Author Archives: Dillon

About Dillon

Foodie. Gardener. DIYer. Social Worker. Baby Snuggler. Pet Wrangler. Lover of cheesecake and all things homemade

Nov13

The white girl’s guide to Diwali

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Dillon

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दिवाली मुबारक 2012!

(Happy Diwali 2012!)

Technically all of Diwali started on Sunday and will continue through until Thursday (5 days), but today is the biggest celebration and the time that we try to observe in our house. Prior to joining my life with Sammit’s I had never heard of Diwali and each year I learn a little more about it. While someday I hope to present a scholarly look at the history and meaning behind this celebration, right now I’ll give you “The white girl’s guide to Diwali.”

I, the white girl, or rather white woman but that doesn’t flow in a title as well, have taken two years of Hindi at the collegiate level and two courses on Hinduism and Asian Religions. I also married an Indian family several years ago (because you don’t marry into one, you marry the whole family). So I’m an expert, right? Alas, no. India is a beautiful country that has an amazingly vast and complex history which I have not even begun to fully comprehend. Also, the only two phrases from my Hindi classes that stuck are:

“अन्न आर्बर में हम खाना का चुके है” which is pronounced “Ann Arbor mae hum khana ka chukae hae” and translates to English as “We have to eat food in Ann Arbor” and translates into in-law as “No, I’m not hungry, please don’t feed me any….thank you so much this looks delicious.”
Sentences that indicate I like things, particularly I like words that I remember in hindi, such as मुझे खाना पसंद है (Mujae khana pasand hae = I like to eat/I like food) or मुझे रोटी पसंद है (Mujae roti pasand hae = I like bread) or मुझे संतरे पसंद है (Mujae santrae pasand hae = I like oranges). We learned a lot of food vocabulary.

I cannot hold a conversation in Hindi and I do not understand most Bollywood movies. I’m convinced, to this day, that I earned an A for effort and because they did not want to discourage the only non-Indian person in the class. I have been to India, twice, once for academics and the most recent to meet family and have a blessing for my future nuptials. India is hot and smelly and beautiful, but I digress.

Here is my guide to Diwali:

It’s kind of a big deal; it marks the Indian new year and comes complete with family, food, and fireworks.
It is 3-5 days long, though I’ve only ever celebrated the 3rd day.
It runs on the lunar calendar so while it typically happens in October or November each year it does not happen the same time every year.
1. Next year Diwali will happen on November 3rd and in 2014 it will happen on October 23rd.
Light, literal and figurative, is a reoccurring theme.
1. In some places (Because remember, India is not homogeneous. It is home to many religions and even more subcultures and languages so holidays and social milestones are celebrated differently) it represents light overcoming darkness (read: good overcoming evil) and a reminder that light exists in each of us.
2. All candles, lamps, and lights in the house are turned on – let there be no corner left dark.
3. Pay particular attention to lighting and making your entryway festive (read: colorful) and welcoming.
This new year celebration is the time to make sure your things, like your house or business, are in order. This involves some serious deep cleaning leading up to the 3rd day celebrations; get all that dirt and clutter out and renew your life!
Prayers happen, Indian sweets are exchanged, and there is generous joyousness and love all around with lots of fireworks.
I usually leave my in-laws’ house with a tilak (a smoosh of red powder/paste on my forehead), a monetary gift, and a smile.

I hope you’ve learned a little bit about Diwali and I hope to be able to tell you more about it next year. Until then, have a happy and prosperous new year!

Nov12

Jewelry Sale on Sunday in Ann Arbor

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Dillon

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If you’ve ever wondered where I get my bitchin’ bling, this has been my secret for the last three years. Bring cash and a keen eye for style.

Nov8

The Beginning of Om-Nom Acres

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Dillon

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“Are you building garden beds…or a house!?”

The Narrative

This Saturday I hosted the first ever Om-Nom Acres event. We had gorgeous November weather! Eight people turn out in total, including those who live in the house: Devin, Sammit, Katie, Hanuman, Lisa, Mike, Chantel, and yours truly. Devin and I started our work nearly a month in advance, planning materials, tasks, food, etc. I put her in charge of shopping and prepping food while I worked on getting all the materials to the house.

