Offbeat Art, With Some Lost in Translation

More photos from la bella Napoli, with more observations...in fact, I observed so much life in Napoli it would take months of posts to do it justice. You had better go and experience it yourself. :-)

One of the repeating themes of Naples (entirely open to interpretation, I might add) was the graffiti, and this character was one of more than a dozen similar figures I saw in red, white, blue, and black. They were all clownish stylized figures, and this one made me think it might be related to a football club, but I can't find anything on it, at least not by searching in English.

Here is another one, which might be related by the colors and shapes. Anyone have theories? I like the whimsical design. This picture was at Porta Medina in Naples, as you might be able to see on the hundreds-of-years-old sign there...

I tried to pay attention to these signs, but there were so many! Naples is crammed with so many layers of history and competing cultures that while it is very easy to find something peculiar and charming, it is difficult to determine the origin of that thing. Well, usually. Not so for the historical courtyards, which are marked by marble signs on the street, as proper as any town of antiquity. This was my favorite: simply an inner courtyard, now for parking, that used to gently welcome its inhabitants home with the sound of water and the pleasing elegance of stately painted columns. (I think that's supposed to be a stag, but its ears to the side do give it the look of a donkey, don't they?) Ah, the life of a courtier, eh?

More like:

"Ah, the life of the imagination, that can fling its arms to a distant past and feel the air and in so doing, understand how much things can change, and have changed, and will change again."

-Me

That's one of my favorite lines of thought while out traveling the world: what happened here? What did life used to be like? How do people here cope now?

This is what happens when you travel alone for long stretches of time, evidently. 

Finally, there was the art that was lost in translation, which I here offer up for your perplexitude...

What does one eat there?

Halb fub or half foot fruit? It makes a big difference!

I love quirky finds, both animal and mineral, from trips to new places. What have your adventures brought to your notice recently- real or imaginary?

Planting Seeds on that Rocky Road to Adventure

I'm still thinking about the road to adventure... it's a road, not a destination... it's a rocky road... not like the ice cream... come on, join me in the Association game! (love it)

Quite a rocky road indeed... Photo source

And on this rocky road, there are disappointments-- no getting around it-- hence the support system (mine embodied by the teacup symbol) and also the need for a system or structure to mitigate the ups and downs.

Another quote that recently piqued my interest as it made the rounds of my twitter-verse actually made me mad when I first read it (totally because of my mindset/ attitude at the time), and it also gets at the need for such a structure:

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." -Robert Louis Stevenson

What made me angry was that I was feeling particularly used up at that moment, without any more seeds to plant (seeds being creative energy/ motivation in this metaphor), and wishing awfully for some trees to start dropping some fruit my way. 

Someone else mentioned in response (love the twitter-verse for that) that you don't want to dip into your seed corn (seed corn here meaning your inner reserves, what you count on for next year's 'food supply' of work) when planting, to which I gave a hearty "Hear, hear!" If you did, there would be nothing left, which means it's unsustainable.

Photo Source

So what qualify as seeds for planting? How do you set up such a system, so that you can weather the ups and downs of life? Try these activities, one of which usually gives me a jump-start back into happy productivity:


Planning / Strategizing: this means establishing and mapping out goals, then backtracking (a la Barbara Sher) the necessary steps to come up with...


Baby steps! These are the little seeds of progress toward the goal you've established: writing an article each week, calling the blog-hosting company for details, asking for a reference, etc. After a lot of these, you've earned...


Breaks from the plodding pace of baby steps that replenish your creative core: attending a writing conference, having a dinner out with friends, and meditating are all fine examples of activities that will, for different types of people, refuel their energy (search for Myers-Briggs introvert vs. extrovert descriptions if you're curious about this). After a bout of this, you'll be ready to return to...


All that background noise. This includes those unpleasant tasks that never seem to make it to the top of your to-do list: decluttering, going to the bank to start that retirement account, asking for help, maybe it's cleaning your bathroom. It's different for everyone, but it's a sure thing that there is some thing hanging over your head like a personal raincloud. Do it. You'll feel better.


And if none of those work, maybe you just need to turn your brain off.

