Knitting Night Image

Here's something silly to celebrate Wednesday night on a short week. I had Monday off and have Friday off for the holiday. I love these long weekends. But tonight I don't have a ton of time. So you get a picture. I have absolutely no idea what he's doing. I've never seen a squirrel lay like this.

How to Train Your Dragon

It's rare when Jeff buys a movie just so I can see it. He had gone to the theater on the cruise ship to see How To Train Your Dragon and I hadn't gone. So when it finally came out on DVD, Jeff practically ran to the store and bought it. He made me watch it the first night. Halfway through the movie, I loudly announced

"If anything happens to harm this dragon, you are so in trouble."

It took me less than forty minutes and I was already completely enchanted by the dragon. I'm an animal lover by nature and tend to anthropomorphize anyway but the way the animators imbued him with cat-like sweetness, put me over the edge. I loved Toothless. I worried about Toothless. While I loved Hiccup's character, it was Toothless that stole the show for me. I'm always amazed by what animators can do with just the movement of an ear. With just the movement of Toothless's ears, they could make him angry or curious or happy. Without saying a word the creature spoke volumes. I'm in awe of that.

The whole film was both funny and sweet. I loved Craig Ferguson's character. So much of the dialogue and narration was clever. With lines like "This is Berk. It snows nine months out of the year, and hails the other three. What little food grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here, even more so," you can't help but laugh. The relationship between Hiccup and pretty much everyone was interesting. I loved the banter between him and Astrid. But it was touching too. I'll even admit that when Stoick thanked Toothless for bringing Hiccup down to earth safely, I shed more than a few tears. But it was the animation that made me love the film. The emotion on one dragon's face made it all worth it. Such a great movie. I'm awfully glad that Jeff made me watch it.

Merry Christmas All!

I know it's a day late but I'm finally getting around to wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. Heck, I'm finally getting around to actually posting something. It's been two and a half weeks since I said I was taking a break. I didn't expect it to go this long. But I forget how much I stress over the Christmas season. With Christmas cards and shopping and visiting and baking, I simply ran out of time...and/or brainpower. Yesterday was honestly the first day I've thought about posting. It was the first day where I felt like I had enough time.

Of course I have had time. It doesn't take long to post. I used to write up most of my posts during my lunch hour at work. So I know how quickly I can write something up. What stopped me this time was my new favorite distraction...Netflix. Jeff and I decided that our Christmas gift would be a subscription to Netflix. We signed up for it the day we got home from St. Louis (last Sunday). And since then I've spent most of my evenings in front of the TV. It's dangerous, I tell you.

A friend of ours got us started on a British comedy called Coupling so we've been working our way quickly through the episodes. Great writing, fun characters, and open and honest dialogue about relationships and sex. It's a wonderful series. I've also been watching the original Psych episodes that I'd missed. Jeff found the old Cartoon Network series Danny Phantom and we've been plowing our way through the seasons. It's incredibly addictive to be able to turn on the TV and see whatever programming we want. I've watched five movies this week, which is about five times more than I see in a typical week. And that doesn't even count the TV series viewing.

I'm going to work on finding a balance between the TV and...well the rest of my life. I have books that are waiting to be read, knitting projects that clearly aren't going to be done for Christmas, and stories that I should be writing. Plus keeping up with any of my blogs. So I think I'm going to start setting a limit on my TV, like parents do with kids. An hour a day should be enough. And with Netflix, that hour can go a long way.

Losing Track of Time

This is a post of apology. I have been preparing for my weekend company and dealing with a busy workload. I'll be back next week. I have so much to tell you about. Museum visits, stage shows, new movies, a plenty of other things. Until Monday, you'll have to make do with this. These are two of my favorite photos from a family trip to Turks and Caicos. As we head into winter I need to be reminded about beaches and warmth. Enjoy and I'm sorry.

Lion Around

I've always wanted a lion. Like Patience and Fortitude (the New York Public Library Lions) I love the idea of having a lion guard the front door of my house. So for the last couple of years I've been looking at lawn ornaments to find just the right lion.

A couple months ago I went out to Created in Johnston, a local place where each statue is hand cast and custom painted. And I bought my own lion. He's beautiful. He was cast just for me and painted with my specified color. He's Victorian Rust, a purple-ish tinge that makes me incredibly happy although it doesn't quite match the red brick. They did a beautiful job. He's heavy and durable and will last a long time. I feel like he's now an enduring part of the house.

The cat is terrified of him. Every time she goes out she has to spend a huge amount of time smelling him to make sure he's not real. But I adore him. I love the idea of him guarding the house. And doesn't he look regal among the leaves? Next year I'm excited to see what plantings will look best surrounding him. I'm hoping for a jungle look. Perhaps he'll get me into gardening.

Right now I'm ready to name him. And I want your help. Any ideas? I kept thinking of something regal but I'm open to any suggestion.

