friends – Peaceful Reader

A trip well-traveled

At the beginning of August I took a 10 hour flight to Rome, Italy with my friend Barb but the story actually begins years ago when she and I met in Denver, CO as waitresses. She ended up moving back to Chicago and we stayed connected by cards and letters (before the internet!) In one of those notes I said something about when we’re older and walking around Italy with a glass of wine! She called me this spring after rereading this message and yelled “we need to go to Italy!” and so we did. Sometimes you need a kickstart to really get going; this was mine. We did some preliminary research, making decisions on where exactly we wanted to go but the rest of it was pretty spur of the moment. And really until I drove into Chicago with my family, went to a Cubs/Cardinals game on my birthday and then dropped off at Barb’s I still had feelings of uncertainty. And the next afternoon we headed to O’Hare and got on an Italia airplane! I remembered my passport and all other relevant things including a suitcase full of clothes and the trip began!

I’ve never been on a plane that long and it made me a little antsy – doesn’t the pilot get sleepy?- but we settled in with a glass of wine and a plastic container of decent lasagna. Neither of us had working screens so we watched Madame Secretary with Tea Leoni on Barb’s phone because that’s what she had in her downloads. We tried to sleep to no avail-personally I was too excited and nervous.

We landed in Rome, easily made it through customs because they had these great scanners and we only had to stop to get our passports stamped. At baggage claim we hooked up with Barb’s hairdresser who was also traveling to Italy. And we headed out into the Rome sunshine pulling our suitcases behind us. We paid an Uber driver to tour us around the high points in Rome and with just one day there it was the easiest way to see everything. The Coliseum, St Peter’s Square and the Basilica, the Fountain of Trevi, and the Spanish Steps were all amazing to see. Being near such old buildings, statues and monuments was awe-inspiring and it never got old. In Florence I walked through a perfumery that has existed since 1221. We had.an amazing meal that evening at Trattoria Pommidoro dal 1890 tucked away in a little neighborhood and we sat on the patio and lazily enjoyed our meal and wine. I was still pinching myself that I was eating dinner in Rome. We discovered a fountain near our hotel that had two cafes for croissants and cappuccinos.

The next day we headed north by train to the beautiful Cinque Terre region to stay for three days in Monterosso, one of the 5 hill towns on the coast. We had a little AirB&B on the hill and we could walk down to the town but we always caught a ride back up. Because we were on the coast and the seafood was fresh a lot of our meals here were straight from the sea. The second day we took a boat ride around the 5 hill towns to see them from the water. We were there during a heat wave and hiking around the hills (the preferred method to sightseeing here) was just not going to happen. The boat ride was lovely and we loved Lorenzo, our handsome boat guide and that we were able to get in the water and swim in the sparkling water. We had several amazing meals in Monterosso and a delicious meal right off the boat at Ristorante Gambero Rosso in Vernazza.

On the fourth day we headed back to the train and headed an hour south to Livorno, another coastal town where Barb and I were excited to see a concert that night. We stayed in a cool old hotel right across from the Fort where the Xavier Rudd concert would take place later that night. We cooled off in the hotel and then headed out for dinner and a cold bottle of Prosecco before heading into the concert. We hadn’t finished our bubbly so our server gave us plastic glasses to travel with as we traipsed our way down the cobblestones. The concert was a very relaxed affair and one that I’m so glad we took the time to see. Nobody looked through our bags or cared that we had cups already in our hands. The sky was beautiful and the crowd was easily like family. It was a great place to people watch as we bopped our bodies to Xavier’s music.