And another Tea for the Road

I came across a wonderful quote today:

"The fragrance of adventure and poetry endlessly pervades each cup of tea."

Henri Mariage, Mariage Freres Tea

I've written before about the power of tea, but then it was about creating space and allowing mindfulness. This quote sets us on a different path toward tea: that of adventure.

What's so swashbuckling about a cup of tea, you say?

If tea makes you think of an afternoon feasting of cucumber sandwiches amid older ladies in the British Empire, I quite see your point.

But.

I came across this quote in an old issue of Saveur (July 2003), because I've been on another magazine decluttering kick recently. It may have something to do with the fact that my rent was just raised and I'm thinking of moving again... at any rate, I've been able to keep a feeling of accomplishment going recently, through completing various activities: emails, meetings, meals, purchases, purges. From these past couple weeks:

Discovery #1: Accomplishment is not synonymous with adventure, but because these activities, these efforts at simplifying, are in general aimed at achieving a greater goal, something of the majesty of that goal is injected into each baby step of a task.

Discovery #2: Accomplishment can never take the place of adventure, if you've got that kind of spirit, because if the activities do not get you closer to an ultimate goal, they quickly become empty, joyless actions.

Source: fitsp0.tumblr.com via Margaret on Pinterest

I see my cups of tea shared with friends as my own personal Board Meetings, the purpose of which is to keep me focused on the greater adventure, that is, ultimately, a Life Well-Lived.

Tea, or my support system, symbolizes the Road to Adventure, the road that I am on now to create my own lifestyle. It's this support system that will keep me- and you!- on the right road. Discovery #1 may not hold up all the time, but for right now, I'm enjoying feeling like I'm making progress!

So bartender, if you please, it's one for my baby , another tea for that road!


What keeps you focused on your greater goal, your 'bigger picture?'

Are you racking up accomplishments but wondering where the adventure went?

How can Taste Life Twice help get more adventure into your life?

My Version of Mijoter

What have I been doing in the past month? I can tell you in one word (well, maybe two):

Mijoter

It is a French word that means to simmer, or to stew. You keep the water at a barely-there boil and the ingredients you've thrown together start to get to know each other, slowly.

I've got travel stories (Memphis, TN), vacation stories (Yosemite, Italy), kitchen stories (joined a spring/ summer produce CSA!), personal stories, plus a lot of struggle.

That's the other word, btdubbs.

Lentil Roasted Garlic Stew

I have launched myself into a fast-flowing river, and have not outfitted myself with enough gear yet to get to the point on the other shore where I'm aiming. So basically I'm dog-paddling, constantly giving myself rests by doing the Dead Man's Float. The steps to creating a successful business are numerous and they keep popping up as others are completed, like a crazy game of Whack-a-Mole.

So thanks for continuing to drop by and being supportive as I continue to dog-paddle my way to the other side. Comments, tweets, and mentions help! :-)

There is a lot of great material out there to guide people starting out on the road to their dreams, including the World Domination Summit that just concluded in Portland, Oregon. I've been absorbing resources, connecting with other indie-preneurs, and all these bits of knowledge have been bouncing off each other in my brain and 'getting to know each other,' if you will... how I do like kitchen metaphors!

The important thing is to just keep at it, keep showing up (80% of success according to Woody Allen), and that habit creates a new path for you.

How are you doing this in your life, those of you who are tuning in for the personal development stories? Do you have Victories to share? Do you have go-to resources for when you're stuck? Let us know!

Meanwhile, photos from the travel and adventures are ... compiling.

The Idea of Tea

As I sit and gingerly stretch my wrist back and forth, trying to coax motion out of very reluctant tendons, I am reflecting on my yen for tea. What is it about tea that makes me feel so comforted, soothed, and grounded?
I'm not talking about any caffeine-related scientific stimulation or suppression effects. I just mean that feeling you get when you have two hands wrapped around a warm, steaming mug of steeped liquid, whether it's white, black, green, or rooibos.

What is it?

