Traveling Again!

It seems that the hubby and I have a bit of wanderlust these days.  Actually, I think things

have been so intense for him with upcoming plans for a 30th year teaching kungfu anniversary that he needs to clear out of town each chance he gets.  This time, we escaped to a favorite spot in the mountains ...good ol' Asheville!  My pockets were kind of empty and so I did almost no hunting for precious bits to add into jewelry, but I couldn't resist a table that was set up in the town park square by the local mineral society.  ...Imagine rough Australian opals in deep purples and turquoises and magenta winking seductively, begging to come home with me.  How could I resist?  Then, imagine me early Sunday morning, wading in ankle deep water, foraging for shiny pebbles in a local creek!  Of course I filled my pockets!  I am so excited about all the raw stones I brought home with me.

My Sweetie scored too, as he made a connection with a long-time acquaintance that lives up there and they are planning to meet frequently and do some training together.  LOL!!!  ...Next time we go, I bring my mesh beach shoes and some more money!


I just finished another piece that was done as a commission.  Another stone lover wanted to wear one in a necklace and impress her grand-babies.  Her beautifully colored stone has a pattern in it that resembles a face.

Traveling!

After 7 years, my Sweetie and I were finally able to get away on a real vacation.  We headed out to the San Francisco Bay area for a week and a half of R&R to include shopping Chinatown, eating lots of great Chinese, Mexican, Indian, and bistro food.  My hubby teaches kung fu, and he met with his teacher each day for training.  I so wish I could say that it was our greatest trip ever, but I fell victim to a seriously bad head cold (I get one EVERY time I fly to California!!!) I coined a new descriptive as I lay drowning in post-nasal drip on the hotel bed:  "Fly-squash."   Yup, I felt like fly-squash. 

We did manage to do Chinatown one time, but neither of us had a heart for it.  It is high tourist time there, and prices were high and products were very junkie.  Most of our favorite shops have disappeared, with the exception of Vital Leaf Tea.  We stocked up on lots of Puer, a very earthy, aged tea, green and ginseng teas.  It has always been our delight to pause there for tea tasting and enjoy the knowledge and showmanship of the sales personnel.  I found some really good quality old Chinese coins to incorporate into "lucky  coin" jewelry.  I wanted to go back and get more goodies, but fly-squash doesn't fly.

We were happy to see that Sunnyvale downtown has been in a huge revival and is quite the interesting place to find many delicious restaurants with sidewalk seating.  Here I am after a hard day of being touristy at the Winchester Mystery House taking the "Behind the Scenes" and gardens tour, while we wait for a pizza....

Respite

It had been a very long time since my Sweetie and I were off to ourselves.  Last week, the hospice team arranged for a five day time out for me and took my mom into their care.  We left the same day, heading for the hills.  ...Mountains actually near Asheville, North Carolina.  I captured a haul of gemstone beads at Beads & and Beyond.  The store used to be in the historic downtown area of Asheville, but has recently moved to a small town a few miles away.  I say town but it really is off in the boonies on a winding mountain road.  We thought we were lost but kept going and eventually found it.  We had an educational  and red-carpet tour of the new store by it's owner, Barry, who loves talking about his treasures from all over the world and ancient beads were in abundance.  I loved the patina that time that had left.  Some of the beads were worn smooth and had a luster from hands passing over them countless times.  I came away with beads I had been wanting to work with ...lapis lazuli, faceted quartz nuggets, ocean jasper, lovely larimer, faceted crystal beads, ancient glass, cinnabar, and several other gorgeous stones and beads.  Not many in count, just a good handful, but I like to use just one or a few in a piece.  I think it features their special beauty better than large numbers in repetition.  ...And did I mention that I even got an assortment of Freebies?

In the Historic Downtown, we found street performers on every corner.  We especially enjoyed this musician playing his steel drum and didgeridoo...

