Scheduling a Phone Call

How complicated should this be?  Really?  

Recently, through Facebook, I've re-connected with a childhood friend.  We exchanged a note on the message function of Facebook, containing phone numbers.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I returned home from work Tuesday night to find a message on my voicemail from her.  She wanted to call again at the same time (4:30 Pacific Time) the next day.

Rather than frustrate her with a string of un-returned calls, I sent her an e-mail suggesting several times we could schedule a call, because of time zone differences, work schedules etc.

Sounds simple enough, right?  But here we are, on our 8th e-mail and we STILL can't find a good time to talk on the phone!!!!!

I thought communication was supposed to be EASIER in this new era!!!

What do YOU suggest?  I'm trying not to frustrate her and lose her again after 35 years!

Why GPS Doesn't Work for Me

I miss two things about Ohio. One of them is the Blossom Music Festival, the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra. We had season tickets and would attend outdoor symphony concerts nearly every hot, sticky summer weekend. We'd bring a picnic supper, sit on the grass or in the pavilion and get lost in the music. As darkness fell and the stars came out, the music would lift my soul to the heavens.

The other thing I miss about Ohio is getting lost on drives to Amish country in South-Central Ohio on crisp fall Saturdays. My ex-husband didn't care for the adventure, so I went by myself.

I would drive about 2 hours and reach the tiny towns of Sugar Creek and Berlin (pronounced BER-lin), turn right, and just meander down the country roads. If there was a tiny unpaved side street, I'd take it. I learned that these streets were the homes of Amish furniture, quilt and dry-goods stores.

I bought beautiful furniture, quilts for my beds, wonderful jams, mustards, sauces and incredible baked goods. My favorite were the amazing soft, huge molasses cookies with white frosting in one of the bakeries.

I also loved looking through the blacksmith shops that catered to farmers. I learned serious horsemen and women across the country relied on these shops to keep them in high-quality bridles, harnesses and saddles.

Once, I took an unexpected left turn, and drove and drove, only to come across an Amish funeral. I was mortified because I had interrupted the service. I backed up as quietly as possible and turned around when the road was wide enough.

And once, in the town of Berlin, I ate in a Main Street cafe that was popular with the tourist trade. All the waitresses had to dress in Amish clothing, but it was easy to spot the only real Amish young woman working in the restaurant. She used straight pins to hold her apron on, and close the neck of her dress. Her hair was perfectly swept into a bun on the top of her head, and the head covering was impeccably clean and starched ribbons hung down from the sides. She carried herself in such a way that I knew I had seen the embodiment of the word "grace". She was God's grace in human form.

The simplicity of the people, and their strong values were a comfort to me, especially when personal issues clouded my thinking in Cleveland.

And why doesn't' GPS work for me? Because none of these places are mapped by satellite, and a GPS system would not have shown me the random turns that would shift my consciousness.

Don't be afraid of getting lost. Because that, my friend, is where you may find a part of yourself.

Our Day

This is how we ended the daylight portion of our day.  

Prior to the bath at the "Rub-a-Dub Dob Wash", Dudley and I took 2 trips to 2 separate dog parks.

He romped around Greenlake, then we met up with an old friend at the Magnuson Park Off-Leash area.

He's keeping me moving, this lil' boy.  And at Magnuson, he romped with the big dogs in the water play area.

Trust me, he was BLACK when I got him in the car.  I put him on a big garbage bag and belted him in with the seat-belt on the front seat to keep him from getting his black legs and paws all over the car.

.....it's a small life we lead, but a rewarding one.  Nothing smells better than a clean dog.

Light, Form, Color

I haven't posted a painting in a while, so I thought I'd share Caravaggio's "Supper at Emmaus", which he painted when he was just 33 years old.

PLEASE click on it to show the entire painting. For some reason, I can only get 2/3 to come up on the blog, even when I change the size of the painting.

His use of light and shadows, in my opinion, are unsurpassed.

Ironically, he painted another work with the same title 5 years earlier.  the colors were much brighter and the lines were so much more defined.

I like this one better.

Butternut Bisque - Thank You Linda!

I was invited to a dinner party potluck last night, so I decided to try a new recipe.   Butternut Bisque.

I have some experience with soups full of vegetables and flavor, but I've never cooked a blended soup before.   I've long been a fan of butternut squash soup, but didn't have a great recipe.

Here's where thanks to Linda comes in.  She had her favorite cooking magazines transferred to my address, and didn't forward them when she moved to NYC.  So, I am the lucky recipient of "Cooks Illustrated" "Saveur" and "Martha Stewart's Everyday Food".  They're chock-full of great recipes, information on techniques, travelogues of trips to food producers and interviews with chefs and food providers.   

