Cover Photos

This morning, I was checking my Facebook feed, and I noticed a photo of a friend at a cellar door on a wine tasting tour.  Honestly, I'm not sure the person in question would consider it a great photo, but I'm glad it was posted anyway.

The more I flipped through the other things in my feed, the more I thought about this particular picture. The photo was of a high school friend, and while anytime I hear or read names from that period of my life I see the person as they were at that age, this particular picture was definitely current.  Like I said, it probably wouldn't be picked by anyone as the best picture of either that person or themselves, but to me, it was very interesting.  And I began to look at all the photos in my feed a bit differently.

I noticed something interesting.  Much has been made lately about photos of (allegedly) famous people.  I really can't comment on any of that, as I have chosen to remain willfully ignorant.  But I noticed that the photos of all the people in my Facebook feed are much better than the photos of anyone I have seen on magazine covers.  Maybe it's because I know the people in the photos, but I really think it's more than that.  The people in my feed are real, not famous.  Even in untouched selfies, they look better than nearly every cover photo I have ever seen.

Un-Less

Another November 11 has come and again I am amazed by the number of people who don't understand.  It's all well and good to say "Lest We Forget," but it seems that nearly everyone has forgotten what we're not forgetting.

For the people who need it (and I know this will fall on deaf ears):

• The Poppies:  The poppies, and they are poppies, come from the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, which came from the poppies that grew in the Flanders battlefields of World War I.  And while we're here, the line is "In Flanders fields, the poppies blow/between the crosses, row on row."  The poppies blow in opening line of the poem; they don't grow until the end.
• The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month:  It's when the armistice was signed, to end the hostilities of the War.  World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
• Lest We Forget:  The word is lest, meaning "for fear that" NOT less, meaning "more limited in quantity."  We are afraid we will not remember the sacrifices made by a generation of men, women and children, not that we are not remembering a smaller amount of those sacrifices.
• Remembrance Day:  It's what other parts of the world call the day.  Before it was Veterans' Day in the US, it was Armistice Day.  I remember seeing poppies for sale up until the mid-1980s in the US, but I'm truthfully not sure why that was stopped.

November 11 is a Federal Holiday in the US, but like most Federal Holidays, the meaning of why it's a holiday has gotten lost in the shuffle of sales.  It's much more a shopping holiday than a remembering holiday.  I suspect soon enough, the last of the Veterans groups will die off and no-one will be left to remember and the holiday will finally be able to be moved to a Monday-holiday like Memorial Day or Presidents' Day for a guaranteed 3-day weekend.

That's why I think I keep getting upset by articles explaining the poppy pins seen in pictures of people in England.  Or why it just grates on my nerves that people keep saying "Less We Forget."

Yes, as sad as the realization is, I anticipate at some point in the not-too-distant future, we will all be saying less, because that's all we'll remember, LESS.

Menu Plan -- November 11-17, 2014

Tuesday:

Vegetarian Asian Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Wednesday:

Baked Taquitos, Spanish Rice

Thursday:

Egg Drop Soup, Spring Rolls

Friday:

Sausage & Cheese Calzones, Chocolate Pudding

Saturday:

Tomato-Rice Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Sunday:

Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Blondies

Monday:

do-it-yourself dinner

Silent Sunday

A Whole Different Country

What does Australia have against solid (stick) deodorant?

(Maybe it's just the area I'm in, but I can't find solid deodorant anywhere -- only roll-on, sprays, and creams.  And to me all of those result in an unpleasant sticky, slimy feeling.)

Open

I've been in Australia for most of the Mid-Term Election coverage.  That is not to say that I haven't seen any coverage.  I have.  Australian election analysts have been discussing the possibility that control of the Senate could go to the Republicans.  I have also seen several ads with much humorous commentary on Australian political programs.  Additionally, dearest subscribes to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on iTunes so I've seen the best US analysis there is.  And I use a video streaming service that gets programming from free-to-air stations in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania so I have seen the ads for the gubernatorial candidates there since March!  So I haven't been inundated with non-stop campaigning the way people in the US have, but I have seen a pretty good share.

I grew up in Louisiana.  As everyone in the US knows, Louisiana follows its own rules for everything.  In school the entire country learns that Nebraska has a unicameral legislature and Louisiana laws are based on the Napoleonic Code, while the other 49 are based in British Common Law.  And Louisiana is divided into Parishes not Counties.  What not everyone else learns, but would not be surprised by, is that Louisiana runs its elections according to its own rules as well.  For everything but the November national elections, Louisiana votes on Saturday.  I have always felt this to be much more sensible than voting on Tuesday!  What is that?

The other unique thing about Louisiana's elections is that they are open primaries.  What that means is everyone who wants to run for the position declares and runs in the Open Primary election.  If no candidate receives 50% plus 1 vote in the open primary, the two candidates receiving the most number of votes move on to a run-off, called the General Election.

What really confounds political pundits in the national media is that this system can result in two candidates from the same party ending up in the General Election.  This really confuses the commentators and analysts, who despite alleged educations, cannot wrap their heads around the idea that different places run elections in different ways.  What confuses me about this is those same commentators have no problems understanding and translating for the American audience, the voting systems in other countries.  It seems it's only obstinately backward Louisiana that gives them problems.

For as long as I can remember, this election system has been known as an Open Primary system.  That is what it was called when California decided to try the system.  It's also what it is called in Washington.  But this year, in the coverage of the Louisiana Senate race, I have seen more and more news outlets refer to this system as a "jungle primary."  I find that racist and insulting.  Commentators and analysts do not call the exact same election system "jungle primaries" in California or Washington. Why do they insist on using such an inflammatory and derogatory description for Louisiana's elections?  The term has caught on this year because Louisiana's senior Senator, Mary Landrieu, is up for re-election in a contested seat.  Her usually safe-Democratic seat is in doubt, as is control of the Senate.  This means that the country's attention is focused on Louisiana and its unique election system.  Rather than using the accurate, if boring term, Open Primary, the news media has latched onto the sensational term Jungle Primary.

I know the rest of the country barely tolerates Louisiana's uniqueness.  Most other jurisdictions nod and agree to just about anything, when the explanation that it was done in compliance with Louisiana law.  It's just understood that Louisiana has to be different and special and what works in the other 49 states isn't necessarily the case there.  For many circumstances, nodding and agreeing saves everyone many headaches.  I know.  I dealt with this firsthand trying to get stocks transferred after my grandmother's death.  When the companies asked for a particular document, and I explained I do not have it, it does not exist, the representative pressed that I should, right up until I told them the will was probated in Louisiana.  Then they fell all over themselves and told me to send what I had, it would be no problem at all.  This is fairly representative as to how the rest of the US handles Louisiana law.

I would think elections would be the same.  The US Constitution makes no demands whatsoever about how elections are to be managed in individual states or municipalities.  It only details what to do with the results of those elections.  Louisiana is well within its rights to handle elections however it sees fit.

I happen to like the fact that Louisiana votes on Saturdays.  And the Open Primary system actually saves the state money.  Rather than holding five separate elections, Louisiana gets the same results with only two.  Also, other states have to decide what to do with third-party candidates -- do they get their own elections?  If not, what happens in the General Election if no one candidate gets more than 50% plus 1 of the vote?  The Louisiana system makes it easy for everyone -- if you want to run, declare for the primary and take your chances.  If needed, a run-off between the top two vote getters will be a month later.  It's logical and cost-effective (quite frankly, I am amazed Louisiana managed something so forward thinking and cost effective).

I know many people consider Louisiana a Banana Republic.  That does not explain the media's use of a derogatory term to describe the system.  Open.  Not Jungle.  Open.

Cups Full of Bites

It was Melbourne Cup Day here in Australia today.  I felt like having a bit of a celebration, the kind of special meals I had in the US on Triple Crown Race Days.  I would do the same here, but frankly, 9 am Sunday morning is not the best time for a party with assorted nibbles and fun beverages.  And we always had our meals then watched the race, so I would have to be up around 4 to get everything prepped for a Triple Crown Race Day Party here.  Instead, I just planned some nibbles for Melbourne Cup Day.  Even though it was just dearest and me, I wanted a party feeling to the meal so I planned a vegetarian nibbles menu:  chickpea cocktail "nuts," crustless spinach quiche, and Parmesan-Dusted Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Herb Pretzel Bites.

I actually had the pretzel bites in mind a couple of weeks ago when I made the Italian Herb bread dough to use for Spaghetti Turnovers.  I knew then I would use only half the batch of dough for the turnovers and thought that the leftover would be perfect for some stuffed pretzel bites for the "party" I was planning on Melbourne Cup Day.

This is one of the first recipes I have figured out on my own, cobbling together techniques from here and there to get the end result I tasted in my mind.  And I think it came out pretty well.

