Old Hippie in the Rain....

I saw this man--long grey, frizzy hair and scruffy grey beard,

wearing a forest green toque and John Lennon glasses,

plodding along in the cold rain today as I drove down a street near my daughter's school(had just dropped her off at noon for her 7 hour rehearsal).

He wasn't really wearing any rain gear other than a blue windbreaker jacket and heavy work boots and the knit cap. He seemed resigned to being thoroughly drenched since he wasn't exactly hurrying along the sidewalk,

just walking with a grim determination as the raindrops pelted him.

As soon as I saw him, I wanted to write a poem about "The Old Hippie In The Rain".

Then, just after I passed him, The Cure's "Inbetween Days" came on the car radio and the lyrics,

Yesterday I Got So Old I Felt Like I Could Die

Yesterday I Got So Old It Made Me Want To Cry

And now, ten hours later , I still remember that and I've tried to draw from what I remembered, what he looked like (instead of a poem).

Back and Forth

Is it April already??

I guess I should get a blog entry written then. Since April began, we have had snow and then a few days later, a warm enough day that I peeled down to a tank top to rake up dead leaves and winter's debris from my front lawn.

My days have been pretty busy, mostly because of my daughter's activities, including a driver's education class on weekends(both Saturday and Sunday) and her being in the band, chorus AND a musical play(with some rehearsals ending at 10:00 at night). Other times, my brain is lazy and can't bring myself to write anything, preferring to lounge on the couch or in bed at night reading.

Often, I think of things to write about and see/hear things throughout my day that I want to share here, but it doesn't actually ever happen. I don't have an iPhone or iPad or any other way to communicate and blog, other than our home PC. Yeah, I am really old school.

Here is a rundown of a typical day this spring--my day yesterday in all its "to and froing" mundane glory(what I can remember of it).

6:10 AM

My "alarm" goes off, which means R's alarm goes off in her room, she gets right up(gotta love a teenager who can do that every school morning) to let Jewel out of her room, and Jewel runs into my bedroom and jumps on the bed, does her Snoopy yawn/yowl and I am awake. Which is actually a good way to be woken up. Because of her presence, I get to start the morning off happy(sometimes laughing a little, depending on how crazy her Snoopy yawn comes out that day), scratching behind Jewel's ears and petting her as she curls up in the space between me and Mr. F.

6:15 AM

I finally force myself to fling the covers off me, step into my fuzzy slippers and stumble into the bathroom to wash my face. The mornings are usually still dark enough that I have to turn the light on in there, and that is always a painful thing to do--that harsh ceiling light first thing.

6:17 AM

Let the cat out,

get the coffee going in the kitchen,

let the dog out,

pull some things out of the fridge to make my daughter a lunch,

let the dog back in,

fill her water and food bowl,

then make R's lunch.

Yesterday, I made a a beautiful big salad (spring greens, sliced avocado, chick peas, cucumber slices, carrot curls, grated Monterrey Jack cheese, with a small dash of Balsamic vinegar dressing on top) for her, cut up some pita bread triangles, a can of Coke(sad to say, but with her schedule these days, my girl has discovered the virtues of caffeine, drinking coffee, tea and colas quite often), and a Luna nutrition bar.

6:21 AM

Pour myself my first cup of coffee. Ahhhh....

6:22 AM

Turn on computer, stare out the window(foggy and grey putside), listen to the birds.

6:24 AM

Check the day's e-mails(trying to avoid the news blurbs on the homepage),

see my reminder that I have an 8:10 dentist's appointment.

Groan a little about it since I now know I can't be lazy on my Tuesday morning (my day off during the week).

6:30 AM

Say "good morning" to Mr. F in the hallway, as I go to refill my cup and he heads into the bathroom for his shower.

6:38 AM

Double check with R what her schedule after school is today. She has a field trip with the concert band to a state-wide competition where they will be "adjudicated"(I never heard this word in my life until last year when she started using it for these music shows) where she'll leave school on a bus at 11:30 and return by 3:00 to school, so I'll be picking her up then.

6:39 AM

Let the cat back in (after hearing his typical banging of the back door's screen door--his way of letting us know he wants in).

6:45 AM

Say good-bye to R as she slips out the front door.

Get dressed.

Eat a bowl of cereal.