My sister Linda is an expert of all things food.  She graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York in the 1980's but refuses to work as a chef.  She is much more interested in other aspects of the food business, but is truly drawn toward writing.  If you've read her blog (I link to it on the side) you understand why.

When Linda was here for a few months earlier this year, she also bought a stick blender.  I've never owned one, and avoided making blended soups because I hated the idea of transferring hot, chunky soup into the food processor in batches to get the right consistency.  I've had too many experiences of hot soup spilling out, and inconsistent creaminess.  Viva La Stick Blender!!!!

You use it right in the pot, and the soup was wonderful.  I selected a recipe from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine that didn't use heavy cream.  It used stock and half-and-half.  No roux either.  The base is onions (I used shallots) garlic, 3 T of butter and just for fun, I threw in some slivered fresh ginger.  

It turned out great, and was very well received by the guests at the dinner party.  No leftovers either!

Linda, it's not going to be easy getting that stick blender back.

Figuring out Facebook

About 10 days ago, I joined Facebook, after being encouraged (i.e. naggedd...) by a friend for several weeks to get on board.

If you're on the fence, here's what I learned:

1. I now have more than 80 friends.  Most are people I solicited.  A few have solicited me.  It's nice to be contacted by people you went to high school or college with or worked with many years ago.

2. The Facebook system tries repeatedly to gain access to your personal information on your computer.  It does this by asking  you to let a friend add you to a birthday list, send you a flower, poke you etc.  I always say no because I do not want this system to have access.

3. There's not much to do on the site other than invite friends, write on their "walls" (their home pages) and write about what you are doing at any given moment.

4. Some people use Facebook as a marketing vehicle.  My high-school colleague Eric Yaverbaum has done quite well for himself and he is on Facebook to solicit users for PR and book projects and to provide opinions and hits on his business website.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's just interesting to learn.

5. I don't do anything interesting enough to post on my "wall", so I make stuff up.

No "Joe The Plumber"...but not bad!

Yay, Leanne!!!!

Leanne from Portland is the winner of season 5 of "Project Runway".  Hooray!  "Judy Noodles" as she is affectionately known on the Project Rungay blog site has been a favorite since the competition began.

The woman has a unique aesthetic.  She combines draping elements with crisply cut waves of fabric that undulate as her models move.  And she uses breathtaking pastels and crisp linens to compliment the waves.

I loved her collection.  LOVED it!

It's not easy for me to watch "Project Runway".  I have to wait until somebody posts it on YouTube with an obscure title so it won't get pulled by the network.  It's usually in 5 parts, with commercials edited out.  Yay.  

When you have the cheapest possible cable package, the only "premium" channels you get are Hallmark (ugh) and Fox Sports Northwest.  

Go Judy Noodles!!!

What to think now?

Everybody is afraid to talk about it.

We all dance around the issue without saying anything about it, and yet, there it is. Right in front of our faces all of the time.

When will we just speak up and be honest?

Aren't you tired of the lies? Tired of pretending like it's all fine?

Speak up, dammit! Don't waste any more time. Say it before it's too late.

You'll feel so much better once it's out there.

And the funny thing is, they've been thinking the exact same thing.

.......whew. I had to get that off my chest.

What Would Jesus Do?

You may know my penchant for destroying Easter Peeps. This truly takes it to the next level.

This Morning at the Dog Park

His name is Moglie.  He's a 5 month old Havanese, and Dudley and Abbey were enchanted.

So was I.  They played for a very long time before I had to literally drag my guys away because it was time for work.

"sigh"

Another Career

Do you ever wonder what ELSE you would be doing, if you hadn't selected the career path you are presently following?

I am wondering that right now.  

I returned to college and received my degree in communications with an emphasis on Public Relations and Psychology.  Perhaps PR would be a good opportunity.  

I also learned to produce television specialty programs and found I was very adaptable, although I have a lot to learn in that department.

I have also worked in retail, and while I enjoyed interacting with the public, I didn't enjoy the frequent schedule changes.

And I dally in commercial and corporate voice-over work.  This gives me great pleasure, although it is not exceptionally lucrative at the moment.  If I knew how to turn this into a financially productive enterprise, this would be a lot of fun for me.

What would YOU do?

Just Real Enough to be Scary

Today Just Got Much Better

It's the little things in life, you know?

Today started out as a typical rainy Monday. The financial crisis is looming large and dominating the headlines.

But I'm not feeling anxious or concerned.

No, not me. And it's because they're stocking FRESCA once again in the soft-drink vending machine!!!

There's something about those tangy, citrussy bubbles tickling my throat that makes me just smile.