Parmesan-Dusted, Mozzarella-Stuffed, Italian Herb Pretzel Bites
For Italian Herb Bread Dough

1 envelope active dry yeast
1 tablespoon clear, mild honey
1 cup warm water (110°F-120°F)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
⅛ teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon salt
2½-3 cups flour, divided
Additional oil for oiling bowl and dough

• In a large bowl, mix together honey and warm water, stirring until honey is completely dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or until yeast has dissolved and mixtures is foamy.
• In separate bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, rosemary, basil, parsley, thyme, sage, and salt.
• When yeast mixture is foamy, stir in oil, then add flour mixture, stirring until dough starts to pull away from sides of bowl.
• Using remaining flour, sprinkle ¼ cup on a clean board.  Turn dough onto flour and sprinkle with an additional ¼ cup flour.
• Knead dough 5-8 minutes, working in as much of remaining flour as needed.  Dough should be smooth and elastic and spring back when pressed lightly.  Form dough into a ball.
• Wash mixing bowl and oil with a bit of olive oil (no more than 1 teaspoon).  Place dough ball in prepared bowl, turning several times to coat with oil.
• Cover and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place about an hour or until dough has doubled in volume.
• Punch down dough and divide in half.

For Pretzels

½ batch Italian Herb Bread Dough

4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 36 small pieces (do not use pre-shredded cheese)

8 cups water

¼ cup baking soda

2 tablespoons butter, melted

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Line baking sheet with foil and grease well.
• Divide dough into four equal portions.  Working with one section at a time, roll each section into a rope approximately 15 inches long, and cut into 9 equal pieces.
• Using fingers, gently flatten each piece of dough and wrap one piece of cheese, taking care to completely seal dough around cheese.  Roll gently in palms of hands to form ball.
• Allow balls to rest for 10-15 minutes.
• While balls are resting, bring water and baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot.
• When water is at a rolling boil, gently drop 10-12 balls into water and boil for 1-2 minutes, stirring to make sure pieces are completely submerged.  Do not overcrowd pan.
• Using a slotted spoon, gently remove balls and place on a clean, lint free cloth to drain for a few minutes.
• Place drained balls on prepared baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove baked bites (some cheese may leak out during baking) into large bowl.
• Add butter and Parmesan cheese to hot pretzel bites and stir well to coat.
• Arrange bites in single layer on cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.
• Makes 36 Bites.

Bread and seasoning blend adapted from:  Basic White Bread and Italian Herb Mix, Breaking Bread with Father Dominic

My Observations:

• As I said, I used half of a batch of bread dough I had in the freezer.  If you are using only half the batch, I recommend wrapping the remaining half in cling film/plastic wrap and then putting in a freezer bag before stashing in the freezer.  I found it takes between 3-4 hours for the frozen dough to fully thaw.  To thaw, gently remove the cling film/plastic wrap from the dough and place dough in a bowl.  Use the cling film to loosely cover the bowl.  Allow dough to thaw at room temperature, well away from sources of directly sunlight or heat.  Once fully thawed, knead the dough a few times to to expel any large bubbles, and you can use the dough in any recipe from the point of shaping the loaves.
• I make my dough by hand.  I am sure you can use a mixer, but I do not know the process for that method.  I would suspect it would be like any other basic white bread recipe.
• I can't find anything but ground sage in my groceries, so that is what I have used here.  If you prefer rubbed sage, substitute an equal amount for the ground sage.

Menu Plan -- November 4-10, 2014

Tuesday:
Chickpea Cocktail Nuts, Parmesan-Dusted Mozzarella-Stuffed Italian Herb Pretzel Bites, Baked Spinach

Wednesday:
Spicy Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza, Brownies

Thursday:
Potato & Onion Frittata, Hot Biscuits, Fruit Salad

Friday:
-out in Melbourne-

Saturday:
Vegetarian Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce

Sunday:
Sausage & Cheese Calzones, Lime & Ginger Popsicles

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Historical History

A poster's comment from a discussion about starting a separate sub-group for readers of the sub-genre of historical cozy mysteries:

Since Christie, Sayers, Allingham, Tey, J.D, Carr, and not to forget A.C. Doyle, are high in my regard and my favorite type of cozy reads, you can believe I'd be there. 

I know I'm not alone here, but I really wish people would not confuse historical fiction with fiction written in times we now consider history.

Christie, Sayers, and Doyle all set their novels contemporary to when they were written.  That is not historical fiction!  It should now be more properly considered simply fiction, but at the time would have been contemporary fiction.

I find it very hard to believe that readers of any kind don't understand the distinction And it's not just mysteries that lead me to this conclusion.

I feel the same when people describe Dickens or Austen as writers of historical fiction.  Both wrote novels set contemporary to their lives.

In discussing this with dearest, he asked a very interesting question:  Do we consider Orwell wrote historical fiction because it is now 30 years after 1984 was set, even though that novel was written in 1948?

It is difficult because the words and meanings are similar.  But they are not the same.  Just because it's history does not make it historical.

Silent Sunday

Minty Fresh

Who decided that toothpaste and other oral hygiene products would have mint as a default flavor?

Personal Papers

I've mentioned before that I'm old-school in my ways.  I still read mainly paper books.  I actually write letters.  I think in many ways that comes from being a tactile person.  It's easier for me to deal with things when I can touch them, hold them, or fiddle with them.

So, despite having a smart phone with access to any number of app(lication)s, and a laptop computer that can access those same services, I use a paper day planner.  I was pretty excited to order my new planner for 2015.  I carefully checked my options at several companies and finally selected that one is pretty enough and has enough space for all my notes, appointments, to-do lists, doodles, etc.

I use a ring-bound planner so that I can switch pages out, but more importantly so I can add pages.  I use my day planner for everything I can.  I keep lists there.  It's my address book.  It's my old-school check register for my bank accounts.  I make notes there.  And I use it as an important days calendar.  Having a ring-bound style in a binder means I can transfer pages from one year to the next without having to recopy or recreate lists.

I tried using a page-a-week format, but that was not enough space for me and I didn't like that.  I tried using a 1-page-per-day format, but there again, there was not quite enough space for my purposes.  I finally settled on a classic 2-page-per-day format.  I started out with a size that was half a sheet of letter-sized paper, and I liked the space on the page, but not the size of the planner.  That size planner was a bit unwieldy and uncomfortable for me to use.  I moved down to the next smaller standard size page and it's perfect -- small enough to carry easily when I need to, and still big enough for all my stuff.  I'm perfectly happy using a paper planner.  I have no intentions of changing to anything else.

On one of the message boards I post on fairly regularly, a poster commented that someone noticed her paper planner and comments that they are far too expensive to use.  I thought about that.  I never really thought about the cost of my planner.  I know it's an expense.  It's well worth it in saving my sanity. I suppose I could do all the same stuff with my smart phone or computer.  I  could even use a plain notebook for the purpose.  But I like having a nice, pretty planner.

I've been trying to be better about comparing chooses I would make to those others make.  We can always find a reason to make others feel bad for their choices.  But honestly, a paper day planner is a ridiculous thing to use as ammunition to put yourself above someone else.

Over a Century

Today would have been my grandmother's 101st birthday.

The thing is, it doesn't feel like it should be.  Not that it shouldn't be her birthday, it is.  Just that it does not feel as though she should have been 101 today.  The really funny thing is, my grandmother always felt old to me.  Perhaps that's because she was 60 years older than me, and that kind of age difference to a young child always makes the older party really, really old.  I think it was more that she always acted like an old lady.  Having lived through the Great Depression, old habits died hard with her.  Even when there was no need to scrimp and save, she did so.  Fancy things were few and far between, and even indulgences were relatively simple, most often in the form of a Whitman's Sampler.

Which is not to say she was not a good grandmother.  She took us to all the Old Line Mardi Gras parades, even going so far as taking us into the barns as a few were preparing for the rides.  There she instilled a love for the pomp and circumstance of Mardi Gras that is truly known to only native New Orleanians.  She knew all kinds of things about the celebration and had a great collection of Rex and Comus doubloons, as well as invitations to the balls and even favors from a few.

She also taught me how to braid my hair.  For years, I remember watching and admiring as she braided her own greying hair into plaits and then arranged those in a complicated, but signature hairdo.  In all the time I knew her, I never saw her with a different hairdo.  One day, she took some colored yarn and taught me to do a classic three-strand braid.  After I had perfected it on the table in front of me, she held the long yarns behind my head and I perfected doing it without looking.

She taught me how to do hand embroidery.  She made felt appliqué stockings for everyone in the family.  I remember watching her making them, and wanting to help.  But I do not remember how it cam about that she taught me how to do the embroidery.  I just know she did.  It was always a thing I did at her house.  Even now, as I make similar stockings for others, I am sometimes transported to her dim back den on weekend evenings as my great-aunt knitted on one side of the brick chimney and my grandmother sat on the other with an array of threads, tiny felt pieces, sequins and beads on a tv tray table in front of her.  I can see and hear The Lawrence Welk Show ending and one of my brothers racing to the tv to change the channel for The Love Boat.  Then, as Fantasy Island came on, there was always a bowl of fudge ripple ice cream.  I don't often get nostalgic for those evenings, but every now and then something happens and I see myself there.  And it's really not a bad memory to have.

