Art, music, and books

Sonny had an opening last night at Craftland Gallery. The show, called Lamp Lit, runs until 11/13 8pm.


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Danny is playing tonight at Boulder Coffee with the Meta Accord. Starts at 8pm.



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Book #15 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A reread from college. I remember writing a paper on this talking about how the monster's desire for affection and companionship was denied at every turn and it's almost reasonable to expect some of his actions. I got that this time, too, and more of a disgust for the over-dramatic Doctor who was so self-absorbed - and mentally frail.

Book #16 - The Red Pony by John Steinbeck. It says on the cover "The moving and beautiful story of a boy, a sorrel colt, and the sun-drenched California earth." I beg to differ. I know Steinbeck tends towards depressing stuff, but really. The novel is split into 4 vignettes that are quite distinct from one another. And it never really ends. I found it to be a big of a drag, overall.

Pumpkin!

I recently bought a pie pumpkin - it was locally grown, organic, and I thought it'd be fun to see what I could do with it. J isn't a huge fan of pumpkin pie, so I decided to try other things.


Photo by shuttermonkey on Flickr.

First, I cooked it. And probably the hard way, but it worked. I peeled the pumpkin and chopped it into 1 inch square pieces. These I boiled until tender. There was a LOT of pumpkin (5-6 big mason jars)!

Now, I always forget to photograph the food I make, so I'll try to find photos where I can.

#1 - Pumpkin bars, from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts - think a pumpkin blondie of sorts. YUM.

#2 - Pumpkin Garlic Knot Rolls - from (never home)maker - (Ashley always has awesome pics, too) - The rolls actually are just yummy and not very pumpkin-y. J loved the garlic dressing.

#3 - Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal - from goodLife {eats}. This was the first time I had baked oatmeal in a ramekin - it was tasty and I loved having several made so I could eat it for dinner too, when sick. I didn't do the topping in Katie's recipe, but I don't think it needed it.


#4 - Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls - also from goodLife {eats}. These, too, were awesome! Again, I got lazy and didn't make the cream cheese frosting and I think it would have helped keep them more moist, but they don't suffer too much.

And I still have a jar of puree and half of the pumpkin garlic knot dough in the freezer!

In a month of pink, a simple call for awareness

Alicia Staley, kick-butt cancer survivor, advocate, and twitter-friend, has pointed out that pink gets a little crazy in October. Yes, it's an important cause - but should it drown out everything else? I get this and pondered what I might do here. In the end, I decided to cover the one issue I really know - Long QT Syndrome.

I have Long QT - those of you who have followed this blog for a while remember the episode that lead to that discovery. My heart dallies a bit between beats. In extreme scenarios, the ventricles can get tired of waiting and decide to go off on their own, funky-style. Lack of blood to the brain. Body shuts down. Etc.

This disorder does not seriously hamper my lifestyle. Now that I have my bionic pieces, it should have no impact on the length of my life, either, as they'll work to correct any rogue activity. Relative to what too many people go through with other issues, this could be nothing.

What gets risky is lack of diagnosis. I found out after a too-close-for-comfort incident that landed me in the hospital for a week. Long QT can be triggered by adrenaline (hence the kaibosh on Derby for me), and there's a possibility that it plays a role in the death of child athletes on the field.

Diagnosis, contrary to the recent episode of House, starts with an EKG. And here's my plea. If you have family members who have died suddenly after passing out. If your child is on medication for ADD - especially if they play sports. Get the test. They say the syndrome is rare, but I'd rather not hear of kids dying at soccer games.

A couple of books, quickly

One of the problems with school starting is that I'm hitting all of these deadlines - and seeing a growing pile of things that I didn't get done. I'm determined to keep working on them, just hoping the things I need help with from J can get out of the way before he gets too busy.

Book #13 - Slumach's Gold: In search of a legend by Rick Antonson, Mary Trainer, and Brian Antonson. The dedication to the original, 1972 edition opens with "Hidden in every legend is the first person that ever told the story." - Love that line. A compilation of many stories and storytellers and their tales of the Salish man, Slumach, his misdeeds, his gold, and the curse he left behind - this book tries to get to the bottom of the story. One thing that struck me is the wilderness of the region near Pitt Lake in British Columbia - an area that still holds secrets. Sooo cool.

Book #14 - The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Odd, as I expected. Gregor just accepts the new development as "it is what it is". The family sees a burden. In a day and age when any such issue would be Twitter-wide in an instant, it's startling to think of the isolated realm of that apartment. Not quite sure what to do with it.

Happy Birthday Sonny!!!

To my kid brother. Fellow Star Wars adventurer in the 70s. Source of angst in the 80s. Newfound friend in the 90s. Source of pride and good buddy since....

Have a happy day, Clifford William Roelle IV!

Vacation week in review

I had a wonderful week off - a combo of catching up with the house, some last hoorahs for the summer with J, and birthday celebrations.

Organizing/ cleaning, Homearama, Dollop cupcakes, fights with the phone company over squirrel-chewed lines, 7-hours on a boat, dinner with family at Mom & Dad's, SouthWedge market and Napa pizza with friends, Inception, and a fossil hunt. Cool!

We splurged on a new, tall, wonderfully cushioning bed. It felt so grown up - our first new-to-us bed. Now I want to design the bedroom, paint, carpets, sconces and maybe a padded headboard. Shhhhh - don't tell J, I haven't yet. (I have some other house things I have to get done first this fall, but maybe winter...)

I read a bunch, but was reading 3 books at once, so didn't finish any, but getting close! ;-)

Book #12 Molvania: A land untouched by modern dentistry (Jet Lag travel guide) by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, and Rob Sitch. Not really meant for the straight read-through I gave it, but fascinating in the level of detail they give to this compound joke.

I was overwhelmed by the birthday greetings I received on Twitter and Facebook. Friends from all phases of my life - virtual and IRL friends, close and not-so. Each wish made me smile on its own. Together, I was full of warm-fuzzies. Thank you all! >*sniff*< I love you so much! ;-)

What I like about my body

This morning, the scale and I had a falling out. It seems to have forgotten which direction it's supposed to go in. That's why I was glad to take a minute or two to record this bit on what I like about me. My instinct is to apologize for the waist shots, but that is a bit counter to the "happy w/ who I am" message we're trying to send, right?

And I'm progressing toward Supersonic Angel in ways the scale refuses to see.



