“If the only prayer you say in your life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”
-Meister Eckhart
This week I said “thank you” for:
Seth came home--and we're thankful for much, much more than his lawnmowing abilities!
My favorite David Austen roses are in full bloom!
I didn't plant most of these sweet violets, they just volunteered to show up from last year!
When it's almost 100 and I've been weeding, laying with my feet (well, okay, pretty much my whole body) in the sprinklers is just delightful.
Produce is in full gear: tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, kale and cabbage. Hard to come back from the garden without a bin or two, overflowing.
The weather has been lovely, and the sunsets are typically beautiful and bold. Wishing you a lovely weekend, with a thankful list the length of your arm! Peace.
t's hard to believe it's already more than a couple of weeks since girlfriend Kate came to town and we staycationed for a couple of days. It was lovely, and our time together so looked forward to, and then in a blip (but a very relaxing blip) it was over...
One of our meal outings was to a dinner event that Kate had participated in last year, called Outstanding in the Field. The setting was lovely, the food fresh and local and tasty, and the group of friends that Kate invited for the meal (this was a wee bit belated birthday celebration) entirely lovely.
One of the dishes from the evening that got the most ooohs and ahhs was an apricot fattoush, and I instantly knew that given the state of our apricot tree, I would be making this at home, many times.
For some strange reason, I knew that the herb was mint, but as I went to make it for myself at home, later, all I heard in my head was "dill." And in true Sher fashion, I of course didn't look back at the picture from the dinner, so my ratio of greens to bread is very different as well. But, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my take on the salad immensely.
Apricot, arugula and chevre salad Serves one as a meal or two as an accompaniment
3 cups arugula mixture with some additional greens (in my case, a few basil leaves as well)
1 cup homemade baguette croutons
1 lemon cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced
6 apricots, pitted and quartered
2 Tbsp dill, very roughly chopped off the stem
1/3 cup thinly sliced Walla Walla Sweet Onions
2 Tbsp light dressing of olive oil, garlic and citrus balsamic
1/2 cup chevre, crumbled (the original salad had feta listed, but it is such a fresh, soft feta, I thought I could get away with chevre, and it was very yummy of course)
Salt and pepper to taste
Toss the greens with the dressing in a medium bowl and makes sure the leaves are well coated. Add the apricots, croutons, cucumber and dill and mix again; add the chevre and toss gently. Turn out onto a serving plate or platter (this would double nicely for a dinner party), and add a bit more chevre to the top, as seems appropriate (when is additional chevre NOT appropriate?).
Enjoy!
Of course, as soon as I was done photographing the salad for the sake of the experiment, out came the figs and I halved up a number of those for on top as well! They went extremely well with all the other ingredients, and added to my overall enjoyment of the salad, definitely.
The following day I felt the need to mix it up a bit further. Same greens, same croutons, but I dressed it in the arugula pesto I've been enjoying, and added blue cheese instead of chevre. Also, I replaced the apricots with nectarines, and kept the figs (of course!).
Quite a heavenly lunch.
Tis the season for salad appreciation, and I am embracing it fully! Hope you enjoy the flavors of the season, too!
A few more photos from the evening, before it fades from memory...
To the left side is the airstream that the crew travels in (and Megan wanted to take home) and to the
eaders of this little blog know quite well the affection I have for the man I get to call husband. And today, we get to celebrate him the whole day long!
I looked through a lot of pictures, searching for just the right photo
to share. When I saw this one, I knew it was the one. Such a sweet boy
he was, what a loving and thoughtful man he is now.
And when I saw this recently, it struck a chord with me:
It is indeed a privilege, husband. I'm so happy to celebrate another birthday with you. xoxo
Update: The topic I touched on below is one I could probably add to every day, as thoughts occur, words appear, conversations happen. While I won't keep continually updating this post (I swear), I did want to add this paragraph that popped out at me soon after I originally posted:
When we are training in the art of peace, we are not given any promises that because of our noble intentions everything will be okay. In fact, there are no promises of fruition at all. Instead, we are encouraged to simply look deeply at joy and sorrow, at laughing and crying, at hoping and fearing, at all that lives and dies. We learn that what truly heals is gratitude and tenderness. -Pema Chodron
oke up this morning feeling blessed: both men are in the house, the sun is shining and in spite of a rather restless night of spotty sleep, I have energy.