On Friday, Devin and I worked through all the daylight hours, moving cement blocks from the six pallets in the driveway to the back yard where we level the soil and lined them up according to a rough plan. We managed to build and fill the garlic bed with compost. We also built half of the garage parameter bed. When it was too dark to work outside we ran errands, picking up equipment from my in-laws (a wheel barrow and a 3 piece crock-pot set), and straw bales from the garden center. When the stores closed we cleaned the house and picked up a few of our hearty volunteers who don’t drive so they could spend the night with us. We all fell into bed around 2AM after stretching and soaking in epsom salts.

We started Friday with eggs and coffee. Devin, Hanuman, Katie, Lisa, and I worked in the chilly sun. We moved more concrete blocks and compost. We double-dug the ground, extracting and heaving chunks of brick and stone as we unearthed them. We spread leaves and straw, and replanted the perennial herbs. When the sneaking hunger could no longer be ignored we broke for lunch, a spread of salads, meats, and potato products, and warmed up on cider.

In the afternoon, Mike, Sammit, and Chantel joined us and our productivity increased exponentially! Mike helped me address some structural concerns (like how to prevent all of this work from heaving during the winter or washing away in the spring). As a result, Mike and Hanuman took turns war-hammering over 700 inches of reinforcing bar into the ground through the holes in the blocks, a task that left them bruised, swollen, and shaking. These people are tough.

We worked until the light gave out on us, just before 7PM, and came inside to a warm taco bar and chocolate pudding! We sat in the living room, talked, laughed, received updates on the football game (sorry MSU!), and ate delicious food. Several people went home, but a few stayed and we massaged each other’s aching feet, hands, and back while drinking beer and watching documentaries on Netflix.

It was the most fulfilling two days I have ever had. And the best sleep I have had in years. On Sunday we rested. Throughout this week we still have compost to move, but we’re taking it slow.

The Logistics

Materials:

450 Concrete Blocks from Lowe’s (+ delivery) = $569.85
1. We’ve placed 300 blocks and have 150 remaining for a potato bed, an asparagus bed, and a cold frame.
2. The blocks measure 8x8x16 and each contains two “pockets” roughly 6×6 for additional planting.
9 cubic yards of good quality screened compost from Tuthill Farms + delivery = $300.00
4 straw bales from English Gardens (near the house) = $25.40
Sledge-hammer + 20 reinforcing bars (36 inches each) = $92.82
1 dozen amazing work gloves (4 small, 4 medium, 4 large) = $45.95
1 flat head shovel = $11.63
2 spade head shovels + 1 garden rake (already owned) = $0
Borrowed Wheel Barrow = $0
Borrowed Dolly = $0
Several large plastic tubs (already owned) = $0
Incidentals (food & beverages) = 249.26
1. We bought so much food! This provided 3 full meals for most volunteers and we have leftovers for the whole week! I would say it actually cost us no more than 1/2 to feed everyone so really = 124.63.

Project Total: $1045.65 + $124.63 (food) = $1170.28

Work:

This project has already taken 55 work hours and still needs another 10-15 for a total of approx. 70 work hours.The 55 work hours were divided into two days and done by eight people
1. The remaining 10-15 will be finished by this coming weekend between three people.
There were 6 primary jobs and people were encouraged to take frequent breaks and change jobs to avoid too much strain on their bodies.
1. Block Mover: Used the dolly to move 5-10 bricks at a time from the driveway to the building areas in the back yard.
2. Bed Builder: Used the flat head shovel and additional compost/dirt to level the ground and place blocks appropriately to build beds either 1 or 2 levels high. Must know the bed layout plan and pay attention to detail.
3. Bed Prepper: Used spade head shovel to “double dig” the ground in the beds and spread leaves and straw over bed areas.
4. Compost Mover: Loaded and moved compost from the pile in the driveway to the appropriate location in the beds (on top of double-dig, leaves, and straw).
5. Block Filler: Used a shovel or hand spade to fill the 6×6 holes in the edges of the beds.
6. Reinforcer: Used sledge hammer to pound in reinforcing bars at 2-level-bed corners and 1/2 way between corners.
7. We all kept house, taking care of our own dishes, and feeding ourselves or helping others navigate the kitchen.
We added 591 square feet of gardening space to the garden (+ the 101 square feet we had before) for a total of 692 square feet for growing in 2013!

