Rambling with Words

Books I've Read in 2007:

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:12:04 GMT

Books I've Read in 2007:

Fiction:
The Geographer's Library - Jon Fasman
Freckles - by Gene Stratton Porter

History:
Our First Revolution - by Michael Barone
Travels with a Medieval Queen - by Mary Taylor Simeti

Mysteries:
Fire Prayer - by Deborah Turrell Atkinson
The Bones in the Attic - by Robert Barnard
Death of a Mystery Writer - by Robert Barnard
A Fall from Grace - by Robert Barnard
The Graveyard Position - by Robert Barnard
Jane and the Barque of Frailty - by Stephanie Barron
Poodle Springs - by Raymond Chandler
Death is a Bargain - by Nora Charles
A Plague of Angels - by CF Chisholm
The Harlequin Tea Set and other Stories - by Agatha Christie
The Man in the Brown Suit - by Agatha Christie
A Choice of Crimes - by Lesley Egan
The Wine of Violence - by Lesley Egan
The Dark Place - by Aaron Elkins
Fellowship of Fear - by Aaron Elkins
Unnatural Selection - by Aaron Elkins
Where There's a Will - by Aaron Elkins
Dust - by Martha Grimes
Dead as a Doornail - by Charlaine Harris
On the Slam - by Honor Hartman
A Vision of Murder - by Victoria Laurie
What the Dead Know - by Laura Lippman
At Some Disputed Barricade - by Anne Perry
We Shall Not Sleep - by Anne Perry
Coffin Corner - by Dell Shannon
Crime File - by Dell Shannon
Deuces Wild - by Dell Shannon
Knave of Hearts - by Dell Shannon
Murder Most Strange - by Dell Shannon
Root of All Evil - by Dell Shannon
Familiar Friend - by Cristina Sumners
The Bad Quarto - by Jill Paton Walsh
Pardonable Lies - by Jacqueline Winspear

Nonfiction:
Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? - by Allyson Beatrice
The Gospel of Food - by Barry Glassner
A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia - by Blaine Harden
Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination - by Barbara Hurd
More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics - by Steven Landsburg
The Tower of Babel: A Natual History of Language - by John McWhorter
The Omnivore's Dilemma - by Michael Pollan
Good birders don't wear white : 50 tips from North America's top birders - edited by Lisa White
Covering - Kenji Yoshino

Science Fiction:
Undead and Unwed - by Mary Janice Davidson
Blood Trail - by Tanya Huff
Greywalker - by Kat Richardson
All Hallows Eve - by Charles Williams

Spirit:
Beyond DaVinci - by Greg Jones
The Great Divorce - by CS Lewis
Lily Dale - by Christine Wicker

Snow on the Mountains

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 16:39:02 GMT

The Catalinas are beautiful, when you can see them through the clouds. They look like a winter wonderland. Yesterday you couldn't drive up Mt Lemmon unless you lived there and had chains. I haven't heard today. Everyone is asking "Skiing! On Mt Lemmon?". Well, there is no skiing in Tucson, not even a flake. We just had cold rain yesterday but even that's good since we have not had much rain this fall and it's the fall rains that a good flower display in spring depends on.

Messiness is good!

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:39:40 GMT

I ran across this great article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/garden/21mess.html?ex=1167541200&en=930d2cddf2ee49a8&ei=5070
The essence of it is that more creative people are messier, better paid people are messier.
What really hit me is the following paragraph:

--The success of the Container Store notwithstanding, there is indeed something messy — and not in a good way — about so many organizing options. “When I think about this urge to organize, it reminds me of how it was when Americans began to take more and more control of their weight: they got fatter,” said Marian Salzman, chief marketing officer of J. Walter Thompson and co-author, with Ira Matathia, of “Next Now: Trends for the Future,” which is about to be published by Palgrave Macmillan. “I never gained weight until I went on a diet,” she said, adding that she has a room in which she hides a treadmill and, now, two bags of organizing supplies.--

Yep! That's me. When I started to diet, I started to obsess about food and I've just kept getting heavier. When I obsess about being neat I get depressed. Of course, I'm not crazy about people coming over because I'm sure they judge me on how cluttered and disorganized I seem to be, but if I'm feeling good and doing well, my house is a MESS.

P.S. I also want to mention that as of today this article is the most emailed article at the NY Times. Are we sending a message on mess to each other?

Winter Break

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 15:45:43 GMT

I'm off work this week and enjoying myself. I slept very late the first few days but started getting bad headaches, so I got up at 6:00 am today. I don't think it's coffee because I often don't start coffee till after 7:00 when I get to work, and sometimes I forget to drink it right away. I also did not get the headaches the first couple days but I was probably catching up on my sleep deficit. It's happened before when I get up late but this time it may have been kicked off by weather moving in.

After several days of cool nights (30's) and warm days (60s and 70s), we now have a snow advisory. Woohoo! The Tucson basin, where I am, has been getting lots of rain since last night and, with luck, may get a few snow flakes so I have my camera ready. The mountains are probably getting some snow but I can't see them.

Yesterday I visited the Arizona Historical Museums at the university and downtown and Arizona State Museum's mask exhibit. They had such cool masks from Mexico. Most people don't realize how important masks are to Mexican rituals, events and "wrestling". I looked for masks for St George and the Dragon but didn't see them. That's what I remember enjoying at the fiestas where we lived in Mexico when I was a kid. It was so much fun as the dragon dashed at the crowd and we all squealed and shouted. Finally, of course, St George would kill the dragon but I always wanted the dragon to win.

