Douglas and I have been back in Ann Arbor for almost three months and it seems like yesterday. It has been a challenging time and I feel almost as if the world has turned upside down. Politics and economy weigh heavy on our minds and we feel it in all aspects of our lives. I am almost afraid to look at the news or our bank account yet I know we have to keep abreast of the situation. I will be happy when the elections are over(with Obama as president) and we can all sit back with a hot beverage and watch Canada from our very own back yard !! The Bush years will go down in history as the worst 8 years in American politics, I hope there is not more of the same. It looks like it will be behind us and we can move forward in a new light. I am also with trust our financial situation in the world will get better. It is a stress everyone feels, unless you are a Bill Gates or Oprah. The degree to which we feel it is up for debate. The point is that we are in a time of upset and it has us all in knots, no matter how we vote.
A brighter future ahead !!! November 4 get out and vote. It is your voice and your right as an adult American Citizen............as long as it is an educated vote. Study the facts and know the truth not just the mud slinging pseudo facts we hear on TV or in those nasty phone calls from computer driven messages. That's all I have to say about that. Just make sure you do vote.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Harvest moon-Indian summer
October Harvest Moon and 70 degrees outside the painted leaf sky. Dapples of orange kiss red tinged kites falling to damp earth. Wind blows in another land today and silence holds it's breath for a wet night. Long sleep wetness in the dawn of cold to come. Down roots grow searching the urges of spring unknown. Chimney sweeps into a new time of anxious voters and holiday cheers. Drink up the sun until you are silly for the cold winter will hangover a long nights sleep.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Popa
There are no words to express how sad it has been to watch my grandparents get old. Last few days my 92 year old Popa has been teetering on that fine line between life and death. His pride stripped away with his basic faculties. He used to be a big hulk of a man, tough, rough and had the mouth of a sailor and then some. This Detroit boy was raised old world German, played the violin in The Detroit Youth Symphony, watched the Tigers from outside the fence and road the trolley to work at a young age. He speaks of WW II as if it were yesterday. His hands are deeply ridged and scared from years in the motor glass industry. His garden which once fed the family is now a pile of compost and stray flowers my aunt planted years ago. His cabin locked up for now. His new truck sitting in the drive with a few hundred miles after only a year. With the walkers help he fixes his oatmeal on bent bones, reads the paper, turns his hearing aide up or off, smokes a "cig", sits on the porch hoping an old friend will walk by, then falls asleep in his club chair with the TV on till dinner with few distractions in between. my lovely and sweet 86 year old grandmother, Vera, cares for him with vigilance but is wearing her age and the past year of age related ills. They did not think they would die. Now I wait for the call which says my Popa has passed. Holding my breath. Stranger yet, they just finally drew up their Wishes and Wills. Funny how the time flew by.
My grandmother's parents died one or two days of each other. I fear it will be the same. I have been blessed to have spent quality time with them, helped them go through their old photos, collect data and pick their memories so I am at peace. I see they are not happy in the older version of their younger selves. I see the pain and grief. Why this age? We are born to die yet never think it will come to us. What a tangled web? Now at the end i wish them peace. I also know the end can drag on. Cheers none the less. Preparation is the best medicine for now for grieving must wait.
My grandmother's parents died one or two days of each other. I fear it will be the same. I have been blessed to have spent quality time with them, helped them go through their old photos, collect data and pick their memories so I am at peace. I see they are not happy in the older version of their younger selves. I see the pain and grief. Why this age? We are born to die yet never think it will come to us. What a tangled web? Now at the end i wish them peace. I also know the end can drag on. Cheers none the less. Preparation is the best medicine for now for grieving must wait.
Thanksgiving is near.It's time to cook.
On cooking and entertaining……
As we would love to experience the ability to spend luxurious days and endless evenings growing, raising, nurturing, harvesting,preparing and sharing our own meals while looking fabulous and staying fit all at once…………;it is an ominous and almost impossible goal for today’s adults, one which I have been blessed to actually attempt and sometimes even pull off successfully. I spent hours growing, planning, executing and enjoying my own creative recipes for myself, husband and loved ones. I even attempted a few careers in the food industry……….It is when money, time and energy inhibit us to experience those old world food values on which we were once raised to follow. Those days are few and far between for us when we actually do plan and create weekly or monthly family meals and those with friends. Few are the meals we prepare and share together with those we love. The one connecting bond families and friends once shared is a challenge for even the most culinary geniuses and multi-taskers.
I consider myself a good gardener and cook with a knack for bringing people together in a moment of bonding and eating. What is missing is the ability to do it fully. Health and economy being the main issues, but all parties involved must also be in sync to pull it off, which is hard with our full lives.It is a challenge I truly aspire to overcome. I aspire to get back to it by following some simple principles I learned along the path to food and fun.
You see I have a basic philosophy: First we find a date on the calendar for the chosen group of people to come together and break bread, sip wine and enjoy one another's company. Then the menu plan ensues based on what is fresh and in season that week or day in the garden and at market. One must be open to adapting recipes when certain foods are not available, perhaps raiding the pantry. Then the right occasion must be matched to the event (holiday, birthday etc) which then sets the theme, location and attire. After invitations are sent and RSVP's received the planning and list making begins. Each person brings one thing to share. There is always one person who is good for store bought flowers, bread, wine or candles, which is equally as desired as a dish, yet I do love it when each person prepares a specialty of their own along with a story behind the cretaion. It is fun to taste little bites of many tasty morsels, share recipes and tricks. It is a strong bond we share.