 

I had a great time spending my pocket of fun money.  Terrible thing what shopping deprivation can do when one is set free in an extraordinary place intended to make one's purse strings get loose.  I found fabulous leather scraps, to include some jade ostrich leather that I drool over, a soft beautiful olive green, textured chocolatey brown and metallic silver as well as natural linen cord at Earth Guild ...an institution for artisan weaving and textile supplies.  I grabbed aromatic incense at their next door neighbor, The Open Door, where you can find lots of hippie style clothing and jewelry.  ...'scuse me while I go light up a stick of Jasmine and get heady....

I was hoping for a perfect trip, but began to feel ill the afternoon of the second day.   ...Digestive tract.  The following morning, I noticed that the manager of the Quality Inn Motel where we stayed was handling the food for the Continental breakfast with his hands.  BIG UGH!!!!  Ya just don't know where those paws were last!  ...And what does that say for the behind the scenes preparation?  So, it may have been a bit of a bacterial thing and/or eating strange foods.  It took 24 hours to get myself right using my trusty oregano essential oil.  I haven't traveled without it for years.  Anyway, my plan for non-stop feasting and marauding though stores and sightseeing was stopped dead in it's tracks.

All in all, it was a delicious trip and the hubby and I find ourselves wishing we could return very soon.  That's all in greater hands than ours however, so we are just very grateful for the time and adventure we had.

Far Far Away

I was flying off into the distance (and yes that is a propeller!) this past week to a place I hold dear sitting deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania.  Family business called and so I went for the first time in over a decade to join with all my cousins.  I had never seen the new lodge that has replaced the family cabin that burned down.  It was a fast and furious weekend filled with the weight and pressures of many issues, one of which was wondering how adjustments from passing years would have changed us all.  Well, we all have gotten older, so that was a gentle impression all around. 

Old lady aches and pains paid me a visit and so I was not up to rambling to places I wanted to visit, but I did manage to take some small walks and do just a little foraging, and I took lots of photos to share.  As I walked the creek, I was hoping to find a small piece of driftwood.  For years I had one that I used as a shawl pin.  It slipped out on a trip to the grocery store about a year ago, and I do miss it.  Sorry to say I did not find one.

There are always flowers for filling vases, whether they be day lilies, Queen Anne's lace, bee-balm, daisies, forget-me-nots, yarrow, and many others.  I did not have time this visit to forage for wild herbs, but on other visits I always did.  The woods and fields are abundant with natural remedies, but they didn't help a young girl named Mary who died of rheumatic fever nearly one hundred years ago.  This sad "ghost" story never ceases to intrigue the generations and there is always someone who wants to see her grave.  Rest in peace Mary.

So many memories of so many good and nurturing times.  Some things are just so simple, like waking down the old road and feeling the powdered dust of the clay ooze between my toes.  Now however, the road is covered by a layer of small gravel and bare-footing there would be just a little too uncomfortable.  Such is life, enjoying what we have when it is within our reach and then letting go once it is gone.  Changes are inevitable and we must make adjustments continually.

Just like this new "old" stove which has its place next to a modern electric one and the microwave heating my cup of tea, above it, transitions ought to be subtle.  I loved the real old stove we had there and used it whenever I visited.  There is absolutely nothing like "cabin toast" made from homemade bread and toasted over the dieing coals, spread with real butter and homemade jellies.  Add to that crispy fried scrapple, sunny-side up eggs, sausage and bacon, and sometimes flapjacks if Uncle Jim was cooking.  In the Fall, night temps went down to the forties, and I would wake at four something in the morning and rush downstairs to start a fire in the stove.  Getting back up at seven, the cabin was warm and cozy with the stove hot to cook on.  Oh, those really were the good old days!

Slacking here...

Yes, I have to admit I have been a slacker lately.  June is nearly done and the mantel is still left-over from May.  Ah well, sometimes life gets in the way and takes many courses.  The hubby and I were suddenly blessed with a respite vacation by hospice.  They placed my mother in a local nursing home and off my Sweetie and I went heading for the hills.  We spent the next few days in the Asheville/Black Mountain area of North Carolina.  It was food for our souls as well as our bodies.   The DH caught me here at Cat Alley in the old part of Asheville.  We were a little early for the shops to open and were out to enjoy the beautiful weather.  I must have been smiling in anticipation of hitting the bead store in a few minutes. 