Knitting Night

Wednesday's are knitting nights so I don't have a ton of time to post. I have so many knitting projects going right now that they're taking up most of my free time. I have a couple projects that I'm working on for Christmas or right after so I've been a bit rushed. But I'm not complaining. I've been a knitting fool recently and loving it.

And I'm incredibly excited to announce that I have a new niece or nephew coming. Congrats guys! So I'll have a baby project to work on as well. But that's not until June. I'm thinking a hat and booties might be out at that time of year. Baby swimwear anyone? :-)

But I figured I'd share my winter weather gear since the below zero temps today made sure I brought it out. About a year and a half ago I ended up out at this amazing yarn store and picked up some gorgeous blue merino wool. It was the nicest wool I had bought for myself at the time. I decided to celebrate by knitting myself mittens. My first pair of mittens to be exact. They came out...strange. Kind of wonky and odd, but they are warm and soft and I still wear them. I took the leftover yarn and knit myself a hat. It's a bit big but I love it. And when I still had most of a ball leftover I knit a lacy little scarf. The pattern doesn't come out perfectly in the picture but it's a great (and easy) pattern. That's the great part about knitting. Even if the pattern seems hard, most of the time with a little patience, you can learn anything.

New Feeder

I've been meaning to write about my birthday present from my parents and just hadn't taken the time yet. But I've been enjoying it on a daily basis and figured I'd finally share my new toy. You know you're old when you ask for a new bird feeder for your birthday. Well I'm officially old. And I couldn't love my new feeder more.

The squirrels had destroyed my last one. In one swipe of a paw they had sent it flying to the ground and broke it. When asked by my parents, Jeff had mentioned I wanted a new finch feeder. And not just any finch feeder, an antimicrobial feeder from Wild Birds Unlimited. So I went without for almost two weeks waiting for my birthday. When I opened my gift I knew instantly what I was getting. But I didn't realize that they would include the great rain cover. I hung it up the very next day.

I filled my new feeder with Finch Feed from Wild Birds Unlimited and look what I get. Finches!! Those are five goldfinches (in their winter plumage) eating at my feeder. What you don't see are the three others on top of the hook, the woodpecker waiting his turn, and two chickadees that are waiting for an opening. I have a constant stream of birds. The only ones who haven't come back are the cardinals. Oh..and the squirrels. I watched a squirrel come up to the feeder, sniff it, and walk away. I don't think I have to worry about this new feeder.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's my favorite holiday of the year again. Thanksgiving is, for me, all about food and family and spending time. I'm heading over to my parent's house this evening for dinner and couldn't be more excited. I made my Frog Eye Salad this morning (see previous post) and am ready for tons of good food. My dad even made me a vegetarian dressing which was so incredibly sweet. I'll have to eat huge servings.

We're eating later this year than normal because my sister has to work most of the day. But after gorging ourselves on food we'll sit around and drink coffee and perhaps later play a game. Jeff is hoping to get everyone back here to the house to watch Pumpkin Chunkin' on the Discovery Channel tonight. An idea that also makes me happy.

We watched Pumpkin Chunkin' one year while on vacation and have been fascinated ever since. Imagine groups of people meeting out in a corn field to see how far they can shoot, fling, and throw pumpkins. There are air cannons, slingshots, trebuchets, and any other device you can think of. They shoot for distance but mostly it's just fun to see those pumpkins fly. Perhaps that will be our new Thanksgiving tradition. We'll see.

Some of the devices used for Pumpkin Chunkin'

Whatever you do for Thanksgiving, spend some time giving thanks. I know that I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm truly blessed. I hope you remember that you are too. Happy Thanksgiving all. Eat much and enjoy more.

My Thanksgiving Dish

I'm heading to my parent's house for Thanksgiving this year. It will be a day filled with food and family. I'm looking forward to it immensely. For the last couple of years, we kids have been allowed to bring a dish to dinner.

I've brought a few dishes but my favorite is Frog Eye Salad. I first had Frog Eye when I was working back at Heartland. I was more than skeptical the first time I was offered some of the dish. Not only did it have a bizarre name but it had a weird looking texture. I hesitated the first couple of potlucks until I finally tried my first taste. Then I was hooked.

I've made this dish so many times now I don't really need the recipe. The salad isn't what it sounds like. The name comes from the tiny pasta, called Acini de Pepe. The salad has a Cool Whip base and is filled with mandarin oranges and pineapple. It's a pasta salad and a dessert all in one. I'm excited to make it again for another Thanksgiving although I'm sure my family is probably tired of it. I thought I'd share the recipe here.

