Goodbye Michael

I grew up with Michael Jackson. I remember this little spark plug of a small boy dancing and singing away in the middle of taller, older and less interesting siblings. Growing up into a handsome beautiful dancer and singer...then into a painfully scarred adult trying to erase his color through chemicals and surgery.

As the world mourns his death, I want to remember him at his height.

Beautiful, joyful, full of light......

This photo was taken by Kate Simon.

Scent of jasmine

I'd didn't exactly time this, but I seem to be reading books about people in the throes of grief. Extremely loud was a book about two generations of a family coping with grief, and now I'm reading The Road, which is about a father and son coping with grief and survival. Not happy books, but I'm grappling with loss....so it seems...fitting.

The scent of jasmine blooming near the front door reminds me of this same time last year, when I was joyfully pregnant and so attuned to my heightened sense of smell that I could detect a jasmine bush down the block. Last year I remember sitting on the couch with the window open and being intoxicated by the scent, which is one of the gifts this baby gave me...temporarily.
The rose bush we planted for this baby is blooming and growing upwards towards the sun. A reminder that this child would have been growing taller by the day and more beautiful. Painful and beautiful reminders of a child never born.

The anniversary of the miscarriage is approaching, and I've scheduled it as any other day....am I trying to pretend it away? Deny its power over my routine? I'm not quite sure how my brain is strategizing this whole thing.

Bread and roses

Poppies and herbs

Walking around our house...a few blocks in each direction...I notice that there are 4 new veggie gardens that have appeared this year. It's a noticeable development, and I'd like to think that our lush and colorful veggie/flower beds have inspired our neighbors to put their veggies in the front yard. Last year I felt a bit out there, but not anymore. I'm sure that Michele Obama and the economy have also pushed folks in that direction....

Here is a shot of some poppies alongside cilantro that is flowering, and you can see some garlic on the far right, lettuce in the back. A happy and unintentional combination of airy white flowers mixed with the bold purple that I love. It captures the blending of flowers and edibles that I strive for in the garden.

World beat

Today was one of those beautiful Oregon summer days. Sunny, warm, breezy...no humidity. Perfect.

I spent the morning working in the garden (actually I consider it playing in the garden....work is drudgery). One lovely moment was watching this pretty orange/black butterfly eat on the purple heliotrope flower....a Kodak moment that you just have to imagine. I was no where near a camera. Roses are blooming away, as are sweet peas and jasmine. This is a fragrant phase of the garden. Yum.

We then headed down to Salem to enjoy the World Beat music festival on the riverfront. It was lovely...lots of different cultures, music, food....from everywhere. Aztec dancers, Bhangra, Afro-pop. My highlight was dancing to Loveness Wesa and the Bantuz band, which played Southern African dance music.....great and positive vibe, lots of happy people dancing.....

http://www.worldbeatfestival.org/index.htm

Amazing

Very few books pull you into to another place so quickly and powerfully as "The Photographer."

This is a graphic novel account of a real person...a French photographer who travels to Afghanistan during the uprising against the Russian invasion with a Doctors without Borders convoy. It is a perfect (if unusual) blend of photographs as part of the graphic novel that tells their story.

It brought me to tears in a way that no dry newspaper account could quite do, and you are left inspired by the bravery (and reckless selflessness) of relief workers. I highly highly recommend it.


With the US occupation of Afghanistan currently underway I couldn't help but think about the long-suffering plight of Afghanis and how very little respite they have had from "superpower" invaders.

Garlic harvest

Today was the day to harvest the garlic. The friend who encouraged me to plant it came over this morning to help with the harvest, since I wasn't even sure it was harvest time (the first thing you have to know!). It was for 99% of the garlic, and she patiently guided me through the steps....Her verdict was that I have a very green thumb, because most of the garlic was huge, and it was all healthy. Once we yanked and dug it out, we peeled away the grubby outside layer so that it could be "cured" in the garage until it dries. It was such fun to chat about our lives as we dug and yanked and peeled on a glorious summer morning. FYI, the garage already has a fragrant aroma of garlic, and it's only been a few hours! It smells a bit like an Italian restaurant, which isn't the typical scent of a garage.

I'm going to try making a garlic braid (Internet here I come!), and I already cooked up some fresh garlic for eggs today.

We are going to have a friendly garlic growing competition this coming season. The plan is to buy garlic together (same varieties from the same source) and plant them the same week. The goal is to see who can grow the largest head of garlic. The winner gets a meal. I will take her to Autentica if she wins, and if I win she makes me a home-cooked Vietnamese meal. I say that we are both winners already!

