News From Nowhere

Hello January - My Weekly Schedule

2012-01-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

It's Book-in-a-Week and this year, I plan to join monthly again. My goal for January is 30 pages. I'll be working on new chapters for the Blog Book Tours How-To and one of the children's stories which I'm crafting into a middle grade chapter book rather than present it as a picture book series.

Weather is bright and sunny today, but a bit on the chilly side. We are due for some more snow mid-week but I hope it's nothing much, as we're scheduled for two appointments in the city to talk stained glass with Mick's clients. We're in that hardworking (and tiresome to me) bidding process with a half dozen churches which means a lot of paperwork that is unbillable time. Here's a peek at the church blog.

Sweet potatoes are in the oven roasting. I'm reading An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler and am quite taken with her organic cooking style. Plan to make a hummus from these tatties, to smear on thick slices of home-baked bread. On Saturday, we tried her suggestion of cooking greens in hot olive oil with garlic, then serving on bread coated with cream or pot cheese. I added some tomato slices, pepper, and more olive oil for a cut-with-a-knife sandwich lunch. It was quite tasty. Hubbs wasn't so impressed with the egg experiment on Sunday though. Here's Tamar and How To Teach an Egg to Fly via video instructions. Cute ideas.

What else is new? Rough start to the new year with Mom in the hospital with a viral infection, and a funeral - a friend's husband. Plumbing problems, eye issues, toothaches... it hasn't been a pleasant start. How about you?

It's a New Year!

2012-01-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

What better way to start than by commenting on the crazy weather?

Look at Thursday from one week to another - it's not exactly normal for my stretch of the middle. With seed catalogs in hand, I feel like working in the garden this week, but know it's probably not a good idea with impending cold next week. Cwazy! How's it out your way?

An Unusual Sight

2011-06-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

My cedars/junipers are blooming this year - with these curious flowers.

This is the first time in six years I've seen this. What exactly is happening, does anyone know?

May Weather

2011-05-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

An odd sort of May.

Dust and Dander

2011-04-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hubbs and I had a pretty intense housecleaning session on Saturday - much needed, and double-power is always appreciated. Today, Accuweather has this addendum to the forecast:

Well of all the nerve! How would they even know? I guess news has gone around the world that I have ten cats. Either that, or they need to look up the word "dander" in the dictionary. Too funny.

Blogging Elsewhere

2011-04-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering where I am, I'm in the midst of an A-Z Blogging Challenge that includes almost 1,200 other bloggers! You can see what I have to say at my Blog Book Tours blog (one of my paying jobs) and maybe learn something about blogging and promoting that novel you have inside you. Or maybe you've already written it. Good for you.

It's still been a little cold here on the high plains, and incredibly windy. I wish it would settle down so I can plant seeds! Everything in the garden is still crispy and brown at this point - well, not everything. I have parsley and other herbs coming up, some of the jonquils have bloomed, and the iris is starting to show some green. And lots of grasshoppers appearing! I ordered 5# of semaspore from Planet Natural and I hope it gets here soon! Or I'll have more of this again, which means not much in the way of natural backyard veggies.

They were everywhere last summer. Looking up recipes for deep-fried grasshoppers didn't deter them one bit, and by July they pretty much had decimated any vegetable matter. I hate seeing them before the lettuce has even begun to sprout! Out, damn fraughts, out I say!

Around the World

2011-04-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

It was 83 degrees here yesterday - just like a summer day. April Fool! Tonight it'll dip to 26 degrees with snow in the forecast. Colder yet tomorrow night with 22 degrees. People will say this is just Colorado, but anyone with a shred of observation ability will notice that the extremes between high and low in a short period of one or two days is... well, pretty abnormal.

Wild times around the world, and I enter this just for the record. The situation in Japan is still dire. Radioactive water continues to leak from a damaged nuclear reactor into the ocean, and debris as well as levels of radioactivity are noted on American shores. Presumably also in other countries. It's a nasty situation and one can only hope it reverses the direction of President Obama's energy policy which is top-heavy in favor of nuclear, ethanol production, and natural gas drilling. Bad choices, Mr. President. Why do the leaders not include in their paradigm the idea of using less energy and greater efficiency? Well, the answer is obvious, isn't it? Someone would be making less money, the less energy being used.

The unrest in the Middle East continues to expand. I don't want to write about that on Sunday, a day of rest from these dreadfully unholy human behaviors. My heart sinks that we are spending resources in Libya, and that my young military family members are in fighting zones. My family has paid way too much for all these alleged "freedoms" so that the vast majority of Americans can feel "patriotic". Let us spend our tax dollars on health here at home, not death in foreign lands.

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do” ~ Wendell Berry

Mick with mountain berry pie

We took a quick trip to the city to take pictures of Manitou for Ann Parker's novel research. It was crowded with people, like a typical summer day. The road was torn up in front of the Dutch Kitchen where we stopped in for our annual slice of nostalgia and pie. 52 years they've been in business and nothing has changed including some of the signs! We drove up into the neighborhoods perched about the main avenue, and then into Garden of the Gods for some relief from the flatness we live in daily. My eyes and soul desperately need the mountains sometimes, so I can only imagine how much more the native boy needs the reprieve.

The famous Dutch Treat with curried cabbage

Looking down on Manitou Springs

Driving through Garden of the Gods to Cheyenne Mountain

Of Symbols and Ceremony

2011-04-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Ceremony in different cultures and religions has always fascinated me, and today I picked this up at the online listserv of an eastern orthodox Catholic church my husband paints icons for. It's part of their very intriguing Easter (Pascha) ceremony.

The Pascha Basket

After the midnight Paschal Liturgy, we all gather together to bless the Pascha baskets. These baskets have been carefully prepared with many of the foods from which we've been fasting during Great Lent. There are several foods traditionally included in the basket. These are: a yeast bread, a bitter herb (horseradish)

, wine, cheese, meat, butter, salt, and a red egg. Each has symbolic significance:

Bread: The Easter Bread (Paska, Kulich, Tsourekia)~ A sweet, yeast bread rich in eggs, butter, etc. Symbolic of Christ Himself who is our True Bread as well as a symbol of the New Covenant: the Jews made unleavened bread, and we, the Children of the New Covenant, make leavened bread. Kulich is the traditional Russian bread, and Tsourekia is the traditional Greek braided bread, Paska is Ukrainian & Carpatho-Rusyn. The braided form of this bread is a display of the Trinity. Sometimes a round loaf baked with a golden crust decorated with a symbol indicative of Christ. A cross of dough is placed on top encircled by a plait giving it a crowned effect, or Greek abbreviations for the name of Christ. The letters XB indicate the Slavonic for "Christ is Risen." The Carpatho-Rusyn version often has a tunnel of sweet cheese dough baked in the center of the loaf.

Meat: Ham is the meat popular with Slavs as the main dish because of its richness and symbolic of the great joy and abundance of Easter. Others may prefer lamb or veal. This is usually well roasted or cooked as well as other meats prepared in advance so that the festivity of the day will not be burdened with preparation and all may enjoy the Feast. Meat is included in remembrance of the sacrifice of the Old Testament Passover, which has been replaced by Christ, the New Passover and Lamb of God. This is directly from the prayers said, we see that the meats represent our Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of sacrifice, obeying the will of the Father, as did Abraham who was ready to offer his only son to the command of God.

Sausage: (Kolbasi) A spicy, garlicy sausage of pork products, indicative of God's favor and generosity

Bacon: A piece of uncooked bacon cured with spices. Symbolic of the overabundance of God's mercy to us.

Soft cheese: (Hrudka or Sirets, or Russian Paska Cheese) A sweet custard-type cheese that is shaped into a ball or mould and decorated. The sweet taste is indicative of the moderation that Christians should have in all things. Also, creamed cheese can be placed in a small dish and both are decorated with symbols made of cloves, peppercorns or currants.

Salt: A condiment necessary for flavor reminding the Christian of his duty to others as well as a reminder that we are "the salt of the earth."

Butter: This favorite dairy product is shaped into the figure of a lamb or small cross or placed in a bowl and decorated with a cross. This reminds us of the goodness of Christ that we should have toward all things.

Eggs (decorated/colored red): (Pysanky - pronounced - pi-sun-ki) Hard boiled eggs brightly decorated with symbols and markings made with beeswax. Indicative of new life and resurrection. The red egg is likened to the tomb or sepulchre from which Christ arose. As the egg is sealed, but holds life in itself, and that life in the shell breaks it open and comes out as a new life, so was the grave of Christ sealed, but it contained life eternal which burst its seals and gave to us a new eternal life. This is because of the miracle of new life which comes from the egg, just as Christ miraculously came forth from the tomb. The red coloring of the egg recalls to us that by the blood of Jesus upon the Cross we were freed from sin and death. Tradition also says that Mary Magdalene gave the first egg to the Roman emperor Tiberius, when she was brought before him and accused of being a Christian. She took the egg and by it demonstrated the belief of Christians in eternal life, and by her presentation, was able to persuade the emperor to stop the persecution of Christians.

Horseradish or Horseradish mixed with grated red beets. This bitter herb ultimately serves as a reminder of the first Passover (horseradish is eaten as a traditional part of the original Passover meal) and of the bitter sufferings which Christ endured for our sake. Sometimes the herb is colored red with beets, symbolizing the Blood of Christ. The bitter herb is also to bring to mind the Jews' forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

Candle to place in the center of the Paska Bread. This can be festively decorated or a plain beeswax candle.

Wine: figurative of all the good things of life, wine reminds us of the earthly gifts that come from God.

Decorative cloth to cover basket These articles are placed in a wicker basket and a ribbon or bow is tied to the handle. A decorated candle is placed in the basket and is lit at the time of blessing. A linen cover usually embroidered with a picture of the Risen Christ or symbol with the words "Christ is Risen" is placed over the foods when brought to the church. In some places a large Easter Bread (Paska) is made and brought separately in a large linen cloth. Thus each of the foods in the Pascha basket have rich meaning, as does everything in Orthodoxy. Glory to God!

The first time I had horseradish and beets was at a Jewish home and it was served on whitefish. Excellent! You can see the crossover in traditions by that one condiment alone. I don't believe horseradish is an herb, and so am not sure why it's referred to this way.

Wendell Berry

2011-03-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

No, no, there is no going back.
Less and less you are
That possibility you were.
More and more you have become
Those lives and deaths
That have belonged to you.
You have become a sort of grave
Containing much that was
And is no more in time, beloved
Then, now, and always.
And so you have become a sort of tree
Standing over a grave.
Now more than ever you can be
Generous toward each day
That comes, young, to disappear
Forever, and yet remain
Un-aging in the mind.
Every day you have less reason
Not to give yourself away.

--Wendell Berry

Temps: 69/30
Wind gusts of 40+ mph
Garden clean-up and some planting. Had a late corned beef dinner today with parsnips from the garden. Tomorrow we'll try red flannel hash with MacGregor's beets also from the garden!

Happy Weekend

2011-03-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

We just got back home from an out-of-town installation, so I'm taking the weekend off from computer work. See you in the garden, where we'll be planting peas and potatoes.

My poppies are just starting to show a bit of green. Here you see two varieties from two years ago - Oriental poppies are red, and just behind them, breadseed poppies in purple. The breadseed poppies didn't come back last year despite vigorous seeding, so we'll see what happens this year. Probably just my guardian angel looking out for my well-being. Some of you will know whereof I babble.

Lovely, sunny day today although the breeze was a bit crisp. Mick got the potting bench set up in the pump house, so we'll be starting seedlings all weekend.

The Spirit of God

2011-03-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

It was a long day and we were out-of-town on an installation for most of it. I lit candles at the church, mostly for all the suffering people in Japan, and for all the challenges the world will face because of natural and man-made catastrophes there. I also lit a few candles for all the dreadful people claiming the Japanese are being made to suffer for some sin that they feel they are qualified to judge and declare. I'm truly appalled by such idiotic comments. I lit one candle for my own sin of condemning them to some unspeakable fate. If I were God, they'd be in Hell already, so it's just as well I'm not.