I've also been walking quite a bit but I think my walking today will be at the mall, which I've been avoiding this week. I've also been reading history. I like history but I tend to hop from one era/area to another so I don't have a truly coherent view of history.

It's been a relaxing break, which I needed.

Tucson CSA goodies

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 02:45:32 GMT

This week's harvest
Nov 13 - Week 11 of 13

Cushaw Squash (1), Beauregard Sweet Potatoes (3), Sweet Bermuda Onions (2), Dry Beans - Lima/Pinto/Tepary (3/4 lb), Purple Top White Globe Turnips (1 bunch), Baby Braising Greens (1 bag), Spring Salad Mix (1 bag), Herbs - Dill/Cilantro (1 bunch).

That's my haul from the CSA this week. I've only been a member for a few weeks so I'm learning to cook with what I get. Tonight I had Tia's Beans which used several of the items but I have a feeling I'm going to have stuff left over once I've been on it very long.

--------------
Tia’s beans
Submitted by Lorraine Glazar

2 cups dried pinto beans (I used tepary beans)
1 to 2 quarts water (1 quart makes beans, 2 quarts makes bean soup)
1 strip bacon (substitute 2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, and 2 teaspoons sauce)
1 ½ teaspoons oil (I used saved bacon grease)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Clean beans and remove any bits or dirt or rock. Rinse well with warm water. In a large crock pot, add beans, water and all ingredients listed above. Cover top of crock pot with aluminum foil and top with lid (why? That’s the way Tia did it!). Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-9 hours.

One half hour before beans are done, add:

5 dashes Worcestershire sauce (substitute soy sauce for vegetarians)
1 teaspoon chili powder, more to taste (a chili came with the beans and I just dropped that in to cook with the beans)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 small onion, diced
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup chopped bell pepper
1 teaspoon salt (more like a tablespoon)

Stir gently and continue cooking at high heat in crock pot until beans are done.

It was very good. A nice change from the usual bean soup.
-----------------

With Tia's Beans I had yummmy cornbread:
-----------------
Favorite Corn Bread
SUBMITTED BY: Carol Allen

"Carol Allen of McLeansboro, Illinois shares her recipe for Favorite Corn Bread. 'A great addition to any meal, this corn bread uses basic ingredients and is simple to make,' reports Carol."
Original recipe yield: 9 servings

PREP TIME 10 Min
COOK TIME 20 Min
READY IN 30 Min
US METRIC

SERVINGS 9

INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup shortening
DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, eggs and shortening; beat for 1 minute. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until bread is golden brown and tests done.

From All Recipes
-------------------

Recently I've been reading a lot about eating local and I do agree with so much of it from the stupidity of spending a gallon of oil to produce, process, ship and sell a pound of food plus the huge discharge of pesticides into our water supply. I've been reading "Coming home to eat" by Gary Paul Nabhan, "Cruncy Cons" by Rod Dreher and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. I don't totally agree with them but I think it's a very good concept. That said, I am not giving up my coffee or my bananas! Neither of which could even faintly be considered local food for Arizona.

Living in Arizona we have another problem since this just isn't a place where it's easy to live off the land. The CSA farmer is from around Phoenix area and has fields at different elevations in order to grow at all in the summer. The nice thing is that we have a year around CSA unlike most of the US that only have them 6-9 months out of the year. Gary Nabhan is a tucsonan and does a good job but he's been learning about eating in the desert for many, many years. Even he gave himself a range of 300 miles. I'll go with that but it is difficult.

Anyway the CSA has a nice selection and I'm going to enjoy seeing how it works out. I looked at the various harvests before I signed up. Starting in the spring I'm also going to join their goat cheese share. Yummy!

Well, the bean soup was good and so was the cornbread though it wasn't really local though I suppose I could get cornmeal from Native Seed Search. I have several servings of the soup left and I still have so much food to use this week.

Birds and Bikes

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 03:48:42 GMT

It was a lovely day today. The high was only in the 80s so it was time to go on another birdwalk. I left early so I could take the round about way on my bike. It was along the riverwalk for a while then uphill on La Cholla, and uphill on Ina. Whew! It's been a while since I rode that far uphill. My legs were so tired before I got to Tohono Chul park.

The walk was nice but the three people besides me were more interested in how the plants were doing compared to their own gardens so we went a bit slow. We saw the Lesser Goldfinch, a Ruby Crowned KInglet, a Phainopepla, a couple Curve-billed Thrasher, several Verduns and Vireos as well as Mourning Doves, sparrows and ravens. Oh, and a Turkey Vulture.

I despair of ever being able to recognize birds on my own. So many of the birds we saw were yellow and hard to tell apart. Once I see a bird on a walk I can tell the next time I see it as long as it's within a coupledays. More than that and I just am bewildered. Oh, well another fall, winter and spring to try again and go on bird walks before I forget them all over the summer.

My legs were tired after walking around for an hour and a half and it was time to ride home. I decided to ride east on Ina to First and found out that it kept going uphill. Finally, slowly, I made it to First. After that it was three and a half miles straight down hill. Steeply down in parts. It was so much fun.

Then I went home and took a nap because not only was I tired from theride but a couple drunks kept me awake in the we hours of the morning last night as they howled at the moon.

The zoo and more

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 02:48:49 GMT

We had so much fun at the zoo. Much of our fun was watching Griffin watch the animals. We, of course, had to go to Portland but it's a nice drive and a nice zoo. It has a Max stop right by the ticket area which is really great. I plan for when I will be taking Griffin to the zoo by public transportation. So much more fun than driving.

