March always looks as though it will go on forever. After the short and very full month of February (so many birthdays, our anniversary, holidays) I always face March with some trepidation. It's usually a grey, half-wintery time, and it's the season of Lent – not a time for celebrating.
This year, I hope to make it a month of contemplation, quiet meditation, and a new Lenten practice. Leenie informed me that a newsletter she'd received recommended "giving up" something that you DON'T LIKE. Thinking that over, I decided that there is something I really don't like within myself: Guilt.
So I am giving up guilt for Lent this year. "Can you really do that?" asked my daughter who knows me so well. I had to admit I didn't know. However, two weeks into the season I am doing pretty well with it. Whenever a twinge of my bugaboo begins to sneak past the barricades, I halt it in its tracks with "Hey, get outta here, I gave you up for Lent." I have to say, it feels pretty wonderful!
Of course I have a full month of days ahead to keep my resolve, before Easter morning dawns on April 4th.
I've started back at writing the memoir again, which helps a lot. It is a good place to exercise my willpower about the guilt thing too: writing a memoir requires a lot of soul-searching, and it can be very easy to wallow in regret (for things done and things left undone). "No wallowing!" I yell at myself when it crops up, "you gave that up!" This makes writing about my past a lot easier, I can tell you.
Maybe by the time Easter dawns, I will have a lot more words committed to my opus – and a new freedom of spirit as well.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Monday, 15 February 2010
Celebrating Love and Life!
L'chaim, y'all! We celebrated 35 years of marriage with an Anniversary Eve dinner on Sunday, February 14th – a most appropriate day for lovers ..... and lovers of fine food. Below is the menu; and what follows is a pictorial description of the process, for the true Foodies in this readership. You must forgive the sloppy pictorial placement; I'm still learning.There were some other good shots I couldn't seem to download here, also. If you would like to se the full photo album, let me know and I'll send you a KodakGallery link.
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Beef Wellington Dinner Soulé (Music: "Die Fledermaus, Act I")
Candlelight Cocktail Hour:
Moet & Chandon Champagne Imperial
Primo:
Steamed Artichoke / Aioli Dipping Sauce
Baguette Slices / Acqua Minerale
Secondo: Beef Wellington (Boeuf en Croute)
with Black Truffle Sauce
Wine: Primitivo Zinfandel '2004, Salamandre Vineyards Santa Cruz
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The artichoke was steamed lightly and chilled the previous day. The aioli sauce was made ahead and chilled also (it is simply a mixture of good mayonnaise, minced garlic, and fresh lemon juice to thin to a smooth consistency).
The Beef Wellington recipe we used was an amalgam of Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, Epicurious.com, Tyler Florence, and Gordon Ramsay.
Here are step-by-step photos of the process:
Searing the meat:
Putting it all together:
A Messy Process:
.... but absolutely delicious and well worth the work.
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Beef Wellington Dinner Soulé (Music: "Die Fledermaus, Act I")
Candlelight Cocktail Hour:
Moet & Chandon Champagne Imperial
Primo:
Steamed Artichoke / Aioli Dipping Sauce
Baguette Slices / Acqua Minerale
Secondo: Beef Wellington (Boeuf en Croute)
with Black Truffle Sauce
Wine: Primitivo Zinfandel '2004, Salamandre Vineyards Santa Cruz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The artichoke was steamed lightly and chilled the previous day. The aioli sauce was made ahead and chilled also (it is simply a mixture of good mayonnaise, minced garlic, and fresh lemon juice to thin to a smooth consistency).
The Beef Wellington recipe we used was an amalgam of Craig Claiborne, Julia Child, Epicurious.com, Tyler Florence, and Gordon Ramsay.
Here are step-by-step photos of the process:
Searing the meat:
Putting it all together:
A Messy Process:
.... but absolutely delicious and well worth the work.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
On Being: Journal Musings At 74
February 5, 2010
Today is the eve of my birthday; I should write something in my blog about what it's like to enter my 75th year of life, eh? All those years of living ought to yield some little nuggets of wisdom, one would think. I'll just do a sort of stream-of-consciousness exercise to see where I stand today.
I believe that Time is irrelevant; it takes as long as it takes to learn something, to accomplish a task, reach a goal, become able to cope with situations as they arise. I've learned that I can be so wrong, for so long, about what I believe to be true, and then see the light at last. I've found that it is possible to do a lot of damage to yourself and others and still find the strength to stop, change, and – most unbelievably – be forgiven and still loved. I have experienced that there must be a force (some call it a Guardian Angel) that protects fools who dance along the precipice – else, what has kept my feet from slipping into the abyss? And if Time really is irrelevant, then I think my experience of temporal universe is a thin veil, a beautiful theatre scrim that will one day be raised: and I can't wait to see the full production.
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February 6, 2010
A wise monk has said that gratefulness is the heart of prayer. In that case, my heart is full of prayer on this day marking my entry into my 75th year of life.
