#8 and #9

8. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993. I picked it up at our church's book sale last summer for $1 -- can't say that I would have gravitated toward it in a book store or sought it out. But it was a really beautiful novel -- the story of a woman from her birth through her death, told from the interchangeable perspective of the people in her life, and occasionally from her own perspective. Haven't decided whether I'll put it back in the donation box for next year or if I'll keep it as part of our "library."

9. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. Love Provence. Love the French. Have an unshakable urge to go bask in the sun outside of a cafe eating, drinking, smelling the lavender and gazing out at the vineyards.

A point of clarification

I have given this some more thought since writing the last post, and I can actually think of many republicans I know and love who are not, in any way, douchebags -- my father, being a prime example. And I wholeheartedly apologize to those people I love whom I have offended by my stream-of-consciousness ranting.

I'm still bewildered by the positions the PARTY takes, however. Some of them truly seem contradictory to me, particularly when espoused by the hard-core Christian right. And I'm still disgusted by the tactics employed by some of its more vocal and extremist leadership. For example, twittering that it's time to "reload," mocking, ridiculing and belittling a sick man at a rally, suggesting Obama is a Muslim (inherently implying there's a problem with being a Muslim), etc. The debates we are having in this country are not civilized. They are petty and immature and shameful.

One of the most pathetic aspects of these behaviors is the inability to see that the pot is calling the kettle black. And for that, I will now call out some of the democrat douchebags that have sickened me as of late. Mr. Stupak and Mr. Nelson are prime examples -- cutting deals and making stinks that undermine any genuine attempts at good faith negotiations. And don't even get me started of John Edwards. I feel so duped that I bought into his "poor, Southern boy made good" act. How these charming southern-boy, philandering jackasses can look right into a camera and bold-faced LIE about fathering a child or getting blow job from an intern is beyond me. Is it idiocy, or arrogance, or naivete that allows them to believe they will get away with the lies?

So it's settled -- there are republican douchebags and democrat douchebags. But I would love to engage in a "mature" policy discussion (one in which I will refrain from labeling anyone a douchebag or a jackass) SOMEDAY. (But not anytime soon. And not over pizza. And not in LaPorte. ;-) Love you, Mrs. Howard!!)

Partisan Politics

I'm confused about something, and I have been for a while. I started drafting this post in my head as I was driving around, listening to a caller chime-in on the health care debate on NPR. I'd love for any of the loyal NINE readers to explain the following to me.

I know a lot of Christian fundamentalists, or people who would otherwise label themselves as very religious (choice of word important here -- I do not mean "spiritual"), who are die-hard Republicans. They want the government to stay out of their lives. (An example, I heard today that Texas Governor Rick Perry is planning a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the newly-enacted health care reform bill, urging Texans -- including the 6 million without insurance -- "to take responsibility for their own health.") Yet another tenet of the party platform is "American values," which loosely translated seems to mean no assistance for illegal immigrants, no abortions and no gay marriage, or even according to some people, no equality for same-sex couples.

The latter strikes me as among the most significant possible infringements by government in one's life -- the government in your bedroom and in your uterus. (I, for one, would much rather have the government in my health insurance company.) Yet most conservatives welcome that infringement and fight for it, assumingly because they place themselves on such high moral ground that this invasion of privacy wouldn't affect them, the heterosexual virgins-until-marriage that we know all them to be. But surely some of these devout church-goers are themselves without health insurance? Perhaps, dare I say, some of them may be smokers, or diabetics, or otherwise at risk for a chronic health condition that could render them uninsurable or financially crippled due to out-of-pocket healthcare costs under our current system? Universal health care in general is virulently opposed by conservatives, notwithstanding the fact that it could help them, their neighbors, their families, their friends and their communities, because they don't want government in their lives. Apparently, they'd rather have the millions of Americans without insurance die broke from a disease that wasn't properly treated, than have some government-run health care. Because some version of the current bill would have theoretically allowed healthcare funds be used to subsidize abortions, even those abortions that are medically necessary, the whole bill is rendered evil and catastrophic. I don't get it.