I like and agree with what Henri Nouwen says in the book Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith (p. 48):

I learned that Protestants belong as much to the Church as Catholics, that Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims believe as much in God as Christians, that pagans can love one another as much as believers, that the human psyche is multidimensional, that theology, psychology, and sociology are intersecting in many places, that women have a real call to ministry, that homosexual people have a unique vocation in the Christian community, that the poor belong to the heart of the Church, and that the Spirit of God blows where it wants. All of these discoveries gradually broke down many fences that had given me a safe haven and made me deeply aware that God’s covenant with God’s people includes everyone.
~~~~~~
It was almost like summer today - projected high of 77 at home, but closer to 80 degrees where we spent the day, almost on the Kansas border. Way too hot for mid-March to my way of thinking.

Running With Two Hats On

2011-03-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today is a conference call with Little Pickle Press, one of my clients, and it's a connection I have with the team every Tuesday for two hours. But also on my mind today is Mick's church window installation over the next two days. Here's my job; getting photos, billing, making sure all the stuff we need is set to go to the job site. It's a little frantic today. Here's St. Luke, patron saint of artists, who'll join the other three evangelists in the children's section at St. Catharine's of Siena Catholic Church in Burlington.

Can This Be Spring?

2011-03-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Look at those temperatures for two whole weeks. Makes me want to get out into the garden and start plucking back the mulch to look for signs of life underneath. So far I haven't seen much green, considering the hundreds of tulip and jonquil bulbs scattered over the property. I'm anticipating the arrival of some of these beauties soon:

Desiderata #10

2011-03-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

... in the noisy confusion of life

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Clean Energy Park?

2011-03-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Last week, my friends at Country Roots Farm in the Arkansas River Valley sent me their new CSA newsletter and in it they urged all their fans and readers to read up on the nuclear plant being built in Pueblo, Colorado.

Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant

Say what? Billed as the Colorado Energy Park, the 25,000 acre facility would be situated smack in the middle of the richest farmland in southern Colorado where a huge portion of the state's small farmers grow vegetables and fruits for farmers markets and large retailers like Whole Foods... a nuclear facility? Tell me this is a joke.

But apparently it isn't. It's a case of business chasing Obama-bucks. According to one article: The Obama Administration wants to triple the already $18.5 billion appropriated for new nuclear reactors to $54.5 billion in America’s 2012 Budget, which is being decided any day.

You can bet more companies will be ready to fill the bill with those kinds of dollars at stake. This is one subject in which the president and I do not see eye to eye.

One can only hope that the disastrous earthquake and resulting damage to Japan's nuclear plants, and the subsequent heating of reactors (not to mention an explosion at one facility) will slow down the forward-thrust of any nuclear movements around the world. No word at this writing whether radiation contamination is going to impact large portions of Japan, but I suspect the world is watching with growing concern. Easiest way to prevent this in America - just say no to nuclear. This is not an over-reaction. The issues of long-term health and disposal of spent reactor plutonium have never been properly resolved.

But let's not let such concerns stop us, right? We can also barrel forward and support the proposed Canadian uranium mill in Paradox, also in Southern Colorado, which plans to sell "yellow cake" (used in nuclear bombs) to Asia, including Korea. (www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16943858) Let's all pretend we've gone totally and irrevocably NUTS and get behind these insane projects.

No, let's not.

Please contact your U.S. and state representatives and register your negative vote. You can also contact the White House to tell them to shift those billions to renewable energy, with some left over going to restore programs for the poor, environment, sustainable organic farming (including in Colorado), children, students, and Planned Parenthood. 202-456-1111.

Lastly, contact Secretary of the Interior and former U.S. Senator Ken Salazar to voice your concerns. Call (202) 208-3100 or e-mail: feedback@ios.doi.gov . You only have until March 15 to try to put skid chains on this and other potentially environmentally damaging projects planned in Colorado.

E-news Channel

JUST SAY NO TO NUKES.

'Mater Heads

2011-03-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

I have tomatoes on the brain. It usually happens this time of year, when my garden stash - either canned, frozen, or stored on vines - has been eaten. I'm forced to buy grocery store tomatoes, which are essentially just pretend produce. Looks like a tomato, feels like a tomato, tastes like nothing. Even when they are ripe, the grocery store tomatoes, bred for travel and not taste, are a huge and unspeakable disappointment.

Fueling my tomato fantasies are the Black Prince plants in my kitchen and dining room (from a hailstorm-save last autumn), vigorous growers that we recently topped to create four more plants. I have six gorgeous two-foot beauties ready to go into walls of water, and one of my favorite varieties no less! I planned to leave you the link at Baker Creek Heirloom seeds where we originally bought these, but they are out-of-stock! This particular plant has either caught on in popularity, or they had a seed-growing disaster last summer, so no stock. Another reason for saving your own seeds each year, something you can only do with open-pollinated seeds like these. Here's the technical information:

An heirloom from Irkutsk, Siberia. The 5-oz. tomatoes are round and very uniform; the color is a wonderful deep blackish-chocolate brown. The flavor is as deep, sweet and rich as the color. A unique salad tomato; the plants produce a large crop and early; a good tomato for fine markets.

The Black Prince is pictured top right in the gardener's hands. Look at the color!

But this is only one variety of dozens we grow, which end up on the plate looking like a still-life water color. Does that just make you drool? All of these, despite their unusual colors, are vine-ripened. What a feast to the eyes first, then the palate, and infinitely appropriate in an artist house like ours.

This is so simply delicious, one hardly needs a dressing to embellish the salad. Another favorite is an old-fashioned sandwich with homemade mayonnaise and bread. It's a treat I can live on the entire month of August. This year, I'm hoping we can time our first sunflower oil production to coincide with mayonnaise and tomatoes - more on that later. I also plan to can up a good-sized batch, because we often use tomatoes in cooking, and so it makes sense to have great-tasting ones from my own storehouse. Our friends, Mark and Lauren, make their own pasta for dinner parties, and simply add home-grown and home-canned chopped tomatoes with a drizzle of good olive oil as a simple sauce. With a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, it's delicious!

Can I carry on much longer about this? Why, yes, I can. Here are some tomato babies in my kitchen right now. Look at those beauties - grow, little ones, grow big and strong so we can eat you!

That sounds quite dreadful, but they really love hearing this, and I swear I can see them stretching themselves skyward even as I speak the words. Okay, so I exaggerate. Hehe.

What about you all? What's your favorite tomato to grow? And to eat? Or even to throw?

Food and Water

2011-03-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

There's lots of disturbing stuff in the news lately, with collective bargaining rights taken from unions in Wisconsin, the unemployment rate in Colorado over 10% for the first time, and riots all over the world. Scary times. But even more concerning is all the low-key noise about food costs and possible shortages. I know that's been bandied about for years, but suddenly it seems much closer to reality.

When I first moved to Denver in the late 70s and was married to a newly-minted water engineer, there was much talk about the Ogallala aquifer, that vast body of ancient waters that feeds a multi-state region in the center of America. Even back then, talk of rapid depletion and lack of government oversight to manage its use, was a common topic in certain circles.

I'm somewhere over that blue section in eastern Colorado, where center-pivot irrigation rules, and water costs are still darn cheap despite the writing on the wall. I don't think I've ever paid more than $100 a month during the driest summer months, and we have very large gardens on this two-acre property. There's a lot of water waste in the area, along with oil consumption, another unsustainable practice that won't last many more years. But now, the depletion of the aquifer, and not just this one, is taking center stage because food supplies are decidedly connected to this region. It is, after all, called The Breadbasket for its wheat and corn commodity crops, which don't just feed America, but the entire world.

People in this country can't fathom the idea of starvation, and certainly not in mass terms, but there are signs of impending crisis. First we have rapidly rising food costs, which are fueled by decreasing cheap energy costs and the destruction of crops by severe weather patterns. Both of those issues aren't going away. In fact, they'll likely get worse. Add in the above-mentioned water depletion and what will the future in a few decades look like? What will life be like even in five years?

Signs that may people are anticipating some changes (and some of us don't think it's such a bad thing) is the move toward vegetable gardening, the increasing legal changes allowing livestock in cities, and interest in open-pollinated seed stock that allows the farmer to harvest his own seeds rather than depending on seed companies. There's also a burgeoning movement among the young to preserve and store foods for future consumption, and it's not just for health reasons. Fewer citizens are trusting the government to take care of them, and planning ahead to take responsibility for their own well-being. It all sounds kind of like the fifties, doesn't it? We can only hope life will be as good as it was back then.

For us personally, life won't change much over the next few years, except to maybe do more of what we're already doing. We'll inventory our seeds and add to those, as we do every year. We might add a small greenhouse to the property, some more cold frames, and try a high tunnel to moderate and extend growing season. We'll have to figure out how to handle the grasshopper plague without chemicals. Maybe we'll figure out some sort of collaborative effort with neighbors to exchange produce and share ideas. We're also going to try to grow a good-sized stand of oil sunflowers and buy a press to manufacture our own cooking oil! That'll be a first for us.

Those are just a few thoughts. The biggest and best change, of course, would be to live somewhere all of our efforts would be easier! Somewhere with more rain, more kindred spirits, more resources. I just haven't figured out where that is yet. Got any brilliant ideas?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Temps: 62/26 Suddenly a late Spring day!
Writing: 4 pages
Dinner: Aloo Gobi with peach lassi

Reading Mentors

2011-03-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

An embarrassment of riches.

March is Women's History Month and today is World Read Aloud Day, and the two got me thinking about someone very special to my life. My German Oma. She was really my first mother, since I lived with her for a time when I was a young child.

Oma was the wife of a very prosperous barge owner and captain in Selesia/Prussia, now Poland. She was his second wife and married him, a widower with three daughters, in her late twenties. She considered herself lucky to be married so late in life. They had four more children together, three daughters including my mother, and the only son, my Onkel Gunther. Oma was widowed when her youngest was two-years-old, and went to work as household help for a Jewish family, but she had her house and her land, so was relatively well off.

My mother was the youngest, and when she was 14, Oma and she fled the country during WW2. They hid all their silver and china in the chimney of the attic, let the animals loose, grabbed small travel bags with paperwork, and hopped the nearest train with hundreds of their fellow citizens. They figured they would be able to return soon.

That didn't happen. Oma lost her home and land to an unknown Polish family (they found out later when the Berlin wall had come down and travel to East Germany was again open), and in West Germany where she settled on the German/Austrian border, she lived as long as I knew her in two rooms with a bathroom she shared with several other renters. I never got the sense that she resented losing a grander position in her life - just that she was grateful for what she had, which included a comfortable pension for the rest of her retired life, a roof over her head, and enough money to take care of herself and buy gifts for her grandchildren.

Today, what I love in life and how I live is in large part influenced by my Oma. I love small spaces and clean, bright places to spend my days. No big houses for me! Especially don't ask me to sleep in one. Simplicity is a concept I chase everyday, and that comes from my grandmother, too. There was not very much complicated about her. Not her diet. Not her interests. Not her wardrobe. Not anything. These are the habits I vividly remember about her: Quiet moments of daily meditation especially after meals. Having to take a regular walk. Always with a book near at hand for reading throughout the day.

Oma loved her "crimmies" and like her, my favorite form of entertainment is a good cozy mystery book. It's definitely in the blood. I can't remember now whether we shared this love when she was still alive and I was a teenager. I certainly was a reader through childhood, and I sometimes wonder if she noticed and was secretly amused or pleased by this.

So today, on World Read Aloud Day, I thought it fitting to pay tribute to the German woman who gave me my love of books. Vielen Dank, Omi. I shall read a few words of German to her in honor of this true heroine in my life.

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.” Christopher Morley (1890 - 1957)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temp: 52 degrees and all the snow has melted

Writing: 2 pages (500 words)

Reading: Crying Blood by Donis Casey

Shrove Tuesday

2011-03-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Or Fat Tuesday at my house. I'm eating everything in sight that has flour and sugar in it because that's what I'm giving up for Lent. I take advantage of this fasting season more for my health than any religious observance, although I was raised as a Catholic. So I'm very familiar with the procedure.

Historically, religious fasting is a practical action intended to make starvation seem admirable. This is the time of year when food sources were scarce in old times, animals themselves were so lean they were hardly worth the energy of hunting them, and making believe some good could come from a growling stomach was a wise and maybe even life-saving practice in tribes.

That's my opinion about it at any rate. Pardon me if it sounds irreverent, but I'm a bit practical about these things.

Anyway, I'm going to do the self-sacrificing thing (don't I feel noble already?) and cut out the two major food groups in America, white flour and white sugar. My hips will slim down, and likely I'll have all sorts of other health benefits. I dare you to join me!

But today, my friends, we eat! Pizza tonight and then I'm making chocolate chip cookies and after that, I'm going to eat the whole dang batch in bed while I read. I might even read a bread cookbook or something equally decadent. This Land o' Lakes recipe is really excellent, and you can easily cut it in half. But who would want to? Look at that yummy thing!

~~~~
Temps: 29/18 with snow all day
Writing: 800 words

Snow!