PS - Here's that pic of me and the boys...

I am awesome! *snort* - hodgepodge

Inspired by @researchgoddess, I've made myself a Superhero! ;-)

I needed this kick-butt reminder. Very cool. Oooh, as I get closer to my target weight maybe I'll try a pose like this - minus wings and we'll see what I can do for the outfit.

I just realized I never put a summary of Book #10 - American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I reread this for the Twitter-wide bookclub, #1b1t. I love the book, a story of the struggle for relevance among the gods that have been brought here by immigrants over the centuries. Thanks to the bookclub - I read it more slowly, carefully, and closely than my original reading for tone, flow, & overall impressions. There's a ton of meat to this and it deserves its place in my favorites list.

Book #11 - Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. My overall reaction to this was "meh". I got tired of the antics of the cast of characters. Their motives were so massively self-centered and greedy and their actions to meet those ends so extreme, I just didn't buy it. And it got very tired once I stopped caring. Maybe I'm jaded, but while I found some of the pieces a bit gross, nothing shocked me.

Finally, today - the latest curried quinoa recipe (via Natural Health)
1c quinoa
2c water
1tbsp curry powder
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp cayenne
pinch of salt
2 med carrots, peeled & shredded (oops, I chopped)
15oz can low/no salt chickpeas (I used black beans) - rinsed/ drained
3 green onions, thinly sliced (I used chives)
2 apples, halved/cored/chopped
1/4c toasted pumpkin seeds (I used sunflower seeds)
3tbsp olive oil
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
juice of 2 limes
salt/ pepper to taste
1 1/2c mixed greens

1 - In a saucepan, combine quinoa, water, spices & salt. Bring to a boil, cover then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until quinoa turns transparent and liquid is absorbed. Fluff w/ fork, cool & place in large bowl.
2 - Add carrots, chickpeas, onions, apples, pumpkin seeds
3 - To make dressing - whisk olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt/ pepper. Pour over quinoa mix and toss.
4 - Divide into individual servings (claims 4, I got more) and server over bed of mixed greens.

Crossing that line in the sand

When we were little we often drew lines, the ones in sand and snow were most visible, but they stretched across rooms, streets, tables, and plates. Especially with two brothers, there had to be a spot where public space ended and personal space began. So the lines were mostly barriers marked with “DO NOT CROSS”, but sometimes they were taunts – I DARE you to cross this line….

On Sunday we crossed the line from July to August. And yesterday, on 8/2, I decided to make the line real and to DARE to cross.

August is the month of my birth. And I’ve decided that I am going to celebrate in some way, shape, or form all... month... long!

Think about it – my birthday falls late in the month. I’ve had several Augusts of late that have been super high stress up until that very moment. 2 years ago the week prior to my birthday was spent deciding about a cross-country move I’d never thought of before – and the day was spent returning from a 25-hour house-scoping mission. Last year, a massive contest launched in the week before my birthday and I was the key data funnel – it ended the morning of. I kill myself and I think I tend to go high-stress this time of year even if massive deadlines aren’t looming – making problems for myself.

So this year, I’m having none of it. August is MY month, (*&^^%$-it and I’m going to enjoy it. The weather is sublime. The garden is producing. I still have my husband in home mode for a few more weeks before school starts. I have a great community of people of all types of personalities on Twitter and Facebook that are a huge boost to help me distress when I need it. There’s waves to watch rolling in on the lakeshore.

And maybe a margarita ... or ten. (Hey it’s a whole month!)

Happy August!

We don't see people from your nation often, so you're not allowed

I don't usually rant here, but wanted to do this longer than a tweet, so here you go.
I understand security has been cranked in this terror-ridden age. I understand that a lack of familiarity can make it seem easy for terrorists to sneak in... But this still upsets me.

The Haudenosaunee are a sovereign nation. They signed treaties with the US in 1794 that agreed to treat them as such. They are a country in their own right.

Today, a team of Iroquois lacrosse players are being kept from competing in the world championships of the sport their ancestors created by fear and lack of understanding. These players carry passports from their nation - Haudenosaunee passports.

At first, the US insisted they would not be allowed to return to the country with such documents.
"You want to go? We'll give you US passports, use those." A flatout refusal to understand the national pride and identity so important for Native tribespeople that is so hard won and so often forgotten by the mainstream.
Finally the US conceded and guaranteed that they would be allowed to return to the US - just this once.

Now the UK is refusing admittance. "We're not used to seeing documents like yours so we can't let you in."

It blows me away. How many small nations are out there - Native or otherwise - that may have funny-looking documentation? Do we seal the walls and only let in those who look like ourselves? Obnoxious. Scary. Sad for these players who have every right to compete on the world stage.

Check out the news story.
For more on the Haudenosaunee, visit Ganondagan (just south of Victor, NY)(there's a festival there July 24/25! ;-) ).

Quick garden update

I'm regularly picking radishes, J is snipping greens, and raspberries are in full force (already 5 sauce jars in freezer). This pic is into the sun, next one I won't do that....

I love summer

My thoughts are with Jenny now as she deals with a sad loss. Also missing Papa & Grammie Roelle a bit, too. So here's another pic...I'm looking forward to the long holiday weekend, so I can spend time taming my insane garden.


The raised bed is working awesome! Some bug is eating broccoli & Brussels sprouts leaves, but no rabbits or bunnies or groundhogs yet. We've made a cube of netting that will have to adapt if/ when the quinoa gets tall, but for now is perfect.

from clearing the spot to garden - it has been weeded since that last pic...

Ice cream sandwiches

A couple of years ago, Jenny got me some ice cream sandwich molds from Williams Sonoma. Yesterday, I used them for the first time.

Step 1 - Super fudgy but thin brownies for the outsides, cut into shapes.


Step 2 - Assemble - I started assembling by hand - the results were authentic, but not quite perfect.


Step 3 - Then J pointed out that the molds are supposed to be used to assemble, too. I tried and, voila - the cows ended up quite professional looking.


Note: I inserted a strawberry in the middle of each - a nice surprise I thought. Hmmm. They freeze REALLY hard - caution when eating! Now I know.

Now I have a bunch of small treats in the freezer - awesome way to start the summer.

Iris

This was one or two wimpy blooms just last year. I love when the yard gets prolific - the pics will be coming!