Frog Eye Salad

1 C. Sugar

2 T. Flour

2 eggs, beaten

3 qts water

2 1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 c. pineapple juice

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. cooking oil

3 cans mandarin oranges, drained

2-- 20 oz cans pineapple chunks, drained

1-- 12 oz carton Cool Whip

1-- 16 oz pkg Acini de Pepe pasta

2 c. marshmallows

In a saucepan mix flour, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Slowly add pineapple juice and eggs. Cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Allow to cool completely.

Bring water, remaining salt, and oil to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until done. Drain. Mix egg mixture and macaroni. Refrigerate (I normally allow it to cool overnight).

When finally cool, mixed in the rest of the ingredients. I normally start with the Cool Whip to loosen up the pasta and then add the rest of the fruit and marshmallows.

This recipe is huge. I often cut it in half even for a large family gathering. It is a heavy salad although leftovers are still good for up to three days. I also tend to go heavy on the Cool Whip and often use more than just the one carton. More than anything, enjoy. This sweet salad is guaranteed to satisfy.

My Neighbor Totoro

One of my big requests for my birthday was for Hayao Miyazaki films. It's hard to call myself a true animation fan with the knowledge that there are some Miyazaki films out there that I haven't seen. I've seen a few and I even own Spirited Away but there are plenty of his films that I don't own. So I asked my sister for Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (pronounced Toto-row) and I was thrilled when she bought me both that one and Castle in the Sky.

My Neighbor Totoro is enchanting. It is a small elegant film about two young girls and their father who settling in rural Japan during the 1950s. The girl's mother is in the hospital suffering from tuberculosis. The family move into a wonderful old farmhouse filled with soot sprites, nice neighbors, and a nearby grove of trees. The trees are guarded by Totoro, a cat/bear/owl creature who never speaks but takes the girls on the most amazing journeys. Totoro protects the girls and the living things around him. When Mei, the younger, runs away, it is Totoro who helps to find her with the help of his friend the cat-bus. If that sounds fantastical, it is. The movie is a mix of quiet gentle moments, and almost psychedelic fantasy. The cat-bus in particular is a bit out there. But what I remember about the film isn't really the fantastic elements, but the gentle moments of beauty. Totoro is a wonderful creature, gentle and sweet. He is silly and playful and nurturing.

Life is quiet out in the rural world and the people are polite and thankful. I was touched by the politeness and gentility. People thank the gods for simple things, like when the girls are trapped in a small roadside shrine by a rainstorm. They both turn and bow to the roadside god with the simple plea that they be allowed to stay. It's a touching moment, filled with a humility that we don't see much anymore. I'm not particularly religious but I loved the constant mention of spirits and gods in this film. The family thanks the trees for protecting them. They attempt to appease the soot sprites, in order to get them to leave. The characters seem to respect the things around them.

There was no central plot with this movie. In fact there was very little action. Instead it was a collection of simple scenes but they all added up for me. I felt at peace after watching the film. And more than anything, I felt renewed.

Montages

I've decided that my life would be so much better with montages. I got the idea from watching Kung Fu Panda of all things but I've noticed montages in tons of movies. And that gave me an idea. What if life was a little more like the movies? Want to lose weight, cue the exercise montage. Want to learn a skill, cue the practice montage. Want to get a promotion, cue the rise to power montage. Montages would solve all sorts of pesky issues where you have to practice and learn daily for long periods of time. Instead we could just cue up the music and it would be done in less than five minutes.

I'm only partially joking. I've been trying to lose weight for a while but the slowness of it drives me crazy. I'm not particularly good at being patient when I don't see any shred of improvement. So it's tempting to think that I could cue up my movie montage for exercise (set to Move Along by the All-American Rejects) and find myself slim and trim in only a couple minutes. Like Rocky in...well any of the Rocky movies.

I would probably do the same thing with writing. Cue up the writing music (something like This Is the Day by The The) and have that novel written by the time the song is done. Of course I'd do the same thing for painting and learning to cook and...everything. I'd be brilliant in only minutes a day. My life would be so much better with montages. Sigh, if only they were an option.

Games Weekend

This past weekend was my birthday and one of my friends from Minneapolis came down to help me celebrate. He arrived on Thursday and hung out with Jeff and I until Monday (which is why I didn't get any posting done). It was an incredibly relaxing weekend. We left the house for meals but otherwise it was a quiet weekend at home with plenty of tea, movies, games, and talking. It was a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday. Thanks Jon!

We watched a ton of interesting movies and television but the biggest hit for me was the games. Jon had brought down some of the games from his collection and we played something almost every night. Our first evening was the game I'd asked for by name, Cleopatra. This game has each player acting as an Egyptian architect building a palace for Cleopatra. You must collect the resources needed to build each piece of the building, which gives you money. But some resources also give you corruption, which you must avoid. The player with the most corruption is sacrificed to the crocodile god and the others are left to figure out who made the most money. An interesting strategy game with plenty of fun little pieces to play with.

