February Days 2024

"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life."

--William Morris

Let's continue checking in each month on what is UP! This time I'm looking back at February and covering some New Things, media that I consumed, and Favorites, plus photos.

New Things

StarDragon Oracle: Happy Year of the Dragon! I am interested in dragon energy. In the Western culture that I know, dragons are often villains. Think Smaug sitting steaming on his stolen hoard. The virgin-eating monster in "Dragonslayer." The poor dragon that St. George is always standing on. The creepy edges of old maps marked "Here be dragons." Dragons are sometimes called "worms," even though they are obviously much more sophisticated and magical (sorry, worms). Yet I think in other cultures dragons are powerful otherworldly entities that are not necessarily evil. Because I'm interested in exploring dragons this year, I ordered myself the StarDragons oracle cards by Paolo Barbieri. Here are two of the cards that I particularly like.

THE SELF: Gathering your power

MIRACLE: Making a difference


La La Land piano music: I recently re-watched the film La La Land and it's so good. It's a story of youth, love, Hollywood, music, ideals, and then what happens when your real life path unfolds. Actual life is not the same as what you dreamed, but it can still be okay. The music in La La Land is vivacious and catchy so I ordered the piano music to try it out for myself.

La La Land film music next to my beloved Joe Hisaishi film music
(the genius behind Studio Ghibli soundtracks)

 

Consumed

Maggie O'Farrell: I'm always on the hunt for novels that don't make me feel cringey or miserable along the way. I am tired of stories about people being mean or horrible situations or just dreadful, eye-rolling material. "Instructions for a Heat Wave" by Maggie O'Farrell was a great relief and I devoured the book over the course of a week. It's about a family in 70s London that has a specific issue and they get back together to hash it out. The writing also has lots of time-hops to give background on everybody. It reminded me of "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen, which I really like. (I wrote about The Corrections in my 2021 Reading roundup.)

Scamanda: This is an 8-episode investigative podcast about a California woman who started a blog about her cancer diagnosis and then began requesting and accepting donations to cover her enormous medical costs... except there's a major twist to the story. Most podcasts that I listen to are single episodes about a particular topic or an interview, so I got hooked on this long narrative arc that was really well done. You can listen to Scamanda here (or on your favorite podcast app). Since finishing Scamanda I've been on the hunt for similar long-form podcasts, and have listened to both "Behind the Magic" and "Filthy Ritual." (All 3 of these have British hosts with plummy accents that adds an extra level of goodness.)


Favorites

Sourdough: In 2023, a family member got into the idea of bread-baking and sourdough starter, and made a batch of starter named Joseph. Joseph still lives in our fridge, though that family member's baking interest waned somewhat. This past month I decided to feed Joseph and try baking some Rustic Sourdough loaves. They were not bad! I have a lot to learn about baking so I'm going to keep trying.



MassMOCA: Over school break, our family went back to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMOCA) in North Adams, Massachusetts. The Gunnar Schonbeck interactive music room and the James Turrell immersive light installations are still there (I wrote about them in this 2018 blog post, and we like to visit them every time we go).

section of wall painting in the Sol LeWitt retrospective

Just a few of the ready-to-play instruments in the Gunnar Schonbeck rooms

Photo of a photo in the Elle Perez "Intimacies" installation

"The Tarses Family Presents an Exit Sign Pointing to Another Exit Sign"

"Cosmic Latte" by Spencer Finch, one of my favorite spots

Ghost silhouette of old factory stairs (not part of the art... or is it?)

Museum cafe window view, with sculptures by Franz West in the background


Phone Photos

 
First snowdrops of the season were spotted blooming in early February (earliest ever that I can recall).
 

 
A boisterous lunch at a town cafe included listening to the album "Jeff Wayne's Musical War of the Worlds" to celebrate the 126th birthday of the HG Wells novel. This specific music is a major part of my childhood but I've never run across anybody else knowing what it is, so hearing it on a random Friday afternoon in Brattleboro was a mindblowing experience. (This photo shows the album on display in a plastic sleeve with a sign about the 126 year milestone in front of it, and a little flying saucer on a pendulum swinging on the shelf above it.)

January 2024: Let's catch up!

I'm trying a monthly round-up format here on the blog. For January 2024, I'll cover these categories: New Things, Favorites, Currents, and Photos. Let's do this!

