More veggies!

On my way home from the Christmas party that my mom hosted for her work friends last night, I stopped at the grocery next to her house, the same one got all the veggies from the other night, and found... more veggies! And whats more? 25 bottles of assorted salad dressing! It was another of those I-thought-it-so-I-found-it moments. Its so strange how that happens so often. Now Ill have a lovely variety of dressings for all the baby organic greens I found the other night and plenty to share with mom and friends. All of her work friends must have thought I'm the best son around when I showed up with a bag full of organic veggies and a dozen pink roses. I also gave her the Similac and some jars of Gerber baby food for one of her coworkers with a little baby.
Last nights dive yielded:

2 artichokes
2 pineapples
2 organic cabbages
10 sweet potatoes
3 3lb bags clementines
1lb box organic green beans
7 zucchini
1 jalapano
2 loaves neo-tuscan artisan bread
2 bleu cheese salad finishers
1 bag croutons
5 bottles asian toasted sesame dressing
11 bottles parmesean asiago balsamic vinegrette
9 bottles Sicilian roasted garlic balsamic vin.
1 bottle sun-dried tomato vin.
2 bottles Maries natural Italian vin.
2 organic basil plants
2 chrysanthemums
1 cycleman

As a plant freak, I always take home any plants I find. Im really excited about the cycleman because its in pretty good condition and will bloom again in a couple days; so beautiful!

Early Christmas

I love what I do. I felt like a child on Christmas morning when I got home last night and brought all my boxes of loot in to the kitchen for sorting and cleaning. I still had two unopened bags to root through, only able to guess what could be inside; they were like giant wrapped presents under the table.

After spending about an hour of sorting, unwrapping, washing, inventorying and arranging I was finally done. I had forgotten that the bulk of the work comes once you get your treasures home.

Once again, after displaying everything on the kitchen table for picture time, I was filled with a sense of immense satisfaction and triumpth mixed with a hint of nausea and guilt. I dont understand why this is happening, why I am able to do this every day. I went to theses same places two days ago and got everything of value. Last night I thought twice about finishing my loop because my car was almost full before I even got to the second and third spots.

I guess I can look at it as a lesson about the corporate machine; it never sleeps, never stops, never slows down. Tomorrow will bring another dump full of treasures.
I guess one positive thing is that with Christmas coming up, there will be plenty of wonderful gifts to bestow upon all of my family and friends; It's gonna be the best Christmas ever! I think back to years past and how around this time I am usually scrambling around, trying to pick up shifts so I can get a little more on that last paycheck before Christmas so I can give it all away to Wal-Mart, Target and the other places that embody the modern spirit of Christmas. Im saving my money this year, hopefully for my plans of going to school in Hawai'i next year.
 With Christmas coming up, abundance of everything in the cold weather, care packages and prepping for Hawai'i constantly on my mind, the gears in my brain have been turning again; How can I make the most out of my unique position, make things easier for myself, my family and my friends? I have only made about $4,000 working this year. Adding all financial aid and assistance from school and other sources brings my income this year to around $8,000, well below the poverty line. And I have lived like a king! Not once have I gone hungry, worried about paying rent, buying school supplies or any other nesscesity. In fact, I have had such an abundance of material wealth that I can afford share it with all of my poverty stricken friends, family and the occasional homeless person. I need somewhere to put all my excess until I can find places or people for it to go to..
So here's the list, divided by food and non-food items:

3 boxes Honey Nut Cheerio cereal & milk bars
9  bags assorted Dove chocolates
2 bags mini Snickers
1 bag assorted mini candy bars
6 bottles diet caffeine free Pepsi
1 bag organic red grapes
5 bartlett pears
bunch of red bananas
1lb box organic green beans
1 bag cut broccoli and baby carrots
3 pkgs portabella mushrooms
4 tomatoes
4 white onions
7 yellow, green and orange bell peppers
5 yellow squash
5 zucchini
1 cucumber
1 ear yellow corn
3 carrots
2 10lb bags white potatoes
10lb bag russet potatoes
4 bags baby carrots
5 boxes organic baby romaine and herb mix
7 assorted apples
1 bag Mott's Macintosh apples
2 16oz cartons strawberries
4lb bag Sunkist oranges
3lb bag clementines
carton fresh sage
1lb box Ritz crackers
6 bottles Similac baby formula
16 4pk boxes chocolate doughnuts
1 loaf roasted garlic artisan bread
4ct bag everything bagles
10ct box chicken wings
1 pan yeast rolls
1lb bag Maxwell House coffee
3.5oz pkg feta
8oz garlic herb cheese spread
Sergento ham salad finishers
2 32oz spaghetti dinners
2 12 oz. baked ziti dinners
7 boxes Totino's pepperoni pizza rolls
2lb bag tater tots