One of the games that we played regularly was Chronology, Jeff's favorite game. This quick game requires players to figure out where things happen in a historical context. You start the game with one card which sets your baseline year. The next turn you are read a historical event without the date. You have to figure out whether the event took place before or after your baseline year. Each card after that also needs to be put into chronological order. You win when you have 10 cards all lined up in their spots. It's not a game I'm good at (I'm terrible with dates) but we had a great time.

On my birthday we played Apples to Apples with the family. This silly game has quickly become my favorite game although I'm terrible at it. One person reads the words on a Green Apple card while the other players find the red card in their hand that they feel fits the words. Then they turn them into the reader and the reader decides which they think fits the best. It's subjective and silly and a lot of fun. We laughed a lot and talked a lot and had a wonderful time.

The last game we had was the most complicated and ended up being my favorite one for the weekend. Agricola (pronounced A-grick-ola) is the latin word for farmer. In this rather involved game, players start a farm. On their turn they must decide how they will allocate their resources (crops, animals, home improvements....) and with limited turns it is all about finding food fast and building up your reserves. This game had us talking long after we'd finished. There are limitless strategies for ways to win and we each had plans for how we would win the next time. I focused on grains and bread and did well. Jon focused on animal production and easily blew both Jeff and I away. It was a great game though. A wonderful weekend filled with games and laughter and fun.

Veteran's Day Poem

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and I'm not going to have a ton of time for posting. So I thought I'd post a poem tonight to honor those who make the ultimate sacrifice. Although I'm a pacifist, I believe in supporting those who actually go out to fight, even if I don't agree with the war. I'm in awe of those who serve.

The Charge of the Light Brigade sums things up pretty well for me. The poem, written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, commemorates the Battle of Balaclava, a disastrous charge made during the Crimean War. The poem, of the Light Brigade's charge against Russia in 1854, is considered one of the finest pro-warrior and anti-war poems out there. It praises the heroes who fought so bravely and blasts the horrific loss of life.

Plus I tend to use the paraphrased line "ours is not to question why, ours is but to do and die" a lot during the course of the day.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!

"Charge for the guns!" he said:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"

Was there a man dismay'd?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Someone had blunder'd:

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,

Flash'd as they turn'd in air,

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wonder'd:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right thro' the line they broke;

Cossack and Russian

Reel'd from the sabre stroke

Shatter'd and sunder'd.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon behind them

Volley'd and thunder'd

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell,

They that had fought so well

Came thro' the jaws of Death

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honor the charge they made,

Honor the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred.

Renata Liwska

I've been meaning to write about Renata Liwska for my other blog about children's books, but something keeps stopping me. It would make sense to post her work there, after all she is a children's book illustrator. Her work is, in a word, adorable. So it would make sense for me to write about it there, but I think her beautiful tiny pencil sketches are simply too perfect to not consider art. She belongs in both blogs, there as illustration and here as art.

I was introduced to Renata's work through The Quiet Book, written by Deborah Underwood. The moment I saw the cover at Barnes and Noble I knew I had to own the book. And I knew that I had to learn more about the artist. The cover drew me in, and the interior illustrations enchanted me further. Her image for "Pretending you're invisible quiet" is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. And all of Renata's work is that cute.

Renata works mostly in pencil, adding color digitally for her printed illustrations. She's illustrated seven books now and all of them are soft and cute. I've been reading Renata's blog (Pandas and Such) for a while and love her posts. Her blog offers glimpses into perfect miniature animals, that spring from her pencil with personalities all their own. The light pencil hash marks create detailed and adorable characters. Plus she's not afraid to show work in progress, something that I love almost more than the finished pieces. She shows off her sketchbook drawings which are enough to make almost any illustrator jealous. Look at her "rough" drawing below. I wish my finished products looked that good.

Renata is a Polish artist who has moved to Calgary to be with her artist husband. The two of them share a website. His work can be found here. I've been slowly trying to buy up Renata's books to add to my collection but I'm also thinking about picking up some of her pencil drawings as well. I'm a huge fan of adorable animals and beautiful art; and they just don't get more adorable or beautiful than Renata's work.

Winter Foods (or Pomegranates for Dummies)

It was officially winter for me today. Oh sure I've already seen my first junco of the season (a birding sign of winter). I've already scraped my car a couple of times now. I've worn my mittens. I've had the heated mattress pad cranked up in the evenings. I've even brought out my winter coat. But the final straw was this morning when the house dropped below 63 and we had to turn on the furnace. Winter begins when the furnace kicks on for the first time. From now until March the house will rarely drop below 68. We spend a small fortune in heating bills but it's worth it.