Stories of grandparents

Papa & Grammie Musso (left) and Papa & Grammie Roelle (right) at Mom & Dad's wedding

Papa & Grammie Roelle (Cliff & Betty), my Dad's parents,were around quite a bit when we were kids, until they moved to Florida - sometime around Junior High, I think.
Before Grammie passed from lung cancer, both were heavy smokers. I remember leaning against Grammie once while in the kitchen and burning my hand on her cigarette.
Grammie knew I loved applesauce and always made a big deal about that. Made me like it more, perhaps.
I need to gather more stories about her, I realize now that I don't remember many details. Most of what I remember is of her passing and I'd like to instead remember her life.

Papa flew missions over the Pacific in World War II. He enlisted twice, the first time quite young. If I remember correctly, he was a gunner. When he was young, he looked like a movie star. He talked very little about his youth - but in the one story I remember, he looked out the window to see that the wing of his plane was missing. They went down into the water and were almost taken by a Japanese ship, but Americans came over the horizon just in time.
Here at home, he assembled plane models, did a bunch of woodcraft - making nativities and lights that looked like covered wagons. He collected Hess trucks and loved to fish.
When we were little, Papa had a stroke. He recovered, but often found himself reaching for words and it frustrated him. He talked less after that because he was self-conscious.
After Papa passed, I put together a scrapbook from his photos & papers, and Sonny put together a a display of his medals. I learned more about his childhood and his life before the grandkids came along which was very cool & important.

I miss them both and wish I could have had more time as an adult to spend with them, but I'm also grateful for the bits I have.

Sonny, Danny - chime in in the comments if you want with your memories. I'm going to take some time this summer to sit with Dad and learn more.

Mom & Dad now live in the 'ville

The move was finished last Wednesday, the truck returned to U-Haul Thursday am. Sonny was able to come for a few days to help pack, consolidate, and move garage stuff over. Dan came Tues/ Wed and did a lot of the stuff a young back w/ lots of energy is handy for. I threw things away, burned papers, and packed things before Mom was ready to. ;) - and packed, consolidated, and did some hauling.

Weird to think that pics from now on will be at a different place. I'm conscious of it now, so it might not happen right away, but I'm sure I'll head the wrong direction at least once when going to visit. Dad was worried about steps forward or backward. There isn't forward or backward, Dad, it's just a step. It's different. It's a new adventure.

Talking to Mom last night, she said Dad had mowed the new lawn w/ his old mower - it took 1/2 an hour vs the 1/2 a day minimum on the old. He was psyched.
They'll have fun.

Book #9 -Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman. I loved the variety of the collection - and the notes from Neil on each piece made it that much more interesting. "Monarch of the Glen" was great, but I can't comment on that until #1b1t - the One Book One Twitter book club - is done for spoiler's sake. Another favorite was "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire" ;) quite fun!

And another spring...

Bad pun day - come on it's Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you!) How could I resist?

Seriously, I meant to put these pics on yesterday's post. One is the crazy sweet (Jenny, I think I'm using the word MORE since that conversation! :p ) weeds that covered our backyard before the first mow. The other are the forget-me-nots - one of our favorite flowers....

Long, muddy spring - books

Actually, just one of the two fits that description...

Book #7 - The Frog & Toad Treasury by Arnold Lobel. These were a favorite of J's as a child and I've been reading a chapter or so before bed to help us get to sleep. TBH, I did not read them as a child. Not bad. Some cute stories. J's fave is "Cookies", mine was "The Story".

Book #8 - Cold Mountainby Charles Frazier. Geh. What a stone. Yay I'm done! First off, good stuff: it picks up in the back quarter of the book - better pace, stuff is happening, you care a bit. But the remainder! Every person is so miserable and in such miserable circumstances that while they may not be mean-spirited, they live mean lives. No joy. For so much of the book nothing happens and I found myself asking often - "why am I reading this again?". I have to check out what's next in my rotation, but even WWII testimonials will be a pick-me-up from this one! I've read darker books, but Frazier's prose, his use of local terms that mean nothing to me and feel gratuitous - it just drags it all down.

The Pheonix poll

The local free paper The Pheonix is having its annual music poll, I am sending along one of my bands songs called "The Pheonix", it is about the paper, here are the lyrics:

Every Thursday I get excited
Because The Pheonix hits the stands
I pick one up and
Take it home then
Get disappointed
Once again

The City Paper I read in B'more
Would Keep me busy for some time
But if I got paid
To read the The Pheonix
Six bucks an hour
I'd make a dime

here is a link to the page for the best song catagory, we (The Sentimental Favorites) have a write in campaign under way for this song (go to the bottom of the column and write in The Sentimental Favorites, "The Pheonix" if you have the want to!)
http://thephoenix.com/BMP/Providence/Vote/SONG/

here is a link to the song itself: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Sentimental-Favorites/33798799802?ref=ts

Quick book review

Book #6 - I wrote this up over at Media Creole. Wonderful, quick read that I think everyone can take something away from about life and dealing w/ what it throws at you.

Spring - before the squirrels attack

Easter pics, early memories

I'm currently reading Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin and I've come to the first series of "storycatching" exercises - recounting your earliest memory.

I was not yet 2-years old. I had been playing with my friend Kelly in the driveway, but he had to go home, across the street. Dad and I stood and watched him go. In my memory, I turn and see our house and our car - and there is no shed.

I can place the memory in time because I have another memory of looking at the balloons, gift table, and cake set up along the side of the shed for my birthday. Mom was VERY pregnant with Sonny, so that would have been my second birthday. Part of the memory of that party is spurred by home movies and photos of the day - but the angle of my view on the shed wall was not part of that, so that bit is my own, just as the earlier moment with Dad in the driveway was, as I do not know of pictures of the driveway minus the shed.

It's funny - in my memory I am me-sized - not small at all. I'm looking out from inside my head and it's what I observe that's important. I guess one key difference from then to now is the sense of self.

How about you? What is the first thing you remember?

Weird segue, but here are some pics from Easter. Mom, Dad, Dan, Tara and I went to brunch on Saturday (also Dan's birthday) to celebrate. Mom and I colored eggs Friday night - love how bright the colors were!

Joining the Party

I'm putting The Roelle Kids into the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 (see the badge in the sidebar), with hopes of gaining a few more readers.

For those of you joining from UBP - The Roelle Kids is supposed to be the collaboration of 3 siblings - but my brothers don't show up often.

