Thursday 13: Daybook musings

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... Fall seems to have slipped in, overnight. Woke up to wind and some spitty-spattery raindrops. It's cool... Nice, but I fear I will be missing the sunshine oh-so-quickly.

I am thinking... that I have a hard time going from home (which is super quiet and just me during the day) to the normal, civilized, conversational world, and getting my brain clicked into THAT gear. I am still in my own head, it seems, and if I run into someone in the store (this happened last week) and they want to converse, I'm really kinda short, brief... maybe could be seen as rude. And I don't mean to be. It's weird. I think I need a rev-up time, some sort of brain acrobatics that requires conversation. Something to get me ready to be with people. On days when I am up and out in the world from the start--at meetings or whatever--it seems to go better. I guess I'm just bad at switching modes...

I am thankful... for so many things. This week I've really been thinking about the basics. Glad to be alive. Glad to be healthy. Glad to know love. Baaaasic.

In the kitchen... I roasted a LOT of tomatillos, tomatoes, garlic and peppers today. My method here is to get all the ingredients cooked and then I HAVE to make stuff, right? Marinara... enchilada sauce... yum. The roasting garlic just about drove me nuts tonight, it smelled SO good.

I am wearing... stuff for running. I am hopeful that I'll get out and pound the pavement here in a bit... the cool temps should make for a comfortable run, I'm thinking, as opposed my usual hot-faced-by-8-a.m. look and feel!

I am creating... stuff. I'm in fragmented mode, so I need to pull a little focus together. This week I've done calligraphy, some embroidery, a little crochet on the weekend, a whole heck of a lot of Photoshop research, and that's about it. I have a number of things to get done before the holidays, so I had been get crackin'.

I am going... to Spokane next week, for a little business. A little work with one of the non-profits I volunteer with, doing some interviews. Should be a nice combo of fun and work. Spokane is old stomping grounds for me... lots of memories around that area from high school. Also plotting a trip north to Canada to see my Grandma before the holidays... and a brief Seattle jaunt here soon, for the boys' annual football excursion (which somehow coincides nicely with a little shopping excursion for Kim and I... sweet!).

I am wondering... how long I'm going to be able to extend my runs to before my right knee objects. It can be a little creaky when I head out, but a mile or so in it tends to feel happier. I want to increase past my usual 2-3 miles, but I'm nervous.

I am reading... very little actually bookish at the moment. Lots of internet research for a couple of projects I'm working on, but I do need to pick up the pages of a REAL book again here soon... My Amazon cart is full of possibilities, and my Kindle has oodles of samples to puruse, but what else is new?

I am hoping... for a peaceful fall-into-holiday season. I know, now that I've put it out there, something dramatic is just bound to happen. Ha. Here's hoping not!

I am looking forward to... all of those little out-of-town jaunts I mentioned above, as well as general fall loveliness. 

I am hearing... the dogs, barking at some imaginary thing. They can really go to town protecting the place, that's for sure. Most of the time I think of it as their lovely way of communicating. Every once in awhile I want to buy muzzles...

Around the house... I am needing to stay on top of recycling. I love doing recycling and am really committed to keeping our trash to a minimum, but boy does it require a vigilance... It's kind of like laundry, in that the minute you think you're done, there's another pile to do/sort.

I am pondering... hitting the send button on an email I've had in my drafts file for a bit. But that's about how far I've gotten: pondering. After all, I'm hoping for peace, right?! Sent emails do not always equal peace... but, sometimes they have to be sent anyway.

One of my favorite things... is apparently the smell of roasting garlic! Ha. I'm still on my basil kick. And tomatoes. There is NOTHING like a homegrown tomato. Somehow the three of those ingredients will find their way into my tummy today, oh yes they will. I have been making up big batches of pizza dough that we can eat a couple of times during the week, and so tonight will be pizza night again. Yum.

