I took this image at Ocean Beach a few summers ago. I was playing with the macro settings on my S70 so it’s fitting that it would inspire a macro memory of summer.

I was sad when I awoke because I still feel a bit too heavy to be able to do this currently and I really need a full body workout that I enjoy doing regularly. I might just have to take up dancing to house music again because that is the closest I’ve ever felt to flying AND, when I was dancing often, I was in great shape.

being a small child
having a chaperone

peanut butter cup

anxiety
small voice
confusion

sunlight

Mrs. Naylor

mustard yellow jacket
brown pants
a $20 bill
brown leather wingtips

feeling the pain (on my behalf) in everyone’s heart
(even the judge)

witnessing myself from outside of myself

View from the kitchen window

View from the living room

The happy couple

saying goodbye to Pt Reyes

Since then, Shanny has surprised me with many presents delivered in unexpected ways, as well as an awesome surprise bday dinner. However, nothing comes close to what he just did for our 5 year anniversary last Sunday.

Rewind a few months to me getting a new job in a building with a jewelry store on the ground floor. I spied a beautiful bracelet in the window that looks like a silver octopus wrapped around the wrist and I fell in love.
We went to our weekly dinner party with our friends & when I brought up the jewelry store, Jim said “Oh, they have the most amazing octopus bracelet in the window!” and I said “yes, that’s what I was going to say!”
Every morning I would say hello to the bracelet on my way up to work and one day I saw it was missing and my heart sunk. I went in to ask about it and asked if they were going to get another. She wasn’t sure but took my name and number. I told her “I just hope that whoever bought it is really excited about it.” She gave me a big grin and said “yes, the woman who got it is very happy about it” and I left thinking I would HAVE to get it right away if they get another.

Okay, back to last Sunday. We decided we wanted to go to the restaurant Gary Danko since we couldn’t pull off a weekend away, like we usually do. We joked that we were saving money this way (it’s known to rack up quite an impressive bill for a restaurant, which is why this is a joke, tho, actually quite true). Dinner was delicious* & we had a wonderful time basking in their excellent service. Just before dessert, a staff member brings out a special covered dish with rose petals under the lid, puts it in front of me & says “here’s a little something special before dessert.” I was stunned (sorry, no photo – I was overwhelmed), shy & excited when I lifted the lid to discover a box wrapped in white paper with a little black 5 on it. I turned it over and there was Shan’s note “i <3 u" I gave him a big hug then, I think, tho, it's all a bit of a blur.
I opened the box to discover the coveted octopus bracelet!

I know I gave him a big hug at this point and then showed our waiter who couldn't tell just what it is.
When I visited the bathroom (where I got to polish my boots!) I took this picture:

I am a very lucky girl. ♥

——-
* For foodies, here’s what we had:
We let them choose the wine to come with each course and I asked about not having a full glass with each of our 4 courses “because I can’t drink that much wine”. The waiter was very flexible and poured me a 1-2oz taste of each pairing and only charged me for two glasses, which was super awesome.

Amuse bouche
delicious lobster bisque w/ bits of fennel & peppers in a shallow bowl w/ an awkward spoon. I love it when the amuse is a soup served in a little cup so it’s easy to eat.
We both had a glass of bubbles, loved our own but didn’t care for each others’ choice. And that’s okay by me!

Appetizers
I had: a salad of dungeness crab, avocado, pink grapefruit, frisee & little bits of red pepper. It was delicious especially when I had a bite with all of the above items together. I LOVED my wine pairing (but forget what they all were – oops)
Shan had: pumpkin soup with dungeness crab and delicious little herbed biscuits. The crab and biscuits came out in the bowl and then the waiter poured the soup over them – deelish. He loved the viognier they served him to go with as it was a perfect fit.

Fish Course
I had: scallops that were almost cooked perfectly. I like them soft in the middle but these were probably seared for 30 seconds to long for that. They tasted great but one of the scallops was a little gritty, which I’ve never experienced before. I loved my wine pairing with this dish as well.
Shan had: lobster in a curry sauce that he thought was delicious. Another win with the wine pairing; he was served a local chardonnay.