The Advice

I’ll have to see how the beds hold up over the winter and spring with the rebar. If they need more reinforcing, I will make sure to post an update on what we plan to do.
Invest in good gloves. The gloves I linked to in the materials section are the best work gloves I have ever used. They fit well, kept our hands warm but not too sweaty, and provide great protection from and grip on the handles and cement blocks. We are keeping ours around so anyone who wants to come help will have them. Without them, we all would have been toast in a matter of hours.
Over and underestimate where it makes the most sense:
- I overestimated on the bricks, which is a good thing because a few of them came broken (2), I didn’t want to have to interrupt the workflow to go buy more, I will find a use for them, and they don’t “go bad”.
- I underestimated on the compost because I didn’t want to be overwhelmed and pay for more than I could move before it rained (advice from my mama). I can always buy more in the spring if I need it, when it will have a bigger effect on my crops.
- I overestimated on the food because I knew those of us in the house would eat the leftovers and I did NOT want my amazing volunteers to feel they couldn’t eat or drink as much as they damn well pleased.
Be flexible
- The beds do not look exactly the way I had planned on the computer (though they are close), and that’s okay! It was really hard for me to get a good grasp of size and space from the screen to the backyard. We went with the flow of the yard, including making some adjustments for huge and unmovable underground tree roots.
Take Breaks!
- If this is your project, take frequent breaks so you don’t wear out before your volunteers (no one likes being hosted by a zombie). Also, encourage your volunteers to take frequent breaks, hydrate, and switch jobs to avoid boredom and repetitive motions on the joints and muscles (injuries!). Make sure it is clear that people should not push themselves and everyone’s safety is important.
Stretch and Salt!
- Stretch during breaks and when you close up for the night. I’m convinced stretching combined with soaking in an epsom salt bath helped me do this for two days in a row and still walk to class on Monday without anyone being suspicious.

Vote 2012!

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Dillon

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I took a break from planting garlic to exercise the democratic right for which many before me fought. From Sojourner Truth to Jane Addams and Ida B. Wells to Alice Paul and so many more, thank you.

I encourage you to head to your polling place, too! I hear a lot of apathy about our political system, especially from the many youth I interact with regularly. Check out some political myths that might motivate you to get out and vote!

Nov1

Closing up October 2012

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Dillon

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I start the month of October with my wedding anniversary and end it with Halloween! It has to be my favorite month, November coming in at a close second. I want to take a few minutes to reflect on and take record of the month.

The Celebrations

Fountain Street Church – 10/2/10

Here’s a picture of Sammit and me during our wedding ceremony. This is only one of so many pictures that I absolutely adore from our wedding days. That’s right plural! We had two wedding ceremonies and three receptions. Whew. But that’s another post. For our first anniversary we had a mini-vow renewal at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. This year, our second anniversary, Sammit had to work but he surprised me with a very nice dinner where he made a Lasagna and chocolate covered strawberries from scratch! This is huge because up until this night Sammit barely knew how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. His cooking lesson was a gift from my sister, Devin. Now he’s going to make Lasagna once a month!

Then there was my trip to Chicago with Monica, but you’ve already read about all that fun.

Cabin Picture 2012

The fall is also a time for another annual tradition and celebration: FTRWW: F–k The Real World Weekend. Each fall a group of friends makes the 6 hour trek up north to the U.P. to a cabin in the woods where there is delicious food and general debauchery. FTRWW started off as a friend’s male bonding event called, “Meat Fest” but as they matured so did the weekend. Now it is a time where 20 or so people who are vaguely related by blood and common bonds eat, drink, shoot guns (safely and while sober), play guitar, soak in the fire, and play a heck of a lot of Euchre. Oh and this year including watching the Michigan Wolverines beat the MSU Spartans. Something Sammit and I, two UM alumni in a sea of green, appreciate.

The Sad-Faces

There are only two sad-faces for this month. The first is that my field internship for school was terminated after they were unable to provide me with a licensed social worker to supervise my work. I’m waiting in limbo right now for another placement while paperwork gets shuffled back and forth. I’m excited to see where I might end up, but I’m sad to see my time with this last internship come to an end.

The second is my life-disrupting cold. I woke up with a cold, literally woke up with it because the night before I felt great, the day before Sammit and I were scheduled to leave for FTRWW and before we had packed anything. I was miserable and Sammit was a total champ about it and packed all the food, camping supplies, bedding, and dogs into the car with almost no help from me. I was also miserable while at the cabin but tried to enjoy myself anyway. It didn’t occur to me to take any sort of cold medicine until the morning we were leaving. I’m 12 days into my cold now and just starting to feel better. I believe it turned into a dual sinus and ear infection and I went on antibiotics on Sunday in hopes of finally kicking it. I will be trying to catch up with school work for the rest of the semester. The rest of this post will be dedicated to describe how I feel when I’m sick; I appologize in advance for previous blog readers, you’ve already seen this and can probably just move on now.