There is so much that is whimsical in Asheville, and it is a wonderful place for artisans and entrepreneurs of all sorts.  I have always felt it is like being plopped down in one of the small towns surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area of California.  The cat isn't real by the way, but forever frozen in metal to the lamp post.  He has a few pals hanging out over near the railing just out of sight.   There is even a gigantinormous iron for gigantinormous laundry.  It would take a King Arthur to snatch it up out of the pavement as the city fathers bolted it to the ground.  No doubt some daring person would have tried to carry it off if they hadn't.  Our local Jeep dealership lost a life sized cast metal moose a few months back.  Who knows, maybe one day it will end up in Asheville, visiting the cats of Cat Alley.

 We took a momnet to time out in a little city park frequented by street musicians and hot dog vendors.  Real New York style and so mouth watering good, smothered in onion relish and washed down with fresh squeezed and chilled lemonade.  The hot dog man told us he had come down from New York for a 9 to 5 job and after diligently working there for several months the boss offered him a 10 cent raise.  He declined and became his own boss and has been enjoying himself ever since. ,,,That's Asheville for ya!

And as always, there is never enough time to enjoy all the sights when we head for the hills.  That Mountain Dragon energy is alive and well in North Carolina.  I hope that our next visit is not so long off as this one had been.  Love you Asheville!

Wanderings

The Filoli
If you are from the San Francisco Bay area, you most likely know what the Filoli is. It had been on my touring list for about a year. Because of time constraints, it fit perfectly into our hectic business schedule. My husband and I scooped up my mother the day after we arrived, and she enjoyed it even more than we did. She especially liked the grand ballroom, where a gifted musician played period music on a a grand piano.

This is Mom and me standing just outside a charming arched doorway leading to the gardens. She's pretty "hot" for 93 don't you think?

The Filoli is a lovely little American castle, built in the early 1900's. It lies on 654 acres in the beautiful rolling hills near the coast, 30 miles south of San Francisco, and a skip and a jump from San Jose. The original owner was the owner of a gold mine, and had extensive funds to create a lovely home, which carries a strange name. I had mistakenly thought it was some Italian name, and had expected it to resemble an Italian villa. However, the name is very special, and is really an acronym made up by the first owner. He took the first two letters of key words of his philosophy for living: "Fight for a just cause; love you fellow man; Live a good life." The positive, happy energy of this man and the succeeding family that lived there, and the volunteers and employees who care for the estate, lives on and abounds there today. Now owned by the National Trust, it is a feast for the spirit. The gardens are extensive and astonishingly beautiful. Visitors may walk at heir leisure and there are resting places where it is possible to contemplate and enjoy the rich and varied colors of the flower gardens and panoramic views.

Me hugging a weathered old tree.

Mom taking time to smell the roses.

Back home again

Just got back from California last week, and still jet lagged. Not sleeping at night, exhausted but not sleepy. Sleeping late in the morning when my usual wake-up is around 5:00 AM. Why? …I don’t know. It’s a matter of practicing what I preach. I keep expecting my body to know what to do, and do it. However, it isn’t being as responsive as I would wish, and therefore, wouldn’t you think I would do some acupressure for myself? It would probably take only 15 minutes, and I would get straightened out. Now that I have made this public statement, of course I will have to do something about it and I will report on it again tomorrow!

I am still thrilled with the airport in Minneapolis. I know, its kind of frivolous of me, but there are reasons. For one, I grew up in Minneapolis and it has been years since I have been back, even if it was just to layover for an hour. Two, I met Snoopy face to face. Didn't have much time to chat, but he knits his own scarves, and wanted to trade scarves with me, but I thought mine looked better with my jacket.