There was Griffin, his mommy (laurithrie), daddy (reddig), grandfather, uncle and me. We pretty much covered to zoo though Griffin did not stay awake toward the end. The signage leaves something to be desired but still a nice selection of animals. There was also a big sandbox. It's hard walking in sand when you've only been walking a few weeks and the boy tended to waver a bit.

Mike and Laurie's furniture, or part of it, finally arrived and they now have something to sit on besides not too comfortable kitchen chairs. Kitchen chairs are designed for leaning over and eating, not relaxing and stretching out.

All in all it was a good vacation. We spent time watching butterflies and picking tomatoes and playing with cats. It was so nice just spending time with them all. Oh, did a mention Powells? Powells is such a great bookstore. Mike and I stocked up on maps and I found an old book I've been looing for for a while.

I stayed with Lauri's father and stepmother (so sweet of them to let me stay), met some more of Lauri's family (very nice people), enjoyed a nice church potluck (Michael Servitus UU), remet Lauri's sister and brother-in-law (have you noticed that I don't have any relatives, that I know of, in the area) and generally met lots of great people.

Off to Hanging with the Kid - September 9, 2006

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:35:18 GMT

I'm in Vancouver WA visiting my grandson. Ok, my son and dauther-in-law also. They aren't really an afterthought and it's wonderful to see them, but Griffin is my oh so sweet grandson.

I flew here. Greyhound is really losing customers with their lousy service and high prices. It cost less to fly than to take the bus and that is sad. Saturday morning I called for a taxi at 5:15 AM. I had to be to the shuttle stop at 6:00 am but sometimes the taxis aren't very reliable. Well, just after five I got a call that my taxi had arrived. I did not want to take the chance on them waiting too long or calling another taxi so I grabbed everything I ran out. He was speedy guy and we were at the shuttle stop at 5:20 so I had 45 minutes to wait.

There's a convenience store there so I could get coffee and I sat outside listening to some guy tell me about his sad life and the war and how god was helping him before he wandered off. He was young so I'm thinking Gulf or Iraq war but something had been damanged in his mind. Then an older guy with a young guy came up and were counting their change. The young guy said "Pops, we only have money for cigarettes or beer" and they looked like they had already had too much of something. They asked me for change and I said no, not wanting to contribute to either option. They went in the store and came out with cigarettes and counted again. The older man went in and carried a large bottle of beer to the front but came out with nothing and then they wandered off. The guy running the store came out and watched them go. He said the young guy tried to buy stuff but was underage so he made them leave. I told about them asking for money and he said I should have told them because they have very strict policies about that and immediately make anyone leave who asks for money.

The store is right next to one of the of UofA dorms and I know the university is very strict about that so the stores around the university try to follow that. I feel sorry for the street people but I know that if they allowed panhandling there would be so many kids trying it to pick up a little money. The university does all it can to help groups that help people down on their luck and I would rather they did that also. Next month several hundred of us will be helping the Community Food Bank fix up their facility and we have so many food drives that bring in truckloads of food.

Anyway, just after 6 the shuttle came and it was two hours to the Phoenix airport and then, THE SECURITY CHECK. They were nice but they did take my little lip vaseline tube but let me keep my prescriptions. I had to buy a $3+ tube of lip stuff at the airport as my lips dry out quickly. I also missed my hand creme but that wasn't as bad. The line was so slow because people just hoped they wouldn't find contraband and didn't take it out beforehand. They gave us little plastic bags to put possible contraband stuff in, and I did, so I went through. I did find another vaseline tube in the bottom of my backpack that they didn't catch so they can't find everything.

Well, we're off to the zoo so I will continue my saga later.

30 Days of Nothing

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 02:30:30 GMT

30 Days of Nothing is a very through provoking site. I admire what they are doing. Since I'm going on vacation mid month it's not a good month for me to spend on nothing but the bare necessities. It does brings up interesting ideas.

Since I moved to a smaller apartment last February I have slowly, very slowly, been getting rid of stuff. Just stuff. Books I'll never read again, dishes I never use, clothes I will only fit into in my dreams (assuming I can find them), and I still feel crowded. Granted I don't have very much storage room so I still have plastic totes piled in my bedroom, but still why do I have so much stuff.

Could I go a month without buying a magazine? It would be hard. Do I have to cancel Netflix or cable for a month? They are hardly bare necessities. What about the season tickets for plays that I have? There's one nearly every month.

She has an entry on hoarding that is interesting. This reminds me of the "No .... for a day" days that people are always coming up with. If you don't consume for one day, won't you make it up in coming days? If you know you won't buy gas tomorrow, won't you make sure that you fill up the day before? The sentiment is good but it's not going to make much of a difference. 30 days is a good start. It's probably more than most of us are capable of. We are so spoiled.

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 16:57:35 GMT

I've been sleeping better lately. Well, better than I used to for a while, but I also seem to be dreaming more. It seems like most of my dreams are very frustrating. I keep doing the same thing over and over and it's never done.

The main theme though is be lost and losing things. I'm always losing or forgetting things and running back to get them and not being able to find them and then not being able to find what I was going to do in the first place. I lose clothes a lot. Hmmh! but it's not a sexual thing, I'm just in a public place and realize I have no clothes on and I can't find my clothes. I also lose places and people. Big places. I lost a hotel built in the Great Pyramid of Egypt a few weeks ago. I don't always remember details but the pyramid stuck with me. I lose people. We're going someplace and I turn back to find something I forgot and not only can't find what I'm looking for, I can't even find the people I was with again.