7:00 AM

Help Mr. F load the bins of recyclable cans, bottles and cardboard and paper into the back of my car(they are overflowing, so my plan is to take them to the dump after my dentist appointment).

7: 05 AM

Kiss Mr. F good-bye, and take Jewel out for her morning walk down to the river.

7: 25 AM

Brush teeth extra well!

Leave house for dentist's appointment(usually a 20 minute drive unless I get stuck behind a lot of commuters on the hill to get onto the main road).

7:37 AM

Finally get out onto the main road, after having sat in traffic through a few lights on the hill.

8:09 AM

Get to dentist's office in the nick of time. Get teeth checked and cleaned(that hygienist was brutal on my gums!).

9:00 AM

Back into car, gums hurting a little. Head in opposite direction to get to the local dump to get rid of my recyclables.

10:40 AM

Get back to house, after errands(post office and drugstore after leaving dump), very hungry!

10:45 AM

Heat up oven for frozen breaded eggplant patties for lunch(with a tomato sauce between bread), put eggplant in oven.

10:50 AM

Notice there is a message on my phone and listen to R's pleading voice telling me she forgot her black tights and could I bring them to the school? (they are required to be dressed in all black-no bare legs showing). Shut oven off, and take out half-baked eggplant patties.

10:55 AM

Jump back into car(with Jewel ), grumbling to myself about this daughter who forgets everything and how lucky she is that I was even home to hear that message and be able to rescue her from her predicament as I drive towards the school. Trying to reason with myself not to be upset with her since she has so much to remember and I know I couldn't do any better, and if anything she gets her scatter shot attitude from me.

11:15 AM

Hand a bag holding the black tights to R in the school's office and immediately forget my anger over the incident when I see her smiling face and get a happy hug of thanks from her. I tell her "good luck" , and I get in the car and drive back home.

11:30 AM

Get back to the house,

finish cooking my lunch.

2:47 PM

Get call from daughter saying they will be late getting back to school and then wait until I hear from her again to know when to pick her up.

4:30 PM

After getting the second call from daughter, drive back to the high school,

wait 15 minutes for the arrival of the bus and then drive back home with her.

6:00 PM

After Mr. F gets home, we decide we want pizza for supper, so I get back in the car once again and drive to pick up a margherita pizza.

6:30 PM

The ex-boyfriend(!) comes to pick up Rachel for the play's rehearsal. Earlier, I had asked her to try to see if anyone could give her a ride to the school since I was getting a little weary(my butt was actually getting stiff from sitting in that car seat so much all day) of driving(and my car's gas tank running a little low by now), thinking of someone near our neighborhood who could swing by, but instead she asked him?!?

7:55 PM

After kitchen clean-up and discovering that my daughter never even ate the salad I made for her(aaarrgghhh..! Why do I bother sometimes?!), I draw a bath and take a long soak in the tub, knowing that I could finally relax because Mr. F was going to go and bring R home from the rehearsal(ending at 9:30).

Transition time

There’s a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons,
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.

- Emily Dickenson

Heading into March (only four more days of February left, after all...), I am heading into my least favorite time of the year and it is difficult for me to maintain my preferred rose-tinged glasses view of the world.
Today, driving home and viewing the worn out grey and shabby landscape though my car window, I felt as worn out and shabby as what I was seeing.
We have had some melting of snow, and yes, we can see the ground in places, but it is a dead and brown ground with not a green and growing thing in sight.
And there are dirty, almost blackened lumps of snow left, lining the roads.
The trees look beaten up, with huge branches snapped off from winter storms.
The pond I pass every day is still all frozen over and I miss seeing the pair of swans that usually are there(where do they go?).
The left-over Christmas lights and wreaths on some houses(including mine) that still delighted the eye and spirit in January, are looking sad and forlorn now.

I guess I never do well with "transition" months between the ending of seasons and the beginning of another-- late August I find depressing, as well.
I have also been in a personal funk lately--going through my usual "what have I done with my life" and not being able to be motivated to do much of anything. I think I am having hot flashes(always only at night, though), too. So I am entering a transition of my own.
I did pick up some seed packets today:

Johnny-Jump-Up's (Viola)
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia)
Oregano
Basil
Parsley
Morning Glory
Lettuce
Carrots

and I think I'll at least start growing the Johnny-Jump-Up seeds on Tuesday(March 1st).

The Happy List...

.... The mid-January 2011 Edition.

