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Wordless Wednesday
(picture courtesy of SFGate)
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Conversation about Politics, via email
With my dear friend, who shall remain nameless, because I didn’t ask her permission to post this. This is from an email conversation we had yesterday. ************************************************************ DEAR FRIEND OF MINE: Hey darling, I had a great time a dinner too. I am glad you love me because of what I am about to say. I really like Palin. I appreciate the fact of her trying to raise a child with special needs and being a working mom. She had gotten a lot of flack and people have said how could she possibly be Vice-Pres with a small child but give me a break, how long has everyone said women…
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Poetry Tuesday
The Waking I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I have to go. We think by feeling. What is there to know? I hear my being dance from ear to ear. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Of those so close beside me, which are you? God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there, And learn by going where I have to go. Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how? The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair; I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.…
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Vanilla, Pear, and Cinnamon Crumble
I was watching reruns of Take Home Chef last week, and Curtis made a yummy looking Pear Crumble. There are some ladies at the farmers’ market who have the tastiest pears, so when I went this Saturday, I got some specifically for the crumble. For my money, a crumble beats a cake any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Mmmm. Fruit and crunchy topping. Delicious. Seems like it would be good with nectarines or peaches, too. Even plums. So I made this yesterday, and we enjoyed it after dinner. It was good, though I kind of thought the proportions were off…I think I would use twice as many…
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Will the Circle Be Unbroken
When my mom died back in June, our friends Jeff and Leah sent me a book full of stories of death, full of stories of people’s experiences when their loved ones died, full of stories of compassion and hope. That book was Will the Circle Be Unbroken, by Studs Terkel. I had never heard of Mr.. Terkel before, but he’s a very well known interviewer and used to have a famous radio show in Chicago. He is well known for his interviewing skills, for the honesty and candor he is able to elicit. Perhaps what is most remarkable about Mr. Terkel’s interviews is that the subjects are mainly average people,…
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Book Awards Reading Challenge
I’m already a month late for this challenge, as it started August 1st. Dang. Last year, the rules were to read 12 award winning books in 12 months. This year, the rules are to read 10 award winning books in 10 months. Here are the rules, from the awards website: Read 10 award winners from August 1, 2008 through June 1, 2009. You must have at least FIVE different awards in your ten titles. Overlaps with other challenges are permitted. You don’t have to post your choices right away, and your list can change at any time. ‘Award winners’ is loosely defined; make the challenge fit your needs, keeping in…
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Talking Politics with a 12 Year Old
Last night, watching Palin speaking at the convention, Maya started asking us, “Is she lying?” She’s 12. She does not understand nuances yet, sees the world in black and white, us and them, good and bad. She likes Obama, and therefore if there’s a woman up on stage trash-talking him, she wants to know if that woman is lying. She doesn’t yet see that, sadly, ALL politicians skew the facts in their own favor, ALL politicians pump up their own resumes in order to make themselves more electable. What she wants to know is, “Is she lying?” So, I printed this article up for her today when I saw it…
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Summer Recipes of Yummy Goodness
(image not mine…I was too lame to take a picture. This picture was found here.) This Sunday again found me at the Farmers’ Market, trolling for fresh summer produce. Ted’s youngest cousin had a birthday last week, and her party was on Sunday afternoon. She is a fan of this bruschetta, so I happily made a batch to bring along.  There’s nothing like bruschetta to make you appreciate the bounty of summer…fresh, really ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, good quality olive oil…mmm. Really, really good. The recipe comes from The New Basics Cookbook. Bruschetta 12 to 14 fresh ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds) 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 tablespoons…
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Christmas Curry
Richard emailed me awhile ago, and said that one thing he would like to keep of mom’s is a couple of her curry bowls. This is the set. She took a pottery class back in 1980 and 1981 at our local community college, and she made them for our Christmas curry. Isn’t the glaze pretty? Of all of the things I’m keeping of my mom’s, I think these are my favorite. They’re lovely to look at, and she made them herself, and they bring back memories of meals shared together as a family. When we lived in Alaska, my mom worked two jobs…first as a Montessori teacher, and second (because…
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Wordless Wednesday ~ Missing Mom
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The Thirteenth Tale
I knew how it was for him. It was easier now that I was grown up than when I was a child. How much harder birthdays had been in the house. Presents hidden overnight in the shed, not from me, but from my mother, who could not bear the sight of them. The inevitable headache was her jealously guarded rite of remembrance, one that made it impossible to invite other children to the house, impossible, too, to leave her for the treat of a visit to the zoo or the park. My birthday toys were always quiet ones. Cakes were never homemade, and the leftovers had to be divested of…
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How to waste a day…
It’s 8:30 P.M., and god, I’ve been watching a stupid 90210 marathon ALL.DAY. They’re just now getting to Season 4. What a loss of a day. So, here’s what I have accomplished today: 1. Walked dog. 1.5 Watched the workers tear down one of our car ports (we live in a condo complex), which was hit by a drunk driver last night, smashing it up and causing stupid amounts of damage. 2. Made baigan choka with the eggplant Cherry left me. 3. Went to pick up curried lamb and rice to go with the baigan choka. 4. Watched episode after episode of 90210. Can I tell you what a waste…
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Who Put the Labor in Labor Day?*
We did, that’s who. When I think of labor day, my mind first thinks of the end of summer…the crisp fall weather on the horizon, the cool weather clothes, school starting up again, the return of the good TV shows… Then there are the Labor Day celebrations…one last bbq of summer, maybe a trip to the beach, the lake, or the shore… For some people it is a chance to get caught up with some chores around the house, to enjoy a 3-day weekend by sleeping in one extra day, maybe see some friends. I agree with all of these things. Not a thing wrong with any of them. But…
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A Tale of Two Burgers
Sunday morning found me at our local Farmers’ Market, shopping for nectarines and peaches and tomatoes…and who should I run into at the nectarine and grape stand, but my good friend Pat. Pat’s from working class Pennsylvania, but he’s got a certain savoir-faire sensibility about him, from time spent living in London and an apt. in Paris. Deep down, though, Pat comes from his Italian roots, and has a deep respect for all things pasta and really fresh produce. We meandered over to the stand with the basil, and he said he was going to make some pesto for dinner. Mmm. Pesto. We don’t have pesto much around here. It’s…
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One Cure for Racism…
My Grandmother, who is the granddaughter of slave-owners on the Southern side of the family…my Grandmother, who blames black folks in this country for the fact that her Grandfather on the Northern side of the family died for their freedom in the Civil War (conveniently ignoring the blame to be held by generations of our Southern side for the crimes against humanity that they committed)…My Grandmother, who, with half a glass of wine in her, will volunteer that no matter what anyone else says, there’s just ‘something different’ about black people, something that somehow makes them less than the white folks amongst us…. My Grandmother is voting for Obama. See…