Thanks for all you have done and all that you continue to do for your daughter #1 (who is coincidentally your #1 fan). When I think of the things I most admire in myself (wow, narcissist much?) I realize they are all things I have admired and learned from you. Thank you for telling nothing but good stories and for knowing jokes that can make an entire table erupt in laughter (I gotta work on this one, I can never remember anything but the punch line). Thank you for teaching me how to accept (a moderate amount of) teasing and how to laugh at myself. Thank you for reading to me and introducing me to your favorite writers, losing myself in a book is still one of my favorite past-times. Thank you for writing me letters--not just when I was away on trips to visit aunts and grandmas but also when I was home and an angsty, unreachable teen. You have shown me the power of the written word and how effective a means of communication it can be and for that I am grateful. Thank you also for all of the awesome one-liners of which you are still the king (as much as I try to emulate you). Thank you for all of the delicious meals you have cooked (I forgive you for the chicken cacciatore) and for instilling in me the importance of good food, family dinners and lively conversation. Wherever I live there will always be a good piece of Parmesan in the fridge. And thank you for sharing your abalone, that is real love.
Thank you for always picking up the phone when I call with such gusto and love in your voice. I can almost feel your eyes twinkling through the wires. You may call me sugar Dad, but you are the sweetest man I know. I love you.
I could go on and on (and I'm sure you would enjoy that) but I will leave it with this. You haven't given me confidence, you have given me the confidence to move mountains and because of that I am able to spread my wings and imagine all possibilities and take dramatic leaps. And I always have you to catch me.
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY JETMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 25, 2008
November 24, 2008
November 22, 2008
Ways to Charm Me
I have a thing about names. I think they are pretty important. Perhaps because mine is unusual I feel particularly attached to it? It's MY name, dammit. And this proves it.
November 21, 2008
Thinking (again)
We all have friends like this. Friends that despite your differences, despite the miles and oceans and all of our various habits remain an extension of you. Char, you immediately come to mind. Despite our differences we are remarkably similar. I so envy you, and can envision you re-establishing yourself in Calistoga. I know your views as you move about town, I know the way the valley smells this time of year. I too know the plates you are eating toast off of and the tea pot you are pouring tea out of. And I know I think of you as I pour myself a steaming cup of tea and sip it (in the bitter bitter morning cold mind you) outside on my porch looking out at the garden next door. This makes me feel close to you. Just as setting myself a place at my own kitchen table, complete with a napkin and a re-arranging of the flowers in the vase in front of me reminds me of you dear Shiloh. Is this what it means to be connected? Is this friendship? Or is this just being a citizen of the world? Either way, there are certain people that see the world in your same "palate" - people who feel things and view their world in similar arrangements and patterns and in similar colors. Are you attracted to these people or just naturally drawn to them? Either way I love the idea of this blog. How cool would it be to see how these similarities play out?
November 16, 2008
Thinking
Of why grad school is not the place for me. This weekend I needed to study for my WSET (translation: wine) Exam Monday. This is what I did instead:
Painted my toes.............and my nails. Twice. (I didn't like the 1st color)
Dusted, even under my bed.
Made a fab birthday card for my dad.
Worked on my current embroidery project/Hannah's bday present.
Cleaned out my wallet. Cleaned out my work bag. Found missing reciepts.
Figured out a new way to organize my reciepts.
This led to sorting through all of my papers and devising a new filing system.
Made a spreadsheet on google docs for work listing all of my customers and what I have tasted them on, what they have bought and what they are looking for. Am I organized or what?
Sewed buttons on two jackets that have been missing buttons for months.
Made banana bread.
Made dinner for my roomates.
Watered the plants.
Water-proofed my suede shoes.
Cleaned my make-up brushes.
Downloaded the blackberry desktop software so that the next time a phone goes missing my numbers will remain.
All in all a very productive weekend. Now the studying (er the cramming) begins.....................
Painted my toes.............and my nails. Twice. (I didn't like the 1st color)
Dusted, even under my bed.
Made a fab birthday card for my dad.
Worked on my current embroidery project/Hannah's bday present.
Cleaned out my wallet. Cleaned out my work bag. Found missing reciepts.
Figured out a new way to organize my reciepts.
This led to sorting through all of my papers and devising a new filing system.
Made a spreadsheet on google docs for work listing all of my customers and what I have tasted them on, what they have bought and what they are looking for. Am I organized or what?