I've always loved Fresca, even when it wasn't cool to love Fresca. It was the first diet soda I remember drinking. My mother bought some when she joined Weight Watchers for the umpteenth time sometime in the early 1970's.

It was the first time we had soda in the house. And she even let us drink some of it. YUM!!!

Viva la Fresca!!!

I'm a Fan

There are a couple of men who regularly wear kilts when they dance at the venues I frequent.  And I like the kilts.

I find the number of times I am asked to dance goes up if I wear a skirt.  I wonder what THEIR odds are when they wear the kilts?

Although I've never danced with a man in a camouflage  kilt like the one pictured above, there is a man who wears a khaki one who looks and moves quite nicely.

What do you think?  Do you like kilts?  If you're a man, have you or would you wear one?  I've seen them on construction sites, on the street, at social events, and all over the place in Seattle.  

Where have you seen them?

Walk FOR the Animals

Well at first, that's what I thought I'd be doing....walking FOR the animals.   But fortunately, I didn't have to do that.

They did just fine on their own.    
Especially when they were sniffing others just like them.

Dudley, myself and some 600 other people with pooches did a 10K walk benefitting the Seattle-King County Humane Society.  

It was  a huge success.  Even in the rain, we managed to raise 50-thousand dollars to benefit programs for homeless animals.   It makes you feel pretty good, doesn't it?

My good friend Helena Cohen joined us for the soggy stroll and kept us smiling.  

And other fabulous folk like ace reporter Travis Mayfield and Super Sweet Sadie joined us for the walk.

What a great event!!!!   We're a little wet but otherwise happy and tired.

A Sure Sign of Fall

Every year about this time, I get a craving. Nothing says fall better than a caramel apple. One with lots of nuts. The sweetness and crunchiness of the apple, mixed with the chewy caramel and salty peanuts should be a taste of heaven.

But every year, I have just one. Then I remember why I don't eat more than one.

It's because of the year I was in 5th grade. My mother decided to melt down a bunch of Kraft caramel candies and coat apples with them. My sisters and I put sticks in them and we sold them around the neighborhood.

Trouble was that we didn't sell that many. We ended up eating most of them.

I was so sick of caramel apples that I couldn't look at one for more than 10 years.

Now, I have one a year.

Just one.

"Sigh"

More than you know.

Douglas Adams, Where are You Now?

We're all losing money. We're all concerned about losing our job, or at the very least, losing our present financial status.

But concern does not have to be acted on in panic.

Douglas Adams, the late, great science fiction writer and, in my mind, great philosopher saw total global collapse through the eyes of his anti-hero Arthur Dent, in the "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" series. And while there was a lot of nonsense in the prose, there was also a lot of wisdom. Paramount was Dent's penchant for looking on potentially devastating circumstances with a droll detachment.

Believe it or not, this corresponds with ancient Buddhist tenants of detachment. And the good thing about this is that it allows you to take a step back from the situation and breathe. It is in that breath that wiser decisions are made.

And in the words of my good friend Anurag Asthana..."Do Nothing". Those words, while seemingly simple, go through my mind often, in times of distress. Things do resolve. And no, it does not mean ignoring the situation. It means, at the moment of panic, stop, take a step back and regroup. From this place, a wiser choice will emerge.

That's why I'm not worried that Congress will come up with a better way. A better plan not built out of panic, but more grounded in wisdom. It's not too late.

Why Today Wasn't So Bad After All:

A nice refreshing change.  Thanks, Jeremy and Cheryl.

Good to remember there are other things besides work.

Perfect Dog Day Afternoon

I spent the entire afternoon playing with the pooches.  What fun!  First, it was off to Magnolia, where I needed to go to the drug store.  But first....

We headed to Discovery Park.  Abbey and I used to walk to the Bluff all the time when I lived a few blocks away.  She started to stamp her little feet in excitement the closer we got to the park.

Dudley had never been there before, so he was just excited that Abbey was excited.

It was such a beautiful day for a walk.  We went all over the bluff, stopping in the tall grass to rest.  (Abbey can't go as far as she used to....and neither can her mommy!)

Then I ran my errands in Magnolia, and stopped at my favorite Greek take-out place for a halibut gyro.  YUM!

When the pooches and I took off again, I thought, maybe a ferryboat ride.  But the dogs had other ideas.

Dudley, the sneaky 'lil cuss, somehow managed to bind my wrists and ankles with the leashes, and Abbey got behind the steering wheel.   After I was shoved to the back seat, Dudley stood on the pedals.  I didn't even know they could drive!