2011-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

Please, heaven, let this be the last snowstorm of the season. I am ready to garden! Look at this nutty weather. It's been up and down all winter, like a yo-yo.

Tomorrow I'm posting Mick's excellent chili recipe - perfect for a snowstorm.

It's Fat Tuesday, too, and I intend to eat everything I shouldn't since I plan to give up white meat, white flour, and white sugar for the Lenten season.

Desiderata #9

2011-03-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life

keep peace in your soul.

~ Max Ehrmann


Greer Studios 2010

You Know You're From Colorado If...

2011-03-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

You'll eat ice cream in the winter.

It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be cancelled.

'Humid' is over 25%.

Your sense of direction is: Toward the Mountains and Away from the Mountains.

You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.

You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.

You buy your flowers to set out on Mother's day, but try and hold off planting them until just before Father's day.

You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.

You know what the Continental Divide is.

You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.

You always know the elevation of where you are.

You wake up to a beautiful, 80-degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.

Every movie theater has military and student discounts.

Everybody wears jeans to church.

A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.

When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.

You Can Go Back Again

2011-03-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

I ran across an interesting thing at the Overseas High School online page at Facebook. Being able to connect with fellow alums from the school after almost forty years is pretty amazing in itself. Military brats, at least when I was growing up, always expected to move on and lose touch with their high school friends. That held true for decades until the Internet became a reality for all of us. When I went to a 25th school reunion in Las Vegas, it was kind of a miracle... not as cool as I thought it would be because many of my peers didn't go, but still, it was kind of a bittersweet kick.

So today, I found pictures of some of the housing areas where I and friends lived. These, however, were after the Army base closed and the Germans took over the properties and rehabilitated them for sale to German citizens. And billed them as luxury homes.

I never really thought of where I lived as a luxury, but I suppose the size alone throws these homes into that category. Standalone or duplex housing is very expensive in Europe, so you can see why these old officers quarters likely fetched a pretty penny.

Above is a huge back yard by German standards. Even the apartments below were luxuriously large.

Hard to really see much through the fence, but it seems lighter and cleaner than I remember. There were hundreds of these buildings in one housing area.

I have to say the attractiveness of the places is much higher than when I was there. Germans just intuitively know how to make things gemuetlich.
Keep in mind that for Europeans, apartments like this with their larger square footage, hardwood floors, large balconies and surrounding real estate, were really quite a boon to average lifestyles. The end apartments were four bedroom and two bathrooms, which is very spacious.

There were a lot of Army bases housing thousands of families, so returning this to the German economy had to be a big benefit for them. Only fair, I guess, since we took the land to begin with after the war and during military occupation.

I haven't seen these buildings since I left c. 1970 so it's kind of like visiting an old home. The Internet is an amazing place, and thanks to technology, you can go back again. It certainly brings back memories!

Blooming Good Times!

2011-03-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

What a delightful surprise. I've had a couple of orchids from a few years ago, and wasn't sure what to do with them after the blooms were spent. So I kept them. After two years, I suddenly have new flower stalks and blooms. Here's the oldest plant today:

I've done nothing special except give them three ice cubes every Saturday after tea. In fact, the Phalaenopsis orchid is now dubbed "the ice cube plant" when it's sold anywhere and everywhere including discount stores for as little as $9.99. It's a bargain because the bloom season is 3-4 months on one stalk. I love them for their elegance. Here's more information about growing and caring for them. The picture below is when she had several stalks all blooming at once. Simply glorious!

It's nice to have this touch of Spring since the temperatures have dropped from 50 to 25 and we're expecting cold rain turning into snow tomorrow. Gack - I am so ready for winter to be over!

The Man Who Planted Trees

2011-03-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now." ~ Chinese Proverb

When we first moved out here to the flats, one of our immediate goals was to save the existing trees on the property. The house had been empty for a year or longer, and lack of water left many of the trees seriously stressed during several years of drought. So we pruned and watered and coaxed and were able to save the lilac bushes in front as well as an old poplar, to name a few.

We also planted trees and bushes we favored, like the cedars bordering the driveway, which are now 4-5 feet high, and a lovely cotton-less Cottonwood, for it's soothing rustle in a summer breeze. It's a marvelous sound to sleep by! That tree can now be seen from the backside of the house over the rooftop, it's grown so tall. Probably not the best choice for this water-thirsty area unless they're part of a gray-water system, the house needed a tree there and these happen to be one of my favorites, so we bought a 5-foot baby, and delighted in watching it shoot skyward over a few years.

The landscaped area we call Leona's Garden (there's Mick working on the urbanite wall) for the woman who inspired it, has developed nicely in just five years, and is backed by the neighbor's windbreak, as well as a large and unidentified tree I call The Old Dame. That's the tallest tree you see at right. Before I leave here, I'm going to identify what she is. No one seems to know.

Leona's Garden two years ago

The bare beginnings -Leona's Garden five years ago

You can see the developing Leona's Garden, with various Evergreens, a Russian Olive (which is a designated invasive tree here), rose bushes, and assorted peach and apricot trees I plant with relentless enthusiasm every time the fruit passes my lips. Last summer the pampas grass stand finally shot into the air like a fountain, and has been quite the dramatic sight all winter.

There are lots of Dutch elms on this property, the weed trees that proliferate without much coaxing, but have been virtually demolished by Dutch Elm disease over recent decades. I rather like them, and in this stretch of barren land, I appreciate their visual relief. We've lost one of the huge sisters, and it looks like the other on the south side of the house will die soon from elm beetle infestation. I hate to see an old tree like this die, but you can see the wound and seepage by the stain on this snow.

We'll have to cut her down later in the Spring. The thought makes me cringe. The only consolation is that it will make room for dreaming about a greenhouse addition to the side of the south side of the house. If we were planning to stay here, which we're not. But still... a girl can dream, right? A greenhouse would just be so handy right now for starting seeds and pretending Spring had really sprung.

Time flies when you're gardening, that's for sure. Were it not for the space we've created here, I probably wouldn't/couldn't have stayed this long. I need green and beauty to survive! So we've created it - by planting trees and other good things.

For an inspirational novel about the topic, read The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono.
~~~~
Temps: 55/25 but with a brisk and cold wind - didn't feel this warm at all
Writing: Blog posts

Highlights of the day: A great batch of chili by M., I made a nice pound of mozarella, and baked a loaf of whole wheat bread that was also perfection. Lent starts next week so I'm indulging in the kitchen. I'm giving up flour, sugar, and white meat. I don't eat enough red meat to sacrifice it and feel like I'm actually doing anything worthwhile. But the carbs - that could be a challenge. So 40 days and nights of dairy, eggs, cheese, and vegetables.

National Pancake Day

2011-03-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Guess what we had for supper?

It's also National Peanut Butter Day but we didn't smear that on the pancakes. There's only so much national pride I can muster especially when it involves stuffing my face with food.

It was a gorgeous day today so I washed all the bedding and hung it on the line to dry - sweet sunshine smelling sheets - say that three times without breaking a tooth!

Plastic-Free February Wrap-Up

2011-02-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

It's the last day of February so just a quick re-cap of what the Rodale.com Plastic-Free February was all about:

1. No buying or acquiring new plastic.

2: No cooking with plastic or storing food in plastic.

3: Minimize all other plastic use.

Like most guerrilla environmentalists, I'm pretty conscious of what I use from moment-to-moment and one of my frustrations is always the ubiquitrocity (I made that up:) of plastics. It's hard to get away from them in modern life. I don't grow all my food, so it's even more difficult, though I plan my major shopping trips in the city and Whole Foods where I have a few more choices. Plenty of packaging and plastics there though. Even the produce department offers plastic bags - not a good thing. So in the spirit of improving the conscientious lifestyle, here are three things we'll do very soon:

   1. Make some lightweight washable produce bags to take to the store. I'll repurpose a white voile curtain I have in the fabric stash.

   2. Buy a roll of butcher paper to freeze whole fresh produce and make sure all the meats we buy are packaged in paper. Gratefully, Whole Foods does this at their meat and fish counters.

   3. Use exclusively glass jars in the refrigerator and wax paper for counter wrap. Because I won't have the above-mentioned produce bags to re-purpose.

That's a bit of tweaking that will get more of that plastic out of my life. Whatever else, like bottle tops, vitamin storage, and curious plastic bits and baubles, could turn into a work of art along the lines of Louise Nevelson's famous assemblages of cast-off woods that evolved into huge space dividers. Marvelous things!

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Nevelson :

Nevelson is known for her abstract expressionist “crates” grouped together to form a new creation. She used found objects or everyday discarded things in her assemblies, one of which was three stories high: "When you put together things that other people have thrown out, you’re really bringing them to life – a spiritual life that surpasses the life for which they were originally created."

Same can work for the endless stream of plastics. Time, creativity, imagination, and an eye for composition, and voila!, something to paint in a unifying color and hang on the wall. Could work.

And because I know I'll never be able to keep all those plastic bags from coming home with me, here are some links to help do something usable and creative with the miserable things once they're in your possession:

http://www.frugal-cafe.com/fashion-cheap-chic/articles/threadbanger-recycling-plastic-bags.html
http://greenupgrader.com/3953/bag-another-day-the-best-ways-to-reuse-plastic-bags/
http://www.homesteadweaver.com/plasticbagrugs.htm

And here are more links, including clever ways to use the endless stream of plastic bottle caps:

http://www.chasinggreen.org/article/type-5-plastic-bottle-caps-put-good-use/

Thanks to everyone for sharing your creative ideas!

~~~~~~~
Temps:

Desiderata #8

2011-02-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child

of the universe,

no less than the trees

and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding

as it should.