Overall I wake up frustrated. I remember when I used to dream of flying. I loved those dreams. Why have I gone from flying to frustrated?

Biloxi Blues

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 04:53:17 GMT

Summer is ending, the kids are back at the university and things are starting to happen. I went to see Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon last night. It was put on by the Arizona Repertory Theatre at the University of Arizona. I thorougly enjoyed it. It's been a while since I saw a Neil Simon play. I used to go to their productions with my daughter but then slacked off when she left. I decided to start up again and got season tickets.

The other productions are Tartuffe by Moliere, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Betrayal by Harold Pinter, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, The Who's Tommy, Music & Lyrics by Pete Townshend. They usually have a drama and a comedy, a Shakespeare and a musical and then a couple that are just different. I am really looking forward to them.

The last time I had season tickets it was on Sunday afternoon and most of the people were older people, even older than me. The Wednesday group was mostly college students who, I expect, prefer to keep their weekends free for other things. It will be interesting to see how they react to the plays. They've grown up with so much overwhelming media but they seemed to truly enjoy the play last night.

The theatre is small and I'm in the second row so it feels very intimate. I find stage productions so different from movies or television. There are so many special effects in a movie that I often don't think of the acting, since it seems so real, almost more "real" than a documentary. When I go to a play I can "see" the acting and can appreciate more what the actors are doing.

Great Quote I ran across

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 16:01:23 GMT

"Long before man became a pesant he was a nomad following the seasons across the Earth. I believe there was a time when man's capacity to journey was as vital to him as the air he breathed and the food he ate... we need a new kind of explorer, a new kind of pathfinder, human beings who, now that the physical world is spread out before us like an open book with the latest geographical mystery solved and the highest mountain climbed, are ready to turn and explore a new dimension."

Laurens Van der Post

- Thanks to My Journey of Discovery

Walking in the rain!

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:20:12 GMT

I woke up to a gray, drizzly, cloudy day. So wonderful! I walked from the bus stop to work and enjoyed the nice drizzle and cool air. This is unusual for Arizona in July as we usually get drenching monsoons for a few hours and then nothing. The softer rain soaks in better and stays around longer.

Weather.com shows us with rain for the next week and temps in the 80s. Woohoo! So nice. A little sticky but nice.

Finally Arizona

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 03:07:18 GMT

It is so hot that in order to get some walking in I wander from malls (with lots of others) to bookstores to libraries, just to go someplace that's cool.

The library is always good and today they had a big sign that we are invited to help design the Arizona quarter. I had lost track of where the series was at but I checked the US Mint and Arizona's won't be coming out till February, 2008. That sounds about right for designing and getting the quarter into production. That's rather exciting!

I don't suppose they would allow a forest fire on the quarter? That's why we usually seem to hit the national news the last few years. I also hadn't realized that each state designs their quarter. My vote is for the Grand Canyon. What could be more "emblematic", as the US Mint site says, of Arizona. Besides I really love the Grand Canyon. It's just awesome.

And the rain came!

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 04:31:53 GMT

It poured for a couple hours today. We watched cars driving through water two feet deep. Our building was leaking quite a bit. This was a classic monsoon storm. Wonderful!

After work I walked along the Rillito and the water was still pouring down the normally dry as a bone channel a few hours after the rain stopped. Usually it takes half an hour and the water is gone, so there must have been bunch of rain dumped on the Catalinas which is where the Rillito gets much of it's run off. I wish I could have gone to Sabino Canyon as the water was probably pouring over the bridges.

The mountains, which have been hazy for weeks from dust and smoke, were crisp and clear. It was a wonderful, cool walk with the clear mountains on one side and the flowing Rillito on the other. This is one of the blessings and surprises of the monsoons.

Finally as the sun set I saw a beautiful sunset from the lingering storm clouds.

Movie night

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 14:45:39 GMT

Last night was Movie Night at an atheist get together that I attend.

We watched Saved which is your basic teen/high school movie except that it's set in a very strict christian school. Mary gets pregnant trying to save her boyfriend from being gay. He's still gay, she's still pregnant and she begins to question who whole belief system. It was actually a rather good movie though a tad bit caricatured.

The meetings are at Bookmans, a very good used bookstore, and the nice thing for bike riders is that the racks are right by the well lit front door so you aren't trying to unlock your bike in semi-darkness while wondering who's lurking in the shadows. The ride home was great. It was just cool enough to feel so soft on my skin as I rode. Campbell is well lit so I had no problems except that the first 1/2 mile has no bike lane so I rode on the sidewalk. I seriously considered going on a longer ride since it was such a great night to ride but my back light was starting to fade and it's good to have a bright tail light when riding at night.

Favorite 4th of July Quote

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 14:23:03 GMT

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

Yep!!!

The Monsoons have officially arrived

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 04:46:19 GMT

The monsoons have officially arrived which means the dew point was over 54 three days running. Here's a picture of the rain coming over the Catalinas about 4:00 pm today.

The mountains slowly disappeared to a gray mist. It was wonderful. I went on a long walk and even though it was still warm and very muggy, it was so much better than the dry and over 100 degrees we've been having. The rains started moving in about a week ago but too often the strong winds and lightning they brought were more dangerous for the fires in Arizona than the little and spotty rain that fell.