A border update from the NYT

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/27arizona.html

This story captures the tragedy that has been unfolding on our southern border. A combustible mix of racism, history, economics, and an abdication of government.

I'm the boss

So one of the more challenging bits of helping raise a child are the power struggles. I remember being at the receving end of those, but now I'm the one in the driver's seat. It can be very interesting and tough, no doubt about it.

Gladys' summer vacation art project was T-shirt painting, and here is her unique creation, which definitely has a message for the bossy adults in her life, aka, me. She's so so smart.

The budding actor

Today she dazzled us with her stage presence, good projection, and fun energy on the stage while performing as one of the narrators for the production of "Aladdin." This is a Concordia University summer theater camp for kids, and she had a great time preparing for a show in just one week. I was really impressed by the quality of the show and the acting. There were some budding talents who were poised and funny.

Nanci, Fede, her mom, little sis and brother, plus me were all in the audience to cheer her on, and we even got a wave at the start.

Then we came home to eat homemade pizza (which is her favorite food in the world, fyi) and then went to Sauvie Island for strawberry picking.

We said our goodbyes, and I'm going to miss so much. She's such a joyful hilarious spirit, and I'm always finding myself challenged in new and crazy ways by having her in my life.

What I'm watching

"To be and to have" is a beautiful documentary that is an ode to wonderful teachers, the French countryside and rural life, and the bittersweet life of schoolchildren. J'adore!

Chard recipe

In an effort to use up the garden bounty I'm trolling Epicurious and scored a great chard recipe. Vegan to boot.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
1 large bunch or 2 small bunches Swiss chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups)
1 pound red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

Other readers suggested adding a sweet potato, carrots, and doubling up on the spices, which I did.

Verdict: Adults like it. Kid does not.

Garlic harvesting

While I confess that I don't really know what I'm doing, I'm experimenting and learning about garlic. I harvested my first garlic head this weekend, and here is what I got (with a freshly picked salad too).

Curious to know what this will taste like....how it might compare with the store-bought stuff.

The summer of endless greens

Gazing at the lovely rows of collards and rainbow chard, I'm realizing that no matter how much we eat of this stuff there is more to harvest. A lot more. I need to come up with new and exciting ways to use these veggies. I've done traditional Southern greens, greens tucked into empanadas, eggs, stir-frys, soups. Short of sticking into desserts, greens are folded into every dish I make, because we've got so much.

This is not a bad problem to have. Michael Pollan pointed out that we humans need to eat more leaves, less meat and seeds (see wheat and its by products).

I didn't grow up eating this stuff, so I've certainly had to learn how to prepare them, and I suspect I've got more to learn. I'm thinking about a frittata with greens from Mollie Katzen's cookbook. I need ideas and inspiration.

Lord help me when it is time to harvest broccolli. It is almost time for that. Oh, did I mention it is garlic harvest time too?

Songs of praise

This is the name of a rose variety blooming in the garden, but it is also my corny start to a post thanking my Dad for being such an awesome one.
I've been blessed with a Dad who has been utterly devoted to his kids from the moment we appeared until now, and I feel very blessed.

My Dad has taught me so many lessons that continue to serve me well:
-the value of devoting time to God and nurturing a faith community
-the importance of nature and all living things
-the love of plants and growing things
-appreciation for Latin culture, especially our music and the language.

A lot of my pastimes and passions were started because my Dad exposed me to things....camping/being in the outdoors turned me into a woman who loves to travel to the wild parts of the world. I've hiked into too many national parks, volcanoes and forests to count, due to his planting that seed. My deep love of the Spanish language and Latin music is also due to his influence. Spanish lessons in the basement. Listening to him play the guitar and croon boleros were the seeds.

You've supported me, even when you didn't agree with my choices, which is probably the hardest thing one might have to do as a parent. You generally refrained from a lot of lecturing and let me figure things out at my pace, glacial as it may be sometimes. I have really appreciated your compassion and kindness. Oh, I forgot to mention your silly sense of humor!

Thank you for all the gifts, but most of all for the love. You are the best.

Yummy Sunday

So my day starts with a hot stone massage and just keeps getting better.

