Fifty-One

I don't feel a day over 50 and yet here I am, 51 years old today!

Happy Birthday to me!

<);o)

Where’s Dale?

These guys are so skittish that I had to take the shot through the storm window on our kitchen door. The chipmunks also provide endless entertainment/taunting to the cats. We know one is outside when we hear a combination meow/chirp from a cat perched in a window with her tail switching back and forth at a brisk clip. If we approach, the cat will look up at us as if to say “Puhlease let me outside now! I would so catch it in an instant!”

Happy Birthday - Cubed!

Happy Birthday to Roo
as well as Sue and her son Jake !
Enjoy!

Pink & White Safari

I went out in the yard this afternoon to take a few photographs. I was headed for the lilacs, but along the way I spotted this lovely pink tulip.


I was working on zooming in on the flower and letting the background slip into soft focus when something moved.


Eeeeek! It was a white(!) spider! Spiders are not my favorite creatures on the planet. But being a good blogger (with an inquisitive mind) I tried to zoom in on the spider. Unfortunately, shuddering does not lend itself to excellent photographs!


But then I got this shot. I’ll be darned if the white spider didn’t have a pink(!) swoosh on each side of its body!


Despite being a spider (shudder) it was very cool!

Words

There’s a good television show on the USA network called “In Plain Sight”. It focuses on a couple of U.S. Marshals who serve in the Federal Witness Protection Program. The lead character is Mary Shannon played by Mary McCormack. Her partner is Marshall Mann, played by Fred Weller. At the very end of this second season’s opening episode, entitled “Gilted Lily”, Mary speaks in a voice over as her sister says goodbye to her deceased boyfriend in the morgue. In the background Alison Krauss, along with a chorus, sings “Down In The River To Pray” a capella.

The voice over was so striking, so poetic, we tried to find it online. No results led us to transcribe it. I’m sorry I can’t credit a specific writer, but here it is:


My addled brain tries to connect the dots
wondering how it is we’ve come to this place.
Cold, stark, blue-light lodging
indifferent to hope, desire, love;
lacking all but the most basic amenities.

Perhaps this stainless steel and formaldehyde rest stop
stands as a post-mortem reminder.
A kind of finger-wagging refrigerated warning
hung for all to see:

“For those inclined to feed the bears,
beat the light,
traverse thin ice,
run with scissors,
get rich quick:
Here but for the grace of God goes you.”

Me - Ow!

Last January, we got our cat Cassie through her Iodine-131 treatment which left her healthier, calmer and less prone to the crazy bedtime habit she had developed of bouncing off the walls with a sudden, prolonged burst of energy. Now, the cats have decided that they wish to have a sunrise breakfast each morning. Charming - Oui? Not so much! What’s odd is that it didn’t start gradually as the days grew longer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Instead, I think they had a meeting, decided they wanted to get a bright and early start every morning. Then they worked out which one would crawl prance up onto my shoulder and meow - - - first!

As a result, my eyes snap open and it’s very hard for me to fall back asleep again until the alarm goes off. Closing the door to shut them out of the bedroom leads to piteous meowing from the other side, which also begins at dawn. I’m running on appreciably less sleep now than I would like, which leaves me foggy brained and cranky. Hence this wonderfully insightful, clever and amusing post - Oui? Sorry, not so much.

I am hoping that this coordinated feline demand for a sunrise breakfast extinguishes as rapidly as it developed. Because right now, the long nights and later sunrises of next winter seem really, really far away.

Time For Change

The United States policy pertaining to gays and lesbians serving in the military, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” came into being in 1993 during the Clinton administration.

Last night, Clifford Alexander, former Secretary of the Army appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show. He presented the most cogent and forceful argument I have ever heard against “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”. You can watch the video below.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Food & Laughter

We had a wonderful time down in Rhode Island yesterday where we celebrated Mother’s Day with my Mom. We went over to Legal Sea Foods in Warwick, where we met Carrie and Kate, my sister Gail’s daughters. We spent about three hours laughing and eating. With five around the table, we each ordered a different entree which allowed for tastes all around. Add in oysters and calamari as appetizers and a selection of desserts, we turned it into quite a smorgasbord. Our server Susie was great and caught on right away to our celebratory mood. Mom was in high spirits from start to finish - her getting a little choked up when Carrie and Kate presented her with a bouquet of flowers notwithstanding!