I felt myself feeling light-hearted and just plain happy today(and of course, the dog always makes any day happier). All day long. No cranky feelings of any kind. Although, its a good thing I am not a football fan, because there are a lot of unhappy New England Patriots fans right now(they tanked, apparently, against the NY Jets in the game that just a ended a short while ago).

The sun was shining and I felt happy and alive kicking through the deep snow up at the town soccer fields when I took Jewel up there for a romp this morning. It finally warmed up a little--it was actually in the low 30's F today, after days in the single digits(that was TOO cold for me). I could even feel the warmth of the sun on my face as I walked outside--pretty good for January, I think!

The daughter was away overnight at a friend's house, and I was missing her, since I barely saw her from Friday through Saturday (I was out Friday night, and then had to work on Sat.). And when she did get home this afternoon, she kind of surprised me by not immediately holing herself up in her bedroom like Mr. F and I were expecting she would. She actually hung around and talked to us(and of course, asked if there was anything to eat!). I think she might have missed us a little, too.

I drove up to the nearest Trader Joe's (which is always a fun place to go-it makes food shopping an event for me) after lunch time and was really loving the scenery from inside my moving car. The deep snow really is beautiful and looked spectacular under the bright blue winter sky. There were long icicles hanging and glittering from house eaves. There were snowmen in front yards(even one with a pointed birthday hat on). The inside of my car was warm and toasty, the heater on full blast. I loved that the highway was pretty empty and I could just fly, the tunes on my car radio blasting. Oh yeah, sometimes, I love driving under the right conditions!

Speaking of tunes on the radio, I am so thankful for WMVY on the FM dial. It is one of the few real radio stations left I think, with a creative playlist and real disc jockeys with real, distinct personalities(who occasionally make mistakes like playing the wrong song and then burst back on air with a goofy apology and then play the right one)like I remember every radio station had in years past. I know I am dating myself, because I think many people even my own age don't really listen to the radio anymore? But this station, broadcasting out of Martha's Vineyard still can make me feel happy listening to old and new songs and artists. You can even listen online. This song, by Buddy Guy and B.B. King(ages 74 and 85, respectively--and do they LOOK that old?! Not to me.) was the last song I heard as I headed back home , groceries piled in the back of the car, mission completed. It ended just as I drove into my drive at the house. How perfect is that? A bluesy, heartfelt song about gratitude and loving life. Turn it up, and listen to the whole thing, because the banter at the end is priceless.

"Stay Around A Little Longer" ~ Buddy Guy with B.B. King

Day Out With Jewel

As usual, a Saturday morning outing --just the dog and I.
Mr. F said he had a hair appointment in town, and the daughter would have come along with us if I made her, but she was happy to stay home in her pajamas until noon, so I just left it at that.

The night's light snowfall, already melting away by mid-morning as we whizzed north along the road....

Jewel riding shotgun.

"Where are we going...? Wherever it is, I am sure I'll love it!"

I drove Jewel to one of our favorite places--the trails through the woods(full of mostly Atlantic white cedar, oak and birch trees) down to the bay at the Chafee nature preserve, or Rome Point(which, if you have read this blog for some time, you may remember other entries about and photo tours of this place), as most locals call it.

View of the bridge and bay when we got to the end of the trail.

Rose hips...

Almost the end...and back into the warm car.

It was such an otherwise perfect day....

Yesterday was bright blue skies and sunny and perfectly September-ish(just like the fateful Sept. 11 nine years ago, in fact) and I spent much of the day with Miss R, doing errands(grocery store, pharmacy), poking around(but not buying anything--we were good this time) in our favorite consignment shops around town ( Chameleons and The Phoenix ), and then lunch at El Fuego (very fresh & tasty Mexican fare).
When we got back home, we baked an applesauce spice cake together. Of course, all this mother-daughter closeness was possible because the "boyfriend" was working all day. Otherwise, I would have been doing all this alone.

