Five Things Friday

I am reading…The Silent Hour, by Michael Koryta. Latest mystery/thriller following PI Lincoln Perry. I’ve not read the others but have enjoyed this one. I am especially grateful that there aren’t 3000 back or side stories. I like a more complex mystery, but sometimes you just want something that goes from A-Z with no detours.

I am eating…crackers with cream cheese and homemade apple butter. Seriously good.

I am watching…the ice melt in my Cherry Coke. Today we had a party at work and some semi-uninvited guests drank my Coke. Outrage!

I am listening…to Criminal Minds in the background. I really like that show. I have a soft spot for Reid.

I am feeling…happy it’s Friday.

Fall Wardrobe

Fall Wardrobe1

More or less…the Fendi might be a bit of a stretch

The secret to cooking beans

Ok. This may not actually be a secret to anyone, but I’ve cooked dried beans forever and not had such a good result as tonight. I soaked the beans first for 24 hours. This is about twice what I normally do (and twice what most cookbooks call for). Then cooked them in the crockpot. Easy! The beans are soft like canned beans, but still mostly hold their shape. They made great black bean burritos for dinner tonight. I cannot even describe how seriously elated I am over this little positive experiment. It’s the little things, for sure. I can’t wait to try extra long soaking with my other dried beans and find out if I get the same great results.

 

20 Questions…(part one)

Wende had her request for 20 Questions fulfilled and has started by posting her answers to five. I’m quite glad she’s taking the divide and conquer route, as some of the questions may provoke a long response and I don’t know that I have the stamina for 20 such responses in one post. I doubt anyone would really have the stamina to read the whole thing, either!

I have to say, this works out rather well for my NaBloPoMo plans as well.

Wende started by answering my four questions, which are modeled after ice-breaker type questions I use with teens at the library.

Would you rather eat Reese’s Cups or Peppermint Patties?

The majority opinion here seems to be Reese’s Cups, but I am bucking that trend and standing up for Peppermint Patties. SCB thinks that they are too sweet, which is interesting, because I find the opposite to be true–Reese’s Cups are too sweet and too heavy, particularly when I have the option of a Peppermint Patty. I am pretty open to chocolate in combination with other flavors, but have never been a huge fan of the chocolate/PB combo. Probably because I am also not a huge PB fan; I like the stuff, I just don’t LOVE it. Mint & chocolate is one of my favorite combos, although I feel it has to be dark chocolate.

Other favorite chocolate combos that have nothing to do with the question: milk chocolate and caramel (Caramelos or Rolos, very good); milk or dark chocolate with coconut, dark chocolate with ginger, dark chocolate with cherries. I’m not opposed to nouveau chocolate combinations (though asparagus creme is probably a bit beyond my interests), but I just enjoy these classic flavors so much that it’s hard to pull me away from them.

Would you rather never listen to music again or lose your TV?

I could give up the television no problem. Although I do watch something pretty much everyday, especially during football season. It would be much harder to give up music. Particularly as the question doesn’t specify whether it’s just recorded music you’d be giving up, or even the possibility to hear live performances. We don’t go to a ton of concerts throughout the course of a year, but the music we choose to see live is usually important to us (and I just love hearing live music). Also, Michael plays the guitar every evening. I wouldn’t want to give up listening to that.

If you could visit any one time period in history, when would it be?

My original answer: “So many…but I think I’d like to pop back a little over 100 years and follow the suffrage movement up to when women are granted the right to vote.” I’d also like to pop back and forth between different continents to see what was happening with different groups of suffragettes and also to see what was really the trickle down effect of their movement.

Both Wende and Mella pointed out the problems with hygeine and sanitation. No kidding! This is why I am not too keen on visiting any time period much prior the 19th century. I also think that often people, when they are identifying with a particular time period or whatever, don’t really think about what social class they would realistically be a part of. Everyone identifies with the aristocracy or the wealthy merchant class. But most people were not of that class. Many people romanticize the middle ages and I cannot think of a time I would less like to visit, particularly as a woman. Well, actually, there are many time periods I would not want to visit if I were to just show up as a middle class or lower female. Especially if my mind was filled with all my 21st century knowledge. This is my problem with time travel fiction, actually. Different worlds, I’m there. Different time planes, ok. But just plopping a modern character into a historical setting does not work for me.

Mella also mentioned that, really, most of the days in any time period would be mundane and boring and just filled with the daily work of living. This is true, but actually something I am interested in–because history largely focuses on the spectactular and world-changing, daily routine, emotion and atmosphere are overlooked. It’s interesting to me what folks did everyday and how they coped. I also think that every time period is guilty of looking back at the past and understanding it in the context of the contemporary emotions/prejudices/knowledge. I’d be curious to see the real deal.

 

Would you rather die peacefully, but unexpectedly in your sleep at age 60 or die at 90 after suffering for years from disease?

This question, or others involving death, disease, maiming or sudden disability are the ones that I find to evoke the most passionate and interesting discussion from teens. Particularly if they are wedded to a specific point of view and someone opposes said viewpoint with equal passion. Since I find a lot of gray area in these questions (or have issues with what is left unsaid), I find them kind of frustrating. As author of the question, I apologize.

My short and uncomplicated answer: I’d choose to live to 90. 60 seems far too young to me and suffering does not preclude moments of great joy. Selfishly, I’d like to live long enough to know my grandchildren (should I be so lucky) and if my, as yet mythical, children follow a path similar to mine, 60 will have come and gone before grandchildren make it onto the scene.

Lynn’s question brought the first round to five:

Do you think that questions such as “what’s your favourite colour/ice cream/album of all time” help you get to know another person?

