world is a very strange place.

Freegle

As if I needed another reason to think libraries are awesome, over the last few months I have been thoroughly enjoying something called Freegle.  The Salt Lake County Library offers this service that allows you three free song downloads a week.  Like, as in you get to keep them, permanently and legally.

Now, not everything is on there, but the selection is pretty impressive.  New Brad Paisley album....check.  Miranda Lambert song I wanted (Only Prettier)...check.  Sara Bareilles (whom Becky Criddle made me aware of and I now love) ... check.   Really, sometimes technology actually is amazing.

Pluots and Other Adventures

Tracy and I decided to try buying our produce from the produce co-op Bountiful Baskets. You order the basket on Monday and pick it up on Saturday, it's a flat fee ($16.50) and you get a laundry basket full of stuff.  The adventurous part is that you never know what that is going to be until you pick it up.  This week was an especially good week with tomatoes, celery, asparagus, red peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower, peaches, pluots (see below), cantaloupe, pears  and bananas.

We've been doing it for four weeks now and we've had a lot of fun with it.  I think it's something that we'll keep doing.   Here's the results from our quite successful experiment:

Positive Results

-We are eating more fruits and vegetables, I mean A LOT more.  I've been washing a bowl of the fruit and leaving it on the counter and Tracy's been eating them as snacks
- The baskets are consistently a great deal and the quality has tended to be better than average.
- I'm starting to build up a nice little stock of frozen fruits and veggies in the freezer and preserving them this way (at least for the short term) has been easier than I thought it would be. 
- Variety, we've had white sweet potatoes, heirloom cherry tomatoes and mangoes, among others.  Things I wouldn't normally buy but were fun to have.
- Pluots, an apricot-plum hybrid that Tracy has declared might be his favorite fruit
- Melons, they're back baby!  Tracy doesn't like melons and so I wasn't buying them, but now if they come I feel happy to eat them instead of guilty for spending money on something one of us doesn't like.
- Broccoli, we like broccoli salad, a lot.  I made a big batch and it disappeared.


Neutral Results

-Kale, yes I can chop it up and hide it in things, but not our favorite.
-Cauliflower, we don't like it cooked, but it's okay raw.  I've snuck a piece or two into a smoothie and you can't taste it.

Negative Results

-Eggplant, even slathered in garlic and olive oil and grilled we didn't like it.  I think if we get it again I'll have to find someone to donate it too.
-Lettuce, we've received it every week and it's the one thing you can't freeze and therefore the one thing I have had to throw away.

P.S. – Tracy sold another item on Etsy, one of his computer clocks, which means he's sold one of each of the things he's posted – wind chime, mobile, and computer clock.  It's very exciting!  

Blog Slump and Another Sale

Ok, so I'm not dying or even having a major case of writer's block, I'm just in a funk about blog writing for some reason.   I don't know why this happens occasionally, I mean I could have blogged about any number of happy or depressing topics, but I just haven't.  I need to get over it already and write about something. 

One good thing that's happened is that Tracy has sold a mobile on Etsy (the bouncy ball one), and he got the feedback from the last sale and it was extremely positive.   I'm so proud of him.  Who knew his bouncy ball collection would one day lead to artistic inspiration?

I'm working on revising my novel, Capstone, and my very sweet husband is reading draft #2.  Tracy has this great ability to point out some of the weaknesses I know are there that I just hope no one notices.   It's good to have someone whose loving and kind go "uh, this line is kinda girly."  (When in the point-of-view of my main male character of course.) I think it helps that it comes with his daily support and encouragement of my writing in general.  He's definitely the right guy for me.

Look, huzzah, a blog entry!  Maybe there's hope after all.

Hurray for Tracy!

Tracy sold his first wind chime on Etsy today.  Very exciting.  I am very proud of him!