Sun, Shadows and Magic

Posted on September 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

Our walls are not complete with artwork and we just received another work to frame that will go well with the color scheme.

In the meantime I just moved a few around. It makes such a difference! I had three long photos framed together of water off islands in the Ionian sea. Yes, I took them. They were in a dark hallway and no-one ever commented on them.

Now I’ve my altar to food with a blue/yellow/green theme, then the picture and the windows and the lake and it’s perfect in blues and greens. In the dark hallway I moved Dad’s painting inspired by Maori art to the other wall. Its undulating frame echoes the waves and the sun intensifies the lake effect.

Yes, my husband is away until midnight. I’m becoming a framer and decorator. At least not a shopper! I didn’t pay a penny, only moved things around a bit and will have to paint. You tell him that. Oh, I did spend three cents to replace a cookbook I lent out and never came back. Plus shipping so it was $4.02. Sue me.

When you live somewhere for a few years, you stop thinking what someone else would think walking into your home. What is the first impression? For me, what I’d want to hear is “smells great, what’s cooking?” I do know that color has a visual impact so I frame art with that in mind.

Our latest piece is Japanese, from the inventor of color wood blocks, of a courtesan receiving an invitation. It goes into the color palette of the dark hallway. We cannot turn a light on there else it hits two others and gives a very stark view to our guests. I would like to frame it simply, and have it shine.

The sea is working for me now, with light playing off the windows and pictures I took many years ago following the trail of Odysseus through the Ionian Sea. Every once in a while the tumblers fall into place. Hopefully that’s today. Dee

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Pesto of Dreams

Posted on September 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

For years, even though my mother got a Cuisinart in the 70’s, I was afraid of pesto. Now I make it with abandon.

Today I made one with all the herbs in the community herb garden I sparked a couple of years ago. Yesterday I went to see it and it was doing well. A few plants were beginning to go to seed so I trimmed them as it’s a mighty cold winter here so two months of fresh herbs here is a big deal, for me at least.

I used sage, thyme, basil, cilantro, parsley and chives from the garden. I added arugula, salt, pepper, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, olive oil and an often overlooked dry cheese (ran out of Parm). I didn’t want to add more olive oil so added a handful of cherry tomatoes for flavor and moisture.

I baked the folks downstairs 1″ wheat bread toasts with thyme and olive oil to dip into our community well. I also wrote a piece for the elevators – there’s a new thing every week and the guy who writes them just quit. Hopefully, if they print it, more residents will go to the herb garden and bring their scissors to cut a few leaves. No scissor fighting! Sounds like NYC and “umbrella wars!”

Make pesto out of anything you have that goes together. Just add a bit of seasoning, olive oil and grated cheese and you’ve dinner over pasta for you and the kids. Now I’m not going to crush everything in a large mortar with a pestle, or my molcajete (yes, I have one). $10 in Tijuana and I could have gotten it for less if I’d bargained. I’ve been toting this heavy thing across the country for years and mainly use it to display fruits and veg. I use my KitchenAid food processor we received as a wedding gift from my in-laws nearly 13 years ago. It’s quick and easy to make pesto and you really can’t go wrong if your taste buds are on track.

There’s a lot to be done in the community with local foods. I create gardens, and my lending library is yet to be finished. We will leave here. For where I do not know. The leaves are changing and so may we. I may stay until I have perhaps 100,000 hits. That may be in a couple of weeks. It’s a niche blog but you already know that.All for now. Cheers! Dee

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Fate, Again

Posted on September 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. I see the outside corners and not the inside as yet. I need to get to the heart of it. It is our future.

A pulse goes through my entire body when I get these visions or ideas. At times I hope someone is helping us along. I already know who is not helping us along.

Wish for the best. I’m making Udon noodles with a pesto of chives, arugula, marjoram, basil and whatever fresh herbs I can find. Our community garden, my idea, is thriving and yesterday I just cut three stalks that wanted to go to seed. Then I took a bit from each, rinsed it, have it in a sealed bag in a damp paper towel to make for lunch.