The next day our adventure took us to beautiful Florence where we started our days with cappuccinos on the piazza and watched the fountains spurt out water and eventually made our way to the Uffizi Galleries witnessing masterpieces of art. We also visited the Gucci museum and store which took us through the history of the artisitic brand. We had more delicious food including a meal at La Tenda Rossa. During our time here we also took a Walk About Tours cooking class in the Tuscan countryside and a vegan dinner in the San Gimignano region at a 600 years old farmhouse. We shopped at tiny boutiques where Barb and I bought matching silky dresses and I bought a beautiful linen dress. We walked through dozens of leather stores with so many purses. I had a shopkeeper try and sell me very beautiful but expensive earrings, I had to walk away unfortunately. And Barb and I wandered through the Basilica di Santa Croce which is where Galileo and Michelangelo are entombed. We drank quite a few carafes of red wine, Prosecco, Limoncello and Hugo spritzers. We enjoyed it all. I loved the trains and the sleek Uber cars/drivers. I also enjoyed seeing a world that treasured the old, embraced their history, had access to good food (great little mercados), and did their part for the world with recycling and compost bins everywhere plus everyone we ran into was friendly and happy to help us. In Livorno the front desk woman called her son in the U.S. to translate something for us.

And then we took a high speed train back to Rome and headed to the airport hotel to spend one last night before flying home. We spent a funny 20 minutes in a gas station/restaurant and I will never forget the Prosecco and freshly made potato chips served to us as we waited for our Uber driver! It was the trip of a lifetime but I plan to get out there more. I want to go to Spain and Portugal next…

My heart; it's February

It’s bitter cold out these days with lots of snow and ice. Normal for Iowa, not so for the Southern states getting crushed with winter storms. I’m sure there was mad rush for winter coats and snow shovels. Cold weather is the perfect time to read and I just finished The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake. This book has been gathering dust on my school library shelf for about a year. I ordered it after reading very good reviews and I had a personal and professional goal to continue to round out our library shelves with diverse titles. It’s maddening to think this sweet story could make someone else angry and ask for it to be removed from the library. What a terrible place we are in as we build out shelves specifically for all students only to hear that we could be punished for those choices.

Sunny St. James is a 12-year-old young girl who has heart problems both physically and emotionally. She receives a new heart to replace her old damaged one all while she is trying to figure out who she wants to kiss. What she really wants is to be a “normal” tween who can run and play on the beach and kissing another person is part of that. She focuses her attention on boys because that’s what is “normal” but in her heart she is curious about kissing girls. She and Kate live in a small beach community where everyone knows her and she’s lead a physically restrictive life while waiting for this new heart.

Her best friend Margot used to help her through all this but she branched out and made new friends from her swim team (an activity Sunny couldn’t participate in) and Sunny feels abandoned. One of her goals after surgery is to meet a new best friend and one day on the beach she meets Quinn someone brand new to the island who doesn’t know Sunny’s history. Her real mother Lena abandoned her as well when Sunny was four and Lena’s best friend Kate has been raising Sunny. After surgery Lena decides to reappear in Sunny’s life creating more confusion for both Kate and Sunny.

There is so much emotion, both sad and joyful in the story and I wish I’d had this book while I was in elementary school because many of Sunny’s questions and feelings about her surgery and recovery are emotions I’ve been through myself. I was 11 years old when it was discovered that my mitral valve was damaged due to an undetected case of rheumatic fever as a child. I underwent valve replacement surgery at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. I received a porcine valve and four years later after experiencing symptoms of heart failure, the valve was replaced again with a St. Jude’s plastic valve. I was lucky to be in the same hospital and to have the same surgeon (Dr. Kaiser).

Through the process I often felt angry that I didn’t feel good, that I couldn’t participate in activities, that I had this scar running down my chest, that I had medicine to take which made me feel old. I adjusted over time and feel blessed that my parents saw my symptoms and knew I needed medical help. Sunny St. James spoke to me in a way that made me feel understood even at my age. She might also speak to a young girl who is experiencing the same confused feeling about who she wants to kiss. Imagine that young person hugging this book in their arms and understanding that they have allies. Making a connection through literature can easily help a young (or old) person feel in balance about their unique thoughts and feelings. The “I’m not alone…” idea.

If you can imagine this book on a banned book list you can see how banning books sucks out all of our humanity. To counteract that feeling you should request this book from your public library or order it, read it, pass it on…it’s a story worth sharing!

What is your love language?

