July 2009 Archives

Sounds that quietly took over my thoughts:

The insistent rapping of a woodpecker's beak on a tree in the grove.

The warning beeps of heavy machinery, backing up as they work on a road nearby.

The sound of birds chattering about that person in the pink hat keeping them from the newly filled bird feeders. (The goldfinch was fearless, or very hungry. It disregarded me and ate it's fill.)

Laughter from women walking on the path to the east of our house.

A plane flying over as it nears the airport.

My ankles popping, when I stand.

I spent about an hour in the herb garden on my hands and knees, weeding. I haven't even finished one quarter of the path. I'll be going out for one more hour very shortly, but I wanted to note what a noisy place it turned out to be.

Noise or not, it was peaceful, and I appreciate the sense of accomplishment it gives me.

I am having a slow, lazy, procrastinating day. I cannot motivate myself. I know if I get up from this chair I will find twenty things that NEED to be done. If I stay in this chair, and turn away from the computer there will be another gross of things to be done in the office. I don't want to do any of it. But I will... I think I'm going to start by putting the whites in the dryer, and then going out to work in the garden for an hour or two.

This morning, in the comments at L.A.Times Crossword Corner blog, one of the readers posted the parable of Leshon HaRa (I think I have that right.). Essentially it's the story which shows that harsh words, once spoken, can never be taken back. When I was in fifth grade, I had an amazing teacher, and she stopped one day to share this lesson with us. I was left with an image of harsh words, like musical notes, flying from my mouth, never to be recaptured. That image has stayed with me lo these many years. I truly try to muzzle myself when I'd really rather speak my mind. I don't always succeed, but I've gotten better at it. In the parable, the rabbi tells the unkind person, who wishes to repent, to open a feather pillow and shake out all the feathers. When he has, the rabbi tells him to now collect each of the feathers and put them back in the pillow. When he objects, and says it is an impossible job, the rabbi likens it to trying to take back harsh words.

There are too many harsh words in the world. Just too many. I believe that we have shifted from people who care about their community, to people who only care for themselves, and I hope that pendulum swings back, soon!

This same fifth grade teacher also talked one day about intentions. She said intentions were good, as long as you follow through on them. Otherwise, the best of intentions is worthless. I recall that she used this example: "I was going to take the garbage out." She made her point in a way that suited a ten year old mind, and stuck!

My intentions for the day are to make my bed, empty and refill the dishwasher, start another load of laundry, water the inside plants, and the outside plants, work in the gardens, and work in the office. I also have to take Ed for a vet visit, this afternoon.

So, I'm going to sign off, and wish you a wonderful Monday, while I go turn intentions into gold.

Well...not really. It just sounded like a good title. Frankie and I went to one of the classes offered by Sur La Table. This first class was on knife handling. Other than changing my grip on the knife, I have most of the technique down. I tend to put my index finger out over the tang of the knife as I cut. The instructor said that a pincher grip would be easier on my hand and arm.

It was fun to see how the chef handles basil leaves when making chiffonade. She rolls them up from left to right (or right to left....it doesn't matter which direction) and then cuts narrow little slices crosswise to make thin ribbons. We used them in the bruschetta that the class ate at the end of the session.

The assistants brought us appetizer plates with three or four oven baked "French fries" and a dollop of aioli. Wowwwwwwwww, was that good, and what a simple appetizer to have ready when you plan to entertain. Cutting both potatoes and garlic were covered in the class. We practiced on potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic and basil last night. We had the start of a pretty good Minestrone, but almost everything was thrown out. Too bad they don't save everything for a composting facility!

I have to admit that I am unable to work at that "Whack-whack-whack-whack-whack" speed that SOME people (rolling my eyes at Frankie) seem to enjoy. I value my fingers too much to mess around with a knife. Besides, it's harder to control the size of the dice when you're a speed demon, unless you have a lot of practice.

I bought some new cutting boards while I was there, and an inexpensive spring form pan. We both forgot the scrapers we wanted to get, so I may make another stop there tomorrow.

I can't wait for the class on grilling in early August. I'm going to be sure to have my camera ready to go so that I can show you pictures of my oh-so studious sisters! *G*

It's a LOT of fun to take classes with my sisters. I'm so glad that Frankie got us organized!

FRESH peaches and strawberries. I am so ready for summer produce! Our grocery chain had peaches for sale, and as I walked by their scent wafted up at me. I couldn't resist touching them, and discovered that they weren't rock hard! I bought three or four, and then bought more the next time I was in the store. I've been eating peaches and strawberries at breakfast and dinner. I shared them with my sister, Frankie, of Just My Opinion, while she was visiting this week. YUM!!