5 boxes Crest White Strips
2 toothbrushes
Neutrogena grapefruit face scrub
dry skin therapy lotion
ocean body spray
senior vitamins
2 bottles Pantene shampoo
colored xmas lights
4lb. bag Epsom salts
baby boots
box staples
can Alpo dog food
2 light bulbs
pair of jeans
2 boquets of flowers
3 herb plants; 2 basil and 1 cilantro
reusable tote bag

All this in one night. And again, everything is packaged, wrapped, in boxes and so on. Most stuff was tossed because it was getting close to the "expiration date." Some was tossed because the package was torn or punctured. Some people think that I am "disgusting" or that I am a "parasite." I understand that no one wants to buy it. I understand that the company can't use it any more because it has no potential to make them money. But I don't understand why all of this material wealth with minor defects, yet still usable and perfectly good, is thrown away when so many people around the world and here at home in America are struggling, toiling, suffering all day every day to acquire the perfect packages from inside the store. Not only are these items just casually thrown away, but most often they intentionally destroyed; cut open, poured out, ripped apart, crushed in to compacted blocks and guarded under lock and key behind huge walls and fences. I am fortunate to have several spots whose employees are either too careless to follow through with corporate policies of destroying merchandise bound for the trash or they leave it in hopes that someone will be able to get it. I like to think the latter; its less depressing and Ill take what little comfort I can find in the face of this seemingly hopeless problem. But I still have hope. I hope to change things. The gears are turning.

Winter Weather

Since the last post I have been incredibly busy with school, work, birthdays(my own included)  and preparing for a new year.. I forgot how much time and effort it all requires! Often times I have an inner struggle with whether to go to the library and study, or go to the dumps.. their seductive call and promise of feasts and treasure is very tempting and difficult to drown out. In between studying for exams and ironing my work uniform I have found little time to go to the dumps and even less to post lists and pictures, but when the semester is over Ill be able to catch up.

In other exciting news, I got a camera!! No more of this frustrating borrowing-cameras-never-having-one-to-take-pictures-of-the-best-finds business.. Now I will be able to take pictures and videos and upload everything myself, whenever I want! Im obviously pretty excited about this major increase in efficiency and convenience. Im also very excited to be able to convey my experiences more vividly to all of you.

Since I am not buying any Christmas presents for anyone, I really need to start going out more so that I can find as much good gift material as I can. I've already been setting things aside that I have deemed appropriate for giving as Christmas presents; among these items are candy, perfumes, shower gels and lotions, dishes, cosmetics, furniture, candles and other miscellaneous beauty and hygiene products. I'll also post some ideas and pictures of gifts I'm making.

Now, on to last night's list:

17 6pack Snickers bars
6 bags Riesen candy
8pack mini Butterfinger
7 containers chicken noodle soup
1 container Easy Mac
2 Betty Crocker Bowl Appetite pasta bowls
1 can pineapple
1 can Spaghetti O's
1 box HoneyBunches of Oats with almonds

12 eggs
3 pears
3 boxes fried chicken
1 bag broccoli

package of recycled paper napkins
large roll of toilet paper
xmas tree base blanket
xmas lights
Paris Hilton shower gel and body lotion
Sparkling White Diamonds shower gel and body wash
Olay foundation
Almay clear complexion foundation
Revlon foundation and lipstick
Fingernail polish
3 bars Dial soap
jar of texturizing hair matte
moisturizing body lotion
mouthwash
vanilla and lavender scented candles
50ct box large envelopes

So busy!