New Things

January is my birthday month and I bought myself this single-volume 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings. Do you like my Aragorn bookmark? (I've had the bookmark for years--it's just been waiting for this book I think.) I like having the whole trilogy in one place, and this seems like a good quality paperback but also not too chunky or heavy. I've started reading it again.


I got a new divination deck called the Earth Alchemy Oracle, written by Katie-Jane Wright and illustrated by Nikki Strange. I love the interesting combinations on the cards and I find the keywords to be unusual and inspiring. I'm excited to explore!


I bought myself a pair of Oxford wingtip shoes that I'm planning to wear when the weather gets warmer, possible with no socks or tiny white socks. See below re: Bleachers.



Favorites

 
This month I have been soothed by the YouTube channel of HannahMartinRG. Hannah Martin is a professional ballerina who lives in England and posts a weekly vlog about her life--what she eats, what work is like, how she is trying to take care of both her body and mind, and how she spends devotional time with her Bible. It's not a particularly religious vlog but I like that she spends time each day on something spiritual. Overall I find Hannah's content to be very chill and she makes me feel calm and grounded.

The new video from Bleachers (Tiny Moves) blew my mind. It's hard to explain, but what happens in the video struck me as so raw and emotional. It's a simple premise and I don't want to spoil it, but I will warn you that you might want to buy a pair of Oxford shoes after checking it out.

On the dinner menu at home this month is cottage pie. This is basically like shepherd's pie but made with ground beef instead of lamb. I try to use a lot more mashed potato than meat mixture. I essentially follow this cottage pie recipe, but I also add about half a cup of frozen corn when making the meat part. It is stick-to-your-ribs warming and comforting on a winter's evening.

This pie contains 1 pound of beef, 2 russet potatoes & 3 Yukon gold potatoes

Currents

 
I'm currently reading Re-Sisters by Cosey Fanny Tutti. The author is one of the founders of industrial music and is still creating fascinating music and sounds. This book is about 3 different women and their experiences in trying to go their own way and being considered "uppity" (my word choice, not hers). She writes about herself (Cosey Fanny Tutti expressed herself through art, sound, and performance), about Delia Derbyshire (who worked in the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop for many years and basically created the Dr. Who theme), and about Margery Kempe (a 15th century mystic who behaved very strangely for her time and had all kinds of problems as a result). I find Cosey Fanny Tutti fascinating and have also listened to her be interviewed on several podcasts. She don't take no crap.

I went to see The Boy & the Heron this month, because I am a self-described "Ghibli-head." The director, Hayao Miyazaki, says this is his last film, and apparently there are many messages or call-backs hidden into the film. It was rather inscrutable and got increasingly complex as it went on--it's like a poem of a film that needs to be re-viewed and re-considered to really dig into the meaning more. Earlier in the month I rewatched my favorite Miyazaki film, Spirited Away, which is still completely wonderful.

Phone Photos

 

My co-workers gave me food to celebrate my birthday including this delicious bowl of steaming hot ramen.

 

My family spent an evening typing prompts into various AI generators. This one was, obviously, "Joe Biden riding a bear."

 

That's it for now! Tell me about your January in the comments?

Crunchy Cucumber Salad with Cherry Tomato & Avocado

This salad is perfect if it's a hot summer day, or if you have excess cherry tomatoes, or if you want a quick salad that almost everyone likes, or all of the above! It's very good made with in-season tomatoes just off the vine and fresh cucumbers, particularly small pickling cukes. But it's also perfect any time of year made with regular grocery store ingredients.

In this version I used homegrown
yellow pear and orange Sungold tomatoes

We were introduced to this salad when visiting family friends over the summer. They gave us a delicious dinner that included this favorite, and when I got home I started making it again and again. It is so yummy! The basic premise is to combine the cool sweetness of small tomatoes with the fresh crunch of cucumber and tie it together with slick, creamy avocado chunks. It's all flavored with whatever is your fastest/favorite vinaigrette.


Ingredients:

1 pint sweet cherry tomatoes, any kind (best choice = orange Sungold)
3 small pickling cucumbers, or any cucumber (1-2 if it's larger size)
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup vinaigrette (homemade or premade)
black pepper to taste

Assembly:

1. Smash or cut up your cucumber. If using fresh pickling cucumbers or similar small cukes, my suggestion is to smash them rather than just cutting them up. Smashing creates all kinds of jagged edges and surface area for the avocado and dressing to nestle and spread into. However, you can also cut up any cucumber for this. If using a larger type you may want to peel it.

