We all appreciate a little Thanksgiving to remind us of our blessings. But in some cases, the event of Thanksgiving is the source of our blessings. This year, for me, the holiday is cause for time spent with family and friends, including an out-of-the-blue surprise.
I'm spending the holiday in San Antonio with my sister. My dad and step-mom arrive Saturday. Tomorrow we are visiting with my dear Mary from my Romanian life (now retired in Texas). And today we had a lovely visit from Susie and Pan, in town as well to see family. Very last minute (and joyous) discovery of our proximity.
So while I have an ocean of blessings for which to be thankful today (and every day), the opportunity to spend time with loved ones just can't be beat. I wish you all a wonderful day and someone(s) to spend it with.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Mastered
If I weren't so exhausted by it, I'd be doing a happy dance right now. Turned in the final version of my Masters capstone project a few days ago. Got the grade this morning: A. For the project and for the class. Relief. Pride--not so much at this accomplishment, but that I've stuck with it. I started the program five years ago.
So now it's all over but the celebrating. I should receive my diploma in February, which you bet I will frame and hang on my wall. And I will attend graduation in June.
But the very first thing I will do is follow up on an action taken last January. I will fill in the eye of my daruma doll. Goal Achieved.
So now it's all over but the celebrating. I should receive my diploma in February, which you bet I will frame and hang on my wall. And I will attend graduation in June.
But the very first thing I will do is follow up on an action taken last January. I will fill in the eye of my daruma doll. Goal Achieved.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Humankind
One of my favorite radio shows is Humankind on public radio. David Freudberg spends an hour each week reporting on people doing good in the world. His topics are wide and varied, but always on the them of hope and humanity. Alas, for me, he is broadcast in the middle of the night on my satellite radio, and the website never offers free downloads. Until today.
This week's episode on nonviolent communication is a freebie. I encourage you all to take 30 minutes and listen to a simple way we can all make the world a better place. Really. Click the link above and get on your way. Then find his show on your own local public radio station and get a feel-good dose every weekend.
(the linked page takes a long time to load, be patient)
This week's episode on nonviolent communication is a freebie. I encourage you all to take 30 minutes and listen to a simple way we can all make the world a better place. Really. Click the link above and get on your way. Then find his show on your own local public radio station and get a feel-good dose every weekend.
(the linked page takes a long time to load, be patient)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Lasagna
Have I written about my lasagna before? If so, forgive me. It's what's making me happy on this gray Sunday. Today's version is gluten-free, using rice noodles. I've heard the rice noodles don't hold up so well and that I should seek out quinoa noodles. For the lasagna, though, their durability isn't really an issue.
I've always included a variety of vegetables, and I believe the secret of my success is plenty of sauce and plenty of cheese. So in a very non-recipe kind of way, here's my recipe:
1. Instead of ricotta, I make Isa Moskowitz's tofu ricotta, which is a surprisingly easy blend of tofu, herbs, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast (which I didn't think to buy--and it was pretty good without it).
2. Saute onions and green peppers and zucchini, put in a bowl to wait.
3. Saute red chard in oil and vinegar until wilted.
4. Empty and wash your soup pot from two days ago and boil some water. Follow directions for the pasta.
5. Open your jars of Newman's Own sauce (it's for a good cause, people).
6. Open your bags of pre-shredded cheese (don't judge--I get to be lazy sometimes). I used some mozzerella and some 6-cheese blend.
7. Let the layering begin. First, be sure to lay a little sauce in the bottom of the pan--prevents sticking disorder. Then:
noodles
ricotta
onion/pepper/zucchini
sauce
cheese
noodles
ricotta
chard
sauce
cheese
noodles
sauce
cheese
Be sure, as you get to the top, to fill in gaps around the edges with sauce. Make sure all noodle surfaces are covered with sauce. Noodles left sticking out and naked will get burned and crusty. I say to thee--don't skimp on the sauce. Or the cheese. If you have a big, fancy pan like mine you will need about 1.5 jars of sauce.
Bake in a 350/375 oven for about 45 minutes. Put a cookie sheet over it for the first 20 minutes (you can use foil). Then remove and let that cheese bubble and brown. Eat as soon as it is cool, but like many things better the next day.
And here is the fruit of my labor, with my new digs in the background. Enjoy.