Envisioning the day before me, filled with dirt and plants (er, weeds) before it gets too hot, and then errands and indoor chores once it tops 100 degrees out there, I puttered in the kitchen, making breakfast for husband and I. In between my coffee and his steel cut oats, I was standing at the refrigerator and it struck me:
The reason it feels so good to be at peace is because it takes (a lot of) work, time, experience and pain to get there. (If "there" is even somewhere to get...)
None of it comes easily or overnight, much as I might have wanted to accelerate the process in my 20s. And even as I write this, it is entirely possible some "hammer" will come down tomorrow to shake my peace. Not that I believe the world works that way, exactly: I boast about peace and the Universe says, "Oh really?"
Ah well, "Bring it," I say. There are still lessons to be learned, and--in my case, more often than not--relearned, and life to be lived, however messy and complicated. But the peace; the peace stays. Of that I'm sure. I'm sure because my peace doesn't have a lot to do with me; it come from knowing I was created, for a purpose and by a Creator who has a much larger view on my work, time, experience and pain than I possibly could.
Two blog posts touching on my current thoughts happened into my inbox this weekend. I have to share, they're just that good:
Just in case, when you read the blog post title above, you were hoping for an actual a-ha song, I have that for you too:
That song is on the soundtrack of my life, in case you're wondering. (Which is a future, very exciting blog post, that will probably take the rest of my life to write!)
Hope your day is filled with blessings and sunshine.
nd of another week, and oh how they quickly speed by.
was good for July, but for August I want to press the pause button. There's a lot of work work to be done, and home-project-yard work too, Seth will be home tomorrow night (whoooo!), and there's a trip to Canada in there somewhere as well as a catering event at work, and I don't want to even breathe a breath about back-to-school nonsense--I'm tired just typing it all...
Meanwhile, I just want August to go on forever. See what you can do about that, OK?
But, I'm grateful. Grateful for it all.
For the work, that it's interesting and with interesting people. And that, occasionally, we pause for a little work-fun as well.
For our home. I think that every day: I'm so glad to live here, in this house, in this setting. It is lovely and we are blessed, even as things need repair and replacing... it's not old but it's not new, and maintenance is mandatory.
For Seth's imminent arrival. No other words needed. Just a lot of hugs!
For the prospect of a trip to Mayne Island. Relaxation (think: hammock) and good food (think: my Ma) and a few games of Mexican Train dominoes and I will be in heaven. The view doesn't hurt, either. (I will post pictures from there, definitely!)
For the catering event. This one is going to be fun--well, they all are, these days. That's the joy of a) getting to pick your gigs, and b) getting to work with a sister-in-law who generally says, "Well, what would you like to make?" I will definitely post pictures and recipes after this one, and I've been thinking about it for long enough that I even made a Pinterest board to collect my thoughts.
For all the flavors of the season. From the apricots and watermelon and figs, to the blueberries I bought today that were the size of a quarter, kid you not. For the arugula pesto I'm still working my way through--tonight it was with little orecchiette and tomatoes, yum. And the kale in my morning smoothie, the summer squash, cucumbers, potatoes and green beans... now we're just waiting, so patiently, for the tomatoes to ripen, and we'll be in true summer bliss.
For love. Always, always, grateful for love in my life. Was reminded of a quote this week that I read on a blog recently: it takes an awesome boyfriend to beat no boyfriend at all. When I read that, I thought to myself: I wish someone had shared that with me at 15, or 17 or even 20. But I am extremely grateful to have such an awesome "boyfriend!"
For my Creator. That should always be at the top of the list, every week, as it is--He is--the one thing that makes the rest of the list matter at all.
For the sunshine, and our gorgeous days that haven't gotten too hot. I talked to a Seattle transplant this week who, while not complaining per se, let me know that the Walla Walla heat is a bit much right now (we've been in low 90s most of the week). I was happy to reflect, as I often have in summers past, that I love the warmth here in Walla Walla, all the way to 100 degrees. When we hit 100, then we're HOT. But up to that point, it's just glorious!
