living in a college town
the signs of summer’s close
are always clear
and
it’s good to see
the students are back in session
making their transition
with a
float down the river kind of day.
Aug31
Monthly Archives: August 2015
Aug30
what I love most about this crazy life is the adventure of it. – juliette binoche
spent the afternoon at
the rogers centre
in canada
where the
baseball opened with
the official roof report –
‘the roof is open’
the game began
and we
watched our detroit tigers
get mowed over
by the toronto blue jays
such a game (15-1)
where
our outfielder even
lost track of
how many outs there were
and forgot to throw the ball back
toronto fans threw out hats
when their player hit 3 home runs
all in the same game
and
hockey and baseball
blurred lines
in the old hockey tradition
of the hat trick
then
every opposing starter
got at least on base
giving us the chance
to see their entire roster
all in one game
but the staff and the local fans
were very friendly
except for the guy
who impounded
our piñata head mascot
kind of a chicken
who was meant to be a tiger
(a chi-ger)
upon entering the stadium
lest i possibly wear it
and conceal my identity
but we decided to shake it all off
and
embrace the huge loss of this game
by enjoying the town
with fans from both sides
and
our pinata
came right along with us
as we met
a rickshaw driver
a man with a chicken hat
( a kindred spirit who grew up in my hometown)
a street singer with a bag on his head
a sweaty spiderman
a bachelorette party
and a band
playing american and canadian covers
so we danced a lot
and passed the piñata on to the band
but upon returning to our hotel
i couldn’t exactly remember
my hotel room number
except for the last two digits
which caused a bit of a logistical issue
so i visited a few floors
on the elevator that only moved
in response to an electronic key swipe
(who knew?)
saw a lot of our beautiful hotel
made friends with the front desk
who made a few phone calls
to my fellow travelers
who mostly had their phones shut off
in this
faraway and friendly foreign land
and
finally got back into my room
where i soon after
got locked in the glass shower
for a while
then
relaxed and drifted off to sleep
in my pillowy bed
until there was
a 3am fire alarm (false)
but it was one great day
leading into the next
and
there certainly was a lot of laughter
i’d say there were
at least
3 major bouts of laughter
all in the same day.
and
that’s a hat trick.
—
‘that’s the beauty of sport.
sometimes you laugh,
sometimes you cry.’
– joseph gradual
Aug29
go north. and then go more north. and just a bit more north yet.
heading to the great white north
speeding on a train
with
one group of friends
one piñata head
one group of others waiting for us there
and bringing heaps of american spirit to go around.
“the cool thing about being famous is traveling. i have always wanted to travel across seas, like to canada and stuff.”
– britney spears
—
image credits: googleimages
Aug28
i couldn’t unpeach the peaches. – annie dillard
august is national peach month
—
‘peaches’
was my nickname
as a young child
which
i’ve happily
reclaimed
as a grandmother.
it feels like a perfect fit.
i’m celebrating
all month
and beyond.
Peach Blueberry Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing.
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 peaches
• Juice from 1 lime
• 3 Tbsp honey
• Fresh mint leaves
Directions: Wash the blueberries and peaches. Cut the peaches into wedges. Arrange the blueberries and slices of peaches on a platter. Mix the lime juice and honey and drizzle over the fruit. Add fresh mint leaves, sliced thin or whole, and toss everything together. Enjoy.
—
sunrise paints the sky with pinks
and the sunset with peaches.
Cool to warm.
so is the progression from childhood to old age.
– vera nazarian
—
image and recipe credits:
sandiegouniontribune.com, roxyskitchen.com
Aug27
wait, wait!
‘what IS this?!’
‘a typewriter?’
‘i think if i hit these buttons,
the keys will move
and i can give this animal a ride.’
-m-
—
creativity involves breaking out of established patterns
in order to look at things in a different way.
