CT Urban Farmer

My dream job would be some sort of farmer. I would settle for anything in the agricultural industry. With my background and situation in life, the chances of me doing this are looking slim to none. So what do I do to scratch this itch? I garden. I started off about 5 years ago with just a couple of tomato plants and have added something new every year. I am by no means a green thumb yet but am working on it.

In years past i have limited my garden my side yard and containers on the back porch. This year I am going all out. I am adding raised beds to the back yard and hope to grow most all of our fresh produce for the summer and fall. I would also like to learn to can my produce to have enough to make it through winter. It may not happen, but I am looking forward to trying. In addition to the vegeatables and herbs I am wanting to plant bluberry, raspberry and blackberry bushes. I would also like to bring chickens into the mix eventually.

If it sounds far fetched for my meager yard, check out these people. They are able to produce 6000 lbs of produce per year on their 1/10th of an acre lot. They may be a little crazy, but they have a great story.

So if there is anyone out there who would like to teach me the art of canning and jam making I would love to hear from you.

CT

Tebow, Homeschool, and Pierce v. Society of Sister

After reading a friends blog on homeschooling I was reminded of an article I read some time back. It covers the plight of the homeschooler trying to participate in public school athletics. I see both sides of this issue. If you pay your taxes you should be able to get some benefit from it. On the other hand, you have opted out of the main part of school which is the education part. I don't view school as a cafeteria plan where you can choose what you want to participate in and what you don't.

What do you think? Should homescoolers be allowed to participate in certain public school activities (sports, art, PE, lunch, etc) or is it an all in or all out proposition?

For me the jury is still out on this one. I am leaning towards one direction.

CT

Stuff Christians Like That I Don't Like

There are things that Christians say, support, and do that tend get under my skin. I hope this list does not offend you. I am not saying that there is something wrong with most of these things. It is that they are just not for me.

1) Chick-fil-a
2) One word church names. "The Village, The Way, Pontification, The Signal, etc"
3) Beth Moore
4) Sarah Palin
5) Use of the @ sign
6) Christian Radio.
7) The Duggars. I do like their laundry soap (It is not them personally, I am sure they are great people)
8) Tea Party Movement
9) The phrase 24/7/365
10) Tim Tebow
11) Boycotting. Disney, P&G, Sony, The Da Vinci Code, Halloween,Etc. http://www.christianboycott.org/
12) Kirk Cameron

I am sure there are plenty of things that I do that get under others skin. This is just my list.

CT

Rob Bell "Drops Like Stars"

My Christmas shopping list this year included a book for my brother by Rob Bell. As someone who views Bell as somewhere between Vince Offer and the Antichrist, this was a tough decision for me to make. As it was the only thing given to me on the list I decided to get it. As I looked over the book at CPO I made a few observations.
1) This book looks huge from a distance. It is like 2'6"X 2". Upon closer look it is only about 1/2" thick including the hard bound cover. It is about like a large children's book.
2) Upon opening the book for further investigation I discovered that there is very little substance. The size comparison to a child's book is a direct comparison to the amount of actual print in the book. It is a series of large photos and 1-2 sentences on the adjacent page for the most part.
3) The price of the book was to high for the amount of content. With a tag of $36.99 it was best to be left on the shelf.
4) The artwork on the cover was great.

My experience with this book sums up my opinion of Bell. If you are looking for something that looks good from a distance but has little substance and will cause you to pay too high a price, then Rob Bell's version of Christianity is just for you.

CT