Tag: vegetables

Work with Your Own Hands

Jennifred Jones

I believe this is the key to the most successful products. They were first made from the work of someone’s own hands.

Careful analysis, observation from start to finish ensures success of the project begun. Which materials work best? Will this weave of fabric work with that one. Do the colors complement each other? Is the design pleasing to the eye? Is the wood chosen strong enough for the build? is it the right density to carve what I’ve planned? Is the paint thick enough or too thin for the picture I want to paint and is the canvas correctly prepared? Am I using a quality butter filled with flavor to enhance my cooking? Are the fruits and vegetables at their peak ripeness for the best taste? Maybe I need to start over again.

All little things which add up to big things – the final product. Did we skimp? Or did our hands tell us we needed to work a bit harder or longer on the lump of clay turning on the wheel? The fabric didn’t hang quite right…the wood was warped and knotted…the paint was low quality and didn’t cover well or was not a rich color…it was margarine, not butter…the fruits were picked too early and never ripened.

Our good hands will tell us about our work if we train them and let them speak for themselves. From the butcher the baker and the candlestick maker, we can learn from working with our own two hands.

We can experience satisfaction from a job well done – one that others will enjoy using and be the better for – having your product.

I think we’re in another creative revolution of sorts. After being held down and back the last four years, people have risen to the occasion and begun to do what they are best at…thinking and making things with their own two hands.

The ideas and products have been phenomenal! We are making, selling, buying what we want again from person to person, small business to small business. All this ensures quality, originality, and good customer service. Our work depends on it.

How do you feel about your product?

The Discomfort of Comfort Foods

Jennifred Jones

The holiday season is over and I am stuffed. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it depends on what you ate and how it makes you feel and act.

That sounds dumb! It’s just food!

Or is it? And is it able to nourish your body?

Don’t say anymore; now you’re getting into something personal, some might think.

My mother always said the reason many people didn’t feel well or had low energy was their bodies were not getting the vitamins and minerals they needed because they were not eating their vegetables.

Another thing she said about eating was ‘moderation and variety’, ‘moderation and variety’. I heard it many times. I believe it is the truth.

Mom was one of 9 kids, growing up in northern Illinois on a small fruit and vegetable farm that her father owned and they all worked hard to make a go of it. They grew up knowing what good produce looked like and tasted like. So they had the variety, and the moderation came about, I’m sure, because there were so many mouths to feed at each meal…not too many got seconds.

So today, when we’re down and stress is high and we want to pamper ourselves or someone else, too often we reach for comfort foods…delicious concoctions of salty, starchy or sweet, buttery flavors. I love it as much as the next person. They’re easy to prepare… or just order in- don’t even have to think about cooking. No need to worry about learning how to discover a genuine ripe melon, or find some fresh green beans, we’ll have our vitamin C in the tomato catsup on our hash-browns.

But…over time our body will begin to complain with aches, pains, low energy, skin conditions, organs begin to shut down, inability to concentrate for very long, and a general low grade feeling all the time.

Don’t reach for the medicine cabinet! Reach for the grocery cart and get some fresh food to put in your body. Take care of it like you would your car. Put in the right fuel and see how many more miles you’ll get from your day.

Come on…this year let’s take good care of our bodies!

You are worth it!