But wherever my grandmother is, I hope she is having a great birthday celebration -- I hope there is a big Whitman's Sampler Box and a bowl of fudge ripple.

Menu Plan -- October 28--November 3, 2014

Tuesday:
Hot Italian Turkey Sandwiches, Almost Potato Chips, Fruited Jell-O

Wednesday:
Tortilla and Black Bean Bake, Fruited Jell-O

Thursday:
Ham Cornettes, Apple Salad with Peanut Butter Dressing

Friday:
Baked Eggs, Rösti, Banana Splits

Saturday:
Sweet & Sour Noodles

Sunday:
Chicken Chip Bake, Peas & Carrots, Croissants

Monday:
Corn & Bean Quesadillas, Chips & Salsa

Silent Sunday

Something to Think About

The parents of the shooter in the attacks on Canada's National War Memorial and Federal Parliament apologized to the nation for the actions of her son.  His mother told reporters that she was crying not for her son, but for the victims.

Speechless

I woke this morning just before 7:00.  I had a fitful night's sleep and decided to not fight it anymore.  When I turned over to check my phone for the time, I found I had two overnight text messages from my mother.  She was telling me that there had been an attack on guards at Canada's National War Memorial, and then an attack on Canada's Federal Parliament.  Details were still a bit sketchy at the time the texts came through.

The world stopped for a moment, before I recovered enough to share the news with my still sleeping dearest, and then stumble out to the living room to turn on Australia's 24-hour news channel to see if I could get further information.  And I have been in front of the tv ever since.

I could not bring myself to step away from the coverage.  I have had the Australian coverage on all morning, and I have been refreshing the breaking news page at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's website every 5 or 10 minutes.

I have been trying to figure out what made this attack so stunning.  I cannot put into words the shock, the numbing shock at hearing and seeing this attack on Canada.  All I can formulate is "These things don't happen to Canada.  These things don't happen in Canada.  It's Canada!"  I just can't think anything beyond that.  It's Canada!

I will say, six hours of coverage later, that the coverage of the events in Ottawa has been extremely responsible.  The coverage I saw did not report speculation, but made statements that could be, and had been, confirmed.  The reporters were respectful and professional.  Maybe that's because the statements from Ottawa Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Government were measured, calm, and factual, but I think it's more than that.  I think it's because it's Canada.

In my quest for more information, I saw this tweet in my feed from NPR personality Peter Sagal:

Listening to crazily calm Canadians on CBC talking about the unknown number of people trying to kill them.
— Peter Sagal (@petersagal) October 22, 2014

Then I heard reports that after the RCMP had secured Parliament House and the area around it, they went and secured the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators hockey teams who were preparing for a game that night.

In the midst of the tragic, truly unbelievable news, those reports gave me hope that the world can be tilted right again.  They are truly, typically Canadian.  My head is still reeling, trying to process the events, but the idea that even in the face of attacks on the heart of the country, Canadians are still Canadians, does give me hope that everything will be all right again.

Canadian MP John McKay said, "I hope we don't yield to paranoia."  Neither Canada nor the world can let this attack go, but the response should be calm, measured, and appropriate.  We cannot give into fear.  We must not let that dictate actions.

My thoughts and prayers are with not only the family of the Canadian servicemen killed in the attacks, but with all Canadians, and indeed the world today.

Going Bananas

The other day I bought a bunch of bananas for a fruit salad.  As usual, I overbought the fruit.  And today I had three bananas that were well on the way to being unusable.  So I scoured the internet for things to do with over-ripe bananas that were not a variation of banana bread.  I had made a carrot cake last week and while banana bread is very nice, it is similar enough to carrot cake, in texture and flavor that I did not want to have the two so close together.

I saw several recipes for 2-ingredient banana cookies, but I do not have a blender and processing rolled oats to oat flour by hand was more of a task than I wanted to tackle.  I discounted those.  But the idea of cookies was very appealing.  I kept looking.  I found more oatmeal-banana cookies, but those were spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.  They sounded lovely, but the spice mix was far too close to the carrot cake for my current purposes.  I filed that recipe away for later, and kept looking.

Finally I came across a recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies.  Those sounded perfect.  I checked the recipe; and the only flavor was vanilla extract!  They were perfect.  So I had my plan, and about an hour later, I have 5½ dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies
⅔ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana (approximately 2 medium bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1-2 cups chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Grease baking sheet, or line with parchment paper
• In medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
• Add banana and vanilla, mixing well.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and soda.  Add gradually to butter mixture, mixing well.
• Fold in chocolate chips
• Drop teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets.
• Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
• Makes 5½ - 6 dozen cookies.

Adapted from:  Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies, Taste of Home

My Observations:

• This dough is very light and fluffy and the cookies are soft and cake-like.
• I found a very strong banana fragrance when I opened the oven, but very little banana flavor in either the raw dough, or the finished cookies.
• I only had 1 cup of chocolate chips on hand, so I used the lesser amount, and that resulted in 1-3 chips per cookie.  I was happy with that ratio, as there was enough cookie to balance the chocolate for my tastes, but I can understand other may want to use the larger amount for a bit more chocolate per bite.

Menu Plan -- October 21-27, 2014

Tuesday:
Ranch Pasta Salad, Potato Chips

Wednesday:
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Breadsticks

Thursday:
Vegetarian Schnitzel Sandwiches, Tater Tots

Friday:
Egg Drop Soup, Spring Rolls

Saturday:
Spaghetti Turnovers, Fruited Jell-O

Sunday:
5-Ingredient Chicken over Rice, Green Beans, Fruited Jell-O

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Mourning Honorably

Not long after I woke up this morning, dearest told me that former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam had died.  My first thought was, "Now the flags will be at half staff for a month."  I asked dearest about the flags, and he said that he didn't know, and while he was sure the flags would be at half staff for a period, he doubted it would be a whole month.

I'm sure Australians will think it strange, and many Americans will too, but that was honestly my first thought.  In my lifetime only three former Presidents have died, the first being Richard Nixon in 1994.  I had no real opinion of Nixon, being far too young to have remembered his presidency first-hand, but I know the flag etiquette.  And I know that the flag should be flown at half staff for 30 days.  It is an honor bestowed upon holders of the office.  I had a rather vocal argument with the staff at my college when the flag was not at half staff for the 30 days following Nixon's death.  I was told that the person in charge of facilities management did not like Nixon and as such felt no compunction to fly the flag at half staff.

Listening to the comments from the floor of the House of Representatives today, I get the feeling that many of the current government members did not particularly like Mr. Whitlam.  I get the feeling that if it were Australian flag etiquette to fly the flag at half staff for 30 days, it would not be done by those members (the current government is the "other" political party).

In the end, the sitting Prime Minister issued a declaration that flags should be flown at half staff today and the day of the memorial service, whenever that will occur.  In my American mindset, I'm not sure that is respect enough for the office.  No matter what your own personal opinion of the man, he was Prime Minister and should be afforded the honors and respect due to the office.  The same way President Nixon should have been.

While I'm not sure two days at half staff is enough of an honor, I am glad flags will not be flying mournfully for 30 days.

Thinking Out the Steps

This term's tap dance is difficult.  It's to Jonah Jones' "I Dig Chicks," which is a relative fast, swingy song.  Complicating matters is that the steps are both faster and slower than I think at any one point.  And tonight the teacher added an additional eight counts of what is essentially patting your head and rubbing your stomach.  I was consistently ahead or behind until I was totally lost.  It will all come out right eventually, but it will take some time and some practice.

In between run-throughs of the dance, I was thinking (which may or may not have been part of my problem).  I was thinking about how the tap class is not only physical exercise, but it's mental exercise as well.  It's a different kind of mental exercise than trivia games, sudoku, or crossword puzzles.  Dancing requires a different mental skill set than crossword puzzles, but it does keep brains active in its own way.  From remembering the steps, to staying balanced, to keeping time with the music, there is constantly thinking going on, even if I'm not aware of the thoughts.

Sometimes my cat would sit on her haunches at the bottom of the kitchen cabinet, swaying back and forth, slightly, in preparation for jumping on the counter.  I would watch her, and wonder, sometimes aloud, if she was aware of the complex physics calculations she was performing in those seconds of swaying.  She would have had been calculating how much "oomph" to use to count gravity and reach the counter, and how hard to hit her "kitty-brakes" upon reaching to counter to prevent sliding off the other side or into the sink.  And then, she'd immediately have to do a similar set of calculations to reverse her leap when I caught her on the counter and called her name to not-so-gently remind her that cats were not allowed on the counters.  The calculations that my cat were performing to leap to the counter are not unlike the ones that I perform in tap class.  Neither of us really realize we're doing them at the time.  But we do them just the same.