~Max Ehrmann


Interior shot of Sofia's Dream by Land Wilson

Little Pickle Press sales pitch - the February 25% off promotion ends tomorrow so be sure to stock up on their gorgeous award-winning books, all published in environmentally sound ways. Use coupon code LPPLOVE at check-out. http://www.littlepicklepress.com

~~~~~

Temps:

Blink and It's Gone

2011-02-26T12:32:00.000-08:00


On a cold and frosty morning like this....

What's a fellow to do except soak up some warm sun?

There’s no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.” ~ Wesley Bates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Temps: 57/22 (it actually got sunny and warm enough to hang out laundry)

Comfort Food

2011-02-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to a dark and dreary day, with icy snow and very cold temperatures. It makes me so grateful that we have a new cord of wood and a hot meal simmering away on the stove. What is it? Chicken With Dumplings from the Fannie Farmer cookbook and I share the recipe with you herewith:

4-5 pound chicken cut into eight pieces
2 carrots, sliced thin
2 ribs celery with leaves, sliced fine
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon rosemary, crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Dumplings

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons minced parsley
4 tablespoons shortening (I use butter)
3/4 - 1 cup milk

Rinse the chicken pieces, put them in a large pot, and cover with water. Add the carrots, celery, onion, thyme, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. When the chicken has simmered 30-45 minutes (the recipe says 20 but that's not nearly enough) make the dough.

Combine the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and parsley in a bowl. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 3/4 cup milk and stir briefly with a fork. Add only enough of the remaining 1/4 cup milk to make the dough hold together. Into the simmering broth, drop spoonfuls of dough on top. Cover tightly and steam for 20 minutes without lifting the cover.

I have some variations. I cook the whole chicken in broth and then remove it and set it aside. I only use about half the chicken, skinned, de-boned, and sliced, and reserve the rest for another meal. I also save all the bones and skin and use that for a second batch of broth for a future meal (Shrimp Jambalaya on Sunday).

After this modification, I continue as per instructions. The secret ingredient in the broth is the thyme. The marvelous end-result is that the dumplings thicken the broth into a luscious gravy and you then serve that over the sliced chicken with several dumplings centered on top. Add a little green salad on the side, a few candles and a glass of white wine, and you have a Sunday meal. We're having it in ten minutes as the timer is tweeting even as I finish this. Bon appetit, my friends! Wish you were here to join us. I'd probably serve you a peach pie with fresh-whipped cream for dessert, just to gild the lily.

Zero Waste Pasta

2011-02-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

One of my greatest irritations around plastic packaging is not being able to buy pastas in bulk anywhere. Is this really such a big issue? Wouldn't it be great to walk into a gourmet deli and ask the person behind the counter for a pound of spaghetti and have them put that into paper bags from bins behind them... or maybe even hanging from drying racks? It seems so wholesome. But, no... instead, this will likely be in my future if I want to go the sustainable route. We actually have a pasta machine, but it's not a habit that's been cultivated here as yet. It never got beyond hubbo's big idea. Hehe.

The closest we can come to somewhat sustainable packaged noodles is from Barilla. They package their noodles in cardboard boxes and you can read more about it at the Zero Waste Checkout blog, a new discovery thanks to Land Wilson, the author of Sofia's Dream from Little Pickle Press. We both work for this marvelous eco-publisher. By the way, you can get 25% off all books there through the end of February using the coupon code LPPLOVE at check-out, so don't dilly-dally.

Getting really cold here - I think the high today was 35 degrees with a low tonight of 15. We'll have another round or two of winter before there will be any gardening at my place.

Got lots of blogging done today, but no other writing. Now must read Donis Casey's newest book, Crying Blood, which Poisoned Pen Press sent me earlier in the week. This is the next in her Alafair Tucker historical mysteries set in Oklahoma c. 1930.

My Day

2011-02-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

Need I say more? It was 3PM by the time I got this damnable Trojan virus removed from my computer. Other than this what have I done? Made yogurt and butter. And cleaned the upholstery on an office chair. Big woot.

Temps: 51/16 sunny and windy
Writing: nada

Of Cats and Animal Control

2011-02-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

Today is National Spay Day at the Humane Society of the United States, a worthy cause if ever there was one. Click on the link for more information.

Mick and I have a program of our own we've funded for several decades. We started out with two cats - my Sage and Boo from before our marriage - and adopted more from the huge feral colony that lived in the neighborhood where we had our stained glass studio. It was out-of-hand, so as we had extra money, we used a special program that Hamlett Spay and Neuter Clinic offered. We got a live trap from them, did the dirty deed, took them in for surgery, kept them inside to recuperate, and then released them. Many of them were previously owned and abandoned, and became adoptable by the end of the process. We ended up being the owners, of course. (Feel free to imagine a sheepish grin here.)

When we moved to the country, we had sixteen cats, all non-breeding but with special needs. Nine have died over the past six years, and we've replaced a few with local strays... of course, they've been neutered, too. Our mission continues, just in another place and time.

If more people would help with this, there would be far fewer animal control problems in the world. Unless you're on a farm where the natural cycle includes population control via predator and starvation, neutering is the only process that makes sense, not only to control populations but also to control disease. Think about a contribution to your local spay/neuter fund, won't you? Your veterinarian probably is tapped into a program and would be glad to accept a few extra dollars to funnel into this worthy cause.

So now for the fun - here are a few of my furry and lazy children:

Chai is my prodigal cat child who has been lost several times, we think locked into a storage shed somewhere nearby. One time she was gone for six weeks and I thought she had surely been taken from me for good. It was really a miracle when she returned and it took a few weeks for her to get her weight back. The last time she disappeared was only for two weeks. I think this is when my hair turned completely white. I can't even imagine having a human child of mine running away - the excruciating heartbreak and worry of that. It would kill me, I have no doubt.

Scout was one of Mick's faves. He was the last of a local litter that carries the leukemia virus, and all died of it before they turned a year.

Beamer was part of the car club (we give each litter themes) and became ill very suddenly with complications from his feline leukemia. He was a gorgeous and very photogenic cat. But a bully, and I have to say that there is much less stress in the colony since he left us.

Olivia was Scout's sister - a sweetie - and she died of FeL just after her first birthday. Likely from the stress of spaying. She had a habit of hiding in the bath tub and that's where she went to die one day while we were in the city.

Bentley is another boy from the car club litter - he has feline leukemia and we thought we'd lose him early on because he's a climber, fell from some high place, and broke his jaw! He had surgery, and recovered from the jaw rewiring and a dislocated hip. We're surprised he's still around and healthy, and think perhaps it has to do with his low-stress personality. Maybe the heavy dosing of antibiotics and painkillers during surgery played a role, too. It's hard to know with this disease.

Sweet Elmer - he was my special boy, but we knew early on this little litter wouldn't last long. They had intense rounds of upper respiratory disease (feline herpes) at birth, and compounded with the feline leukemia, didn't have much chance from the start. We did what we could to give them a short but happy life.

Sassafras and his brother Gingko, came with us from the city. They have stories to tell at another time! Sassy is one of the most elegant cats I've ever seen. He's also a talker thanks to Mick, and a source of great irritation some early mornings.

Buddy is the oldest cat we've ever had. He was an abandoned tom cat for years who hung out around our shop and who unfortunately had feline aids and wasn't expected to live. But we had him for 8 years after his diagnosis/neutering and, again, think his longevity is a direct result of a very mellow personality. Nothing stressed Buddy and all the cats we ever had adored him. He was the alpha cat from the day he joined us, and died last year, mostly from the deterioration of old age. I simply let him go without intervention, and he went as calmly and gracefully as he lived. There was a lesson for me in that process that I'll write about soon. I still miss him dreadfully though. He was my sleeping buddy.

Edsel Ford was another one of the car club boys - he was the first to die of feline leukemia, and caught us totally by surprise. That seems to be a marker of this disease - everything is fine one day, and suddenly there's a rapid decline. Edsel's ailment manifested as a crippling of one back leg which turned out to be either a rapidly growing tumor or a clot, and within two weeks he was dead. I miss him - he was an emphatic cat and has his own special story.

Catmandu - adored by all the felines!

"Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance." Dan Greenburg

Weather: 54/7
Writing: Does this blog count?

Shake-down Cruise

2011-02-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

We took the VW Beetle for her first long tour since installing the new motor and here are a few photos en route through the flatlands heading toward Pikes Peak:

It started as a sunny day, Miss Poppy did very well indeed, and we drove home that evening to a steady rain. 120 miles of rain. That cloud must have followed us all the way!

It's a bit cooler today with a stiff wind, but very sunny. All the early morning frost has melted. We enjoyed our chilis poblano at Rudy's in Colorado Springs so much, that hubbs made his own batch which we thoroughly enjoyed today. Ours actually had a better filling. I'll post the recipe on Thursday.

Highlight of the trip was a new cookbook (we stopped by Borders and were happy to hear they are staying open) called Chocolate with 100 fabulous-looking recipes. I simply couldn't resist. We also explored the new Penzey's which had a lovely selection, a totally disengaged wait staff, and way too much plastic. I came home with lovely paprika, bay leaves, and vanilla beans. Very affordable prices, I must say. But way too much plastic - did I already mention that? Why doesn't anyone use paper bags anymore? Or wrap stuff in butcher paper like in the old days? Better yet, let them use Terraskin.

Desiderata #7

2011-02-20T11:17:00.000-08:00

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit

to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born

of fatigue and loneliness.

~Max Ehrmann

Give Me Three Good Reasons

2011-02-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

We're headed to the city soon, since our pile of potential errands has risen to at least six. We don't make the drive unless we have at least that many stops to make. Here's what's on the agenda so far:

Meet client
Pick up commission check from another client
Buy stained glass
Library
Whole Foods
Borders
Penzeys
Bank
Rudy's Little Getaway Restaurant

It's almost like a vacation! It also makes for a tiring day, so we try to only go to the city once a month.

Here's another example of making everything work three times as hard. I buy butter that's wrapped in wax paper rather than foil. I use the wrappers to grease bread pans, so I don't have to use a new scrap of something to do the job. Then I use the wrapper to start a fire in my parlor stove - best fire starter ever! See? Three jobs for that silly little butter wrapper. Also the reason I don't buy butter wrapped in foil. Now you know, Land o' Lakes. Why doesn't a journalist stop me in the street and ask me what butter I use and why? I'm ready with an answer!

Obviously I'm a true believer that every little bit helps this over-consumed planet we call home. Alas, most days I don't feel I'm doing nearly enough. If everyone did what I just outlined, we still wouldn't be doing enough. I get pretty bummed about it some days.
~~~~~
It rained all 120 miles of the way home. Rain? In Colorado in February? Sustained rain for hours over this large an area of the state? Seems odd to me.

Plastic-Free February Update

2011-02-18T10:11:00.000-08:00

Some day, when you look back on what you’ve written, you’ll realize that you have born witness to your life. You’ll be grateful. ~ Susan Wittig Albert

The proliferation of daily plastic use continues - even the throwaways. Anyone who becomes conscious realizes that it's almost impossible to do away with plastics. Yesterday, I mused that a pasta shop where I could buy freshly made noodles that I brought home wrapped in paper... well, no point musing about it. Such a shop doesn't exist anywhere near where I live. The pasta I boiled came wrapped in plastic. How do you buy your pasta? In plastic. How else? I have one friend who makes his own, but he is a rarity.

I don't store my foods in plastic, having bought into glass storage many years past. I still have two sets of Martha Stewart bowls I bought at Kmart probably two decades ago. If I need more, I use Mason jars.

Yesterday, my largely-plastic office chair broke. I asked Mick to see if he could fix it - it was a perfectly good upholstered chair and simply too good to toss. He discovered an interesting thing - it was almost impossible to get into the underneath portion partly because the screws weren't easily removed (matching ones weren't even used!) and clearly, the design was never intended for long-term maintenance. Plastic comes ready-made with a throwaway mentality imbued into ever piece. (Wait a minute. Wasn't the original intent of non-breakables so we could own and use them for longer?) These items are not meant to last, and more's the pity. Next office chair - antique oak swivel on wheels - as soon as I figure out what to do with this one, since I don't need two office chairs.

I've reached a point in my life in which I seriously consider my purchases and ask the question: What if I had to own this until I died? With no storage space available? Would it outlast me? Could I repair it? Can I repurpose it if its usefulness in the current state is diminished? If it doesn't pass the test, I seriously reconsider the acquisition.

These are questions we all should ask when we acquire "stuff". I look at this appliance above sitting in my bathroom, thankfully only borrowed, and wonder if I'll ever use it. It's a paraffin melter for hand therapy. It's been here for a month. It's very plastic. And I'm grateful I can give it back to its owner tomorrow!
~~~~~

Temps: 50/23 and windy
Writing: mostly research

Sunrise Magic

2011-02-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

I infrequently am awake at dawn. I'm one of those people who naturally wakes up at 8 AM and I'm blessed to have the luxury of following my natural rhythm. Occasionally something throws my clock off, and that's what happened yesterday when I fell asleep reading in bed at 9:30 PM, then was wide awake nine hours later - well, who wouldn't be? So I got up to make the coffee and walked through my house seeing things I rarely see.

That morning light is magical. I can understand why some people love the dawn. I bet most of you are morning people, huh? What's your favorite thing to look at first thing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temps: 60/18 very windy
Writing: 750 words

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2011-02-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself. ~ D. H. Lawrence

I, however, was a bit saddened to get this gift on the back porch this morning. A female woodpecker, probably a Northern Flicker, who was likely looking for breakfast on the ground when she became food for one of my cats. Mother Nature seems dreadfully cruel to me, and like most humans, I resist the natural course of events. I love my feline family (and family they are, being childless). They just do what is natural - hunt - and I like that they keep the rodent population down, but I don't like that they occasionally go after birds. My neighbor who puts feeders and bird baths out, doesn't like cats at all and that worries me a bit more. The potential human cruelty is more worrisome than anything animals mete out.

What is Peak Oil Anyway?

2011-02-15T16:40:00.000-08:00

Recently my nephew who is newly in the Air Force, asked me about Peak Oil. He still doesn't quite understand what it's about, and that isn't surprising. There are a lot of people who don't quite get it. I started doing some research to find sites that might simplify the idea and communicate it on an accessible level. I found these videos and found them to be very good. One is embedded and you can click to view. Then go to the two subsequent links to hear the rest of the lecture by journalist Brian Kaller as he speaks to 300 teenaged students in County Kildare, Ireland about peak oil and climate change.

Climate Chaos

Back to the Fifties

Please watch all three and really think about them. Then consider how you can start changing your lifestyle to accomodate the future of this planet. I'd be willing to bet Mr. Kaller is right on the money.

Temps: Gorgeous 64/22
Writing: 5 pages

Happy Valentine's Day to My Sweet Husband

2011-02-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Some of the more romantic lines from literature just for you:

I risk the wrath of Disney copyright lawyers for love!

"When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots are become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part" - "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"

" Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" - Emily Bronte

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you" - A A Milne

"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be." - Robert Browning

Desiderata #6

2011-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

~~~~~

Today is also Go Red Sunday to raise awareness about women's heart health. Thanks to Lee for bringing it to my attention!


Greer Studios Design

Vienna Coffee and Milk

2011-02-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a little taste of home for Liza. We drove to the house to get milk from her Mom. I love getting milk and eggs from local sources! That's Road V looking East.

A view looking toward town. I know there's a water tower over there and I'm just to the right. Below is their dog, Daisy, on the roof! This is one of the more sensible houses in the area - bermed!