Inside, I’ve a very small garden, mostly in a beautiful gallon olive oil container. Outside, the time for plants is short so by cutting them back hopefully we’ll have another month before everything freezes. Last year was warm and strange. Because I’ve been here a while I think this will be a cold winter so wish to let all our neighbors know to take advantage of our community herb garden.

If it is a cold winter the ice fishers will be out there. I choose one group a year, at random, and deliver breakfast and a six-pack of beer. Last time they made me stay because they caught a big fish in my presence and thought I was good luck. That lasted 15 minutes, they were on their own, my dog was in the car, waiting.

Being good to family, friends and strangers is good luck to me, always. Cheers! Dee

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Dreams

Posted on September 10, 2015 | Leave a comment

We see life in snippets. I was chastised by the nun in third grade. Rewarded by my gymnastics coach in high school. Family life breeds these actions in spades.

When I was 16 I was supposed to take care of my little brother and sister, ages nine and six, at a pool and on a beach in Florida for their vacation. I was off at college and had a break.

They drove me nuts, swimming for hours at a time. Finally they went upstairs and took a nap and I got a few moments to myself. A young girl came up to me and asked if I could teach her gymnastics (I was teaching summers back home), and I asked what she wanted to learn and if it was OK with her father. We spent 20 minutes learning basics.

While she was cooling down her father approached me and asked me what I wanted to be. I didn’t know yet. He said “If you’re a doctor, you deal with problems. If you’re a lawyer, you deal with problems. If you’re an architect, you deal with dreams.” Whoever you are, I will remember this to my dying day.

I kissed a lot of frogs as to job selection and boyfriends. There was a career path, unbeknownst to me. It led me to my husband at age 40.

After 14 years together we are so different, he’s a genius geek and I’m the emotional brainy social side. It works. Now I cook dinner and take care of our dog and am the nurturer and blogger. With the dog, Zoe, he gets to be The Fun Guy. Who does she wait for at the front door? The Food Wench and Disciplinarian. Me.

I just realized we are both architects. We build companies, for-profit and not-for-profit. I’m retired (sorry, non-profits). We dream, we build, effect change for the better even if some companies want to and are destined to fail. None have on our watch.

Ideas. Great things. Fixing problems. We’re not “the fixer” as in a certain George Clooney movie. We are brought in to make things right, to be an architect for change. To the girl’s dad I met many years ago, thank you. To my Dad, thank you. You know this story and gave me the knowledge and experience I needed. Cheers! Dee

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Cursive Writing

Posted on September 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

I look at cursive writing as an exercise in futility. My mother had perfect cursive. My aunts each took out their personality in it and it was beautiful.

It will no longer be taught in schools across the country because everyone uses computers. That is sad to me.

Sad that I got my first C in 3rd grade learning cursive. I tried, but I was a leftie, hook. That means you turn your entire left wrist around and your arm goes across the paper. That is the only way I could write. Teachers tried to make me change. I went to my parents and Dad said NO!

His parents and teachers rapped his knuckles and made him bow down to write with his right hand as he does now. He has four children. Two of us are leftie. He made no bones about it that no-one would discipline his children for being left-handed. Dad and I are ambidextrous but I could never write with my right hand.

I don’t know what that does on a keyboard that I use daily. I also write notes to myself, to do lists, to my husband. All the hand-done ones are leftie.

Nearly failing cursive in third grade was a great blow to me. I smeared the ink and had a scrawl that was not acceptable. My teacher knew I tried really hard so gave me a C. Do you ever wonder why this left hook never went into calligraphy? Sorry about your wedding invitation, I’m a leftie and dragged the ink over the paper.

Schools gave up music and art and theater many years ago. Now computers can simulate cursive writing but they will never choose it unless they know how to do it. Please, in honor of my third grade teacher and Aunt L, do not eliminate cursive writing from the curriculum. My Aunt L would say one could never write a proper thank-you note without script. Hers is lovely and she will not use a computer, only writes in cursive and I’ve a letter from her! Literally yours, Dee

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Internet Back Again!

Posted on September 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

I didn’t have to do anything to my husband’s alien blinking array in the closet, let’s hope all his machinations (routers et al) resolved their own issues without my intervening. Or, they didn’t do anything today and it’ll be a few days until the new tower goes up and he’ll be here tomorrow so he can deal with tech and I’ll do the rest.