Then I left at 6:00 to meet my sister and her friend at the commuter parking lot(for carpooling) nearest to our house. I drove up with them to the Brooklyn Tea and Coffee House(so cozy inside and out) in Providence......
..... to see Robin Lane --a musical blast from my past whom I hadn't thought about in years and years(my sister happened to notice the announcement that she was playing at the Brooklyn and got tickets for me because she remembered I had her 2 albums back then and was a fan--isn't that sweet?). She attained some local fame from out of Boston in the late 70's/early 80's--and I saw her open for the Kinks at a concert in 1980. A little background info from the Music Museum of New England site:

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Lane found her way to Cambridge in the late 1970s after a whirlwind introduction to the world of music through a great deal of hanging out with Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, which led to her singing backup on Neil Young's "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)." The move East saw her form the hit band Robin Lane and the Chartbusters and sign a multi-record deal with Warner Bros. But raising a family came first, and Lane and her red Fender Mustang guitar stepped out of the spotlight for a number of years, mostly writing songs for others. She came back in the mid-1990s with a batch of pop, rock, and country tunes on her 1995 album Catbird Seat, reformed the Chartbusters for a couple of years, and now lives in Western Massachusetts, where she performs "living room concerts" in people's homes.
(by Ed Symkus-
Music Museum of New England)

The concert was very intimate--like being in some one's kitchen(there are actually kitchen tables in the Brooklyn). Robin must be about 60 now, but her voice is as warm as ever, and I even got to chat with Robin before and during the show(she tells a lot of stories and interacts with her audience throughout her performance) and she even complimented me on the necklace I was wearing(an old post-war Germany stainless steel and green Bakelite beauty that my mother had since the 1950's and I have been wearing sine the 80's).This was the big hit from 1980('81?) and the 11th video ever shown on the then new MTV. Supposedly, this song was also recently featured in the movie "Grownups".

So...there's enough music trivia.
Now, let's get to the bad part of my day. Whaaa....
After the performance was done, we left the city at around 10:30 to drive back home, and were approaching the entrance to the lot where I had left my car when we noticed a tow truck, and police car and some people standing in the lot. Then I saw my husband(!) standing there talking to the police and I immediately knew something had happened to my car.
Turns out, it and the green truck I had parked next to, had been hit(and damaged badly) by a car on the road that passes the lot(we were parked facing the road). It was a "hit and run" that the owner of the green truck actually witnessed because he was just getting a lift back to the lot as the car "jumped the curb"(his words) and smashed into his truck, and then the impact of that made his truck smash into the left driver's side of my poor little Ford Escort wagon. What a coincidence that the accident would happen just as the owner of the truck got back to the lot and saw it happen before his eyes?

He and his friends actually chased the car down once they realised the driver of the car(a young woman) was not stopping and continued on down the road(was she drunk? Had she been texting and driving? How did she just veer off the road like that, smash into other cars and then keep going like that?).

But they could not get her to stop--they said she was driving only 25 miles per hour(obviously her car must have sustained some damage, too) and looking straight ahead. So, they went back to the lot to examine the damage, called the police and I got there in my sister's car shortly after the police and tow truck(because the truck was damaged far worse than mine--at least mine was still drive able) arrived. From the license plate on my car, the police were able to look up my phone number and get a hold of my husband to get him there.

So now in the daylight of the next day, my car looks terrible(the front grill, front bumper, rear view mirror and passenger side ),

and we need to contact our insurance tomorrow(this hit-and-run driver, whom luckily the owner saw do it and knew her plate number so the police could get her, better have her own car insurance paid up because she is going to be having to pay for some damage otherwise), but know that this could have been far, far worse.

But, no one was hurt(not so sure about the driver who hit the vehicles, but at this point I am not so concerned about her...gggrrrr....), and I even can drive my mother's car until this is all sorted out(don't know yet how safe my car is to drive and whether we'll be getting a new one) since she will be away in Germany and Greece for the next four weeks.
Still,even though my old Escort is hardly the greatest car in the world, I like my car(it has gotten me where I need to go for the last ten years with never a problem, and has even climbed steep mountain roads), so it pains me to see it all banged up like this.

A Couple Of Old Guys Singing.....

...their hearts out.

While driving along into town yesterday, with my hand stuck out the window to catch the fresh cool sea air, my happy day(a day off--my fourth in a row) was made even better when I heard this song on the radio(on my most favorite radio station) for the first time. It's a 2007 release --Van Morrison and Tom Jones singing together. I just love their voices! " Cry For Home"-Van Morrison with Tom Jones.

Click!

****

**

" You mind is your best camera. Go out and take some beautiful pictures "

quote by Darryl Something-or-other.

Sorry, Darryl, I don't remember your last name, but do remember this from the back of a blank photo greeting card we used to sell in the shop.