A few plans for the rest of the week... husband has encouraged me in getting out the canning equipment to put up the enchilada sauce and marinara sauce, rather than freeze as I was so lazily inclined to do. I know he's got a good point about using freezer space thusly, and I also know it will be less of a pain in the butt than I imagine. It's one of those things that once I bite it off, I'll enjoy. But talking me into it, that takes a bit... just ask husband! Ha. So that's this afternoon and tomorrow... and more yard stuff and then boom it's the weekend, which should be lovely and a bit cooler.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

I just love the gold of the wheat (well, the wheat leftovers, anyway) and the blue together. I hope we have a few of those days left this year...

What do you have on tap for the rest of the week? Tell me! Any big weekend plans? I want to know!

For more Thursday 13 participants, go here.

To play with the simple woman's daybook, go here.

Midweek reminder: Time and light are kinds of love

The Word

Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,

between "green thread"
and "broccoli," you find
that you have penciled "sunlight."

Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend

and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,

and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing

that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds

of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder

or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,

but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom

still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,

—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.
-Tony Hoagland

photo credit: Sherwin Goerlitz

Ten Word Tuesday

Common Miracles, Week #18: List form

 “Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.” 

– Pema Chodron

have written and rewritten a ramble about celebrating the ordinary in a post-9/11 world, but then I got tired of the sound of my own voice (shocking, I know!) and decided to submit a more prosaic and, well, ordinary list of Common Miracles.

*The sound of my son's voice, as it's changing (daily, I swear).
*Going really fast on my mower, feeling quite zoom-y. (But still being safe, I swear.)
*The a-ha moment of feeling affirmed by others' opinions on a delicate topic. I am not alone!
*Feeling both grateful and overwhelmed by garden produce.
*Goldfish coming up to the surface to chomp on fish food. They're still alive!
*Basking in the easier yard care world after a summer of hard work. (Which, sadly, doesn't mean weeds aren't still growing. Sigh.)
*Hearing the door open as husband comes home from a very long day.
*Making a really pretty and precise seam in my sewing attempts (and actually getting the right sides of the fabric facing each other too. Amazing what a feat THAT is!)
*Experimenting with a new recipe and having success.
*Discovering someone new on Pinterest (follow her!) and losing a half hour to just repinning pretty things.
*Notes from friends--emails count, too... and texts.
*Being surprised by the heat, and not minding it... knowing that it will end so soon.

Those are my miracles for today. I count myself blessed to have them.

To see how the Common Miracle project started, go here.

Friday night grateful moment

ell, for such a short week, this one has felt mighty long. Why is that? Feeling a little grrrr-y about it at the moment, but also the big "ahhhhhh" of gratitude for so many things. How's that for a little yin-yang, eh?

I'm grateful for my home and my men. And my men in my home. And all of us together. Very grateful for that.

I'm grateful that even though we seem to be about a month behind, seasonally (as in, it's still August-hot out there!), luckily our planet keeps tilting as it ought and we ARE approaching fall--the mornings and evenings give happy testament to that!

I'm grateful that we aren't quite done with summer fruit. I picked up some fresh-from-the-tree apples, which have that amazing new-apple snap and tang to them, and also found nectarines, watermelon, blueberries and, yes, wait for it, FIGS again this week as well. Mmmmm, the granola is much improved with my fresh fruit!

I'm grateful for the grateful list. I know, whacky circular logic, but hello, have you met me?! I just am. Grateful for grateful. I'm grateful that even when things are less obviously grateful-y, I know where to look and how to look and under which rock to find gratitude. It makes wallowing a little less enjoyable--kinda shortens the whole experience, which some days you just don't want to do! (I know you know what I mean!)

I'm grateful for family. Even if we don't talk every day or get to have lunch like SOME of my girlfriends get to with their moms (you know who you are!), we can still skype and chat and email and text. Hurray for technology! And I'm grateful for ALL my family, near and far...

This week I'm grateful for our dogs. They are such loving and attentive creatures. I know they are ready for fall too, I can tell. But I know they'll miss hanging out in the garden with me--I love having my little doggie audience while I'm harvesting. (Above is Chief, the only one who will really sit still for a picture. He's special like that.)

The bunnies are still around in full force... Owen the Owl woke me up around midnight last night and hooted for about a half hour. Between you and me, I don't think that's the most brilliant method of catching bunnies, but whatever, Owen. Do your thing. I love having the bunnies in the yard, and enjoy trying to get as close as possible before they scamper off.

