& You Thought I Was Perfect... :)

*I've been searching for something to write about & ranch chimp has inspired me to talk about my own battle with drug addiction.
I know from experience that the easy availability of narcotics raises the potential for drug addiction when a person is down in the dumps. Not only illegal narcotics, but addiction to prescription drugs...opiates like morphine, Oxycontin & Vicodin.

I had my own bout w/these prescription drugs about 5 years ago after a painful injury that left me with some damaged nerves and a lot of pain.
Unfortunately, I was also depressed because of my bad marriage situation, with that, my injury, & having almost unlimited access to narcotics did not make for a good combination in my case. While I was in the hospital, I was given morphine shots every few hours for about a week. Then I was sent home & given prescriptions for Oxycontin, Vicodin, & muscle relaxers. I found I liked being high, I didn't have to think about my injury or my marriage problems. Of course, it didn't make my problems go away, but I didn't have to deal with them, either.
It is amazing how quickly a person builds up a tolerance to opiates. If you've ever taken these kinds of drugs, imagine taking 8, 9, 10 Vicodin at a time. Not by mouth, but crushing them up adding an Oxycontin & snorting them. <---That is when I decided I had a problem with prescription drugs.
My pride & reputation have always been important to me & after pondering the course I was on, I couldn't figure how I could keep doing what I was doing without making some serious compromises that were illegal, embarrassing & might land me in jail. So, I summoned up the courage & made an appointment with my Doctor / Drug supplier to talk about my drug use. I told him I was addicted & asked him to stop giving me prescriptions to opiates & I asked him to authorize for my enrollment in a program for drug addicts. He did.
What an eye opening experience that was! I was put into a class with a group of serious drug addicts of all ages, all women. Even though I'd been a homeless teen & in reform school, I'd never really "gotten involved in drugs" before this. I found out I was just a baby compared with most of the women in the class. The ones that were younger then me had already done things I'd never dreamed of & most of the women my age looked like they'd been wrung out hard & hung out to dry. One fiftyish woman was court ordered into the class because she'd stolen her Doctors prescription pad & forged prescriptions for Oxycontin. She had been to court, convicted, had her name in the paper & everything. Another poor woman had gotten so drunk & so high she'd fallen off a bridge into a creek & broken her back. She didn't even remember how it happened!
Not that I was going to stumble off a bridge but...
I saw the writing on the wall. That class was like being slapped in the face while looking in the mirror.
It sure scared the heck out of me. I decided I didn't want to end up like that.

I am lucky. I don't know why I was able to kick the habit, but I did. I suppose it involved many factors, but mostly I credit myself for having the foresight to realize the path I was on was self destructive & I wanted something better for myself.

Besides there is a legal painkiller that is easily available & fairly inexpensive...

Alcohol. :)

*I actually put this post up once, then deleted it, because the subject matter was a little to close to home.
I've changed my mind about that. For one, how I was affected by prescription drugs is a chapter in my life & frankly I'm proud of myself for being able to deal with the problem. Another reason to talk about this is that prescription drug abuse is a huge issue in this country. I never thought I'd be vulnerable.

A Day in The Kitchen

Like many women with a family I spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking & preparing meals over the years. Although I never resented that responsibility, I vowed when I got divorced that I would only cook when I felt like it. I found out rather quickly that I liked my cooking much better then eating in restaurants. I have so much more control over the quality of the food & the taste. So I still cook, but I keep it simple for the most part.
Occasionally I get a yen to cook up something more then a simple Lamb chop or stir fried veggies.

Today was one of those days. I looked in the freezer & saw a package of ground turkey that was approaching shelf life & after googling "ground turkey recipes" I settled upon " Turkey Enchiladas with Cilantro & Tomatillos" in part because I'm growing cilantro in my garden, & I saw some fresh tomatillos on sale at the market yesterday & I could use up that package of flour tortillas taking up space in my fridge. Ingredients for Turkey Enchiladas with Cilantro & Tomatillos.

Ingredients

Salsa:

• 1 pound(s) fresh tomatillos (about 9), papery husks removed, coarsely chopped,
  
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove(s) garlic, peeled and halved
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and quartered
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 green pepper

Enchiladas:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 teaspoon(s)Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2/3 cup(s) chicken broth
• 8 flour tortillas
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• prepared tomato salsa
  
• sour cream
  

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Directions

1. To make tomatillo salsa: Combine tomatillos, onion, garlic, jalapeno & green pepper in a food processor. Using an on/off motion, pulse until smooth. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper. I thought the tomatillo salsa was really pretty.
2. To make enchiladas: Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly oil an 8-by-11-inch baking dish coated with olive oil. Place turkey in a large skillet over high heat and cook, stirring to break up meat, until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Drain in a colander.
   
