At a Loss for Words for Someone Special

My brother-in-law is celebrating a birthday today and my mate is at a loss for words. I am making an executive decision to share with everyone feelings and thoughts my mate shares with me about his older brother:

--My mate is amazed at Ayo’s motivation to go back to school and change careers.

--My mate mentions Ayo’s ability to connect to family, extended and close. Ayo is known on both sides of their family, and makes a point of connecting to those who may have strayed or lost touch with.

--Ayo’s social skills, his uncanny ability to chat with others, joke, make merry, has amazed my mate as well as make him jealous, when he uncomfortably sits in some social environments.

--Since I enjoy cooking, Ayo and I share a bond of the love of food. Sometimes, my mate attempts to cook, but he always shares that really Ayo (and Peter) are the cooks in the family.

There are others that escape even my memory, but overall, my mate connects with his brother in spirit and jokes. Happy Birthday, pare.

Odd Numbness

Today there was a massive shooting incident at Virginia Tech. My brothers went to Virginia Tech and one still works near there. So, how do I feel about the shootings today? While I was concerned, I hate to say I feel a bit numb to the incident. I don't worry about my brother, but I feel for the students. The whole situation is very surreal with very few answers. I hope someone finds out why someone can coldly go through and kill people.

It doesn't seem normal.

End of Spring Break Depression

So, the end of break is here and my mind is already starting to think of all the things I "should" do or "could" do. My mind is overwhelmed with unfinished projects and cool expeditions I want to go through. And I have homework due tomorrow and I cannot figure out my coding issue. I have more thoughts on this past week and the future in more blogs and photo montages.

Well, I am tired of stressing about things I cannot control. Deep breaths, pacing and well, dealing with the fact I am not superwoman.

Cooking Green Challenge #1

So, to improve the health of myself and my mate, I decided to incorporate more green items in our diet. I usually eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but I cannot say the greenery has much fanfare.

Therefore, in an attempt to produce five star restaurant vegetable dishes, I borrowed a book, written by a former chef of the Greens restaurant in San Francisco, from the library. Reading through all these recipes, I was thinking, “Yes, I can get my mate to eat vegetables…no problem.” I carefully selected recipes I thought he could eat without cringing at the sight.

Last night…point for me…I constructed a savory salad of butter lettuce, carrots, Roma tomatoes and avocadoes with a creamy shallot herb dressing. While the sight of greens made him nervous, the man ate the bait.

Attempt no. 2: Leek and Artichoke Soup. The ingredients seem less intimidating and if I blended it as suggested, then he may eat it. Well, after an hour of cutting, washing, simmering and blending, the result...I don’t like it. I won’t even bring it to the table. Actually, I really don’t like the texture (fibrous) with less savory taste than expected. It smells nice, but argh.

Here are my thoughts on cooking experimentation:

1. Stay with ingredients you know or have learned how to deal with. My problem with attempt number 2 was my lack of knowledge with artichokes. Apparently, I didn’t get enough of the “choke” out of the artichoke making the fine fibers a main part of the soup texture (gross).

2. If the ingredient requires you to remove more of the item than what you purchased, then maybe leave it alone. Case in point: artichokes require you to remove tough, thorn-bearing outer leaves along with a fine fibrous “choke” to leave you with a quarter of the item you purchased. Since they are expensive, I think I will leave artichokes alone (if you already haven’t noticed my hint). For those of you who love artichokes, go for it…I will leave it for restaurant purchasing.

3. Work with what you got. While I have enjoyed feeling “green” and “healthy” buying mostly plant-based groceries, the cost has not returned much. I usually will give myself some consolation by saving my bad experiments and blame the mold for the reason to throw it out; however, this time, I just threw it. I didn’t want it, and I could foresee the reaction of my mate.

So I will work toward savory sauces and not introduce foreign greenery unless I have tried it previously. I will keep you posted on good and bad concoctions.

April Self-Indulgence

Warning: There is more to come; however, for now, I want to share a meditation and poem relating to thoughts consumed during the end of March and the start of April. The following comes from "Dancing Moons" poems by Nancy Wood.

APRIL**Planting Moon**Kapana

April's great path of the moon is regeneration.

When you thought that spring forgot to come, a meadowlark sang in a tree. A flower popped out of the ground. You felt like dancing. Like singing to the clouds. Now is the time to learn how to breathe all over again. Pretend you are a newborn baby. Get the staleness of winter out of your heart and mind and body. It's time to be reborn as a pocket gopher.

Passing through time of solitude and introspection makes you realize how precious simple things are. Look around. If the sky seems too low, push it up. If the earth seems to still, put your face in the mud and sing it a growing song. Put wildflowers in your ears. Howl at the next full moon. Talk to coyotes, to ravens, to the little ant digging itself out of the ground. What's the worst thing that can happen?

Ask yourself: Is there enough of you to go around? Do people expect too much? Is your work something you want to do? Or have to do? Do you yearn for a new place? A new person to whom to share your life?

Regeneration allows you to grow wings. Sprout roots. Two more legs. Or fins. Regeneration means that you can start growing all over again, this time from the inside out. There is time for everything, even that which you thought too late to happen.

On Being Alive

From the above author...

Ask a snake what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
feeling the grass on my belly.

Ask a bluebird what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
flying high above the world.

Ask a tree what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
being rooted in one place.

Ask an ant what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
trying not to get stepped on.

Ask a coyote what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
being smarter than the rest.

Ask a snail what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
going at my own pace.

Ask a river what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
finding freedom of the wildest kind.

Ask the wind what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
blowing whichever way I want.

Ask a meadowlark what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
singing the sweetest song I know.

Ask a porcupine what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
learning to be myself.

Ask a rainbow what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
spreading beauty around the earth.

Each thing in nature is gloriously alive,
giving us a clear reason
why the Creator put it there.

--"Dancing Moons" by Nancy Wood...a series of meditations and poems