The Generations

I love this picture of Mark and his grandfather. If you click on the picture you will see that Mark is really happy. He hasn't had a lot of grandparents. His grandpa used to walk erect but the years have compressed his body. He was never as tall as Mark but he was a lot taller than he is. I think the two of them have a good relationship. BTW, Jack has a 93-year-old girlfriend named Betty whom he refers to as his "bed mate."

A few years ago his grandfather played Santa Claus at a local mall. The ironic thing is that his grandfather is Jewish. I'm not Jewish so Mark is not considered Jewish. The line passes through the mother.

Folks at the wedding started to call Grandpa Jack (he will be 90 on Veterans' Day) Rabbi Santa. Jack did better at 7,000 feet than I did.

I'm doing all kinds of things to keep from looking at the election results. I swore I wouldn't get caught up in the minute-by-minute results. So far I'm not doing very well. If I post a lot tonight you will know that I am valiantly trying to not get caught up in this stuff. I'm too afraid that the Supreme Court will end up deciding this election as they did in 2000. I'm pro-choice, pro-immigration, and a Democrat. I guess that makes me a left-leaning liberal. So be it.

Dog Meets Cat...Sorta

Nora has taken to visiting Harleen. Today she visited a lot because it was raining and she didn't want to go outside. She jumps from the top of the washing machine just outside the gate into Harleen's room, aka my sewing room. It's hard to catch a shot of them because this is all happening pretty fast. Things looks pretty peaceful here.

My brother ran is 31 mile race in the pouring rain. I watched him get out of the car when he got home and limp down the stairs. He was freezing. After a hot shower, green tea and the fireplace he was feeling pretty good. Now he's napping. We may have to help him out of bed when he wakes up.

He's proud to say that he did not come in last. There was a little old lady right behind him. At 28.5 miles his legs talked to him and they were adamant; no more running. He walked the rest of the way. He did get lapped by some of the folks doing the 50-mile race. He was fed all along the race, which I guess is what you have to do when you run for that long. They had cooked potatoes that you could dip in salt at every rest stop; there were many rest stops. At the end of the race they served Thanksgiving dinner. He told me he ate 6 dinner rolls, dressing, mashed potatoes and corn. Remember he's a vegan/vegetarian.

It has rained steadily here all day. Last time I checked we had 1.8 inches of rain in our gauge. This is a good beginning for the rainy season. It will saturate the ground, which makes for fewer slides, plus the fire season is officially over. Yippee.

The Right Way To Weigh?

And all this time you thought you were supposed to stand on the scale. Well Ramsays Farm blogger in Perham, MN had this on his blog. I shamelessly stole it; it just tickles my funny bone.

Busy weekend around here. My brother arrived on Thursday evening. Today he's running in a 50K (31 miles) race; it's pouring rain so I don't think it's probably very enjoyable. He left our house at 5 a.m. for a 7 a.m. race start. He figures it will take him about 7 hours. Meanwhile I snuggled in our warm bed and then got up for coffee and toast.

He's still a vegan but when he's not at home he adds dairy to his diet. Makes it lots easier to feed him. He said it was just to hard to eat when he's away on business and other travels.

This weekend his wife, Charlotte, is in Panama visiting her daughter, Cassie, who is in the Peace Corps. The trip had been planned for a while but then Cassie got seriously ill (she's in the hospital in Panama City) so mom flew there a day earlier than planned. She has an infection in her eye socket and is on IV antibiotics. No idea how this all started but I'm sure she's glad to have her mom there. Her brother, Brad, who lives in L.A. joined mom yesterday.

Richard called the hospital last night to talk to Charlotte but had to ask me to say room 420 in Spanish because the switchboard lady didn't speak English. So my four years of high school Spanish and my undergraduate degree in Spanish came in handy.

We were supposed to have puppy kindergarten this morning rain or not. Kerry and I were going to take our little princess but when we looked at how hard it was raining we opted out. Harleen would have loved it. We would not have.

Thursday night I cooked my first Indian dish: fried potatoes and cauliflower in tomato soup with rice. It wasn't that hard to make but it had a list of ingredients a mile long including some spices I had trouble finding. The cookbook I used is one that Julia recommended because it's vegetarian. Last night I made a vegetarian pot pie with a philo dough crust. Tonight we are having left overs. Every time my brother is here we eat tons of vegetables.