I've spent way too much time sewing this week. You'd think that would translate into way too much stuff actually MADE, but I'm not quite at that corollary yet... But I DO lose track of time down in the sewing cave, which is kind of cool. I'm grateful for hobbies that I enjoy (even if sometimes I feel like I need to narrow it down) and also grateful for the patience and problem-solving that seems to have come with age. I'm much less apt to throw down that stitch-ripper now than I was in my 20s! Can't say the product looks much better than my 20s, but I'm going to stay with it for a bit... you know what they say about practice, right?

Customer service stories abound, it seems. Bad ones. So good customer service stories are the kind to be grateful for. I had a great interaction with a helpful guy named Levi (like the name too) at Nordictrac today as he helped me figure out what an E21 error REALLY means. Apparently it means we need a new controller. But he was helpful! And here's what I really appreciated--when somehow we got disconnected, he called me back! It goes to show how pathetic most customer service is that I really noticed that. I thought he was gone for good and knew if I called the 1-800 number again, I'd get whichever operator picked up and have to start from scratch... but he CALLED. BACK. Yeah for Levi, even if it's going to cost $$ to fix the problem... ($$ but not $$$, so that's something to be grateful for too!)

Prayer is always a comfort to me, and this week I've been especially grateful for it. There have been many in need of extra prayers, and I so appreciate the time I get to spend in this way. The occasional morning that I run off to the day without it--boy do I notice. The tenor of my day is different and I miss it.

What is a grateful list without cheese? I am still loving a blue cheese/jack combo that I use in sandwiches/paninis, and the meltable joy of this particular flavor is fabulous! I had a caprese salad just yesterday at lunch, and the fresh mozzarella was so lovely and seasonally joyous!

And what is a week without laughter? Just in case you're in need, or have forgotten what a gut-busting laugh sounds like...


LAUGHS! from Everynone on Vimeo.

Some of those old guys were my favorites!

On this eve of September 11, I am especially grateful for the men and women who gave their lives to save others in the wake of the horrible attack 10 years ago. They rushed up the stairs when everyone else was rushing down, and many lives were saved because of their efforts. Heros, for sure. And I'm also grateful that we haven't had another attack of this severity in the decade since. Wherever you come down on issues about security, it has been a different world since Sept. 11, 2001, and I'm pretty sure we'll never go back to a less tense, less watched, world... A lot has been made of the hoopla that surrounds this anniversary, but I have to say that remembering the pain and heartache of that day is completely appropriate in my mind; I want to never forget, in honor and remembrance of the ones who lost their lives. Will I watch commemorative shows and spend the day in tears? No, not so much. But my mind will not be far from the families and loved ones, all day.

Look, a dahlia! Finally getting some blooms in my dahlia bed! So grateful the bulbs came up and are behaving as they ought--late, but that seems to be the theme of the summer anyway, right?

Well, for a long week, it's a long list! That makes a bit of sense, right? I hope you have a great weekend, with lots of good things coming your way...

What are you grateful for this week?

Peace to you and yours.

Thursday 13: Link sharing (13 of them)

've called this kind of post "reading roundup" in the past, which, frankly, as I think about it, is a somewhat annoying name. Sounds like a cross between kindergartener's reading circle and some sort of activity at the OK Corral... so I'm just calling it what it is: link sharing.

And since I have a handy pile tucked away, I thought I'd pull them out on this lovely Thursday and share them with you...

1. This blog: More Joy, Less Oy, has been in my reader for some time. I enjoy her writing style and thoughtfulness, and this post about staying pliable through tough times (Be the Bamboo), really resonated with me.

2. I thought this article from CNN seemed especially timely, what with the natural disaster uptick... even if the Pacific Northwest hasn't been in this round of wild weather, it *could* happen, and if you know our family, we like to be prepared. (Well, OK, husband is the prepared one. Seth and I are just happy to ride on his prepared coattails!) I especially found interesting the tips on storing your information online for easy access in an emergency, and an internal link to Lifehacker (an excellent resource for general info anyway) on preserving your cell phone battery life.