All in all, it was pretty darn perfect.

Mom's Day

Happy Mother’s Day!

Weekend Breakfast

So, you know how to make French Toast right?

O.K. good.

After you take the bread out of the egg mixture, press it gently onto a plate, upon which you have generously sprinkled dried, grated, unsweetened coconut. Repeat on the other side. Then place it gently on the greased griddle as you normally would, except you might need to lower the heat just a teensy bit. (We get our coconut in the bulk food section of Whole Foods.)

Then serve the way you normally serve French Toast: with maple syrup or dusted with powdered sugar or with a warm fruit compote - maybe strawberries and blueberries to which you have added a splash of Grand Marnier...

Enjoy!

Cue The Klieg Lights!

For too long I have treated cabbage as an ingredient when it deserves more of a starring role. I’ve made corned beef and cabbage and cole slaw of course. Then I began using cabbage as an ingredient in stir fries and simmer sauce dishes a few years ago. After that came my Rumbledethumps adventure ( Yum! ). When we were out in Seattle, Chuck’s sister Carol was rummaging around in the refrigerator as she whipped up a meal for us and she ended up improvising cabbage with onions. When we got home, I took it to the next level. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:

Cabbage Is King

Olive oil
Sherry
Onions - chopped or sliced
Garlic
Bacon - cooked & crumbled
Cabbage - Green - cored & chopped coarsely
Salt
Pepper
Butter

Saute the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until they begin to soften.
Add a splash of sherry and let it simmer for a bit.
Add some crushed garlic.
Toss in some crumbled bacon.
Add in the chopped cabbage and cover. Simmer on low heat, stirring periodically.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add a bit of butter if needed/desired.
Cook to the level of doneness you prefer. You can leave the cabbage with a bit of crunch or let it wilt dramatically.

I think this could be very nice with some chopped apples tossed in near the end of the cooking process or perhaps some golden raisins.

Enjoy!

A Vexing Problem

I get frustrated with myself when someone who is truly irrelevant to me and to my life manages to say something which wounds me. In this instance, I understand intellectually that what they accused me of is not only completely false but says far more about them than it does about me. But I still find it difficult to stop replaying the exchange. Although in this most recent example I am proud of having comported myself calmly, accurately and with dignity. It also helps that I had a witness (a completely, wonderfully biased witness) in Chuck. He too remained calm in the moment and supported me swiftly without getting the least bit angry on my behalf.

As the days tick by, I know my hurt feelings will fade. I just wish I could dismiss the incident more quickly. Until I do, I am reminded of a line from Robin Williams’ 1979 comedy album “Reality...What A Concept”. He was doing a bit which revolved around (and digressed from) Shakespeare. In an exaggerated version of a Shakespearean accent he proclaimed loudly: “Assholes do vex me!!!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

More Than A Wee Bit

It’s happened again. I followed a trail of breadcrumbs in the blogosphere and wound up somewhere wonderful. A woman in Scotland blogs about food and life and captures it all with lovely photographs. Her name is Wendy and her blog is A Wee Bit of Cooking. She’s not all about the haggis. There’s a lamb pilaf recipe Morgan linked to which sent me there in the first place and a black bean and sweet potato burrito recipe, both of which deserve further exploration.

The only problem is her photos of the countryside around Inverness are so achingly beautiful that I want to pack up and move there - immediately.

Chuck? Sweetie? We need to talk...

Progress!

"I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste. I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage."
Governor John E. Baldacci upon signing a same sex marriage law in the state of Maine.

The law has yet to go into effect in Maine and opponents are promising a fight, but enormous progress has been made. Next door, the New Hampshire legislature has also approved a same sex marriage law, but must wait for Governor John Lynch’s five day waiting period. During that time Lynch can veto the bill, sign it or simply allow the clock to run out and it will become law without any action on his part. (More details available here) When the laws in New Hampshire and Maine go into effect, Rhode Island will be the only state in New England to be without a civil same sex marriage law. Come on Little Rhody...

Spring!