One of my other signs of winter is that I get the sudden urge to bake. Each winter I typically bake a couple dozen cookies but I'm learning this year to bake bread. Last week I started with an easy banana bread that came out pretty well. I didn't have enough banana to make the recipe so I substituted in some applesauce which worked beautifully. It was a bit dry but very tasty. This week I'm thinking about doing a wheat and rolled oat bread from a recipe I found in a dieter's cookbook. We'll see how it comes out. I'm also suddenly interested in cake decorating. i picked up a couple books from the library and am going to spend some time with food coloring, sugarpaste, and royal icing. We'll see what comes out of that. I'll post pictures of both the successes and tragedies. I'm assuming both will be equally tasty. :-)

But my big excitement for November are those oddly shaped red fruits called pomegranates that I gorge myself on every year. If you're new to the blog, I wrote about my undying love of pomegranates. I devour them throughout their limited season until I'm practically sick. And about the time I'm starting to get tired of eating them day in and day out, the season ends and I have to wait 10 more months to get them. When Jeff and I were in the grocery store today I noticed that they were back in stock. I bought three and brought them home to rip apart.

For those of you who've never prepared a pomegranate, they can be a bit time intensive. You have to pluck the delicate seeds from the rest of the fruit. I used to waste hours on them until I mentioned my addiction in the blog and my friend Salt pointed out a much better way to prep them that I thought I'd share here. First, you want to pick your pomegranates based on weight. The fruit should feel surprisingly heavy. That means the seeds are filled with juice. Once you get them home you'll want to cut the top and the bottom off of the pomegranate. Try to stay pretty shallow so you don't cut any of the seeds. Once that's done, score the fruit along the white material. I tend to stay shallow for this as well. Then the fun begins.

Grab a big bowl and fill it mostly full with water. Holding the pomegranate under the water, start to gently pry it apart. The seeds spray purple everywhere when pushed too hard, so having the fruit underwater will minimize the mess. Rub the seeds off gently by pulling them away from the white foundation. You'll be able to pull off multiple seeds at one time by simply rubbing the tops of the seeds. The fruits will sink to the bottom of the bowl while the white debris will float to the surface. After all the seeds have been pulled off, I scoop the debris off the top of the water, and then strain the seeds. They go into a tupperware container to sit in my fridge. I've found them great for snacking or in salads. They'll keep in the fridge for up to 10 days.

Winter may be my least favorite time of the year, but baking and pomegranates make it just a little bit sweeter.

It Gets Better

If I could remove a couple years of my life they would have to be the years I spent in middle school. I had a really tough time in middle school. High school was okay but middle school were flat-out the worst years of my life. I was teased and bullied nonstop for almost three years. The bullying even escalated to physical attacks and demoralizing gestures. It was a horrible time for me. I vowed when I left for high school that I would never consider a day as bad unless it was middle-school bad. And so far I haven't had a day that was worse. It keeps my bad days in perspective.

Now I'll freely admit, I was a weird kid. I still am. And I'll tell you that I'm stronger in many ways because of those years. When I got to high school and was called names, I didn't even bat an eye. Names didn't hurt anymore. I found happiness with who I was: nerdy, odd, quiet, and bookish. I was the kid in the corner reading a book and telling tarot cards. I was the kid who slipped away during lunch to write. I never really fit in but at least I didn't have bad days. And I don't think my childhood was all that unusual. I'm sure most of us can tell stories of being teased and bullied.

This is all to say that I completely love the new video series that has been sweeping the internet called "It Gets Better". The project is geared towards LGBT high school and middle school students to show them that life gets better after those challenging years. I know that at the time for me, things seems like the end of the world. These videos are designed to help combat the high incidences of young suicide. It is to remind kids that after all the horrors of high school and middle school, life actually gets better. You may still get teased, but you simply won't care as much. For many LGBT kids, the future may not seem so clear when they are in high school and kids are calling them names. This is a wonderful reminder that they can have some amazing lives if they just hold on.

The series is targeted towards LGBT teens but I think that the message is even more far reaching. I wish someone had told me when I was being bullied for being different, that it would get better. That after middle school I wouldn't care about being teased. That once I reached college, different would be okay. And that I would gradually find people who would not only accept me for who I was but appreciate those differences. I know that there is an incredibly high incidence of LGBT teens who commit suicide. Anything that can be done to prevent that is amazing in my book. And after watches these videos I truly think they should be required viewing in middle and high school.

Videos are recorded by people like President Obama, Suze Orman, Tim Gunn, Dan Savage, and many others. In fact there are currently over 1000 videos posted on the It Gets Better project website. Videos are from celebrities, LGBT speakers, community leaders, and just everyday people who wanted to share their experiences. Each tells a story of struggle and survival. Of power from powerlessness. And each is inspiring. I wish I had had something like this when I was growing up. I wish I could go back and tell the 11 year old me the same thing. It gets better. And it really does.

