It's my birthday!

And I'm freaking 55 years old!!! OMG! How did this happen???

All kidding aside, I'm seriously wishing myself a happy birthday year, with many happy more to come.

I'm in Santa Rosa today, at Peet's Coffee right now, on Mendocino Ave, around 9am. I just dropped Erin off for her Chanticleer's Lab Choir performance at Santa Rosa HS. I don't have much 'planned' for today; hang out, I think I'll check out some Goodwill stores in the area, try to get down to SSU and find Goelz...

It sure seems like 10 years or so has and has not changed Santa Rosa, of which both statements are true!...It's been 17 years since I lived here?!...the JC looks bigger and has a large parking garage now; 4th street looks the same (pretty much); it's still quiet and more country-like...

OK...over and out for now...I feel like reading my current book (haven't read a book in about 6 months); Benita Eisler's O'Keeffe & Stieglitz. It's very interesting.

Just a poem...

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is a society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in it's roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel,
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.
---Lord Byron

So much...

...loneliness and isolation in our culture. So much loss of a feeling of connection, and intimacy. So much depersonalization, which nearly becomes a sense of overpowering numbness.



I'm just saying.

Photo: Mary Ellen Mark

Somewhere...

"To be whole, let yourself break.
To be straight, let yourself bend.
To be full, let yourself be empty.
To be new, let yourself wear out.
To have everything, give everything up.

Knowing others is a kind of knowledge;
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Conquering others requires strength;
conquering yourself is true power.
To realize that you have enough is true wealth.
Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.

To know that you do not know is strength.
Not knowing that you do not know is a sickness.
The cure begins with the recognition of the sickness.

Knowing what is permanent: enlightenment.
Not knowing what is permanent: disaster.
Knowing what is permanent opens the mind.
Open mind, open heart.
Open heart, magnanimity."

Not sure who said this, but I like it!

Menu for this week...

We are pretty broke this week (as my Mom used to say: Why is there so much of the month left at the end of the money?) so the menu is a s-t-r-e-t-c-h version with the theme of making more with less. In that vein...

1. Mexican chicken and rice casserole, with a black bean and corn salad
    We have one pack of chicken breast tenders, so I used 3 of them for this meal, and the other three for the Thai noodles dish. I usually make my own sauces, but I picked up (on sale!) a Rick Bayless tomatillo-based enchilada sauce to use in this dish. I cooked the chicken in the sauce, made white rice in chicken stock, then layered the rice and chicken mix with shedded cheese and sour cream. I covered it and baked it at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, then took of the cover, sprinkled some leftover semi-crushed corn chips over the top mixed with more cheese and a small bit of the last of some pico de gallo and let it brown about 10 more minutes. 

The corn and bean salad is/was excellent; 1 can of whole black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 can of corn (drained), lots of finely chopped green onions, cilantro, a couple of pinches of salt and some pepper, 1 crushed garlic clove, some cumin, chili powder to taste (You want it favored, not spicy). If I have it, I also add sliced or diced jicama and some finely chopped jalapeno pepper. Lastly, add some olive oil and red wine vinegar, and lime juice to taste. Delic!

2. Thai noodles, with chicken and tofu

3. Fried tofu with greens and rice

4. Go green! GF pasta with pesto

5. Scrambled eggs and home fries (also called breakfast for dinner!)

6. Grilled cheese sandwiches with french fries

Wow! How long has it been, anyway?!

Just got on vacation yesterday, and I've already mapped out a busy agenda of TTD (Things To Do) while I'm supposedly relaxing and taking it easy. Yeah, right.
First thing I'm doing is to pare down things; I love having my knick-knacks, my books, the do-dads, my etcs. but oh boy, do I have a lot of them. AND, I'm remembering that I have another WHOLE house of then back in G'boro, so I seriously need to clear the clutter. One of the underlying issues is to figure out why this is so hard for me. Maybe it's because what I do have is very nice, unique, antique, etc. combined with getting most of these things for a song, I feel that I need to keep them, or at the very least, sell them (like on Craigslist, or if it's clothing, at Crossroads, and lastly, most of the time, at Rockridge Rags, so I can at least make some money on my cleaning house process. 

Today was rainy, all day. One of these 'things' that I have and need to get rid of or make use of, is a crap load of magazines. I have a TON of them! I love my magazines, especially considering that they are fine ones, like Bon Appetit, Dwell, Saveur, Architectural Digest. My usual process is to read through every single one, and tearing out any nice pictures, good recipes, interesting ideas, from each one THEN throw them away (recycling them of course!). I think you may already know where I am heading with this, but if you don't let me tell you; I never get through them all! What with work, cleaning, cooking, shopping, my kids, etc. yeah, when do I have the time to sit on my you-know-what and read through stacks of great treats for the eyes and mind??? Well, this vaca this project is at the top of my list.

Singulation may be a human event...

More on this later, as I'm running out the door right now, but I wanted to get this down on paper (to remind me for future discussion).

Another excellent blog...

by Maira Kalman

The Pursuit of Happiness Blog

More later on why I like this blog so much, so for now; enjoy!

BOSTON!

Erin and me at Fenway!

Fenway!!!!

Erin at the Charles River...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things I Like, Part ll

Josef Frank - an artist, architect, and most importantly for me, a textile designer.

I LOVE his botanical prints...such as; 

and...

and...

I mean, really, what's not to like about his designs? Erin would say it's a bit busy, or too busy, but I think it adds a richness and depth that might be lacking in something more simple.

Getting Older?

or is it getting better? Today, it's def just getting older :-(

As a result of my upcoming physical exam, I went in for my bone density test this last week, and, unfortunately, I got my results back from my doctor already and I have osteoporosis.
Shit.
My physical isn't until the 19th, so I have to wait to find out more information. On the good side though, I also had my mammogram last week and I'm thinking no news is good news on this one, as I've heard nothing so far. 

(Aside: I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5am, and I think I couldn't either sleep or get back to sleep because I was worried. I used to wake up this early a lot, but haven't in a couple of years.  I've forgotten how light the sky is during the summer! There was no fog up here today, and the sky seemed so light and bright that I even looked up the sunrise time to make sure I wasn't dreaming; 5:58am.)

Anyway... getting this diagnosis may very well be related to my high TSH levels in my thyroid test that I received about 8 months ago, and which I will be re-tested for this upcoming physical.  I do know that I've felt in my bones (no pun intended) that I was shrinking sometimes, and that I also knew I wasn't getting enough calcium in my diet, but then again I've always disliked drinking milk, mostly because of the way it effects my digestion. In any case, as of today, I'm going to be taking some calcium supplements, and to increase the complimentary Vitamin D intake.

Oh yeah - and I really should just stop smoking too.

More soon!

Funniest-thing-I've-seen-all-day dept.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Jesus statue hit by lightning

Hmmm...I never knew

Today is Dennis Gabor's birthday. Who is Gabor, one might ask? He is credited with inventing holography, that's who!
Somewhere I read that holography can be used to increase data storage, such as on a DVD. Some ungodly high terra bit figure was used an example...will post more on this sooner than later. 

Great blogs (and sites) of interest

Love this blog! =Martini Mom


And this site; Creating fashionesta sets with cut out pics of clothes and accessories from around the 'net; so much fun! =
http://www.polyvore.com/


This one caught my eye because of Dennis Gabor, and really, a pretty catchy title = Vaudeville of exhilaration

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

keep those doggies rolling - Rawhide!

(I really don't know exactly why I just wrote that...ummm...)