When I was in my twenties, I lived in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago. The week after I was married, my parents and youngest sister moved to Table Rock Lake in Missouri. My father would make occasional trips up this way for business, and I asked him to bring me a bushel of peaches from one of the orchards in his area.

He made the trip, and had to wait a day until I could drive down to Joliet to meet him. I was rather surprised to find that half the bushel of peaches was gone! They were so ripe when he started out that they began to bruise before he got into Illinois, and waste no-want not kind of guy that he was, he pared away the bruised spots with his pocket knife and ate the rest. I found peaches on every surface toward the end of the room near the air conditioner. He'd really tried to get them to last for me, but FRESH peaches are fragile. I hope to make a simplified peach "pie" that was featured on the cover of Midwest Living last summer. I saved the color picture because it was so enticing.

I visit the L.A.Times Crossword Corner blog almost every day. We were talking about zucchini for some reason. It's likely it was puzzle-related to start, but you never know what prompts some of the discussion. At any rate, I thanked the posters for reminding me that I needed to go out and harvest my zucchini, that there was a baseball bat sized one waiting for me. That prompted a flood of recipes to use up zucchini. I think almost everyone has a zucchini bread recipe in their files. Someone posted a link to Simply Recipes to the chocolate zucchini cake. I'll be making that cake tomorrow! I wasn't kidding about the big zucchini. It's got to be about a foot long and my hand won't close around the width. I may make some zucchini bread while I'm at it. I'll be caring for Elegante Mother this weekend, so I'll take some of both to her.

It's that time of year. I suspect that I'll have a lot to say about fresh produce in the coming months. Why would anyone eat a frozen dinner when they could have tuna salad with fresh dill on a tomato warm from your garden?

That dreaded nap time has hit again. I have too much to do to take a nap right now! I'm just coasting a bit until I'm ready to get back to work.

Frankie is coming in tonight for a short stay. We have always wanted to take a class at Sur La Table, and things have worked out just right that we can do TWO this summer. We're going to start tomorrow night with a class on knife techniques. I have a collection of Wusthoff knives that I love, and if there are better ways to use them, I'm all for learning about it. Besides, I get to hang out with Frankie!

Tomorrow, my CPA is coming to work on the quarterly reports for the companies. I used to do these on my own, but once we went to computerized books, she began to do the forms. I use the time to ask how to correct problems on the computer, and learn a little more basic bookkeeping. It's a relief to know that the government forms are done correctly. I have never liked the thought of being responsible for errors that could cost money.

I'm not sure what else Frankie and I will do while she is here. I expect to have a "girl's night in" dinner, tonight. Dear Husband is going to be away. We might watch a movie, or go to bed early enough that we can get a really early start on the day tomorrow. Frankie has to go home early on Thursday because it's her oldest daughter's birthday.

Which reminds me....I need to shop for a card....

So, I'm going to clean off my desk, to be sure that I am ready for the CPA, and my sis, and I'll catch up with you all (y'all) in a few days. Have a good week!

This past week I have been the guest leader of our exercise class. Our guru, Lynda, has become a grandma again, and she wanted to have a week with her daughter and grandchildren. I'm always pleased when she asks me to sub. It's the closest I get to teaching these days. She first asked me to sub three years ago when her parents became seriously ill. She gave me the music for the class, and a list of the exercises she was doing during each song. I spent a long weekend counting out the beats of the music, to determine how many times we needed to repeat the movements. I copied that information onto large sheets of poster board, in what I call my personal "cheat sheets."

We have upgraded exercise since then. We're working harder and a little bit faster. Lynda discovered that we old folk are capable of doing more than she expected, so she has added more yoga and balance to the sessions. When I use this older set of exercises, we are all aware that it's a bit less challenging. I'm at the point where I will have to spend another weekend counting out music and exercises and making another set of cheat sheets to upgrade the level of effort.

I was pleased that Monday's exercise went well. Wednesday the room was full! Most of the class of forty turned out. Today, I thought we might be lucky to have six or eight people come to class since it was the start of the long holiday weekend. I didn't stop to count, but I think we may have had about 26 people in class, and they were all there to work!

I feel blessed that my fellow exercisers are willing to have me lead the class, and further blessed that they make it so easy to guide them. I've really enjoyed the week. There were a couple of unexpected benefits. I've had some knee problems that are just beginning to improve. When I was leading class, I forgot to baby the knee, and I discovered that I could do more than I expected. And, when I lead class, I tend to work harder, so I got more benefit from the exercise than usual. I've felt really good all week!

So....Thank you, Lynda, for inviting me to sub for you. It was MY pleasure!