A GIF set to explain sickness better than I could ever do with words:

I don’t waste away like so many people I know.

My couch and pajamas get rather dirty.

When I try to focus on anything.

I am easily annoyed.

I just cannot sleep enough.

I am of no use to anyone.

Oct30

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Dillon

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It’s the end of the 2012 seed season and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is marking down some of their seeds by 50%! Check out their sale stock; they have peppers galore and tomatoes galore! I ordered some chamomile, lavender, Dakota black popcorn, and more for around a dollar per pack.

Make sure to use this Coupon Code for an additional 10% off (excluding shipping costs): LT10ENG2QJIUFS

Baker Creek Seed Sale & Coupon Code

Oct29

Chicago – October 2012

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Dillon

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When my dear friend Monica invited me on an adventure to Chicago I knew that saying, “No” would be a mistake; in college I had the best adventures with Monica. I took a 5 hour Amtrak train from Royal Oak to Chi-town and was able to relax, watch the beautiful scenery, and organize my laptop.

Train Travel Tip #1: Bring your own food even if there is a dining car. The man running the dining car on my train had dry wit like I had never seen before; I’m pretty sure he was in the top three of the funniest men I have ever met. As hilarious as he was, he didn’t have an ounce of real food on him. After waiting for 45 minutes watching people walk out with microwaved hotdogs, mini pizzas, and chicken nuggets, I settled on a bag of peanut M&M’s and a very expensive water. On my way home I brought apples, bananas, my own water, and some left overs.
Train Travel Tip #2: Know your final destination. Monica intended to meet me at Union Station but she was held up, for two hours. If I had known whose apartment we were staying at I could have taken the Blue line or a cab on my own but instead I was stuck. Did I mention it was two hours? I actually started to lose my mind a little. I took solace in unanswered text messages to Sammit (see the transcript images below, click to enlarge).

My new favorite place in Chicago is Vive Le Femme, a size 12-24 boutique in North Bucktown. I have never had a shopping experience like I did at this amazing store. The owner, Stephanie, shuttled us in from the rainy grey Chicago streets into a whirlwind of fabulous personality and clothing options. She shooed us into dressing rooms and tucked sweaters, dresses, and pants, through the curtain. While I was trying on a vintage peach sweater (that I ended up buying) the store filled with four more women. Stephanie was running around everywhere but she was able to keep up with me and I never felt like I was waiting on her. I was blown away that she could size me without asking what I wore. “What can I say? It’s my gift to the world,” she said, “I can size large women.” I ended up buying the peach vintage sweater, a versatile and comfortable black dress, and a pair of Ted Mosby red cowboy boots at her shoe store down the street.

We were pampered (for free) at LUSH, smelled 73 different teas (and even bought some) at the grand opening of a new David’s Tea, and if you ever find yourself at Piece Pizza I highly recommend a thin-crust white pizza with mushrooms, ricotta, and italian sausage. We saw a few shows (La Luna Negra, Sweet Bird of Youth) and ate at a few more restaurants (Tavernita, The Cheesecake Factory, Yolk).

Oct28

7:21 Wake-up Call: The cement blocks are here.

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Dillon

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I ordered 450 cement blocks (often misidentified as cinder blocks, but are no longer made of cinder) online from a big-box hardware store. I would heartily prefer getting them from my local hardware store (and if I ever need replacements you can be sure I’ll do just that), but for this job the big-box store delivers! There is no way I can pass up home delivery of 450 cement blocks. I don’t even know how many trips and how much time it would take up to get those from the store to my driveway in the back of my first generation Prius (smallest car ever).

My order confirmation clearly states that once the order is received, the store will contact me within 24 hours to set up a delivery time. “Great!” I think. “I can order tonight and schedule a delivery for later this week so the blocks will be here for our event this weekend.” Er, no. The delivery man called me at 7:21 this morning – on a weekend! – and said gruffly, “Uh, yeah, I’m calling about a delivery for a Mr. Dillon Hendrick. I’ll be around to drop the blocks off between 8 and 10 AM. Bye.” This left Dashel very excited.

I bolted out of bed, threw on some incredibly warm [sarcasm] yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and started chucking things from my driveway over the fence into my backyard to clear a path, disconnecting hoses along the way. I moved the car to the street, turned on all the outside lights, and then I waited. Sure enough, at 9AM, right square between 8 and 10, the delivery truck shows up and wakes up every dog on the block.

