"never leave home without Betty & Pansy"!

Writing is good for the soul...
Or at least it stimulates the brain.

This is what I've decided. And what better way to explore that concept than in a blog you've let fall to the wayside.

So what does a girl write about?

Random thoughts. Insights. Brain farts.

During the streetcar ride down Bathurst this morning, I started pondering the concept of generic food. How did canned and processed food suddenly become what parents feed their children? Become what the mainstream consumes? How is dehydrated cheese powder and noodles stuck to the glue at the bottom of a box nutritious and delicious?

This is not a judgment.

Think about it.

Once upon a time, Canadians were more rural (some of us still are). They had farms with fresh fruits and vegetables, chickens out back that provided eggs, goats that provided milk. What we didn't grow ourselves, we bartered and traded for with our neighbors. Or bought at the local market. Giving our animals hormones or excessive antibiotics would have seemed ludicrous. No covering our crops with pesticides or herbicides. Just hard work, sweat and a little bit of cleverness (like what plants dissuade certain bugs and how to organize the crops).

How did we make the slow but steady move from fresh produce to Hamburger Helper and dehydrated scalloped potatoes?

The reason I ask is because I seem to be constantly faced with this idea of what is "normal". And what is normal seems completely absurd to me.

Normal does not have to be heterosexual, straight haired, meat-eating, Kraft dinner loving, car-driving, non-recycling, tv watching. Brown and blond are not the only color of hair permissible on this planet. Body adornment does occur, but (of course) is not required. Yoga is not only for ladies. Two girls walking down the street holding hands do not require a hoot, a honk or a disdainful look. And being vegan/vegetarian does not mean that you are unhealthy...

All of this from contemplating a box of macaroni and cheese. Be well.x.