In order to create that perfect meal I find shopping and budget are most challenging in preparing just the right amount. Inevitably two or three people will cancel at last minute and one person will bring unexpected guests or kids so I plan for a little extra. Then there is the Weather! I have had dinners postponed for two hours due to heavy rain storms. Timing is important too as there are times I have given different times to guests, answering the door in my PJ's with a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth or waiting for two hours thinking dinner was 5:00 not 7:00. That is when good advanced prep is a blessing. The pre-made platters of appetizers and bowls of olives and nuts are ready to set out with glasses of wine ready for the pick of the guest. Soup is in crock pot and bread baked earlier in the day. Sometimes dog friends enter in a flurry, tails wagging, wet paws searching for kibble, which I have. After we all finally gather we begin the line to the kitchen. People grab a chair or stand and chat in the kitchen, of course, right where the cook is working while glasses flow with lots of laughs, musical changes and always a sigh mid to end meal when everyone feels full and happily satisfied. On occasion we have been known to experience complete silence. That is good. It is the goal of every home cook and most restaurant chefs; that moment of pure delight and exhalations. When this is attained and everyone is getting along well I can sit back and enjoy watching my husband washing dishes and dishing the dirt after another well planned event pulled off with many hitches. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So plan a holiday dinner with 6-8 friends/family and enjoy the moment when food and relationship come together and celebrate that time old tradition of "Shared Meals". Oh ya...invite us too !!!!
As we would love to experience the ability to spend luxurious days and endless evenings growing, raising, nurturing, harvesting,preparing and sharing our own meals while looking fabulous and staying fit all at once…………;it is an ominous and almost impossible goal for today’s adults, one which I have been blessed to actually attempt and sometimes even pull off successfully. I spent hours growing, planning, executing and enjoying my own creative recipes for myself, husband and loved ones. I even attempted a few careers in the food industry……….It is when money, time and energy inhibit us to experience those old world food values on which we were once raised to follow. Those days are few and far between for us when we actually do plan and create weekly or monthly family meals and those with friends. Few are the meals we prepare and share together with those we love. The one connecting bond families and friends once shared is a challenge for even the most culinary geniuses and multi-taskers.
I consider myself a good gardener and cook with a knack for bringing people together in a moment of bonding and eating. What is missing is the ability to do it fully. Health and economy being the main issues, but all parties involved must also be in sync to pull it off, which is hard with our full lives.It is a challenge I truly aspire to overcome. I aspire to get back to it by following some simple principles I learned along the path to food and fun.
You see I have a basic philosophy: First we find a date on the calendar for the chosen group of people to come together and break bread, sip wine and enjoy one another's company. Then the menu plan ensues based on what is fresh and in season that week or day in the garden and at market. One must be open to adapting recipes when certain foods are not available, perhaps raiding the pantry. Then the right occasion must be matched to the event (holiday, birthday etc) which then sets the theme, location and attire. After invitations are sent and RSVP's received the planning and list making begins. Each person brings one thing to share. There is always one person who is good for store bought flowers, bread, wine or candles, which is equally as desired as a dish, yet I do love it when each person prepares a specialty of their own along with a story behind the cretaion. It is fun to taste little bites of many tasty morsels, share recipes and tricks. It is a strong bond we share.
In order to create that perfect meal I find shopping and budget are most challenging in preparing just the right amount. Inevitably two or three people will cancel at last minute and one person will bring unexpected guests or kids so I plan for a little extra. Then there is the Weather! I have had dinners postponed for two hours due to heavy rain storms. Timing is important too as there are times I have given different times to guests, answering the door in my PJ's with a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth or waiting for two hours thinking dinner was 5:00 not 7:00. That is when good advanced prep is a blessing. The pre-made platters of appetizers and bowls of olives and nuts are ready to set out with glasses of wine ready for the pick of the guest. Soup is in crock pot and bread baked earlier in the day. Sometimes dog friends enter in a flurry, tails wagging, wet paws searching for kibble, which I have. After we all finally gather we begin the line to the kitchen. People grab a chair or stand and chat in the kitchen, of course, right where the cook is working while glasses flow with lots of laughs, musical changes and always a sigh mid to end meal when everyone feels full and happily satisfied. On occasion we have been known to experience complete silence. That is good. It is the goal of every home cook and most restaurant chefs; that moment of pure delight and exhalations. When this is attained and everyone is getting along well I can sit back and enjoy watching my husband washing dishes and dishing the dirt after another well planned event pulled off with many hitches. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So plan a holiday dinner with 6-8 friends/family and enjoy the moment when food and relationship come together and celebrate that time old tradition of "Shared Meals". Oh ya...invite us too !!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Health world
Sometimes people ask me "How are you?". I guess this Blog is the best way to share how I feel and what is up on the health front. Lately I have been writing more about what is going on in the grander scale because I grow weary of constantly discussing my health. BUT for those who are concerned I want to say I am doing quite well at the moment. I am going to PT as always and started pool therapy as an add on. I feel more full of energy than a year ago. The meds are working and I am on a lot !!! But I have to do what works for me and so far lupus is not active. That does not mean remission by the way. Inactive means the meds have everything under control lab wise and symptomatically. I still have bone-joint-muscle pain,fatigue,insomnia, early signs of menopause,adrenal dysfunction, bone necrosis,arthralgia, weakness and low white cell counts due to the medications which suppress the immune system; the mechanism through which lupus can become active. Once the immune system is suppressed the lupus is unable to go astray and attack my own body. On a GOOD note: my kidneys are functioning well due to three meds I take as well. I guess you can say modern medicine and all the other good things I do are working. i hope to one day be off most of the medications but the reality is that may not be possible and as long as I am happy, fed, housed, loved and mentally functioning with Douglas by my side all other frivolous matters seem to handle themselves. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things on my wish list left to do, but I have lived a pretty full life and am grateful for all the adventures and experiences. I have been blessed!!!!
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