More music, and birds and things

Its been hot the past few days. I've been living in the bedroom with the only fan. We finally caved in and turned on the air conditioner last night. It was a toss up as to which would be worse for asthma, the humidity or the air conditioner dust from the season of inactivity. The House is officially back in summer mode, with the bedroom being kept cool for needed breaks, and the fan back in my studio to cool me as I type. We'll be buying more fans for the rest of the house.
I'm listening to Santana (Supernatural) and waiting for the storms to roll in and cool the place off. I noticed something odd. The bird feeding platform is right outside the studio window, and whenever I turn the Santana on, birds come and start eating... Often when I play music, they fly away. (They weren't such fans of The Boss a few days ago).

Seeger and Springsteen

A friend gifted me with a new cd, just out last month called "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" by Bruce Springsteen.

I Love it. Good old folk songs, sung with the Seeger twist and the smokey Springsteen voice, but the very best is that he's accompanied by New York musicians on banjo, accordian, sax. 'bone etc.
Here's a list of the back up musicians: Sam Bardfeld (violin), Art Baron (tuba) Frank Bruno (guitar), Jeremy Chatzy (upright bass), Mark Clifford (banjo), Larry Eagle (drums and percussion), Charles Giordano (B3 organ, piano and accordion), Ed Manion (saxophone), Mark Pender (trumpet), Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg (trombone) and Soozie Tyrell (violin). Lisa Lowell, Patti Scialfa, Springsteen, Pender, Tyrell, and Rosenberg contribute backing vocals.

Here's the Amazon review:

The premise was simple. Bruce Springsteen invites a dozen or so New York City musicians--packing banjos, fiddles, accordions and the like--to his New Jersey farmhouse for a three-day hootenanny, and tape is rolling. The results are sublime, his 21st album featuring their versions of songs harvested from Springsteen's dog-eared LPs by Pete Seeger. Not all written by Seeger, the songs are how the American folk icon interpreted them, and these organic recordings, with no rehearsals or overdubs, pay tribute with the simplicity and spontaneity he intended. It's not hard to link Springsteen's dissatisfaction with American politics to the protest song "We Shall Overcome" or even the Irish ballad "Mrs. McGrath," where he alters the lyrics to read, "I'd rather have my son as he used to be/Than the King of America and his whole navy." But the beauty of these Seeger Sessions are pieces that underscore the mood of the bandleader, which borders on down-home amusement: the bluegrass outlaw ballad "Jesse James," the Dylanesque "Pay Me My Money Down" and the euphoric "Jacob's Ladder," a gumbo-and-whiskey-fueled romp that could pass for the closing hymn at the Church of Asbury Park.

Word Play E is for.....

Energy : as the sun's presence grows stronger, my energy levels go up, which makes it easy to overdo, but I have such a great time doing stuff!

Eloquence: Looking for some. I love to write, but sometimes I get in my own way, and the flow dries up. It took me two days to write two paragraphs in my current manuscript. I'm going to try priming my subconscious before I sleep to see if the flow increases in the morning.

Enjoyment: Its what life is about. Yes, serious shit happens, it can't be avoided, but as long as I can find some small speck of something to enjoy, it leaves room for the light to come back home.

Essence: I like the succinctness of this word. Finding the essence of an event or a concept helps springboard art.

Entropy: Everything is falling apart, but it makes such wonderful abstract patterns as it goes.

Entice: Heeeere kitty kitty kitty... Muse as Cat.

Elder: One of my all time favorite bushes. The flowers make lovely pancakes and face tonic, the berries are delicious in pies and wines and jams... The wood makes a powerful wand.. it feeds all kinds of desireable critters, grows all by itself with no complaint anywhere there's a bit of a wet spot. Its got a soft pith in the center of each branch, so you can fashion a set of pipes from it. The entire plant is a gift. More can be learned of Elder lore here : Elder on Botanical.com

Erotic: a very sexy-sounding word, even without the meaning. Try saying it with an Eastern European accent. Luscious.

Exploration: How I spent almost every weekend when I lived in Japan. Hiking was my passion. I'd head out up a mountain (the trail began right behind my apartment) then get lost until noon, when I'd start to find my way home. One of my best encounters was a Samurai cemetary, filled with family markers in the shape of swords. The picture below is me, after climbing to the top of one of the mountains. *Happy sigh* Happy memories.

Packaging... Boxing. stuffing.. taping...

Yep, its time to package Ebay auctions again.. It comes around every week, and I don't really hate it, but it is time consuming. It IS fun to think about our books heading off overseas, or to small towns (population 124) or places I'll likely never see. Some of the books are going to libraries with pitifully small funding, Others to the special collections of large libraries (Once to the Smithsonian!). Some are purchased as gifts for local charities. A collection of Harlequin romances went to a nursing home, full of ladies who giggle while they read. :-} Others are sent to small communities in Alaska, to help them build a library.
Still, it keeps me in art supplies , pays for gas and some groceries, and helps out with a bill or two. Thanks to Oscar who does the actual post office trips, and who goes with me on book-buying expeditions!

Photo: A very happy Basil Kitty, who also appreciates Oscar :-}

Senegalese Mafe

One of my favorite things to do is cook. Since there are only two of us, I wind up freezing most of it for Oscar to take to work. One of our favorite dishes is Senegalese Mafe, and I just made a slew of it.

