O is for….

I’m stretching on this one. What the heck should I write about? I’m not going to write about any of the O adjectives above. I’m not going to write about ‘O’, the Oprah Magazine. I’m not going to write about Origami.

Maybe a little bit about origami…when I was a baby my mom couldn’t afford a mobile to put over my crib, so she made one of origami cranes, which is an idea that I love. I should have done that for Maya, it would have been much cooler than the cute one we bought for her, but the one we bought would play music and go in circles to distract the baby. Whatever. Origami would have been cooler. I imagine maybe it looked like the one above.

What other O words…Oysters. Do you like oysters? I love them, and my favorite way to eat them is on the half shell. When we were in Maui, we had a happy hour meal that included a dozen oysters, and they tasted like the ocean. Well, not really, because I did get a mouthful or two of ocean while I was there, and it was not pleasant. But oysters are delicious and make me think of the ocean.

Ocean. I love the ocean, and every restaurant we went to in Maui was on the ocean, meaning beautiful views. I love that in a restaurant. I like that we live close enough to the ocean that we can get there when we want to, but it’s certainly a drive, and it’s cold and windy and dangerous with huge waves. The ocean in Hawaii is warm and inviting and heavenly. I think everyone should enjoy that experience at least once, if possible. I love floating on my back in the ocean. If I couldn’t swim, I would still enjoy putting my feet in the warm soothing ocean.

Omelettes – I adore omelettes. I eat some version of one at least once a week. Mostly I make mine with sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes, green onions, spinach, and a little Parmesan cheese. If I’m really lucky, we have bacon in the house, and I add that. I’m not lucky very often because what ends up happening is I buy a pound of bacon, and I use a little of it, and the rest spoils. No one else eats it. There are solutions, I can buy a half pound, and cook it all at once, and just keep it in the fridge until I need it. I feel like it’s bad for me, so I try to not eat it often. I think maybe I’ll get some soon. Or maybe I’ll make the mushroom and chive omelette from the New York Times, pictured above.

Oak trees. Around here, we mostly have what are called Valley Oaks. I adore them. I tried to take a picture of some that are nearby, that have gotten the most horrible pruning…like the tree above, the electrical wires are in and among the branches, which is never a good idea, but as things here have gotten drier and drier, it is even less of a good idea, as it can cause fires in a wind storm. My picture didn’t come out very well. Perhaps I’ll try again and update for you.

Orange. I have an affinity for the color orange, as it was the favorite color of both of my parents. My mom was specific, burnt orange. My dad was more general, and I think liked the brighter shades. Mostly it makes me think of my dad, but really, it’s good for both of them.

How about you? Do you have any favorite O words? Octopus? Occult? Do tell.