I had an ex-boyfriend who was always annoyed when I put two hands around my cup. He thought it was weird or funny, and would tease me that one of my hands must not have been strong enough to hold the cup. What a thing to mock, right?
Here's a poem from a long-gone Bigelow tea box I keep taped to my cupboard that hints at the essence:

When your day seems topsy-turvy
And as stormy as can be
There’s nothing quite as tranquil
As a nice hot cup of tea.

While you savor this ambrosia
Your problems fade away
Its warmth will bring you comfort
And brighten up your day.

So take a private moment
There’s calmness, as you’ll see
All because you briefly stopped
To sip a cup of tea.

The reason I've held on to this poem for so long (years. several moves.) is that it holds a clue to the sanity we're all seeking in this modern age: Time Out! Stop the World- I'd like to get off! How about a moment to myself, for a change?

With all the digital connectedness we have now, it seems important to take time for our selves-- not internet-surfing, not blog-reading, and not chore-performing. Just thinking about where you are, where you're going, and how you're feeling. A cup of tea facilitates this, and the habit of tea promotes regular introspection, which is a great balance to all the demands on our time from work and social responsibilities.

Do you use tea in this way? Do you have a different tool for your reflective times? Do you feel like you need something like this? Let me know in the comments... current brew as I write: Lemon Basil Oolong from Capital Teas.

Far Better to Be Brave

Quote for Today

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt, speech at the Hamilton Club, Chicago (10 April 1899)

(discovered by me today through Jonathan Fields' Good Life Project pitch)

A Nod In Agreement

“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

-Henry Ford

How true, and how motivational! Good old Henry.

(Arm healing as fast as it can)

Creative Endeavor Year

 What a delicious last couple of days.

Beet greens rescued from limpness, crisped up with bacon goodness

With New Year's Eve on a Saturday and New Year's Day on a Sunday this year, some may have groused about losing days off work, but I made the most of the celebrations not being smooshed into a few tired late-night hours, only to be confronted with the office coffeemaker the next morning. Ha!

I successfully kick-started my Creative Endeavor Year! I've stated lately what I'm interested in, and how differently I want to orient myself, so you maybe have an idea what I'm talking about. No? Ok, then I'll go first with activities from the last few days, and then would you please chime in?

Lists. Yes, I made lists, in different places, on different-sized scraps of paper, and with overlapping topics. Maybe a little overzealous, but now I get to synthesize! Places I want to travel, places I might want to move, key areas of focus for my new work, my annual review, and goals. Totally exciting, right? Well it is for an introverted organizer.

Slowly Scrambled Eggs (you're allowed to zone out while scrambling!)

Writing. Yep- as the new tagline indicates, I'm going to let writing take up a lot more space in my life this year. The focus will be on this blog, as I navigate the transition, and on the novel, which will give me a product and some experience in creative process (little out of practice).

Outdoors. A long run, several moderate-length walks in the cool air- clearing the clutter that tends to clump onto my brain if I spend too much time inside. You know what I mean: meant-to-do's, errands, shoulda-coulda-woulda's. Unless these get out and on a list, they just hover over my shoulder and make me unproductive or regretful. For me, moving at some speed outdoors tends to banish these thoughts. I return refreshed, like my brain had been through a permanent press and spin-cycle!

Apple, cinnamon-sugar, and perhaps a little butter was involved

Back-to-Basics. Return-to-Roots. (I like alliteration, OK?) On NYE, I made my first loaf of bread in the bread machine I received for Christmas, and have been finding ways to appreciate the simple white slice since then. Today, I tried out my first batch of plain yogurt in the new yogurt-maker, and await the results tomorrow morning. While there are a lot of blogging cooks out there who know how to combine many beautiful exotic ingredients for amazing dishes, I like to take the more minimalist approach. Because really, life is what you make of it. So if you don't have pimenton de vera or spelt flour or fresh cilantro when the urge to create in the kitchen strikes, don't fret. Take what you've got, and figure out how to honor that. In fact, I think that'll be the philosophy for this Creative Endeavor Year.

