Team Work

Transcript

Q: Huh? What's that noise?

C: [mumbled "I don't know"]

Q: Is it Dada and Quinn?

C: Dada and Quinn. What's gonna work?

Q: TEAM WORK

C. What's gonna work?

Q: TEAM WORK

Cooking With a Toddler Part 2

I once watched a documentary about an Amish family. The father said that they did not use electric tools to build things. He said this was not motivated out of a belief that power tools are of the devil. Rather, power tools disrupt community. He said, "Hand powered tools require the involvement of all of my family members. We want to be together." That is the only thing I remember about the documentary. It had a profound impact on how I view laborious tasks. I had never seen a person choose community health over ease.

Fast forward a bit.

A few months ago I started giving the Q food related tasks while I cooked dinner. For example, I gave him a bowl of dry beans and told him to use a spoon to move the beans into another bowl. We started adding other ingredients and then I thought, "Why not just give him real ingredients and have him help me cook." Cooking with toddlers takes a lot longer and it is much messier. But it is some of the sweetest time I have ever spent as a parent. I've started to do all sorts of my chores with him like mowing and carpentry.

While we purchased the reel mower out of a concern for the environment, it has been a great asset to helping us build community as a family. Speaking of the environment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a gas powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new cars that are driven 12,000 miles. Americans burn 800 million gallons of gas per year by using lawn equipment. It doesn't take much longer to use this little guy and my lawn looks just as good as when I use a gas mower.

Doing carpentry with toddlers takes forever because you can't use power tools. Also, the end product is a bit crooked. However, to me it is even more rewarding than cooking. Me and the Q built a little loft for our new chickens. They no longer fit in it...

I am learning that cheaper, faster, and easier is not necessarily better. In fact, many times it robs life from its fullness (and vegetables from their nutrients).

The Chicken Rancher

Q Quote of the Day

We got chickens this past weekend. Here is a picture from this morning right after Q said this:

"Bu-bye chickies...ave fawn."

Smooth Translation: "Bye-bye chickens. Have fun!"

Cooking With a Toddler Part 1

Part 2 will have more to do with the title. I need to preface it with this post.

I've been reading a good portion of Wendell Berry lately. Berry is a farmer, a poet, an environmentalist, a novelist, and a speaker. Back in 1987 Berry wrote an essay titled Why I am Not Going to Buy a Computer (that's right, I just embed a link to an essay called Why I am Not Going to Buy a Computer). It's a fascinating read and a bit impractical. However, Berry makes some good points about technological innovation.

Here they are:
1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.

Berry is the first to admit that "like almost everybody else, I am hooked to the energy corporations, which I do not admire." His stance on not buying a computer comes out of his hope "to become less hooked to them." Again, the stance is not necessarily practical (yet) but it is needed.

This is not a politically driven blog. I am not looking for a debate regarding energy or corporations or computers (obviously, I'm typing this on a computer). This blog and its sequel are about point number 9 on Berry's list of requirements for technological innovation. I will end with one question. In an attempt to save time and money, how often do we do things that either circumvent or blatantly disrupt community?

That's all for now. The toddler part will come into play next week.

The Q's Youtube Debut

The Q has always loved looking at pictures and videos of himself. He is, of course, a human. Recently, he got a hold of the computer while Tammie was in the other room and recorded a few videos of himself. Here are the highlights.

Q Quote of the Day

In commenting upon the slow process of getting ready for dinner:

"Where'd eat pizza doe?"

Literal Translation: "Where did eat pizza go?"

Smooth Translation: "Where is the pizza mother?"