For the cool of the mornings. The beauty of days that don't top 100 is that they head back down to the high 50s/low 60s overnight, and the mornings are beautiful. Add to that the shortening of the days--I went out at 5 a.m. to pick apricots this week and it was actually too dark to make out the ripe from the unripe!--and it's really a wonderful sweet spot in the season.
For friendship. Reading through the article that I posted a link to yesterday, it really did reinforce the value of friendships and while it's something I recognize often, I was glad of the reminder that I am truly lucky to call some pretty fabulous individuals my friends. I also feel fortunate to think of my family in that light; I know a lot of people need to keep a tight line between the two, but for me, having family as friends works just fine.
Color in the yard. It's all blooming, from roses and sunflowers to dahlias and nasturtiums and coleus and lavender and echinacea... There are a few more perennials I want to add for next year, to fill in the early July spot where we seem inbetween blooms, but for the most part, we've got the color going on!
Reading through my list, it just makes me all the more grateful--for it all! I hope that your summer is going well, and that your gratitude list includes a bit of color and flavor and love too.
hat to do with a Thursday, but share links of things I've found recently that piqued my interest...
1. So I finally fell head over heels into Instagram not all that long ago, and now there are all kinds of things to do WITH Instagram. And of course, Mashable put together a list of photo editing apps... so I've obviously got some work to do. And if you like Instagram, of course you're an expert. Of course. Or so this blogger says.
2. Letters of Note always delivers, and this letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald to an aspiring writer has some golden nuggets.
3. This article on friendship in the NYT has all the earmarks of that Newsweek piece from the '90s about a single woman over 40 having the same shot at marriage as getting hit by terrorists, or some such statistic; remember that piece? Broad, generalized statements, lumping everyone into the same bucket. The Newsweek piece was debunked, more or less, over the years since, but it was still controversial and thus, able to garner readers. Likewise, I've seen this friendship piece shared fairly widely. I can appreciate that making friends can be a challenge as we get older, but it felt very sweeping, very general and (in my experience) false. Friendships from high school and college have some really strong ties and catching up can often happily take place in shorthand. But I also know that friends I've made in my 30s and 40s (especially) know me in a whole other way, as the person I've become in the past couple of decades, and the connections are no less strong and true. But, that's just me.
I can't help but share a couple of the statements that set off my bells, putting all mid-life individuals in the same pool: "...people have an internal alarm clock that goes off at big life events,
like turning 30. It reminds them that time horizons are shrinking, so it
is a point to pull back on exploration and concentrate on the here and
now." At 30? Seriously? Whose time horizon is shrinking at fricking 30? Yes, best hunker down and get ready for your golden years, you old person, you 30-year-old...
And for those of you who've made good friends in the workplace? Nah, not really: "Work friendships often take on a transactional feel; it is difficult to say where networking ends and real friendship begins." Say, what? I disagree with that sentence, pretty much full stop. Maybe it's a part of the small-town working life, but I can't say I've seen a lot of network going on in the workplace. How about just getting work done, and enjoying the people you do it with? Sounds a lot more real. And less sensational.
4. Speaking of controversial, a blogger wrote a post recently about how every social media manager should be 25--no older. Ha ha ha. Check out the comments for the pile-on. Yowza. But, if it was reader attention she was after...
And because I always appreciate Six Pixel's take on an issue, I had to see how they weighed in on it. This topic might make a few more flops around the deck before it passes (that's my fish committing suicide by jumping out of the lake and onto your boat analogy. Get it? I know, a bit of a stretch).
5. Anyone remember Bob Ross? I used to make fun of him (the hair), but this video actually brought back some fond-ish, affectionate memories. And, the guy could paint. Might not be your (or my) style, but he can paint.
6. Oswald Patton's two-part speech at a comedy conference (is that what a gathering of comedians would be called?) has gotten some good press. Interesting how pretty much every industry and every job has been changed by technology.