It's true--I store so many photographic moments in my head(some do get stuffed way back when the newest ones crowd them). I also am not the best of photographers, anyway, and seem never to have a camera on me when I want one.



Yesterday evening, for example. I should have had a camera, but didn't.
I was driving along the road to town to pick the daughter up after her singing practice. Not quite dusk--after an unseasonably hot(nearly 90*F)day, the bright yellow full moon(the Strawberry Moon, if you go by the Native American names for the full moons) just risen in the sky.
The sky the merest hint of daytime blue, still.
I could clearly see the face on the moon and I swear it had a deeply worried expression. I had never seen that before! It was as if the moon were looking down at us humans and looking at all the damage done--oceans poisoned by gushing petroleum, piles of plastic and Styrofoam in landfills, melting glaciers and on and on. I don't blame the moon for worrying. Heck, I worry--every morning I wake up and that damn oil "leak" in the Gulf of Mexico pops into my mind.



Anyway, at least the beauty of the evening was a nice thought for a little bit yesterday. I still have this beautiful natural world around me, on a small scale, to enjoy.
As I drove past the cove and marsh, I saw the familiar osprey silhouetted against the sky, perched on the outer edge of it's high nest on a pole--another bird head(I think) sticking out of the nest. It was either the female sitting on eggs or a chick.



The ocean was glittering and softly blue, which of course, made me think again, of that other body of water miles away(and afterall, connected to "my" ocean--we are affected by the "Gulf Stream" here), being suffocated by the oil leak.



I wish I had a camera to take some photos last night, but I still would not have been able to capture the cool breeze and misty sea air, so welcome after a hot day. I would not have been able to capture the sound of the waves hitting the rocks against the seawall. Or the crickets and last robin's song of the day.



But, I am going to tuck my camera into my bag and take it along with me today. I really have to try to remember to do that.

4 Goodly Things

Ahhh...coffee. And quiet.
Even though I have to leave for work in an hour and a half, I am still enjoying a little Saturday morning-ness. Which means just me and my coffee and my thoughts(even the dog goes back to bed). Mr. F and the daughter(and dog) sleep in late on the weekends, so it's usually me being the only one up early.
I have been thinking back on yet another whirlwind week, and some of the things that stood out in a good way.(Oh, I could list all the annoying and irritating things and people I encountered this past week, but won't go there)

Good thing # 1...my sweet and thoughtful husband.
He shoveled off and on for most of the day on Wednesday when we had a winter storm.
Then the next morning, before he left for work, he cleaned all the ice and snow off my car again AND warmed it up for me . So that when it came time for me to get in my car to leave for work an hour later, all I had to do was jump into it, start it up and drive away in a warm and toasty vehicle. I very rarely ever have to clean off my car, come to think of it--he always takes care of that(one day, maybe we'll have a garage and he won't even have to do this)
As I drove to work, I noticed other cars on the road that were still covered with snow. You know--the kind where there is just enough snow hurriedly cleaned off with the driver peeking through a hole on the windshield..? If it weren't for my "knight with gleaming snow shovel and ice scraper", I would BE that person! Yep, I realised how lucky I am and how my husband did not need to get anything for me this Valentine's Day since I felt I had gotten my Valentine already, a few days early.



Off course, when I got to work, I had to do all the shovelling off of the walk and stairs in front and in back of the store. In my 12 years of working there, I have always been the one to do the snow shovelling since I am the one who is there earliest to open the shop. None of the other employees or my boss(who lives closest to the store, actually) has ever come in early to help. Not that big of a deal, really, as I am an able-bodied person and it's never been an insurmountable job for me to do. And, at least I wasn't all tired out(or my back) from shoveling at home since my chivalrous husband at least took care of that. An hour later, when the Thursday morning co-worker showed up, I had everything cleared off but needed to get more ice melt for the walk. So I zipped over to our town's Benny's Store.
Another thing to love and treasure!
As I parked my car in the lot, I had to smile when I saw the big signs near the door announcing that they had "sleds" and "snow shovels" and "ice melt". They always have everything I need, and it isn't one of those faceless, too brightly lit(and chemical smelling) Wal-Marts.
This is an old-school chain of tire and auto supply stores(founded in 1924, it's a 30-store chain with stores in the 3 southern New England states where you can buy tools, sporting goods, automotive, toys, home decor, and lawn and garden) that still has the traditional aisles and that wonderful rubber tire smell and people who actually offer to help you inside.
As I was lifting up the 5 lb. bag of ice melt(conveniently placed right there at the front of the store), I heard one of the store employees say, "Do you want any help with that, Miss?"
Of course, inside my brain, I was thinking--"hey, I just finished shovelling and scraping ice off the sidewalks in front of a store and shovelling out paths through snowbanks--I think picking up
a little 5 lb. bag is a piece of cake after that!".
But it was nice to hear that all the same--but that is just typical of Benny's. And, can I say, "bonus points" for being called "Miss" and not "Ma'am" (which has happened to me all of two times since I turned 40 and it is one of the worst things I have heard said to me!)