We are living in a rough environment right now. So much that surrounds are daily life are colliding. Emotions, government, lifestyles, masks/vaccinations, climate developments. I’ve discovered that when I’m struggling emotionally I connect with food. I’ve made a wide variety of recipes the last few weeks. And then I’ll completely stop making food and just eat snacks for dinner; cheese, crackers, and a cluster of grapes. It’s back and forth. For awhile I was really focused on my at home yoga practice with Adriene but I’ve slacked off – like way off. I haven’t done a lick of yoga throughout September except this morning. I was awake too early and decided to spend some of that time blinking my eyes open and reconnecting to my mat. It felt great and I know I can get back on track but I still feel a bit off kilter. I’m going to make the promise to show up though and as she’s says that’s what’s important.

(Buffalo Chickpea Salad)

Here’s a smattering of what I’ve cooked to connect to myself. I made this Quinoa Enchilada Bake after I discovered Jamie and her Dishing out Health on Instagram. I’ve made several of her recipes now and love every one. Many are vegan or can easily be with minimal switches. I made this Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup to split with Tristan and my husband “accidentally” had a bowl after work and loved it. I made this Buffalo Chickpea Salad with Yogurt Ranch Dressing which was so easy and packed a little heat! And to combat allergies and the cooler Fall weather I made this Immunity Boosting Tumeric Chicken Soup because I had leftovers from an farm-raised chicken.

And because I love dessert I made this Easy S’mores Dip to share with friends. It was amazing and days later I was still scraping chocolate and toasted marshmallows crusts from my Lodge skillet. Last night after a meeting I came home and made this easy brownie recipe to share at school for a teacher friend’s birthday. Just for fun I added chopped up marshmallows and broiled the pan for just about 5 minutes. The brownies were dense and delicious all on their own but the browned marshmallows added extra birthday zing! This recipe truly was easy and I’ll make it again when in a pinch for a chocolate treat.

This is the love I share with my family and friends. I feed them. It’s an old tradition that stems from my grandmother who loved to offer visitors a meal or at least a sandwich! I just finished the very quirky Anxious People by Fredrik Backman which I loved even after a rocky start. And I’m trying to spend as much time outside as I possible can to soak up the wonderful weather before it gets too cold. Recently I was lucky enough to connect with my dearest friend, Verda, and we walked her dogs, shopped at crafty local stores, ate good food, and talked about the world. I guess maybe my recent blue period is because I want that to be my every day. I love teaching and connecting with students but I’m constantly worried about getting sick. Even though I know I’m in a much safer category after having Covid and getting vaccinated but it is still a major worry.

“Find what feels good” ~Adriene and try and remain calm – this is my new mantra. Say it with me…

Summer food and a few books

I am loving my solitude this summer. Groovy Girl goes off to work at the water park and the husband goes off to make a movie or direct a show and I have the day to myself. I have been to work several times and it is so quiet there that it is easy to get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. I am almost finished with inventory for the year. My goal for meals is to have something ready for my two worker bees; it’s the least I can do for them after they’ve labored out there in the world especially the teenager as she is out in the hot sun for a good 9 hours. I want to have good food ready for them.

I made this vegan corn chowder even though it is way before sweet corn season but I had a large bag of white corn in the freezer and soup to me is always good even on hot days. I am in the process of making this pasta dish tonight with fresh cut basil from my garden. I roasted some broccoli and I put together a fresh salad using greens a friend who shared part of her CSA for the week. I’m looking for easy meals that I can put together and they can eat late when they come through the door. Easy for me, easy for them.

Our girls

I’ve browsed through a new cookbook, The Fresh Egg Cookbook, that my friend MK gave me. She is honestly one of the best gift givers. She went to the Decorah Seed Saver store and found this cookbook for me in celebration of the beautiful chickens that grace my back yard. There are some really good recipes in here as well as chicken tips. We are on our fourth round of chicken parenting and we love it! They are quirky characters that roam our backyard and provide us with eggs.

I finished the first, Shadow and Bone, in the GrishaVerse trilogy today which was recommended to me be a family of former students. I have to pace myself though before I start the second one. My mother-in-law recommended How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior and I picked it up yesterday from the library. Before all that I finished my Book of the Month Club May pick; Things we lost to the water by Eric Nguyen, which was a very compelling story of immigration, New Orleans, Vietnam, and Hurricane Katrina.

You may wonder if I am getting ANY homework done…?