Been a while, so there's lots to cover!

I presented a speech in one of my classes on how wasteful today's American society is. It was supposed to be a persuasive speech, which worked in my favor; It was easy for me to convincingly persuade my classmates about something that I am so passionate about. I was the first to present, so I brought several treats from my many recent dives for them to eat while I explained everything. I was expecting more surprise when they found out where the food and drinks came from, but everyone seemed fine with it. It went really well, except for my forgetting some of the most pertinent information relating to the audience.. I was going to explain what happens at the end of the semesters and talk about the Office of Recycling and Waste Reduction on campus, but ran out of time.

At the end of the year they put bins in all the dorms where the kids can put stuff that they don't want or need or cant take home with them. All the stuff gets collected, sorted and sold at the Cram n' Scram sale about a week after school ends. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is sold for 50 cents; shoes, clothes, pots and pans, TVs, computers, rugs, mirrors, bed sheets, fans, lamps, and everything else you could find in a dorm. The problem is that most of the stuff that they don't need still ends up in the dumpsters... Which is where I come in. I will be helping with sorting these items at the end of next semester and will also be making trips to the dumps to recover stuff. One of the perks of volunteering with the sale is that you get to keep anything you want that gets donated to the sale.

A few weeks ago there was another event called "Landfill on the Lawn" where the dumpsters from two dorms were emptied on the lawn in the middle of campus. Volunteers with the ORWR sorted through everything to separate the recyclables, and even though there is a recycling bin next to almost every trash can, dumpster and other waste receptacle on campus, I would say at least half of the piles of trash was replaceable. New laws in NC and city ordinances have made disposing of any aluminum, glass and pretty much any plastic bottle in to a trash bin illegal and the ORWR is working on a new program that will help educate and bring awareness of these new policies to people on campus and in the community.

So I mentioned that I have been diving a lot lately and you may wonder why I haven't been posting them.. I've just been really busy wrapping up the semester. Between work, school and diving, I don't have loads of extra free time these days and so I haven't been able to post much. I have also been organizing dives with the Meet up group that I started, but they don't seem to be working out; I'm just not that organized these days... It also hasn't helped that my computer is on the fritz again... so Ive been spending lots of down time in the library, which should be every freegans favorite place! I recently discovered how valuable a resource the library can be and am very excited about it! Anyway, I have stopped writing detailed inventories of individual dives, but have been taking more photos, but now I'm having trouble posting them.. Here are a couple and a list of random stuff I can think of that I found lately:

10 new bottles of cough syrup

bottles of Tylenol arthritis medicine

children's Tylenol

children's chewable vitamins

Rx medicines

returned- brand new electric toothbrush (found the same one in a store for $80!)

sooo many bottles of assorted beverages- juice, tea, beer, water, Gatorade, soda

jars of baby food

Epsom salts

several 5lb bags of sugar

lots of fresh fruit and veggies (lots of individually packaged Chiquita produce)

pop tarts

apple sauce

jello and pudding desserts

instant hot breakfast cereals

boxes of organic cereals

several boxes of rice krispy treats

cookies

muffins

loads of freeze pops!.. gotta love em'

cheeses

chocolate

preserves

deli meats, bacon, sausage - don't usually eat it, but brother and Basil cat like it!

noodles

nuts

beans

canned veggies

breads

Halloween candy

shampoo

body wash

hair curlers

cosmetics

toys

Each of these loads came from one night out. There are many more pictures, but I cant seem to post them. I loooove the cold weather because there is almost no danger of getting spoiled food, though I always err on the side of caution.

Speaking of safety, there are two issues I wanted to post about a while ago, but haven't gotten around to yet. One is rat poison. I noticed one night that my arm was resting on a pile that had been sprinkled on the rim of the dumpster. I wasn't too concerned about it because I take many precautions, but it got me thinking. I want people to be aware of the danger it presents for inexperienced divers. It is very common to find poisons in dumpsters and if you don't know what to look for, you could end up eating something that has been contaminated. This is why I never ever ever take anything that has been opened exposing the food unless I am absolutely sure it is safe, and you must ALWAYS wash everything ESPECIALLY produce, unless its inside of lots of wrappers.

