Fragrant reminders

 

 

The official start of each day was marked with

 the invigorating burst of citrus

as the first mandarin

was peeled. 

 

(We consumed soooo many of these little gems.)

 

In the way that warm and cold currents run through

a body of water

the aromas of Paris washed over us in turn.

 

Baking bread? Check.

Melted butter?  Bien sur.

The sleepy scent of chocolate?  Mmmmm.

Falafel?  Just around the corner. 

 

Fresh cut trees.

Roasting chestnuts.

Espresso.

 

 

 

 

Flower markets.

Fish markets.

Herbs.

Oils.

Cigarettes.

The occasional cigar or pipe.

Today's special.

 

 

Lavender sachets.

Soaps, lotions,

and perfumes.

She chose SacreBleu.

 

The Unexpected Delights of Rural Iowa

I ran a few errands earlier today.

 

I'm on my way home

- maybe three miles from the house -

when I crest a hill and looking

forward to the bottom

  see the unmistakable
white heads of two

- count 'em 2 -

bald eagles in the middle of the road

worrying a bit of roadkill.

 

They lifted away as the car came nearer

and I watched their shadows

circle past me to turn and land again.
There was no traffic from either direction
so I took my time
and enjoyed the sight.

 

 

Did I have a camera!?

Of course not, so I'll close with this image

courtesy of Google.

 

 



Oh the thinks I had thought!

Today was filled

with shiny expectation!

My list had fun entries

sprinkled among the laundry and dishes

and normal getting-ready-for-the-week items.

 

I was going to post a couple recent outfits

- and then I went to edit the photos -

so that's not going to happen this week.

 

But I'll give myself credit

(take it where you can)

for actually having taken photos!

They are an afterthought, at best.

 

I was also going to activate a new gadget

but it requires information

from my current service provider

so that means business hours tomorrow.

 

Downtown Abbey is still ahead.

 

Here's a sop

as the planned pictures

were a flop:

 

 

Naphtali and I had our nails "done" the

Monday before Christmas.

She opted for a pedicure in preparation

for her trip to Haiti.

I had my first shellac manicure.

It will be three weeks tomorrow and

they still look like we just left the salon.

Growth is evident at the base of the nails but

tips and color are intact

and still vibrant.

What do they use to remove this stuff!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Friday!?

Did your week pass as quickly as mine?

 

Two days were spent sitting in

the dark as training sessions introduced 

the staff to a new cataloging/records

system for the library.

That kind of disruption in normal routines

always challenges my sense of

days/time.

You know that feeling, right?

 

It has been a productive week, though.

Furniture has been re-arranged.

Closets and cupboards addressed.

And with the onset of colder days my

kitchen has seen some action.

 

These two ideas/recipes were from

Pinterest:

 

 These pumpkin muffins contain just a dab

of molasses which makes them so

moist and mellow.

 

The apple chips - easy and oh, so tasty -

were a hit at work.

 

So I started thinking...

why wouldn't this work with potatoes?

 

Guess what's in my oven?

 

I used our garden potatoes - flavorful! -

 tried different thicknesses

sprinkled salt

and added cayenne to a small sample.

 

The very thin slices took hardly any time

to crisp and were so delicious!

Yes, that past tense is correct. 

 

My mantra for the rest of the day is

Mustsavesomefortim.

 

 

Tea Time

Several weeks ago,

while I was sick,

I drank copious amounts of

hot water with lemon and honey.

 

 

It made me think that maybe it was time to revisit

my quest to learn to drink tea.

After all, how much different would tea be?

So, I have been trying.

 

google images


I've worked my way
through a box of Lemon Zinger
-which in some minds may not even qualify as tea -
but it was progress.
Polite company would doubtless
look askance at the amount
of honey added to my cup, but it was progress.

More helpful, though, was that
I finally understood my difficulty with tea.
It's not the sweetness, but the lack of saturated flavor
that I miss.  Maybe double bagging would help.

