My heart aches for the people of the Gulf Coast whose lives have been radically altered by Hurricane Katrina. However, as I read news stories about the event, one statement in many different articles keeps catching my eye. People who stayed to live out the hurricane say that the hurricane passed, things seemed like they would be all right, but then the levees broke and the worst devastation came.

The worst devastation came not from nature, not from the storm, but from man's interference with the natural order of things, from our desire to make homes and cities in places that they have no business being. We have the scientific knowledge to do things like cloning, but the moral implications are tremendous. We have the knowledge of how to make areas best suited for low-density living accommodate large urban and suburban communities, but we need to consider the not only the environmental but also the moral implications. Is it right to invest millions or billions of dollars of construction, infrastructure and consumer goods in an area that is routinely devastated by nature? If the areas didn't have a false sense of security from the leevees, would there be the large cities and urban environments that suffer greater devastation from the environment (devastation in the loss of life as well as loss of property and infrastructure that will need to be rebuilt)?

Part of me feels cruel for voicing these thoughts. I do not blame these people for their suffering. I do believe that the army corp of engineers felt it was doing good with the levee system and the work they did over the last century restucturing the Mississippi River (that is a subject that fascinates and horrifies me). However what are the long term ramifications? Is it right for us to attempt to control our environment to a minute degree, then be surprised and horrified when nature throws off these shackles?

I've finally clarified my thoughts on having a fourth child. I want another child. I do feel that there is another member of our family that should be here. I do not want another baby. I have no desire to be pregnant again, give birth again, breastfeed for another 3 years, change diapers for another 2 years. I'm enjoying being at a different stage of life, one where we can drop all the kids of with grandparents for all afternoon while Luis and I go off by ourselves, one where I can work on the computer or sew for an hour without having to supervise a toddler closely, one where I know that I'm on the tail end of my breastfeeding career.

Unfortunately, you can't get a child without a baby unless you adopt, which is something we've never felt called to do and is something I doubt we'd do.

So, even though I've clarified my thoughts, and after discussing it depth with Luis found out he feels similarly, we are no closer to deciding if we should try for number 4 than we were last spring.

Over the last few years, Luis and I have been changing the way we eat. It started with gardening. Eating vegetables or tomatoes picked fresh in the garden that day is such a delicious way to live. Then Luis saw "The Meatrix" and was finally ready to purchase natural beef rather than support factory farming. We purchased some laying chickens for fresh eggs daily. In the last year, our push has been to eat more local foods and more seasonal foods. Fruits and vegetables purchased from a farm stand or picked ourselves at local U-Pick places put the taste of store bought foods to shame. We will not purchase strawberries, watermelon or peaches from a supermarket anymore. As part of our push to eat local and support small businesses, we decided to stop eating at fast food and chain restuarants. Part of this decision had to do with our other eating changes as well. Once you develop a taste for fresh foods, fast food and chain restuaurant foods don't taste nearly as good as they used to. We'd end up feeling sick to our stomachs and generally ugh if we ate fast food, regardless of which brand. This summer, we decided to raise a flock of meat chickens. I've missed the flavor of chicken, but have a hard time spending $2+ a lb for naturally and humanely rasied stuff. They are growing right now, and we will be butchering them in fall.

It's been a series of small changes, but what a difference each has made, both in the way we live and the way we enjoy our food. Not eating fast food and selecting small businesses to support instead means we travel differently. We enjoy more of each town we visit, meet people and learn more about the community than we would if we just picked up some fast food burgers. We travel at a different pace; even if we are just passing through a town, we are forced to drive through it to find that little diner or restuarant, thereby seeing more of the town and learning more about it. It makes our trips feel more relaxed; we take longer for lunch and enjoy it more. Such a small change makes such a big difference. We are more apt to stop in at a farmer's market for quick snack on a Saturday morning. We are more likely to try regional specialties. Our relationship with our food has changed too. We value each steak, roast and hamburger more when we know the farmer who raised the cow we eat. We savor the flavor of the tomatoes, broccoli and spinach more when we know how much work we did growing, harvesting and storing it.

Life is better when we can slow down, taking the time to appreciate and savor every flavor that comes our way. Supporting the independent business and regional differences, taking time to see more than just the highway, connecting with our foods and communities, these are Good Things.

So I heard on NPR today that studies have shown that Echinacea does not work to prevent colds. They interviewed some doctors about these studies and all the doctors were saying how some people will still take Echinacea because they have given themselves the mental illusion of Echinacea working. The medical professionals were extremely condescending. Before I will believe three scientific studies over centuries of folk wisdom, I want to know what form of Echinacea the subjects were given and a few more details about the studies. Excuse me for not ditching my herbals in favor of allopathic meds just because a scientific study says I should.

Abigail has been at my ILs since Sunday. We were in there for dinner and I asked her if she'd like to spend the night. She did and asked MIL, who of course was thrilled. Luis and I told her if she wanted to spend a second night, she could. She called yesterday and asked to spend a second night. They went to the zoo and out to eat yesterday, and I'm sure she has been having a great time. Luis is picking her up after work today. I told her last night that if she wanted to spend a third night, just let me know, but she didn't.

We have a set of stores in southwestern WI called Bargin Nook. They are a charity store, but the interesting thing about them is that Lands' End donates their unsellable stuff there. Things that have been returned, maybe things that have small tears or monograms. Old catalog lines or items from the outlets that haven't sold. Things like that. I stopped by the closest one yesterday looking for a winter coat for Isabella and some backpacks. The big LE warehouse sale is this week, and these were the main things the kids needed. I figured if I could get them at the Bargin Nook 20 minutes away, I wouldn't have to drive an hour to the warehouse sale. I found Isabella a Squall Parka, a backpack for each girl, a shirt for Abigail and a pair of water shoes for Vincent. Every thing was LE; everything was in perfect condition. The grand total? $29. Woohoo! I adore bargins like that. The kids still need some snow pants, but I'm not driving all the way to Dodgeville just for these.

BTW, I have no idea why there is this huge blank gap under my last post lately. I haven't changed my template or anything. It's really strange and bugging the beejeeebees out of me.