We ended up at Westcrest Park in West Seattle.  I was untied, and we made it to the off-leash area for yet another romp!  This time Abbey made fast friends with an extremely UN-altered male basset hound.  Dudley played with a sheltie, a Westie and a yellow lab.

We made it home shortly before 7.

We're tired!

Mystery Solved

His name is Stephan Tewksberry.   And Stephen is no stranger to the title role in "The Phantom of the Opera".

Tewksberry played the lead in the present Broadway touring company until Richard Todd Adams stepped into the role in mid-June 2008.

Tewksberry was on hand because Adams had just returned from a week's vacation to visit his wife and brand new baby in Chicago.  Adams perhaps got a respiratory infection on the plane, or with his family.  

I agree with Kristin's comment in the previous post.  The second-act understudy was much more appropriate for the role because he appeared not to have matinee idol good looks, and took on the physicality of the role with such gusto.  

Thanks, Julie Furlong, for solving our mystery!!!

My night was filled with music.   And I think my true calling is opera.   At least that's my feeling after "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Paramount Theater last night.

I waited for my soul to stir in the first act.  But something was missing.  Turns out it was the upper register of the Phantom.   When he bowed out after the first half, and was replaced,  the soul awakened.  Who was that masked man?  The Phantom was a Phantom to us all.

The regular understudy was already employed in the role of Raoul. And they couldn't risk changing 2 roles in one night.  So, the 3rd string understudy was brought in.

Or was he the third string?  I never quite caught the name.  It sounded like a single syllable for the first name.  I found no such name in the program.    Who was that masked man?  My God, he had the role down as if he had lived and breathed it for years.  The pathos.  The heartbreak.  The yearning.  The agony.  It was all so real.  It was as if his inner core had been longing to release itself for ages.   Was he a Phantom of years past, brought in to fill a void at the last moment?  Was he an attendee in the audience who knew the role?  Stay tuned.  This question needs to be answered.

Who was that sweet, tortured soul?  I must know!!! 

American Politics

I realize I've been writing about food, or fun, or happy experiences to keep my blog devoid of politics.

This is difficult. American Politics is in crisis.

And even though I am not as stupid as the political campaigns assume I am, I wish I were. It would be easier.

But for now, I will continue my pledge to blog about "other" things. Vacations, life, pretty food, pretty flowers and paintings I enjoy.

Maybe when my head comes out of the blogger-sand, it will all be happy.


(nobody I know)

The Salmon Salad

Well, it's another food post, but please don't get worried about me. This one is really HEALTHY!

I had some salmon left over from dinner the other night, so I decided to use it in my salad for dinner. It turned out so durned pretty, that I took a photograph of it.

Gee, digital cameras are kind of fun, aren't they?

Anyway, if you would like to make this and share it with your beloved, here are the ingredients:

Fresh mixed spring greens
3 oz. of Flaked Salmon (I baked mine with olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice for about 20 minutes)
Crumbled Feta Cheese
2 Roma Tomatoes
Handful of Walnuts

I dressed it with some Raspberry-Balsamic dressing.

Very yummy.

I Can't Decide

This is Josh Groban singing a medley of TV theme songs at Sunday night's Emmy Awards.

I was so embarrassed for him, but I'm not sure if it was as bad as all that. He's so talented, and he was clearly having fun with it. But when he burst into the theme from South Park, I just was so uncomfortable.

What do you think? Was it career suicide?

.....The other terrible moment for me was that Gawdawful opening when the male reality hosts had nothing to say, and their "highlight" was having William Shatner help to yank the tuxedo off Heidi Klum.

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?????

Market happiness

This is Seattle-area artist Lois Silver's painting entitled "Market" for the Pike Place Market Foundation.   

She has a wonderful eye for color.    In fact I have my eye on another one of her paintings, entitled "Red Purse".  It's at the Lisa Harris Gallery in the Market for about $1800.  "sigh".

But the Market painting is a perfect way to tell you about my trip to the Pike Place Market on Saturday.

Anne and I decided to play Seattle Tourist.   We spent a few hours, in the rain, at the market on Saturday.   It's been years since I've done that.

There are a few changes.  First of all, on the East side of the market, there are several shops I'd never visited before.  One lets you taste 12 year old balsamic vinegar.  Wow.  I want some.  Of course, it's $45 a bottle.  So, maybe for my birthday.  It was so incredible, I could drink it by the glass.

Another shop sold more fancy spreads and olive oils.  

Of course, The Confectionary makes individual cheesecakes 

Kind of funny to walk by the first Starbucks store too.  When I worked at KMPS from 1983-1988, it was the ONLY Starbucks.  I just remember the coffee-making process was noisy.  I never bought coffee there.  Didn't drink it at the time.  But once I bought some loose tea.  Now there's a long line to get inside.  To many, it's coffee Mecca.