Entree
I had: beef filet w/ some kind of marmelade and a flavored butter – it was perfect and I ate the whole thing. The filet was cooked exactly how I like it. I did find it strange that I wasn’t given a steak knife tho – my butter knife worked fine but I did have to make more effort than I wanted to. I wasn’t so into the wine pairing this time – kinda sour & too tannic.
Shan had: guinea hen breast with some amazing sausage & delicious potatoes and cabbage. He enjoyed the pinot noir they paired with this dish.

Dessert
I had: roasted pears with gingerbread and nutmeg ice cream. The pears were good but the gingerbread wasn’t spicy enough and was a little dry. The ice cream had some dry, flavorless coating on it and had minimal flavor itself. The wine pairing was my least favorite and I LOVE dessert wine, so that was a bit of a let down.
Shan had: chocolate torte that he refers to as a “snooze fest” of flavors. The shell was flavorless and the chocolate was rather mild. This time the wine pairing fell flat for both of us as he didn’t care for the “boring” porto they served.
BUT, they did send out a cute little citrus mousse cake for our anniversary, that was light and lovely, not amazing, but it made up for the others.

Their song “The Carnival is Over” is particularly mesmerizing for my spirit.

Here are the lyrics:

Outside
The storm clouds gathering
Move silently along the dusty boulevard

Where flowers turn and crane their fragile necks
So they can in turn
Reach up and kiss the sky

They’re driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye

Someone’s calling

I remember when you held my hand
In the park we would play when the circus came to town
Over here

Outside
The circus gathering
Moved silently along the rainswept boulevard
The procession moves on, the shouting is over,
The fabulous freaks are leaving town

They are driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye

Someone’s calling

The carnival is over

We sat and watched
As the moon rose
For the very first time

Anywho, because of the glass door, with sheer curtain, it was easy for me to hear what was going on in the living room after I went to bed. One night, after falling asleep, I awoke to hear the most beautiful music playing. It was delicate, intricate piano sounds and I had to investigate. I got up and looked out my door into the living room where the sound system lived.

There was my mom, sitting on her knees in front of the tape deck. I had a moment of trepidation that she’d scold me for being out of bed but the music was just so gorgeous that I had to go sit with her. And I did just that. I kneeled next to her and just listened. She didn’t send me back to bed, but I think the music lulled me back to sleep because I don’t remember anything after sitting & closing my eyes.

The music was George Winston’s album December that my aunt had copied onto cassette, TYPED UP THE CASSETTE COVER (with a typewriter!) (I know – so awesome) & sent to my mom for the holidays.

Here’s a quote about the album that I found out there on the interwebs:

The mother of all solo instrumental albums, and with good reason. Mixing traditional carols with Pachelbel’s Canon and a few originals, Winston produces a solo piano album of unparalleled — and undeniable — beauty. How can music be simultaneously stirring and soothing, relaxed yet exalted?

That album and Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special are all I need to stir up holiday season nostalgia – even if it is against my atheistic heart’s wishes!

I’ve got to work out some sidebar issues (hello, labels?) but I dig the colors and the rest of the design elements. This is awesome because I can spend a long time customizing colors if I like the theme design but not the colors.

Hold tight – more content coming shortly.

Enjoy this lucky day!

Rena’s Corn Muffins
Slightly adapted
(I copied and pasted her recipe and directions and edited where I changed it)

Ingredients

* 2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 cup natural cane sugar
* 1 cup coarse cornmeal
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 1/4 cup whole milk
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1/2 pound (two sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 3 large eggs