Seedless

Another Halloween has come and gone and once again I have denied myself one of my favorite things. Not candy, which I've eaten way more than my share. Not costumes although it was one of the few years that we didn't have a party to attend. And not even trick-or-treaters, since we never get any of those at the townhouse. What I'm talking about is pumpkin seeds. I'm seedless again this year.

One of my favorite things about Halloween is pumpkin carving. I'm terrible at it but I love to create my happy smiling pumpkin heads for the front porch. But this year I didn't even buy a pumpkin much less carve it. No smiling or scary orange heads for the neighborhood kids to smash. And even worse, no seeds. Pumpkin seeds are one of the great pleasures of the fall. Almost better than pomegranates and you know how much I like those. I like to roast my pumpkin seeds with a bit of salt and cayenne for a touch of heat. Done right, they are one of the best snacks, addictive and good for you.

Two years ago, Jeff and I had some friends over to carve pumpkins. I had gone to the store and picked up six of them. We carved and laughed and drank wine and had a good time. After everything was cleaned up I washed the seeds and spread them out on paper towels on the kitchen table to dry. I promised some of the roasted seeds to our friends and they went home. I headed upstairs to change and came back down to find the cat sitting on the table amid the seeds, chewing on them. Needless to say I tossed the whole batch. No seeds that year.

Last year we went to my sister's place to carve pumpkins and answer the door for trick-or-treaters. It was a ton of fun and food and by the end I was so full that I went home without even taking any of the seeds. None that year. So this year I was determined that we would have another carving party and this time I would just roast the seeds without drying them. But I never got to the store. We never had the party. And I never made any seeds. I'm going seedless again this year. It just doesn't feel like Halloween. I'll have to pick up some old pumpkins and carve them up tomorrow. Do you think my neighbors would find Thanksgiving Jack-O-Lanterns odd?

Poetry Friday

It's nine o'clock on a Friday night and I'm sitting here desperately trying to write. Not write blog posts, that's easy for me. I'm trying to write fiction. I've just started a book that makes me want to write so badly I can taste it. I want beautiful and delicious words to spring from my hands. So I type in a couple of lines, and then my brain panics. It screams at me "what the hell are you doing?" and "you can't do that" and all other sorts of crap that my brain likes to give me. And so I close the word document without saving and stare at the computer for a bit longer. As if my courage will somehow come by contemplating this ancient computer. And then I repeat.

So to break the monotony of the cycle I'm posting a poem. I wanted something fearless, something bold. And I sat and read poem after poem looking for inspiration. Instead I remembered this. It's not fearless or even my opinion. But it does make me smile.

For my friends the true carnivores. You know who you are.

The Health-Food Diner

by Maya Angelou

No sprouted wheat and soya shoots

And Brussels in a cake,

Carrot straw and spinach raw,

(Today, I need a steak).

Not thick brown rice and rice pilaw

Or mushrooms creamed on toast,

Turnips mashed and parsnips hashed,

(I'm dreaming of a roast).

Health-food folks around the world

Are thinned by anxious zeal,

They look for help in seafood kelp

(I count on breaded veal).

No smoking signs, raw mustard greens,

Zucchini by the ton,

Uncooked kale and bodies frail

Are sure to make me run

to

Loins of pork and chicken thighs

And standing rib, so prime,

Pork chops brown and fresh ground round

(I crave them all the time).

Irish stews and boiled corned beef

and hot dogs by the scores,

or any place that saves a space

For smoking carnivores.

Old Photos

Wednesdays are my knitting nights so I have no time to post this evening. So instead I'm treating you (please note the sarcasm) to two of my favorite old pictures. That way I feel like I posted, and you get something new...er...old to look at.

Yeah I know that you probably don't really want to see my baby pictures, but it's my blog damn it.

Me in my favorite pose, reading, with my "who made this man a gunner" look. Yeah I was cross-eyed in all of my baby pictures. I was also blonde.

I'm not sure what I'm doing in this photo (or if I want to know), waiting for Kasparov to show up perhaps?

Halloween Cards

I hate how every holiday now has cards. It used to be that you would see cards for Christmas, Valentines, Mother's Day, and a couple of Easter cards, but that was about it. And I was fine with those options. I didn't need more cards to send out. And then the card companies figured out that the more holidays there are, the more cards people buy. And they went nuts. You can send out Arbor Day cards, Columbus Day cards, President's Day cards.... So when I noticed that stores were starting to stock Halloween cards I just shook my head and walked by. Hallmark cards for Halloween...really...Really???

So why was I standing in Target last week picking up two Halloween cards that I know that I'll never send out? I bought two cards for the most useless card giving holiday ever. And they now proudly adorn my table. I show them to random people and now I'm blogging about them. What happened to me?