Here's the milk from the gorgeous Brown Swiss cows who must have been in the barn today. I will never get tired of skimming a good pint of cream off the top of each of these gallons. On the menu this week is kefir, yogurt, and maybe some mozzarella for heart-shaped pizzas on Monday.

Here's me with my red Beetle... which unfortunately got a bit dinged up getting pulled out of the garage. More on that story later. You can see one dent on the back fender. The front looks a lot worse! I didn't do it! Yes, I wear red Crocs. What's it to ya? :D

Nice warm day today, and I got a huge load of laundry out on the clothes line! Oh, and Vienna coffee with Mozart today. I wanted a change from our usual Saturday tea.

The recipes for those little pink meringues are at the Little Pickle Press blog.

What about you? How did your day go? Do anything fun and special?

A Day With Rodney Crowell

2011-02-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

I have to tell you that reading about Valentine's Day in the news all week is really starting to make my stomach turn. Is it just me, or does anyone else out there think there's more to life than sex?

Acclaimed country and cross-over musician, Rodney Crowell, thinks there should be. He's always been one of my favorite songwriters and guitarists, but I haven't really heard any of his recent work until reading about his newly released memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks. Then I heard his cover song for the 2008 Sex and Gasoline (lyrics at link) album and was really impressed. This father of four daughters sings to the modern issues and is just as worried about society as a lot of us are. Listen to this:

Yeah, there's way too much sleaze out there. Garbage in, garbage out is how it works when you're dealing with brains. When sex is at the top of your list of things to focus on, you're either very young and driven by your hormones (which is completely natural), or brainwashed by Madison Avenue hype. Oh, gee, that could never happen. The media couldn't possibly have that much mind control. Or could it?
~~~~~
Temps: 39/9 and lots warmer for the next week
Word count: 1,000

Moodling and Writing

2011-02-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

I've been moodling and writing and moodling and writing all day. Nothing is close to being finished, but this is part of the process. Back and forth. A little moodling. A little writing. Eventually it'll all come together.

I took some time this afternoon to bake bread and make a meatloaf dinner. Mick is working on four stained glass church windows and when he's with the creative muse, he's in another world. I drag him back for meals. He does the same when my muse grabs hold of me. It's hard to explain The Muses to outsiders who aren't creative types. But they're as real as we are, and when they beckon, the artist answers. It's not something to question.

It's a bit warmer today, and tomorrow it should warm up enough for snow to start melting. I have to pick up milk before my farmer friend cuts me off for good! Getting milk from the neighbors is too much of a treat for me to risk losing. Another friend's chickens are laying again, so we have local eggs, too. Good ones, with yolks the color of burnished gold.

I'm off to make raspberry chocolate chip meringues. Recipe will be at the Little Pickle Press blog tomorrow.

Temps: 29/3 anticipated high tomorrow 42 - yay!
Word count: 500

St.Valentine's Day Planning

2011-02-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

I can't resist trying this recipe today, just for practice, you know.

Chocolate Chai

4 cardamom pods, cracked

1 (4-inch) piece cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

1/4 tsp. anise seed

2 - 4 (1/4-inch) slices fresh ginger, peeled (see note*)

2 cups water

2 black tea bags

2 Tbsp. unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups milk (or unsweetened almond or soy milk - see note**)

3 Tbsp. agave syrup, honey, or stevia, or to taste

Place cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, anise seed and ginger in medium saucepan, add 2 cups water, and place over medium-high heat. When water simmers, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add tea bags, cover, and steep for 4 minutes. Remove tea bags, cover, and steep brewed tea with spices for 20 minutes. Strain to remove spices, and return spiced tea to saucepan.

In small bowl, whisk cocoa with 1/4 cup of hot tea until dissolved, then add to tea. Mix in vanilla, and almond or soymilk. Heat chai over medium-high heat until steaming. Sweeten to taste then pour into mugs, or divide chai among 4 mugs and sweeten it to taste individually.

*Note: Ginger root varies in thickness. If you have a fat piece, 2 slices may be enough.
** I don't recommend soy milk as it's known to be an endocrine disruptor.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 120 calories, 3.5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat), 21 g carbohydrate,

4 g protein, 1 g dietary fiber, 65 mg sodium.

It'll be great sipping as we watch our favorite Valentine's movie, Chocolat. We ordinarily never watch TV or go to the movies, except on holidays when we watch a favorite video. How about you? What's your all-time favorite love story?

***

"Until, one winter day, a sly wind blew in from the North..."

Temps: 19/-7

Word count: unmeasurably online :/

Snow Day

2011-02-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Temps: High of 4/ Low of -9 with wind chills -15 to -25 It is very cold with an anticipated high temperature of 53 for Saturday. Hard to believe.

Plastic-Free February - One Week Later

2011-02-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Remember the Rodale.com challenge a few posts down? Here are the ground rules to refresh your memory:

1. No buying or acquiring new plastic.

2: No cooking with plastic or storing food in plastic.

3: Minimize all other plastic use.

A picture is worth how many words?

We almost always use cloth shopping bags, so all the other plastic you see above is for items that aren't available in bulk where I live. Pasta wrappers. Chocolate wrappers. Vitamin bottle. Chicken drumsticks for the cats - at least they weren't on polystyrene trays. What you see is a week into the challenge, and by two people who are pretty conscious about not buying throwaway plastics.

So what's the solution to the above? Make my own pasta? Forgo eating imported chocolates? Buy vitamins in glass bottles? Suggest that pharmacies dispense vitamins the way they do drugs and ask for paper wrappers? Ask a butcher to wrap the chicken legs in butcher paper? It can get complicated.

Clearly, avoiding plastics is not an easy proposition in the modern day - it takes endless acts of inconvenience to do it. That's a tough act in a society that worships the God of Convenience above all others, isn't it? I haven't touched on the issue of plastic storage, plastic appliances, plastic tools, and all the other "acts of plastic" in any given day.

Have you collected your throwaway plastic lately just to see what kind of an environmental impact you have in this small area?

~~~~~~~

Temp: 42/3 snow on the way
Page count: 2

Desiderata #5

2011-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Enjoy your achievements

as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career,

however humble;

it is a real possession

in the changing fortunes of time.

Time for Tea

2011-02-05T20:16:00.000-08:00

We actually haven't had much time for tea the past month or so. Today I decided to put forth a bit of effort and made cherry cheesecake squares and curried chicken salad sandwiches. A few Greek olives rounded it out. The tea was a Three Monarch blend of black teas with a touch of bergamot, topped up with sugar cubes and fresh cream from the neighbor's Brown Swiss cow. Nothing to complain about here.

After that, back to the garage to work on Miss Poppy some more. The brakes are better, but still need work. Hopefully, we'll be able to get her on the road for a test drive tomorrow before there's too much snow.

Here's the projected weather for the next week.

Fearless

2011-02-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world tickle your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world. You are willing to share your heart with others." - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Treasures in the Country

2011-02-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

It was just a normal morning of work when my wi-fi suddenly gave out. Dang. I went to hook up the computer to dial-up so I could at least finish handling emails. There was no dial tone. Double dang.

So I called the rural telephone company to get a tech out. Seems our recent rounds of power surges and a black-out from the snow storms had burned out some wires. It took about an hour of up and down testing of various wires and outlets to figure that out. The good news is that I have DSL and landline connection now, though not where I really need them - in my office. The bad news is that the tech doesn't really want to run all new cables, so he left cable and jacks for hubbs to do the work. Well, that might actually be good news. He can do the work - it's not rocket science after all - and we don't have to pay someone else to do it which could be expensive. Not that there's anyone in the area to pay anyway.

Out in the country, it's better to be married to a man rich in talent than rich in gold - if you want to get certain jobs done that is. Mr. Midas would be on the phone trying to get someone in from Denver to do the work. Mr. Mick will have it handled a whole lot faster. There's a lot to be said for a fellow who's worth his weight in gold... and then some, especially in these changing economic times. I know women who could handle this job themselves. I'm not one of them. How about you? Run any telephone cable lately?

More excitement this evening - frozen pipe burst in the kitchen. Now the water in the whole house is turned off. Tomorrow there's another repair job for the resident plumber. I guess the resident phone tech will have to take off his hat and move down a few notches on the to-do list, and wait in line while the resident auto mechanic replaces the rear wheel cylinder in the VW Beetle. Someday the resident liturgical artist will get back to those four stained glass church windows he needs to finish by the end of the month. Lord have mercy. I need to find some more hats for this guy to wear. Is it any wonder he has a look on his face?

Temp: 29/7 with 52 degrees projected high tomorrow

Cold and Hot

2011-02-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

The current accuweather.com forecast for the month of February in Colorado clearly illustrates how bizarre our climate patterns are becoming. It's not so much that the temps are in the 50s in what should be the coldest of months. It's that we're bouncing from minus temperatures into the 40-50s within one week. This is not a good thing. It'll be a miracle if I don't lose a few big trees this winter. I hate it when trees die. It's like a child dying. There's something about trees that I connect with on a spiritual level.

Tonight is Candlemas, and we've set the house ablaze. I love these squiggly photographs!

Here's a quotation a friend shared that's apt for the occasion:

“In moments of discouragement, defeat, or even despair, there are always certain things to cling to. Little things usually: remembered laughter, the face of a sleeping child, a tree in the wind--in fact, any reminder of something deeply felt or dearly loved. No man is so poor as not to have many of these small candles. When they are lighted, darkness goes away and a touch of wonder remains.” ~ Tombstone inscription in Britain

Hot and Cold

2011-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

It's wicked cold today with winds of 40 mph. That's dropping the -3 daytime high to -16 tonight with windchills of -39. This morning, we woke up to power outages and no electricity, telephone, cell phone, or DSL.

On days like this, I truly appreciate my little wood parlour stove that doesn't need a fan or electric hopper to work. It's a Hottentot from c. 1920 and often referred to as a potbelly stove, though it's technically a cylinder stove, made of cast iron and sheet metal. It's surprisingly efficient and incredibly cozy!

It's definitely a good day for this stuff. We bake almost all our bread, and at this point, really prefer our own baking over most bakery bread. This is our standard white made with organic unbleached and local milk - it's perfect for toast and sandwiches.

Fresh out of the oven. With a hot bowl of soup!

Plastic-Free February

2011-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

Rodale.com is have a social experiment called Plastic-Free February. We're going to play along even though I know from experience it's almost impossible to completely eschew plastics. How do I know this? Some years ago, Mick and I got rid of our dumpster service, and decided to process our own trash - from work and home. We figured we'd recycle just about everything. Wrong. We still ended up making a $25 trip to the waste transfer station every month. And wasn't that a dreadful experience? Yes, it was. Not only does the place stink to high heaven, the amount of perfectly good stuff being dumped made for some deep depression on my part. I couldn't stand to see all the waste. It broke my heart.

We did develop some good habits during this experiment, like using reusable shopping bags long before they were common, and buying as much food as possible in bulk to avoid all that packaging. We'd also buy meats wrapped in butcher paper rather than plastics. When I don't make my own, I try to buy things like mayonnaise and ketchup in glass bottles. But sometimes it's just about impossible. I have yet to find agave in glass containers, for example. What about sour cream? Do you just pass on foodstuffs that you don't make from scratch? I usually don't. It's a modern dilemma!

So here are the ground rules from Rodale:

1. No buying or acquiring new plastic.

2: No cooking with plastic or storing food in plastic.

3: Minimize all other plastic use.

Will you play along? It can't hurt to practice and tweak our techniques a bit more, so we'll give it a go. Whatever plastic I can't avoid, I'll save for a future photograph and blog post, and maybe I'll even figure out a way to turn the excess plastic into a piece of artwork. Heaven knows I have enough assorted vitamin bottles for a wall piece a la Louise Nevelson.

"When you put together things that other people have thrown out, you’re really bringing them to life – a spiritual life that surpasses the life for which they were originally created." ~ Louise Nevelson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Temps: 11/-11 High of 4 tomorrow with 5" snow expected. High winds expected which will increase wind chills to minus 30 tonight. Hope the wild critters are hunkered down somewhere warm.

Desiderata #4

2011-01-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become bitter or vain,

for always there will be

greater and lesser persons

than yourself.

What Do You Say, Dear?

2011-01-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

You go to London to see the Queen. She says, "Oh, you must stay for dinner. We are having spaghetti." So you do, and there's spaghetti for the appetizer, spaghetti for the main dish, and a spaghetti salad. By the time the Queen's guard brings spaghetti for dessert, you cannot sit in your chair anymore and you want to leave the table.

What do you say, dear?

