Ten years ago this week my sister called to let me know it was time to return to Texas to help care for my father as he faced an inevitable end from a 2009 back-to-back diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and prostate cancer. Both conditions typically progress slowly and unpredictably, so we made a long term decision […]
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – from lyrics by John Lennon. As 2020 drew to a close I intentionally took a temporary break from this blog to re-evaluate and “make other plans” in response to the new normal that Covid-19 has brought to our world. Voluntary and mandatory
Dodgeball Hurricane…This past week the Houston area briefly flirted with two unusually closely spaced hurricanes. An odd part of living along the Gulf Coast is our tacit love/hate relationship with tropical storms and hurricanes. We eye them out in the Gulf with all the wariness of a gaggle of nerdy kids in a dodgeball game.
September In Bed– Things To Do, Dodgeball Hurricane, Plotting and Planning Read More »
Above: Muisca raft, Gold Museum, Bogotá, Colombia. Thought to depict an actual ceremony that originated the El Dorado myth. Legend tells of a Muisca king who would cover himself in gold dust during festivals, then dive from a raft into Lake Guatavita. This golden piece was found in Pasca, Cundinamarca, Colombia, in 1969. In 1542
Terra Preta – Part 1 – A Treasure Under Foot Read More »
Would gumbo by any other name taste as rich? (Sorry Willy S.) Since this dish is of Spanish heritage and has potatoes and kale, it certainly can’t be called gumbo, but it shares a few of the same herbs and spices, so it trips a lot of the same taste switches. The choice of little
Shrimp and Chorizo Stew Read More »
This past week, as promised, I cleared a portion of the surrounding “edge” garden beds, an action undertaken in small increments, and in keeping with the Kaizen philosophy of small continual improvement. I distributed more of the paving material to various places around the garden. The picture (above left) shows a pile of “rubble” I
In Bed This Week 08/24/2020 Read More »
I always knew I would be a designer of some sort. An artist, an architect, a fabric designer, a jeweler… those are just a few, I had so many options and interests. One thing was clear, I wasn’t going to achieve any of my creative dreams in the comfortable, but rather unsophisticated suburban town I
A Personal Arcadia – Part 3, Looking Back To See Ahead Read More »
Both simple and elegant, This jazz era cake has all the bells and whistles; from the taste: vanilla sweet, caramelly, and fruity, to the appearance: Golden pineapple rings, and bright red cherries, and a lusccious ooey-gooey syrup, to the catchy convention challenging name: it’s Upside Down! What’s not to love about this tasty treat? Informal
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Read More »
This was another week of punishing heat at Overleaf, with temperatures in the high 90’s almost every day, and heat indexes over 110 degrees. Luckily the heat is forecast to break somewhat as I post this. An unseasonal “not hot” front — I can’t call it cold or even cool, since the temperatures are only
In Bed This Week 08/17/2020 Read More »
Above: The Arcadian or Pastoral State, Oil on Canvas, a part of The Course of Empire Series, by Thomas Cole, 1836 According to Merriam Webster, the English word “garden” traces its origins back to the Old High German word “gart”, an enclosure or compound. This of course implies a place separated from the outside world.
A Personal Arcadia – Part 2, Blurring the Lines Read More »