I'll offer a little whine to make me feel better about it. I didn't want to buy the cards but Jeff made me. We were walking through Target when he told me that we had to buy some Halloween cards. When I shot him an incredulous look, he just smiled. "Wait until you see these," he promised. "You'll buy them." So, like an idiot I stood in front of the Halloween card display and picked through them. I felt almost guilty. I wondered if people around me weren't staring at me thinking, "she's buying Halloween cards?" But then I picked up the ones he was talking about. Two Terry Border creations. And of course I carried them up to the checkout proudly. I even hoped that the cashier would see them and comment (I'm petty that way).

As you guys probably know, I love Terry Border's work. His Bent Objects have made me laugh and think and be amazed. He's just so incredibly talented and odd (and I mean that in the nicest way). I've talked about him here, and here, and here. So of course I have to support him. It doesn't hurt that these two are some of his best work. Zombies is one of my favorite images of his and Halloween Candy Corn is a classic. Well worth the couple of bucks. Even if it meant sacrificing my dignity to buy Halloween cards. I better hope he doesn't start making Arbor Day cards.

Bodies...at Rest

I have an incredibly strong stomach for medical maladies. As the daughter of a pathologist, dinner conversations occasionally centered around what Dad had cut up that day. "Oh so the appendix was pus-filled. Wow, that's so cool. Hey pass the alfredo sauce." I would leaf through Dad's medical journals, both horrified and fascinated by skin lesions, tumors, and the occasional surgery. I've never sat in on an autopsy, but I've wanted to.

Even having said that the first time I saw a head, stripped of skin, and cut in half, I was a little taken aback. For a second I was nervous. And then I was fascinated. While Jeff and I were down in St. Louis we had the option to go see Bodies--The Exhibition. This incredibly displays shows each of the different systems of the body, using real bodies. The skeleton exhibit was like any anatomy class you may have taken. There was a sternum bone, some tiny ear bones, a full rib cage (with muscles still attached), and a full skeleton. The bones were beautifully preserved.

Stepping 10 feet over brought you to the muscles section, and that's where I had my first and only moment of uncertainty. The half head, used to display the muscles of the jaw, tongue, and neck, was just a little too off-putting for me. Strangely the entire body, posed as if kicking a soccer ball didn't give me pause at all. The body, stripped of skin, showed muscles, bones, nerves, and veins. It was incredible to think of how all the parts fit together. But that was nothing compared to what I was going to see. After that we walked downstairs and into the sections covering the digestive, respiratory, reproductive, nervous, endocrine, and circulation systems.

Bodies--the Exhibition uses actual cadavers to show off body systems. Bodies (or parts) are injected with liquid silicone rubber which replaces the water in the organs and tissues, making them impervious to rot. I had read about the technique in Stiff, Mary Roach's book about the uses of medical cadavers; and I was excited to see it in person. I had seen some images of other body exhibits but the focus of this exhibition seemed much different from the circus like images I'd seen. This exhibit focused on promoting health. We saw parts that were diseased alongside healthy tissues. An enlarged spleen was at least four times larger than its healthy counterpart. The lungs damaged by smoke sat right next to a healthy set of lungs and a box where you could drop your cigarettes.

The image that I will take away forever from this exhibition was a male body standing in the back of the room. The cadaver still had all its skin and had been cut into five different slices, from head to toe. Each section showed all the bones, internal organs, and muscles that made up the human form. We could peer into the sliced heart, and see the mess that makes up our intestines (not quite as orderly as I expected). Only the brain and the liver had been kept whole and hung out of the section that it had been cut from. I was in awe of how compact the human body really is. And I was truly fascinated.

There are no pictures for this post. First I didn't feel that it would be appropriate for my readers with less strong stomachs. And secondly (and more importantly) because the exhibit doesn't allow photography, a request that I applaud. In fact the exhibition was far more tastefully done than I was expecting. I think I had been prepared for a bit more of a circus sideshow feel rather than the very medical and educational exhibit we walked through. Jeff, Jeff's dad, and I all went and I think we could all say that the exhibit was far more informative than we had expected. I walked away with a better idea of how bodies fit together. I was also thinking of how important health is. I've seen the alternative. And its not pretty. But the bodies I saw that day were amazing. And beautiful in a bizarre way. More than anything I was glad I had gone. Informative and interesting.

Trivia Fun

I don't have any time to write up a real post tonight (heading to knitting) so I thought I'd try something fun. Can you guess the actor above? This might be too easy. I found this picture a while ago and think he was just gorgeous when he was younger (he's still attractive IMO). Let me know in the comments who you think it is. I might even have to think up a prize for it. Good luck!

Take the Long Way Home

Robert Frost famously wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." And I've finally realized how true this statement is when it comes to traveling. I'm a huge fan of the back roads. The blue highways if you prefer. I'm a fan of any road where I don't have people flying past me at 90 and where I can actually see some sights that aren't billboards. In the last year Jeff and I have started traveling where we never take the interstate if we can avoid it. And that one move has completely changed road trips for me.