7. Some pretty cool pictures from a blogger lucky enough to be at the London Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Me, not so crowd-loving, but I do appreciate that others will go, and take pictures!
8. A blog post about divorce and grief caught my attention. Very good to be so long past that particular event, but I can empathize with those going through the grit of just-come-apart-at-the-seams. The sentence that resonated for me: "Divorce has changed me, matured me, perhaps more than marriage did." In my case, I would eliminate the "perhaps."
9. I haven't checked the veracity of this information (famous last words on the internet, eh?), but take a peek at this statistic from Disqus: "The most important contributors to online communities are those using pseudonyms. These account for 61% of total comments." Yikes. I see that in the more public arenas--comments on news stories, YouTube, popular blogs--but I will chose to believe that YOU, dear reader, are real.
10. Missing Downton Abbey just a bit? I am... I keep hearing little bits and bobs about the upcoming season and Shirley MacLaine as Cora's mum, etc.... all well and good, but sure wish we got to see the next season at the same time as the UK... The thing to do now, is to avoid spoilers, so stopping myself from searching YouTube will be critical during the fall. I enjoyed this interview with Anna (Joanna Froggatt) in Vanity Fair. Lots of Emmy nominations for the show, hope a number of them win!
11. I don't have any weddings to go to this year (that I know of right now!)... but, I found this post quite amusing (it links to this wedding website). To me, the whole wedding industry is somewhere between annoying and amusing most days (much as I may adore certain individuals who make their living by way of this tradition). Looking at the number of sites and blogs and pins on Pinterest related to weddings (and I don't even follow wedding people or boards), it's a crazy-making venture.
13. Last, and probably should be least, I read this piece aloud to a couple of girlfriends on a girl getaway/eat great food/lay in the sun. Because deep issues such as the incredible swiftness of the whole Holmes-Cruise undoing need to be dissected, am I right? Hmmm. But some good writing here, and I love a theory that puts Holmes in the less-golden role, just because. Cruise, weird though he may be... well, I'll just leave it there. No doubt he's an odd duck. But did he deserve that public trouncing? No real winners here, especially Suri... Good thing she's got a lifetime of Scientology audits ahead of her. Who me, judge?
I hope there's a link or two there to entertain you! Happy Thursday.
efore summer arrived, a schedule was hatched that has Seth with us for August (and a lot of June) but none of July. This was agreed to by all, and though I knew it might prove challenging at times for everyone concerned, it seemed worth the effort to give it a go.
As we wind down--or is it up?--to his return on Sunday, fresh from jazz band camp at EWU, I am pleased to say it's been doable. Not better than that, but not worse either.
This poem started in my brain quite a long time ago, and has been on "paper" for a few months now, in some form or other. Weeks of time with Seth at his dad's is the way we've lived for about nine years. Not what I would have wished for, ever, for any of us, but the unfortunate cost of an irreparable fracture. I could wax on about the benefits outweighing the costs (they do) and how we've all gotten so good at managing the transition (we do better some weeks than others), but the simple fact is that it just is.
For me, this poem is a marker, something tangible to to stick in the ground of my memory to say, "I was here, this was real, it matters." Not a ploy for sympathy (please, no!), not a banner to wave over the difficulties of life (missing a child at some point is fairly universal, after all), but a note to myself--and you now too--that progress is possible and reframing even the most minute details can cast a situation into a new, more constructive light.
Undone
Reminders of his absence litter
the house. I will stretch moments across days, tracing
the unintended scavenger hunt--a lone
sock, an iPod, a book by the bathtub,
the colorful cereal bowls where apple slices and grapes
once piled. In no hurry to tidy
the remains, I take my time returning
the books to their shelves, bowls
to the sink, sock to the laundry hamper.
He will return, and by then, each sock,
each crumb of breakfast, each pencil
and scribbled note will have found a home
in a drawer or proper place of keeping,
only to be undone by his returning.
There was a time, I would wander
the house a bit bereft, held hostage
by the sway of weeks, the shift, the absence.
Barren for days, then full with his presence;
the fullness never enough, always a craving, still.