I've always included a variety of vegetables, and I believe the secret of my success is plenty of sauce and plenty of cheese. So in a very non-recipe kind of way, here's my recipe:
1. Instead of ricotta, I make Isa Moskowitz's tofu ricotta, which is a surprisingly easy blend of tofu, herbs, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast (which I didn't think to buy--and it was pretty good without it).
2. Saute onions and green peppers and zucchini, put in a bowl to wait.
3. Saute red chard in oil and vinegar until wilted.
4. Empty and wash your soup pot from two days ago and boil some water. Follow directions for the pasta.
5. Open your jars of Newman's Own sauce (it's for a good cause, people).
6. Open your bags of pre-shredded cheese (don't judge--I get to be lazy sometimes). I used some mozzerella and some 6-cheese blend.
7. Let the layering begin. First, be sure to lay a little sauce in the bottom of the pan--prevents sticking disorder. Then:
noodles
ricotta
onion/pepper/zucchini
sauce
cheese
noodles
ricotta
chard
sauce
cheese
noodles
sauce
cheese
Be sure, as you get to the top, to fill in gaps around the edges with sauce. Make sure all noodle surfaces are covered with sauce. Noodles left sticking out and naked will get burned and crusty. I say to thee--don't skimp on the sauce. Or the cheese. If you have a big, fancy pan like mine you will need about 1.5 jars of sauce.
Bake in a 350/375 oven for about 45 minutes. Put a cookie sheet over it for the first 20 minutes (you can use foil). Then remove and let that cheese bubble and brown. Eat as soon as it is cool, but like many things better the next day.
And here is the fruit of my labor, with my new digs in the background. Enjoy.
Friday, November 11, 2011
35 Years Later
The ladies in the coffee shop asked me this morning what my plans for the day were. A little road trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park for fee-free day. Oh, have you been there before? Yeah, in 1976.
The hour drive up to Estes Park took me through the deep, dark Big Thompson River gorge, then a sign for bighorn sheep. Back in '76, when I learned about bighorn, I decided that was the animal I wanted to be. Good thinking for an 8-year-old. I learned more about sheep at Zion when I did a talk there about the extirpation and subsequent reintroduction of desert bighorn into the park. But I never saw them. Finally I saw them up close at the Grand Canyon and far away in Death Valley. And as you may remember, this summer Dad and I saw lots up close in Badlands. My luck is evidently changing because today I saw six sheep, including two full-curl rams, right along the road.
The morning weather was lovely, warm and sunny. Once in the park, I only drove the open roads. My ankle is still not up to hiking (although really much better). Saw lots of magpies, a couple of buck mule deer (one so huge I thought he was an elk), and an Aberts squirrel with tufted ears. And stunning Rocky Mountain scenery. I did scout some possible snowshoeing areas if my winter permits, and I bought a backcountry topo map to start planning my summer weekends. Really incredibly beautiful, and to know its just in my back yard. Yay!
An added benefit was making the trip with Meg Griffin, my favorite DJ on the radio. She played me some Lyle, Warren Zevon, and my trip concluded with a live version of Leonard Cohen singing Hallelujah.
Came home and put together book shelves and made soup. I bought a butternut squash last weekend at the store, and got a free acorn squash from a coworker yesterday. When the world hands you squash, make squash soup. Last weekend I also bought cardamom to put on fruit salad for a work event. Now I have a lifetime supply of cardamom, so I found this recipe. I left out the cream, added carrots and celery to the onions, and roasted the squash in halves, in the skin. So easy and the results are excellent.
Such a happy day--old memories and new, surrounded by my books and trinkets on shelves, tummy full of soup, sheep in a canyon, and I still have a weekend in front of me!
OK, not full curl, but still impressive.
The hour drive up to Estes Park took me through the deep, dark Big Thompson River gorge, then a sign for bighorn sheep. Back in '76, when I learned about bighorn, I decided that was the animal I wanted to be. Good thinking for an 8-year-old. I learned more about sheep at Zion when I did a talk there about the extirpation and subsequent reintroduction of desert bighorn into the park. But I never saw them. Finally I saw them up close at the Grand Canyon and far away in Death Valley. And as you may remember, this summer Dad and I saw lots up close in Badlands. My luck is evidently changing because today I saw six sheep, including two full-curl rams, right along the road.