Memorable Memorial Weekend

{Minimalist Baker}

I love a good three day weekend! I’ve accomplished quite a few things over the last three days but the best parts were several social occasions seeing friends and hugging people in my circle. We had an engagement party last night and a graduation party today. We also had lunch with friends on their patio. I made these strawberry rhubarb margaritas for the occasion. The recipe is from Minimalist Baker and they were delicious, so refreshing and tart.

Last week I tried a new recipe because I just couldn’t figure out what to make for dinner. We recently have had a lot of pasta and I’d made tacos and salmon other days so I just was looking for something different to try. A friend from school mentioned that she’d made lentil sloppy joes and so I searched and found a vegan recipe to try. I made them on Friday night and I loved them. Because of Groovy Girl’s tomato allergy I switched out the cans of tomato and used one 28-oz can of pumpkin. I feel like I could add in sweet potato to replace tomatoes as well. I had lovely brioche buns that I broiled in the oven first because I like them a little crispy/crunchy. Both my husband and I loved them and GG, well, she was not quite as in love because it had onions (next time I would make sure to really dice up the onions) but she ate it. I liked that it was a super easy slow cooker recipe that I put together and it was done in about 3 hours. Here is the recipe I used from Yummy Mummy Kitchen and here is another one I plan to try next time from again the amazing Minimalist Baker.

I did do some gardening this weekend as well, channeling my lovely Grandma Bruch. I think of her so much as I cook and plant as those are two areas she excelled at in life. She loved geraniums and irises and planted lots of vegetables. My love of rhubarb comes from her as she had a several large plants and did a lot of baking and jam making with the stalks. She was an amazing and wonderful grandma and I miss her very much. I’m glad my son was able to spend so much time with her and I’m sad that she never met my daughter. I can still hear her voice calling my name. I wish she and I could play one more game of spite and malice, our family card game. I can still hear my dad’s voice as well and I wish I could play one more game of backgammon with him.

How did you spend your weekend?

Where is the love? asks Laverne Cox

Some days I have no words for what is going on in these United States of America. Other days I am bursting with words and often cursing is involved. What the !@#$* are we going through and why isn’t it fixed already? How is it possible that people are simply not enlightened enough to treat everyone they meet with respect? I realize this is simplistic for the racial strife our country has experienced since the first European settlers arrived on the shores of this beautiful land. The first settlements of people stuck it to the Native tribes and then when our ancestors needed help building the country up they stole people from a far away country and forced them into a caste system that continues to keep Black and other people of BIPOC as marginalized citizens, lesser than their white counterparts, continuing the history of slavery through our police forces, banking systems, and government structures. I cannot even say his name anymore but the man living in the WH who has specifically shut down the plan to rid military bases of Confederate names…I have no words for that $#%^&.

I am staying informed by listening to various podcasts, live webinars via Zoom, and Instagram BLM moments. I started following Kendrick Sampson on IG (kendrick38) because I love Issa Rae’s Insecure on HBO and Kendrick is leading the LA BLM protests and he is fierce. I heard him first on Kerry Washington’s account after she lead a short yoga session. I am getting inspiration from Tori Williams Douglass’s podcast White Homework as well as Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us. Yesterday I listened to a new episode of Unlocking Us with Laverne Cox and heard about her new Netflix documentary Disclosure dropping this Friday night! After the deaths of Riah Milton and Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells I think this is an important piece of information for better understanding.

I cannot say that George Floyd’s death started this all because it’s been deeply brewing for quite awhile but I am grateful that an uprising may come out of this event. Every time I’ve been part of a “moment of silence” for George Floyd those almost 9 minutes drag out and cause me to cry because it’s a long fucking time. It shows me intent from that officer to do great harm. It is a dehumanizing act.