Six shuttles back and forth brought me 450 cement blocks and six pallets to work with this weekend. George, the delivery man, was very nice and remarkably pleasant for having been up so early in the morning on a weekend. I actually think he drove the truck past the house at 7:30 this morning on his way to work, checking out his drop location. In the time it took him to unload I was able to feed the dogs, makes a grilled cheese sandwich, and empty/reload the dishwasher. Not a shabby start to the day. Now I just have to resist picking at the plastic on the pallets until it’s time to use them. It’s like homesteading christmas! With that checked off my list I’m moving on to the next item: obtaining massive amounts of quality compost.

Oct26

Cover Crop and Recycled Toilet Paper: What the neighbors know about us

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Dillon

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Molly & Dash guarding the mail.

I suppose this is as good a way as any to start this new blog; it is certainly better than waiting around for the perfect inspiration or appropriate topic. Today I received two very exciting packages: A) a box from High Mowing Organic Seeds and 2) a box of recycled toilet paper. This says to the mailman, Sean, “Yes we are kind of crunchy and no we don’t have time to go to the store.” I like using our mail as a way to update the neighbors on the goings-on in our household and as a way to tell them about us without actually having to talk to them. If I had to talk to them, they might tell me that they don’t approve of my barking dogs, long grass, unweeded driveway, the vegetable garden that is remarkably close to the front yard, and our compost bin (the last two are, of course, prohibited in this city).

We occasionally get organic produce deliveries which tell the neighbors that we’re tech-savvy and serious about our pesticide intake. Then there’s the huge packages from Home Depot that they watch me struggle to pull into the house on my own, which tells them that someone in the house likes to do things his-or-herself and also that I cannot lift more than 40 pounds. There’s the Coldwater Creek and Lane Bryant boxes which confirm that the ladies in the house are in fact plus-sized and that one of us probably has a new job/internship/interview or that I’ve run out of underwear again. They know that we have an Amazon addiction and while they don’t know what we buy, they can assume by the frequency of deliveries and package size that it is probably toothpaste, books, and cat food. They would be right.

These last two packages tell the neighbors a few more things about us. First, the recycled toilet paper tells them that I prefer to buy in bulk and that I hate superfluous plastic packaging and virgin bleached paper so much that I’m willing to wipe my lady-parts (that’s right, it’s that kind of blog) and stuffy nose with toilet paper that resembles the last parking ticket I received more than any kind of cottony-soft like an angel or an adorable dancing bear’s personal paper products that may or may not have been quilted by tiny grandmas in the oak tree out back. (I forgot the golden retriever puppies, but hopefully you get the idea.) The High Mowing Seed box tells them that I am serious enough about gardening that I am throwing down my first ever cover crop, oats, as a green manure to prepare for next season. And that I’m attempting to plant garlic, my first ever fall/winter crop.

The neighbors see that I live in this house with a man, Sammit, who my mailman knows I’m married to after all those save-the-dates, invitations, RSVPs, and Thank You! cards he lugged around in the Summer and Fall of 2010. They also either realize that I live with another woman or they get really confused about my hair length and dress style changing so rapidly, sometimes several times in the same day. The mailman can probably deduce that she is my sister given our last names are the same and our parents named us Dillon and Devin.

They also see that Sammit works nights and is at least pretending to be a doctor given his white coat and over abundance of scrubs. I would have my doubts too though; he is way too silly to be an actual medical professional. I think he goes somewhere each night to play Borderlands and knocks over a gas station on the way home in order to fake a salary. They see that on those nights when Sammit works, if I leave the front window shade up, that I spent most of it not cleaning but reading on my computer with a documentary, television series, or RuPaul’s Drag Race on the TV in the foreground. They probably don’t know what I do given the inconsistent schedule and long breaks I have as a student. And they have no idea what Devin does but they do get irritated when she parks her car in front of their house too long (they leave notes).

They know that we recycle everything, forget to take the trash out most weeks, and that our pets escape the house/yard unexpectedly and have to scour the block in our pajamas while shaking treat-bags. They see that we have an annual pumpkin carving party (except this year – sad – ) and we celebrate Indian/Hindu as well as American secular holidays and solstices.

So, that’s kind of what you would know about my family if you were our neighbors. But you’re not our neighbors, at least I don’t think you are, so you’ll probably learn a lot more if you stick around. You can start by checking the About Us page.