Experts and doctors say that mental workouts are just as important as physical ones to overall health.  Whether I'm conscious of the calculations my brain is doing just to get me through a tap class or not, I am pretty sure I'm getting a full workout.  Now if I could only get my brain to help me with that patting my head while rubbing my stomach step…

Seasonal Seasoning

Apparently it is Pumpkin Spice Latte Season in the US.

I would't know about that.  I don't drink coffee of any kind, flavored or not.  And Pumpkin Spice Latte was not a big thing before I left.  The drinks existed, but did not have the cult following they apparently do now.

I'm not really sure what to think about the madness that surrounds the drinks, or the explosion of seasonal products with copycat flavoring.  One of my big questions is "What is Pumpkin Spice Latte?" I know it's a coffee beverage, but what is the flavoring?  Is it artificial pumpkin?  Is it the spice mix used  to season a traditional pumpkin pie?  Is it something else entirely?  I know that the Starbucks Syrup has no actual pumpkin in it, but beyond that, I really do not know anything about Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Not knowing has made me curious, but not enough to seek out products for empirical research.  I love pumpkin pie.  I know, I'm strange that way.  I miss it here in Australia, where pumpkin is more a savory food than a sweet one (and more often than not one of several varieties of hard winter squashes rather than what I know as pumpkin).  I use a pumpkin pie spice blend to season not only my pumpkin pies, but almost any dessert made with cooked apples.  I've often wondered about substituting the spice blend for the plain cinnamon in the cinnamon sugar for my morning toast.  If the Pumpkin Spice Latte is simply the seasoning blend used for traditional pumpkin pies, maybe the explosion came after someone did just that -- substituted the blend for plain cinnamon in their morning coffee.

At the same time, I'm not quite sure everything needs to be, or would be, improved by adding those spices.  I'm fairly sure that Doritos and/or Pringles do not really need to be "enhanced" with pumpkin spice flavor.  And I have not met one cat yet who would be pleased to learn that they are being bathed with limited edition Pumpkin Spice Latte Pet Shampoo.  The only reason I can see for that particular incarnation of the seasonal flavoring is if the spice blend has magical flea and tick repelling qualities heretofore unknown in the veterinary community.

No matter how or why it came about, I'm rather glad Pumpkin Spice Latte hasn't made it to Australia yet.  And I'm very glad it's not popular here now.  Warming spice blends like the one used for traditional pumpkin pie (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves) would not be welcome in weather that is getting warmer by the day.

Of course, it's only a matter of time before the madness will invade these shores, but I seriously hope the cases of Doritos, Pringles, and Cat & Dog Shampoo are lost at sea.

Silent Sunday

Better Than Before

This morning I set out on my walk, with no particular target time or distance in mind.  My normal route is always some variation of a figure-8 around a few blocks my neighborhood.  I like the route.  Almost all of it has sidewalks or paved parts so it's east and relatively smooth for walking.  There are other routes around town, but most involve heading into the wetlands or other nature reserves and, well, frankly, those are a bit too "wild" for me.  I have to be comfortable along the walk.  My route is varied enough for me, in elevation and scenery.  Most of my route is along residential streets, but part of the path is along a major highway so the traffic is varies as well.  It's amazing to me how much difference one block can make to traffic and noise.  Along the major highway portions, I often find that I miss parts of the podcasts playing in my ears simply because there is so much traffic noise.  But then just turning the corner can silence most of that noise and I'm back in the peaceful quiet of residential streets.

Yesterday morning, I was earlier than usual for my walks, and it was a Saturday.  It was so peaceful along most of the route that I didn't want to head in after I finished the standard figure-8 loop.  The weather was nice and cool, with a delightful, crisp breeze and the magpies were not threatening to swoop.  I thought, why not to another loop?  So I did.  Then, at the end of the second loop, I was still feeling nice and good, and I thought to myself that walking one big loop (what I consider a 0-loop, as opposed to the figure-8) would being my distance total up to just at 5K (3/14 miles), so I did that.

I didn't set out to walk that long, I really didn't have any goals in mind when I started the walk, other then finishing the Dragnet episode that was playing.  In the end, I listened to all of that episode and most of another over the walk.

Since I had walked roughly 5K, I decided to compare the numbers with my previous, on purpose 5K walk.  At the beginning of September, I walked 3.14 miles in 57 minutes at an average speed of 3.3 mph.  I was very pleased with that.  Today, my walk was 3.25 miles in 55 minutes at an average speed of 3.56 mph.  I have definitely improved in the month.  I shaved two minutes off the time while adding .11 miles to the distance.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up that kind of improvement, and I'm not really looking to.  The walking project was never about beating particular times, distances, or speeds.  It was only ever about feeling better.  And I do; I feel much better in myself.  But I can't help feeling a bit better about my improved 5K numbers.

Characters

Some nights, the Australian television networks are kind enough to air re-runs of Agatha Christie's Poirot episodes, the ones featuring David Suchet as the Belgian detective.  I have seen most of them already, but they are still fun to watch again, and excellent as background noise.

Watching them, I can pick the places where the adaptations diverge from the books, but nonetheless, they are well done, and while the differences in characters (and sometimes plots) can rankle a bit with the traditionalist in me, I do enjoy these adaptations.

Tonight, the episode is entitled "The Theft of the Royal Ruby."  It's not one of the short stories I have read, though I do have a reading goal to read all the Poirot stories/books.  Even without having read the original story, I have no doubts that David Suchet has done a fantastic job in his portrayal of the character.  To me, and many other people, David Suchet not only plays Poirot on tv, he is Poirot.

That is one of the hazards of television or film adaptations of books, many people will come to identify the actor portraying the character as the character.  I cannot now read the Poirot books without seeing the detective as David Suchet portrays him.  Similarly, I cannot read the Anne of Green Gables books without seeing Anne or Gilbert as the characters were portrayed by Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie in the Kevin Sullivan productions.  Even in works I read and had my own visions of the characters long before I saw an adaptation, there is a risk that I will no longer be able to see the character as the author intended or as I originally envisioned after seeing the film versions.  Most of the time I do not worry too much about that, as the adaptations I see are generally well done and well cast.  Sometimes the adaptations are so terrible that I wonder what the producers were thinking when they cast a part.  The is more apparent in works where the author goes to great pains to describe the character and the actor cast in the role looks, sounds, or acts nothing like the author's description.

But the Poirot series really does not suffer in that way.  It is a well done production, and as I mentioned, David Suchet became Poirot.  His portrayal has become the definitive in the role.  And with each viewing of the episodes, I want more and more to invite Poirot for tea, non, for a tisane.  But, alas, that's a discussion for another time.

Gloving Up

I've noticed as I've gotten older, I've gotten far more sensitive to many things, among those are most household cleaning products.

About a year ago, after I noticed my hands were itching like crazy after using a household cleaner I had been using for months with no problems.  I contacted the company to see if any changes were made in the formula, and received a prompt answer that nothing had.  When wandering through the grocery aisle one day, I saw some disposable gloves and decided to give them a try for my weekly cleaning.  They worked very well and I decided that as long as I was using the gloves, there was no need to try and find a cleaning product that worked well and was gentle enough on my hands.  (Yes, I know I could make my own cleaning products, but the fact is I am not going to do that.)

More recently, I noticed my hands were itching after doing the dishes.  So I thought that since the gloves worked well for household cleaning, I would look for some longer gloves for dishes.

Why did I wait so long?

My hands have not not itched in this long for months.  It's really the best decision I've made in quite a while.

I'm pretty sure this is just step one on my road to becoming a crazy cat lady, but I don't care.  The luxury of not itching is so worth it!

Empty Paces

This morning was unseasonably cool and crisp.  Well, it was for Australia, where we should be well into spring already.  But to me it felt very much like a crisp, fall morning in North America, even down to the grey, heavy skies.

I think the deceptive weather was the big reason my walk was a bit disappointing.  I know I'm in Australia, and I can accept the flora here, especially since most of it is fairly familiar.  And I'm getting to know the fauna, though my sightings of non-avian native wildlife are few and far between.

But this morning, with the crisp fall weather, and it being mid-October, I really, really expected to see squirrels.  And I really missed the squirrels.

There are things that I miss from North America.  And there are things that I have figured work-arounds for here in Australia.  But this morning, while I was out walking, it really hit me how much I miss seeing squirrels.

Let me be clear, I miss seeing the squirrels.  I do not miss dealing with squirrels.  I have been pelted far too many times with acorns, sweetgum balls, and pine or magnolia cones to really miss dealing with squirrels on walks.  Even so, for a couple of moments along the path this morning, coming up to a perfect area for squirrels to be busily burying nuts, I really expected to see at least one, if not more.  And the disappointment of not finding any was palpable.  It was a perfect spot for squirrels, with overhead wires, low bushes, and well placed trees and open lawn, as well as a flowerbed full of great places for hiding acorns!