3. Add oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, & cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add broth and the cooked turkey. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
4. To assemble enchiladas: Soften a tortilla by heating it in the frying pan for about 30 seconds, turning frequently. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the turkey filling down the center of the softened tortilla, add some grated cheese. Got to love a good sharp cheddar! Add a dollop of the tomatillo salsa. Roll up and place seam-side-down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat these steps with the remaining tortillas and filling. Spoon tomatillo salsa over the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Ready to pop into the oven!
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with tomato salsa and sour cream.
   

Delicious!* Now I'm ready for a nap. I'll clean up the kitchen later...*yawn*


*Note to self. if I ever make this recipe again, maybe 2 Jalapenos would suffice instead of 3.

Solid waste woes ....or don't let your garbage pile up.

A blogger buddy of mine came to visit & I thought it would be fun to do something A LITTLE different, so I proposed a visit to the solid waste disposal site. (It also corresponded to my job at the paper). Blogger buddy was NOT interested in getting out of the car to investigate this pile of garbage waiting to be incinerated...
I was there to take a picture of Ash Trench #3 which is predicted to be at full capacity by the year 2010. In the picture below, the foreground area covered with the tarp (the tarp is to keep rain water from leaching through the incinerator ash) is the only area left to be filled in the trench.According to my source, (the commissioner liaison for the solid waste department) no plan is in place to remedy the situation and any solution will take millions of dollars and years of dealing with red tape. He figures it will take at least 4 or 5 mths of intensive meetings to just decide on which particular scenario to follow regarding the future of our solid waste facility. For instance do we build a new trench? Or do we shut the facility down and come up with another solution for the county's garbage? No matter what is decided, it will cost the taxpayers a huge amount of money in the long run.

I thought this picture of the Isle Of Man Incinerator interesting...From the website "In an inspired move, the local architects decided to make the building a landmark, not trying to hide its presence but celebrating it with innovative design. This is how the stack, in keeping with the Island's heritage, came to resemble a 70-metre Viking-style sail. A striking feature, the sail-shaped stack reduces the perceived scale of the building. The curve of the main structure takes its line from the surrounding hills. The result, whilst not hidden in the surrounding landscape, is very much in concert with it."
Personally, I don't find it all that attractive. But I do admire the effort.

This is a picturesque view of our own solid waste plant chimney. The road in the foreground is layered with crushed glass. Quite pretty in the sun & crunchy to walk on, although we were advised not to drive on it. :)

You will probably be hearing a lot more about this as I will probably be covering this story for quite a while.
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Urban Renewal & Worm Composting

I thought I'd better update my blog as no one is commenting any more. Rural local politics IS pretty boring, I have to admit.

This is funny.
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Urban Renewal
The public meeting with the Urban Renewal Board, & the Leland Consulting Group went well. I did my part rallying the troops. Of course that is only one step toward getting things done. The interested public are mostly downtown merchants. Their motivation is the survival & growth of their own businesses. Since urban renewal is partly based on matching funds, the businesses have to kick in. Getting downtown merchants to sweep the sidewalks, water the flowers in the containers in front of their stores & clean the their own awnings is almost a battle in itself. The merchants will have a lot better chance of influencing the Urban Renewal Agency if they show they have confidence & pride in their own businesses & a willingness to do what needs to be done. The truth is no one has the money it takes to make the needed changes on their own. In my own downtown (where my apartment is located) building, the owner has taken advantage of urban renewal money. He is petitioning the Urban Renewal Agency this Monday evening to kick in the funds for another project on his building. I'm going to recommend other local businesses attend so they can see how the process works. The business owner & president of the Merchants Association who is the real passion that is keeping this movement going is on vacation this week, but he is going to be in another downtown that has benefited very well from their own urban renewal program, & he is going to take pictures & notes. My own motivation is simple. I just want to see how it all works for future reference.
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I'd like to have some grand project to show you but, surprisingly I'm at a bit of a lull in projects. In a few minutes, I am going to harvest my 5lbs. or so of compost from my worms that live under the kitchen sink...

My industrious pets. The view after I remove the top layer of shredded newspaper : Sorting the vegetable material from the composted material:The trick is do this under bright light so the worms scurry to the bottom. I'm using the heat lamp in the bathroom. The finished compost is scooped from the top, sans worms.
The rewards of our labors. Mine is in the green bucket.I fully meant to take a picture of my plot at the community garden & my plants enjoying the benefit of the above compost but forgot to take my camera. :(

Next time.