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I dug my Victory Garden three years ago, just after I bought my home - and I really did call it my Victory Garden. I've always loved gardening and kept plants on my apartment balcony, but the chance to dig up my yard and plant anything I wanted was exceptional.

Tomatoes were the first year - this year I already have asparagas, onions, garlic, kale, collards, cauliflower and artichoke. Oh, and strawberries of course. I'll be adding corn, peas, beans, tomatoes (a dozen heirloom varieties already chosen) and so much more.

The best part of the garden has turned out not to be the organic produce at my door, or the delicious food I can't afford at the farmer's market - but rather that my son, who will turn two this summer, has grown up knowing where food comes from.

Last summer, my son and I went out to the garden every evening and ate strawberries, tomatoes, peas, beans and cucumbers directly from the plants - when he was hungry, he would point to the back door instead of the kitchen. And he loves to be outside, digging in the dirt with me. It is the happiest feeling you can imagine.

It's a labor of love - the produce hasn't quite paid for the watering system and beds I have put in, but the joy of working it with my son, and the amazing taste of fresh produce is worth every penny.

-Heather Sturgill, Cornelius, OR

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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I am a 28 year old college graduate and product of [i]unschooling[/i], before my family had ever heard of the term.

I began first grade with the other children my age. I had friends, I did the class work, but I didn't understand why the other kids were struggling to learn to read. I was far ahead of my peers, as it turns out, but the school system I was in did not allow kids to do any advancing learning. I was shunned by the teacher, bored, and finally my mother pulled my out of class and began to homeschool me.

The only problem was that it was illegal the state we were in at that time.

We work from work books and a christian based curriculum that was very good, but eventually it became difficult to get me to complete the work. I was bored and would not do what I didn't have an interest in.

My mom encouraged me by pushing me in the areas I was interested in. When my math education passed my mother's knowledge, I was tutored and then encouraged to find more on my own. I learned to research through necessity, and developed a interest in early english literature. The only rules at the end of my unschooling were that I had to do some work each day. I loved math and developed a collection of old teacher editions math books, which I studied out of alone.

I entered community college the spring I turned 18. I placed into pre-calculus, short of calculus by just a few points. I excelled at english and math, and graduated with a B.S. in mathematics and minor in History.

Unschooling didn't hurt me. I did fine in a formal college setting.

But it wasn't perfect. I probably would have done better if I had more experience with exams, but I would criticize my junior college for not preparing me for university more than homeschooling, or unschooling, not preparing me for college and life. I have been much happier since finishing college, spending my free time teaching myself html coding, researching various history subjects, and learning rocketry, or whatever the mood leads me to study.

I now have a young child that I intend to start in public school when he reaches that age. But that isn't the only place he will learn. We have a large library and a dsl link to the internet, and he will be encouraged to learn whatever he wants. Sure, I'll teach him to play the games that the school system require, the standarized tests. But to me, my son will be a success if he is able to be passionate about whatever he's interested in.

posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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I am actively trying to eat more locally this year. My husband and I are turning the majority of our .25 acre property into a garden growing heirloom and non-genetically modified organic vegetables from a oregon based seed and plant company. Not only am I monitoring everything I consume, but everything my food consumes. Thanks to our well and very rich soil, this will be an affordable alternative to rising food prices.

With luck and hard work we will eat well this summer, and have enough to can, freeze and cool store crops to supplement our winter diet. I look forward to teaching my young son how vegetables should taste.

It is only the size of my garden that has changed. Even when I lived in a Portland apartment, my patio and living room were full of plants.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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I remember the olden days of the internet when these protocols didn't exist. If there were users downloading large files, those with small accounts got a cup of coffee and waited. I am grateful to have some traffic control that makes is possible for me to check my email when I need to.

But the companies need to expand their capacities to cope. It costs far too much for what we are getting. I have much better success with smaller ISP, but unfortunately you can only get high-bandwidth through a major ISP.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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