Bravo to the group of Catholic nuns who urged Congress to pass the healthcare reform bill, despite official opposition by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops. These brave women wrote that the bill "will uphold longstanding conscience protections and it will make historic new investments – $250 million – in support of pregnant women. . . . This is the REAL pro-life stance, and we as Catholics are all for it.” But one nun in particular went even farther, writing that national health care must include “Medicaid funding for a woman on Medicaid … who chooses this legal medical procedure.” God bless her and all those people that prayerfully dissent from what their religious leaders tell them and choose to recognize that this issue is not so one-sided.

Speaking more broadly, I remember what someone told me once about democrats and republicans. I was in college at the time, interning for the summer with U.S. Congressman Charles Taylor in NC, a Republican. He was a tree farmer, and a logger, and cast numerous votes that destroyed much of the western NC wilderness. These things didn't bother me at the time -- I knew I wanted to go to law school, he was the congressman from my home district, and I wanted the experience for my applications.

The other experience I was getting that summer was as a public relations intern for the United Way. When I was shoved into the dark, dank, dusty basement of the congressman's fundraising office to "clean and organize" YEARS worth of press clippings and notes from constituents, I came across several letters to the editors of area newspapers from my supervisor at the United Way, railing on the congressman. I talked to her about it at some point, and she told me that she thought democrats tended to be nicer people than republicans, because their platform is based on helping people, rather than forcing everyone to make it on their own.

At the time, I thought this was complete crap. I'm not sure I do anymore. I'm confused. Because all of the issue that are important to me -- conserving resources and being kind to the earth, promoting diversity, ensuring a healthy food supply, making sure ALL children have access to the SAME quality of food, education, and health care, giving those people who got dealt a crappy hand in life some support, treating all people with dignity, respect and fairness -- are NOT supported by the republicans. That are strongly, loudly and shamelessly opposed by most republicans. To me, these beliefs epitomize a pro-life ideology; specifically, I think these things are exactly what Jesus -- the religious leader so many conservatives claim to follow -- preached. Jesus said that God is the judge, not man. He said help your neighbor out. He begged us to love the earth the God created for us (in 6 days of course, a mere several thousand years ago.) He brought compassion to those people the community ostracized and condemned. He pleaded with people to not be douchebags to each other. (My words, not his.)

So I'm going to need some help here. I have found myself more and more lately leaning toward the dangerous predisposition that republicans = douchebags. I know this can't possibly be true. So I need someone to explain to me how and why I'm wrong. Please.

UPDATE: Bob Herbert is preaching to the choir! Preach on!!

He did it!

Noah can now ride his bicycle without the training wheels! We're so proud!!

He turns 6 in little over a month. Many younger kids in the 'hood are already riding two-wheelers, but he's been really nervous about it thus far. Last fall, he was insistent that he couldn't do it, and he was working hard on his Razor. We figured that would teach him some balance, so that would be a good primer for his bike.

This week, in the crazy, gorgeous spring-like weather, we took a couple of trips to the park, one of them with Symone, our neighbors' daughter. She is about 8 months older than Noah, and she is a champ on her bike. She rode her bike and Noah rode his scooter, and he was thoroughly pissed that she was going faster than he was. You could see his mind churning -- he was obviously deciding he was going to figure out that bike.

So Matt took him out today, and withing 2 minutes, he was on his own. He was so proud of himself. It was one of those beautiful parenting moments. Pictures to follow.

P.S. Matt wanted me to add that he can't believe Kansas lost.

Thank God for Spring

I'll admit that, thus far in my life, Spring has been my least favorite season. I found it boring, dirty and ugly. Fall was where the action was at as far as I was concerned -- occasional Indian summer days, apples orchards and pumpkin patches, gorgeous colors everywhere you look, big beautiful mums on front porches, breaking in the fire place for the season, preparing for the holidays. All of these things, of course, lead to first snowfalls, sledding rides, ice skating, lots of fires, hot chocolate and wool socks. I love being cozy, so winter was just fine by me. And summer... well, who doesn't like summer? Spring just paled in comparison to all of the joys the other seasons held, and so for me, it was nothing more than a means to an end.

That is, until I moved to the frozen tundra and learned why God invented spring. It's the reward for making it through three months without seeing anything green; three months of being unable to expose any skin to the elements; three months of anxiety and worry when your kids had to traverse the ice that covered nearly every patch of pavement. Three months of not seeing your neighbors, of having to take the car to drive your baby down the block to the bus. Three months of choosing between being cooped up in your house or freezing your ass off.