3. Brown-Eyed Baker is one of my favorite go-to food blogs, and in this post she chronicles her journey to full-time food blogging. Whew. What a great goal and how fabulous for her that she did it!

4. I enjoyed reading Timothy Keller's piece on Wisdom and Sabbath Rest, especially as I have not always been someone who has set a day aside in this manner. It reminded me of the days when I went full-bore seven days a week, and how much I enjoy the peace and separate-ness I feel in celebrating a Sabbath.

Also on this site (Q: ideas for the common good), I found a piece on Motherhood as Vocation. I've been on both sides of this particular topic--working mom and not--so I am always interested in what slant a writer will take... are all SAHMs just golden? Can there be balance between being a woman with passions, interests and (gasp, horror) ambition, and being there for your children? I thought the article did a good job of bridging the gap thoughtfully. I'd be curious if you do too...

5. Seth's breakfast has been a egg-muffin sandwich for a couple of years now. Sometimes two. Sometimes one and a bit of cereal. But he does love his egg muffins. I saw a take on one recently that made me think I could get into THAT; there's avocado and tzatziki in there! (Also, if you don't follow Joy Cho on Pinterest, you really should. Her style blog and her postings on Pinterest are especially hip and fashionable...)

6. If you don't get updates from this site daily, you MUST: Design Seeds. I really can't say it any more emphatically than that. Oh, it's helpful if you like color palettes and pretty pictures, but really, you MUST. It's the bomb. Or the boss, as Seth would say. See below.

7. At Mashable, I read an article on why browsing is an important aspect of information gathering, one that is lost in the more direct approach used online: searching. Something I had not really given a lot of thought to, but quite interesting when you consider how very much information exists online that you never ever know about (and truthfully, how good THAT fact is. Can you imagine? Yikes.). Not sure I really want to browse online, but I get the concept...

8. I couldn't decide who I was happier for, in this headline: Meryl Streep, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma Among 2011 Kennedy Center Honorees. Well, probably Yo-Yo Ma, but still, sounds like a lovely lineup to celebrate!

9. How did I miss this? I love Jimmy Fallon. Here he is as Charlie Sheen: Winning. Tell me you don't look twice a couple of times to see who it really is.



If that doesn't have you believing in his talent, take a look at this video below from America's Got Talent. Or better, put it on and then look away and see if he really is able to do the impressions. I did, and I think he's pretty good.



10. Toss Productivity Out, by Leo Babauta. Mr. Babauta is known for his zen schtick, and I can usually find a couple of nuggets in his posts that apply to what I'm trying to learn and grow towards. This post was no exception.

11. Mark Twain's love note to his wife. Precious, even if he did use the non-word gratefuler. (Click the link for the transcript).

12. Kindle books for under $4 from a blog called For the Love of Lit. Good to know!

13. On the always-interesting site The Browser: Writing worth reading, two recent articles caught my attention: cyber security and family history. I know, divergent interests have I!

OK, so we covered food, popular culture, religion, productivity, love, reading and online this-and-that. Whew. Hope there was a link or two there that piqued your interest!

What was your favorite link?

Happy Thursday. For more Thursday 13s, go here. And play along too, if you've got a blog. It's kinda fun.

Midweek reminder: There's a crack in everything

Anthem
The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

We asked for signs
the signs were sent:
the birth betrayed
the marriage spent
Yeah the widowhood
of every government --
signs for all to see.

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring ...

You can add up the parts
but you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march,
there is no drum
Every heart, every heart
to love will come
but like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.



Maybe a bit more melancholic than I mean to be--it's Wednesday in a short week for crying out loud--but with that voice... those lyrics... he really does capture that song well. (I know I gave you a hard time about Leonard a few years back, Ma; sorry about that!)

This concept, that there is a brokenness to everything, is one that resonates with many people, however "whole" they may seem. I read a sermon called "The Broken Places" this week that I appreciated; if you've got a few minutes, take a read and hopefully you'll find the reassurance and inspiration that I did.

Happy Wednesday!