I am also reading a ton of books and I’ll save that list for another post…

Stay brave, Stay kind, Stay informed~Think outside your everyday life. Empathy is such an important skill. Err on the side of positive through action…

Grateful hearts

Before i could release

the weight of my sadness

and pain, i first had

to honor its existance

~yung pueblo

don’t run away

from heavy emotions

honor the anger;

give pain the space

it needs to breathe

this is how we let go
~yung pueblo

[Stan on the left]

Two weeks ago the earth tilted off course for a brief moment and a friend of mine, Stan Crossland, died as he tried to change a tire on the shoulder of a highway in California. It’s been a painfully sad two weeks yet I’ve also had this amazing flood of memories. This post is one of mourning but also gratitude for the time we spent together. Stan was an effervescent guy, filled with laughter and good vibes. He loved to travel and had been to a crazy amount of countries. He loved good food and we often ended our evenings with chocolate chip cookies dunked in a mug of milk. He was filled with surprises and thoughtfully showed up on Valentine’s Day with a heart-shaped pizza for me at the end of my wait shift. We hosted several Friendsgiving events and played football in the snow before dinner. We both love music and were often out dancing to a variety of local Denver bands in and around the city.

[Utah]

We traveled to Las Vegas in May 1993 with friends to see Sting and The Dead play; we had so much fun tromping around the glittery all-night city, cocktails in hand. Just the other day I had a flashback memory of finishing our hotel breakfast and heading toward our car through glass patio doors where we saw the beautiful pool and took one look at each other and soft dove right into that pool with clothes on. It was a wet first few hours back in the car but we laughed about that for a long time. So smug were we.

I loved him and he loved me; we had each other’s backs. That same year we took another trip just the two of us heading out of Denver for Salt Lake City where we stayed with my brother, Mike for a day or two, then headed to Lake Powell to see friends of his on holiday from the U.K., and then on up to San Francisco for a New Year’s Eve Dead show at the Oakland Coliseum. I remember Stan watching me as this massive dragon puppet controlled by dozens of people underneath paraded around the floor level. It was an amazing sight that I’d forgotten about for years. Oh, the magic, the mystery, the delightful times we had together.

[Halloween shift at Chives in Denver]

Dearest Stan-

You are an amazing soul and I’m sure you are dancing in heaven, playing with the band. Even though I am happy to connect with you in Chicago just a few years ago I am so sorry to have lost touch with you. I settled down and you went off for more adventure. For the years we were together I am forever grateful for pushing me into new and wonderful experiences. You were the first man I knew who really appreciated me and all my quirks. You totally let me be me. Everyone should have a friend like that in their life. I’m so proud of you for writing a book, taking care of your mother, and continuing to travel, for diving into yoga and meditation. Next time we meet we can get our yoga flow on. Our journey together reminds me of one of my favorite books, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. I know I will find you again, maybe with root vegetables in your backpack, so I will just say “until we meet again dear friend” ~with great love, me

Wish you were here…

Right now in my kitchen. I’m making lemon poppyseed muffins and I just made a batch of cold brew. The smell is pretty great! I’m listening to India. Arie and the feeling in my kitchen right now is fairly groovy. I also have a wine glass of sparkling crisp apple cider (Loon Juice from 4 Daughters Winery). It’s been a good day.

All the above recipes are from Cookie + Kate, a vegetarian blog that I keep bumping into and finding amazing recipes there. Find the cold brew tutorial and the lemon poppyseed muffin recipes and then poke around her website to find many more delicious things to make! Her videos and her writing are very professional yet fun. I can feel her personality come through and would love to share a muffin and some cold brew with her on this lovely summer afternoon.

I made myself a very Iowa, summer friendly-brunch this morning and ate it while listening to a tech presentation. That is a (very) fresh egg on sourdough toast with goat cheese and spinach and yes, an ear of corn.

I’m participating in an online tech conference-Teach with Tech Conference 2019 and I love it. I can watch in real time FB videos and comment and ask questions all in my summer pajamas. I can also go back later and re-watch something I’ve missed. I’ve learned more about Google, FlipGrid, Bee-Bots, Teaching with Tolerance standard ideas so relevant for today, and how to use Google Earth and Maps to connect my students to the world they live in. It was not expensive ($30) for three days and I have access to the videos for a year. My favorite so far was Gary Gray, a teacher in Singapore at an international school who spoke on using technology to teach social justice. He was an out-of-the-box presenter and I’m sure his students love him. He has a new YouTube channel-check him out.