The lack of ground rodents really bothered me today.  I was really expecting to see at least one bushy tail scampering to the other side of a tree trunk along my walk.  I kept telling myself that I'm in Australia and there are no squirrels, but that didn't matter.  I still kept looking for them.  I had a good walk (1.3 miles in 22 minutes, at an average speed of 3.53 mph), but the lack of squirrels was a serious disappointment.

I'll be home in the US in a little over three months, please squirrels, would you be nice enough to pop out so I can get my fill while I'm there.  I'll even provide the dried cherries and corn!

Menu Plan -- October 14-20, 2014

Tuesday:
Beef & Barley Pot Pie with Parsley Biscuit Topping, Carrot Cake

Wednesday:
Rolled Chickpea Tacos, Spanish Rice

Thursday:
Beef Stew over Pasta, Green Salads

Friday:
Fluffy Oat Bran Pancakes, Fruit Salad

Saturday:
Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob

Sunday:
Southwest-Style Cornbread Panzanella, Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Fun; Waxing and Waning

Sometime between the ages of 12 and 30, all the fun of of being an adult goes right out of the experiment.

When you're 12, being an adult is so far away and when you're an adult you'll get to do all kinds of things that are denied to children.  I remember being 12 and wanting to do all kinds of things from  going out to fancy dinners to shaving my legs.  (I was a lucky child in that I never had an official bedtime, so staying up past my bedtime was really never a thing for me.  Then, as now, I would go to bed when I was tired, regardless of what time it was.  As a child it was rarely after 9:00 pm, and as a adult it's rarely after 10:00 pm.  Yes, I know I'm an unusual person in that regard.)

Now that I'm am adult and can, and do, all the things I'm dreamed about when I was a child, I find that by and large, all the fun has gone right out of them.

Shaving my legs was fun the first time.  It got really old, really fast.  I was over the experience by the time I went off to college.  And now I do it as infrequently as I can get away with.

Fancy dinners are great, but as a adult, I have to think about paying for them, and whether the cost of the meal is commensurate with the experience.  Also, many fancy dinners are later than daily meals, and I simply can't stay up that late.  The other issue with fancy dinners is, more often than not, they require fancy clothes, which, frankly, are not comfortable.  So a lot of the fun of being able to do go to fancy dinners is lost in the requirements of them.

This is the part of growing up that 12-year olds never hear.  The idea that being an adult is the not the fun experience you imagine never enters their brains.  It cannot be.

I'm not sure when the fun goes out of it, but it does.  And the problem is not that the fun goes out of the adult experience, but that I don't know how to get it back.

Silent Sunday

This Bullet Can't Be Dodged

Yesterday, when I was talking to my Mom, she mentioned that one of my Dad's co-workers had passed away after a long battle with cancer.  In some ways I feel very strange, because I really only knew the employee through my Dad's office.  But in others, it's a very real loss to me.

My Dad has worked there since at least the early 80's and I literally grew up while my Dad has worked there.  My Dad's office always had a family atmosphere.  It was a friendly office, and that extended to employees families, who were always welcome.  The executives would (and sometimes did) everything they could to help their employees.  I know the office is in mourning as much as the employee's family.  It really as is though a part of the office has faded to darkness and silence.

This particular employee was a tough-as-nails person, the kind of person you really thought, underneath it all, could beat anything, even cancer.  That toughness had been proven already, when the employee was the victim of a falling bullet one New Year's Eve. (Which is how I know, despite the Mythbusters questionable methodology that falling bullets really can kill people.  The employee survived, but the powers that be certainly had a hand in that because the bullet lodged between the forearm bones and was eventually removed.)  It's sobering to learn that there are some things that just defeat us all, even the toughest.

My Mother made a comment that Heaven will be a bit more interesting now.  And I know she's right.  Heaven will definitely be a bit more interesting.  I'm even sure there will be some rules tested to their limits.

Rest in Peace, but not too much Peace.

The Dr. Is In

This morning I woke up with a screaming headache, the kind that threatens to explode, taking not only the top of your head, but your eyeballs, with it.  Waking up with a headache is terrible enough, but waking up with that kind of screaming headache is far worse.

Several years ago, I read something online about treating headaches with a combination of the over-the-counter medication, Excedrin, and a Dr. Pepper.  I was a bit skeptical, but I tried it.  And it worked!  Boy how did it work!  Since then the combination of two regular Excedrin (aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine) and a 12-ounce can of regular Dr. Pepper has been my go-to for those screaming headaches.

I have not seen any science as to why this combination is more effective than anything else, but it is.  I really don't question it, I just know that when I have one of those kinds of headaches, it's the only thing that will work.  And it works better and faster than anything else I have tried -- dark rooms, cold compresses, targeted headache medication -- the Excedrin and Dr. Pepper is the combination for me.  I wonder why it works sometimes, and why it really only works with that particular combination:  a regular Dr. Pepper and regular Excedrin.  It has to be more than the added caffeine in Dr. Pepper, US Mountain Dew has the same amount of, or more, caffeine than Dr. Pepper, but it has no effect when paired with Excedrin.  And the Excedrin is just as necessary, simple aspirin or acetaminophen don't work, even when paired with Dr. Pepper.  It's all anecdotal, but the combination works for reasons I have not been able to explain.

When I moved to Australia, I didn't realize that my go-to headache relief combination would be so hard to get.  Excedrin is not available here.  And while Dr. Pepper is available, it's imported and comes with import prices (to the tune of $3.50/can!).  But even so, it's worth it to me.  Back in the US, we kept a 12-pack of Dr. Pepper on hand at all times for what we jokingly called "medicinal" purposes.  Here in Australia, with the import prices, I justify the expense as medicinal, but I really wish I could write the cost off as a legitimate medical expense.  Of course, the fact that I can't get Excedrin kind of negates the whole idea.  Ohh, well.

I'm not saying how I solved that little technicality.  I'll just say that my preferred headache treatment is still working and the world is a better place because of it.

Closing Cups

Have you ever wondered why the hook-and-eye closure became standard on most bras?

Factual Fiction

I've enrolled in an online course on Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I decided it would be fun because, like most little girls I fell in love with the Little House books when I initially read them as a child.  For my 8th birthday, my parents gave me a complete boxed set of the books.  I was so excited, and the box set still has a place on my bookshelves, though I admit that I traded in the well-read copies of The Long Winter and These Happy Golden Years from the box set for hardcover editions I bought on a trip to Wilder's home at Rocky Ridge Farm outside of Mansfield, Missouri.  And in the intervening years, I have read those hardcovers just as much as the remaining paperbacks from the box set, if not more.  I re-read the series when I have need a visit with old friends.

In preparation for the course, I read the professor's book, Laura Ingalls Wilder:  A Writer's Life (not surprisingly, also required reading for the class).  This may or may not have been a mistake, because I found the author was highly incensed, almost to the point of being unreasonably angry that Ms. Wilder left out whole portions of her life in the series, AND that the series was not completely, factually, true.  As the Wilder expert the author/professor claims to be, I find the book's tone to be odd.  Most authors of biographies seem to like their subjects much more than this one.  This book definitely has an angry tone as though the author is still holding on to the anger she felt at learning that the Little House books are not strictly biographical or truthful.  The class so far is really focusing more on the parts of Wilder's life that she chose to leave out of the books than the parts that are in the books.

I had read a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder by another author and I knew that there were parts of Wilder's life story that she left out of the books.  I never really considered why she chose not to revisit those parts of her life.  It was not important.  Additionally, if I were to write a biographic series of books on my life, parts would be fictionalized, if only to make the story flow better.  Unfortunately real lives are not plotted, so there is no linear story progression.  Steam-of-consciousness is how we live our lives, but it really doesn't make for the most widely accessible or appreciated books.  Leisure reading usually has a plot, or at the very least a linear progression to the story.  But the bigger issue here is that Wilder's books were never, that I know of, marketed as a factual autobiography.  Some people may have assumed they were, but I have only ever seen them as fiction.  In the same way that L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon series are based on the author's real life but are in no way anything but fiction.  If the author/professor misunderstood the series of novels, it's not my fault.  But it's long past time to let go of the indignation at being "duped" into believing it was actually, really, honestly true.

I'm torn between continuing the class and just dropping it because I don't really care for the professor or  the feeling that she wants everyone else to be as outraged as she is.  I dropped a class in college because the professor came in the first day and declared that he was "God" as far as Western Civilization mattered to us.  That kind of attitude does not seem open to discussion and certainly makes it seem like I'd fail if my essays disagreed with his beliefs.  And while the class I'm taking now is just for fun, I'm not really having fun.  I'm still deciding what to do.  I'll give it another week…

Menu Plan -- October 7-13, 2014

Tuesday:
Fried Eggs, Creamy Polenta "Grits," Citrus Sorbet

Wednesday:
Easy Mexican Skillet Bake, Chips & Salsa

Thursday:
Chicken Fingers, Yellow Rice, Green Beans

Friday:
Fish & Chip Night

Saturday:
Hearty Beef & Barley Stew, Crusty Rolls, Carrot Cake

Sunday:
Creamy One-Pot Lemon Pasta, Broccoli, Popovers

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Silent Sunday

Rudely Riding Up and Down

A message board I follow had a thread about what people perceive as rudeness on cruise ships.  One poster commented that in his opinion it was "incredibly rude for otherwise able-bodied people to take an elevator to go only one or two floors."

The problem I have with this comment is not that it's rude to use the elevator for one or two floors, but that it's rude to just assume that the everyone you see in the elevator is "able-bodied" and capable of negotiating the stairs at the time.

I debated whether or not I should call out the poster on this point, though I was sure I was not the first to have noticed it.  And if I did call him out on this comment, which of many arguments should I make to counter his perception of rudeness.  I'm pretty sure this particular rudeness has to do with wasting the poster's time and delaying him getting to where he wants to go more than anything else.  I'm fairly certain that if the poster had no need of the elevator at the time, or knowledge of the alleged able-bodied person taking an elevator for only one or two floors, it would not be considered rude to him.

I know on my last cruise I was guilty of this perceived rudeness, on more than one occasion -- once upon returning from a rather strenuous shore excursion and my legs were simply worn out.  It was much easier to take the elevator to go up one floor than it was to tackle the 16 stairs required to go the same distance.  And I also used the elevator one night to go down one floor from my parents cabin to my brother's in order to get some medicine for a screaming migraine headache.  I was in no condition to negotiate the stairs, even going down them, with the combination of the headache and the motion of the ship.

In neither case was I being rude.  In each case I was being practical for me at the time and for the situation.  I am sorry if anyone perceived that as an act of overt rudeness -- but not sorry enough to not call them on their own overt rudeness for erroneous assumptions.

It's a bad enough world out there without getting uptight and bent out of shape by people using an elevator for what is its intended purpose.

Constitutional Crises

Two days ago, I got the absentee ballot for the 2014 Primary Election to be held on November 4 (also known as the Mid-Term Elections).  Along with the expected US Senate and Congress races, there were several local councilmanic, judgeship, and other elected official races on the ballot.  But the majority of the ballot is occupied by fourteen Constitutional Amendment Propositions.

I have voted in every election since November 1991.  And in every one of those Primary Elections, and the vast majority of the General Elections, more of the ballot has been dedicated to Constitutional Amendment Propositions than elected official races.  It has seriously gotten to the point that I begin to worry when a ballot does not include a number of Constitutional Amendment Propositions.

I am sure this is a unique-to-Louisiana phenomenon.  Not one resident of other states with whom I have discussed elections has ever mentioned having to create a cheat sheet for the twenty to thirty Constitutional Amendment Propositions on their ballots.  Not one.  Louisiana's three-minute limit in the voting booth requires that in order to actually read and understand what the proposed amendment means, it is necessary to read the ballot ahead of time and to create a sheet to remember how you intend to vote on each one.  Trying to read and figure out the legal-ese for anything more than eight amendment propositions is simply impossible in the three-minute time limit.

I am glad I have no time limit on my absentee ballot, and the luxury of actually looking up and being able to research what the proposals mean.  I am sure the sheer numbers of Amendment Proposals is the reason the vast majority of them fail.  Voters either do not have time to read and understand the proposals in the three-minute time limit and just vote against them rather than trying to figure it out.  Either that, or Louisianians are just by nature a contrary and suspicious lot and rather than figure it out, just voter against anything proposed by the Legislature on general principals.

Whatever the reason, I am going to spend at least part of the upcoming weekend trying to figure out how I want to vote on the Constitutional Amendment Propositions.  It will definitely take a while.

Drops of Chocolate

Last night when dearest brought home a bag of chocolate candies, the first thing I said was "Ohh, I can use those for cookies."  This afternoon I got a serious craving for chocolate cookies.  I wanted cocoa-based cookies; not brownies or cake, but cookies.  I'm not sure if the thought from last night influenced my craving today or if the craving was developing anyway, but I used those chocolate candies to make Cocoa Drop Cookies today.

The cookies were easy to put together and I had 4 dozen cooling in less than half an hour.  I love any cookie recipe that is quick and easy.  More often than not, I am so tired of looking at and smelling the cookie dough that by the time all the cookies are baked I've really gone off the whole idea of enjoying cookies.  This recipe was great because it was so quick to put together and made just 4 dozen cookies, so I only had to fill my cookie sheets twice.

Cocoa Drop Cookies
5 tablespoons butter, melted
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
⅔ cup sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
⅓ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
48 button-style chocolate candies

• Preheat oven to 350° F and grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In large bowl, mix butter, cocoa, and sugars, stirring until mixture resembles wet sand.
• Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine.
• In small bowl, stir together flour, soda and salt, add to cocoa mixture, stirring well.
• Drop teaspoons of batter 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake cookies at 350° F for 8-12 minutes or until just set.
• Remove from oven and immediately place one chocolate candy on each cookie.
• Allow to cool 2-3 minutes on baking sheets, before removing to racks to cool completely.
• Makes 48 cookies

Adapted from:  Cocoa Fudge Cookies, Poco Cocoa

My observations:

• This is one of the easiest cookie recipes I have ever found.
• The cookies are thin, but still moist and chewy.
• The chocolate candies will melt slightly, so be sure to allow the cookies to cool completely before stacking them on a plate or in a cookie jar.

Disconnecting

In this world of constant activity, with cell and smart phones, Skype, the Internet, satellite radio, 24-hour news stations, 300+ cable channels, e-readers, im-platforms, multi-player games, apps of more variety than I can count, Facebook, Twitter, and any number of other forms of electronic and instantly available media, it is nearly impossible to be unconnected, out of touch.

When going on vacation, I have to pack not only clothes, shoes, and toiletries, but also chargers for the phones, iPods, iPads, Kindles, and/or laptop computers that need to be brought along to keep in contact with the rest of the world.  In a world that is supposed to be made easier with advances in technology, things only seem to be getting more cumbersome with the myriad accessories that need to be brought along with us, on even the most mundane routine trip.  Even on my walking around the neighborhood, I have find a place in my pocket-less clothes for my cell phone and iPod.  It's gotten so that you can't get away from it all, because you always take it all with you.

I love being connected to the world, especially since more than half of the important people in my world are on the other side of it.  Skype and the Internet have made it easy, and immediate, for me to remain a part of their lives and they a part of mine.  But still, increasingly I find I want to disconnect, go back to a time when leisure time was quiet and my life was unencumbered.

I've been trying to take less on my walks, and I've decided to leave my phone at home.  If people need me they can leave a message.  It's perfectly acceptable for me to be out-of-touch for 30-40 minutes  three mornings a week.  I've also begun to schedule down-time for reading before bed each night.  I have really come to look forward to the quiet time.  Usually I read a physical, paper book, but even if I am reading on my Kindle, it's an old-school Kindle that serves only as an e-reader, not a tablet with internet access (and I turn off the wireless connectivity unless I'm downloading new books anyway).

I'm torn between thinking it's horrid that I need to schedule time to be disconnected and selfishly wanting to schedule more of it.

Menu Plan -- September 30-October 6, 2014

Tuesday:

Creamed Chicken over Spoonbread, Broccoli

Wednesday:

Bean & Cheese Burritos, Chips & Salsa

Thursday:

Chicken Croquettes, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Peas & Carrots

Friday:

Scrambled Eggs, Polenta Muffins with Chili & Rosemary, Fruit Salad

Saturday:

Easy Mexican Skillet, Polenta Muffins with Chili & Rosemary, Fruit Salad

Sunday:

Creamed Chicken Phyllo Parcels, Carrot Cake

Monday:

do-it-yourself dinner

Silent Sunday

Menu Plan -- September 23-29, 2014

Tuesday:
Sausage & Cheese Calzones, Fruit Salad, Black Forest Pudding Cake

Wednesday:
Schnitzel Burgers, Tater Tots, Pudding Cake

Thursday:
out in Melbourne

Friday:
Macaroni Mickey Mousse, Peas

Saturday:
Creamed Chicken over Spoonbread, Broccoli

Sunday:
Potato Soup with Rivels, Crusty Bread, Knox Blox

Monday:
Beans & Rice, Crusty Bread, Knox Blox

Silent Sunday

Menu Plan -- September 16-22, 2014

Tuesday: 
Ranch Pasta Salad, Crispy Chicken Strips

Wednesday:
Red Lentil & Pumpkin Soup, Beer Bread

Thursday:
Sausage & Cheese Calzones

Friday:
Fluffy Oat Bran Pancakes, Fruited Jell-O

Saturday:
Beef Stroganoff over Noodles, Baked Spinach

Sunday:
dinner with In-Laws

Monday:
Ramen Corn Chowder, Black Forest Pudding Cake with Whipped Cream

Silent Sunday

Menu Plan -- September 9-15, 2014

Tuesday:
Cornflake Chicken, Peas & Carrots, Cirtus Sorbet

Wednesday:
Red Lentil & Pumpkin Soup, Whole Wheat Rolls

Thursday:
Noodles Romano, Whole Wheat Rolls, Fruit Salad

Friday:
take-away Fish & Chips

Saturday:
Party Nibbles (Ranch Dip with Chips & Veggie Sticks, Chickpea Cocktail "Nuts," Barbecue Chicken Biscuit Pizza Cups, Pretzel Dogs with Honey Mustard Sauce, Parmesan Polenta Bites, Spanakopita Bundles, Lemon-Go-Lightly Cookies, Split Seconds Cookies, Bailey's Irish Cream Brownie Bites, Rice Krispie Treats, Lemonade & Iced Tea Bar)

Sunday:
Party Leftovers or do-it-yourself dinner

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Aside:  I've mentioned the notebook my mother gave me to use for meal planning.  This is the last week in my first notebook.  I find it hard to believe I have planned enough weeks of meals to fill my very own menu notebook.  And I am so glad she got me another one while I was home last year.