I'm supremely grateful for many gifts:
– I still have my five senses fairly intact
– I treasure the memory of every single year of my life
– I love this earth, and especially the plot of ground that has been given to me late in life, this cottage and small garden in the redwoods
– I'm thankful to all who went before me (my parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents – even the ones I've never met, but can see in some of my children)
– I'm especially grateful for the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love with which I have been blessed.
Yes, I'm grateful for another year of life and love, and for every day that may be left to me to glory in Being. As the good Rabbi Heschel hath said: Just to be is blessing; just to live is holy.
Today is the eve of my birthday; I should write something in my blog about what it's like to enter my 75th year of life, eh? All those years of living ought to yield some little nuggets of wisdom, one would think. I'll just do a sort of stream-of-consciousness exercise to see where I stand today.
I believe that Time is irrelevant; it takes as long as it takes to learn something, to accomplish a task, reach a goal, become able to cope with situations as they arise. I've learned that I can be so wrong, for so long, about what I believe to be true, and then see the light at last. I've found that it is possible to do a lot of damage to yourself and others and still find the strength to stop, change, and – most unbelievably – be forgiven and still loved. I have experienced that there must be a force (some call it a Guardian Angel) that protects fools who dance along the precipice – else, what has kept my feet from slipping into the abyss? And if Time really is irrelevant, then I think my experience of temporal universe is a thin veil, a beautiful theatre scrim that will one day be raised: and I can't wait to see the full production.
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February 6, 2010
A wise monk has said that gratefulness is the heart of prayer. In that case, my heart is full of prayer on this day marking my entry into my 75th year of life.
I'm supremely grateful for many gifts:
– I still have my five senses fairly intact
– I treasure the memory of every single year of my life
– I love this earth, and especially the plot of ground that has been given to me late in life, this cottage and small garden in the redwoods
– I'm thankful to all who went before me (my parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents – even the ones I've never met, but can see in some of my children)
– I'm especially grateful for the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love with which I have been blessed.
Yes, I'm grateful for another year of life and love, and for every day that may be left to me to glory in Being. As the good Rabbi Heschel hath said: Just to be is blessing; just to live is holy.
Sunday, 24 January 2010
apres moi, le deluge
It never stops: we have another storm coming in this afternoon, stronger ones tomorrow and through Wednesday. All's well up here, though: and I'm getting a lot of writing time in!
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Storm Track
Now the storms have settled into a calmer pattern; NWS says rain, rain, rain, right through to next week, but with a sort of break on the weekend. Our cottage is still intact, watertight, and warm; so far no more electrical outages. I have no idea how the roads beyond or above Boulder Creek may be faring, but we're not going to fare forth on them until Saturday afternoon – when we'll try to get down to Capitola to take Julie out for a belated birthday luncheon, and to stock up on Trader Joe's supplies before next week's storms move in.
I guess the El Nino predictions were on target, eh?
Just to update you on the denouement of the tree-toppling: after the electricity came back on in our park at 7 PM on Tuesday evening, John went down on Wednesday morning and retrieved the car and it's safely parked in the driveway now. I drove to the Post Office yesterday afternoon to mail off birthday cards and packages, and got caught in a sudden short thundershower with light hail -- but I was almost home as it hit, so no problem – grabbed the mail from our box at the foot of the hill and crawled the car back up to our driveway. Feeling I deserved a treat at that point, I pulled out a last slice of Trappist fruitcake from the box in the fridge, made some Gingerbread Spice tea, and shared teatime with John.
We had homemade chicken-vegetable soup last evening for dinner and went to bed before 10 PM because we never know when another electrical storm will interrupt our sleep. However, it was beautifully quiet all night, with light showers lulling us to slumber.
I've gotten a lot of writing and reading done this week, a great benefit of being housebound. We are so blessed to have this safe haven; rain and all, we just love being here.
I guess the El Nino predictions were on target, eh?
Just to update you on the denouement of the tree-toppling: after the electricity came back on in our park at 7 PM on Tuesday evening, John went down on Wednesday morning and retrieved the car and it's safely parked in the driveway now. I drove to the Post Office yesterday afternoon to mail off birthday cards and packages, and got caught in a sudden short thundershower with light hail -- but I was almost home as it hit, so no problem – grabbed the mail from our box at the foot of the hill and crawled the car back up to our driveway. Feeling I deserved a treat at that point, I pulled out a last slice of Trappist fruitcake from the box in the fridge, made some Gingerbread Spice tea, and shared teatime with John.
We had homemade chicken-vegetable soup last evening for dinner and went to bed before 10 PM because we never know when another electrical storm will interrupt our sleep. However, it was beautifully quiet all night, with light showers lulling us to slumber.
I've gotten a lot of writing and reading done this week, a great benefit of being housebound. We are so blessed to have this safe haven; rain and all, we just love being here.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
And They Are So Right
Flood Advisory
Hazardous Weather Outlook
High Wind Warning
Today...Very windy. Rain...locally heavy at times...and isolated thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and small hail. Highs in the mid 40s to lower 50s. Southeast winds 30 to 45 mph...becoming south 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 40 mph in the afternoon.