There's me - Aprille (aka @eileen53) - a marketer who loves to read and cook - wannabe kick-butt chic (Sidney Bristow is my goal), passionate about storytelling (though that's mostly another blog MediaCreole), family chronicler of sorts - married, 2 cats

Sonny is the middle child - wire artist extraordinaire - also member of Sentimental Favorites in Providence, RI - dating, turtle



Danny is the youngest - he's a drummer in multiple bands - currently Hipswitch, The Meta Accord, and Nic & the Nice Guys. He loves to cook and subs in at a restaurant in our hometown from time to time. - married, multiple fish

So, that's us. Here's a brief intro to the blog. Leave comments introducing yourselves - asking questions if you're curious about anything - would love to start some conversations!

Mom & Dad are moving

When we were little, it seemed like we moved a lot. Nowhere near the level of armybrats or pk's (pastor's kids), but 4 years was the biggest hunk of time we spent in one house.

Of course, I'm super sentimental, so even a short amount of time in a spot makes me nostalgic. I want to lock all the memories of what happened there in a special place so nothing fades. I still run through our old houses in my mind, just to keep fresh the details of wallpaper, carpeting, imagined adventures as kids....

I think I was in junior high when my parents built the house they live in now - it was the one that broke the pattern. Our lot was carved from a cornfield - the summer after the house was built we tried weeding & planting grass systematically in square plots. It didn't work well - the barnyard dirt with velvet leaf made it impossible to keep up. Eventually we started mowing weeds and scattered the remaining seed.

This house saw a lot of formative experiences for us kids. It was here that we experienced our first real loss - with the passing of our Grandma Roelle. We lost Papa Roelle while living there, as well, and cousin Jeff.

We had our big high school graduation parties and both Dan & I got married while Mom & Dad were there - plus many other smaller family reunions and celebrations.

Now Mom & Dad are moving into town - downsizing a bit and able to have pizza delivered and walk to places. As I spent some time there over Easter weekend to pack my childhood room (yes, I had not yet done this), I took some video to mark some key spots.

This is several videos combined, so it's a bit long (5:30ish)

Projects

Well, this is going to be a shorter post than originally planned because I accidentally wiped my before/ after pics of my latest projects off of my memory card. I'm excited, though, because something kicked into gear last weekend and I've started on some projects that had been mulling around in my head for some time.

Project 1 is a transformation of an old dresser into a bookshelf. I should be able to find a pic of the dresser before, so it will just be the in-progress stuff I've lost. This project isn't quite complete yet - I need to finish assembly and then finish it off. At first, I was just thinking of a plain paintjob, but now I have a couple of experimental ideas based on other interests of mine that I'm thinking I may as well try (the shelf itself will be a basement shelf, at least at first, so I can take some more risks than normal). I'm hoping to get back to this a bit on Sunday.

Project 2 was an effort to freshen up the bathroom just a bit. The window was always covered by the vinyl blinds for privacy. These were dusty and the brackets holding them in had yellowed - sad shape and sad enough that I despaired of getting them clean without devoting an entire day. I got rid of them, cleaned up the window and frame, and put a textured glass film over the lower pane to maintain privacy. Not only does it look sooo much cleaner - the bathroom is a ton brighter on sunny days - could help cut back on use of the light as well.




Book #5 -The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A reread from high school days. It was alright. The forward was excruciating, but the pace of the book itself was much better. So many mixed metaphors in the portrayal of Pearl. And was the minister poisoned? Could he really have been that frail? More time on characters and less on clothes and the inherent evil nature of the wilderness they lived in would have been good. But overall, not torture.

(Currently reading Cold Mountain. A bit of torture there. Just seems to slog.)

The books that kicked off 2010

I'm moving at a pretty good pace so far in 2010, on my 5th book, the 6th will follow right on top of it, once I get through this. (Though, I have to say, in the second chapter of Cold Mountain and it's a slog so far.) Also, as I work to participate more in the things I enjoy this year - including more frequent blogging on both blogs, I will TODAY post these new reads to Goodreads - which I completely neglected in 2009.

Book #1 - Cooking for Mr Latte by Amanda Hesser. Jenny lent this to me and I took it on the plane to CES - finished just a short while before reaching Vegas. A quick, cute read. Nothing super deep, but chock full of recipes and an interesting pictures of the hyper-foodie existence. (I like to consider myself a foodie, but I'm definitely NOT at that level)

Book #2 - Cat People by Michael Korda and Margaret Korda. Meh. I liked the individual cat portraits. But underlying it all was an inherent snootiness from the authors. It took a while to get any sense that they really loved these animals they took in. And I really don't care about how expensive and designer your furniture is, please stop referring to it as if it's a huge tragedy when it gets scratched.

Book #3 - Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice. I sit here shaking my head. It started out okay, but ended up taking way longer than it should have. The narrator was not someone I cared about a lot - too much a child of privilege, too obsessed with the labels for high end brands of clothing, etc. And one of the main "big twists" was a reach. Trying to do something new & different? You don't have to go that far. I did not find it compelling, a source of conflict or interest or intrigue.

And, on a more positive note:
Book #4 - The Town Below Ground: Edinburgh's legendary underground city by Jan-Andrew Henderson. This was fun. So fascinating to learn the history of this city, the population exploding while the footprint is trapped within walls. Horrifying to think of the conditions that the majority of the citizens lived in in Victorian times. Super cool to hear about the ghosts. I am a fan of books that delve into people who live in "forgotten spaces" and this is a great part of the list.

Ciao for now, more soon.

Moroccan Harira

This is a winter of soups for me - trying to make one soup a week - all new ones so far.

The back story on harira - Moroccans eat it to break the fast each night during Ramadan (per Nancy Harmon Jenkins in The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook) - so it's hearty, but not heavy.

From: The Healing Foods Cookbook from Vegetarian Times

1/2c green lentils
1Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2c chopped fresh parsley (didn't have - so I used a bunch of dried ground sage, which I have tons of)
1/2c chopped cilantro (sub dried)
1/2tsp dried ginger
1 cinnamon stick
15oz can chopped tomatoes,drained - liquid reserved
2c broth (I use veggie)
15oz can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/2c vermicelli

Tadouira (thickener)
2Tbsp flour
1/4c chopped cilantro
2Tbsp lemon juice
1Tbsp tomato paste

Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water 2 min. Drain
Heat oil in pot over med heat. Saute onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, & cinnamon 5 minutes - til onion is soft. Add tomatoes, saute 5 min.
Stir in broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato juice, 3c water, & salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to med-low. Simmer, stirring occ., 45 min. or until lentils are tender.
Whisk flour with 1c waterin bowl. Whisk in cilantro, lemon juice, & tomato paste. Stir into Harira w/ vermicelli. Cook 3 min, or until vermicelli are soft.