On the Path to Better

About a month before my 41st birthday, I decided I wanted to feel better.  Feeling better to me did not necessarily involve losing weight or fitting into a particular dress size; I have never defined myself by those numbers anyway.  Feeling better meant I wanted to be a bit healthier, sleep a bit better, and most importantly, not have my knees and ankles hurt so much when doing jumps in tap class.  This was the big thing I had begun to notice, that I had stopped doing jumps in tap class because my knees and ankles hurt so much when I landed.  I wanted to change that.

In connection with that goal, I knew I needed to make some changes in what had become my routine.  I also know myself, and I know that if I make too many changes all at once, I'll never keep them up.  So I decided to change one thing at a time.  The first month (August) I decided to get more exercise.  I began a 6-Week walking program and I have stuck to the program for the six weeks.  I may have shifted the days of the week for the walks (due mainly to inclement weather), but I did the walks each week.  Sunday marked the last day of the program, with a 5K walk.  I am sure they mean a competitive race, but I'm not a competitive person and, frankly, crowds make me very nervous, so I just went for a walk of 5 kilometers around my neighborhood.  My only goal is to feel better, finishing before someone else I've never even met and will never see again is not important to me.

My new iPod has a pedometer app[lication] and according to it, my first walk was .61 miles, took 12 minutes at an average pace of 2.92 mph.  According to my iPod pedometer, my 5K walk was 3.14 miles and took 57 minutes at an average pace of 3.3 mph.  I'm not sure how those numbers stack up to average, and in truth I don't care.  They improved and that's what matters to me.  When I took swimming in college, the majority of our grade was dependent on how we improved over the course of the semester.  I liked that, not if we made the swim in what the professor felt was an acceptable time, but if we improved our own personal time from the beginning of the class to the end.  My averages improved over the 6 weeks.

But more importantly, I feel better.  I'm sleeping better and I have noticed that my knees and ankles do not hurt as much when I land jumps in tap class.  I'm feeling better.  The fact that my clothes are fitting better is just lagniappe.

Silent Sunday

Menu Plan -- September 2-8, 2014

Tuesday:
Ham & Barley Soup, Whole Wheat Garlic Bread

Wednesday:
Broccoli-Cauliflower Tetrazzini, Whole Wheat Garlic Bread

Thursday:
Vegetarian Schnitzel Burgers, Corn on the Cob

Friday:
Pumpkin-Apple Quick Oatmeal, Cinnamon Rolls

Saturday:
Nachos with Roast Tomato Salsa, Chocolate Pudding

Sunday:
Chicken Chip Bake, Croissants, Fruit Salad
or
Father's Day Dinner with In-Laws

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Silent Sunday

Menu Plan -- August 26-September 1, 2014

Tuesday:
Sweet & Sour Noodles

Wednesday:
Savory Chicken Pies, Ice Cream Sundaes

Thursday:
Lentil Burgers, Butter Scalloped Potatoes

Friday:
Pancakes, Sausage, Fruit Salad

Saturday:
Vegetarian Schnitzels, Corn Spoon Bread

Sunday:
Crispy-Spiced Chicken, Yellow Rice, Green Beans, Black Forest Pudding Cake

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Planning a Plan

I post at several message boards, one of them is a cooking-related board.  On that board, some members post their weekly menu plans.  I'm among those who do.

In perusing the menu plans of the other posters, I have noticed something.  Most of them eat far more meat than I do.  Many posters will participate in "Meatless Mondays" or give up meat on Fridays during Lent, but even then, it's far more meat-based meals than I plan.

Most weeks, I cook six dinners leaving the seventh night as a do-it-yourself dinner because dearest works both late and a split-shift and doesn't really have time for a sit-down meal, while I have tap class and don't really want to tap on a full stomach.  Of the six meals I plan, I try to plan three vegetarian meals, not just meatless but truly vegetarian, and three meals with meat as the main protein.  

Additionally, I try very hard not to repeat either cuisines, or major ingredients over the course of the week.  So while I may have chicken or beef for two of the three meat-based meals, I try to vary the preparations and cuisines for the meals.  This sometimes makes meal planning a bit difficult, especially since most of the time if I can't think of or find something, I default to noodles and butter or pancakes.

I was talking about meal planning with dearest this morning, as I was planning out the menu for the coming week, and commenting that I have only room for two more weeks in my current notebook.  Yes, I plan old-school using a notebook -- one page for each week, Sunday to Saturday, and I write the plan in pencil, the same way my mother always did.  In fact, when I moved to Australia, she gave me the notebook to plan my meals the way she had always planned hers, though she planned meals a month at a time, I plan only a week at a time.

The thing that stuck me most, was not the fact that I plan three vegetarian meals a week, but that if you were to compare my weeks' menus with the same period of an average native-born Australian's they would most likely be remarkably different.  And I'm not sure if that's because I still plan mostly dishes I would have planned at home with my mother in US, or because I simply do not know how to cook traditional Australian dishes.  And then I begin to wonder if maybe I should learn to cook traditional Australian dishes.  But then the more I think about it, the more I realize that I'm not a traditional Australian.  I'm not even a traditional American!

Yep, I'm going to continue planning my meals my way.  And that means at least three vegetarian meals a week and trying not to repeat cuisines or major ingredients over the week.

Silent Sunday

Moving to a Better Place

Usually my Facebook feed is quiet and mundane, with friends posting innocuous and unobjectionable things about their lives and their children's lives.  I like it that way.  It allows me to keep up with everyone and keep as much controversy as possible out of my leisure time.

This week, however, my Facebook feed has exploded.

There are two subjects that are coming up over and over on my feed, and people are either on one side or the other.  There is no middle ground it seems.

The first controversial subject is the death of Robin Williams.  Posts are either public service announcements about understanding and seeking help for depression or comments on several public figures' alleged inappropriate comments in the wake of revelations following Mr. Williams' death.  (I have not read these comments and cannot and will not comment on them.  I have no intention of seeking them out just to do so either.  As I said, I prefer to keep as much controversy as possible out of my leisure time.)

The other subject that has everyone talking this week is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, or one of a number of disorders under the umbrella description of Motor Neuron Disease).  Many of the Ice Bucket Challenge posts are of friends/family participating in the challenge by dumping buckets of ice and ice water over their heads.  But still others are opinion pieces on how stupid the challenge is and how and why people should not participate in the Challenge and instead should just donate money to the charity of their choice quietly and anonymously.

I have no real comment on either subject.  I have enjoyed watching the Ice Bucket Challenge videos, and I particularly like Team Gleason's "Naked Ice Bucket Challenge."  I have nothing to say regarding Robin Williams' death and/or depression that has not already been said, and as I mentioned, I have not read the allegedly disgusting remarks any number of media personalities have made in response to that.

I just find it quite interesting that the two things that have polarized my Facebook community are the kind of thing that one can avoid if they really wanted to.  The controversy seems to be simply for controversy's sake.  It's almost as if everyone everywhere has come down with a major attack of collective trolling.  And it's not even as if the trolling is necessary.  If people want to dump ice on their heads and donate to ALS research or any charity, what difference does it make that they have announced they have done so?  How is that any different than my posts that I have made gingerbread-marshmallow sandwich cookies to celebrate Christmas in July?  If you don't care about it, just don't read it.  Or hide my posts!

Similarly, any objections to comments made by media personalities can be just as easily ignored.  I long ago decided to stop listening to or seeking out comments made by people who have proven themselves to be idiots, and that includes Rush Limbaugh and the leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church.

A book of advice I have suggests that to be happy, one should:

Figure out where you want to live and go live there.

Everything else will follow.

(Normal Is Just a Setting on the Dryer by Adair Lara)

I want to live in a place where the likes of Rush Limbaugh and the leaders of the Westboro Baptist Church do not exist, so I have moved there, by completely ignoring them.  It's a really great place to live.  Come join me!