There was no duct tape nor bungee cord used on my photo safari, but I did have a Key Grip. The weather turned out to be even more challenging than expected. Instead of rain there was a steady, heavy mist and lots of gusty wind. An umbrella would have been an ineffectual tool in such a swirling mist. So my favorite Key Grip (A.K.A. Chuck) offered his handkerchief and I did my best to keep the lens dry. Each time I focused the camera I was struck by the tender beauty and the lush shades of green overtaking the gray brown landscape of a long, icy and damaging winter.

39 & Still Holding

Happy Birthday to my eldest sister Karen! While I am headed for 51 (Egads!) in just a couple of weeks, Karen is miraculously younger than I am!

Happy Birthday Sis!

Be It Resolved...

Looking at Roo’s photographs has strengthened my resolve to get out in the yard with my camera. Despite the recent gray mizzly-drizzlyness around here, spring is marching on. I can see the deep dark violet of the lilac buds even through the rain streaked windows. So tomorrow I need to dodge the drops and see what I can capture on film. I’m thinking I can rig something out of an umbrella, a bungee cord and duct tape as a traveling drape! Or I’ll see if I can coax Chuck into playing the role of Key Grip...

Revisionism - On The Fly

You know it has been a very low, slow and exceptionally lazy Sunday when your “accomplishments” include: cooked (and ate) brunch, cooked (and ate) dinner, fed cats - twice, scooped kitty litter, showered and called Mom.

Can I blame it on the gray, drizzly day? I can sure as heck try!

Oh! I did Tweet on Twitter a couple of times and I watched the Red Sox lose to Tampa Bay - again. Actually, whenever the Red Sox lose a game, it is automatically followed by a period of angst and worrying. So that took up quite a big portion of the day. Which means my day was down right jam packed with activities!

I feel so much more virtuous now!

Joe’s Salmon

You know how much I like Trader Joe’s. I like most of their basic ingredients as well as many of their prepared foods. One favorite is the Mojito Salmon. (Please don’t let this post be the kiss of death!) It’s in the frozen food case. You get two pieces of salmon filet covered with a mojito sauce. I partially defrost it in the microwave so that I can easily separate the two pieces of salmon. Using two gratin dishes, I put a layer of cooked and rinsed black beans in the bottom of the dishes. (I like Goya’s canned black beans. They make a great pantry staple.) I drizzle a couple of tablespoons of V8 juice on top of the beans. Then I place one salmon filet on top of the beans in each dish. I spoon the mojito sauce on top of the fish and then tent and cover tightly with aluminum foil. I bake it in a hot oven - more or less according to package directions. You don’t want to overcook the salmon, but all the moisture trapped by the foil provides a lot of forgiving wiggle room on the timing.

Tonight I served the TJ’s Mojito Salmon with big round couscous (sometimes known as Israeli couscous) which I had cooked up with lots of dried green herbs: mint, basil, oregano and dill. I also steamed some green beans and tossed them with marinated artichoke hearts and lightly toasted pine nuts. Yum saith Chuck and so say I!

More Housekeeping

The other day I recommended (urged, beseeched, implored, exhorted) you to back up your computer. Today, I’m writing on the importance of having a will. About ten years ago Chuck and I finished our wills and all the attendant documents. It was not an easy task for us. Looking at death, dying and life expectancy is not our favorite sport - unlike my Mom! But with the recent passing of Chuck’s father Milton, we are even more mindful of the importance of a clear will.

Milton was a dot every “I” cross every “T” sort of fellow. Something for which Chuck and his sister are both enormously grateful. But even the detail oriented Milton had a few bits and pieces left undone. Nothing major, but with each paperwork snag, we count our blessings that these are only small details to be sorted out and that Dad did not die intestate.

Ricë over at the Voodoo Cafe was asking for advice from folks who had used any on-line legal sites to draw up a will. She received a lot of recommendations, but I have to vote for a family attorney. We love our attorney. She’s intelligent, compassionate, knows Massachusetts law and is reasonably priced - a truly winning combination! But what she provided, besides a host of thorough legal documents, was peace of mind.

In light of our current experience with all things related to a last will and testament, we will likely be meeting with our attorney once again. First off, it’s just a good idea to revisit the will a decade after its writing. Secondly, we want absolutely everything to flow as smoothly, automatically and painlessly as possible for our beneficiaries, should we both get eaten by alligators tomorrow.

Which reminds me, if the alligators only nibble and we are hospitalized, we want our health care proxy forms to be crystal clear as well!