Happy Valentines Day to all! I'm focusing on yummy food (fig & fennel bread, sw potato ravioli w/ sage butter sauce, and a Wegmans fruit tart) and making progress on house chores. J has a lot of schoolwork to do with the end of his quarter approaching, so we'll have a makeup night out when he's on break.

Pecan Soup

*from Healing Foods Cookbook by Vegetarian Times

Native American Toasted Pecan Soup
Recipe says it serves 10, I halved it and got 4 servings

2 1/2 cups pecans
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
1/4c agave nectar or maple syrup
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3c veggie broth
4 sprigs fresh thyme**
1 bay leaf**
1c soymilk (I used real non-fat milk)
1/2c shredded cheese or an imitation of it, for garnish
1/4c chopped green onions, for garnish

**I used dried thyme and I think it overwhelmed other flavors a bit. Next time, I'll try a bouquet garni, instead.

1 - Preheat oven to 350. Spread pecans on baking sheet - toast 7-10 min, until fragrant. Cool 10 min, then coarsely chop

2 - Heat oil in saucepan over med heat. Add onion, saute 5 min, until soft. Stir in pecans, agave/syrup, chili powder, and garlic. Cook 2-3 min, until fragrant. Add broth, thyme/bay leaf, 4c water, and salt/pepper to taste - cover. Boil. Reduce heat to med-low & simmer 2 hours.

3 - Remove thyme sprigs/ bay leaf & puree soup in blender or w/ hand blender. Stir in milk/ soymilk. Reheat a bit & serve w/ cheese & green onion.

Jack

I didn't think about writing this until I read Neil's post about his cat Zoe. I wanted to share our story, so here's what I sent:

Mom's cat, Jack, recently passed. He was 18 and had been going downhill, so it wasn't totally unexpected, but he was the stronger of the two, the scrapper, so we figured he'd be the last one to go.

Besides the loss of a dear friend that is a common thread, I also wanted to share Jack's story because his coloring was much like Zoe's (I always thought of it as a cross between Siamese & raccoon), but Jack also went blind in the last 6 months of his life.

Jack and his brother Yellow had been found by the woman who sold my parents their land. She was old and ill and only lived in the back two rooms of her house, leaving the rest to whoever chewed their way in. She fed the strays & barncats of the neighborhood and took a liking to the batch of kittens at her door. Unfortunately, her mean Chihuahuas did not. They were so mean to Jack that we loaned a toybox turned rabbit cage for him to stay in.

Spending a bit of his kittenhood (until both he & Yellow came to live with us) in a cage gave Jack a good-sized temper. We've seen him chase deer off the property more than once. When I was a teenager, he liked to launch through the air, landing securely with his claws in my thighs - but only when I was on the phone. Both cats went out as they pleased, less often at night after the coyotes got bad, and hunted and fought quite a bit.

As he aged, Jack mellowed and demanded much lap time and brushing from Mom. It was quite upsetting to see him circle in corners, trying to find his way about, near the end. And though it was not a total surprise, he is quite missed.

Holiday crafts

I made a ton of crafty gifts for the holidays - several categories, each gift in a category was different. If I try to do that again, I'll get J to shoot me. Here's a sampling of what I did, though.

Books from scrap paper w/ postcard covers














Purses made from woven wrapping paper














Purses made from books











































Bracelets of beads made from catalogue pages





























Table made from books














So there it is. What do you think?

Before launching into 2010

I'm approaching 2010 a little late, as is common for me in general. I'm starting my focused "resolution-type" efforts tomorrow - now that CES and a whirlwind visit by J's aunt are past. So, it's appropriate that, on this last day of "2010 denial", I'm writing about my year-end for 2009 (this will be the first of two posts today)

Books - I just got to 24 books last year. Ah, well, some were quite meaty and took a while. I'll shoot for 35 at least in 2010, if not the magic 50.

Book #22 - Haunted Providence: Strange tales from the smallest state by Rory Raven. My brother knows Rory and I've met him - he was a mentalist long before the show existed, and is quite the skeptic. Still he digs up some good tales and I love learning more about the city Sonny lives in. He also makes some great points about storytelling that I will be blogging about on Media Creole in the next week or so.

Book #23 - Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates. A fictionalized retelling of a tragic true story - a Senator leaves a party w/ a young girl, crashes the car in water, and the girl dies. Told from the girl's point of view and for the most part in the moments after the crash, flashback style. Powerful.

Book #24 - On Literature by Umberto Eco. A collection of essays and lectures, this can get quite technical at points and so is not recommended as a whole for the casual reader. Still there are some awesome points in here. Discussion on the search for the perfect language and how it ties to poetic artistry. A powerful essay on the power of falsehood, that, like Foucault's Pendulum, makes you realize how different history would be if one joke hadn't been played. The importance of literature:

...the wretches who roam around aimlessly in gangs and kill people by throwing stones from a highway bridge or setting fire to a child - whoever these people are - turn out this way not because they have been corrupted by computer "new-speak"(they don't even have access to a computer) but rather because they are excluded from the universe of literature and from those places where, through education and discussion, they might be reached by a glimmer from the world of values that stems from and send us back again to books.

Rochester eats

Organizing some thoughts around food places here in Rochester - focusing on the city proper...partly as a reco for someone passing thru.

Fine dining -
Pane Vino - Water St
Bamba Bistro - Alexander St
Edibles - University Ave
Pier 45 - Charlotte port
Max - Memorial Art Gallery

Cupcakery -
Sugar Mountain - Alexander & Park

Pizza -
Tony D's - Corn Hill
Veneto - East Ave

BBQ -
Dinosaur - Court St

Thai -
Thai Taste (small, family run) - Mt Hope Ave
Siam - Corn Hill
Esan - Park Ave

Diner -
Jines - Park Ave
Charlie's Frog Pond - Park Ave

Greek -
Aladdin's - Monroe Ave

Sandwiches -
Open Face - South Ave
Orange Glory - East Ave

British Pub -
Old Toad - Alexander St

Just a few of my faves in the city, places I want to try. Feel free to add others in comments....