Today, I've brought home a
 lemon-based green tea. 
Fresh lemon has been added, as has
ginger
cinnamon
and honey.
Less honey than I've been using.
Progress, I tell you, progress.
 

 



Sauvie Island

The next stop on our recent travels

in Oregon was Sauvie Island.

Only 10 miles from Portland, Sauvie Island is

a blend of agriculture

and wildlife.  And shipping.  There are several camp grounds

and a marina of house boats.  It's one of Jacob's

favorite local spots.

 

 

My guess is that this is the Sauvie Island

excursion boat.

 

But this one is on its way to the ports.

As we stood there we googled the name of the ship

and were connected to a real-time gps signal

 tracking it - including our location - and its

progress toward Portland.

Who knew?

We drove through orchards and truck farms.

These are hydrangeas

- one of several fields -



 

and the were surrounded by fields of roses.

 

We stopped at a local market and bought

apples

sweet corn

pepper jelly

and a beautifully utilitarian market basket.

 

We followed a sign to a nearby orchard,

looking for gravensteins,

and heard some of the local

history/legends from a woman who grew up

on the island.

 

A good day.

Quickie

Just to let you know I'm still here.

 

 

A friend recently passed along a tip to use coconut milk

in smoothies.

 

After reading labels

I decided to go with coconut water.

 

So my first experiment was

to make ice cubes which could then

be added to my protein shakes.

(I make it at least an hour before consuming

so it can thicken a bit.)

 

Yesterday I added 4 of these ice cubes

to my standard ingredients

fresh strawberries

vanilla soy milk

malt powder

protein powder.

 

It was fine.

 

Today I added 4 coconut water ice cubes

to vanilla soy milk

protein powder

malt powder

and

unsweetened cocoa.

 

"My word," said the bird!

 

 

 



Monday Morning

We had some rain yesterday.

There could be more today.

It would be good to have a nice rain

but this time of year it tends to come as a

hard, fast storm.

 

Another round of moisture should

be enough to bring the

green beans to eating size.

 

Last night Tim grilled:

 potatoes

from the garden

with mushrooms and onions

and

shrimp in the shells.

Delicious.

 

Today it's back to routines:

laundry

gym

sanding.

 

They've upped the ante

at the gym.  I come home tired

in the way I was tired during the first

few weeks when everything

was new and

challenging.

 

 

We're starting week seven

- three to go -

so here are three things I've learned:

 

hunger and boredom

are not synonymous

 

I can, in fact, push my body

further

harder

longer

than my mind thinks possible

 

tiger balm and ibuprofen

do me more good before class than after.

 

 

 

Food! Glorious Food!

So.

The food.

 

This program does include/advocate

a system of six small meals daily,

(taken every 2.5 - 3 hours)

emphasizing proteins and good carbs.

And water.

Lots of water.

 

Palm-sized protein portions.

Fist-sized carbs.

 

 

I'm not hungry.

I'm not bored with my options.

The biggest challenge, so far,

has been to stretch my day to accommodate

an 18-hour period between first

and last meal.

Especially, when my preferred schedule

doesn't see me out of bed 'til around 7:00 am

and I want to stop eating around

7:30 each evening.

Back in bed by 9:30.

It's tough.

 

It makes me laugh to think of the day that I returned from class,

picked my spinach and prepared an egg for my

second breakfast. 

(This is the only meal that I actually take the time to prepare.)

(as opposed to a bowl of bran flakes with strawberries)

(or peanut butter toast)

(or nuking a bowl of rice and beans)

Fresh spinach

onion

red pepper

some cheese

one egg

1/2 a whole grain wrap.

 

Anyway.

By the time I finished my breakfast

cleaned up

took a shower and got ready to

run errands

it was time to eat again!! 

I'll have to learn to move faster...

 

I use my chart and log faithfully.

Starting with a plan for the day is necessary, though

adjustments are often made as I juggle

schedule and intent.

 

For the last few years it has been our habit to

grill enough meat for a week's meals.

Appropriate portions are frozen and

ready-at-hand.