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We may lose power again ... lights flickering a bit already, and winds rising ... so sending out this bulletin while I can. More later when possible. We're warm and dry, but not goin' nowhere!
Hazardous Weather Outlook
High Wind Warning
Today...Very windy. Rain...locally heavy at times...and isolated thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds and small hail. Highs in the mid 40s to lower 50s. Southeast winds 30 to 45 mph...becoming south 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 40 mph in the afternoon.
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We may lose power again ... lights flickering a bit already, and winds rising ... so sending out this bulletin while I can. More later when possible. We're warm and dry, but not goin' nowhere!
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
El Nino Viene
It's raining gatos y perros! At long last the National Weather Service, so often a plaything of fate, has been right on target for California.
Our Monday (yesterday) was spent in tightening up our rough-weather plans: John tied down the carport/awning against the blown-umbrella effect of high winds; I inventoried our well-laid-in food supplies and noted a few little missing items. Around 11 AM, the man of the house drove down through light rains beginning, to pick up the necessaries in the village.
While he was out, the power followed suit: it went out, at around noon. After John had parked a half-mile down from our cottage and hiked up the rest of the way with the groceries, he regaled me with the reason for the sudden silence in our house. A lightly rooted oak tree had tumbled down across power lines and blocked Big Basin Way, the main route to our place from the village.
Fine; we change our day's plans. Now it's hot tea and reading in the big back room, where those lovely windows let in all the daylight there is available. Wrapped in lap-robes and warm with the coverage and the tea, we plowed through our well-selected pile of books chosen for this eventuality. Could be worse, eh?
As the light faded, our brave John donned slicker and boots and went down to the Bracken Brae entrance to see what could be seen: a lot of disgruntled workers standing around in the rain, waiting for a P G & E crane truck to lift the tree off of the wires. These poor peons were ready to do their work of cutting up and removing the big tree, and P G & E linemen were ready to restore our power. But meanwhile, they awaited and awaited the arrival of the crane.
Other local denizens were out prowling around too, and camaraderie abounded – but not light. So John came back up to the cottage, built a warming fire in the woodstove, and gratefully accepted a drink. I lit candles and set up the kitchen for a stovetop dinner, with camping lanterns and matches for lighting the propane stove.
Rain continued; and the power came on at 7 PM. We had dinner and went to bed; rain continued..... but not the predicted high winds (yet).
At 5 AM today, we were awakened by a powerful and spectacular thunderstorm; the reverberating booms echoed down our valley, reminding us of a similar great storm we once watched engulf the Stubai valley in Austria – as we discovered where Wagner got his musical ideas.
So now we are into Day 2 of the week of storms. If the NWS continues lucky, we are due for two or three more powerful storms, day by day, throughout the week. Whenever we have power up here I will try to update this blog, so stay tuned if you can.
Our Monday (yesterday) was spent in tightening up our rough-weather plans: John tied down the carport/awning against the blown-umbrella effect of high winds; I inventoried our well-laid-in food supplies and noted a few little missing items. Around 11 AM, the man of the house drove down through light rains beginning, to pick up the necessaries in the village.
While he was out, the power followed suit: it went out, at around noon. After John had parked a half-mile down from our cottage and hiked up the rest of the way with the groceries, he regaled me with the reason for the sudden silence in our house. A lightly rooted oak tree had tumbled down across power lines and blocked Big Basin Way, the main route to our place from the village.
Fine; we change our day's plans. Now it's hot tea and reading in the big back room, where those lovely windows let in all the daylight there is available. Wrapped in lap-robes and warm with the coverage and the tea, we plowed through our well-selected pile of books chosen for this eventuality. Could be worse, eh?
As the light faded, our brave John donned slicker and boots and went down to the Bracken Brae entrance to see what could be seen: a lot of disgruntled workers standing around in the rain, waiting for a P G & E crane truck to lift the tree off of the wires. These poor peons were ready to do their work of cutting up and removing the big tree, and P G & E linemen were ready to restore our power. But meanwhile, they awaited and awaited the arrival of the crane.
Other local denizens were out prowling around too, and camaraderie abounded – but not light. So John came back up to the cottage, built a warming fire in the woodstove, and gratefully accepted a drink. I lit candles and set up the kitchen for a stovetop dinner, with camping lanterns and matches for lighting the propane stove.
Rain continued; and the power came on at 7 PM. We had dinner and went to bed; rain continued..... but not the predicted high winds (yet).
At 5 AM today, we were awakened by a powerful and spectacular thunderstorm; the reverberating booms echoed down our valley, reminding us of a similar great storm we once watched engulf the Stubai valley in Austria – as we discovered where Wagner got his musical ideas.
So now we are into Day 2 of the week of storms. If the NWS continues lucky, we are due for two or three more powerful storms, day by day, throughout the week. Whenever we have power up here I will try to update this blog, so stay tuned if you can.
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