Please, please...never go out of business, Benny's Tire and Auto Stores!!!


Okay...good thing # 3...
Back at home, one of the things that all three of us like to do in the evening after homework and supper and kitchen clean-up is out of the way,
is to all flop down on the couch to watch a taped episode of Malcolm In The Middle. I LOVE this show!
Malcolm In The Middle ran from 2000 to 2006 on FOX and I didn't pay much attention to it then, thinking it was yet another typical TV sitcom.
Luckily, it's still shown on TV, and R has the DVR recording system on our TV set so we always have a back load of Malcolm episodes to watch. (note that I said my daughter has the show recorded because I have never figured out how to do it, myself)
This show has me loudly guffawing from the the first minute and all the way through. All the characters (and the actors who play them) are priceless(gotta love that Lois, especially) and the writing so good --it's not the typical family sitcom.
It's become our little family-of-three bonding moment--our sitting down together to watch another *slightly* dysfunctional family.
So..if you get a chance, give MITM a try (if you aren't already a fan)



And # 4...
...I was having a Carlos Santana day yesterday.
I have the perfume(which is kind of strange that I own this one--out of all the celebrity perfumes out there--and there are a lot!) and decided to spray on some of it's unsweetened coco-nutty and slightly spicy goodness on me before I left for work. Then, as I am driving along, "Black Magic Woman" comes on the car radio! Which made me think, why didn't Carlos use that name for his perfume? It might have sold better, with a name like that, instead of boring "Carlos Santana for Women".
Then, at the end of the day, when I was driving my daughter back to the school at 7:30 at night(because she forgot the tickets for the hockey game in her locker!!!!!--but luckily she was able to get into the school because of the boy's basketball game going on), I heard "Oye Como Va" on the car's radio.

A New Day...

...on the first day of a new year

......on the first day of a new decade

Appropriately, there was a dusting of new snow from the day before to make my world look fresh and clean. And just the fact that the new year is begining on a Friday(always a good day in my book!) is a good omen, I think.

I decided to get out with my camera this morning to capture a few(somewhat fuzzy and out of focus) shots of my yard and also the view from my car and on the beach(with the dog along for the adventure),
before it all started to melt. Scroll all the way down for a slide show.

It's pretty warm out there today(especially compared to New Year's Day weather last year) and that's a good thing for the daring and baring souls (not me!) who plunge into the ocean at noon for the annual New Year's Day "Pier Plunge".
I featured "the Plunge" in my last year's New Year's Day entry..here(complete with it's own slideshow)...but won't be going down to see it this time, since I will be busy getting a dinner ready for later today when my parents and sister are coming.

I'm making an apricot and cranberry pork loin(which, after preparing this, makes me want to become a vegetarian in 2010), mashed potatoes, green beans and for dessert--a red fruit pudding(see recipe below).

I found the recipe for this tart and juicy(I hope--haven't tried it --they are sitting in their dishes in the fridge because I made them yesterday after work) dessert in the December 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine, which as of November 2009, is no longer being published(*sigh* welcome to the new era of disappearing newspapers and periodicals)
It is made out jarred Swedish lingonberries(surprised that I was able to find it on the shelf of my local Stop n' Shop), frozen red raspberries-- which I had to puree and then smoosh through a sieve so the seeds were left out(a messy, staining, and just plain pain-in-the-ass process), pomegranate juice, gelatin and sugar. Then I realised I didn't have enough glass dessert dishes(I think that is something I'll need to invest in this coming year, especially if I am really going to host a dinner party sometime for friends), and had to put some of it in wine glasses. Luckily, it's family coming--not so much pressure, but I am sure my mother will make some kind of remark about the odd collection of dishes when the pudding comes to the table. Hopefully, the awesomeness of the pudding's taste itself will make her forget the motley and less than proper presentation.
By the way, Mr. F surprised me by making reservations for dinner out last night, and we were home by 8:30 (just try to stop our wild and crazy ways!), and asleep by 11:30--couldn't even make it one more half hour to fully see the new year in. The Prosecco and raspberry sorbet "slushies" were a hit (drinking them might have added to me not being able to stay up until midnight, though)