I understand now, having lived through (almost, anyway) my second winter in Minnesota, that spring is utterly beautiful in its own right. Sure, I could talk about rebirth, new beginnings, awakenings, etc., as part of the glory of the season. And those things are all well and good. But they aren't the best parts.

The best parts are the little things that you can shed as part of your daily life that you didn't once think were a big deal but that eventually weigh you down. Like being able to get out the door five minutes sooner because you're not putting on gloves, hats and scarves. Having your child climb into his own carseat because he is no longer restrained by the bulk of his winter coat. Finishing off a bottle of Vitamin D supplements and not needing to rush to the co-op for more. Telling your kids to please, for the love of God, go outside and leave you alone for five minutes. (Sure, I could have done this in the winter, but inevitably, I would spend 15 minutes getting everyone suited up in their bib-style snowpants, boots, and other winter-wear essentials, they'd be out for 7 1/2 minutes, then someone would need to pee and we'd have to go through the whole process all over again. So not worth it.)

There are now more parking spots available at preschool and Target because mounds of snow have not been plowed into 1/3 of them. I ran around Lake Harriet today because it was finally warm enough to avoid my cold-weather asthma. The last few mornings, I have filled up my coffee cup, strolled with Noah to his bus stop and then chatted for a minute with the neighbors before heading home.

And this past weekend was a beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, perfect weekend. It was mostly sunny and 55 degrees. Admittedly, that's not exactly "warm," but it felt like heaven. We finally took down the outdoor Christmas lights! Hah! Who knew we'd turn into rednecks when we moved to Minnesota? Last year we thought everyone was being festive and fun by leaving their decorations out for so long. Now we know the truth. A) it's too damn cold to go outside in January (or February) to take them down; and B) even if you wanted to, the damn things are frozen in place anyway.

The boys broke out the scooters and did a few loops around. We even put Noah on his bike, sans training wheels, and he managed a few rides down the street with daddy just holding the seat. Friends came over on Sunday night and we cooked burgers on the grill, then ate outside! We also took Mabel for a walk. This in and of itself is huge, since she shivers like the dickens and is rendered immobile when temperature dips below 40.

I feel like a new woman. I know that we're likely to get at least another snowfall and some more days of freezing temperatures before winter is completely behind us for this year, but that's ok. This weekend showed us the light at the end of the tunnel. We can make it. And for the first year ever, I will actually enjoy every single spring-like moment we get.

Our hats go off to you, Dr. Chien

This is so frickin' awesome. If you haven't seen the documentary King of Kong, rent it immediately. If you have already seen it, you'll love this.

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-03-10/our-long-national-nightmare-is-over-billy-mitchell-dethroned-as-donkey-kong-king-2/

Still, with the Avett Brothers

On Friday night, sweetie & I saw the best concert of our lives -- the Avett Brothers, at First Avenue, a club in Minneapolis. It was even better than their show last summer. We loved every single minute of it, and we were practically depressed the rest of the weekend because it was over. I would talk more about this incredible show, but my previous attempts to show my readership the light on the brilliance of the Brothers have been met with resistance (you know who you are, losers), so I won't do so again here.

In other news, signs of spring are appearing here in the frozen tundra. Specifically, we see grass! Disgusting, muddy, brown, matted patches of grass, and it's beautiful in all of its hopeful, energizing splendor. Most of the grass is still covered with snow, but more is melting every day. I even ordered seeds this weekend! I'll probably do a separate seed post soon, but I'm planning to start some of my own in my workroom under a fluorescent light, and then direct seed the ones that I can. I'm planning an herb and lettuce bed, a separate mint bed, kales & swiss chard as edible landscaping along the front walk, and lots more in the back beds. Again, more later.

Also to celebrate spring, we took a big walk around the lake with friends. Only in Minnesota do you celebrate the 42-degree weather the first weekend in March with a 3 mile walk around a frozen lake with the whole family.

And the weekend was capped off with me watching the Oscars alone in bed while Matt worked. Someone please explain -- who told Charlize Theron that dress was a good idea?

The Beauties

Well, discussion in my last post sparked lots of commentary, so I thought that you would all love to see a picture of my gorgeous girls (and by this I, of course, mean the Le Cresuet pans).

