It’s been a month since I last posed and yet I still have a week–a whole week!–before the term is over.  Since my papers and exams don’t allow me to craft a whole post I though I’d just list some interesting, sad, and amusing observations I’ve made this past week.

1.  While waiting in line to spike my coffee with milk and sugar at the Au Bon Pain across the street from school I watched the woman in front of me use a single one of whatever comes in those pink and blue packets.  I guess my poker face isn’t very good, because she saw enough of a reaction on my face to turn slightly and say, “diet,” in a commiserating tone.  I then watched her fill the remaining inch of empty space at the top of her cup with half and half.  Here’s a quick lesson: 1 tsp sugar = 15 calories.  1 tbsp half and half = 20 calories.  First off, both those amounts are insubstantial when it comes to a day’s caloric intake.  Second, saving yourself 15 calories by avoiding a teaspoon of sugar but then adding 80 by using a quarter cup of light cream is a stupid way to diet.
2. I’m 65% of the way done with my Christmas shopping but only 0% of the way done with my Christmas gift making.  Given that my last paper is due on the 22nd of December, this could be a problem.
3. Saturday was the last day of my CSA.  Because it had snowed two days before the farm had raced out and cut every single scrap of leafy greens from its fields before they could get frost burn and melt away.  As a result I’m now the proud owner of three enormous bags of kale (red and green!) and what can only be described as a sack of spinach.  I also have three ears of popping corn…on the cob.  We may have to get into that adventure once finals are over.
4. During the course of my research for one of my term papers I have had to become something of an expert on the economics of standard fluid milk, raw milk, and value added dairy products.  I now have an entire shelf dedicated to books on milk including: The Public Role in the Dairy Economy, Milking the Public, Food Politics (not all about milk, but with a few great sections on it), The Untold Story of Milk, Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages, and The Raw Milk Revolution.  I also have about 15 book-marked websites and a dozen PDFs on the subject.  Oh, don’t run out and buy all these books without asking me about them first.  Some are much better than others, both in terms of writing and research.
5. I bought myself Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables (because I don’t have enough books already) as an early Christmas present to give myself inspiration for a recipe project I’m working on.  I’m so in love with this book that I kind of want to sleep with it under my pillow at night.
6. We have an albino, or actually no, it’s just a pure white squirrel (it’s eyes are black, that’s how I know it’s not albino) in our neighborhood.  It sits on my neighbors’ fence during the day and stares in my living room window while I write my papers.  I don’t know what it wants, but it’s really starting to freak me out.  I also saw it carry and an entire apple, which must have weighed at least as much as it does, up the neighbors’ tree at a sprint.
7. For the Sprout we were thinking about doing an article on advertising during the holidays and I wanted to do some of my own research for it.  Now, I know ads are supposed to make you want products more, but in my case the more I see an ad the less I want the product.  Of course, this might have to do with what is being advertised.  While watching one hour of TV I saw: 6 ads for perfume, 7 ads for junk food or food advertising directed at children, 2 ads for diets and 1 for a workout video, 19 various other ads for clothing, cosmetics, entertainment technology, and finally, a whopping 9 ads spots for the TV network to advertise itself.  I can truly say that I am now less interested than ever in perfume and watching anything on that channel ever again, although I have been craving candy ever since.
8. I’m having a conflict between my love of fresh produce and my urge to eat seasonally.  If I have the time over break I may have to do some research on the carbon impact of hot-house grown greens.