Red-Fruit Puddings
Serves 8 to 12
Active time:25 min
Start to finish:4 hr (includes chilling)
December 2008

Like Jell-O, but all grown up, these tart little puddings have a bracing fruitiness that is just what’s needed after a sumptuous holiday spread. The scarlet juices of pomegranates, lingonberries, and raspberries are bound into a very soft gelée.

3 (12-oz) packages unsweetened frozen raspberries, thawed
2 (1/4-oz) packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup bottled pomegranate juice
2 cups bottled wild lingonberry sauce or lingonberries (from two 14-oz jars)
1/2 cup sugar

Accompaniment:
lightly sweetened whipped cream

Purée raspberries with their juices in a food processor, then force though a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
Sprinkle gelatin over pomegranate juice in a medium saucepan and let stand 1 minute to soften. Cook over low heat, stirring, until gelatin has dissolved. Stir in lingonberry sauce and sugar. Cook, stirring, until sugar has dissolved and sauce has melted. Stir into berry purée.
Quick-chill in an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to mound, about 30 minutes. Pour into dishes or glasses and chill until set, at least 3 hours.

Cooks’ note: Puddings can be chilled up to 3 days.
Dec. 2008 Gourmet Recipe by Ruth Cousineau

What a Difference a...

*4:00-ish, early December by the sea wall *

*****

....sunny and calm day in December can make.
Yesterday was wild and rainy and cold with the waves crashing right over the seawall. It was grey with icy rain pelting against the windows and the lights had to be on in the house almost all day. If it hadn't been for the fact that it was my husband's birthday(he took the day off and in his typical philosophical and optimistic Sagittarius way, had a great day in spite of the weather), I could say that December is kind of a bleak looking and depressing month, with each day getting darker and darker earlier.
No wonder wassailing and under-the-mistletoe kissing and Glog/Nog/Grog/Gluhwein guzzling and all that Christmas stuff was invented to get the cold humans through this time of year.

On top of that I find myself becoming more and more cynical each year, at this time of year. Working in a retail type environment for over 20 years(and the last 17 as one of the busy elves staying up late to get every one's gifts built for Dec. 24 in the frame shop business) has done that to me. You work up until December 24th, then go back to work December 26th , after all that build-up.
Not to mention hearing the same songs over and over as background music at work, and then in the stores(right now, it's a tie between "It's A Marshmallow World" and that horrible "Man With The Bag" for worst Holiday song),
being assaulted by crass commercials right after Halloween trying to get you to buy more stuff and make you feel out and out guilty that your life isn't as jolly as the singing and dancing perfect people in those ads ,
being tired at the end of the long day(and short days have that effect on a body, too) but also having to bake cookies like Martha,
make sure the house is decorated like the neighbors--it seems like there is so much to do in such a short amount of time.
I honestly don't look at this time of year as my favorite time of year.
There. I said(wrote) it. I am a Grinch. That is the way it is.

I wish I could spend a Christmas in a cabin in a snow covered mountainside forest.
No shopping.
No "shoulds".
No full calendar.
Just a quiet place with a crackling fire in the fireplace, some Christmas carols, and a little contemplation. That image always comes to my mind by the third week of December when things get a little too crazy at work.

But...back to what I was going to write when I decided to write an entry this afternoon. That little bit of December magic started to work it's way into my soul today. Just a little.
Driving in to work, I liked the look of the bare trees and exposed stone walls and the griege colored moss on them. I liked the slant of light that I remembered from exactly the same time last year. A weak sun, but the world looked beautiful under it's weak winter light. A different kind of beauty at this time of year.