Furlough's over - it's a wrap!

So, the furlough is up. Went back on the clock today. Had a ton of email to wade through and still need to get re-oriented around what's been done and what's waiting for me to do something.

I had started to picture my furlough as time spent wrapped up in the cocoon of craft ideas, herb harvests, books, and my slightly-OCD to-read pile rotation. I was nestled in home life - talking mostly to the cats, a bit to J. I got out a little bit, but just for fleeting moments.

I loved it. The contemplative side of me did, anyway. And yet I felt isolated, lonely, a bit too, without my friends to hang with or other people to talk to.

I geared up for my re-entrance. I steamed a bunch of clothes to have stuff ready. I was going to barrel in on Monday am, kick butt, and make everyone so happy I was no longer gone.

*snort* yeah, right. J wanted to leave early, I didn't get the chance I wanted to write this post, and the whole morning went off wrong. I was worried about those pants w/ this shirt, so resorted to just jeans and a nice shirt, but the vestiges of my cold decided to play w/ my body temp - I wavered between chilly and sweating most of the day and so remained wrapped in my hoodie. There were several moments when, yes (I have no shame), I actually got tangled up in my own hair. The triumphant nerd who trips on the door mantle on her entrance. MAN. Shall I try again tomorrow?

It's alright. I'll just write it off that I lost coordination on furlough. Everyone knows to milk it for a few days...

Book #21 -A Scanner Darkly: A graphic novel based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Hmmm. Trippy. And yet, while you assume the plot is somewhat known, it's as roundabout as a drug-addled debate. I did not like the depiction of the scramble-suits, but concept makes stuff interesting.

Oh, PS - So I read the essay on Sylvie and it got somewhat more interesting, but not worth re-reading. Sometimes I think people just read too much into things.

Furlough - the middle

My DSL has been spotty all week so I'm going to try to crank this out before it goes down again, but no promises.

Wednesday night I went to the Beer & Chocolate Tasting event at Tap and Mallet - a local pub that carries a wide variety of beer - and many dark ones. As a lover of "beer you can chew", the beer/ chocolate combo is quite natural to me - I love several chocolate stouts - hmmm can't think of one gone wrong so I guess I love any chocolate stout you put in front of me. I was surprised by the reaction of some people - lips curled, their body weight shifted away as if I had said something horrid. If it had been lemonade & chocolate - I learned in high school that combo is wretched, then I'd understand.
Anyways, the chocolate was exquisite - the dark beers in the pairings were quite nice (I skipped the paler beers - not my style and why spoil it?)

Thursday, I harvested the sage and most of the chives (one bunch was forgotten). This was such an odd year for the garden. Too much rain and cold to produce a lot berry-wise, flowers died fast in all the wet, too. But now I go out there and see that others took the opportunity to totally take everything over. Lemon balm is popping up where it never had before. Strawberries have infiltrated far further into the heart of the flower bed than I ever expected. Lots of clearing to do this fall/ next spring and then I'll have to keep a tighter reign next year.

Speaking of sage. I have tons. And it lasts - plus it is very rare to use more than 1 tbsp max in any meal. I have two large spice containers full of processed sage, 2 clementine boxes of dried sage to process, and a large shopping bag full of the latest. Have to think of a craft project that uses this stuff or else everyone gets a keg of it for Christmas. Thoughts?

Book #18 - Diary by Chuck Palahniuk. Pretty good. I want Sonny to read it. Some of the commentary on art school was great, though some of it got a bit long. One of those - "I would totally have seen it coming and bailed before they got me" - type books.

Book #19 - Straken by Terry Brooks. You guys know I love these books. They follow a pretty clearcut formula - a kid who doesn't think he/she is so special winds up being the only one who can save the land via the magic they didn't know they had. But it pulls you in deep real fast and you become immersed in it. The character development is great. In almost every book of these series, a character dies or comes close to dying and I cry. You wind up caring that much. Linked to the Word and the Void series in a way I haven't got to yet, the Shannara books tend to be more complex, with more plot lines running, but all well done.

Book #20 - Sylvie by Gerard de Nerval. I'm reading On Literature by Eco right now - a collection of essays & lectures. One is on this book - he opens it by gushing about how it "bowled him over" and talking about the love both he and Proust had for the short piece. He also highly recommended reading it before reading his essay. I'm thinking it's one of those stories (like "The Yellow Wallpaper" or "Turn of the Screw") that you really have to read in a critical setting - like a class or partnered with a critical evaluation to get anything out of. I read it and felt "meh". Do have to say, first book I've read on Google Books via my Touch - pretty cool that.

Furlough starts

I'm off this week, but it's my furlough, which means I have no ties to whatever company it was that they thought I worked at anyway. I came into the week with plans to get a specific set of tasks done. They may still, but it's been slow going. Mostly because I'm fighting a cold and physically need to slow myself down sometimes. I'm trying to listen to the signals so that it won't take me out entirely, and in hopes that I'll recover faster.

I may have just needed a recharge anyway.

I'm reading a lot. Cooking about the same, though I'd like to do more - may make some bread today. The basil and mint have been harvested - and if this sun persists for at least 1/2 hr more, I'll take in the chives and sage today. (I have a pic of my monster basil but the network hates me today, so that will have to be part of another blog post.) The piles in my study are slowly ... well getting more organized anyway.

Speaking of food - I had promised to post this: Devil's Food Pancakes
1 1/4c flour
1c sugar
1/2c cocoa powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/8tsp salt
2 eggs
1 yolk
3/4c buttermilk
1/4c vegetable oil (or sub in applesauce for a tasty lo-fat version)
1tsp vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, and salt. Whisk in eggs, yolk, buttermilk, oil, & vanilla until well blended.
Drop onto griddle & cook like typical pancakes.

And, as I read, I'm accumulating a (neat) pile of books to post about. Here's a few:

Book #16 - The Secret Books of Venus I and II by Tanith Lee. Meh. I got pulled in enough that they read pretty fast, but I didn't really care. I thought the religious "fervor" elements of primary characters in the Second book quite annoying and almost all of the epilogue to that one could have been done without to save it from cheese-ball classification.