This works well with my new regimen.

 

I've learned to make a

batch of brown rice to keep ready in the 'fridge.

I make it with vegetable stock.

 

Last week it was eaten with black beans,

cheese and fresh salsa.

Sometimes hot, sometimes cold.

Sometimes early in the day.

Sometimes as supper.

 

This week, I sautéed a portion of cabbage, onion, red pepper

and carrots (kept ready for several meals)

which I will add to the rice when needed.

 

I carry a portion of almonds whenever I leave the house.

Water, too, bien sur!

I'm making the effort to save my

greek yogurt closer to bedtime, which I find

a hard habit to cultivate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Week One

Week one is in the books!

Can I get a hallelujah!?

 

Here's what I'm taking away -

besides the sore muscles.

 

When we started I hoped there would be some moves/exercises
 that I would be able to do.

Not do well - but do. 

And there were.

 

There are also some that give me trouble.

I expected that, too.

(it may seem like a fine distinction -
"not do well" and "give me trouble"
- but there is a big difference.)
 

So things didn't get ugly until I ran into one that

I could. not. do.

At all.

Period.

 

That's was when the tears threatened.

Laying on my back I'm thinking

"Don'tcrydon'tcrywaittilyougetotthecar"

And I held it together.

 

I also made it my personal challenge

to master that particular exercise

by the end of my ten weeks.

 

That was day 2.

 

Afterword one of the coaches

stopped to chat and mentioned that she left

during her second day.  Ran (waddled),

 to her car

and swore she'd never come back.

 

Someone else added that she'd cried all the way home.

Another one admitted that she couldn't do sit-ups

when she first started

which got a laugh and they all started naming

their particular wash-out exercise.

 

These were not canned motivation snippets.

They were sincere.

They came from instructors, coaches,

and the person panting next to you. 

 

Twice during the week it was necessary to attend a different session.

I found the same helpful attitude among

these strangers.

The same variety of ages, shapes and abilities. 

 

Friday was an all-out kickboxing extravaganza!

We worked.  Hard.  Non-stop.

and it felt like it the next day.  Oy.

 

Yesterday was a *slower* day. 

A one-time, two hour session to address form

both on the bag and with the bands.

Just newbies.

No less intense.

 

And tomorrow it starts all over, again.

 

 

 

 

Serendipity

It was a good weekend for our seemingly
never-ending list of projects.
Can't wait to show you the finished kitchen
and you should see what Tim started yesterday!!
Part of the problem - for me- are
those things which come up that aren't even on the list.

 

My serger - out for repairs since early January -

 finally came back on Friday.

Yippee!!

Yikes!!

 I suddenly realized just how many

piles had taken root in my sewing room.
I would need to clean before it could even go back in its spot!!

 

 I cleaned that room yesterday.
Made a curtain for the kitchen, too.
Did some other sewing that had been
waiting for the serger's return.
Felt good.

 

There were also plans to frame a couple trail maps

for Tim's office area which lead to a hunt

for spare picture frames

which lead to

the one box that was never unpacked after our move.

google images

 

I unpacked it yesterday.

 

The box was labeled "music boxes."

I had a vague idea of what else might be in there

but wasn't prepared to find:

 

Mercury glass Christmas ornaments!

I thought they'd been left in Nebraska!!

 

A piece of McCoy!

I'd forgotten it existed!!

 

A handful of wonderful surprises!!

 

Several items that have gone directly
to the yard sale box.

 Done without them for over a year!!

How fun!!  I'm looking forward to finding
just the right spots for all these
unexpected treasures!!

I'll add it to my list of projects...

 

 

Color my world

I was on the road yesterday between Fort Dodge and Grimes.

The sky was blue and the fall colors were incredible.

Screaming reds.

Vibrant oranges.

Pulsating burgundies.

Flaming yellows.

At one point I caught sight of the traditional calendar shot

of a country church on a hilltop

surrounded by a wondrous array of color.

Unfortunately, this photo courtesy of google images only begins to 

capture the familiar scene.