Another real highlight was a trip to one of my favorite galleries, the Lisa Harris Gallery.  I frequently visit her website, and Lois Silver is one of the painters she represents.  I get emotional when I connect with wonderful art.  Call me silly, but it's true.

Anyway, we stopped at my favorite fish monger, in the middle of the market, near the craft booths.  I like it because they're not in it for the show business, like the fish-tossers are at Pike Place Fish.  Bought a couple of halibut cheeks.

I had them for dinner tonight.  Pan-seared them in olive oil and butter with garlic.  It was so easy to make.  First you dust the cheeks with flour, salt and pepper.  Then put them in the hot oil-butter-garlic mix in the hot pan.  Flip them a couple of times until the flesh of the fish feels a bit less than firm.  Then I put in a dash of white wine, a little more butter, and finished it with 2 sliced Roma tomatoes.    I served it over some brown rice.   YUM!!!

Anne and I perused the craft stalls and when we stopped at a fruit stand to taste their peaches and nectarines, I exclaimed "Oh My God!".  THAT was how good they were.  The fruit man directed me to the pile of nectarines named, I kid you not, "Oh My God Nectarines".  I bought 3 of them.   Paid 6 dollars for them.  Finished them today.

We also went into the gem shop, and wandered through the Post Alley Market.  We stopped for dinner at the Pike Place Brewery.  Anne had the crabmeat chowder.  I had the appetizer dish of steamed clams.  They were TEENY.  The insides were the size of my little finger nail.  But good.

It's fun to play tourist in your hometown.  

Next Saturday, The Tacoma Museum of Glass.  Never been there.  Have you?  Did you like it?

My Sentiments Exactly!!!!

It was 3:26 in the morning.  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!  

The music from next door was deafening, and I was in the back upstairs bedroom.  They were in the house to my left, and the music was coming from the front porch.

The loud voices started around 10:00 and were still going strong.

Dudley needed to go outside.  So, out of the bed we hopped and went downstairs and outside for Dudley and Abbey's potty break.  

The male voices were loudly debating the merits of nothing in particular.  And Abbey and Dudley let them know they were not appreciated.   Loud barking at the neighbors ensued.

I did not try to silence them this time, as I ordinarily would.  

Finally, one of them screamed, at the top of his lungs...."SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

Out of my mouth came a loud and forceful;  "MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY".

......silence.   footsteps down the front stairs.  car doors shutting.  car pulled away.

victory.

Managing Change

I remember what a big deal it was when the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi made the cover of Time Magazine. We had arrived.

And when I say "we", I mean people who practice Transcendental Meditation.

When I was 15 years old, my Mother, always a seeker, decided that if our family of 4 (3 daughters and herself) learned to meditate, we would lose weight. There was no contemplation of peace, harmony, unity, clear thought, relaxation, elimination of stress, nothing like that. No, we would "finally" be thin if we just would meditate.

So off we went to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania TM center. We attended a couple of introductory classes, then it was off to individual instruction with certified teachers, to learn the technique. I remember we had to bring a clean white handkerchief and fresh flowers. I think we also had to bring fruit or something. These were used in the initial individual meditation session.

I was 15. I didn't get most of it. But then, the teachers started to chant a mantra. He kept on doing it, and indicated I was supposed to do it too. So I did. I felt weird, but I did. I remember having the profoundest sense of "GetthehelloutofthisplaceNOW!"

But I didn't. I kept on chanting the mantra, and eventually, repeating it silently.

And something happened. I "transcended". Even that first time. I remember opening my eyes after some unknown period of time, with a sense of calm and peace that I had never experienced before.

I don't know if my sisters or Mother felt the same way, but we kept on coming back for weekly "check-ins" for a time.

After that, I continued to meditate. I would get away from it for weeks or months sometimes, but I have always returned.

The mantra, the calming brain waves, the deep rest have always been my solace. I frequently meditate just before going on the air. It rejuvinates me.

I also practice my morning meditation with my dogs. I say "OK, it's time to meditate", and they follow me to my meditation spot and sit down quietly for 20 minutes. I don't even have to prompt them with promises of cookies or w-a-l-ks. (yes, I even have to spell it in the blog, 'cause they know it's coming if I write the whole word or, God forbid, speak it aloud!)

I love my daily Meditation.

......but I never did get THIN.

The Calm Before the Storm

A buncha stuff is about to get swirled up.  Jetties may be formed, rocks may be tossed, houses may break, and new beaches will be made.

You get through the swirly stuff then it gets quiet again.

Then it starts again.

This much I have learned.