Book #17 - Lord Minimus: The extraordinary life of Britain's smallest man by Nick Page. Fascinating tale of Jeffrey Hudson, at 18 inches tall a sufferer of growth hormone deficiencies. Unfortunately, while there are many remarkable events in Jeffrey's life that are significant enough to provide the records for Page to build his tale, Jeffrey is often just a sidenote and there's not a ton of rich information. You could say that makes even a bit more the everyman-who-fell-into-the grand-life, I guess. Just wish he kept a diary or wrote letters or something. As Jeffrey was a member of Charles I's court (or more specifically Queen Henrietta Maria's), also a good primer on a time in British history that I hadn't read much about.

A quick Method promo

So, Jenny gave me a sample pack of Method cleaning products a while back. It had:

• Hand wash
• Dish soap
• General purpose cleaner
• Wood cleaner

Awesome stuff! We normally use the dish soap to wash hands in the kitchen, which always dries my skin on my palms, fingertips. The Method handwash was quite refreshing because it left a clean feeling - not greasy, but not dried out either.
First, I started using the wood cleaner to clean the shelf above our kitchen stove. The kind of spot that has sticky dust and a lot of it. The wood cleaner worked wonders. As I was up there, I looked at the walls above the shelf, and broke out the General spray. And I went a bit nuts, scrubbing all the walls. It worked great and they hadn't been tackled ... in a long time.

All in all, my kitchen is much cleaner thanks to the sample pack....

Focus, Possibility, and Vacation reads

First - full disclosure - someone commented on the last post that "there's nothing cool about opening for Creed" and I deleted it because I didn't want to deal w/ snarkiness. TBH, I don't know Creed except to say I don't listen to them (I'm really bad at tying bands to music unless they're a fave), but whatever you think of them, my brother got to open for a band that drew thousands on a rainy night at a big venue for our parts. That's cool.

OK.

I spent my vacation recentering, spending time w/ J, both of us focusing more on diet and fitness - and I finally saw some minor progress towards my goal - down 4lbs... Ways to go, but good to see movement. I like the way my diet thinking has solidified and I'm hoping this extra step, coupled w/ continued workouts, proves the catalyst needed to keep driving to my goal. I want to dig out that bag of clothes I've stashed away for "when A loses the weight" and try them on again - and have some fit!

One of many awesome birthday gifts was a book called The Art of Possibility. I had forgotten it was on my wishlist, but am grateful it was chosen. The book is structured around "practices" that help to open up the realm of possibility. I'm going to try a practice a week - we'll see what happens. At home so far, practice one has had an impact though more subtle than blatant, I think.

Book #14 -Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. LOVED IT! Structured like exploring a set of Russian nested dolls - the stories are so different in plot and voice and yet meld together into one big saga of where we've been, where we're going and the power one might have to change it. I have many pages flagged for quotes - some for "deep meaning", some for the beauty of the language.

Book #15 - Zombie Haiku by Ryan Mecum. And now for something completely different! Fun romp thru zombieland, though you have to set aside the nagging feeling that zombies who don't remember doorknobs and are dropping pieces of themselves left and right probably can't keep a good haiku journal.

Laughter, tears, and cheetah groundhogs

Tidbits today.

Sonny had a show recently that got written up in Boston's Phoenix paper. Very very cool.

Danny has been playing more gigs than ever with his various bands. The biggest of late was opening for Creed at Darien Lake. Mega cool.

The other day I was waiting outside by myself for a delivery. Walking around in circles, leaning on a street sign. Feeling generally awkward to just be standing there.
As I'm leaning on the sign, scanning for the delivery guy, a cop car pulls up.
Two thoughts automatically pop up in my head - 1) Is it illegal to lean on street signs? 2) Maybe it's Mark or Jason - the guys I know in the RPD.
He stops a short distance away. I gulp a bit.
His hand comes out of the window and makes a "come here" motion. Uh oh.
I walk up. Not Mark, not Jason. I lean towards the window, hands in pockets. "Hey, how's it going?" (Picture a golly-gee-willikers fist pump here)
Guy looks at me. Points out that he was just letting the person standing behind me cross the street.
Mortified!!!
But the best part was telling this to Jenny & Tina - who double over with laughter and even had me in tears recounting it...

Earlier this summer, J and I were driving by a big lawn on the way to errands one evening. We enjoy spotting the groundhogs that often litter the green expanse, so I was keeping my eyes open. And saw this incredible image. A groundhog RUNNING! He was booking somewhere (and I like to think it was a joyous and not a lifesaving type of thing). He flew over dips, legs extended in each direction. The cheetah-hog. Awesome....

Two catchup books.
Book #12 - Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl: The true story of "Renee" w/ forward by Frank Conroy. Fascinating. Renee's story is presented in so matter of fact a manner. Things just get very different from normal. The extent of the loss of reality defies categorization and she's often forced to bucket things in ways that aren't right just to try to convey what's going on. Voices, for example, are more compulsions from "elsewhere". The therapist's interpretation is baffling to me. First, she often uses "psycho-babble" - words that do not need to exist (like utilize in business!!), where syllables are added just to make it sound more official. Then, she's pinned all of Renee's issues to the fact that she was weaned prematurely. Geh? How about the fact that her mother discovered her father cheating, which broke up the marriage and made her mother threaten suicide - right at the time when Renee first started experiencing symptoms???? Never mentioned it. Seemed weird. Good book though.

Book #13 - The Secret of Two-Edge: Book 6 in the ElfQuest reader's collection by Richard & Wendy Pini. To balance #12 - I don't have much to say. Kinda' fun, kinda' ok. Meh.

Two quick food bytes

I had a couple of recipe requests on Twitter - so I'm posting them here quickly. I owe 2 books - hopefully this weekend...

J's simple pho
(note, J does not cook by recipe and is uncertain of volumes. Use best judgement)
Broth: veggie broth ~1/2 strength. Oyster sauce. onion, garlic, hot pepper. Powdered ginger. Dry lemongrass.

Cook shrimp in the boiling broth. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes early (if using dry - if using ones packed in oil, add at end w/ peas)

Make rice noodles in another pot (the ones we tried fell apart too easily; need to find sturdier noodles)

Combine stuff in bowls, add pea pods broken into bit-sized bits. Serve with basil, lemon balm leaves, and hot sauce.