The morning weather was lovely, warm and sunny. Once in the park, I only drove the open roads. My ankle is still not up to hiking (although really much better). Saw lots of magpies, a couple of buck mule deer (one so huge I thought he was an elk), and an Aberts squirrel with tufted ears. And stunning Rocky Mountain scenery. I did scout some possible snowshoeing areas if my winter permits, and I bought a backcountry topo map to start planning my summer weekends. Really incredibly beautiful, and to know its just in my back yard. Yay!
An added benefit was making the trip with Meg Griffin, my favorite DJ on the radio. She played me some Lyle, Warren Zevon, and my trip concluded with a live version of Leonard Cohen singing Hallelujah.
Came home and put together book shelves and made soup. I bought a butternut squash last weekend at the store, and got a free acorn squash from a coworker yesterday. When the world hands you squash, make squash soup. Last weekend I also bought cardamom to put on fruit salad for a work event. Now I have a lifetime supply of cardamom, so I found this recipe. I left out the cream, added carrots and celery to the onions, and roasted the squash in halves, in the skin. So easy and the results are excellent.
Such a happy day--old memories and new, surrounded by my books and trinkets on shelves, tummy full of soup, sheep in a canyon, and I still have a weekend in front of me!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Bed
I put together my new bed tonight. Can that count as a blog post?
(now just imagine 14 boxes and a bicycle stashed under it)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Remembering Leonard Bird
A handful of years ago I found a poignant little book called Folding Paper Cranes, by Leonard Bird. As you can imagine I snapped it right up on title alone. Bird was a soldier in Korea, then came home and as a Marine was subject to radiation exposure in the Nevada desert. And I do mean subject. In 1957 he and his fellow Marines were placed in trenches close to the detonation zone of the largest above-ground nuclear detonation in history in order to determine effects on the human body.
In the years following, Bird made pilgrimages to Japan, to the peace park in Hiroshima. He also became a professor and a writer. He called Folding Paper Cranes his "small witness." And of course Bird developed many kinds of cancers, which ultimately took his life. He died about a year ago at the age of 74.
Toward the end of his life, Bird kept a blog. His final entry included these words, which I think are worth repeating: “My goal is to live free – as long as possible. With as much relish, awe and gratitude as possible. Whether for a week, a month, or one or two last gorgeous seasons, my goal is to inhale this wondrous world, reach out to those whose hunger touches mine, and sing my songs. That, Brothers and Sisters, is freedom. That’s heart dancing delight. NOW, today, this soul sings.”
Monday, November 7, 2011
Mastering the Art of French Pressing
In my limited free time I have found a few moments to distract myself with a new book. Chiemi gave me for Christmas last year a book of letters between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto (wife of Bernard) during the time of the development of Julia's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Recently unearthed from the boxes, the book is a delight to read and actually covers more than cooking--American life in the 50s, McCarthyism, living abroad, and a pretty funny comment about Brigham Young's birthplace. And a sneak peak into the life of Bernard DeVoto, whom I've never read, only know about from Stegner but will now pursue. The book I'm reading is titled, As Always, Julia.
At the same time, I'm beginning my life with a French Press coffee pot. People I've known have always sworn by these, but I've had bad luck getting grounds in my coffee. Before my Romanian life, I found this unacceptable. But Romanian coffee is full of grounds, and in spite of this (or because) the coffee is delicious. And I adapted. So I'm giving the French Press another try. So far, so good. Scrumptious, in fact. And yes, a tinge of sludge at the bottom (this may be from using the wrong grind of coffee) but absolutely worth it. Probably my biggest complaint is that the coffee is not kept hot, so the second and particularly third cup are cool. I could get out my thermos. We'll see.
Another thing that makes the Press pot easy is my purchase of a European style electric water pot. So easy and quick to make boiling water.
So this is me joining NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). Not terribly exciting, but I'll try and keep up. On the other hand, some mornings it's only the thought of coffee that gets me out of bed, so not inconsiderable.
At the same time, I'm beginning my life with a French Press coffee pot. People I've known have always sworn by these, but I've had bad luck getting grounds in my coffee. Before my Romanian life, I found this unacceptable. But Romanian coffee is full of grounds, and in spite of this (or because) the coffee is delicious. And I adapted. So I'm giving the French Press another try. So far, so good. Scrumptious, in fact. And yes, a tinge of sludge at the bottom (this may be from using the wrong grind of coffee) but absolutely worth it. Probably my biggest complaint is that the coffee is not kept hot, so the second and particularly third cup are cool. I could get out my thermos. We'll see.