After Mass we head to the Sunday in the Parkways, which is the one of the best things going in PDX. They close a 8 mile loop of streets in North Portland, sprinkle the streets with music, food vendors and fun activities in various parks, and just let the bikers and walkers take over the splendid flowering neighborhoods. We took off on our bikes and had a blast....lovely views of the Willamette from the bluff, wonderful gardens (I got inspired), and some serious fun zooming around with Gladys and Fede. I get to see streets and neighborhoods I would never know otherwise, which I also love. I got to chat with a pirate; we bought delish paletas (cucumber with chile), and had a ball.

Then we got home and took Fede to Autentica for a Father's Day dinner. He ordered his favorite (and mine)...the mole, I got a great fish dish, and Gladys a tamale.

I'm so looking forward to 2 more Sunday Parkways this summer!

More veggies

Cayenne chile plant with lots of fruit!


Tomato plants growing larger and starting to flower.




Broccolli is almost ready for harvest.




See the corn and eggplant?

Here are some photos taken by Ms. Gladys of the latest developments in the garden. Every single day and every single meal features veggies of some kind - salads, collards, beet greens, and soon broccolli.

Without the box

Most of the time I'm not missing the TV, but there are these moments when I'm like....argh. Give me some TV, some mindless distraction and excuse to sit on my couch and not do anything. During those moments I think about upgrading to a nicer TV (my TV is old and crappy. It has had these poltergeist moments where it shuts itself off, so I think it's on its way out anyway).

I'm going to fight that urge as long and as hard as possible. Because I think having a TV-less life is a good one. I'm not really missing anything important. Really. Even knowing about the incident on MLK is not critical in the grand scheme of my life. The daily drama of the video news programs is not something I need. Wants and needs being different creatures entirely.

Not having a TV with cable means that Gladys plays outside more. It means I'll do more chores or gardening or blogging or something else.

My next experiment should be a day without the Internet.

Stay tuned.

Fresas

Today another strawberry was harvested today. After a dip in the Kennedy School soaking pool with Fede, Gladys and I worked on our poems, which is one of my summer vacation projects for us to do together. She always loves rhyming books, so I figured this was a natural next step and a great way to build those writing skills when she's on vacation.

She's written poems about pizza, flowers and vegetables (she totally picks her topics...I swear). We have co-written a poem on chocolate. We submitted two of her poems to the library's web site for "publication," which she's naturally excited about.

Yesterday she came home from the library and told me proudly..."I'm copying you." I looked at her and said, "What do you mean?" She proudly pulled out an audiobook case and told me that she was also going to listen to books everywhere too, just like I do. I was kinda of stunned at the fact that she really wanted to copy me and do so via listening to audiobooks. It never fails to amaze me the stuff kids latch on to, think is worthy of imitating. Unfortunately she didn't like her selection very much, so we've browsed some titles online and put her favorites on hold. Being a librarian comes in handy in so many areas of my life.

It is fun to be nuturing her love of words and creativity in new ways, and I have to say, these are the moments when I love love being her step-mom.

Vampiro

We harvested some amazing beets a few days ago from the garden, besides planting more chiles (serrano and thai), german chamomile, and nasturium seeds.

One thing I notice about our little corner of yard is that it is literally humming with life. Bees, wasps, butterflies, birds, squirrels....it is palpable. Organic gardens are the pollinators' haven, which they need in a planet that is increasingly toxic for their health.

I decided to try to recreate that recipe from Oaxaca, el Vampiro or Vampire. This is a healthly smoothie made with fresh beets. Verdict. Almost the same as in Mexico, not quite as good. Gladys doesn't like it (but at least she tried it!).

This recipe calls for raw beets, oranges, carrots, sugar (or agave syrup), an apple...all blended up into a very healthful smoothie. It kinda looks like Pepto bismol, doesn't it?

Update on the White House garden

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105490054

Listen to this great update on the White House garden....gardeners everywhere are harvesting and cooking. So cool...we are growing many of the same crops - collards, kale, herbs, lettuce.

I love the role model that the First Lady is offering families for growing their own produce and nuturing a love of gardening and fresh foods for children.

I love seeing Gladys munching away at fresh salads, which she devours.

Pretty salads

I'm not exactly renown for my passion for vegetables. I'd happily eat bread, chocolate and roasted chicken in various forms for all 3 meals. However growing a vegetable garden is a perfect way to make you eat your vegetables and make it fun, creative, and dare I say...pretty.

Here is today's salad, garnished with edible flowers from the garden - borage, argula flowers, calendula, plus our own fresh lettuce and beets, which are both wanting to bolt with our sunny hot afternoons. I'm harvesting twice a day, and I think it is time to gift some more vegetables.