From the children's book by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

Guess what we had for dinner yesterday? And lunch today. And dinner today.

May I please be excused?

~~~~~~~~
Temps: 57/19 with snow on the way

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2011-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

It was a gorgeous day, at least sixty degrees and sunny with absolutely no wind, and the perfect day to hang laundry on the line.

This is only half the clothes line. Do you notice that everything is black? How many items of black clothing does one nazi environmentalist need? I know I recently boxed up at least as many black items to donate. Why do I still have so many? FAIL!

"There's really no way to ration dirty laundry. It's there every week, and it has to be done..." ~ Brian Wallace

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Official high temperature today was 66 degrees. Low of 17 tonight. Tuesday the projected high is 17. These wild temperature swings within a few days are very worrisome.

Driving Adventures

2011-01-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's really not as bad as it looks - just a little eyestrain from night driving. My left eye since the lens replacement surgery is a major pain with the littlest bit of overuse. Suffice it to say that it really burns my grits that millions of Medicare patients can have an easy peasy surgery like this, with absolutely no complications, but I have to pay $5 grand out-of-pocket to suffer. Who ever said life was fair?

Oh, and did I mention we were stopped by a State Patrol officer on the way home from the city? For doing 73 mph in a 65 zone? Just a little warning. It was awfully nice of him to let it go at that since hubbs didn't have the new insurance docs I gave him for his wallet on January 13. I told the nice young officer he could expect a homicide in a few hours. He laughed.

Real Words on Wednesday

2011-01-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

I belong to a writing group for women called Story Circle Network and I'm a moderator on their Yahoo!Group for members. Every Wednesday we share some of our favorite quotations. Here are some for today:

It's not about the whales anymore, it's about us. ~ Thomas L.Friedman

Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants. ~ Esther de Wahl

Happiness isn't getting what you want, it is wanting what you've got. ~ Garth Brooks Do you sense a theme in my frame-of-mind? What are some of your favorite quotations? Do any particularly resonate with you on days like today? Temps:

Recuperation

2011-01-25T15:08:00.000-08:00

I'm too tired to write. So today you get my favorite piece of music played rather nicely by these young musicians:

I'll want this at my memorial art show, just so you know. It's by Zipoli and my favorite rendition is the Paillard Orchestra.

Temp: icy cold 46/17 but I find the high hard to believe - maybe I just haven't thawed from yesterday's icy cold.

For the Record - State of the Union Address

2011-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

The text of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House 1/25/11.

___

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague — and our friend — Gabby Giffords.

It's no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that's a good thing. That's what a robust democracy demands. That's what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there's a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater — something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.

That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won't usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.

I believe we can. I believe we must. That's what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they've determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all — for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.

At stake right now is not who wins the next election — after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It's whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It's whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world.

We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.

But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children.

That's the project the American people want us to work on. Together.

We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans' paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of the new investments they make this year. These steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than 1 million private sector jobs created last year.

But we have more work to do. The steps we've taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession — but to win the future, we'll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.

Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn't always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you'd have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits and the occasional promotion. Maybe you'd even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company.

That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I've seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts of once busy Main Streets. I've heard it in the frustrations of Americans who've seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear — proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game.

They're right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers and sell their products wherever there's an Internet connection.

Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They're investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world's largest private solar research facility, and the world's fastest computer.

So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember — for all the hits we've taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world's best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth.

What's more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea — the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It's why our students don't just memorize equations, but answer questions like "What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can't just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement." Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

Now it's our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That's how our people will prosper. That's how we'll win the future. And tonight, I'd like to talk about how we get there.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.

None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn't know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do — what America does better than anyone — is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn't just change our lives. It's how we make a living.

Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it's not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That's what planted the seeds for the Internet. That's what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS.

Just think of all the good jobs — from manufacturing to retail — that have come from those breakthroughs.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. The science wasn't there yet. NASA didn't even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

This is our generation's Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven't seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We'll invest in biomedical research, information technology and especially clean energy technology — an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people.

Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard.

Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert's words, "We reinvented ourselves."

That's what Americans have done for over 200 years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen brothers, we've begun to reinvent our energy policy. We're not just handing out money. We're issuing a challenge. We're telling America's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we'll fund the Apollo projects of our time.

At the California Institute of Technology, they're developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they're using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's.

Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all — and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.

Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America's success. But if we want to win the future — if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas — then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.

Think about it. Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us — as citizens, and as parents — are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It's family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.

Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don't meet this test. That's why instead of just pouring money into a system that's not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all 50 states, we said, "If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we'll show you the money."

Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. These standards were developed, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what's best for our kids.

You see, we know what's possible for our children when reform isn't just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals; school boards and communities.

Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado; located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97 percent of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their family to go to college. And after the first year of the school's transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said "Thank you, Mrs. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it."

Let's also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child's success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as "nation builders." Here in America, it's time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who's contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child — become a teacher. Your country needs you.

Of course, the education race doesn't end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within reach of every American. That's why we've ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit — worth $10,000 for four years of college.

Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today's fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing America's community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she's earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. As Kathy said, "I hope it tells them to never give up."

If we take these steps — if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they're born until the last job they take — we will reach the goal I set two years ago: by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.

Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let's agree to make that effort. And let's stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses and further enrich this nation.

The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods and information — from high-speed rail to high-speed internet.

Our infrastructure used to be the best — but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation's infrastructure, they gave us a D.

We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system. The jobs created by these projects didn't just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp.

Over the last two years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. Tonight, I'm proposing that we redouble these efforts.

We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what's best for the economy, not politicians.

Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying — without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already under way.

Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This isn't just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It's about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It's about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a hand-held device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

All these investments — in innovation, education and infrastructure — will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success.

Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change.

So tonight, I'm asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years — without adding to our deficit.

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 — because the more we export, the more jobs we create at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor; Democrats and Republicans, and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible.

Before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers, and promote American jobs. That's what we did with Korea, and that's what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia, and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.

To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I've ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people. That's what we've done in this country for more than a century. It's why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It's why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It's why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it's why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients.

Now, I've heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses.

What I'm not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. I'm not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I'm not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business owner from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents' coverage. So instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let's fix what needs fixing and move forward.

Now, the final step — a critical step — in winning the future is to make sure we aren't buried under a mountain of debt.

We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people's pockets.

But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.

So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.

This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we have frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I've proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The secretary of defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without.

I recognize that some in this chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I'm willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let's make sure that we're not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. And let's make sure what we're cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you're flying high at first, but it won't take long before you'll feel the impact.

Now, most of the cuts and savings I've proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12 percent of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won't.

The bipartisan Fiscal Commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don't agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it — in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. Health insurance reform will slow these rising costs, which is part of why nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I'm willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year: medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.

To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. And we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market.

And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break.

It's not a matter of punishing their success. It's about promoting America's success.

In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them.

So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress — Democrats and Republicans — to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future.

Let me take this one step further. We shouldn't just give our people a government that's more affordable. We should give them a government that's more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past.

We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked.

Now, we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We're selling acres of federal office space that hasn't been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote — and we will push to get it passed.

In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people's faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren't larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.

A 21st century government that's open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that's driven by new skills and ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.

Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West; no one rival superpower is aligned against us.

And so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. America's moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice and dignity. And because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America's standing has been restored.

Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high; where American combat patrols have ended; violence has come down; and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America's commitment has been kept; the Iraq war is coming to an end.

Of course, as we speak, al-Qaida and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family.

We have also taken the fight to al-Qaida and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan Security Forces. Our purpose is clear — by preventing the Taliban from re-establishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al-Qaida the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.

Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.

In Pakistan, al-Qaida's leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe-havens are shrinking. And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.

American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists.

Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.

This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO, and increased our cooperation on everything from counterterrorism to missile defense. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances and built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas. Around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility — helping farmers grow more food; supporting doctors who care for the sick; and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.

Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power — it must be the purpose behind it. In South Sudan — with our assistance — the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life. Now we want to be free."

We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.

We must never forget that the things we've struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country.

Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us — by giving them the equipment they need; by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned; and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country — they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation.

We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools; changing the way we use energy; reducing our deficit — none of this is easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The cost. The details. The letter of every law.

Of course, some countries don't have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad — no matter how many homes are bulldozed. If they don't want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn't get written.

And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth.

We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything's possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.

That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working-class kid from Scranton can stand behind me. That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father's Cincinnati bar can preside as speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth.

That dream — that American Dream — is what drove the Allen brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It's what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher.

Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pa., that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. One day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them.

But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile.

Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000-foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time with no sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. But because he didn't want all of the attention, Brandon wasn't there when the miners emerged. He had already gone home, back to work on his next project.

Later, one of his employees said of the rescue, "We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things."

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That's how we win the future.

We are a nation that says, "I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I'm not sure how we'll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we'll get there. I know we will."

We do big things.

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/address-111799-speaker-state.html#ixzz1C71z5n1m

Quietly patient

2011-01-24T21:58:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days that went south from the moment the alarm rang... late. Rental car wasn't ready on time, and we had to wait an extra hour to hit the road. It was colder than ice and windy the entire drive. When we reached our destination, the lift and equipment we needed to install a church mural wasn't there, and we had to wait for that.

And through it all, I was relaxed and patient, as though there wasn't a care in the world.

When all was said and done, everything went smoothly and quickly and here is the result - a rather skewed and awkward photo that is almost life-size in person - it's up quite high in this eastern orthodox temple and thus the need for a scissor-lift to install:

These are the church patrons, Ss. Constantine & Helen.

And now to get off my feet - it's been a long and tiring day. More tales from the city tomorrow. Hope your day went well.

Temps: 36/7 but a high of 29 in the city - it was very cold and unpleasant
Started:
Finished: installation and city errands
Word count: zip

Desiderata #3

2011-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Avoid loud and aggressive

persons, they are vexatious

to the spirit.

India Relish

2011-01-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

My little sister and her kids are visiting tomorrow, so the house is a flurry of cleaning and cooking today. We're having an Indian-themed dinner and I'm even digging out the sari materials so we can play dress-up. The boys will wear silk turbans. I can hardly wait!

Here's a video that shows how to tie a sari:


Heidi in Sari

Menu:

Fish Jhalfrazi
Pita Bread
Cucumber Raita
Gobi Aloo Sabji (curried potatoes and cauliflower)
Bengali Kamala Payasa (creamy milk pudding w/ tangerine)
Elajche Gaja (cardomom shortbread cookies)
Besan Ladoo (chickpea flour confection from Indira Gandhi)
Aroo (Peach) Lassi (yogurt drink)
Tea

Music by Ravi Shakhar and the London Symphony Orchestra
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope the wind lets up a bit - these 50 mpg gusts are getting tiresome. And they hurt my inner ear. Hubbs thinks the barometric pressure is the issue with the hearing and the stabbing pain. He might be right. Whoever heard of inner ear arthritis? Cwazy.

Temps: 47/15 and incredibly windy :(
Started: Cleaning the kitchen
Finished: Cleaning the kitchen
Word count:

Life Is Just So Daily

2011-01-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to write about today. I've spent a bit of the day reading forum posts about 1971 Super Beetles at TheSamba.com which must be the coolest VW forum on earth! I just like car-talk way too much, people. We're trying to figure out why Poppy's brakes are still mushy after bleeding them three times. I want to get this girl broken in and on the road sometime soon. Isn't she just cuter than cute? I need a new picture since she's missing a hubcap here. Gasp!

In the mail today was the new fuel pump and float and hopefully that will take care of the gas leaking into the oil.

What else - I've been reading a lot and currently am fascinated with Connected Wisdom by Linda Booth Sweeney. The next newsletter from Little Pickle Press and a series of posts at their blog will delve into the theme of living systems based on this book. It's all quite intriguing, and it's a gorgeous book, with folks tales from around the world and very elegant illustrations. I'll have more to say about it soon.

Kitchen duty today calls for pizza dough for tonight, and a cheesecake for tomorrow's high tea. Must get to it. I'll post pictures later if results are particularly smashing.

Must mop kitchen floor. Must!

That's about it for my day. How about? Got any big plans for the weekend?

Temps:
Started:
Finished:
Word count:

The Wonder of Bread

2011-01-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

There's a great article at Salon.com today about hippie mothers and how their children rebelled against recycling and composting and all that stuff that's considered so cool today. I didn't have a hippie Mom, but she being German (and a refugee from Prussia who lost everything as a teen when she fled to Germany during WW2), plus living on an American military salary, knew how to "make do" and stretch those pennies. One way was by baking bread.

From Mother Earth News

I didn't like home-baked bread as a kid. I wanted Wonder Bread with slices of American cheese and Oscar Meyer bologna and potato chips on the side. Like my little friends at Catholic School. Homebaked buttered bread was embarrassing. (Wrapped in wax paper, not Saran, God forbid!) And never any chips... maybe an apple for me. Bummer. Oh, and to have a Twinkie! I just got home-baked pound cake or chocolate and vanilla bundt cake slices. Wrapped in wax paper - maybe even yesterday's wrapper. Bigger bummer.

I've often wondered if my peers from 2nd grade are alive now - that Wonder Generation. Or have they all died of cancer from poor nutrition? Maybe they turned into the wonder parents of their day and baked all their own bread for their children, who went to school with fresh-baked goodness, while their poorer counterparts ate day-old Wonder Bread with baloney. It all seems so wickedly ironic, doesn't it, this about-face from one generation to the next?

Here at my house, we rarely buy bread. Mick and I both bake - he makes the crusty Euro-loaves that go so well with my soup habit, and I bake the toast and sandwich loaves that take us through breakfasts and Saturday tea. Sometimes we add a focaccia to go with a meal like spaghetti, and of course our own pizza dough for the occasional movie night.

Bread dough is the ultimate cooking no-brainer. It happens during the course of a day in between doing laundry and making the beds and sweeping the kitchen floor. It's not a special event. It takes way less time than going to the grocery store to buy bread. You also get the pleasure of the marvelous baking smell, and the sheer ecstasy of fresher-than-fresh tasty goodness, and knowing what ingredients are in that loaf. I buy locally-sourced organic flours in bulk. I know what's in my bread. Fresh-baked bread, in my less-than-humble opinion, is one of the Wonders of the World!

How about you? Do you bake your own bread? What kind?

Temp: 30/5 crisp and sunny
Started: thinking about February writing projects
Finished: bleeding the brakes
Word count: 200 at most - trying to stay off the keyboard until my wrists have rested

The Archdruid

2011-01-19T14:19:00.000-08:00

I occasionally like to Google my name as well as my husband's. His is more fun because it borders on the common so I get more entertaining hits. I've gotten all kinds of interesting men from marine biologists to dead gay actors. Well, not really gay... the actor Michael Greer just happened to play a gay man at a time when that could give you a reputation. He is really dead though.

My favorite hit is the Archdruid, John Michael Greer, who is an interesting writer and a staunch environmentalist. I find him to be a very smart man. I mentioned this to someone yesterday, and she wondered what exactly an Archdruid is... I admit, I didn't exactly know. Something British. Presumably it's a druid high priest - there's more information at the Wikipedia page.

But I digress.

Back to the Archdruid who has a popular blog called the Archdruid's Report. I read recently that he had moved to the Rust Belt, and I wondered why. It all has to do with climate change and the slide of the coastal economies and makes interesting food for thought about the future. Click here to read a very intelligent report.

The other Michael Greer suggests we should move to the Rust Belt, too. Same town, and set up our liturgical stained glass studio there. Now that should raise some eyebrows. I can hear it now: "Which Greer do you want, the Archdruid or the Church Artist". Sounds like something out of a novel!

What's the most interesting thing you've discovered on Google lately? Do you Google your own name or people you know? Why?

Temps: 36/11 Cold and foggy, then late afternoon blizzards, with 1.5 more inches tonight
Started: Zip
Finished: Zip
Word count: this blog post and a lot of resting of hands with a repeat tomorrow

Teakettle Tuesday and Spouting Off

2011-01-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

There's nothing better than a good teapot and it's all about the spout. There is nothing worse than a cheap teapot with a bad spout! Here's my favorite - English bone china - perfect spout:

You'll see this beauty every Saturday for high tea at my house. High tea (or low tea, depending on how much planning goes into the sit-down) was started as a compromise.

When my husband was growing up, weekends were days to look forward to, because his Mom cooked bigger, better meals then. She worked during the week, so weekend meals were more extravagant than the quick weekday fare.

In my youth, Saturdays were snack days, because I had a stay-at-home-mom who cooked full dinners all week. On Saturdays we cleaned house, my folks shopped, and we made do with leftovers or sandwiches. The point is, I now don't want to cook on Saturdays. I also don't want to eat a big meal - it's a day off for my stomach as well as the rest of me.

But hubbs wants something special. So Mick and I compromise with a good and restorative English tea every Saturday afternoon, complete with little sandwiches and scones or some other baked goodies. We both look forward to a change from the regular weekday menu and schedule, and this makes it more of a festive treat without a full-blown meal. Besides, we're coffee drinkers, so tea is a nice change-of-pace once a week.

What else do I have to spout off about today? How about the organic chicken farm a group of investors wants to bring to town?

I'm not so much spouting off about the farm or idea itself. On paper it's a good idea, assuming these investors have experienced labor to run a facility of this type. The town meeting is being held right now, and I decided not to go. A lot of issues will come up including the smell of chicken manure permeating the air, and all the imported labor being brought in to work the facility. Most criticisms come from a place of fear, filled with racism and prejudice at many levels (typical small-minded attitudes), despite the underlying issues that do raise legitimate concerns.

Doubling the population of a town with younger low-income labor will have deep sociological impacts- that's one major concern. A 1.5 million dollar facility will have water needs that might not be met with existing wells, and water that is already environmentally stressed by feedlot run-off. Those are just two challenges of the many issues to consider.

My biggest concern is the employee housing slated to be built on the quarter section behind my two acres. There goes quiet, peace of mind, and remote country living, is my guess. We'll see what happens. I'm sure it'll give lots of folks something to spout off about tomorrow.

Always something new to write about! Anything interesting in your slice of the pie?

Temps: 48/19 winter weather advisory in effect with freezing drizzle and light snow

Field of Dreams

2011-01-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

I like to follow mercola.com to see his latest take on anything health-related. He sounds a bit wingy sometimes, but almost inevitably, his positions seem to sift into mainstream medical practice. Today he posts about how to keep your complexion looking young, which isn't as big a concern to me than how to keep my joints from aching. His recommendations actually are pertinent to both issues. Click here to read more.

Those diet recommendations include some of the ingredients in this salad, which is delicious! We first had the Field of Dreams salad at a now-defunct restaurant called Ambrosia in Colorado Springs. It contains a mix of greens including bitter, like dandelion, assorted berries (this one has blueberries and strawberries), onion, crumbled bleu cheese (eliminate if you have migraine or yeast issues), and a fruity and slightly sweet vinaigrette dressing of your choice. I like one made with pomegranate, which I juice just like a lemon.

Doesn't that look just good enough to eat? We had rain this morning in January in Colorado! Is it any wonder my mind is on garden greens? What's your favorite Spring salad?

Temps: 51/23 50 mph wind gusts and rain!
Started: Thinking about cleaning my office ;)
Finished: LPP blog book tour
Word count: 100

Desiderata #2

2011-01-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Speak your truth quietly and

clearly; and listen to others,

even the dull and ignorant;

they too have their story.

~ Max Ehrmann

Gardening Muse

2011-01-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else drooling over seed catalogs? Our very favorite is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

We've been coaxing this tomato plant along since she was beheaded in a windstorm this past Fall.

Grow, Miss Tomato, grow!

Here's some of the bounty from previous years:

You can't buy tomatoes like these in a store, and it's part of the reason heirloom varieties are a gift. How about you? What are your favorite heirloom seed suppliers. Do you harvest your own seeds? It's an important part of food security.

Temps: 48/18
Started: Baking a raw apple cake recipe said to be 200 years old
Finished: Ruining a batch of feta - it's now becoming a gallon of farmers cheese
Word count: Zip except for online promotion for the blog book tour

Little Pleasures

2011-01-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

Annie and I started the day warming our paws in the sunshine.

It turned out to be a warm and lovely day with lots of snow melt. A bit too early for this kind of Spring weather. It actually rained last night! But my aching joints appreciated the reprieve from the cold.

Mick made a nice stew for dinner, with most of the ingredients from within the state. Beef was from Lasater Grasslands Beef, potatoes from the Western Slope via Ripe2U, organic carrots from Greeley, onions from the Arkansas Valley, and frozen peas from my own garden. The only imports were celery and spices and that's pretty good for this time of year. Oh, and a tall cold glass of delicious milk from my neighbor's cow! How local is that? For dessert, we had this, thanks to another neighbor... clearly not local:

A day of gemuetlichkeit for which to be grateful. And I am.

Temps: 49/16

Started: Burgundy mohair mitts for Elora

Finished: Blog posts for the week

Word count: 150

What Is Causing This Bizarre Weather?

2011-01-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

Everywhere you go, people are musing about the weird weather. CNN had this explanation today:

Two reasons according to them.

Nobody seems to be able to wrap their brains around the idea that climate change is happening, and that decades of wrong action are now catching up with us. Maybe in a few years when there's enough disruption to cause food shortages. You think? I doubt it.

A few days ago we had -15 temperatures at night. Today it was over 50 degrees in my backyard. The same for a few more days, maybe even a few weeks. That'll help my wrists hurt less, but I'm afraid the trees might start to bud, just in time for another good freeze. I can't even imagine trying to grow fruit trees out here, much as I'd love the food security.

Brought a mug to the town clerk today - made just for her and she got all teary-eyed. It's nice to make people feel appreciated.

"All God's angels come to us disguised." ~James Russell Lovell

From our CafePress Shop.

Temps: 49/15
Started: Zip
Finished: BIW
Wordcount: Way too much online typing. Hands and eyes screaming for mercy.

A Daily Problem

2011-01-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

Plastic. You can't get away from it. Today's collection included that skinny plastic tube filled with honey, likely from an organic food store. How did that end up in my house? Probably as much plastic in that thing as honey. We need to start thinking about these practices and connecting the dots!

Does this drive you crazy, too? What elaborate measures do you go to in order to avoid all this packaging? I try to buy in bulk, but still I end up with this... day after day.
~~~~~
Temps: 23/2
Started: Nothing
Finished: Nothing
Word count: 1,000+ a tough writing day but worked through it - deadlines are good for that

