celebrate! {november 10, 2022}

Today is my daughter-in-law's birthday. Birthdays are special but this one is extra special: It is her first birthday as a mom.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."    ~ Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

It has been such a joy to watch her embrace motherhood. First time parenting is overwhelming, exhausting, and eye-opening (even in those moments of total tiredness) and she has handled it with her style (she always looks like a million dollars, even in her leggings and sweatshirts) and her gorgeous smile. Such a blessing and gift to our family. 

Happy Birthday, dear Jennifer! 🎂 💜 🎂

wordy wednesday...chiaroscuro {november 9, 2022}

This week's Wordy Wednesday find comes from a New York Times article,  "A Capital Draped in Darkness." Restrictions on the use of electricity have left the once illuminated streets of Kyiv shrouded in darkness and shadows after sunset. The lack of light creates moments of tension but also of beauty.

"At night, the city is a dance of darkness and light, shadow and silhouette, at times menacing and at other moments beautiful. And because neighborhoods alternate the times they have power, moving across the city can create an eerie chiaroscuro of bold contrasts between light and dark. The shifts can play tricks on the eye." (NYT, 11/2/2022).

chiaroscuro (kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh): the distribution of light and shade in a picture. It creates a dramatic effect.

Photo: Bill Woody

Photo: Bill Woody

Photo: Bill Woody

Photo: Me!

The streets of Ukraine’s capital, illuminated with nightlife only weeks ago, are sh

dare to be different {november 8, 2022}

:: Champion the right to be yourself; dare to be different and to set your own pattern, live your own life, and follow your own star.

~ Wilferd Peterson

:: What is normal? Normal is only ordinary, mediocre. Life belongs to the rare, exceptional individual who dares to be different.

~ V. C. Andrews

back to standard time {november 7, 2022}

As we approach the winter solstice, dusk arrives early these days and it arrived even earlier when Daylight Savings Time ended on Sunday. T and I took a walk as the sun set at 5:29 p.m. The almost full moon was rising in the western sky and the first pale colors of the sunset turned more vibrant as day turned into night. 

Parents with young children and dog owners dislike this century-old clock changing ritual as it usually takes a week for body clocks to adjust to the time change. The Senate has voted to make Daylight Savings Time permanent and now it has to pass through the House. With all the opinions that have to be considered and politicking in general, my bet is that we'll "spring forward" in March. 

fall back {november 6, 2022}

 A favorite memory from the 2020 fall time change...

The "fall back" time change got my big dog Ted and me out on our early morning walk during that time in between light and dark. Before we went out the door, for whatever reason, I grabbed my big camera to take with me. Outside was so peaceful; no cars or people on the streets. The brisk air jolted me out of some brain fog: fog that came from the hour time difference, fog from thinking about my father-in-law's passing and my kids losing two grandparents in five months, fog from missing my chocolate Lab Hunter, whose soft ears were such a comfort when I was stressing out. So Ted stopped to pee and I looked up and saw the full blue moon. We weren't far from the river walk. I'm dragging Ted, bribing him with biscuits to hurry him to the path along the Great Miami so I could take a picture. We made it, Ted got another biscuit, and I snapped a few photos. This moon has me geeking out a little. There hasn't been a full moon on Halloween since 1944, it's a blue moon (2nd full moon in the same month), and it's also known as the Hunter's Moon. Call it what you will...fate, happenstance, serendipity, God wink...

You all make it a great day.

saturday silly {november 5, 2022}

 

in a pickle {november 4, 2022}

While we were away for a long weekend and quite a few of my veggies began their journey to the trash can. They weren't spoiled, just a little wrinkled, and still good enough to eat. French breakfast radishes, a red Italian stuffing pepper, half an English cucumber (this is beginning to sound like a meeting of the United Nations), a few rings from an Ohio candy onion, a hot banana pepper grown on my friend's farm, and a good ole Kroger carrot could have made their way into a salad but I wanted to do something different for their last days in the fridge. Pickles.

Making is pickles a quick, easy, and delicious way to preserve many garden vegetables, especially those forgotten few from the veggie bin. My go-to recipe comes from page 57 in Joshua McFadden's Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. It's a low acid with a touch of sweetness brine that doesn't overpower the taste of the vegetables.

Basic Pickle Brine

1/2 c. rice vinegar

1 T. white wine vinegar

1 1/2 c. hot water

5 T. sugar (I cut it down to 4 T.)

1 T. plus 1 t. kosher salt

Put everything in a pot or big pitcher and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved.

Using a clean canning jar, fill with your vegetable(s) in a way that shows off their beauty, pour the brine until the vegetables are completely covered and the jar is full, and screw on the cap. Refrigerate for up to 2 months. Start tasting after the first day to see how the flavor and texture are developing. They are ready to eat as soon as you think they are.