Another point to consider is the danger of climbing inside a dumpster. A few weeks ago I was inside digging out some food and my feet had sunk down under boxes and bags. It was slightly uncomfortable, but I didn't think much of it, but something happened to it.. It was sore and hurt to put all my weight on it for a couple days. Aside from the danger of sprains or breaks, cuts are very possible. This is why I always wear gloves, though the thin vinyl doesn't offer much protection. Its best not to handle any broken glass. If you find a case of expensive olives or baby food or something that you really want to take, its best to take the whole thing to a safe place where you can carefully clean the jars off, or just take the clean jars without shards all over them.

Lately..

Okay, so its been a while. Ive been diving more often and have found loads of great stuff, but ive been so busy that I havent had time to post the lists.. I havent been keeping up with the Meetup.com group that I started either.. I feel sort of bad about being so negligent, but I haven't abandoned everything!
So I have a confession.. a couple weeks ago I broke down and went grocery shopping! At a big corporate 24-hour chain.. I know, I know. Im such a hypocrite. But considering I can count on one hand the number of times I've purchased groceries since I started this grand experiment last February, I'm not losing any sleep over it... I spent 13 dollars on one bunch of celery, eeggs, cabbage, carrots, onions and a couple other things. It had been a while since I found any good fresh food and my body craved veggies! Of course, the next night when I was diving I found celery, eggs, carrots and an onion... It was just a little lesson in patience and diligence, I suppose. Anyway, more to come later. Im trying to renovate things so look a little fancier, so don't be surprised if things change a bit.

Taking a break...

Tonight I was working on a Japanese paper thats due in the morning.. I felt like I needed a break and decided to take a drive down to my dumps to see what I could find. When I got to the first place I was excited because the gate was still open and I took this to mean that some good stuff had recently been thrown out; however, when I made my way over to it, I discovered nothing of value.. disappointment... So next, I went to the grocery next door, hoping for some fresh food. But again, I was disappointed to find absolutely nothing! This is unusual for me and I was not in the mood to go home empty handed after all my studying and hard work! I decided to take a detour home and check one more place on the way home.. and its where I found my loot. Not a great bunch of stuff, bu there were 3 cases of potato chips, totaling 35 unopened bags of assorted flavors!!! It goes to show that even if you are not finding anything, there is a treasure trove in another dumpster somewhere... You just have to LOOK FOR IT!!! Ill keep several bags in my car to give out in care packages to the homeless. Speaking of which, I never posted the other day about the two packages I gave away. There were two individuals that got my packages last week; lots of pastries, raisins, cookies and such... the feeling I got from these simple deeds is paralleled only by the one I had when I broke down thinking about refugees accompanying me on dives; a mix of extreme grief and elation.. Its like a drug now, something that I feel almost guilty and a little selfish for feeling to such an extreme extent, almost like an orgasm. Is it right to take so much pleasure in the feelings I get from giving these things away..? Somehow, it feeling so good feels wrong........

Mmmm.. so meaty

I stopped at one grocery on my way home tonight and found a bunch of meat and potatoes.. Ill give the meat to my brother.. I also went to the pharmacy the other day on my way home and found some stuff; ill throw it all in to one list:

2 gallons milk
2 1/2gal. chocolate milk
2 gallons grape drink
2lbs baby white potatoes
1lb hot pork sausage
8oz cooked bacon
1lbpkg oscar mayer hot dogs
1lbpkg Nathans hot dogs
8oz button mushrooms
8oz oscar mayer salami

Not really what I was looking for, but someone can appreciate it.. I always seem to forget about posting recipes so I feel like I should include one in here:


Curry Cashews

cashews
curry powder
olive, chili, or sesame oil
pepper
cumin

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a wok and add cashews when hot, sauteeing for about thirty seconds. Add spices and continue, but be careful not to burn. spread nuts on baking sheet and roast for about 5 minutes, taking care not to over cook.