I use the butt end of a chef's knife to smash,
then turn the knife and cut up any large pieces. 


These are not officially pickling cucumbers
but they are the right size and they smash nicely.

2. Cut your tomatoes in half. Peel and cut up the avocado into chunks. Combine all ingredients.

3. Pour on dressing and gently stir everything together. You can also add black pepper if you like. 

And now, serve! I like to put the big bowl on the table with small dishes and let people serve themselves. This salad is so easy and refreshing. I hope you try it!

Homemade Granola with Nuts, Seeds & Candied Ginger

 

Whenever I get into a routine of stocking and restocking a certain grocery store item--buying it again and again, basically--I wonder if I should figure out how to make that item myself. For example, for many years I've been buying locally made granola. It is delicious and crunchy and full of different nuts and seeds, but it is also packed in plastic and the price has been going up from 7 to 8 to 9 dollars a bag. Can't I make my own granola with less plastic and for a lower cost? 

I was also inspired by a friend who makes batches of granola at Christmas time and gives it as gifts, packed in mason jars with jaunty fabric on the lids. She uses candied ginger and it's such a treat to run across a bright burst of ginger in your morning oats. So, this is the story of learning to make my own granola, loaded with nuts and seeds and candied ginger. Most of these things can be purchased in the bulk section of the local natural foods store, so I feel like I'm reducing some plastic use. (Note that the jar of ginger shown below has been refilled with bulk ginger.)


A few tips for this granola: The basic premise is that you bake everything together EXCEPT the delicate coconut flakes and the cranberries and ginger. If you put the coconut in too early it will burn, so you just want to toast it ever so slightly. And the candied stuff doesn't need to be baked at all.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 cup pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc., roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch ground cloves (optional)
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes (I like to use the wide ones)
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped

Assembly

Heat oven to 325F. Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, pumpkin seeds, and nuts.

Here's how much I chop the nuts--only a little bit

On stovetop, heat coconut oil and maple syrup until just warmed through. Add vanilla, salt, and cinnamon (and optional cloves) and stir to dissolve the salt as much as possible. (It may still be visible and that's okay.)

Mix the liquid together with the dry ingredients, getting most of the oats coated in the oil-syrup. Then spread the mixture onto the parchment paper, even things out, and slide into the oven.

 

Bake for 30 minutes, checking for toastedness. I like my granola to be just lightly golden, particularly the nuts. If you think it needs a bit more time, put it back and check again in 5 minute intervals. You can stir it around during baking whenever you like. 

Once it's the color you want, add the coconut flakes and bake for 2 more minutes (until the flakes are just browned on the edges). Remove from oven and set somewhere to cool.

When the granola is cool, mix in the cranberries and ginger pieces. Then store in a sealed container.

I like to eat my granola sprinkled over yogurt with fresh berries. It is my favorite breakfast!

Let's Check In! May 2023

Mt. Wantastiquet as seen from a kayak on the West River, Memorial Day 2023


Hello dear reader!

This is my first post this year and it's already the end of May. I'm so sorry to leave you hanging if you've been checking here for updates. (And if you have, thank you!! I love you!!) I am still here and doing fine, but I'm finding that blogging is falling low on my list of things to do each week. Here are some things I've been doing and thinking about.

Roller Skating

An encouraging friend got me out on the ice rink quite a bit this past winter, and as ice skating season ended, she suggested we switch to roller skates instead of just hanging up our gear completely. The local parks & recreation has roller skating at the thawed ice rink in the spring and fall, so I've been going and even taking lessons! I have learned to skate forward, stop, fall correctly, skate backward, and am currently working on a turn that takes me from forward to backward in one terrifying maneuver. Roller skating is an amazing feeling, kind of like flying, and especially great if there is good music playing.

Korean Food

I am still obsessed with Korean food and have fallen into a pretty solid pattern of Korean lunches. I am slowly putting together some photos and notes about this and maybe in future I'll write a post about my tteokbokki, bibim guksu, mul nangmyeon, kimchi fried rice, ramyun and fish cake soup experiments.