That's the problem with our monsoons. One area can get flooded and a few miles away they don't get a drop. Even now the fires are strong. They've closed the north rim on the Grand Canyon which is too bad. For those who don't live in arid areas, the monsoons are a big deal. During June our weatherman tell us the humidity level, with bated breath, as we wait.

I didn't get too wet as I was inside stores during the heavy rain but I did get sprinkled on toward the end which was a bit scary since I walking home from Trader Joes and their paper bags don't handle rain well.

Coming up to the 4th of July quotes

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 04:18:40 GMT

Freedom is never free. ~Author Unknown

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Statistics show that we lose more fools on this day than on all other days of the year put together. This proves, by the numbers left in stock, that one Fourth of July per year is now inadequate, the country has grown so."
-- Mark Twain

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live
out the true meaning of its creed:
'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dust and Smoke

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 03:54:30 GMT

It was hot again (duh!) and there is a haze you can see in the air. According to the weatherman it's due to the smoke and dust from fires and drought. Right now the fires aren't very close but the winds have been high. People's allergies are going wild though I'm still doing ok. I so very much love the meds my doctor put me on last year. It's so wonderful being able to breathe.

I still walked quite a bit and ended up in a little park just down the steet from my apartments. It was deserted except for the many, many little ground squirrels. I'm pretty sure they are the Antelope Ground Squirrel as they have white stripes on the tail. They are little things and everywhere there is empty ground, they are there. It was like a video game, they disappeared as I came near and popped up again once I was past. They were everywhere I looked. They are so cute. They probably also were keeping an eye on the hawk. It was either a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp Shinned Hawk. I never got real close as it kept moving around as I moved. It will be nice when it cools off and I can go on bird walks again. I really need help identifying birds.

Food stuff

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 17:36:51 GMT

And I missed it! On June 12th the American Chemical Society designated baking powder as a National Historic Chemical Landmark. It makes you wonder what other National Historic Chemical Landmarks there are.

I've been trying to not eat meat but are now eating some. I feel better when I eat meat. I realize we are omnivores and there are some nutrients that it's difficult to get from plant sources only. However, I just hate how animals are raised and slaughtered in most cases. I try to buy grass fed or free range but that is so expensive and from what I've read the terms are used rather loosely. Just for me it's expensive and I can't imagine what a family would need to spend, especially if you have teenagers. Of course if the meat is expensive we will eat less?

Ok, I even had a McMuffin yesterday but it was so good! It's so sad that fast food is our comfort food. Good old fashioned cooking is comfort food for me too but where can you find that without paying a fortune. Ok, you could make it. Right!

I do make a good grilled cheese and the other day I so, so wanted a reuben sandwich. I went out and bought all the ingredients and made it. It was delicious. It cost since I got corned beef from a kindly raised cow and some really good swiss cheese, but I have enough corned beef for three more reubens, a good sized chunk of swiss cheese, sauerkraut which I had not bought for a long time even though I love it and a jar of pickles (you have to have pickles with a reuben) that I also had not bought for long time even though I love them.

Thinking about it the sandwich probably didn't cost more than it would have if I bought it at a cheap mall food court and it was much better and here's the recipe from Epicurious. By the way the Russian dressing that I made (see review below) is so good and easy but I did have to buy horseradish which I had never done before. Now I have that to use (on what?).

----------------------
REUBEN SANDWICH
Modern-day Reuben sandwiches are often open-faced and broiled, which dries out the corned beef and makes the cheese rubbery. Or, under the misguided belief that more is better, they are overstuffed. The main things to remember for a great Reuben are to keep the filling under control and in balance, so when you bite into it you get a harmonious and succulent mouthful; and to grill the sandwich slowly and under some pressure, so the bread gets toasty brown and buttery crisp, the meat gets warmed through, and the cheese is just melted enough to be oozy.

2 slices rye bread or pumpernickel
2 teaspoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons Reuben's Russian Dressing (see tester's notes)
1/4 cup well-drained, fresh-style sauerkraut
2 ounces thinly sliced Gruyère or Switzerland Swiss cheese
1/4 pound thinly sliced corned beef

Butter each slice of bread evenly to the edges on one side.
Place one slice, buttered side down, in a small cold skillet: Build the sandwich in the skillet you'll grill it in.
Spread 1 tablespoon of the Russian dressing on the face-up, dry side of the bread. Then put on the sauerkraut, spreading it evenly.
Arrange the cheese in an even layer over the sauerkraut, then do the same with the corned beef.
Spread another 1 tablespoon Russian dressing on the dry side of the second slice of bread and place it, dressing side down, buttered side up, over the corned beef.
Place the skillet over medium-low heat and grill the sandwich slowly, pressing down on it a few times with a wide metal spatula. Grill until the bread is browned and crisped, then turn the sandwich over with the help of the spatula.
Now weight the sandwich down by placing a plate (or another small skillet) over the sandwich, then adding on a weight, such as a 28-ounce can of tomatoes. Grill until the second side has browned and crisped, then flip the sandwich over one more time to briefly reheat the other side.
Serve immediately.

Makes 1.
Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food
2004
By Arthur Schwartz
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
------------------------
Food review
REUBEN SANDWICH from Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food

Overall: Pretty detailed, right? It took me longer to type those instructions than it did to make the sandwich. But that's typical of Schwartz's hand-holding in the book.

Rye or pumpernickel? Pumpernickel? Whoever heard of such a thing? Might as well use white bread.

Russian dressing: He uses Reuben's recipe, which combines 1/2 cup of mayo with a tablespoon of ketchup, a teaspoon of grated onion, 1/2 teaspoon of horseradish, 1/4 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon of parsley. Red caviar is optional but unnecessary.