It was the iconic image that we all recognize

or have our own variation tucked away ready to be conjured by 

the nostalgic magic of a classic fall day.

Our neighborhood is also arrayed in it's finest fall collection.

Bronze, purple, and gold intermingled in stunning 

                                           combinations as the trees morph from one color to the next.

Tuesday started with a trip to Ecola State Park - near Cannon Beach.

We climbed across a trail which cut through the traditional Northwest Pacific forest 

that I had been expecting  all of Oregon to look like.

At one point the trail moved to the front of the bluff and gave us

 this glimpse of the beaches ahead. 

Crescent Beach - which is below us and to the right 

is where we landed.

Cannon Beach is forward - you can see Haystack Rock toward the top of the picture.  

The tide surges between the rock in the center and the cliff face making it impossible

 to walk to Cannon Beach at certain times from this side.

We clamored around rocks in a fairly protected area -

There was a haze over the mountains in the distance adding to the beauty of the morning.

Along one rock face there was a tunnel allowing access to a section of beach that would otherwise be cut off by the tide.  We were there just as the tides were changing and with a bit of artful dodging we were able to make our way through the tunnel to another area.

These next two pictures were taken as I stood just inside the tunnel. 

The dogs - Charlie and Esteban -  had a lot of fun.  

We found sand dollars but very few rocks or shells apart from a few stray piles 

of oyster shells alongside several fire pits along the beach.

What a Day!!

I hope you can see this and appreciate the significance.

It's noon.  I can't decide which is more exciting:

The air conditioner is off.  The temp in the house is 68 - 68!!

Amazing.  

I wish I could tell you how long it has been since we had open windows.

Seriously...

It was a good day for bargains!

I picked up 4 (yes, four!) (took the whole display) of these pots for a buck each.

I am suddenly in love (but no less frugal) with this color for the garden and have passed by so 

many beautiful objet due to the price.  

This was serendipitous - I stopped in the Dollar Store this morning for some oddments 

and they were sitting there waiting for me!

They're 8-inch, BHG pots and a couple of them will travel this weekend as gifts.

But the real find of the day was waiting for me next door - at the Goodwill.

You can probably read the price tag - $1.79.  

What you can't read (poor photo editing options) - just above the tag it says

 "Redwing."  

That's right folks!

I scored this lovely Redwing basket for $1.79.

Finds like this always happen to someone else - always - so you'll have to excuse me while I 

bask/gloat/crow/smile.

Flotsam and Jetsam

My Karl Malden days are far behind me - these days I'm always leaving home without my ...

camera!

It seems that blogging inspiration can be directly tied to that particular accessory - so today you're getting random observations - apropos to nothing
  or nothing without a lot of work.

You know that I am a simple person of simple tastes.  I like what I like, but I can be swayed.  

You may remember that several, really!?  several?!  yes, several years ago - with the big 5-0 approaching -I felt that it was time to cultivate some adult/mature traits.
Tales of cozy tea-drinking episodes held a certain appeal and I decided to learn to drink tea.
I tried.  Really tried.  Really hard.  

I longed for the soothing effects and intimate confessions that seemed to accompany any mention of tea in novels, movies and the real-life anecdotes found in magazines...

It didn't happen.

As I have abandoned my attempts to become a tea-drinker, some other quest must fill that void.  After much consideration I have a new adult pursuit:

I shall learn to eat cheese.  Uncooked.  Cold.  Without a vehicle.  Go ahead laugh - I'll wait.

I can - and do - enjoy melty cheese in any number of delicious applications.
This is different.

I'm already well into my second (!?) year of this experiment and there has been progress.

It wasn't that long ago that I could only eat *half* of one of those wedges distributed between my standard serving of 6 triscuits.  That is no longer the case.  Please hold your applause til the end.

Recently I tried to combine this with learning to drink red wine.
 I know - how hard can it be.