Here's the recipe

2 pounds of chicken cut into pieces (I used skinless boneless thighs)
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 cup diced onion
8 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt and white pepper
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 small head green cabbage, chopped into 1-inch pieces
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (I find it easier and tastier to roast the potatoes, THEN take the skin off, and squeeze the potatoes into the stew in chunks.)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into large dice (sometimes I leave this out)
4 turnips, peeled and chopped into large dice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or Hungarian Hot Paprika
1/8th tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

Season chicken and brown in oil in a large heavy pot. Add onions and
tomatoes. In separate pot heat chicken stock and whisk in tomato
paste. Thin peanut butter slightly with hot liquid and add all liquids
to pot with chicken. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add vegetables
and cook until chicken and vegetables are tender, approximately 45
minutes. Season to taste with salt, cayenne and ground white pepper.

(I make it in a different order, but its essentially the same. This dish freezes VERY well. The original recipe called for about double the chicken, but because we are eating as healthily as we can, I reduced the chicken, it still has loads of flavor. If you wish to make it a Vegan dish, just remove the chicken, use vegetable stock, and add some nuts, chickpeas, or seitan for extra protein.)
Below is a picture, taken in a dish that belonged to my Grandpa Miller.

Visits Home

We took Thursday to drive to my parent's home in Coldwater, Michigan. Mom's birthday was the day after Mother's Day this year, and she'd given us a bit of a scare this past month. She has only one working valve and she's been feeling a few chest pains. She said it was the stress of waiting for results of some biopsies of lumps in her breast... Yep, scary stuff. The wonderful news is that everything is fine, her heart is still pumping strong, and the results of the biopsies are all negative. I guess genetically some of her lumps have a triple layer instead of a dual layer, so they read as shadows on the mammograms. I love how her doctor put it. He said " You have a lot of frogs in there, but none of them have three legs."

My brothers Kenny and Kelly were there too. Kelly had the day off work, but Kenny's visit was a lovely surprise. He happened to be in town for a doctors appointment and stayed for supper. Damn my mom can cook.

I also had a chance to chat on the phone with my cousin Penny. She's headed for a bison santuary in Montana to help study grasshoppers. She'll be there until September, and I envy all the wide open spaces she'll get to see :-}

I love visits with my folks. We had some rough times as a family a few decades ago, water under the bridge. Every visit now is bittersweet with the knowledge that they are aging. Each memory we build is doubly precious.
Below is a pciture of my folks and my brothers taken just a few decades ago... Time flies :-}

From right to left its Kenny, Kelly, My Mom, My Dad and Ronnie.

Word Play D is for....

Dogs : I love dogs, I love how their every emotion is rightthere rightnow usually with great enthusiasm.

Deliveries: I love getting mysterious packages inthe mail, It never fails to give me a ramping up of excitement. Especially when I'm not expecting anything.

Desert: We have a goal of moving to high desert country, for health, and freedom from pain...


Dessert: I don't have a huge sweet tooth, but I go weak in the knees for creamy cheesy desserts.

Delphinums: My favorite shades of blue.


Dreams: They heal me, they inspire me, Day dreams or night dreams, even the unpleasant ones can release some ancient knot within.

Dusty: Back when my last name was Miller, Dusty was my nickname, my oldest friends still call me Dusty.

Delight: I try to take delight in small joys. It keeps me going :-}

Rhubarb Sunday, Gooseberry Monday

Ok, its Mother's Day too, but today I spent the morning putting rhubarb up in the freezer. A wonderful way to try and haul summer a bit closer.

I had purchased some from a local grocery store (my country soul was aghast that I bought rhubarb, usually something you have in abundance) and then a good friend let us harvest some of her patch just a few days later.
I decided to freeze the rhubarb in 2 cup allotments. I alway dice the rhubarb in roughly 1/4 inch cubes. I mostly use the rhubarb in sauces or breads (or crisps and cobblers and cakes and cookies) but I dislike the more usual inch-sized chunks. Then I add a little sugar, just enough to start some maceration. The juice makes a better seal in the freezer bag, and the sugar helps keep it from being super watery when its thawed. I always freeze it raw, I think it tastes fresher than when you blanch it first. I ended up with 4 bags of 2 cups each. I'm also bringing a few stalks to Mom and Dad's house, they prefer to use it fresh and its a bit colder in their part of Michigan (no rhubarb ready yet). I kept out enough to make some rhubarb muffins for breakfast one morning this week... yum!

I will be using last year's harvest of berries and making some jam tomorrow. We had 3 kinds of raspberries, 3 kinds of currrants (black, red and 'champagne')and 3 kinds of gooseberries. Not enough of each type for a big batch on thier own, but we kept adding them to a big freezer bag and we have enough for several pints of mixed-berry jam :-}

The very next sunny day (maybe Wednesday, but not really expected until next weekend) I will be gathering violets and making Aeron's violet jam. (see link to Aeron's blog to the right to find the recipe). I might experiment with rose petals next month, and I plan to make some rose-hip jelly this fall. I will probably use some of it as gifts this Yule, as I can't imagine we two will use it all up ourselves.


(picture of Hinomaki Red Gooseberries, June 2005 (they aren't red yet)

Beltaine 2006

We didn't have a traditional Pagan celebration, but we celebrated in a low key and extremely satisfying way. Oscar cranked up the grill for the first time in the season, and we had a few people over for kebob's and pasta salad :-} Sherri helped me move a lovely clump of phlox that would have been in the way of the new Gazebo.(see image from last year below), while Mick and Oscar had a great time cooking .

As I said, not falshy, but a very good time was had by all.