JC> The wife and I almost always look at any "item" with the "Could I make 
that
  > for less?" question. We do some canning, such as applesauce and 
vegetables.
I've done a lot of canning.  It's economical, it's fun, and I know
exactly what's in the stuff.
  > The wife has been known to sew her own clothes if she can get the 
aterial
  > cheap enough, but if she sees a blouse on the rack on sale for less than
  > she can buy the material, she will buy it. We are getting up in age so 
e
I do that also.  Lately, I've been buying more and sewing less.  It
generally isn't economical to make things on the machine anymore.
  > physical labor is a drawback but we have been known to pick strawberries 
fo
  > home use. (Now we buy the berries by the flat. Directly from the farm. 
)
  > And it's amazing the amount of fresh vegetables my wife can produce
  > from a VERY small garden patch. 
Living in the middle of farm country as I do, I buy almost all
our fruits, vegetables, and eggs directly from the farmer.  For a long
time I bought all our milk directly from the farmer too.  My kids had
watched cows being milked from the time they were tiny; and had picked
strawberries as toddlers.  They *know* where our food comes from, and
have a very healthy respect or the process of obtaining it.
JC> Some of my co-workers invariably get most of their meals from the "deli" 
on
  > the way home from work. They work longer hours to pay someone else to 
prepa
  > their meals for them.
And generally they don't taste any better.  When we do eat out at
restaurants, it's rather common for me to hear either Rob or Mario say,
"I like your version of this better."   I do enjoy going to speicialty
restaurants, however:  Morrocan, Mexican, etc.  There's a cute little
Mexican restaurant not too far from where we live that we go to
occasionally.  Almost everybody in it (customers, waiters, etc.), talk
to each other in Spanish. It is the hangout for the Hispanic crowd.  The
food is absolutely delightful!
JC> Ah... One of the most powerful driving forces in ANY culture.  The 
Me"
  > status thing. You do know there are some North American cultures where 
he
  > "status" was a "community" thing, don't you? Do you think the "mainstream
  > culture" would be better off if they concentrated more on the "status" 
(thi
  > cleanliness, livability, etc.) of their community instead of themselves?
As a matter of fact, some Native American cultures found the European
emphasis on individuality to be quite absurb.  By emphasizing the
community first, the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, etc.
(because it would simply be wrong for you to have more than enough to
eat while your neighbor starves.)
JC> Personnly, I don't equate status with respect. I think status (to a 
oint)
  > can be "bought" and I equate it to "power by coercion and/or wealth" but
  > respect can only be "earned". Donald Trump has high status in his circle 
bu
  > I don't respect him because of many of his attitudes towards Native
  > Americans.
Ah yes, the man who tried to get the US government to close down some
Indian casinos, and one of his arguements against the casinos was that
the Indians running it "don't look like Indians."
                        Sondra
-*-
 þ SLMR 2.1a þ Many a proposition has ended in a sentence. Louise Hagan
--- Opus-CBCS 1.7x via O_QWKer 1.1
---------------