 

Running

After spraining my ankle in 2020, I got back to my former schedule of weekly short and long runs, but then I came up with a case of trochanteric bursitis. The pain didn't seem related to running particularly, but I cut down on my running for a whole year. I still ran 3-times a week or so, but only a mile at a time. When I finally got my bursitis diagnosis, I started doing a bunch of things to counteract it, including taking Turmeric, doing 15+ minutes of daily yoga, using a topical cream with CBD in it, and getting monthly acupuncture and massage. This medley of things didn't necessarily erase my discomfort right away, but it did make me feel more energetic and inspired to run more, which I suddenly started doing in February. I am slowly gaining back strength and endurance and it feels great. Bonus: the bursitis pain has started to fade. Touch wood!


Tarot & Oracle Cards

During the pandemic I decided to teach myself about Tarot (specifically the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition), and from July to September 2020 I researched one card a day (there are 78 cards total). Since then I've been dabbling in one-card draws and some larger readings. It's pretty fascinating both in the symbols and meanings of the cards, and the way that the human brain can form connections and stories when presented with any of these symbols in any order. I've collected several tarot decks since then, and also some decks of Oracle Cards (which can be any system and meanings and don't have to follow tarot rules).

Herbcrafter's Tarot + Good Karma Tarot

Community College

I'm in the midst of a 10-course certification in Community Health with the local community college, which I'm doing as professional development for my job. I'm now on my 4th class, having completed Introduction to Healthcare last summer, Intercultural Communication last fall, and Principles of Public Health this past winter/spring. My current new summer course is Case Management. I've been writing a lot of essays and online discussion posts for the classes, and may even share some of what I've been working on here on the blog.

What about you? Leave a comment with one thing you've been up to in 2023!

35 Books in 2022

It's the last day of the year! That means it's time for me to assess the books that I read in 2022. I believe that what you read really shapes you. Books affect how you think, and that affects how you act and how you perceive the world. Books change you. Books are important!

Originally I wanted to read 52 books this year: one a week. But sometime in late November I realized I would need to amend my goal because I was way behind. I use Goodreads to track my reading, and I edited my goal from 52 to 35, which happened to match the number of books I was likely to get through by today. And lo, I have just finished "Hamlet: Globe to Globe," by Dominic Dromgoole, and am now able to take a look back. Let's do it in screenshot form!







If you must know, it was "1Q84" by Haruki Marukami that threw me off. That book alone took me at least 2 months to read, mainly because it is 940 pages long. But it was so excellent I didn't want to give up. I kept going and going and going, and it ended up being one of my favorite books of the year. In my Goodreads review I wrote, "The story gently but inexorably connects up the lives of an assassin fitness-instructor, a novel-writing math teacher, and a creepy/pathetic PI. It's a mix of ordinary life plus sex, death, and supernatural weirdness. Murakami layers up the world and events calmly and slowly and creates a unique engaging vibe that kept me turning pages to FIND OUT."

My other favorite from this year was "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane, which took me about 2 days to read. My review: "Dammmmmmn, Lehane! Now that's how you write a psychological thriller. Oddly, this book had overlaps with the nonfiction book I'm also reading, which is The Body Keeps the Score, about trauma, PTSD, and the body-mind. Shutter Island covers this same internal territory with an eerie, page-turning plot and a jaw-dropping finish. I really liked (and was horrified by) Mystic River, and I appreciate that Shutter Island is also solid as a book but completely different, set in an insane asylum/penitentiary in 1954."

Some other statistics:

I read 14 novels total, 6 of which were of the spy or thriller genre.

I read 2 showbiz memoirs (Dave Grohl & Barry Sonnenfeld), 3 science books (about climate change, Parkinson's Disease, and PTSD), and 14 books by women. 

I read 2 books about fraudulent financial exploits--one about WeWork and one about One Coin (cryptocurrency). I don't know why, but failure and deceit in the business world tickles me.

I read 4 religious books--two about Mother Mary, one about the Kabbalah (a novel by a rabbi), and one about "Secret Religions" of the UK and US.

I did a terrible job reading books by non-white people--I only see two out of the 35 (I'm counting Haruki Murakami and Clarissa Pinkola Estes). I will do better next year.