Remember all those cashews I found the other week? This is a tasty snack for any occasion. I burned them every time, but they were still good... haha

A Good Night

Last night the weather was perfect for the first match of the kickball league that my friends job is in. They lost, but it was fun none the less. On the way home I decided to stop by a couple places near by and was quite pleased with the results:

5 bags of assorted bagels
2 bags hamburger buns
3 bags pita
1 bag hot dog buns
4 boxes cream cheese cherry pastry bites
5 boxes apple pastry bites
4 9" pie crusts
2 loaves sweet Hawaiian bread
2 loaves wheat bread
7 boxes cherry and apple turnovers
18ct box powdered doughnuts
1 cinna pull apart cake
2 heads iceberg lettuce
1 mango
1 green bell pepper
1 mini chocolate eclair pie
8 2qt bottle cranberry juice, exp Oct. 2009
12oz bottle grapefruit juice
16.9oz bottle san pellegreno
3 bottles water
1 bottle pedialyte
2 bottles gatorade
8 blade energy drinks
5 Bud Lights yaaaay beer!
5 Icehouses
2 boxes mango-mandarin instant green tea
2 3.56oz hersheys dark chocolate bars
100 grand bar

extension cord
small fan
4pack mini sharpies
buckin bronco belt buckle
bottle facial cleanser
crayola color wonder kit
3packs 2009 graduation/party invitations
2 picture frames
3 rolls book cover contact paper
2 shower sponges
3 boxes skinzium ointment
tube chapstick
Miley Cyrus keychain flashlight
pair of Love Cuffs "Dont let your valentine get away this year!"







Harvest time is definitely here. Im soo glad!

In other news, I have started a new group on Meetup.com called Triad Freegans. I just started it about a week ago and have five members now. Our first meet up is tomorrow night, 8pm at New York Pizza on Tate Street. I figure it will be a good opportunity to meet each other and exchange some stories and get to know each other a little bit before we go out on our first dive together. If you want to find out more about our group, you can go to meetup.com/triadfreegans. Once we get the group established and have regular activities scheduled, I want to get back to weekly feasting! For those who have had the pleasure of attending, you know how much I love them! Im still looking for a good venue for us to meet at but am having a hard time thinking of good places.. I love you all, but I don't want to have tons of people over all the time.. any ideas on where to find info about community facilities or something like that where we could meet?

Milk and honey.. er.. juice

On a whim, I decided to stop at one of my pharmacies on the way home and was delighted with the results. I dont often go in the middle of the day, but this particular dump set back on the side of the building and not in plain view, and on a Sunday afternoon I felt safe enough to take a peek. In it was:

5 gallons of milk
3 2qt cartons of orange juice
2 16oz bottles of chocolate milk

Now I can eat some of the cereal iv'e been holding on to.. Fortunately, it was a mild day and it seemed to have just been tossed since everything was still cold. Since I dont really drink milk I need to find friends and neighbors that would like some! The juice is perfect for all of my friends who seem to be getting sick this week.. hopefully I will avoid any illness!

Full Moon

I was on the way home after a few drinks at the bar with a friend when I found myself crouched over a pile of fruit inside one of my dumpsters, laughing to myself at the great pleasure I was taking in the whole experience. I love diving. It has become much more that something I do when Im hungry; its become a hobby, much like my playing the cello. I do it when I need a morale boost or when Im bored or angry.. Being a solitary experience, it helps me to step back from my self and regroup my thoughts. The whole process has become routine and the bins all start smelling the same, unless there's something really gross in there. Most often the smell is not a big issue and it has even gotten to the point where it is somewhat comforting; an indicator of the treasures Ill soon be finding..
I recently found out about Meetup.com, a venue for people with like interests to communicate and get together to share their interests with. This seemed like a great way to get a group together for Triad freegans and I began creating a page, but soon realized that you must pay for the services.. So maybe not. Im trying to find a similar place that is free.. anyone know where I could look?
Anyway, here is the list form the other night's dive:

bunch celery
9 bananas
large butternut squash mmmmmm!
apple
4 8oz boxes salted cashews
7oz box chopped pecans
2 4pk.boxes glazed honey buns, individually wrapped
bag hot dog buns
bag hamburger buns
9 containers plain and red pepper hummus!
8oz tub light cream cheese
tube of biscuits