Stale croissant, melted chocolate = uncomplicated souffle

I've been cooking pretty simply in the past month, both because of the desire for wintry comfort food and the need for something simply being enough. Call it an overworked metaphor if you like, but here are a few photos to inspire you to take a stab at this philosophy. Whatever you've got, honor that.

You may see several of the items listed in my Favorites List, which is no accident. What's on your List?

Let the New Year begin!

Happy New Year, faithful readers (and chance-encounter-ers, too)!

Are you excited about 2012? Are you weary already? Are you feeling guilty about not yet goal-making and resolution-listing? Or on this January 1, are you feeling bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready for anything?

All of the Above is, of course, an appropriate answer.

I've been on a bit of a buzz from recent changes, one obvious one to any observant folks out there being the blog's New Look. It's only a slight physical change, but behind it is a lot of thought about priorities, commitment, direction, ... you know, all that serious Life Stuff. I am hoping to rededicate myself to efforts I've defined or started, including:

the novel

the cooking and baking

the running and yoga

purposeful travel experiences

Plus, two new areas where I'm branching out in 2012:
educating myself on the business of NOT working for The Man (e.g. freelancing- two blogs which I've been keying onto in the past couple weeks for this are The Clear-Minded Creative and PuttyLike)
volunteering my skills for good causes (reinforced by Rose's sage advice!)

If you've got ideas you've thought about, or thoughts on how we bloggers set goals, feel free to leave them in the comments. I'm inspired by others' passionate efforts, and you just might get a buzz from sharing your positive intentions!

Best wishes for all of 2012.

Launchpad

So, do you notice a few changes? Yes, the blog's got a new name, a new design and layout, even a new address. Welcome to the new-and-improved blog formerly-known-as-Ma-Vie-en-Rose, now known as:

Taste-Life-Twice 

from the quote by Anais Nin: "We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection." It was on an inspiring woodblock-print card on my wall, and struck me as much more in tune with what I want this blog to be: a focused, creative, inspiring, and self-challenging launchpad for many talents and projects to come.

Ma Vie En Rose, and ma vie en general, was sort of drifting along aimlessly. Food, food, travel, observation, food. Well, I'd like to do a little better by you, my audience, and by me, La Créatrice, so I am rededicating this blog not only to tasting food but also to tasting life.

First item of business is showing you what I've got on that go-to list I've been promising you. First thing you notice is that it's pretty plain. No whipping up of cordon bleu or turducken here. The easiest go-to meal is minimal on ingredients and requires little or only contemplative surveillance. These here are my favorite recipes so far, for both taste and comfort.

raw kale salad (originally from Inspire Nutrition but can be found here, minus red onion and carrot)
roasted sweet potato with miso and pork (from WaPo here, connected to a great article)
braised seasoned pork shoulder (season, sear, and forget in the oven)
chinese cabbage salad (like this recipe, only no butter and using chow mein, not ramen noodles)
mini-souffles/ custards (gotta make use of those cute ramekins! everything from eggs to chocolate)
spaghetti sauce (Mom's secret recipe)
banana ginger chocolate bread (famous Orangette recipe, posted by Wednesday Chef)
cocoa lime cookies (from Simply Recipes, SUCH a crowd-pleasing comfort food)
panzanella (torn bread, ripe far-mar domates, brightly colored other produce, oil, and season)
chocolate clusters (melt chocolate, insert anything, chill)
curried parsnip soup (one of my earliest recipes tried, and easiest)
peach cardamom pie (a proud moment, Bon Appetit success!, repeated til peaches retire)
yaki soba stirfry (handy frozen packs come with seasoning packets, enhanced by fresh veggies)
braised cabbage with bacon, etc (use the hot grease to wilt and flavor the stiff greens)
roast cauliflower (oil + salt, 'nuff said)
steamed greens and an egg (Judith Jones' ever-so-simple, ever-so-wholesome approach)
roast eggplant and garlic (classic, inspired by Turkey)
ratatouille (um, not for drudge-like surveillance, but for when you want to get your mind off things)

That is my first cut at a list, and I wonder if you all have similar lists. Is yours meatier? Got more chicken? Use more Asian recipes? Takes advantage of spices more? I hope it gives you the sense of your own home, the way this one does for me.
Why don't you let me know in the comments what you think would balance out this list. I'm all ears!