Why Russian? According to Schwartz, Reuben's was the first Jewish deli to make a corned beef sandwich with Russian dressing and, even better and more New York, with deli coleslaw.

Sauerkraut: Try to get it from the deli counter. They should have it in midwinter, but if not, well-drained canned sauerkraut will do.

Procedure: Since I don't have a sandwich press, I make grilled cheese sandwiches in a skillet in just this way. But now that panini are so stylish, I bet more people have sandwich presses.

For one? Obviously, it's a cinch to double the recipe.

What to do with the leftover Russian dressing? Use it on an iceberg-lettuce wedge, as a sauce with fried fish, or to cover halved hard-cooked eggs, making Eggs à la Russe.

—Irene Sax

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Mmmh!

This and That

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 03:55:49 GMT

I'm watching "He Walked by Night" from 1948. The detectives have been discussing the evidence with their 'CSI' unit. He can check fingerprints and match up the gun used and that's about it. I'm sure it was state of the art and quite interesting when it came out. Wow! Scientific Investigation! The film itself is on the lines of a so so Dragnet movie but that's almost comforting sometimes. You don't have to wade through their personal lives which is getting a bit overdone in a lot of TV series, if you ask me.

Last Friday evening I went to an art reception at the UA Art Museum, had a few cookies, some hummus and cheese, no wine. The UA, due to legislative action, has a lot of rules against using money coming through the university for alcohol. Occasionally they have Brie with punch. The exhibit was about Livres d'artistes. That is, basically, books that have been illustrated by famous artists. The brochure said this using many, many words and many paragraphs because no one seems to really agree what should fit in this genre. The books are BIG due to the illustration. Some are even in boxes with the pages loose and the boxes were gorgeous. There were some illustrations by Calder, the mobile guy. My favorite was Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Salvador Dali. What a combo, a surreal book illustrated by a surreal artist. I enjoyed the exhibit and may even go back again to look at it in less crowded conditions.

It's still hot. Very hot but my air conditioning works and I try to not think about my electric bill. Ahhhh! This is the time of the year I wish I had a car so I could head up Mt Lemmon to some cool air. It's hard getting my 10,000 steps on my pedometer. I walk some before work and plan to get more in after work but have a hard time getting the steps in before I'm too hot. This too shall pass.

Hot!

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 23:49:20 GMT

It's hot. Weather.com says that the high today will be 102 but they also show that it's already 105. It's hot. It was hot yesterday also after a lovely Friday evening with clouds and even a few drops. I can't even call them sprinkles because there weren't enough but it was nice. I luckily decided to ride my bike to work, 5 miles, but put 12 more miles on after work as I wandered up to the Rillito and along it.

Yesterday it was hot when I opened the door after getting up. That's a first this year and I knew that it wouldn't cool off until September. After a hot trip downtown to a meeting at the main library and back I decided to walk the mall a bit and then went to Walmart. While I was there the lights went off. They did come right back on but that's a big black place without lights. Once I was at Walmart when a storm hit and the lights stayed off but they have backup generators so there were dim lights to see by and run all the checkout stands. They wanted us out but they first wanted our money. We had a microburst yesterday and the winds hit 60 mph. I had to walk home with my eyes half closed it was so dusty.

Today was just hot and after riding a mile to Trader Joes and back I stayed in most of the morning. This afternoon I was going stir crazy and walked over to the mall, taking little detours through every store I passed, and did a couple laps around the mall. Slow laps as everyone else was there also. I had a Jamba Juice and walked in the cool and felt much better, but then I had to go home. Right now I'm sitting in my cool apartment wondering if I have something to wear tomorrow so I won't have to go out to do laundry today, knowing that it'll be just as hot tomorrow.

There are already fires in the Catalinas north of us and the Huachucas south of us and if we don't get rain it'll get worse.

Hummus

Mon, 29 May 2006 05:22:29 GMT

I'm trying to learn to cook more vegan dishes, so tonight I made hummus. Yummy! So very, very good. I got this recipe on vegancooking.

Hummus recipe

1 can chick peas (19 oz can?)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water (reserved from chickpeas can)
1/2 lemon ( I used about two tablespoons of concentrated lemon juice)
2 tblsp vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup tahini sauce

Add all the ingredients (expect the water reserved from the chickpeas can) into a blender or food processor. Use pulse to mix it, adding small amounts of the reserved water until it is mixed well and the desired consistency.

I get things in 15 oz cans not 19 oz but I had some garbanzos left in the frig so I added that. I would also use less garlic next time. I had it with corn chips and veggies.

New York, New York

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:19:56 GMT

I just got back from a week in NYC and am sitting in my hot apartment (because I turned the air off while I was gone) waiting for it to cool off, glad to be back in my own home but already missing Lisa and remembering the good time we had.

- Friday, 5/12/06, On my way -

Not wanting to waste a minute, I brought my luggage to work knowing that it wouldn't be worth it to go home and then back to the shuttle stop by bus. I got something to eat but the university was full of parents in for graduation so I hurried through supper and caught an earlier shuttle than I had planned. This left me with several hours to wander the Phoenix airport before my flight.

It was too warm to walk outside, which I wanted to do as I hadn't gotten in much walking that day. I walked inside but after about half a dozen circuits the security guards were keeping an eye on me, so I went upstairs and through the security check. It's been about four years since I flew so I had to be told everything to do as I planned to just walk through. They were polite about it though

I found my gate and then walked up and down from the gate to the security check but that got old after a while. I noticed a bunch of people standing and sitting outside of a darkened, closed food place and wondered what made the place so fascinating. They were looking at the tv screens that had been left on which were showing some game. There really isn't much to do at 11:00 pm at an airport.