I love to travel but I'm not always happy with long car trips. They tend to be more stressful than they are worth. Or if nothing else, they are boring. We would arrive at our destination cranky and tired. And the miles seemed to drag on. That is until we started taking the back roads. When Jeff and I went to Iowa City a couple of months ago, we started out on Interstate 80. It was a crowded Saturday and we were both tense. The traffic was going 85 or faster and we were struggling to stay with the pack. We were also exhausted after a late night. About Newton I suggested getting off the interstate. We'd take Highway 6 over. The moment we drove off the interstate we went from tired and tense to relaxed and happy. We passed farms and towns, little produce stands, and plenty of wildlife. Suddenly the journey didn't seem quite so long. Or so terrible. We added a half hour to the trek, but it was well worth the happiness.

So our recent trip down to St. Louis was a bit longer than normal. We took Interstate 35 down to Kansas City since Jeff had to be there at 2 and we didn't get on the road until 10:30. Too close for a back roads trip. After the stop, we headed onto Highway 50 rather than Interstate 70. Highway 50 runs through Warrensburg, Sedalia, Jefferson City, and the unfortunately named Knob Noster. We stopped along the way for dinner but most of the drive was uninterrupted. After Sedalia, it was rare to see another car and even more surprising to see a billboard. We saw a ton of cows, many small towns, the state capitol, and enough trees and creatures to keep me constantly pointing out the window. It added an hour to the drive, particularly with the winding road after Jeff City. But we were happy and still smiling when we arrived in St. Louis.

The city of St. Louis is built around a great interstate system. We took the highways and interstates everywhere in the city. So when it came time to drive back, Jeff and I were looking for something even smaller than our typical drive up Highway 61. I found it with Highway 79, or the Great River Road. Listed as one of the prettiest drives in the Midwest, the highway lived up to its name. It was filled with scenic overlooks of the Mississippi, beautiful towns like Clarksville and Louisiana, and lots of hills. Even better, there was no traffic and no real rush. After reaching Hannibal, we took Highway 6, a mostly flat road across the middle of Missouri. But flat was short lived. Highway 149 has to be one of the most winding roads in Missouri. We drove up and down hills and were constantly turning. About halfway up through the drive I could no longer tell which direction we were going. By the time the road ended, both Jeff and I were feeling a little sick from all the twists and turns but I'd taken plenty of pictures of the beautiful fall colors and the rolling hills.

We could have taken 61 to Interstate 80 and most people would have thought that was varied enough. We could have taken Interstate 70 to 35, a route we have taken on bad winter days. But we would not have had near as much fun. The drive ran 7 and a half hours (about an hour and a half longer than normal) but I arrived at home relaxed and refreshed. I wasn't stressed at all. "I took the one less traveled," has become my mantra. You never know where the blue highways lead. But they are well worth the trip.

Twice Studios

A couple days ago I mentioned that my boss had an art photography/t-shirt store that he ran in his free time. What I didn’t mention in that post is that I’m going to very quickly go broke buying things from the store. Not because he’s my boss. Because the art photography has to be some of the most unique and beautiful I’ve seen in a while. And the t-shirts are easily the softest (and most interesting) I’ve ever worn. In fact I’m sitting here writing this in the t-shirt I bought from the store last week. I’ve had a couple people comment on it already. Comfort and a conversation starter, I’m in.

The store is Twice Studios; and it’s run by my boss, his sister-in-law (the photographer) and his brother-in-law (the medical illustrator). Now I know what you’re thinking, a photographer and a medical illustrator, what type of store is this? My favorite kind, of course. A bit eccentric, a bit odd, and just the right amount of beautiful. The photography is what originally interested me in checking the store out. My boss had mentioned it as a hobby of his but when I checked out the art images I was instantly infatuated. I’m already thinking of adding the image above (Mermaid) to my walls along with the Tea Party image below. Prints are so reasonable that I’m also thinking of adding this image (Truth) to the walls of my studio.

I walked into one of the local stores that sell Twice’s t-shirts last weekend and picked up this shirt. Heart has quickly become my favorite t-shirt. It’s interesting certainly. I get a lot of people commenting. But what really makes me want to wear it is the softness. This shirt is incredible, one of the softest I’ve ever worn. And you all know how much I like comfort. The other one I would love to purchase is the firefly shirt. There are a couple local places that carry the t-shirts but I’ll be picking up my art prints from the Etsy store. I love the idea of supporting local artists and particularly ones whose work is so interesting.

I’m thinking about buying the t-shirt below for my brother. For those of you not of a medical bent, this is a Sphenoid bone, a beautiful butterfly shaped bone found at the base of the skull. As a doctor I think he’d love it. Heck, knowing him he’d try to wear it to clinic to see patients. As a big fan of comfort, I think he’d wear it all the time.