Someone with a sense of his purpose in life!

I'm happy to have a repertoire at last, something to launch from into the unknown land of cookery, and into the untold wonders of life.

Stay tuned!

New Strategy

Things are undergoing a change here at Ma Vie, at you may soon be able to see them here on the blog. For the past 10 months I've been contemplating my life direction more avidly (that is not to say in a focused way) and trying to figure out the next set of goals.

I gave you a taste of some of the results of that cogitation, but haven't yet portrayed a clear picture of where I'm going... because I haven't had one! I'm exploring websites, talking to friends, and examining some persistent habits I'd like to ditch. If you've had a renewed sense of purpose in life, a good book that affirms your multipotentiality, or otherwise been inspired, please write it in the comments!

Here's to a launch of something different in 2012!

Suddenly

It occurred to me, as I was writing my Cookie Swap post, that I've had what one might call a 'rash' of decisions that have been uncharacteristic of me and seem pretty sudden.

DUMBO

First there was starting the novel. I've always wanted to be a writer; one day, after getting a powerful idea for an opening line of a story, I asked myself what was stopping me? Just start! Chalk it up to the 'Shitty First Draft' if it isn't any good- at least you'll have your first one done. So I've been working on a novel.

Shaw

Then there was the painting job. Another thing that would make me happy, a small thing, an environmental change. So why was I waiting? I lobbed the pitch to the Universe, and a friend showed up, ready to help. What a warm, glowy feeling I get surrounded by color instead of cheesy off-white.

Third: disdaining an offer of a second 5k race, I thought, what if I devoted some serious time to running and getting in great shape? Michelle did it, right? My current pace would bring me in under the cut-off time for the 10 miles if I could just fool myself into wanting to run for an hour and forty minutes. Wouldn't it be cool if I could say I'd run in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler? Ok, let's pitch another one to the Fates, I told myself as I entered my name into the lottery.

I'm in.

Injury and Insult

If I write a post that is not so happy, but just as spirited, will my audience be all right? Well, here goes: a little therapeutic exposition of my recent past.
Injury: About 6 weeks ago, I was heading out to a friend's boyfriend's band's performance. They were great! Happy, happy bluegrass! Ok, back to not-so-happy.
As per my usual, I was a little late heading out to the venue, and so, as I turned left out of my building's driveway, I broke into a quick trot to make up some time. Bad move, Indy.

The sidewalk is none too even in my neighborhood and I tripped so fast over a botchy job at even-ing out the sidewalk that I was sprawled out on elbows and knees before I even knew I'd fallen. Impact fell mostly on my knees and left elbow.  These two were taken about a week after the incident, after the initial swelling went down and the bruising got all pretty. Good thing I wasn't going to a ball that month, eh?
While it was painful to hold ice to it while listening to the bluegrass all that night, I'm glad I went. I may never get to lean with my elbows on the table again, but ... well, that would be hard. But at least they still bend!

And these two were taken a day or two later, for comparison.

There you have it, my ghoulish/ proud-of-injuries side. It's a sleeper, so don't blink or you might miss it!

And no, of course I didn't see a doctor about this. I'm terrified of navigating health care waters. But I did make a baby step in the right direction by asking a coworker about help understanding it! (Go, me!)

Part II of this post is about Insult. I live in an apartment which faces out onto an alley, which affords me the occasion of hearing many sorts of human interaction, almost all of them from people passing through on their way hither and thither in this metropolis we call Washington, DC. But this summer, and now this fall, I have been plagued by two pests that set up camp and persist for a time like wasps: a neighbor, and a construction crew. Listen:

That is what I heard, of a sudden, on Wednesday, November 2nd, at 630 AM. Notice the super-strong lights necessary, because it was not yet light out when they started drilling, beeping, and jack-hammering. This went on for most of a few weeks, and it made me want to get out of my apartment as fast as I could in the morning, which is my usual quiet-time, devoid of obnoxious lunkhead neighbors who yell during the evenings (to whom I have just composed a strongly-worded letter, as they are at it again!).