A gripe: people who bring more carryon than I have in my regular suitcase, and they get away with it as long as they can stuff it into the overhead bins leaving no room for people who get on after them.

- Saturday, 5/13/06, Arriving in NYC -

I can't sleep sitting up. I can barely sleep lying down in a comfy bed. I didn't sleep, my neck got a crick and I was so tired. On the upside I flew JetBlue and found them very nice. They gave us a little bliss sleep goodie bag thing but the eye covers, the ear plugs (I can't keep them in) and the nice smelling lotions still didn't help me sleep. They did give me coffee, nuts, water and coffee, so I survived.

My daughter met me at JFK and was a spot of brightness in a rather skanky bag pickup place. My bags arrived safely and we headed off to the Airport train, which took us to the A train, which took us to Brooklyn where caught the R train, and we were at Lisa's home. It was good to see it again. Both of us crashed for a few hours, then we walked around Brooklyn and the riverfront, picked up some groceries and headed home. Lisa grilled some tuna and made some rice pilaf and it was a lovely meal dinner. A lovely beginning.

- Sunday, 5/14/06, Mother's Day -

Sunday we got up late and had a leisurely breakfast/brunch. We went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens which was very, very nice. Beautiful flowers everywhere. We took pictures of the flowers and each other and each other in front of the flowers. So very nice.

We then spent some time in the Brooklyn Art Museum and then walked through very nice, expensive brownstones. This is the up and coming place to gentrify.

Lisa wanted to take me to a little restaurant for Mother's Day but they changed their hours and we didn't get in so we took the train into Manhattan and went to a vegan restaurant there, Caravan of Dreams, as I'm trying to quit eating meat and other animal products. I had a very delicious ginger curry with tempeh. So sweet of Lisa since she isn't trying to quit eating meat.

A great Mother's Day!

We then walked over to Avis to get a rental car. Wow! I'm always amazed at how NYC packs in cars. They were lined up on a very narrow street as people dropped of their cars at the end of the weekend. It was a bit scary driving back to Brooklyn, not because of Lisa's driving but because of NYC traffic. In Brooklyn we had to park about 3-4 blocks away as there is virtually no off street parking.

- Monday, 5/15/06, The Catskills -

It drizzled and rained nearly all the way up and back but still an enjoyable outing. First we stopped at the cemetary in Rye where the Family Plot is. We checked out the various family members but especially my mother. I hadn't been here since her ashes were buried in 2001. All looked good. Wet, but good.

Then it was I-87 and I-287 over the Hudson River and north on US 9W to Newburgh where Lisa checked out the gallery where some of her photos will be shown in a month or so. Newburgh looked like an old mill town and the downtown was a bit sad looking but there was a nice riverfront area and plenty of building on the edges. I guess some take the ferry over the Hudson and the train to NYC but it's a long commute.

We stayed on US-9W north to near Hurley where we got on NY-28 west through the Catskills. We had a lovely rural drive, with free range cows and chickens, ending up on a dirt road near Margaretville (I kept saying Margaritaville. It just sounded right.) where we were staying at Lisa's boss' house.

It's an old dairy farm and plain on the outside but the inside is very shabby chic. Everything looks old and well used but if you look at each individual item, they are not cheap. They had just redone the whole kitchen and it was great. They had an Aga stove, which was a new one for me, that was great to cook on. A whole wall was of old colored glass windows that they had picked up on Ebay, etc. Under the windows was an old store counter that was very long and well used. The stone floor was heated underneath and cozy in the damp chill. Well done! We relaxed in front of a wood stove and listened to old records. Yes, real records.

- Tuesday, 5/16/06, Back to NYC -

It was still raining the next morning so after a leisurely breakfast we headed back to NYC. We took NY-30 down to NY-17, skirting the Catskills and going along one of NYC's major water reservoirs. We stopped at one point to browse a kiosk with a history of the reservoir and the towns that disappeared under the waters.

From there it was I-87 and I-287 into NYC where we ended up on the FDR Drive (I think). The traffic was daunting and I'm glad Lisa was driving. We decided that we were early enough that we would just drop the car off in Manhattan and take the train back to Brooklyn. It was a relief to get out of the traffic and onto the subway.

- Wednesday, 5/17/06, Darwin -

We spent Wednesday at the American Museum of Natural History, along with a bunch of school kids. The subway dropped us off at the front door, which was nice, and we setup our schedule. The big exhibits have timed entry so we first went to the Butterfly exhibit which was amazing. The butterflies were so wonderful and the kids were awed and excited. . . and so were we. We had a quick look at the dinosaurs and lunch in a very nice lunchroom. I'm finding that so many museums have very nice and healthy lunchrooms. The price is not cheap but it's not expensive either and I always feel like I'm helping support the museum.

Our main goal was the big Darwin exhibit and it was well worth going to. The exhibit was mainly about Darwin's thought process before, during and after his travels on the Beagle. It was very well done and it was too bad there weren't many school kids at this exhibit but it was a lot of reading and not all that exciting for children. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Before I left Tucson I had gotten a copy of the book about Darwin that was written by the curator of the exhibit and I'm slowly working my way through it. So much of my knowledge of Darwin and evolution is too superficial and I would like to get deeper into it.