Well, yes and no. You know at least three things about the other person if they answer honestly. Not to mention what you picked up from other clues during the conversation. Also, depending on the person, either of these three questions could be very important. I’ve know people who feel very strongly about their favorite color or their favorite album and would feel that you don’t know them if you got it wrong or left it out when you were describing them. For other folks, these really are just superficial questions and not an opening into secrets of their deepest self. But idle chat can lead to less idle chat and so on until eventually intimate conversation is the result.

Meal Plan 11/2-11/8

I’m loving all the winter squash that is available right now. Sweet potatoes and white potatoes are cheap and good, too. I’ve been experimenting a bit with my crock-pots and hope to do more with these for dinner soon. This weekend I made apple butter, boiled peanuts and mulled cider using the crock pot. All very good. I’ve not used it too much for dinner just because the time that I’m away from the apartment is really so long. I’m not afraid of leaving the crock pot on for a long time, but I’m not sure it can be great for the food. If anyone knows of tasty, long cooking (10 hours), vegetarian crock pot recipes, please let me know! You can find more meal plans at OrgJunkie.

Breakfasts

• Cereal, fruit
• Oatmeal, fruit
• Scones, fruit

Dinners

• Black Beans & Rice, Steamed Vegetables
• Glazed Tofu, Butternut Squash Puree, Roasted Asparagus
• Vegetable Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
• Tuna Croquettes, Roasted White & Sweet Potatoes

National Blog Posting Month

In an effort to improve what goes on in this space, I’ve committed to blog everyday for the month of November as a participant in National Blog Posting Month. My thought is that posting everyday for a month will at the very least have me thinking a bit more and a bit harder about what I’d like to see in this space and what this blog means to me. I’m actually not terribly concerned about the fact that I don’t blog everyday normally, but I do get bothered by the fact that I sometimes have something to say and just don’t–out of laziness or fear, not sure which. Wish me luck!

Five Things….

I am reading…Anna In-Between, by Elizabeth Nunez. It’s wonderful so far.

I am eating…a ChocoLove dark chocolate ginger bar. Yum.

I am watching…the cat scratch at her food mat. Why?

I am listening…to my husband play a zombie game.

I am feeling…a little overwhelmed by the world.

Menu Plan 10/19-10/25

Short & Sweet

Breakfast: I will eat oatmeal or whole wheat waffles for breakfast every morning. I won’t stop by Starbucks for a coffee, and I guess something to eat, too…

Lunch: Whatever leftovers or movable food I can scrounge/sounds edible.

Dinners

• Grown-Up Cream of Tomato Soup, Rosemary & Onion Focaccia
• Baked Chile, Steamed Broccoli
• Pasta with Chick-Peas and Hominy, Green Salad
• Fish in a Packet, Coconut Rice

Many more menu plans can be found at OrgJunkie!

Spiffy

We returned a few hours ago from a whirlwind trip to Pittsburgh (less than 36 hours in the city–we’re beat). The main event was my cousin Megan’s wedding, but we also sneaked in a couple of hours visiting an old friend. The wedding was lovely! It was held at a beautiful old Presbyterian church that surprised me in it’s ornateness. There was a lovely mosaic behind the altar of The Ascension (I think) all done in golds and yellows. You can see a cropped image here. The wedding colors were yellow and black and the bridesmaids” bouquets were lovely bundles of sunflowers and asparagus ferns that the girls put together themselves. I’m a big fan of the bridal party wearing black–it’s easy to actually wear the dresses again AND as a guest I didn’t feel hopelessly morbid wearing black to a wedding. Instead, I coordinated. Too bad the weather wasn’t feeling the same way; the high was 40, but I don’t think our car thermometer ever went above 39. I was not prepared. I knew it was going to be cold and I still wasn’t prepared. I just don’t have the right kind of warm clothing anymore.

Megan and Josh (her new husband) have worked as campus ministers for the past several years, and so there were a ton of people there representing so many of the relationships they have built over the years. They have also focused a lot on making local connections and that has naturally included connecting with the city that they call home. Their wedding and reception really reflected these connections and was especially exciting for me, who used to live in Pittsburgh and still holds a deep and abiding love for the city. Plus, there was mulled cider grown made by Airesmans, a wonderful orchard in our hometown. Best of all, we had an opportunity to catch up (however briefly) with family and friends we see all too infrequently given the distance we live from home.

I especially miss my sisters. It was nice to chat a bit and just enjoy ourselves together for a few hours.

The lovely bride and groom. This is the first time we had a moment with them–as we were leaving!

After the reception we spent a few hours catching up with one of my closest college friends and her husband. They had their first baby in April and he is officially the cutest baby ever. He’s just discovered his laugh, too, and we all had fun looking for ways to bring it out. I spent most of the time he was awake with him in my arms, so no pictures of the cutie. I have many friends with children now, but Annie is most like myself in values and temperment, and she and her husband Drew have a similar relationship, life outlook to Michael and I–watching them with the baby I was able to actually picture what it might be like for Michael and I to have one of our own. It also made me realize how far we are from most of our friends who resonate with us in that way. We do have some close friends here, but in many ways I feel that I am on outpost, just waiting for reassignment closer to home.

Buy Hand

The holidays are creeping up and I’ve decided to commit to CrunchyChicken’s holiday challenge this year. I did pretty well last year, making most of the gifts for my immediate family. We have a name exchange with extended family though and I took the easy way out there–buying a gift. We are in an expansion period right now within my family–everyone is getting married. So I’m always a little concerned that my brother or cousins-in-law would not be too excited about a handmade item for Christmas. I’ll just have to be extra creative this year!