Sewed buttons on two jackets that have been missing buttons for months.
Made banana bread.
Made dinner for my roomates.
Watered the plants.
Water-proofed my suede shoes.
Cleaned my make-up brushes.
Downloaded the blackberry desktop software so that the next time a phone goes missing my numbers will remain.
All in all a very productive weekend. Now the studying (er the cramming) begins.....................
November 7, 2008
November 5, 2008
Thinking
I woke up this morning proud and happy and in love with my country. The walls have come crumbling down. I can't wait to walk to work this morning with the silly grin I can't seem to wipe from my face. Somehow I think that everyone will be beaming right back at me!
November 4, 2008
A Tribute to Mothers
If you are lucky you are born to one mother..................if you are really lucky you have many mothers. (I have totally butchered this quote and have no idea where I first hear it)
I have been blessed with many "mothers" in my life and last night I had the opportunity to reconnect with one of them. It's amazing how, despite the years that have passed, I am still in awe of this woman and her strength. It got me thinking about how lucky I am to have been shaped by so many wonderful, wise, strong, beautiful women and how I hope to someday play a similar role, not just for my daughter(s??) but for the children of my lovely friends.
I was born to a mother whose fierce love and protection I have never ever doubted. I remember being absolutely horrified when I was asked in elementary school to interview my mother and her answer to "what did you want to be when you grew up" was "a mother." This was a complete travesty to me, didn't she also want to be a marine biologist, librarian, the first woman president, a business woman, a lipstick wearing success? I didn't understand then that she was successful at many things but being a mother meant the most to her. This conversation stuck with me, and the knowledge that my mother not only wanted me but enjoyed her role as my mom has given me strength and courage and a sense of place and security that I continue to draw from.
Throughout my childhood and adolescence I was lucky enough to have wonderful relationships with several women in the small community in which I was raised. I adopted these women as aunts or some as my "other mothers" and it was with them, as I worked my way through those awkward high school years, that I was able to talk about things I couldn't share with my own parents. It was from these women that I learned about different ways of living; I learned about heartbreak and marriages and relationships that don't work out, I learned about heels and make-up and pedicures and was introduced to writers like Dorothy Parker and Joan Didion and magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue and The Sun. These women added to and enriched my life and had a hand in making me the person I am today.
When I left for college I was lucky enough to find yet another "mother" who generously opened her home and family to me when I needed a quiet place to study, a home cooked meal or just some "family" time. Throughout college and into the trials of finding a "real job" I knew I could always count on her for a mom-hug, the kind where your whole body relaxes and you feel restored. Knowing her home and hugs were only ever a phone call away made living at the opposite end of the state from my own mom bearable. Knowing that my San Diego mother was one of my mom's dear old friends, someone she stayed up late talking, working on crossword puzzles and giggling, made her home and open arms even sweeter to me.
Now, 3000 miles away from home I still feel my mother's love right down to my core. Seeing Louise last night and immediately falling right into conversation where we last left off made me realize how lucky I am and how all of these wonderful women are never far from me, they have all helped to make me who I am today and I carry them all in my heart.
I have been blessed with many "mothers" in my life and last night I had the opportunity to reconnect with one of them. It's amazing how, despite the years that have passed, I am still in awe of this woman and her strength. It got me thinking about how lucky I am to have been shaped by so many wonderful, wise, strong, beautiful women and how I hope to someday play a similar role, not just for my daughter(s??) but for the children of my lovely friends.
I was born to a mother whose fierce love and protection I have never ever doubted. I remember being absolutely horrified when I was asked in elementary school to interview my mother and her answer to "what did you want to be when you grew up" was "a mother." This was a complete travesty to me, didn't she also want to be a marine biologist, librarian, the first woman president, a business woman, a lipstick wearing success? I didn't understand then that she was successful at many things but being a mother meant the most to her. This conversation stuck with me, and the knowledge that my mother not only wanted me but enjoyed her role as my mom has given me strength and courage and a sense of place and security that I continue to draw from.
Throughout my childhood and adolescence I was lucky enough to have wonderful relationships with several women in the small community in which I was raised. I adopted these women as aunts or some as my "other mothers" and it was with them, as I worked my way through those awkward high school years, that I was able to talk about things I couldn't share with my own parents. It was from these women that I learned about different ways of living; I learned about heartbreak and marriages and relationships that don't work out, I learned about heels and make-up and pedicures and was introduced to writers like Dorothy Parker and Joan Didion and magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue and The Sun. These women added to and enriched my life and had a hand in making me the person I am today.