So... what did you read in 2022? What did you love? What did you hate? (Me? I hated Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo.) What do you plan for 2023?

Meet Our Rice Cooker!

 Cuckoo!

On a fall trip to H Mart in Burlington, Massachusetts, my companion and I decided to splurge on a small countertop rice cooker. We got the least expensive option because we don't really know anything about rice cookers. We are loving it!

Inner pot is non-stick and has measurement lines for water


Rice is rinsed until water runs clear, then it's ready to cook

We purchased a 15 pound bag of USA-grown rice, and we've been cooking it up 2 cups at a time. The rice cooker is very easy to use--you just rinse the rice a few times in the non-stick inner pot, then fill with water to a specific line on the side of the pot. Then you pick your settings and stand back!


The rice cooker beeps when it's done, and then it counts the hours that it's kept the rice warm for you. (In the photo above, the rice just finished, so it says "0H" meaning zero hours.)

May I say that owning a rice cooker is a revelation in rice cooking. The batches are perfect every time. The cooker has pre-programmed settings for all kinds of things, including baby food-making. So far we have used "glutinous" (which we use for all white rice) and "mixed" (which we use for brown rice).

The Cuckoo rice cooker also has different "speeds" for the rice (my term)--you can use the regular settings and get finished rice in about 30 minutes. There is also a Turbo setting that does it faster, and a reheat setting that can restore cold leftover rice to fluffy, warm deliciousness.

We also splurged on this suction cup rice paddle and caddy (above) that attaches to the side of the rice cooker. This was an excellent purchase because the paddle is always right there when needed.
It's my understanding that rice needs to be fluffed up once it's done cooking. Then it can sit in the rice cooker and be served out as desired. The cooker will keep the rice warm until you turn it off. I am curious how long it's OK to push this holding pattern... should you eat the rice within 3 hours? What about 12? We did find that rice left to warm for 72+ hours (by mistake) is not good.

It's also my understanding that rice needs to be readjusted after removing a portion so that it's all uniform and fluffy again. I got this from Paolo from Tokyo's tongue-in-cheek video called "Why Japanese Wives Hate Foreign Husbands" (one potential area of strife is lack of rice adjustment).

If you eat a lot of rice and have the counter space, I do recommend getting a rice cooker! This is the only one I've ever seen in person, but I really like it.

Pasta salad with chicken and veggies

 

Sometimes simple American food is best. I started making this easy dish recently and everybody in the family likes it! It's great on hot summer days as a dinner entree, or it can be a side dish any time of year. If you're a gardener and have small tomatoes and/or cucumbers growing, this is a great way to use them. The yellow pear tomatoes shown here are from our garden.


Ingredients

1 pound Farfalle (bowtie pasta)

apple cider vinegar, about 1/4 cup plus 2 T, divided

Olive oil, about 1/4 cup plus 2 T, divided

Feta cheese, about 3 ounces, divided

Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon

Pepper, pinch

Cooked chicken, 1/2 pound or more (don't have this? grab a package of chicken tenders and saute them in butter for about 15 minutes, then slice)

Cucumber, diced (any amount)

Mini tomatoes, cut in half (any amount)

mini mozzarella balls, drained, 8 ounces

 

Assembly

  1. Cook the farfalle according to instructions and drain in a colander in the sink.  
  2. While the pasta is still warm, drizzle on about 2 T olive oil and toss lightly, then do the same with about 2 T of apple cider vinegar. Let cool. (The theory here is that the pasta will soak up the flavors better when it's warm.)
  3. Next, make creamy dressing by combining about 1 ounce of crumbled feta cheese with the rest of the olive oil and apple cider vinegar, mustard, and a pinch of black peper. I like to use a stick blender for this. Then, toss the dressing with the farfalle in a large bowl.



    Ready for the rest of the ingredients

  4. Last, mix in all the chunky ingredients--the chicken pieces, the cucumber, the tomatoes, the mozzarella balls, and the rest of the crumbled feta. It's nice to let everything meld together, so put in the fridge for at least an hour. Then serve!

 


One interesting note is that we tried this without the mozzarella balls because they don't have very much flavor. But we found we missed their distinctive soft, chewy texture. Of course you can add any other ingredients you'd like here. Celery bits, kalamata olives, parsley, or red onion might be nice, for example.