Crazy stuff on MLK

This afternoon I was driving southbound towards the pool with Gladys and her best friend in the back seat. As we approached Killingsworth the street was partially condorned off by police with yellow tape, and there were soldiers in army camoflague (including painted faces) going towards the blocked street with machine guns.

I am not kidding. I swear. I have 2 child-witnesses who saw it all too.

So I slow down, partly rubber-necking, and I yell at a pedestrian "what is going on?" They say they don't know....but you can see the folks waiting for the bus all looking concerned and curious.
As I drove away I kept thinking...what on earth was going on? In all my years of urban life (including some exciting and big protest marches in DC with a wall of riot police nearby) I have NEVER seen soldiers with painted faces entering a street like that....Ok, after 9/11 I did see National Guardsmen walking around the Capitol/airport/train stations with automatic weapons. Keep in mind that was in DC and NYC weeks and months after 9/11. Even those guys didn't wear paint on their faces.

I get on the Net and search all the Portland news sites (the Oregonian's online version, one of the TV stations sites, plus an advanced Google search of blogs and the like). Nada. Remember, I have no access to the local TV news and hate the radio...this might be one of those moments I wish I did. This too shall pass.

I hope that they were filming some gritty urban thrilled in our 'hood. I hope that someone, somewhere tells me what the heck was going on.

Update: I decided to call the police non-emergency number, because curiosity was getting to me. They told me that they couldn't tell me anything, and one lady, a supervisor, told me that she was too insiginficant to be able to release any information. Geez. That is the worst thing a person could say when someone wants info. They assured me that these painted people were police, not soldiers. Somehow that didn't bring me much comfort. Let's see what the newspaper reports tomorrow.

Back to basics

Last night we experienced storytelling and entertainment in its most elemental form....traditional Native NW stories using masks in a long house. The masks, some transformed from one creature to another, were magnificent, and even if the story didn't capture you, the masks, dances, or beat of the drum would....Gladys loved it, which made me hopeful that the world would not be reduced only to cartoons and video games.

If you are interested in experiencing this for yourself, check out: http://www.lelooska.org

Life without TV, Day 2.

What I'm reading

Onto the next audio book in my car. I'm reading a book recommended by a co-worker a few years back....it has been niggling in the back of my brain and finally made it to the top. Extremely loud and incredibly close takes place in the mind of a 9 year old boy who has lost his father in the 9/11 attack on the twin towers, along with his grandfather's voice, a survivor of the Dresden bombing during WWII. My initial reactions are that I like the boy a lot, although there is a part of me that wonders if such a precocious child exists. One who is a Francophile and writes Steve Hawking. The grandfather's voice confused me, and it took me a bit of Googling to get a handle on who on earth was this person and how did he fit into the narrative. What strikes me most is the way the author presents the grief of a child...how it sneaks in unexpectedly, which I find rings very true. In my research I read that the author uses images of 9/11 in the text, which makes me wonder how that might work for the audio-book experience. Do we miss out on a key image? Stay tuned.

Karate reina

So here is my favorite martial arts expert, hamming it up. She does this HILARIOUS comic karate move that cracks me up every single time. She broke her first board a couple of weeks ago and was awarded a yellow belt, which you can see a bit in this photo.

Don't mess with her.

Teaser

I don't have time to photograph the latest amazing gardening happenings at this moment, but I did want to give you a teaser of things to come:

• lucious ripe strawberries - waiting for Gladys to pick them
• teeny garlic chives are coming up from seeds I planted so long ago I forgot about them...almost. First timer.
• pretty purple flowers that are coming up from bulbs I planted months ago. A first timer.
• roses blooming and on the verge with lots of buds on 4 bushes. My water campaign against pests seems to be working. A first.
• Broccolli is peeking out....yet another first for the garden this year.

A good deed I've done is share my garden bounty with the 2 friendly elderly neighbors. I've bagged up greens and herbs with a note from me and left it on their porches....We have more than we can eat, and this will save them the trouble and expense of buying fresh veggies at the market. It feels good to share. A garden is meant to FEED people, not just be pretty.

Good bye TV!

Farewell....and all that.

I have wanted to stop the TV habit for a very long time and did have a year or so without one once. Amid all the digital tv drama I decided this was my time. We don't watch a lot of tv as it is.....so this isn't going to be a big big deal. A mild deal, perhaps.

I know I am already woefully out of the loop on a lot of pop culture. Never watched a full episode of "American Idol," let alone followed it through to the grand finale, ditto for those survivalist shows (I think they should show how poor people live in a developing country or plop a USer down among them....barrel full of laughs). This will just mean more of the same. I'm ok with that, more than ok, I feel great about it.