But there is happy ending to this post: the city construction is done and now we have a nice red-brick alley and the convenience store on the other end of the alley has nice parking spaces (that we of course can't use). And my elbow no longer show any traces of the fall; I'm hoping eventually I'll be able to lean on tables with my elbows again.
There: now it's out of my system. I hope to post a lot this week to catch up with all the other fun activities I've been up to (and keep my promise to the Food Blogger Cookie Swap peeps, as well!), so stay tuned!

Vermont and The Road Trip: Part Two

So there I was, halfway to Vermont.

 I began to see many landscapes like this one above, composed of single barns, silos, and happy cows.

The weather was accommodating, with only a slip of sprinkles and general overcastness making it easy to leave the windows cracked.

 Then I arrived at Smuggler's Notch (what a name) to find Sue and Nigel, all ready to go with gorgeous snacks (a small meal!) and ideas for outings to see waterfalls before the sun went down. Don't mind if I do! :-)

 As you can see, it was really hard on the eyes.

 We even saw fresh evidence of beavers! This fallen tree was neatly chewed through, a few feet away from a serious beaver dam (difficult to get a good shot though-- you'll have to go visit).

 We finished with seeing a covered bridge. Why does New England have (so many) covered bridges? Sue and Nigel expected me to know since it was Americana, but I come from the complete opposite coast, where such things were quite rare: Strike 1 from me. So we asked the waiter at our restaurant that first night, who, while quite entertaining, turned out to be from New Jersey. Strike 2 from Vaughn.

But don't think we were completely without contribution ladies and gentlemen-- I gave it a college try. My theory was triangulated from the facts: the large amounts of snow, the timeframe these bridges were built (before steel was commonplace) and the remoteness of the location. It was probable that a sloped roof was necessary to slough off the snow so that it didn't weigh down and destroy the wooden bridge, making the way impassable all season.

Vaughn seemed to support my theory.

 Again, hard on the eyes, waking up in the Green Mountain State.

 This after the sun warmed itself up and got out of bed.

And this is one of those shots I made Nigel pull over for-- Sue told me to do it!

It was just the perfect time for fall foliage/ leaf-peeping/ whatever you want to call it, and I am so glad I was able to make the time to visit such grand friends and experience such beautiful vistas!

Near Jeffersonville (I think), the eminently competent driving team stopped at this 'Old Mill' so I could snap another couple photos. What caught my eye was the river flow- so full!- after a night's steady pounding of rain. You know, just enough to make cozying up with a good book inside a resort just the thing.
The Mill was also the site of a museum on a local celebrity: Wilson A. 'Snowflake' Bentley who proved that no two snowflakes were alike under the microscope. I didn't go in, but Sue and Nigel had been fascinated when they saw the exhibit. I was more interested in the interesting effect of the cross-hatched wooden outer wall- never seen anything like it!

Finally, there was a foodie find here, ladies and gentlemen, that I hope none of you miss if you are ever in the neighborhood (meaning Vermont). It is an unassuming, prepossessing place called The Family Table. We all indulged in appetizers, which meant that unfortunately 2/3 of my entree was toted home in a take-home container. But hold the phone, Irene, what was the appetizer?

"Fried calamari tossed with hot peppers and black olives, garlic, lemon, basil, white wine with a side of marinara" 

I haven't tried making it at home yet (still experimenting with those Scottish delicacies), and I must say calamari is pretty intimidating, but... it's definitely earned its place on The List. It had that combination of spice and sourness, crisp and crunch, that rendered one incapable of stopping shoveling it into one's mouth.

Next up: Day Trip to Montreal.

Osmotic Pressure and Metaphorical Me

"Osmosis is the movement of solvent molecules through a selectively permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, aiming to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides."

Often I speak in metaphors which may seem out of place in the current conversation. My brain likes to dig up particularly esoteric or far-fetched descriptions for me to use when I am trying to better convey a certain feeling or state of affairs. This happens frequently at work, and while I register the lack of comprehension, I'm somewhat at a loss to replace my outlandish metaphors with more down-to-earth descriptions. Heave forbid I come off prosaic.