This week we are going to try goat meat. The meat club we belong to offered it so I bought some and will try it out this week. I'll let you know how it turns out.

With all this rain, I think I'll go back to bed for a nap.

I'm Back From My Visit to Blogauthor

Actually I got back early Tuesday morning, which meant I was a zombie all day yesterday. Today I almost feel normal. Flying all the way across the country to spend four days with someone really took its toll on me. Nothing to do with Blogauthor and her wonderful family who welcomed me with open arms. Time zones and long flights do it to me every time.

You may be wondering about the photos. Blogauthor wants to maintain her anonymity so I just took pictures of her neighborhood from the second floor balcony of her house. I loved all the houses in her neighborhood; lots of porches with rocking chairs. And the leaves are beautiful this time of year.

She and Offspring (he will be eight this weekend) picked me up at the airport. I could tell the car belonged to her because of the Obama flags flying from the two back windows. Sometime during the weekend we either lost those flags or they were stolen. Not sure which. I sure hope we lost them. Pretty tacky if someone stole them.

We went back to the house where I met her husband Wheeler (he's a quadriplegic), dog (a service dog for Wheeler), dogette and black cat. Later in the weekend I met her mom and dad who live just a few houses away. We spent a lot of time talking and laughing along with drinking a good chardonnay. I did get to play Wii with Offspring. I tried the golf. After just three of the nine holes Offspring declared the game over. I was terrible. Maybe even worse than I am at real golf. Offspring played bowling, tennis and boxing. My Wii days are over.

On Saturday Offspring was at a birthday party so we went to the movies. Wheeler had a bad cold so opted out. We saw Bill Maher's "Religulous." It's his take on the current state of religion in the world; very funny. Not for your average religious person, but for the rest of us skeptics it was great. It's a laugh-out-loud kind of movie. Maher is brilliant.

What was so amazing about the weekend is how easy it was to be with these people whom I had never met, plus I'm old enough to be Blogauthor and Wheeler's mother. In fact I'm one year older than her own mother.

This is the second blogger that I've met. Last year we went to Costa Rica where I met the "baking fairy." That wasn't anything like this visit. We talked but didn't really connect the way Blogauthor and I did. If you want to see a picture of me with Wheeler's service dog go to her blog at: http://swingfromthechandelier.blogspot.com


I've been invited back but probably won't make the trip again until early spring; they get snow where she lives. I don't do snow. Next time Kerry is going with me and hopefully Miss Harleen will come along too.

Traveling

It doesn't seem to matter how many times I've done it; each time I travel, especially by air, I have a tiny bit of anxiety which usually comes out in my dreams a night or two before I leave. Flying doesn't bother me; missing my plane is the source of my angst. In all my 63 years I've only missed one flight.

Tomorrow I travel to the Raleigh-Durham area; so last night was anxiety dream night. I had to get up early this morning to get my boarding pass so I wouldn't end up in a middle seat on Southwest. So for much of the night I was trying to log onto my computer in my dreams. Of all people to show up to help me...Rev. Al Sharpton. He finally ended up sitting next to me on the plane. A few years ago I ran into Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Sacramento Airport so who knows, maybe Al will be there tomorrow.

My visit to blogauthor (http://swingfromthechandelier.blogspot.com) is not the first time I've met a fellow blogger. In the spring of 2007 Kerry and I went to Monteverde, Costa Rica and met the "baking fairy." I didn't really know her all that well and still don't, but it was fun to go some place new and have someone there I knew.

Blogauthor is different because we have commented on each others blog, e-mailed and even talked on the phone. She was very helpful when my sister was so sick earlier this year. Her background in science was great when we were struggling with whether my sister would live or die.

The weather report for her area shows rain on Saturday. I'm really hoping it's accurate. It hasn't rained where I live since April; I miss it. I'm not bringing an umbrella.

So if I don't post for a while you will know why. Now I just have to get up in time to get to the airport for a 6:45 a.m. flight. Yikes!

The Groom's Mom

My friend Rondi requested a picture of the mother of the groom; so here it is.

Know Your Rancher And The Meat He Produces

I've been posting more pictures than words. It's just how I've felt. But now I have some words to get out. So here goes.

Our quest for real food has led us down many paths filled with interesting people. By real food I mean stuff found, for the most part, not in your grocery story. Or if it's in the grocery store it's found in the perimeter of the store. It's not highly processed like the stuff in the middle aisles. You might ask, where are you going with this?

Well, last night we went to a party thrown by the rancher I first met when I was looking for meat from animals that had never spent time in a feedlot and were never fed corn, antibiotics and hormones. The rancher's name is Bob; he and his wife, Sarah, run Coffee Pot Ranch in nearby Sheridan.

We (including Harleen) got to see the animals we may eat in the future. That was a bit strange at first, but then I realized that these animals were having a good life, albeit a short one. He produces more pork than beef or lamb so I was interested to see his pig operation. Well, I've never seen such large pigs in my life. These were not "Wilburs."

We dined on a pig from their operation (delicious) and had all kinds of wonderful salads, breads and dessert.

Now I ask you, when was the last time the Safeway butcher (or any other chain store butcher) invited you to his house on a Saturday night, fed you, offered a tour of his property and offered damn fine wine and beer? Or for that matter which feedlots open up their facilities so you can see how their animals are raised? Going to Bob and Sarah's is what makes "real" food so, well, real. They have nothing to hide.

Harleen did have a special treat while we were there. She met a guide dog for the blind named Valiant. The two did pretty well together considering how trained he is and how "in training" she is.

The best part of Coffee Pot Ranch was sitting just below the porch level, food in hand, dog at feet and listening to the band that Bob and Sarah had assembled. While we did that we watched the daylight fade from the vantage point of their home on a slight rise in an otherwise flat area.

Harleen sniffed cows, sheep, lambs, horses, pigs and most importantly...a cat. She kept track of that cat all night long. Our monthly report on her socialization will have some interesting notes.

Next week at this time I will be in North Carolina visiting with blogauthor, a fellow blogger I've gotten to know over the past few years. I've never been to North Carolina. Very excited about this trip.

My Favorite Wedding Picture.

What's On My Design Wall

Since I've been back from the wedding I've been spending a lot of time with fabric. Being away for ten days sent me into fabric withdrawal. Neither of these pieces is large. The kimono wall hanging is 27" square. The other piece is a table runner which is not quite finished. I still have to add the batting, backing and then quilt it. It's going on the dining room table.

The road runner depicted on it is New Mexico's state bird. I bought the kit for the table runner the last time I was in Albuquerque. Maybe some day I'll give it to the kids. If you click on either photo you can see more details.

I'm still recovering from the emotional and physical tolls of the wedding. With my asthmatic lungs, being at 7,000 feet for about a week was hard. I'm feeling more well rested every day. And the emotion...well, does one ever get over the fact that her child is all grown up and has found someone wonderful to love? I just so glad they found each other. I feel like I can worry less but then I think about the two of them and realize that maybe I have just have to worry twice as much.

I got my microphone for Skype today so we can talk computer to computer with the kids. I'm looking forward to that.

The Wedding Quilt

The stack of fabric shown here became the wedding quilt for Mark and Julia. I could only show a portion of it so you could see the detail. The beads sit atop a Korean chop key which is like an origami except you fold the fabric. There are 168 of these around the outside of the quilt. I made a lot of them when I was sitting in the ICU when my sister was so sick earlier this year. I took the quilt to the wedding so the kids could see the finished product. At some point it will hang on the wall of their home. With all that's happening in Malaysia that may not be any time soon.

Now That's Relaxation

Here's Harleen in her crate at nap time. She loves to sleep on her back and doesn't seem to care where the rest of her body lands. Unlike humans, she generally doesn't snore on her back.

Grand Canyon Photos; No Words Needed

The Happy Couple

We got home a couple of hours ago. I nearly fell down in the driveway to kiss the earth. We are so happy to be home. Everything went as planned...well, except it rained on the day of the wedding so they ended up getting married on the balcony of the reception room.

So here's the happy couple. My sister-in-law Charlotte made the beautiful bouquet Julia is holding. Plus she did all the flowers in the reception room. She is so talented.

I had a reading to do during the ceremony and started to cry in the middle; I recovered and finished it. No one was more surprised than I that I started to tear up.

We followed the kids to Phoenix on Sunday so they could catch their flight to Hong Kong and then on the Kuala Lumpur (KL for short). We stopped at a rest stop outside of Flagstaff so they could sort out their luggage for the PHX to LAX flight. We drove out of the gas station and all of a sudden Mark and Julia did a u-turn and headed back to the gas station. He had lost his wedding ring.

A frantic search by all of us finally yielded the ring. In the repacking of the suitcases, his ring had slipped off his finger into one of the bags. Julia found it. It was so wonderful to watch them cling to each other in relief. Theirs is truly a wonderful love story. I am so happy for them.

We are exhausted so will head for bed soon. Harleen is back with us after being with her puppy sitter. She must have been focused on growing while we were gone. She is just so much bigger than when we left her. She goes to the vet tomorrow for a shot so I'll have a chance to weigh her. Tomorrow night is puppy kindergarten. Ah...the life of a puppy parent. The never ending joy of parenting cats, dogs and a wonderful son.

I missed all of you.

Harleen and Zoey

Our friends Steve and Janet got a new puppy last Wednesday. Abby, their previous yellow lab who was a dear sweet dog, died earlier this summer. They had struggled with when to get a new dog. You never really replace what you have loved. So last Tuesday night they stayed with us and got reacquainted with Harleen. Then on Wednesday they drove to Reno and beyond to pick up Miss Zoey. She's a 12-week-old yellow lab.

In the photos Zoey is the dog on top of Harleen, who is wearing the gentle leader, and she's the dog in the photo below.

So our lives and Steve and Janet's lives are enriched by these wonderful dogs.

BTW, Harleen has not pooped in her crate for the last three nights. I know I didn't ask for anyone to pray for this but just in case you did, we all thank you.

Tomorrow we leave for the Grand Canyon. Harleen is going to stay with puppy raiser Walt. I'm worried about leaving her but yet happy that Kerry and I get to celebrate Mark and Julia's marriage without worrying about Harleen and whether she needs to go out. I'll see you all on Oct. 10th when we return with lots of photos.

Harleen At Costco

She's eleven weeks old today. We took her to Costco because we only needed three things: toilet paper, paper towels and Zantac.

It took us twice as long to get the three things, because every few feet someone wanted to pet her. That's part of her socialization, so she got a bunch today. Right now she's asleep on the floor. Probably won't move for quite a while. Still pooping in her crate at night. Some things don't change.

I'm trying to find another puppy raiser to take her when we go to Mark's wedding. So far I've lined up someone for the first five days. Now I just need to get someone for the last five. The lady for the first five will even take her to puppy kindergarten while we are gone. These are a bunch of really nice folks.

Harleen At Petsmart

She didn't really care for any of the Halloween costumes. Mostly she liked looking at all the big dogs and being petted by lots of kids. A good socialization outing for all. Plus I bought her a new squeaky toy

Chanterelle Dinner Number Four

For three nights we have enjoyed these beautiful earthy delights that look like they are coated with paprika.

First night we had them cooked in butter with salt and pepper. A barbecued steak accompanied them.

Second night I made a risotto with them that included sun dried tomatoes from our neighboring farm.

Third night I made a light wine and garlic sauce with the mushrooms to put over pasta.

Tonight we are having potatoes au gratin with chanterelles. The meat course is your basic hamburger without the bun. I'm tucking pepperocini's inside the burger. There are enough chanterelles left for one more night.

I am so thankful to Farmgirl Fare for the information on where to find the chanterelles. I can hardly wait for morel season.

On to Miss Harleen. She had a play date today with three dogs: a 12-year-old sharpei, a 12-year-old golden retriever and a 2-year old corgi. She loved playing with the corgi and was very good about showing some deference to the older dogs. I think she thought the golden was her mother because she went under her to look for a place to nurse. Jasmine was fixed when she was a youngster so was a bit perplexed by Harleen's search. Since we got home she has been awake only to eat, poop and pee. Right now she's snoring. I think we wore her out.

Tomorrow we are putting on her cape and taking her to Petsmart. She won't walk because she's still too little to be seen by adults, but she will ride in the cart. Speaking of size, she weighed 17.4 pounds at the vet yesterday. When we got her three weeks ago she weight 11.6. She is growing.

Kerry's out riding his tractor. All is right with the world.

Her First Trip

Harleen had a very busy and successful Sunday. First we went to Raley's for a few things. She rode in the cart wearing her gentle leader (the thing over her nose which is used to direct her with the leash; it does not restrict her mouth) and her special Canine Companions for Independence cape. The logo for CCI is right where Kerry's left hand is. She was a star at the grocery store. People have been good about asking if they can pet her; the answer is no. So they admire her from a distance.

Then we went to the Veterans' Hall in Lincoln. Our neighbor's son was getting his Eagle Scout Award. She was impressively well-behaved there too. She laid on the floor on the quilt that is in the picture above, through an hour of speeches and applause. She didn't like the applause so I would pet her each time it happened. Part of our job is to get her used to noises that she will hear as a service dog. Well, applause is taken care of.

I feel like we made it over the first hurdle, and we all passed. Oh, also she pooped while walking. When you are a service dog that's important.

Another Season Comes Along

A few weeks ago when my brother was visiting us, he asked, "don't you ever get clouds in your sky?" In the summer we don't. It's just one blue sky day after another...boring. That was then, this is now. In the past few days we have been seeing a few clouds and the sunsets are awesome. Summer is almost over; I have to say I am relieved.

The mornings are crisp and the evenings have a bit of a chill. And at 3 p.m. we are not sweltering. I can almost hear my plants saying "aah" because they are tired of scraping by on water and too much sun.

And despite what people say, we in California experience all four seasons. The red maples have started to turn to brilliant reds, orange and yellows and others will follow.

The only thing that hasn't happened yet is the color change in the air. One morning I will wake up and notice that the sunlight is no longer a warm yellow; that's the official notification by mother nature that winter is on its way. Instead it will be a duller yellow.

I've been fertilizing bulbs and other plants to get them ready for winter. I'm trying to convince Kerry to bring back a load of compost when he goes to the dump next time. Fertilizer is good but a big load of compost is even better.

Our upper pond (pictured here before the algae took over), which has been a mass of red algae and parrot feather, seems to be getting better thanks to the fountain we installed to aerate it. We can already see signs of the algae disappearing. The fish probably like it too.

Today Harleen is going to make her public debut. We are taking her to the grocery store where she will ride in the part of the cart for kids (I have a small quilt to cover the cart rails). We don't need much so it won't be a long trip; she will wear her cape. Then we go to an Eagle Scout Court for the young man who lives across the street. Probably won't stay too long because there will be a crowd but still it's a beginning for our little girl.

We think she's having a growth spurt because she eats every bite of all three meals and then gets treats when we train her. Then she sleeps. But...alas, she still poops in her crate every night. We talk to the CCI people again tomorrow for more advice. This is getting old. Hope all of you have a great Sunday and a good week.

Mushrooms...Yummy

There are a lot of blogs that I really like. They seem to fall into categories: sheep, food, people whose lives I just like to read about, cute animals, etc. Well, in the food category I really enjoy Farm Girl Fare. She has some mouthwatering recipes and lots of tips on food.

After reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Polland a year ago Kerry and I have really changed our eating habits. We know where our meat comes from (not large feedlots or poultry raisers). Our eggs come from chickens we know who live across the road. Vegetables and fruits come from local farms or the farmer's market. No where in that mix did I mention mushrooms.

I've been trying to figure out how to get seasonal mushrooms without buying them in the grocery store where I don't know their origin or going mushroom hunting. Well Farm Girl Fare solved that mystery. She mentioned a store called Marx Foods where they sell real mushrooms found in the woods. Right now chanterelles are in season. Being a locavore I was concerned that they didn't grow near here. Turns out you can find them in Tilden Park near Berkeley. That's within 100 miles. So I ordered to two pounds that will arrive by FedEx next Tuesday. We are going to be eating a lot of these things next week. I'm also going to use my dehydrator to save some for later.

Mushrooms have been in the back of my mind for a while, but a recent book "Animal, Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver sort of got me looking once again for a source. She has a recipe in her book for morel mushrooms and asparagus bread pudding. Asparagus isn't in season right now but I'm sure I can find another vegetable to substitute. It's nice to find that someone has figured out how to enjoy bread pudding without all the sugar.

Oh, and I signed up to be on the Marx mailing list to receive announcements about which mushrooms are popping up in the forest when. I can hardly wait for spring and the morel season.