I'm sure we'll have a bit of withdrawl...

Edible flowers

I love self-seeding plants and edible flowers....so here are 2 of the work-horses in my garden....calendula and johnny-jump-ups.

You put the seeds in the ground once, and they come up year after year...bringing color and beauty to unexpected corners of the garden.

These beauties are edibles, so I love sprinkling them on a salad or as a garnish. Very pretty.

Gladys loves eating flowers from the garden and happily munches away at johnnys and borage flowers. However with so much foxglove in bloom we had a heart to heart about poisonous plants and how she must consult with me before eating something. Foxglove is very poisonous, ditto for daphne....both of which are growing in the garden.

Greens, oh fabulous greens!

Listening to "In Defense of Food" chapters talking about how important it is that humans eat leaves has made me look at my daily diet and my garden and say....harvest and cook! [in the photo you can see the very spinach, plus a row of chard and brussel sprouts in its formative stage]

Today I went into the yard and got a big bowlful of spinach to go along with our salmon. It cooked up fast, and Federico loved it. I also threw in some of those garlic flowers....they have this soft garlic flavor that you can eat raw, which I can't say about garlic.

Then I turned to the collards, which I planted ALOT of in the garden. I think I was inspired by Yam Yams, the local BBQ joint on MLK that has awesome greens that I adore. I had visions of eating their greens this summer, but getting to skip the wait at the restaurant.

Ok, so I finally nailed a good greens recipe, my own invention, but based on reviewing a lot of greens recipes and eating a fair amount. Quantities are totally estimated:

Several fresh collard leaves, chopped.
White onion chopped (to taste)
Jalapeno chopped
salt and pepper
a splash of apple cider vinegar
1 strip of turkey bacon
saute all this in a bit of olive oil and a splash of water for 25 minutes or so. Cover on a low heat.
At end add some agave syrup (this is an important step, it softens the vinegar taste. Recipes and people I've talked to say to add sugar, fyi)

This is as good as Yam Yams!

Experimenting in the kitchen

So I'm working my way through "In Defense of Food," and it is a bit startling to think that the diabetes that has ravaged my family has as much to do with colonization, immigration and the industralization of our food supply as genes. Every morsel you put in your mouth has a story....about capitalism, culture....this book could make me more neurotic about food than I am already. Having said all that, I highly recommend it. I love the bit about how the health of the earth/dirt is reflected in the nutrient values of the food it supports. All the things I have to learn about gardening.

Having said that, I'm trying out an experiment with the rice cooker....brown rice, some collards from the garden, chopped onions and jalapeno, salt. I'm looking for a healthy, easy, portable lunch dish....With a garden full of greens I'm still finding ways to avoid them. How can this be? I admit I could happily subsist on chocolate. What kind of confession is that for a vegetable gardener???

Sunday, but not a lazy one

After swimming laps (while the lamb shanks roasted) and coming home to water the garden I got to meet another neighbor....a sweet 78 lady who's been watching me garden for quite some time, completely unknown to me. She told me how she watches me work in the garden and direct Federico with some the digging projects, and that she wanted to talk to me, since I was the one who was the "mastermind," my word choice, not hers. I told her that was either a good quality or a fault, depending on who you ask. She kept telling me I had quite a green thumb and wanting to know all the things I'm growing. Since it seems like every square inch has something growing on it, I gave her the rundown, and she was clearly impressed and enjoying the tour, which I think she's been wanting for a long time from the sound of it. I liked her a lot....she was funny, kind, and warm.

Having a garden is the ticket to getting to know neighbors. There is a dear older gentleman with a yard of fruit trees, Carl, who gifted me peonies. I know these neighbors thanks to the garden, which seems to draw us out of ourselves, introducing ourselves, chatting and laughing and sharing.

My sis and brother-outlaw came over for dinner, which was outstanding, if I do say so myself. Keeping the lamb in the oven for 3 hours made it melt off the bone (2 hours isn't as good). Some roasted potatoes, fresh sauted greens from the garden, and some local wine, that was a birthday gift from last year rounded out our menu. We watched a great movie, Defiance, which I highly recommend. Hopeful Holocaust movie about working-class Jewish resistance fighters. True story. Who knew?