WritingWritingWriting

2011-01-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

But so far, nothing worth repeating. Writing is like that. You first spurt it out - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and then you have something to revise. I've gotten the bad and the ugly, and am hoping some good comes out soon so I have something to edit before I need it tomorrow. The non-fiction obligations haven't left me with much creativity and energy for fiction, so that's on the back burner. Can't do it all. Not at the same time anyway.

Icy cold today. Here's the upcoming weather:

Minus 17 last night with a high of 9 degrees, and minus 11 tonight. The wind chill will make it even colder. The jump to 51 degrees in a few days concerns me, because those repeated wild swings are one of the "snap" symptoms of climate change that are projected to get wider and more frequent. If you're a gardener, you know your trees won't like it. You might even start losing them. It's damn near as harsh as drought.

But my achy wrists and ears - the cold really affects my ability to hear - will welcome a bit of warmth. I've really been pretty miserable the past few days, and soon on my way to being publicly cranky. Be forewarned.

Nothing much else to report. How's the temp out your way? Anything new and interesting?

The Five and Dine - Cold-weather Cooking Recipe

2011-01-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

This is today.

I talk often with my Story Circle Network online sisters about simplifying our lives, eating locally, and matters of aging. Those topics have me thinking about daily meals, and how we cook in this household. Hubbs and I both love to putter in the kitchen, and we're both pretty good at food prep, but we tend to get maybe a bit too global and elaborate sometimes. It's really not necessary to have Sunday meals every day of the week just because you like recipes and food. So we've been trying to downsize our menus, and we actually do have quite a few recipes that are one-pot and with limited ingredients. Here's one of our favorites that we had today:

Cabbage and Noodle Stir-fry

1 lb. fat egg noodles boiled and drained according to package instructions

1 lb. hot Italian sausage, bulk or removed from casing, then fried in a hot wok

1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced, added to sausage in wok, continue frying

1 small head of green cabbage, cored and sliced, add to sausage and onion in wok, keep cooking

Add boiled egg noodles

Soy sauce, Braggs, or even Teriyaki sauce to taste (it will take quite a lot - just splash away!)

There you have the basic five ingredients and instructions. Easy peasy. Now you can adapt to your own taste with different vegetables (adding sliced red bell pepper is nice for color and flavor, for example). The addition of garlic or fresh ginger can also add a tantalizing layer of taste. The magic in this recipe, of course, is the savory flavor of the hot Italian sausage, which marries so beautifully with the more bland noodles and vegetables. If hot isn't your thing, or if you have children, mild is also fine just not as zesty. Be forewarned that this makes a lot, but freezes very well for future fast meals.