What you see here is the 7 1/4 quart Dutch Oven and the 3 1/2 quart buffet, both in Dune. I love them desperately. The buffet was a last minute decision, but I'm thrilled with it. I've made dinner in there twice already in the past three nights of cooking, and I'm going to use it again tonight. It's going to prove to be very useful, I'm sure. And I'm sure some of you are thinking (as my sweetie did ), "Why Dune when there are other so much more interesting colors?" True, some would consider this choice boring. But it isn't to me. To me its classic and tasteful and gorgeous. I absolutely love the decorating combination of creams and whites because it is clean, simple, fresh, bright and versatile. Those colors are the palette for the whole kitchen (and the better part of the house, actually). We also got a 9 1/2 in. non-stick stainless steel saute pan, which has also already seen a lot of use. One of the best thing about all of these is that Le Creuset offers a lifetime warranty. Anything ever happens to the pan, just bring it back and get new one. Ahh, love.

Another Tuesday morning

I'm writing this blog post well-aware that no one will likely read it, save Sweetie. Jeff is in Asia, Brian is in trial, Andrew is neck deep in a thesis and Nilda has a life. With only five readers, it's amazing that I so willingly crumbled when faced with Boy Wonder's guilt-trip and now attempt to blog with regularity. I need to re-think the theme of the blog, to aim for some consistency. But then again, with only five of you reading it, who cares? Blogging has served the worthwhile purpose of maintaining our friendships -- making me, at least, feel like you are all not quite as far away -- but without the hassle of direct human contact. Hah.

I should have put some toasted pecans in my steel-cut oatmeal this morning.

For lack of a more compelling topic, I shall talk about my kitchen activities. I've always been somewhat hit-or-miss with my culinary endeavors. Usually the quality of the results suffers from lack of patience and failure to research properly my methodology. And then there's the perpetual problem of failing to be creative enough to use up -- fully -- what I have, instead of making unnecessary grocery store runs.

I was inspired on our mini-vacation to Texas by a fabulous cafe, The Lunchbox. It was open for breakfast and lunch, and relied heavily on locally sourced ingredients. Galveston is not yet too deeply invested in the local food movement -- no real presence of farmer's markets, co-ops, or health food stores. This is particularly unfortunate since the climate is so amenable to year-round growing, but apparently the soil isn't so great, and why waste land for food when it can be used to refine oil? So this place, just two blocks from my brother's apartment, is unique, particularly because it serves as a farmer's market of sorts, allowing patrons to purchase extra stuff from the owners' network of farmers, which includes backyard gardeners.

Anyway, the owners had some great stuff on their menu that got me to thinking. And I came home and started reading through some more of my cookbooks -- particularly Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking and my Alice Waters Collection.

Then, on Saturday, we went to the Le Creuset's outlet for it's sale, and I got a couple of new pans. They are gorgeous and I adore them and they make me want to spend more time in my kitchen playing around and experimenting. Words cannot adequately express my love for these enameled cast-iron beauties.

And we're also going to be doing a little project in the kitchen -- taking out some kitchen cabinets over the countertop peninsula and installing some heavy-duty open shelving on the wall on top of our sideboard. I'm going for a rustic, eclectic "country" kitchen, something that is worthy of being the heart of the house. We've got the fireplace/grill in here, tons of light, open to the rest of the house, great view of the backyard (and the garden, come spring), so I'm super excited.

This past weekend I made some fantastic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with walnuts (which were absolutely incredible dunked in our morning coffee). Sunday night Matt made burgers (ground beef from our CSA -- yum!) on our indoor grill in the kitchen fireplace with some lemon garlic broccoli. Yesterday I made a chicken stock that came out really well. For lunch I did an avocado & grapefruit salad. Last night for dinner I threw together (in my beautiful new Le Creuset casserole) a dish of local polish sausage, onions, sweet potatoes, canned tomatoes and cannellini beans, with red wine, sage & oregano. It was pretty decent. Today I'm going to make some lemon blueberry cookies substituting half of the flour for almond meal. I'm working on getting some gluten and refined sugars out of our diets, so I've got to get cracking on some more cookie recipes.

Ok, enough talking to myself. Time to exercise.