Bulgar w/ peas, sun-dried tomatoes, & mint
Melt 1tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add 1c bulgar, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. Toast briefly.
Add 2c water, frozen peas, and some dry ginger.
Let simmer until most liquid is gone. Meanwhile re-hydrate sun-dried tomatoes (if you have dry (same as above) - place in 1c water and heat in microwave til boiling - let sit 5min.
Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fresh mint leaves, and a bit more dry ginger.

Summer refocus

Trying to refocus a bit on where I want to be healthy eating wise and workout wise. Just a day or so in, but it feels so good, why is it so hard to keep up? Well, part of the workout problem was the ankle. We'll see how this new workout goes.

Also, trying to make faster progress on projects now that a certain big one (which I'll talk about more later this month) is out of the way... Inspired (and egged on) a bit by the maniac redo of a bathroom & some other stuff next door.

But, mostly, I posted to list the latest books - I've had a bit of a burst lately.

Book #9 -The Incredible Hulk: Transfer of Power written by Bruce Jones, pencils by Stuart Immonen, inks by Scott Koblish. I love the Hulk. Even though he doesn't show much in this particular one, when he does, it's awesome. Another treat is a reference to a children's classic in the artwork....

Book #10 - The Elric Saga, Part 1 by Michael Moorcock. I was curious about this because a friend was gung-ho super into the series. While I intend to put the subsequent books on my library list, I won't add them to my "to buy" list. The stories pulled me along at a pretty good clip, but the lack of character development was annoying. At first I thought it was for everyone but Elric. Yes, true - any culture or character outside the central figure is very flat - but then I realized that Elric himself is never fully explored. So much about personality is stated as a straight fact and depth is never given. One more ding - the dialogue had a tendency to the over-fluffy, fake-formal you see sometimes in books of medieval days.

Book #11 - Moomin: The complete Tove Jansson comic strip: Book 2 by Tove Jansson. I loved the first in this collection and liked this one even better. Poor Moomin fares a bit better in this one - never at the point of losing everything.... As a family, the Moomins face their off-the-wall adventures. And their light-hearted, positive spin prevails, over hordes of young Mymble-siblings, over Stinky and his schemes, and so on. Fun.

(Book #12 will be done soon - maybe a day or so)

An unexpected trip - Part II

What is it about Paris that brings couples together? I saw many couples all over each other in our walk around the city. It made me wonder - was this Parisians acting Parisian, or was it people assuming "hey, we're in Paris, we can slobber on each other on the streets!"?

Love seeing all sorts walking carrying bread in small paper wrappers, some just randomly taking bites now & then. One guy who looked rather "butler-y" carrying several loaves, perhaps for a dinner party.

Book #8 - Angel Fire East by Terry Brooks. I love this series - and people following the books I read know that. Some themes that stood out to me in this one: 1 - Nest's strength in the face of utmost adversity/ evil. Long caught up in the ultimate battle between the Word and the Void, Nest faced down several demons without taking any smack. She pulled from her core and refused to waver from what was right. 2- I wrote down "Good fooling evil - will get you back" - and I'm not totally sure who is getting who back so that's a bit vague. 3 - O'olish Amaneh - his persistence but in an insubstantial way - a native from an ancient tribe near Nest's home and a servant of the Word, though not a Knight like key character John Ross - O'olish Amaneh is solid as a great tree and yet can disappear on the breeze. I like his "quiet" approach to the fight.

An unexpected trip - Part 1

So the trip to Paris started off rather inauspiciously with an 8 hour flight from Chicago to Dulles. Yick. Missed the flight to Paris, had to get rooms for the night, and the next afternoon flew from Dulles to Ohare (yet again) to Paris. After all of that, I decided to stay until Saturday instead, so that I could decompress before dealing w/ the airlines again.

Finished Book #7 on the trip from Chicago to DC - Eugene Onegin: A novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin - translated by Douglas R Hofstadter. Had this been written in prose, I would have struggled with it, I'm sure. It could have ended up like the Austin novels that I just can't get into. In verse, however, the stuffiness fades quite a bit and the fondness of author and translator for language comes to the fore. Hofstadter is very fond of wordplay, but considers this faithful to the original, as Pushkin used many plays on words himself. The puns, goofy rhyming, and what Hofstadter calls "poetic lie-sense" brought several smirks to my face while reading.
The story itself is one of missed opportunities and stubbornness blinding people to the happiness right in front of them. One trouble spot I had was in the final chapter, where Pushkin jumps ahead and seems to leave out a section of the tale.

Did a ton of walking around Paris. Love the city, but the homeless seemed more prevalent than I remember - of course I did not spend a ton of time in tourist spots when working there, but still. I was struck by their plight. I felt for those caring for pets. The woman with a very young baby almost brought me to tears. And I kick myself now because I just kept going. Was it because a band of girls with the same note written in English about Dad dying and having no food approached first to scam money, and so I felt I needed to guard against appeals? Maybe partly. I was stressed about how much I had and what I needed for the little spending I was doing a bit too. Still, to go back and give, just what I could spare.... In any case, it was tough to see and I wondered about the stories behind the lost eyes...


Good numbers of smart cars, more than here, definitely more than Dublin, but less than expected. Lots and lots of scooters and motorbikes - definitely more than when I was last here. Trouble is, a Parisian driver on a motorbike is still a Parisian driver and can squeeze through more spaces and pull in and out of traffic even more easily than in a car. Chaos ensues.

Watchmen

Travelling to Chicago for work. I love the opportunity to mix things up, get out and about, but I feel like things have been non-stop lately, that I need time to retreat from practically everything. So I’m not super excited to be going. I’m hoping the research itself is really insightful so it feels like the craziness and stress I’m imposing on myself (yes, I know it really is all in my head) is worth it.

[Two days later] So, Chicago yielded good insights and now I'm off to Paris - which I didn't know til yesterday. Between groups I ran out and bought more clothes. I'll definitely need at least one more book, but maybe I'll buy it there. To Paris! Just a few days - one to recoup from travel and explore a bit, one full of groups. Haven't been in 14 years (woah). Looking forward to it.

Book #6 Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I haven't seen the movie yet. Found this quite striking but not in a total downer perspective friends who have seen the movie felt. The alternate history brings intriguing subtleties to the story. While ultimately, I felt some better justice could have been served without the media disaster anticipated, overall the story was super compelling and I loved the format.

Taking Eugene Onegin and Angel Fire East on the trip.
More from the City of Light!