When I left for college I was lucky enough to find yet another "mother" who generously opened her home and family to me when I needed a quiet place to study, a home cooked meal or just some "family" time. Throughout college and into the trials of finding a "real job" I knew I could always count on her for a mom-hug, the kind where your whole body relaxes and you feel restored. Knowing her home and hugs were only ever a phone call away made living at the opposite end of the state from my own mom bearable. Knowing that my San Diego mother was one of my mom's dear old friends, someone she stayed up late talking, working on crossword puzzles and giggling, made her home and open arms even sweeter to me.
Now, 3000 miles away from home I still feel my mother's love right down to my core. Seeing Louise last night and immediately falling right into conversation where we last left off made me realize how lucky I am and how all of these wonderful women are never far from me, they have all helped to make me who I am today and I carry them all in my heart.
November 2, 2008
Pickled Tink
I have joined a cooking group. It's like a book club but cooler because you get to eat at the end (okay, you get to eat at most book clubs too). It's cool to me because I get to not only try out something new I also get to read one of my favorite types of books, you know the one's that are filled with recipes. This month's theme is "the pickle we're in" (get it?!, now go and VOTE) and it didn't take long for me to come up with the perfect pickled food.
On visits to Pennsylvania the jars of pickled eggs at the bars have caught my eye (I've also seen them at Moe's Tavern in countless episodes of the Simpsons). Throw in that one of my favorite holiday is Easter (there is something so cool about eating deviled dyed easter eggs) and I knew eggs were just what I had to pickle! Christmas in August? How about Easter in October?
So, after a bit of googling and reading several recipes on the internet I found out why these pickled eggs were calling me. Adding beets to the pickled eggs would turn them pink, not a pale pink but a true fuchsia. I was smitten.
Check it out:
Eggs, in their natural state
Let the pickling begin...........
Mmmh mmh, pink eggs!
Recipe for Pink Pickled Eggs:
12 eggs
1 bunch of beets (some recipes call for a can of beets but I used some fresh from the farmer's market)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
approx 12 black peppercorns
approx 12 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
DIRECTIONS
Place eggs in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water and peel. **There is some debate among recipes about whether you should cool the eggs or place them in the "brine" warm. I went the warm route for no particular reason other than that's how the timing worked out.
In a seperate pan add the sliced onion and beets with the vinegar/sugar mixture and bring to a boil. Add spices and simmer until the beets are tender.
Place beets, onion, peeled eggs and liquid in a non-reactive glass or plastic container. Cover, and refrigerate at least 48 hours before using (mine went 72 hours before being devoured).
Recipe adapted from: www.allrecipes.com www.achickenineverygrannycart.wordpress.com/
http://arteculinaria.wordpress.com/
On visits to Pennsylvania the jars of pickled eggs at the bars have caught my eye (I've also seen them at Moe's Tavern in countless episodes of the Simpsons). Throw in that one of my favorite holiday is Easter (there is something so cool about eating deviled dyed easter eggs) and I knew eggs were just what I had to pickle! Christmas in August? How about Easter in October?
So, after a bit of googling and reading several recipes on the internet I found out why these pickled eggs were calling me. Adding beets to the pickled eggs would turn them pink, not a pale pink but a true fuchsia. I was smitten.
Check it out:
Eggs, in their natural state
Let the pickling begin...........
Mmmh mmh, pink eggs!
Recipe for Pink Pickled Eggs:
12 eggs
1 bunch of beets (some recipes call for a can of beets but I used some fresh from the farmer's market)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
approx 12 black peppercorns
approx 12 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
DIRECTIONS
Place eggs in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water and peel. **There is some debate among recipes about whether you should cool the eggs or place them in the "brine" warm. I went the warm route for no particular reason other than that's how the timing worked out.
In a seperate pan add the sliced onion and beets with the vinegar/sugar mixture and bring to a boil. Add spices and simmer until the beets are tender.
Place beets, onion, peeled eggs and liquid in a non-reactive glass or plastic container. Cover, and refrigerate at least 48 hours before using (mine went 72 hours before being devoured).
Recipe adapted from: www.allrecipes.com www.achickenineverygrannycart.wordpress.com/
http://arteculinaria.wordpress.com/
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