Directions

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line 17 (I know, sorry) muffin cups with paper liners (or just grease the tin with some organic sunflower oil).
- Loosely measure the flours into your sifter and sift into a bowl.
- Spoon the sifted flour into your measuring cup and drag the back of a butter knife across the surface to measure (do not shake or this will increase the flour amount and make for denser muffins)
- Put the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt into a largeish mixing bowl, and whisk with a loose whisk (meaning, lots of space between the wires – we’ll need this later) to incorporate.
- In a glass 4 cup measuring cup, measure out the milk.
- Add a dollop of sour cream to get the milk line up to the 1 1/2 mark.
- Whisk together well but don’t worry about the little bits of sour cream.
- In a separate bowl, combine this milk mixture and the cooled melted butter.
- Crack the eggs into a cup or small bowl (I used the glass measuring cup), and whisk until smooth.
- Add the eggs to the wet mixture, and whisk until combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry (when I did this all in one pour, it made the cooled PFLOUP sound), and whisk (this is why we needed a loose whisk – it will be thick) until just blended.
- Use a 1/4 cup scoop to measure the batter into the paper liners (one scoop will fill each most of the way to the top).
- Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. (I actually pulled them out without testing because they looked SO FREAKING PERFECT at 30 min mark – perfectly curved on top, with little cracks and just golden brown enough)
- Cool slightly and remove from the pan.

The paper liners come off without trying – it’s amazing.
Shannon said, “I can’t help but think of Mr. Crick.”
I said, “Who’s Mr. Crick?”
“That guy in Stranger than Fiction. I feel like he did when he at that cookie.”

These are the best corn muffins ever! Thank you Rena!!
I didn’t have a second muffin pan so I put paper liners in some ramekins and they worked out just fine. You can see here that we got a little distracted before I remembered to take a picture for you!

While I was putting them together, I discovered some unused fresh egg pasta that I got at Lucca Ravioli last week and realized it needed to be cooked asap. I’ve had fresh pasta in a plastic bag in the fridge get mouldy within two weeks. This pasta was only in the paper they wrapped it in when I bought it so it got a little dried out.
To me, fettucini needs to have a cream sauce so I set about to make the following alfredo from scratch without a recipe. It turned out really well.

Addy’s Alfredo
2 T butter
2 T unbleached all purpose flour
1 c Half & Half
1 c stock (whatever kind you use, know that you will taste it a little bit. I used Low Sodium Organic Chicken stock)
1 1/2 c shredded mixed cheeses
I used – 1/4 c fresh parmesean, 1/4 c or 1 oz cream cheese, 1/2 c monterey jack & 1/2 c cheddar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper (or to taste)
1/8 t nutmeg

- Mix the half & half and stock together and take the chill off them. You can heat them or they can be room temp – I haven’t found it makes much difference as long as they’re not cold. Set aside.
- Make a roux with the butter & flour.
- I do this by melting the butter over medium heat until it’s foaming and, using a whisk and only ever a whisk, sprinkle the flour in slowly & uniformly, until the entire thing is uniform and foamy. It’s okay, and even recommended, to let it brown a touch, but it’s more important to get everything whisked together quickly and without lumps. And, by no means, will you let it burn!
- Still over medium heat, slowly and steadily add the stock mixture in a steady stream until it’s all incorporated. You should go slowly enough that you’re able to make a consistent paste that gets thinner and thinner as you add the stock. You’ll see what I mean as you’re doing it and if you’ve never made a roux before, it might take you a couple of tries before it makes sense. But it’s SO worth it – it’s the base of so many great sauces and is really easy once you know how to do it.
- Stir with the whisk for a few minutes still over medium heat. The sauce should thicken within 3-5 minutes.
- Once it’s got a nice thickness, take it off the heat and stir in the cheese until it’s incorporated. This will thicken the sauce a bit more.
- Mix in the salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Pour onto thick, flat pasta like fettuccini or tagliarini and enjoy!

We had some left over grilled chicken so I chopped that up and added it with 1/2 a bag of frozen peas and it was quite a treat.

__
Was at some kind of convention – perhaps seeing Amma. Jared was there and was really freaked out. I saw him hiding in a room and went to check on him. He said he couldn’t handle the purifying energy and I suggested that he go for a walk in the woods and really ground his energy in the earth. Some women were coming into the room to do some Vedic chanting – they seemed like Mother Divine women and they thought he needed the chanting to help him. He agreed because they were pretty strong about it so I left feeling that he’d made the wrong choice.

I ended up in the bath with a short haired redheaded girl. I asked her if she was lesbian or bi and she said “why do you want to categorize yourself to everyone” and then told me that seeing me in the bath made her tingle. I felt excited and hesitant.