Yesterday I drove to Kalona, Iowa en route to Fairfield, IA to meet my husband for an Indian dinner. Kalona is known for it’s creamery and I needed a driving break so I went in and browsed. I ended up with a “calf-sized” ice cream cone of vanilla swirled with expresso and caramel. It was amazing-the creamiest ice cream I’ve had for years. It was worth the trip- so was the Indian restaurant.

On a funny note; this morning while reading in my favorite hammock (taking a break from the tech presentations) I tried to pull my dog Ruby in with me and the tree snapped and Ruby and I (pretty gently) landed on the ground. That is my knee, the tree stump we had it tied to, and the corner of the hammock. Luckily I was not injured in the fall.
I’m still reading Aru Shah, Brene Brown, Eat to Beat Disease, and Sharon Draper’s Blended.

That’s all the news from here.

Summer Vacation

{miles and miles of gorgeous forest}

I flew to Colorado last week. I’ve not flown for years and it always freaks me out a little bit when we take-off, while we fly though, and when we land. The only part I love is how quickly I get there-that always amazes me! Last summer Groovy Girl and I drove to Denver and it takes us two days, flying, of course, took an hour and 1/2. Big difference of time yet you do miss all the cool stuff along the way.

We spent two days in Denver, hanging with my brother and his family. I especially loved just sitting on the patio soaking up the warm Colorado sun. We visited Odell’s Brewery and a fresh Mexican restaurant called Lola. And then after our down time in Denver we headed to Estes Park, one of the gateways to Rocky Mountain National Park. While in the park I saw a very large male moose with a huge rack, several elk, and a baby brown bear. We hiked to Alberta Falls which was a long walk up and luckily we found a shortcut back down. There is something about the fierce rushing water sounds that makes me feel small. I also love to dream about the first people to come upon something as beautiful as this falls for the very first time. The trails were packed with many other humans and while I’m glad the park is being used it would be so cool to be there by yourself.

We headed to Castle Pines after Estes to stay with Janice and Dean for a night. We ate at Duke’s and took a drive to see a whole herd of bison and their babies. The next day we spent the morning sitting out on the porch watching a hummingbird flit back and forth. They’ve had a mama bear and three cubs roaming nearby and actually captured footage on their animal cam. This morning Janice let me know that the mother and one of the babies had been shot and killed by a local resident. Why are you up at 1am shooting at a mama bear? I am just sickened by the thought of this on so many levels. Why would you not just call animal control? I can’t get the video to transfer to my laptop so you can see the bear video. I’ll keep trying and share another time.

It was a great trip! I love being in the mountains, I love the view. Blessings to all.

Ah summer! Cheers to Brunch.

I’ve relaxed into my first full week of summer. I’ve done an equal share of cleaning, reading, and organizing so far. Oh and a little napping tossed in. I’ve had lunch with a few friends, celebrated two birthdays, had a pedicure, and started each day with yoga.

One major accomplishment was hosting a brunch last weekend. We have a group of theatre friends and colleagues that we like to get together with to talk about all things theatre and beyond. I like the idea of people sitting around our large kitchen table having interesting conversations about the world. All I needed to do was pick easy yet delicious recipes that I could put together the night before and in the morning. I didn’t want to be in the kitchen while guests were arriving or at the table. Sometimes I seek out recipes online but this time I went straight to a a cookbook that I love from The Cottage in La Jolla, CA. I’ve shared this cookbook before in a post about the amazing Buttermilk Coffee Cake (recipe included) and another post about Blueberry Muffins (recipe also included). If you love brunch this is the perfect cookbook for you.

I made the coffee cake, Carmel Brunch, an egg dish, and their roasted potatoes and I pre-prepped the egg dish the night before so I had one less thing to mix up in the morning. I put my husband in charge of one dish for the gathering (he is the theatre person in our house after all + he loves jicama!) and I found that recipe, Jicama, Avocado, and Mango Salad in Friendsgiving by Alexandra Shytsman.

Everything turned out well and people ate heartily around the table. One friend brought warm french bread with Wild Blueberry Jam and warm blueberry muffins as well. One friend tried his first Bloody Mary ever and that was a hit. I do love brunch and this was a perfect way to bring friends together. If you need me to share any of the recipes I used please let me know. Enjoy! Salud!