After spending many hours in the museum we walked through Central Park and enjoyed the nice weather. Many people were out and about as well as some cute little downy duckies.

- Thursday, 5/18/06, Cirque de Soleil -

This was a lazy day as we got up late and took it easy till late in the day. Mid afternoon we headed to Central Park area to see the Whitney Museum biennial exhibit of whatever. Basically it was a hate Bush and this country sucks exhibit but they did show some creativity about it. I was surprised to see so many videos. What are you going to do with a video? Hang it over the sofa? It also would be hard to fit it to your color scheme. I understand this is an exhibit of people who have already sold something so someone is buying. It reminded me of the the University of Arizona's Master of Fine Arts exhibit where each person tried to be more shocking and avant garde (is that still a good art word?) than the next. My favorite at the UofA's show was the blood soaked menstual pads. Yeah, that's something I want to pay for.

We grabbed a sandwich and ate in Central Park for supper which was very relaxing. We then moved on to the best part of the day and took a train and bus to the Cirque de Soleil. It started raining as we walked over to Lexington to catch the train and we got a bit soaked but soon were at Roosevelt Island at the Cirque tents. I had never seen Cirque de Soleil in person and it was great. They do so much on what is really a not very big stage and the costumes and setting they use in the show makes it so wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and Lisa was so sweet for taking me there. The performers were very, very good and I was holding my breath many times trying to hold them up so they wouldn't fall! That's the fun of circuses.

- Friday, 5/19/06, On My Own -

Lisa wanted a day to rest and do her own thing and I love walking around cities by myself so I headed out into the rain alone. I love the subways. I have so very rarely ridden a bus in NYC since the subways are so great. I took the subway up the Union Square where I decided to run through Whole Foods for some lunchy stuff. Since I'm not eating meat and very little dairy it makes it difficult to buy food. I was there with Lisa a couple days ago and it is a really cool store. Prices aren't high considering it's organic and NYC. It has a cart escalator. That is so cool. Since space is so import in NYC they have three stories.

I stopped by Barnes and Noble to check out the mags and Starbucks for coffee. What a great square. Then I was on to Grand Central Station where I, again, tried to get some good pictures of it. This is such an great looking place with so much history behind it.

When I stepped outside for a look it had stopped raining and there was even some sun. I decided to walk over to Central Park. Somehow (duh!) I turned the wrong way and suddenly there was a railing along a cliff. I had managed to end up on the east edge of Manhattan. I figured I was near the United Nations by all the diplomat parking spaces. Turning around I walked back to Grand Central and decided to take the subway anyway. When I got off to walk to the Metropolitan Museum it was raining again.

I checked out the Hatshepsut exhibit which was very interesting and very big. I can only take so much Egyptian stuff before I need to se something else. I wandered around the exhibits ending up at the American Wing. I always like to go through some good 18th-19th century American landscapes after the more arty stuff from other countries. The arty stuff is good too but it gets to be a bit much after a while. The Tiffany glass exhibit is always fun the watch also.

It was well past lunch by now so I ate some of my lunch in the lunchroom by the American Wing. I needed some outside time by now so I walked outside and it was still drizzling. I had my umbrella so I walked through Central Park, nibbling lunch and enjoying the rain. It looked to be a busy weekend as trucks were bringing in loads of water bottles and the road leading to Frederick Douglass Circle was lined with white tents.

I was getting tired and it was too wet to sit down so I walked over to Lexington and took the subway back to Brooklyn. It was a good day. I love just wandering.

- Saturday, 5/20/06, New York City - Greenwich Trail -

This was a great volkswalk. We picked up the directions at a New Balance store in Union Square then took the subway to the starting point. Nice! There are some volkswalks where you have to drive to the start point which, since I don't have a car, is difficult for me. Subways! Anyway we walked throughGreenwich Village, Chelsea, Chinatown, Little Italy and Washington Square. Lisa, who's lived in NYC for several years, even enjoyed it as she'd never seen as much of these areas. We stopped in Chelsea at Risotteria, a tiny risotto place that Lisa knew about. So, so yummy.

Chinatown was creeping into Little Italy which was jammed with people eating at all the tiny little sidewalk tables and the parks were cool. Near the end of the walk we saw some guys pushing a water fountain that was solar powered. It drew a crowd, especially of kids, but Lisa and I talked with them also. They were pushing it all the way from Brooklyn to north of NYC. It turned out that Joel, Lisa's roommate knew the guy who art piece it was. Yeah, it was on it's way to an art show of some kind. It was a good fountain, well done, but I don't know about an art piece.

Anyway, it was a good walk and we did over seven miles that day according to my pedometer.

- Sunday, 5/21/06, Back to the Heat</a> -

This was a good vacation but all good things must end. On Sunday we got up way too early to take the subway and train to JFK so I could fly home. It was so sad to say goodbye to Lisa. I had a window seat over the wing so I was asked if I was willing to help people. Sure, you bet! I wouldn't want to be trampled.I

I had quite a bit of clear sky so I did get to see america roll by under me. I loved it. I'm always amazed at how beautiful the farmland is.

Into Phoenix, got my luggage, checked in at the shuttle desk, raced madly to find something to eat as I was hungry, got on the shuttle, it was packed. It was a long ride to Tucson but I chatted with interesting people. Finally in Tucson I caught the bus home in over 90 degree weather. The vacation was great and though I wished I could stay longer with Lisa, it was good to sleep in my own bed.

Ok, I'm finally finishing writing this up a week later and it's more for me than for anyone that reads it. I like going back and reading about where I've been.

Till next time!