So here is my metaphor from today. I could feel the osmotic pressure of my Within and my Without this morning- the tug and swirl of the happiness experienced through self-discovery and creative effort over the weekend (Inside), contending with the lack of challenge and inability to focus on a long-term goal of the mundane Monday (Outside).

I just sort of floated along with it, letting myself be happy with the former rather than obsess over the latter, and you know what? About 2/3 of the way through the day, my brain started engaging and firing on different pistons, enabling some more cogent contributions to be made to work conversations. Good. Keeping the mind nimble and adaptable. Although- I am thinking maybe the forever-going-around-from-hobby-to-hobby to keep my interest in and mood up is disguising something deeper... but let that go for the moment.

What has been captivating me for the past week or two? All the old hobbies, come back in glorious technicolor: runs on Sundays and yoga on Tuesdays and writing for the novel and baking for friends and cooking for myself. Plus, a new dance course! A style called sean nos, which seems less glamorous but more accessible maybe than step dancing. We'll see. Two classes and I'm already enjoying the improv parts!

And here's a fun video that shows some of the inheritors of sean nos in the Carolinas...

Now as far as the more usual theme for this blog (FOOD), I'll leave you readers with some encouragement. "If you make it, they will come" turned out to be true for me this week:

red wine chocolate cake --- afternoon tea on Saturday with Jess
grilled corn salsa (salad) --- Sunday luncheon with Kim and Juan
and tomato-shallot Tarte Tatin
lemon rosemary zucchini bread --- brown bag lunch with coworkers (I hope- that'll be tomorrow!)

So now I'm off to grate my zucchini with my only pertinent instrument- a microplane!- to make it easier to bake tomorrow morning! :-)

And let me know: do you want more Scotland or more food? I've got both at the ready...

The Peaty Bog

Here's another peek from the vacation in Scotland:

Where I Found a Bog, Or a Peat, and almost Lost my Shoe!

I had a million+one ideas about what to spend my time on, but a lot of the decisions came down to travel time. I decided against a long-and-involved train day in favor of a morning outing to Glen Affric (where the above video was taken). And against a day trip to the west coast in favor of going inland to see Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. I don't regret either decision.Glen Affric was my favorite part of the trip, and Stirling gave me some good history about the only castle I visited while there!
The peaty bog, as I've taken to calling it, was brilliantly colored in reds and yellows and greens and held a whole lot of moisture. At one point I strayed from the path for a different vantage point and delighted in stepping carefully to see how much water I could push out of the moss with my weight. It was pretty fantastic.

De - Tension

I had never thought of the root or origin of the word detention before this morning. It was a hated word, not worthy of being examined. It represented a feared and loathsome experience in grade school, and so I conveniently forgot it when I left high school.
But I woke up this morning thinking about my exposure to Judaism growing up. It started with the U.S. Open, which 2 people I knew were attending this weekend, who were both Jewish. Then I thought of my first memory of meeting a Jewish person (at a Catholic school in a small California town, this was an event). Then I thought of a friend in high school whose family was Jewish, and what I most remember about her, besides that we shared a penchant for wearing bell-bottoms, was that we got in trouble in Biology for dropping a piece of paper. The ensuing detention was a traumatic event for me, as a goody-two-shoes at the time.
This is usually how my thoughts work, but if you're lost already already, it's ok. My trains of thought often go off-track, and I'm lucky if I can preserve the links before I forget how I got to the end!
Anyway, I started thinking about the word detention, and liked that it sounded like 'De - tension.' I could use some of that right now!
Since I got back from Scotland, it has been a rough two weeks for me. I had to right away take the reins for a big work project from a coworker, we DC-ites had an earthquake, then I got a bad cold (from the air travel I suppose), then we had to prepare for a hurricane, which meant I had to leave on Saturday morning for a Sun-Tues work retreat (in order to make sure my flight would not be cancelled), leaving me with no weekend break, then I had to struggle to stay present with the cold and the altitude, ...
it's all been a bit much. So I am very content to have a 3-day weekend to recover.
I have been able to edit down my Scotland photos, but my first foray into online photo management was disappointing: Flickr is made by Yahoo, but not part of Yahoo, like Google and Gmail are, so there are more hoops to go through. Plus, it segments its accounts into 'free version' and 'paid version,' thus limiting the photos you can put in a 'set,' and send to people. I almost made it- 10 photos and 10 videos did not make the cut. So I'll include a couple of those here, with some explanation. :-)