If memory serves me, the recipe comes to me via my mother from a German magazine decades ago, and has long been a family favorite. Great on a cold snowy day like we're having!

What's cookin' on your stove today?

Temp: 10/-14 windchill advisory -25 Brrrrr
Started: A blog book tour for Little Pickle Press
Finished: A knitted watch cap for my nephew
Word count: 100

Desiderata

2011-01-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

~ Max Ehrmann

Peace on Sunday.

Sad day in the news

2011-01-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

It's been an awful day in the news with the attempted assassination of U.S. Representive, Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona. Giffords was one of several people shot at a Safeway supermarket in Tucson, AZ where she was meeting publicly with constituents. Six people have died including a federal judge and a 9-year-old, but Rep. Giffords survived the surgery. A bullet pierced her brain. Federal and Arizona law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Jared Lee Loughner, 22. Sarah Palin's website target map, which included the representative's name and location, was quickly pulled. The Internet is abuzz with this angle, and I'm in agreement that out-of-control hate speech is party to nut-case behaviors like this. People have been hurt and Palin is as culpable as anyone else promoting dissent and violence. I can only hope it's ended any of her unrealistic political aspirations. It was a hell of a price to pay for some return to public sanity, if that turns out to be the result. She's a self-serving narcissist. I guess that's redundant.

More about the blog book tour tomorrow. I'm giving up for the night. Have a serious case of writers block, and that's saying something. I never have writers block.

Temps: 47/16 Winter Storm Watch
Started: Nothing
Finished: Hanging new drapes
Word count: 0 on real work

Hoop House

2011-01-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

I want one! Here's more information and a video about the White House project and the USDA pilot program:

Here's the link for more information - nrcs.usda.gov

Temp: 40/17 with 5 inches of snow on the way
Started: More writing than I can think about
Finished: Holy Moley Cookies
Word Count: 500

Boinga Boinga

2011-01-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Weather forecast coming up.

And that's how it's been most of the winter with these wild swings. My trees hate it. It was over 50 degrees today and about the same tomorrow before a winter storm moves in over the weekend.

Enough is a feast. ~ Buddhist Proverb

On the menu yesterday and today was Commander Bailey's navy bean soup - one of my favorites from the It's a Wonderful Life Cookbook. Hubbs made biscuits to go with and I have to say this kind of a meal suits me better than just about anything these days. Soup, bread, a few olives, and maybe a bit of fresh fruit. Or a dab of honey on half the bread. It sits well with me. What did you have for supper today?

Temp: See above
Started: Cleaning pantry, deleting and moving emails, a new book
Finished: Kicking myself for not finishing something :)
Word Count: 500+

Taxing Times

2011-01-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

I got to thinking about my old job as a public accountant today. January and tax season always bring up those memories. I don't miss that work, but I learned a lot and still use the experience and knowledge I gleaned from those years.

When I was doing the work decades ago, we didn't use computers. I know that's hard to believe! I worked for a CPA firm in Denver at the time, and I had about two dozen small business clients. Every month they would bring me their checkbooks and tax forms, I'd write up their journals by hand, balance the bank accounts, post and balance the general ledger (again by hand) and to the penny, file the assorted tax returns, and draw up financial statements if requested. I usually completed two sets of books per day.

My quarterly load was larger, and tax season larger yet, when actual tax returns for businesses and their owners had to be submitted. Then things really became intense, with long hours, and lots of meetings, and more stress than I could handle today. I loved the bookkeeping but hated the complex tax accounting. Oil and gas accounting and futures trading were nightmares.

I don't even like to think about doing this kind of work now. I'm kind of a slob with my own accounting, mostly because I keep it so dead simple, I can put off the actual drudge work for months on end.

But thinking in accounting terms is second nature to me, and I find myself examining situations based on numbers involved without consciously thinking about it. I can have a conversation with someone in a grocery story and still keep a running tally of my bill and be within a few dollars. When I'm on my death bed, I'll probably be calculating the cost of my own funeral. And nail it within pennies right before they nail my coffin closed!

It's not a bad thing I guess.

I figured I'd written about 500 words today. Actual count 525. See what I mean? It's second nature.

Speaking of taxing times, don't forget to check out our CafePress Shop and see the Aunt IRiS Wants You mug and other merch. Designed by the hubbo and very cool. All sales help pay my taxes!

What about you? Are you any good at the numbers game?

Temp: 41/12
Finished: Starting a Business is Kidstuff
Started: Open Season by Maryann Miller
Word count: 525

Trying to catch up

2011-01-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

I'm almost breathless today trying to get ahead of the game - mostly I'm a bit behind on writing. If you're interested in some recent projects, head over to the Little Pickle Press blog for three days of Starting a Business is Kidstuff. It's the basics of a workshop I put together several decades ago, and then tucked away in a file. I'm thinking of turning it into a workbook for adults with a bit of tweaking. And maybe some decent artwork. That mind map is pretty rough.

Oh, and the blog book tour for Your Fantastic Elastic Brain starts next Monday. Make a note: do not try to plan anything during high holidays. Nobody wants to work. This is the first year in decades I haven't taken December off. Next year I'm going back to the old schedule. I'm still looking for blog hosts with Google ranking of 4 - preferably teachers, librarians, or child psychologists.

Gorgeous day today - probably around 40 degrees and sunny. We drove the Beetle and got the first part of the engine break-in done. Beautiful! Now if we can just figure out why the brake lights don't work. I'm ready for a trip to the city and want to take her for that longer spin.

Temp: 37/6
Finished: Nothing
Started: Nothing
Word count: 680+

Visiting With Old Friends

2011-01-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

We had a nice lunch and visit with an old neighbor from the city today. He was here in the outback doing energy audits for the regional gas company. Jack is an architect and is very enthusiastic about this job, because the company offers such generous incentives to improve energy efficiency - up to 70% rebates on caulking and insulation, for example. I'm halfway thinking we should hook up a gas water heater just to participate.

Have you checked what your energy company offers for this sort of home improvement? It's not just the cost that's important here, but actual reduction of fuel use. Can you imagine how climate change issues would improve if nobody had to heat or cool their houses? It's a huge environmental burden, especially in developed nations.

Other news: Mom fell down the stairs yesterday, but nothing was broken except maybe her pride. She sounded good on the phone, but this is the second visit to the hospital in a month. There's a good luck expression in German that says, "eine gutes Rutsch in Neues Jahr" or " a good slide into the new year". Don't be so literal, Mom!

Gorgeous sunny day again! But cold. Seed catalogs are calling though! I wish the snowdrifts would melt so I could get to the beds nearest the house. Salad greens, my mouth waters for thee!

Temp: 33/2
Finished: Tomorrow's blog posts
Started: Cleaning my desk!
BIW word count: 4 pages

Another New Day

2011-01-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

A friend just shared this and I want to keep it as a reminder:

This is the day you grow another year wiser.

This is the day you forget what you know to be impossible. . . .

Sweep your grudges out,
scatter them to nothing.

Scrub your wishes pure,
Wash your heart clear.

Open your windows wide,
Let the new year begin.

from a poem By Janet S. Wong

This morning was bright and sunny - and much warmer. That's always a nice way to start the day. I uploaded photos from the digi and was astounded at the progress of the '71 VW Beetle which is my Birthday and Christmas present. As soon as the snow melts, I'll get to break in the new engine. Makes my heart go pitter-patter! Look at that beauty - Poppy is her name and efficiency is her game!

Here are the paper-whites for my birthday. Hubbs always gets me some sort of flower and these are a special favorite in winter. They did exceptionally well and grew to blooms in only a few weeks - I think the key to forcing bulbs is to keep a good portion of the bulb above soil, and then well-watered. Couldn't have been lovelier! I just wish they lasted as long as orchids. They're so ephemeral. But maybe that's what makes them even more special.

A hand-delivered gift basket from my siblings.Those crazy brothers of mine drove all the way out here to deliver this basket of goodies that my baby sister put together for us. They didn't ring the doorbell and we had no idea who left it when we opened the door on Christmas Eve. Crazy guys - I suspect having four hours to yack and cut-up without anyone else around was half the fun. Thanks kids!

Way too much fun with hubbs on Christmas Eve! Have some more eggnog!

More parts for the Beetle - be still my restless heart - and a year's worth of tune-ups from my live-in mechanic. Gotta love a man who can do just about everything, and I'm not exaggerating!

And finally on New Year's, the lovely bottle of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé champagne (straight out of a snowbank and crispy cold) sent by the chief executive pickle at Little Pickle Press. It paired marvelously with the Shrimp Jambalaya, and its dry, herby tones ensured NO headache from too much of the bubbly. Lovely!

I'm definitely starting the new year off on the right foot! Such wonderful memories.

Temp: 40/-1

Finished: Monday blog posts

Started: Prep for the first Book-in-a-Week of the year which starts at 8AM tomorrow

Happy New Year 1/1/11

2011-01-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

May the year be as fortuitous as the date. After six years, we're still on the wide, windy high plains and I'm just now thinking I should write about our time here. So this blog will now become a look back as well as into the future. It's my public lifewriting journal, and I'll be sharing blog links to my friends at Story Circle Network on a regular basis. If you don't write about your life, maybe now is the time to consider it. I believe the world, and we on a tangential level, are in for some big changes in the near future. Let us pull together from day-to-day. Wishing you health and happiness however you define those terms!

Temp: Cold, residual snow 22/-9

Finished: A pair of wrist warmers for Mom. All the ironing.

Started: A watch cap for my nephew. A new journal.

Ritual in art

2009-01-30T14:12:00.000-08:00

"There’s a need for art that connects us to each other. You go far enough back in any culture, and you find these rituals, these ways of bringing people together. I think that connectedness is so important to us. It always has been, you know; the rituals tell us that.” - Gerry Riggs

Gerry Riggs Memorial Site

Sustainability

2009-01-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

The four pillars of a sustainable culture. Click here to read more.

Proud To Be An American... Again

2009-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Obama's inaugural speech
Story Highlights
Obama: The crises we face are strong, but so is America

We gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity over conflict, he says

He says nation's past achievements show that we can overcome problems

To terrorists, he says "our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken"

(CNN) -- Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. Watch the full inauguration speech »

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

~~~~~~
Finally, after far too many years, something to stand up for and support. Thank you, President Obama.

Stop This Now

2009-01-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

I think it's great that President Obama is looking at green industry and sustainable energy sources, and that climatologists now largely agree (gasp) that climate change is fueled by human activity. But can we stop sending large quantities of refined fuel to Israel to power their war machines? Has anyone connected the dots that modern warfare is murder on the environment, too? Not to mention the women and children. Read more about it here, and contact your representatives about this blatant act of stupidity. Time to walk the talk, leaders.

And while we're on the subject of alternative fuel, try not to suck up all the water in the aquifers to grow crops for ethanol. That's not sustainable either. Think solar, wind, and fuel cell energy, all decentralized for national security. We need that water to sustain life, not travel.

Rest easy, amigo

2009-01-15T10:40:00.001-08:00

A dear friend committed suicide, and the aftershocks still roll through many a life including mine. Gerry was an anchor to us, a steady and positive presence in an often-shaky arts world, and not having him here adds another level of inner quiver. It's not an easy thing to accept, when a rock has crumbled. It makes everything in life seem so much more fragile. These words in his obituary stand out for me, perhaps a little remainder of that anchor he once was for us:

Gerry encouraged his fellow skiers the same as he did artists, musicians, students and others - to carry on, dream big, aspire to make a difference, and remain compassionate toward others.

I wish he could have found the strength to stay with us and follow the model he ironically created for us. The teacher may be gone, but the lesson can still serve us. Serve me. I take it with me into this day.

Rest easy, amigo.

To Senator Ken Salazar

2008-03-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

RE: New Frontiers in Energy

I hope part of your planning will include a focus on using less energy of any kind, and not just finding more. I think a positive way to achieve this is to create building opportunities for average citizens that reduce the need for heating and cooling. Strawbale building is a fine example of this, but is inaccessible to all but the wealthy (paradoxically) because of prohibitive building codes. Another way to conserve energy is to reduce electric signage and night-time lighting. Make solar signage mandatory. Likewise, is it really necessary for utility companies to have so many streetlights in rural areas? There should be less energy-consumptive ways to check the power grid, than having lights burning every night, all night. The frivolous ways that Americans use energy is the reason for much of our current dilemma. How much electricity would we save if sound systems in public places like stores and restaurants were eliminated? We must connect the dots. Our focus, if we are indeed interested in saving our environment, must be on less, not more. It begins in our own homes, and our leadership must set the example.