I like listening to the left-of-the-dial University radio station this month, too, because the DJ's play those great old jazz and swing Christmas-themed songs and they talk a lot, too, in between the songs, but it is like listening to old friends. The DJ I was listening to this morning as I drove in to work, (thinking that December wasn't so bad after all--when the sun shines on it), was one I had not heard in a while and was glad to know that after all those years she is still doing the Thursday morning show. She has a soothing voice and this morning I loved the way she said "chuckle" and "duet" and that she introduced me to a singer called Kevin Mahogany(how perfect a name is that?!).

And now that I am back home, it's a nice comfort to have my dog and kid here with me in this warm little house, a cup of tea made for me by my *sometimes* thoughtful daughter(we are going through a little annoying uber-teenage phase with her lately)by my side and George Winston's "December" album playing. It was R's idea to play it this afternoon and I had forgotten how this music calms me and makes me love this season a little more.

I'll never be a jolly old soul at this time of year, but I can always try to find those happy and good things, too. And sometimes, I don't have to try, even. Those good December moments can kind of sneak up on you. (like right now...I have to smile and feel happy as I listen to not only the exquisite voice of Ella Fitzgerald singing "Winter Wonderland" but my daughter singing along in the other room)

Bumpah Stickahs

** Even though I don't have much of a commute to work--ten minutes either way if I don't get stuck behind any school buses-- and in less than two weeks I won't have to worry about those for a few months, and try to combine errands so I don't keep driving back and forth to town,
I still feel like I spend a good portion of my waking life behind the steering wheel of my car.
I usually enjoy the ride, with the tunes playing loud(most of the time) like my current fave Cage The Elephant and now that it's summer, I have Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself" downloaded onto my MP3 player(have one of those devices that plug into the car's lighter so it plays out of the stereo).
**I also love gazing at the changing scenery as I drive by--maybe spotting a turkey trotting across the road,
an osprey in it's nest(there are a couple of osprey nests up on poles along the route in to town),
the wildflowers alongside the road(June is the month of wildflowers, I think!),
the man I see sometimes with the purple(!) walking stick,
the joggers,
the dog walkers,
that one particular El Camino that is parked in the beach lot most mornings
and the beach goers (can almost smell the coconut oil when I see them).

**One thing I notice , too, is bumper stickers on cars.

Actually, not too many people seem to put them on their cars as much as I remember(aside from the magnetic "ribbon" ones and the Obama/Biden '08 ones)--I get the feeling that most people like to keep their cars looking as new as possible and maybe a bumper sticker is too much of a commitment (I kind of think those magnetic ones are a cop out). So whenever I see a bumper sticker --a REAL one--on a car, I take notice(kind of hard not to when you are directly behind, so I guess they do the intended job). The other day, when I was in the car with R, she told me to hurry up and catch up with a car that had at least 15 to twenty stickers all over the back, so she could read them all.
For for someone like me with an older, no longer new and shiny , beige Ford Escort, bumper stickers are one way to give my set of wheels a little more personality. (And lately, my car never looks bright and clean for long because where I park at home, it sits directly under a certain tree that covers it with pollen and these little seedling thingies,
and the birds who sit in the tree also like to poop on my car. I can wash my car, and the next day it'll be covered all over again. I just can't win).

** I have my Guster sticker, my Boston Red Sox "B"(both of these have faded, so I need to replace those), my "Local" sticker ( to let the other locals know that I am not an outsider during the summer tourist season) and also my Salvador Dali bumper sticker(purchased a few years ago at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida and still as vibrantly yellow as the day I slapped it on).

Today was a great bumper sticker-spotting day, for some reason. I had the pleasure of noticing three good bumper stickers in my travels:


* My boss is a Jewish Carpenter
Best Jesus sticker I have seen in a while, especially since all I usually see are those W.W.J.D.? and Fish symbol stickers.


* Hurricane Ellie in big letters.
This one looked homemade. Was the driver of the big SUV named Ellie and why was she a Hurricane? I'm still thinking about it.....

* I Miss Jerry
At first I thought this was about missing Seinfeld , and only later when I got home and wrote it down did I realise it was probably a Deadhead driving that truck. Duh...

Here are some other favorite bumper stickers I have spotted in the past:

*Your Hummer Is A Bummer

* Dyslexics of the World, Untie!*


*Visualise Whirled Peas*

*Dog is my co-pilot* ( I really need to get one of these someday)


*What if the Hokey-Pokey IS what it's all about?*

Seen any good bumper stickers, lately????