Care Packages

I love my pharmacy. When they stock new inventory, they take out the old stuff, put it in a box all together and toss it in the dump. All I have to do is stop by to pick up my "care packages" as I have come to call them. They almost always have food in them and more often than not contain medicine, books, electronics and all kinds of other great stuff! The latest care packages that I picked up had:

portable cd/radio boombox
4lb box epsom salt
Pez dispenser keychain with pez
12 5.5oz boxes Oreos
3 scented candles
10 CD-R with jewel case
stuffed quail squeaky toy
16 travel tubes Aleve
2 packets Alka Seltzer
3 2qt. bottles grapefruit juice
2 16.9oz bottles water
travel packet antibacterial hand wipes
tube anti-wrinkle hand cream

I don't have a use for lots of the thing that I bring home from the pharmacy, so Ive been working on a plan to put together care packages for people in the community who need it. So far craigslist has been a good venue to make my packages available, but whoever is coming obviously has access to a computer and I want it to go to people who don't have anything. I have also begun keeping extra food stuffs in the car to give to the many homeless people who often stand at what seems like every intersection. If anyone else has experience with anything like this, Id like to hear your ideas on how to get things to those who need it and other related topics.

Cool Weather!

The last few days have been rainy and cool, so I decided last night was a good night to check out the usual spots. I stopped at each of the three grocery stores that I frequent and one of the pharmacies. I immediately spotted loads of stuff and was thrilled to find that everything was still cold to the touch! I'm glad I went because each spot had either something on my wish list or a random gem. Here's the list:

2 cucumbers
4 zucchini
3 squash
4 potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 onion
5lb bag naval oranges
5lb bag red grapefruit
1 qt. Simply Lemonade
20 cans diet Dr. Pepper
8 pack Yoplait pomegranate-blackberry and blueberry yogurt
4 pack store brand vanilla yogurt
2 10oz. pkgs Sara Lee roast beef
3 tubes sticky buns
24 oz. block medium cheddar cheese
8oz block Kraft Monterray Jack
10pk Sargento Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese sticks
8oz pkg shredded sharp cheddar
18oz jar apricot preserves
16oz jar maraschino cherries
12oz jar Marie's chunky bleu cheese dressing
pkg honey wheat rolls
pkg Hawaiian sweet bread
1lb box macaroni noodles
1lb Blue Bonnet margarine

Medium women's Columbia coat... wtf?

Most of the stuff was especially dirty with lots of other food residue on it; garbage trucks had been the day before and the bins were empty when they took out trash that day, so everything was just getting thrown in together and lots of their containers broke. One bin had tons of yogurt, juice, milk, soymilk and such, but the individual yogurt cups had broken all over everything. Fortunately, the large packs were in tact, kept cold and protected from the yucky by the cartons they were in. The salsa and cherries were part of cases that had been dropped and the other jars were smashed and all over everything. I would have gotten a few more jars, but one poke through my gloves from the tiny shards of glass was enough to convince me that one good jar is enough for now; after all, there will ALWAYS be more tomorrow....

One thing I noticed that concerned me were several bottles of salad dressing, oils, packages of deli foods and other items had obviously been opened and poured out, a practice that my stores don't typically employ.. I'm not sure if the manager that night was just being extra thorough in policy practice, if they are starting a new policy of opening packages before throwing out (like many corporate stores do) or if an employee was just screwing around on the clock... I definitely hope that they are not enforcing this practice because not only does it ruin that particular item, it spills out all over everything and ruins whatever else may be salvageable, resulting in a nasty, mucky mess that even I am reluctant to dig through.

The notion of dumpster diving immediately turns off most people because it conjures images of landfills and domestic household waste when the truth is that most of the time, food is put in boxes and bags separate from other waste before making it to the dumpster. All I(you) have to do is open it up and take it.