Another thing that makes the Press pot easy is my purchase of a European style electric water pot. So easy and quick to make boiling water.
So this is me joining NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). Not terribly exciting, but I'll try and keep up. On the other hand, some mornings it's only the thought of coffee that gets me out of bed, so not inconsiderable.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Weekend
As you've noticed, I completely and utterly have failed at NaBloPoMo this year. Perhaps I'll pick it up this week, the daily blogging. We'll see. Til then, a few notes on my relearning of the term weekend.
Last weekend was spent moving in to the new place. This weekend has been more relaxed, although still productive. Yesterday I took a stack of well worn boxes to the recycling center at our landfill. Then laundry, which I must go out to do--not really an onerous chore since I beat the crowd on a Saturday morning and can sit in my car listening to weekend NPR with my coffee. Following the laundry I posted some correspondence and came home. I spent the afternoon reviewing other student's papers for my class. The night ended with some Netflix (oh the joy of being reunited with my Wusthof knives, satellite radio, and Netflix).
This morning, I don't need to tell you, was heaven--just to stay in bed another hour. Until I realized it was Sunday and I could stay in bed anyway. After enjoying my Sunday omelet (the ultimate comfort food) I had a lazy morning of more catching up with correspondence. Then took give-away books to the library, clothes to the Goodwill, and cleaned the car--washed and vacuumed. Had french fries for lunch as my reward for getting her back ship-shape. A lovely day to be out at the carwash. We still have patches of snow on the ground from Wednesday's storm, but it's melting. Now as the afternoon is slipping away, I'm preparing lunches for the week. I've cut up cabbage, carrots, red peppers, and scallions for a salad. I'll top it with rice I'm steaming and tofu I'm baking and of course, the Fort Collins version of my peanut sauce/dressing, which includes New Mexico chilis (not so available in Romania, and Eros Pista not so available in Colorado--the tradeoffs).
Listening to a little Jay Unger and Molly Mason, my tiny (but cozy and sunny) apartment easily filled with yummy smells of garlic and ginger. I've had good chats with Melody and Dad this weekend, and Mom later this evening. And the Masters project is nearing a successful completion. We're just going to ignore that nasty ankle twist earlier in the week and say that the tide is turning. The long road back to normal American life is reaching its destination. Seems like it all fell into place on this quiet November weekend.
Last weekend was spent moving in to the new place. This weekend has been more relaxed, although still productive. Yesterday I took a stack of well worn boxes to the recycling center at our landfill. Then laundry, which I must go out to do--not really an onerous chore since I beat the crowd on a Saturday morning and can sit in my car listening to weekend NPR with my coffee. Following the laundry I posted some correspondence and came home. I spent the afternoon reviewing other student's papers for my class. The night ended with some Netflix (oh the joy of being reunited with my Wusthof knives, satellite radio, and Netflix).
This morning, I don't need to tell you, was heaven--just to stay in bed another hour. Until I realized it was Sunday and I could stay in bed anyway. After enjoying my Sunday omelet (the ultimate comfort food) I had a lazy morning of more catching up with correspondence. Then took give-away books to the library, clothes to the Goodwill, and cleaned the car--washed and vacuumed. Had french fries for lunch as my reward for getting her back ship-shape. A lovely day to be out at the carwash. We still have patches of snow on the ground from Wednesday's storm, but it's melting. Now as the afternoon is slipping away, I'm preparing lunches for the week. I've cut up cabbage, carrots, red peppers, and scallions for a salad. I'll top it with rice I'm steaming and tofu I'm baking and of course, the Fort Collins version of my peanut sauce/dressing, which includes New Mexico chilis (not so available in Romania, and Eros Pista not so available in Colorado--the tradeoffs).
Listening to a little Jay Unger and Molly Mason, my tiny (but cozy and sunny) apartment easily filled with yummy smells of garlic and ginger. I've had good chats with Melody and Dad this weekend, and Mom later this evening. And the Masters project is nearing a successful completion. We're just going to ignore that nasty ankle twist earlier in the week and say that the tide is turning. The long road back to normal American life is reaching its destination. Seems like it all fell into place on this quiet November weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)