In November my annual checkup indicated that I have elevated triglyceride levels.  As my primary health care provider the doctor was prepared to send me home with a prescription that day, but we decided that I could have the next 6 months flying by to address the situation through diet and exercise.
Her recommendations included fish oil caplets on a daily basis.

Tim, my secondary health care provider, or do I have that reversed? recommended 4 ounces of red wine before bed.  

It didn't happen.

I gave it an honest, generous month.  

I don't like red wine. 

 I find it medicinal.

Drinking it requires that I eat something with it, like cheese and crackers, 

which seems to complicate the whole process...    

The caplets are working just fine for me, as I hope the fish oil in them is.

Next, I'd like to introduce you to what I must imagine will become my new best friend:

One of these days I'll need to take it out of the package.

The textbook for my math class asserts that there is no such thing as a brain for math - it is within the reach of all of us to solve quadratic equations.  I'll get back to you on that one.

While I do consider my self a simple person I do not consider myself ignorant of the world as it moves outside of my immediate sphere - but please - 

Does it seem unreasonable to you that a calculator - granted: a *graphing* calculator - should cost over a hundred dollars!?  Maybe I need to enlarge the borders of my sphere...

Another recent event took place last weekend as I visited my mother to celebrate her approaching birthday.

I had my first massage.  I loved it.  The masseuse had a great touch and
I can see myself doing it again.

I also had my first fried ice cream.  Not the same success as the massage.  I could only finish less than half and don't foresee it ever happening again. 

Finally, today, prompted by the howling wind and frigid air temps, I have taken some of the

 excellent chili we made for Christmas out of the freezer.  

I also made a pot of rice to go with it. 

We got this little gadget for Christmas and I will say that it makes a good pot of rice.

Looking ahead - I have been invited to attend the Yinghua Academy's Chinese New Year celebration the last weekend of January.
I promise to take my camera...

Valerie's post reminded me of a story I've not yet told.

Not too long ago someone asked how the move went - nothing lost or broken etc.

And I was thrilled to report it had gone well - everything was accounted for.

Then it came time for Christmas decorations.
Every year
I look forward to decorating for Christmas,  this isn't the story but stay with me,
Every year,
even though I enjoy decorating for Christmas, my decorations get simpler.
 hopefully Taste plays a part but I'll admit that it's mostly because I hate un-decorating.

google images

Okay this is the story

Around Thanksgiving, as I was planning and unpacking the totes that contain my Christmas stuff,
 I realized the mercury glass ornaments were gone.

Thinking back I could pinpoint exactly what happened.

During the un-decorating phase of last Christmas these ornaments
were tucked for convenience sake (because I hate to un-decorate)
 - along with a vignette of white decorations- into a box labeled "whites" which was
then placed in a large tote containing Christmas stuff.

At some point, as I was packing up the house, I went through all the totes and knowing the new house was smaller made several executive decisions - disposing of this, keeping that...

I remember
 holding the box labeled "whites."

I didn't remember
that I had added those ornaments to that box.

I remember
I didn't even open the box -
it simply joined the pile for donation to the Senior Center.  

Aaargh!

  

Since then two other things have been identified as "not-found-yet."
I know they made the trip with us so it's just a matter of finding where they were stashed.
I'm holding out hope that their status will change...

Last Hurrah

While walking Charlie the other day I noticed some lovely roses at the home of one of our neighbors, which prompted a discourse along these lines - you'll need to add the appropriate inflections to capture the full measure of wonder my thoughts produced -

Charlie!  I have a rose bush, too! We'll have to look when we get home - or something like that.

Guess what?

Three buds.  In various stages of open.  

They are now sitting on the counter and as this one has opened it has scented the air with the classic rose aroma.  The color, too, is classic: deep, velvety red.

In so many of the new hybrids scent has been sacrificed for hardiness, size or whatever.  

Standing here enjoying the full experience of form, color and aroma, I wonder why they ever 

tampered with the complete expression of grace and beauty that can be a rose.

As these will be the last of the season all I can do is plan, now, to take good care of this overlooked treasure.