Ignorance is Bliss

Here is an article from Time magazine that talks about the path of food from farm to fork. Its something that I think everyone should read because it brings some light to the mysteries of where our food comes from and what we are really having to pay for the convenience of it all. Well, some of us are paying for it.. I just wish people could take it upon themselves to explore and educate themselves about issues like these. It seems a hell of a lot more important than who got voted off the latest flavor of love or what the fuck ever people watch these days..

enjoy

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458-1,00.html

Crumble Recipe

In reviewing my blog I realized that I have neglected one of the main functions of this project, which is to share recipes I come up with for dumpstered food. I feel like this recipe for fruit crumble is appropriate because it is fast, easy, and interchangable depending on what is available. I developed this recipe for blueberries since they dont behave in the same way as other fruits in pies. This crumble recipe much simpler than a pie and great for anything you want to put in it.

Crumble Topping

I get one small measuring cup for everything and add

one scoop( I use 1/4c. scoop size for 2 cups of fruit filling)
brown sugar
flour
butter

two scoops (=1/2c.)
oats

half scoop(=1/8c.)
sugar, whatever kind you like

dash of salt

Mix it all up till its crumbly and easily sprinkled. The size of the scoop doesnt really matter as long as you have the ratio right. Make a bigger batch if you have more fruit.

Fruit Mix

(I use 2cups fruit for the 1/4c crubble topping scoop size)

2c. fruit
1/2 c sugar

Mix it up til the juices liquify the sugar. Pour in greased baking dish and sprinkle crumble topping over fruit mix. Bake at 425 for about 20-30 minutes or until desired brown color is reached on crumble topping.

Cool and enjoy with ice cream or something else yummy

I realize that I am not great at dictating recipes, so Im working on getting a step by step video for posted recipes. More about that later..

New Begining

I recently moved out of my wonderful little downtown apartment and in to my brother's house. I have mixed feelings about it for many reasons, but I am glad to have some change in my life. Despite my not going diving much lately, I have managed to sustain myself on what I have stockpiled and the findings of my few and far between dives. Ive been learning in more than one way that it doesnt take much to live. Before settling in to my new home I had to purge all the things I dont need. It was sort of another half attempt at the whole fifty things idea, but I certainly got rid of at least fifty things, of which most were dumpstered items that earned me a small wad of cash and a free small wad of cash is nice to have in lean times. Someone contacted me about collecting the yard sale leftover and I was happy to pass on the rest to someone in need for free. I'd rather give it to a real person that to Goodwill..

So all this change has promped me to bring everyone up to date on some of my findings over the summer. With autumn approaching I feel busy, like a little animal preparing for winter, though winter is the best time for diving. Here are some of the manuscripts ive kept of diving bounty:

7/8/09
60 Huggies diapers
digital TV converter box
bottle nail polish remover
small duffle bag
box small envelopes
2 boxes freeze pops!!!!
digital sports watch
air pump
pair of earrings
bag of assorted mini Snickers bars

7/13/09
2 cases snack buckets (cheese balls and snack mix)
1 loaf bread
2 sweet potatoes
1lb margerine
large garlic bulb
cantiloupe
box baby organic spinach
2 boxes sliced baby portabellas
1 tube crecent rolls..mmmmmm

7/21/09
shit ton of assorted sized bottles and flavors of Propel fitness water
~ 4 cases
1 bottle gatorade

7/19 31/09
assorted apples
4 pears
box granola bars
6oz package shredded swiss cheese
3oz bottle grated parmesean
box Natural granola bars
1lb bag key limes

8/4/09
pineapple
box baby organic spinach
3 1/2gal. bottles lemonade
10lb sack white potatoes
2 boxes croissants
12" sour cream pound cake
1 loaf sourdough bread
5ct pkg lemon cream canolli
10ct bag yeast rolls
2 loaves Natural artisan bread
1gal bottle vegetable oil.. need a veg. oil car now
1qt bottle vegetable oil
2 bunches bananas
3lb sack seedless clementines
1 green bell pepper
3 red bell peppers
2 orange bell peppers
3 zucchini
5 yellow squash
bunch celery
4 boxes oreo cookies
1 package double stuff oreos
12 4oz boxes Nabisco saltines
3 1lb boxes saltines
1 box Quaker assorted instant oatmeal
12oz box okra
1 tube spearmint Chapstick

last dive was a much needed morale boost. It reminded me that persistence and patience are important in diving because everything we need is already out there somewhere and you dont need everything you (have been brainwashed to believe)think you need; you just have to look for it.