Menu Plan -- August 19-25, 2014

Tuesday:
Split Pea Soup, Pretzel Rolls

Wednesday:
Patty Melts, Corn on the Cob, Green Salad

Thursday:
out to dinner

Friday:
Fried Rice, Fruited Jell-O

Saturday:
Chickpea Tacos, Fruited Jell-O

Sunday:
Crock-Pot Lemon Chicken over Egg Noodles, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Silent Sunday

Rambling Walks

I have started a new walking-for-exercise program.  I found a walking program similar to the Couch-to-5K running program that was popular a while ago.  It was very important to me that it be (1) a walking program and (2) time-based not distance-based.

As for the first requirement, there is no way I am ever going to run unless I am in danger and/or being chased, so I knew anything involved with running was just setting up for failure.  But walking, I can do that.

And I need it to be time-based not distance-based because I know I can carve out 20 minutes three days a week to walk, but the idea of walking a mile is daunting.  It's another setting-up-for-failure kind of thing.  I have no intention of walking a 5K at the end of the 6-week program, but that's not a reason to not start.  And this one program did have reasonable time-based targets that I know I can handle, even in really hot summer weather, though I may have to wake up early in the mornings to walk in the cool.

Last Sunday, I was setting out on my walk and I invited my dearest to come with me, especially since I was using the walk to run by the grocery to pick up a few things I needed for dinner that night.  It was nice.

My new iPod has a walk/run tracking pedometer app[lication] and I've been using it to keep track of my walks, and listen to episodes of the Dragnet radio series while I'm walking.  Dearest thinks it hilarious that the podcasts I listen to on my walks are interrupted by advertisements for Fatima Cigarettes, but I like the show and it's nice to walk to.

The walk tracker for the grocery run says our walk, including the time in the grocery store, took 29 minutes and covered approximately 1.18 miles (1.89 kilometers), which is not a bad total.  Yes, I know I could be doing better, but that was only the second week of the walking program, and this is not about beating anyone anyway.  It's about getting into a sustainable exercise program.

On the way back, dearest and I were talking about the way we walk when we are walking for exercise and not for a purpose (like to go to the store).  I prefer to have a lap-circuit route, and am okay with making circles and figure-8 patterns, though I do not like to walk past the house if I can avoid it.  Dearest prefers to walk on an out-and-back circuitous route, not walking home the same way he walked out.  He also likes to judge his progress by distance rather than time.

We talked about the difference, because either way you look at it, distance and time are connected.  And that's where we differ.  I can see and understand what a 20-minute walk means.  It means I'm walking for 20 minutes, and however far I walk in that 20 minutes is immaterial.  I have no real concept of how long walking 1 mile would take me in actual time.  I can't think of it that way.  I know that Dragnet episodes are approximately 25 minutes long, and have a break roughly halfway and about 2 minutes before the end.  This gives me a rough estimate of how long I've walked without me having to look at a clock.  I understand and feel the concept of time much better than the concept of distance.

Not that any of this matters.  The thing that matters is I'm out there walking for 20-25 minutes and I'm enjoying it.  Though, I will say, with the walking tracker, I have noticed that on my purpose walks (as opposed to walks combined with errands) in just three weeks, I have been able to shave 5 minutes off the time required to do the 1.25 mile (2 kilometer) route I take.  I'm not sure what I'll do when I shave more time off and it takes me less than 20 minutes…

Addressing the Address

Today's rant is brought to you by my college -- well, they don't know that, but they are definitely the (most recent) cause of the rant.

Not everyone lives in the United States!

My college/university has a new online community for its alumni and is asking all alumni to sign up and register with the new community.  I am perfectly happy to do so.  The only problem is that they are asking everyone to update their contact information, and as such a  mailing address is required.  I have no problem giving out my mailing address, how else will I get the alumni magazine and keep up with what's happening on campus, or hear about reunions and activities of my graduating class.  My issue comes in with the fact that they address options only allow for people who live in the US, there is no option to select anything other than the United States from the drop down list under "Country" and no option other than US states and territories under "State."  And a mailing address is required to complete registration with the new online community.

The university has been in operation since 1884.  Surely I am not the only graduate ever to move overseas for any period of time.  And in this world of Internet communication and shrinking worlds, it cannot be that hard to imagine that one graduate may be stationed or living overseas, even for a little while.  I would have thought better of my university.  I would have thought the Alumni Association considered that option.  I would have thought someone would have put their hand up at the meeting and commented that there might be a graduate overseas and there might be a need to consider that.

I am already battling my high school alumni association over the very same issue.  It cannot be that hard to imagine or that unheard of for a university that welcomes international students to have a graduate that might live outside the United States.

Please get with the times and create an option for me to register as an alumna without having to enter 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20500 as my address.  Honestly!

Menu Plan -- August 12-18, 2014

Tuesday:
Black Bean Flautas with Salsa Verde, Tortilla Chips, Vanilla Pudding

Wednesday:
Cheesy Egg Wedges, Hot Biscuits, Vanilla Pudding

Thursday:
Ham & Pineapple Pizza

Friday:
out to dinner

Saturday:
out to dinner

Sunday:
Salisbury Steaks with Gravy, Rice, Green Beans, Cocoa Cookies

Monday:
do-it-yourself dinner

Silent Sunday

Pretty Little Things

Today, as I was cleaning my house I was thinking about a comment one of my friends made on Facebook.  She was noticing a trend toward ombré dyed handles on wooden utensils on her Pinterest pages.  Her comment was "All the things do not have to be pretty."

Initially, I agreed with her.  There is no real reason for wooden spoons to be ombré dyed.  They will fulfill any stirring and serving functions just as well in its natural state.

But the more I thought about, the more I wondered, why not?  Why can't all the things be pretty?

I know I would rather furnish my house with pretty things over plain, utilitarian things.  And while I'm would not necessarily pick ombré-dyed wooden spoons, I am certainly going to pick the prettiest one I can find, if I have the option.  All other things being equal, I'm picking the pretty things over the plain ones.

My friend is right, "All the things do not have to be pretty."

But there isn't a real reason for them not to be either.

Losing on Jeopardy!

For as long as I can remember, I have been watching the television game show, Jeopardy!.  And for most of that time, I have been keeping score with my mother.  We decided on our at-home rules when we first decided to keep our score.  Our rules were:

• In the Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy rounds, everyone could get the amount of the clue if they knew the answer and called it out before the time expired.
• Daily Double clues earned us the original amount of the clue, no betting.
• No penalty for wrong answers.
• In Final Jeopardy, there was a minimum bet of $100 and the answer had to be written down and submitted to the score keeper prior to the end of the Think! music.

I do not remember how we decided on those as our scoring rules, but I have suspicions that they were designed to allow my mother to win as much as possible.  I was also in charge of keeping score, though sometimes I had my mother help add up the final scores.  I kept our scores on pieces of paper with the amounts printed on them and just ticked off the amount when the answer was correct.  I am sure there are much better ways of keeping score, including some at-home Jeopardy! themed calculators, but I'm a pretty old-school, pen-and-paper kind of girl, so the low-tech method worked for me.  And my mother has a head for numbers, and she was more than willing to help with the tricky addition sometimes, especially if it meant she would be more likely to win the game.

When I moved to Australia, I had to give up my Jeopardy! games with my Mom, not only because I was on the other side of the world.  The real reason I had to give them up was because Jeopardy! is not one of the American television shows that is imported to Australia for broadcast.  I'm sure that has something to do with syndication rights, but I miss Jeopardy! almost more than anything else.  I would be willing to pay for an iTunes subscription, but it's not offered as an option in any iTunes store I have searched.

Finally I managed to find a website that streams American television live and, if you fulfill the requirements, via a 4-hour DVR.  This was perfect for me!  I could stream my Jeopardy! and share it with my dearest -- an occasionally with my mother, at least my exceptional scores.

So dears and I started watching Jeopardy! and I returned to keeping score.  I invited dearest to keep his score as well, and he does, on occasion.  He uses the calculator on his computer, while I use a notebook that I mock-up with the amounts of the clues and tick the off the way I did on the score sheets with my mother.  It's the difference between us.  I'm low-tech for most things and he's much more of a high-tech kind of guy.  Anyway, we have been keeping score since I found the streaming service online back in February.

Only recently, dearest suggested that we try a game or two, with penalties for wrong answers, to get a better idea of out actual score.  I can see the point, I began penalizing myself for wrong answers.  One of my biggest objections to the penalties for wrong answers was that it does not encourage attempting an answer, though my fears have so far been unfounded I really have not noticed myself changing the way I call out answers.

Before the change, I was averaging $27,400 per game.  After the change I've been averaging $20,000 per game.  Admittedly, I've been keeping score since mid-May, and it's only been since last Thursday that I have been deducting for wrong answers.  And those games have been the Two-Day Final of the Teen Tournament and the Semi-Final games of the Teacher's Tournament.  They are new games to me, so no re-runs have affected the outcome, though I find I always remember the wrong answers and never the right ones.

I think I'll keep going with the penalties to see if it really does make a significant difference to my average score, unless I'm playing with my mother, and then, it's anything that will help me win!