Then, there is reason three. I found another reason to love Dyson. …The vacuum cleaner company. In the ladies’ restroom, I discovered the coolest hand dryer! It is simply a box with hand-sized slots, and as you dip your hands trustingly into the slots, a seeing eye activates a powerful air blast and it totally strips all the water from your hands in a flash. …Like in seconds. It was so cool. Now, I want one too. Just to play with. It saves on trees and is much more energy efficient, and saves money. It is labeled "green," and has a cool name. You can read more about it here: Dyson air blade

Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday was my mother’s birthday. She is now 93 years young! She has it going on too! She walks an hour every day, and I do mean walk. She has never cared much for walking with anyone else, because she is just too fast, and doesn’t want to slow her roll for a meandering friend. She reads voraciously, and loves biographies of famous people. Have you ever noticed that famous people lead cool lives? Some are quite controversial and even exotic. If you found those hours spent reading for history classes dull, you will be happy to know that there was a whole other side of it that was left unprinted! It would keep students alert if history was kept real. I will have to mention that to a friend who teaches history at the college level. I once taught one of her classes for her when her students were covering China. I have been twice, and loved it! (…but, that’s another blog.) Afterwards, she told me that was the first time in all her years of teaching that no-one was sleeping in the class. Isn’t that sad?

This is my Mom, we are standing in front of a shop in Sausilito, CA.

…Just three goddesses hanging out.

Sourdough!

A few times a year, my husband and I travel to the San Francisco Bay area on business. We always allow a few extra days to get in some pleasure, and there is so much to be found there. Besides all the wonderful things to do and see, there are a seemingly endless number of excellent restaurants, and we do make the rounds. We discovered Gordon Birsch several years ago.

Gordon B is a microbrewery, and has tasty brews, but they also have absolutely mouth-watering food in great quantity. One of our favorites is their garlic fries. If you love garlic, these are to die for! An enormous amount of fresh, finely minced garlic scattered all over lovely golden-crisp fries, (and Teriaki wings) with a smidgen of (?) fresh parsley flakes to make it beautiful as well as help the odious after-breath. Of course, if you have enough of the micro brews, you could care less. One mug is plenty for me, so I go armed with Clorets, and even then, it takes a few to take the garlic mouth out. Most of all though, I love sour sourdough bread!

I love San Franciscan sourdough so much that I am secretly beginning to plan our eating excursions around it. Its crunchy outer layer appeals to my senses, and then the inner spongy core melts in my mouth, releasing that indescribable flavor that is reserved for real sourdough lovers. Now, sourdough breads are not all alike. Made from a “starter,” its flavor depends on this living yeasty entity. The longer a starter is left to grow in the air, the sourer it becomes. So, you are very likely to find these more sour versions where sourdough has been appreciated for generations. It is something of a honor to have a starter that has been around for longer than most people. On the East Coast, where I live, sourdough bread is very tame, and tastes like a regular yeast bread. It pales in comparison. So what is a sourdough junkie to do? …Make your own! So, after much Googling, and talking to myself to bolster my confidence, I determined to create my own starterr.

Making your own starter is very easy, and really just takes patience. Mixing flour and de-chlorinated water in equal parts, it is just a matter of dividing the starter, and adding more of each every day for about a week. Suddenly, it takes off and you have a yeasty-beasty starter, and every day after that it gets more tantalizing in aroma and flavor. My grandson and I started this together. He was a little disappointed that it didn’t bubble and foam right away. (We tried one started with yeast last summer, and it foamed out of the bowl, which positively delighted him.) It tried both our patience, but one morning I was surprised to find it had come to life vigorously. This photo was taken just before I went upstairs to get my shower. I heard a crash and ran back down and found that the two plastic containers had quickly bulged upward, throwing the top bowl off. I found it upside down on the cutting board. Nothing was lost because of its thickness and the plastic wrap, but DG didn’t get to see it in all its bubbling glory when he arrived 30 minutes later.

I think I will name it Bubba. It is a living thing after all. ….Just like a pet.

We made a pizza with the starter later that afternoon, and it was gooooooooood! …And now, the first loaf of sourdough bread…

It was a little tough crust-wise. In fact, the next morning, I stepped on a tiny piece that had found it’s way to the carpet, and thought it was a large thorn. Well, for first try with no-yeast bread, I thought it was great. Nice rising, the texture was a little more like cake, not airy like yeast breads. The flavor was unmistakably sourdough!

Here is a link to help anyone wanting to start their own sourdough: starter:http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm