November 20, 2011.
November 19, 2011.Two recent photos from the coffee shop after a long hiatus of not posting daily documentary photos.
The Coffee Project: November 19 & 20, 2011
November 20, 2011.November 19, 2011.Two recent photos from the coffee shop after a long hiatus of not posting daily documentary photos.
Artist of the Day: The Mincemeat Pie - Lucile Prache
The Mincemeat Pie Lucile Prache luciles-kitchen.blogspot.com & lucileskitchen.etsy.com Thanksgiving is in two days. This year it's at my brother's house. It's two years running now that I haven't hosted the big event. I am making a sugar crust spice cake and a honey-glazed ham.
Last year I had houseguests from Brazil visiting. Thanksgiving was at my sister's house. It was just fabulous to bring a dish, rather than prepare the entire feast. And better still to share a very American holiday and my family with my friends.
Four years ago I had six new friends from China I'd met at work, join me for Thanksgiving. They brought wine. I brewed tea , something I had never done for the day before. Also, I had never seen my father act so solicitious. He helped each young woman with their coat, I was shocked. He complimented them on their hair, clothing, eyes. Shocked again. Then showed them to their seat, and he sat right in the middle and launched right back to the Pacific, ca. 1946. He had an audience, and they had a living library. Not shocked one bit.
One year my father requested a mincemeat pie so I obliged by cooking a traditional pie with meat and brandy. He loved it. It was horrible. Truly.
Prache's lovely mincemeat illustration is a palatable contemporary recipe. To see more of her work, check out her etsy shop, blog, or website.
Artist Bio:l
Hello ! I am Lucile, a french illustrator living in Paris, in France, welcome in my kitchen/studio.
Here you will see botanical plates, illustrated recipes, cakes and macarons, artwork on vintage french letters, silkscreens, I am always trying to learn even more about graphic techniques and international food. If I am not in my studio, I am walking in the inspiring parisian streets ...
Work in progress in the lucile's kitchen blog :
luciles-kitchen.blogspot.com/
Please have a look at my illustrator's website, and you will know much more about my work :lucileprache.com
Facebook fan page :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Luciles-kitchen/197554960274042?sk=wall
November 26, 2011 - Getting Out of My Bubble
A relative will be traveling soon to the Middle East, so my focus is on that part of the globe, even moreso than usual. Rather than current events or news, I'm interested in local culture and religion.
It's very easy to become comfortable in all the our bubbles, the "what you know", about your immediate culture, and to just assume that your experience is how the rest of the world functions. I do not think the rest of the world, let alone the rest of the country functions like the good state of Utah, but I've realized I have huge gaps in my knowledge of world religions, despite my World Religions class, personal reading, circle of friends, and joining in festivals and events.
Here's dipping my toe into a new world of being:
Al Hijra: Islamic New Year’s Day - First day of the Islamic New Year celebrated on the first day of Muharram. Al Hijra is the day when Mohammed began his migration from Mecca to Medina in Islamic Year 1 (1 AH), 622 CE.
Islamic festivals are the days celebrated by Muslims. The Islamic calendar is lunar, like the Jewish calendar, with 12 months of 29 or 30 days each, for a total of 354days, but the Islamic calendar makes no corrections to align it with the solar calendar so each year the Islamic holidays occur earlier and do not always fall in the same season. from holidaysmart.com
Islam was founded in the 7th century by Prophet Muhammad. Today this is the second largest religion in the world with more than 1.2 billion followers. The Quran is the sacred text of Islam. The Arabic word “Islam” means submission. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is the final messenger from God. The goal of a Muslim’s life is to live in a way to please Allah (The God) so that one may gain enlightenment.
The Five Pillars of Islam are:
- SHAHADAH.: Faith - “There is no god except Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”.
- SALAH: Prayer - Praying five times a day.
- ZAKAH: Donate - Each year, Muslims are supposed to donate a fixed proportion of their savings for good deeds.
- SAWM: Fasting - Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
- HAJJ: Pilgrimage - Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in the lifetime of a Muslim, if it is affordable. from calendarlabs.com
It's very easy to become comfortable in all the our bubbles, the "what you know", about your immediate culture, and to just assume that your experience is how the rest of the world functions. I do not think the rest of the world, let alone the rest of the country functions like the good state of Utah, but I've realized I have huge gaps in my knowledge of world religions, despite my World Religions class, personal reading, circle of friends, and joining in festivals and events.
Here's dipping my toe into a new world of being:
Al Hijra: Islamic New Year’s Day - First day of the Islamic New Year celebrated on the first day of Muharram. Al Hijra is the day when Mohammed began his migration from Mecca to Medina in Islamic Year 1 (1 AH), 622 CE.
Islamic festivals are the days celebrated by Muslims. The Islamic calendar is lunar, like the Jewish calendar, with 12 months of 29 or 30 days each, for a total of 354days, but the Islamic calendar makes no corrections to align it with the solar calendar so each year the Islamic holidays occur earlier and do not always fall in the same season. from holidaysmart.com
Islam was founded in the 7th century by Prophet Muhammad. Today this is the second largest religion in the world with more than 1.2 billion followers. The Quran is the sacred text of Islam. The Arabic word “Islam” means submission. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is the final messenger from God. The goal of a Muslim’s life is to live in a way to please Allah (The God) so that one may gain enlightenment.
The Five Pillars of Islam are:
- SHAHADAH.: Faith - “There is no god except Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”.
- SALAH: Prayer - Praying five times a day.
- ZAKAH: Donate - Each year, Muslims are supposed to donate a fixed proportion of their savings for good deeds.
- SAWM: Fasting - Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
- HAJJ: Pilgrimage - Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in the lifetime of a Muslim, if it is affordable. from calendarlabs.com
Shop Local Day - Utah: 11/26/11
I am more of a browser than a shopper. I have my reasons. I do make the majority of purchases at book stores, art supply stores, and thrift stores, but these businesses feel more like treasure stores.
The mall, any mall, or box stores just make me tense. The only time I've been in a big box store and liked it, was when I was in Powell's block-sized bookstore. If you haven't been there, just book a ticket to Portland right now. It's so worth every last penny, and the city is a discovery in itself, and the people are friendly, (when I was exiting a cafe, a waiter gave me an umbrella and told me not to worry about bringing it back, but to pass it on).
This Saturday is Shop Local Day. Instead of heading to the mall or the store that cannot be named, (but can be viewed to great amusement),everyone, everywhere, support your local grocer, baker, cafe, bookstore, etc.
Here's my list:
Grounds for Coffee
Hip & Humble
The King's English Bookshop
Mazza Cafe Middle Eastern Cuisine
Mestizo Gallery
Frosty Darling
Kayo Gallery
Plates & Palates
Slow Train Music
3 Little Monkeys
Dolly's Bookstore
Sweet Tooth Fairy
Deseret Industries
Spoonology
Sego Day Spa
http://gaborbrothers.com/
Tabula Rosa
Blue Cockatoo Gallery
Golden Braid Bookstore
Cedars of Lebanon
Art Access Gallery
The mall, any mall, or box stores just make me tense. The only time I've been in a big box store and liked it, was when I was in Powell's block-sized bookstore. If you haven't been there, just book a ticket to Portland right now. It's so worth every last penny, and the city is a discovery in itself, and the people are friendly, (when I was exiting a cafe, a waiter gave me an umbrella and told me not to worry about bringing it back, but to pass it on).
This Saturday is Shop Local Day. Instead of heading to the mall or the store that cannot be named, (but can be viewed to great amusement),everyone, everywhere, support your local grocer, baker, cafe, bookstore, etc.
Here's my list:
Grounds for Coffee
Hip & Humble
The King's English Bookshop
Mazza Cafe Middle Eastern Cuisine
Mestizo Gallery
Frosty Darling
Kayo Gallery
Plates & Palates
Slow Train Music
3 Little Monkeys
Dolly's Bookstore
Sweet Tooth Fairy
Deseret Industries
Spoonology
Sego Day Spa
http://gaborbrothers.com/
Tabula Rosa
Blue Cockatoo Gallery
Golden Braid Bookstore
Cedars of Lebanon
Art Access Gallery
Black Friday: Ten Things To Do Instead of Shop
1. Sleep in.
2. Make breakfast using NPR's Splendid Table recipes - try Wheat Berries with Ricotta and Honey (Cuccia), Smoked Salmon Benedict with Sorrel Sauce, Savory Cheese Souffle, or Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon.
3. Wrap up in a warm coat, sit outside, soak up the sun, and revel in the brisk air. Even better, walk the dogs, (or, your imaginary pet).
4. Settle in to your favorite chair and read Sabina Murray's Tales of the New World.
5. Check your local theaters for playtimes for Michel Hazanavicius's silent film
The Artist.
6. Occupy a space other than the mall.
7. Set aside at least two hours to create your Life List, mightygirl.com's Maggie Mason's brainchild.
8. Eat Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.
9. Take a nap.
10. Go for a drive by yourself or with someone you really like. Turn down the radio, and talk.
2. Make breakfast using NPR's Splendid Table recipes - try Wheat Berries with Ricotta and Honey (Cuccia), Smoked Salmon Benedict with Sorrel Sauce, Savory Cheese Souffle, or Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon.
3. Wrap up in a warm coat, sit outside, soak up the sun, and revel in the brisk air. Even better, walk the dogs, (or, your imaginary pet).
4. Settle in to your favorite chair and read Sabina Murray's Tales of the New World.
5. Check your local theaters for playtimes for Michel Hazanavicius's silent film
The Artist.
6. Occupy a space other than the mall.
7. Set aside at least two hours to create your Life List, mightygirl.com's Maggie Mason's brainchild.
8. Eat Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.
9. Take a nap.
10. Go for a drive by yourself or with someone you really like. Turn down the radio, and talk.
NaNoWriMo 2011 - How to Leave
This is the beginning paragraph/s of the piece I am writing for NaNoWriMo 2011. I'm taking it slow, mainly because its coming to me very slowly. I know what the heart of the story is, what I want to happen for this character, but its like being in a terrible snowstorm, all I can see are the brake lights of the car directly in front of me, which I follow, hoping, together, we stay on the road. I can't really see where this piece is heading. I'm just trying to stay on the road.
I tend to overthink absolutely everything, so I'm chosing to see this process as positive. fyi: this is a first draft, so tense problems and general messiness is the norm, and I am really going to try to leave it alone, and not edit a thing, (although I already have a wee bit, but no more!)
How to Leave
Danna
The honey locust tree is a cluster of thorns and ancient bark. Its roots have held to the rich soil since the ground was first home to herds of mule deer and pronghorn sheep, later home to Shoshone, and later to pioneers, and later still to a blur of inhabitants until the present day. The finger-shaped leaves have fallen from the branches weeks ago, and the tree looks like an angry drunk, all tangle and fist. Because of this, or in spite of this, a great horned owl and red tailed hawk have taken up residence in the tree’s upper branches, in shifts: the owl at sunset, the red tail when the owl decamped at sunrise. Both bring their kills to the tree. Small bones and an assortment of feathers and sinew circle the base of the tree, a kind of unholy halo.
When an underground spring burst through layers of loam sand and silt clay to the surface, it quickly insinuated a a meandering row-wide swath through the newly plowed dirt toward the lake to the west, both the owl and hawk, waited patiently for the hidden to furtively dash from the underbrush, and follow their noses to the source of the sweet water.
The spring, the last descendant of the ancient Pliestocene sea that once covered the ground, went undiscovered until the first snowfall. The woman who lived in the property in front of the alfalfa field, walked out in the glint of morning light and saw a mirage of crystal shimmering across the field and thought for a moment she was witness to an artwork created by the finger of an ancient god.
I tend to overthink absolutely everything, so I'm chosing to see this process as positive. fyi: this is a first draft, so tense problems and general messiness is the norm, and I am really going to try to leave it alone, and not edit a thing, (although I already have a wee bit, but no more!)
How to Leave
Danna
The honey locust tree is a cluster of thorns and ancient bark. Its roots have held to the rich soil since the ground was first home to herds of mule deer and pronghorn sheep, later home to Shoshone, and later to pioneers, and later still to a blur of inhabitants until the present day. The finger-shaped leaves have fallen from the branches weeks ago, and the tree looks like an angry drunk, all tangle and fist. Because of this, or in spite of this, a great horned owl and red tailed hawk have taken up residence in the tree’s upper branches, in shifts: the owl at sunset, the red tail when the owl decamped at sunrise. Both bring their kills to the tree. Small bones and an assortment of feathers and sinew circle the base of the tree, a kind of unholy halo.
When an underground spring burst through layers of loam sand and silt clay to the surface, it quickly insinuated a a meandering row-wide swath through the newly plowed dirt toward the lake to the west, both the owl and hawk, waited patiently for the hidden to furtively dash from the underbrush, and follow their noses to the source of the sweet water.
The spring, the last descendant of the ancient Pliestocene sea that once covered the ground, went undiscovered until the first snowfall. The woman who lived in the property in front of the alfalfa field, walked out in the glint of morning light and saw a mirage of crystal shimmering across the field and thought for a moment she was witness to an artwork created by the finger of an ancient god.
This Moment: 6:14 A.M. November 19, 2011
The dogs and I are wrapped in the dark cocoon of early morning. My dreams have vanished. Their only reminder is the dull ache in my jaw from clenching through the night. I am filled with a juxtaposition of calm and anger and try to ferret the dream's content. I wonder about the owl in the willow and the hawk in the honey locust tree, their small heads tucked into the down of their breast, both secreted in the tangle of branches weathering the first real storm of the season. The owl's foraging is completed for the evening, but moments from now, the hawk will pounce on the slight scurrying under the snow and bring it's find to the tree and tear the small body apart. The world outside my window slowly emerges in a white shroud. Plants that have survived the first frosts, are surely dead. I will pull their limp bodies from the terra-cotta pots later today. The small dog is coiled into a tight knot next to me licking his left fore paw. The big dog readjusts her old bones on her pillow. I hear my husband cough in the kitchen. The cat is yowling, almost wailing a dirge, from the living room. She desists, bored with her own suffering, and we are offered a respite from her incessant complaints. A train racing down the track is the only sound. Now snoring from the living room. I imagine my husband sitting on the living room couch wrapped in the velvet patchwork throw, his coffee beside him, entering the territory of dreams. I hear a train coming, it's voice ushering the day and it's promises. For a fleeting moment, I think to run to the closet, grab my coat, boots, hat, and race to it. I want to tell the train to wait for me. Tell the train I am willing to go as far as it will take me.
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