– edward de bono
Aug26
nuts.
recently
i’ve found myself
in an
ongoing battle of the wits
with the squirrels
who come to play in my yard
and who
have recently
kicked
their games of
mischief
and
merry-making
up a notch
rearranging the candles
messing up the table
eating buds from
the bright green gardenia plant
just as it’s about to bloom
tearing down and making off
with the tiny flags
and
leaving nothing but
a trail of snacks behind
i picture them holding secret meetings
inside the knothole
of the big tree out front
assigning jobs
creating new strategies
giggling
chattering
in their native squirrel language
discussing
how to
step up their game
and
i am
losing the battle
but
next
i’m
going to
try to make friends with them
or
go undercover.
—
‘right now, we’re just trying to
beat the squirrels to the pine nuts.’
– arlene ward
—-
image credits: squirrelpicnic.com, rabbitwhiskers.com, littlenummies.net, those darn squirrels
Aug24
one hot mess.
made a big pot
of bubbling hot
french onion soup
ladled it into little bowls
topped it with
buttered french bread slices
gruyere cheese
broiled it until it was just so
fully enjoyed it
though i knew
my big pan
was going to be tough to clean
after caramelizing the onions
and
cooking it for
such a very long time
to create a rich flavor
so
after our meal
and
emptying out
the rest of the soup
i remembered
an old kitchen trick
reheat the pan
on low
with a little
water and dish soap
to unstick the brown bits
making for an easier cleanup
and
went off to work
on an art project
in the other room
music playing
windows open
nice breeze on a hot night
a familiar scent filled the air
wondered why the neighbors
were grilling out so late at night
took a break from the art
to get a drink of water
realized the
‘grilling’
was going on right in my own kitchen
apparently
i’d forgotten about
my clever cleanup trick
that was fully in process
the water had cooked down long ago
the pan was almost on fire
inside was black and crackling
i quickly turned off the heat
grabbed the pan
with hot pads
put it into my sink
too hot to add any water
let it cool down overnight
in the morning
finally decided to
tackle the scrubbing job
now made so much harder
with the ultra char-grilled pan
went to pull it out of the sink
it seemed a bit stuck
wrestled with it a bit
finally used all of
my upper body muscle power
snapped it out of there
flipped it over to see why
it was sticking
and
voila!
it had been so hot
that it had melted right to my sink
and when i yanked it out
it took some of the ceramic with it
now
i need
a new pan
and
a new sink
but
damn, that soup was good.
—
“the only real stumbling block is fear of failure.
in cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
― julia child
Aug23
i’m not confused. i’m just well mixed. – robert frost
so excited!
we put the food together quickly
packed a picnic
headed out to the arboretum
our sanctuary
right in the heart of the city
on a perfect late summer night
to see live opera
performed by
university music students
found a parking space
how lucky!
hauled out our gear
hiked in a mile
worth it!
found the amphitheater
saw an open space for a great place to sit
our luck just kept getting better!
didn’t hear any music
wondered if we were too early
didn’t see any signs of a musical set-up
didn’t see any people around
walked on a bit
listened
to see if perhaps
the music was
in another location in the park
i even said,
(a bit indignantly and dismayed),
“the paper said it was on the 23rd at 5:00!”
at that
mg turned his head
looked at me
and
it was then that i knew
something was wrong
he calmly mentioned
that it was actually
still the 22nd at the moment
we were a bit early
24 hours early
but at least we had great seats.
—
Aug22
space is the breath of art. – frank lloyd wright
local skater boy
drives around
with his polar bear way up top
just like the north pole
i see him all over town
and
it makes everyone
who crosses paths with him
smile and turn or cheer or shake their heads
no one fails to react in some way
good or bad
isn’t that what the best art is meant to do?
—
the entertainment is in the presentation.
– john mctiernan
Aug21
until we meet again.
after a year
of owning
my car
and driving it
multiple times
most every day
i suddenly noticed
yesterday
that it was
saying goodbye
to me
as i pulled into the garage
gathered my things
and
got ready to leave.
my message was
just a little colorful note
left on my dash
placed there
by the subaru’s
electronic heart
and
for some reason
i sighed
wistfully
and
said goodbye back.
and now that i’ve seen it
i’m sure
we’ll be saying goodbye
each and every day
for many, many more years to come.
—
it’s time to say goodbye,
but I think goodbyes are sad and
i’d much rather say hello.
hello to a new adventure.
– ernie harwell
I didn't have my glasses on.... 