This first clip was filmed at a free music concert housed in the National Museum of Scotland, located in Edinburgh. There was a pair of talented musicians in to perform some traditional and some contemporary music. Here the lad is enjoying the breakdown of a certain song- I recorded a part right between two choruses, so it may be hard to tell, but can anyone guess the tune?

Many Things in a Big City Day

One of the great things about Big Cities of the World is that they present so much variety. If it is a true Big City, that is (this is why Cleveland, even with its 2.5 million inhabitant, doesn't qualify; it's too one-dimensional). Here, for example, is a sunrise:

A sunrise you can get anywhere, of course, but different places have their own kinds of sunrises. There are sunrises over fields of wheat, sunrises over dramatic stones, sunrises over skyscrapers. Each place takes the experience and makes it unique.

It's the same with buildings. There are books upon treatises upon tomes about different types of buildings, varying with function, era, architect, materials, but I'm highlighting location as a key variable here. Some buildings you look at and think, "San Francisco," or "Home."

This one makes me feel at home because it has many of the characteristics of the home and neighborhood I grew up in: Victorian era, color, craftsmanship, greenery. But it also has those stairs, which make it different, and that narrow citified look, which makes it take on a completely different personality as a building. (I love how the people here have put up fabric in the glass part of their door for extra richness of palette). So to recap, we have sunrises, buildings...

And I can't visit anywhere without sampling the baked goods, can I??
No, the answer is no.
I stopped at a delightful [chain] bakery called La Boulange on my long walk from the Mission to Downtown. I had poked my head in one or two before this one, but they were both too expensive and not cheery enough. This place hit my expectations on the mark. I had planned to walk leisurely from where I was staying in the Mission up through Hayes Valley and zigzagging up Market St. to meet my mom and a friend of the family at Samovar for lunch.

I adored the homey, folksy, clunky yet cute style of the bakery, and enjoyed 'un bol' de chocolat chaud, avec un croissant magnifique. I wrote a bit, observing, listening to a French family at one of the round tables, not unlike the one I sat at growing up.

Here's a bit of the character of the place- the small type at the bottom of the functional yet whimsical service sign says, "We have decided to be happy because it is good for our health." It's like a kick of cowboy boots for fun. So now we have seen a sunrise, some buildings, the bakery,it must be time for some culture.
I had singled out the small Museum of Craft and Folk Art on my itinerary because they had a Corita Kent exhibit that would end the day I left, so I figured it was meant to be. Corita was an interesting 20th century American artist, especially since she started out as a Catholic nun.
She bucked a lot of trends.
Here is an excerpt from a page that has the 10 Rules for the art classes she oversaw at the Immaculate Heart College Art Department:

An important lesson, and one which is a good reminder at certain times.

After I met with my mom and Gayle and had a delightfully modern concoction of teas and amuse-bouches (see the commentary on the tea vintage above for a comparison with bombastic wine connoisseurs), it was time to journey on to another feature of the Big City: community gatherings.

Now, as I said in my last post, I've never actually lived in San Francisco (yet), but I had heard about a local organization that does urban foraging for edibles, home cooking, and promotion of local food artisans, all causes which I can get behind. I had signed up for their newsletter, hoping that I could go on a food walk the one day that I would be in town (talk about trusting to fate). It turned out there would be no walk, but there would be a foraged dinner. Well.
I signed up.

It was pretty great. There was a many-coursed meal lit by candles, served by volunteers, foraged from city neighborhoods or local producers. Much of it was very good, and the few things that weren't settled for being fascinating. And as I had come on my own, I met the 4 people on my right and talked with them for the several hours that the meal lasted, making some new friends in this City that contains so many worlds of interest.