My husband is a meat and potatoes or pasta with meat sauce guy. He has taught himself this Italian sausage and pasta dish that is good but gets tomato sauce everywhere, walls, stove et al. It is the only thing he makes besides toast, I’ve a photo from his mother of him making toast at age four. It took 30 years for him to learn to make a grilled cheese sandwich “so that’s how you do it” and he prefers mine.

When he’s away I make all vegetarian or cook fish. He can’t even smell fish cooking because of allergies. These are my indulgences. Yes, my watch dog/herder is here to save me as he’s only gone for hours.

Tonight, scallops (again) with sauteed potatoes and arugula. Perhaps some Limoncello gelato with one of the last lemon Girl Scout cookies as a side. Coast Guard is out. Something must be wrong.

Later, friend, Dee.

 

 

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Tuning Out

Posted on September 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

I wanted to write something good but they’re replacing our tower today, in the next few moments and I’ll lose the internet unless I can fathom my husband’s alien display in the closet with all kinds of equipment. He’s not here so I’ll say sayonara for now. Dee

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Mind of a Chef

Posted on September 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

Thank you, Chef Bourdain, for bringing this to us on Netflix. The series? I am eating it up with all the great chefs and learning cuisines from the Southern US, London, Vietnam, Thailand, everywhere around the world. And I love April Bloomfield.

Tony Bourdain, you’re now building up, not tearing down. That’s a good thing and may have something to do with having a family. That said, one tearing down piece you wrote nearly made me fall off my chair laughing, the ‘Bo Room back in the day.

I just looked up Rock Center. Forty restaurants? It’s a food court with a few good restaurants and chefs. I read your first book and sent it to my brother who started as a busboy a week before Christmas at a private club in LA in the 80’s and Richard Nixon gave him a $200 tip.  He would have stories, too, but is involved in the arts and other adventures.

Thank you for the Mind of a Chef adventure. Cheers! Dee

 

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Eyes Wide Open

Posted on September 8, 2015 | Leave a comment

Yes, I got up early and before seven I peeked in to see the dog. I motioned her to come to me and she was looking at me but not seeing me because she was sound asleep, eyes wide open. Freaky.

There are thunderstorms going on but no rain yet, thunder is getting louder by the minute but she wants her beauty sleep!

As I wait for Zoe to come see me to go out then get fed, we said goodbye to a work friend. We’re glad to know him and he’s as old-school as me, writing a note thanking us for all we’ve done. He’s done more for us. He’s an author and I’ll be telling you about his new book. No, not selling it. This is not a monetized site.

Oh, it just started pouring rain. Zoe’s not going to like this but she should have awakened a half-hour ago. Darn. We’re supposed to have thunderstorms all day. She hates involuntary wetness but loves baths. By me, of course with our own system. My husband does 20 minutes of hard bathing. I do five minutes of dog massage. Guess who she loves? We’ll let you hang on that while I wake her and do the “two minute pee.” Here’s to our Best Friends, Dee

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Shock and Awe

Posted on September 4, 2015 | Leave a comment

We moved 1,500 miles away. We stopped at the Grand Hotel Cheyenne WY for the night with our dog. It was interesting and we’ve been back since that time.

The air was very dry. There were brass Native American plates outside of every door. We learned how to get a little shock each time so not to be blitzed when we went to the elevator, which holds perhaps four guests with no luggage.

The awe is that there was this Mrs. something pageant and all these older women had their husbands or boyfriends carrying gowns and suitcases and they each walked ahead with their makeup bag.

We ordered takeout, took the dog out, with several elevator visits shock and awe-worthy and went to sleep. They let us take the dog into the restaurant for breakfast. Her leash was around my chair. They gave her water, so kind. We checked out and our car was loaded out front while we had bacon and eggs. Don’t worry, we had our dog’s food on ice.

It was an interesting, historic room where they allowed us to stay with our pup and we got some local color as well! I’ve told Trip Advisor we’d stay again. Cheers, Dee

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