Lately, miraculously, I am able to see
these small celebrations of him,
and be comforted; by handwriting,
socks, the wet towel on the bedroom floor,
talismans all.
Even as I mumble and shake my head,
I smile, anticipating the undoing
that his arrival home brings.
esto has long been a favorite of mine. From the first chomp of the basil leaf, I was hooked... pungent garlic kick, soft sweetness of the pine nut, the aromatic addition of parmesan... just writing about it gets me thinking: what can I make next with the pesto? Luckily, the options and variations are numerous!
It wasn't until years after the first forays into pesto that I discovered arugula as a deviation on basil--probably right around the time that arugula itself was blazing it's way into American kitchens. I was amazed and delighted to discover that I could order boxes--yes, BOXES--of arugula, much like I could order boxes of mixed greens, from my food wholesaler for my catering business. So, making my own arugula pesto got really easy...
This spring, I planted arugula and have enjoyed salads aplenty. But as the season waned and the sun heated up on those little green leaves, the arugula was on it's proverbial last legs. So, I harvested the lot of it, and decided it was time for a little pot of bright green goodness.
My variation is a bit of a combo of basil and arugula, just for kicks. And while most recipes tend to pair arugula with walnuts, I maintain a dedication to the spendy but irreplaceable pine nut. Little did I realize when I whipped my batch up, but my version is very close to how Sarabeth (of yummy NYC bakery fame) makes hers! Bonus.
Arugula pesto Makes around 1.5 cups
3 cups arugula leaves, loosely packed
1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
3 medium cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Wash and dry the arugula and basil. In a food processor with the blade attachment, add the arugula, basil, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Pulse the processor while slowly adding the olive oil. Season with the salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
I used some of the pesto as a base for an apricot, nectarine, Walla Walla Sweet Onion and brie pizza over the weekend. It was lovely.
Then I slathered some on a fresh baguette and topped it with figs and chevre for a tasty lunch.
What's next? Well, this post about mac-and-cheese with arugula pesto sounds pretty divine... and this post about the addition of chickpeas to the mixture has me very curious indeed; might have to give that whirl.
If you haven't had a chance to take arugula out for a spin in this setting, I hope you give it a try. This mixture is so far from the world of jarred or store-bought pesto, it's in a whole other (hand gesture reaching to the ceiling) category, truly.
Are you a pesto fan? What's your favorite dish with pesto? I'm always up for something new!
ccasionally when I'm surfing around Facebook on my iPad, I'll see a photo and "like" it, but sometimes I want to do more than merely like it, so I save it. Generally, then, I never look at it again!
But this past weekend as I happened to take a picture with my iPad (I rarely if ever use the camera on the iPad), I looked around and saw quite a few gems I had completely forgotten about, but enjoy and want to share.
Any favorites? I can't pick, I love them all! (Especially those e-cards--they do make me chuckle.)
t's hard to believe it's already more than a couple of weeks since girlfriend Kate came to town and we staycationed for a couple of days. It was lovely, and our time together so looked forward to, and then in a blip (but a very relaxing blip) it was over...
eaders of this little blog know quite well the affection I have for the man I get to call husband. And today, we get to celebrate him the whole day long!
oke up this morning feeling blessed: both men are in the house, the sun is shining and in spite of a rather restless night of spotty sleep, I have energy.
nd of another week, and oh how they quickly speed by.
hat to do with a Thursday, but share links of things I've found recently that piqued my interest...
efore summer arrived, a schedule was hatched that has Seth with us for August (and a lot of June) but none of July. This was agreed to by all, and though I knew it might prove challenging at times for everyone concerned, it seemed worth the effort to give it a go.
esto has long been a favorite of mine. From the first chomp of the basil leaf, I was hooked... pungent garlic kick, soft sweetness of the pine nut, the aromatic addition of parmesan... just writing about it gets me thinking: what can I make next with the pesto? Luckily, the options and variations are numerous!
ccasionally when I'm surfing around Facebook on my iPad, I'll see a photo and "like" it, but sometimes I want to do more than merely like it, so I save it. Generally, then, I never look at it again!
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