Strawberry lemonade

I've got a stash of fresh lemons from my parent's AZ orchard (smile), plus a pint of organic fresas=time for strawberry lemonade. Again I'm substituting some of the sugar with agave syrup, throwing in fresh mint garnish from the garden and voila....we've got a delicious fresh beverage to replace sodas or alcohol for the party.

My friends (or most of them) are used to the "dry" or non-alcoholic vibe my parties always have....

Movie night

I've been hosting these periodic movie nights with friends, because I love having people over, hanging out over good food, and watching movies....if I can do all these things together it is pretty wonderful.

Rather than have my usual big birthday party I decided to have a girlfriend movie night....something more low-key and less work for me (although it was always potluck, so it was never as much about cooking as cleaning!). I asked guests to donate to Child Aid, rather than bring me any gift.

The theme of this party is chocolate. We are going to have a chocolate tasting, and I've bought a selection of gourmet chocolate bars that I would NEVER buy otherwise. It's funny how that works. I'm making my famous empanadas (filled with chicken and veggies), and different friends are bringing other dishes to round out the menu, including brownies (because you can NEVER have too much chocolate).

Then we're going to watch "Like Water for Chocolate." Haven't seen that movie since it came out....loved it and the book.

Garlic flowers

While ruminating in the garden I discovered that some of the garlic was sprouting flowers or these long curly things with the beginning of a flower. Since garlic farming is a new thing, each phase of this plant's life is a discovery and mystery. My next question is...what should I do next?

After discussing with a friend, searching the Net and talking to someone at the New Season's weekly farmer's market (where they were offering tastings of yummy sauted garlic flowers with recipes), I know what I must do next. Harvest, cook and eat them. I even have a recipe!

Lots of things are going to seed in the garden right now - kale, parsley, some of the chard and cilantro. At the same time, a whole new wave of plants is starting to flower...borage and calendula come to mind. Others are in full harvest mode...the lettuce, some chard and spinach.

It is so wonderful that the earth provides us with healthy delicious things, right in the front yard for the picking.

What I'm reading

In keeping with the theme of the politics/ethics of food (I still need to share more about that Intuitive Eating group), I'm now listening to Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food."

I like the way he thinks.....emphasizing the importance of culture, common sense and tradition. There is a lot of eye-opening information about how political the RDA guidelines are, among other things.

Happy birthday to me

New beautiful Don Juan climbing rose, planted for the baby....


Van Gogh sunflowers planted in front of the house.



New delphinum. I love purple!

Foxglove (which I've divided and have all over the garden)....this all started with one plant bought at a church plant sale a couple of years ago. Lavender is in front, and the rose bush behind.

Foxglove close up.....

Today was a nice day....started it bright and early with dance class, which is always a fantastic start to any day. Then worked in the garden for a solid hour (my birthday gift to me!), weeding, watering and checking things out. The garlic is sending up flower shoots, which I'm told you can eat and are considered a delicacy.

Any day that starts with 2 of your favorite things is pretty darn good.

When I got to work my desk was covered with two gorgeous bouquets from co-workers....It was awesome and smelt divine. They took me out for a lovely Ethiopian meal for lunch.....and then Fede took me out to Autentica. They treated us to some awesome tres leches cake and singing Happy Birthday, plus free ceviche.

I am just surrounded by thoughtful sweet people.....

Strawberry rhubarb crisp

Today we got our monthly box of organic veggies and fruits, which is always a surprise. It had a pint of strawberries and some rhubarb, so I was thinking I needed to cook this stuff up so it doesn't get old in the fridge, a fate worse than death for good organic food that deserves to be eaten fresh.

I went and found a Mollie Katzen recipe (used a bit less butter and agave syrup instead of so much sugar). I have whipped up a dessert for tomorrow.

Update: This recipe rocked! It was very easy and extremely tasty. I confess we ended up eating for breakfast and dessert. If you use organic butter and agave syrup it's not that bad for you!

http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=strawberry_rhubarb_crisp

Swimming lessons

So I'm approaching another birthday, plus today is the anniversary of the miscarriage of Nicolas Miguel, who would be 6 years old today. It's definitely a time to reflect on losses. Today I was relaxing in the pool's jacuzzi before my laps and watched the babies and parents in a swim lesson. Looking at one infant I thought that my other unnamed baby would be about 6 months, maybe about his size. The pain was so sharp I thought I couldn't bear it. But I know I could, because I have. I thought of all the mothers who have lost children, in circumstances far more traumatic than mine.....Somehow that gives me strange comfort to know I'm not alone in such losses. Swimming is lovely, because you can cry and do laps without anyone taking notice.