Baked ricotta salad with pesto

ummer eating just keeps on rolling... the tomatoes are finally ON, daily, and the corn is minutes away from being truly harvestable (which didn't stop me from harvesting some today anyway!). The basil keeps churning out new and even bigger leaves, and I can't help but whiz up pesto with alarming frequency. Well, I'm not alarmed, but I'm pretty sure you would be if you saw the big dallops I put on just about everything but my granola. Ah well, tis the season, right?

Here's my current favorite salad, combining all these flavors and another new yum discovery: baked ricotta.

First with the ricotta:

Baked ricotta
1 small container part-skim ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/4 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Either with a hand-held or stand mixed, beat ricotta very well, until fluffy. Add the eggs and cheese, beat again. Add the flour and mix well, until incorporate.

Spread the cheese mixture into a non-stick-sprayed 8x8 baking pan, and put into the hot oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese sets up and is golden.

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Baked ricotta salad
Serves 6 as side dish
One recipe baked ricotta (see above), cubed to 1/2 inch squares
4 medium tomatoes, cubed
1 cup fresh pesto
2 cups fresh corn, cooked, cut off the cob (about 4 ears) (totally optional, I made it one day with, one day without... both were lovely)
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. That's it. Enjoy!

Tips: If you prebake the ricotta and it's refrigerator cold, take it out in advance and bring it back to room temperature before making the salad. You can also microwave it briefly to bring some warmth back to the cheese. The flavor is much better when not ice cold.

Common Miracles, week #17: Morning rituals and routines

 “Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts. Each time we drop our complaints and allow everyday good fortune to inspire us, we enter the warrior’s world.”

-Pema Chodron

lot can be said for ritual, both in favor of it, and against it. I know people who consciously try and do things differently, every day, just to stay fresh and on top of their game. Me, I am a creature of habit. I do really well when I have predictable rhythms. (Not to the five-minute increment, mind you, but with some degree of knowing what the day holds...) I have found that when my days have too much slush and play in them, not a great deal gets done. But with a little structure, ahhhh, the to-do list has a lot more check marks on it.

(And now I fear that I just sounded like the most boring rabbit on the planet...)

"The pleasure of doing a thing in the same way at the same time every day, and savoring it, should be noted." -Arnold Bennett

I don't know who Arnold is, but I like him. (Actually, I looked him up and he seems like a pretty so-so kind of writer guy, but I'll still take his quote.)

One ritual I have noticed a real appreciation for lately is the morning/breakfast routine. We've had to get back into a more refined and and quickly paced routine with school starting--well, essentially we've just backed it up to 6 a.m., rather the our leisurely 6:30-7-7:30 a.m. of the summer. Such slackers we've been!

My favorite mug right now. It can fit what used to be a mug-and-a-half of coffee. Yes, please!

I adore the making of my coffee (the kettle always is the first thing on in the morning), the steelcut oats, the egg muffins for Seth, the creamer, the berries, the yogurt... it all comes and goes from the fridge and cupboards in the same relative pattern each morning. It is comforting and especially helpful on the mornings when I am less-than-awake when I begin... I have also re-begun my morning prayer/meditation time, and appreciate so much it's spot at the beginning of my day. Now I've just got to figure out exactly where the exercise fits, since the mornings seem to have dark in them again (ugh) at the time that works best for me to hit the road...

The joy I find in routines really does amaze me. I would not have thought myself to be quite so happy to in repetitive motion when I was younger, but it really does help springboard me into a much more productive day, to be able to count on a few little rituals to get me going each morning. It seems, then, that no matter what the day holds, or what surprises--pleasant or otherwise--that might pop up along the way, I've had this grounding in the morning that carries me through. (Watch, I'm going to have a doozy of a day tomorrow, I can just tell. Whenever I say something with certainty, I'm usually whoomped right off my feet. I'll keep you posted.)

"If we do not rise to the challenge of our unique capacity to shape our lives, to seek the kinds of growth that we find individually fulfilling, then we can have no security: we will live in a world of sham, in which our selves are determined by the will of others, in which we will be constantly buffeted and increasingly isolated by the changes round us." -Nena O'Neil

If you'd like to check out the Common Miracle project, see this post and join in!

This most amazing day

photo credit: Shirley Goerlitz