It's quiet in here...

I miss so many things about you. Right now I miss hearing you purring. You weren't ever much into the meowing thing....which I might add, I am very grateful.  I did like our little chats though.  Like when I came home after being away or if I had been at work. You would sit

downstairs...."meeeeeeeeoow?"  That was it.  One big dramatic, gut-wretching "where the hell are you now??" meow.    I would call out "Sister Margaret!"  And then we would just go back and forth like we were playing Marco Polo.

The other day I caught myself turning on the vacuum and looking around quick to see where you are....making sure not to scare the bejesus out of you.  What was it about that thing?  Lord, you did give that poor Bissell the stink eye, Sister. You would just look at me from behind a pillow on the bed with your ears flat, eyes fully dilated like I had a grizzly bear in the house.
 The hardest part for me right now seems to be going to bed at night. Or trying to.  I will do anything under the Sun not to have to go to bed. It just reminds me you are not here.  We had such a sweet routine at night. I would whistle, and then you would jump up on the bed and start purring.  I'm so used to you crawling across me, moving those paws so slowly like I was made of land mines. So tentative, and cautious.  Like you wouldn't for one minute want to hurt me.  You would walk across my stomach until you landed on my chest, laid down,  and then you just stared into my eyes. Your eyes would be half open and you would go into this beautiful meditative state.  That's when the purring would commence.  It was like my own personal sound machine....."I love you. I love you. I love you."  I know that's what you were saying to me.   That's the thing that kills me the most.....it is so quiet in here.  I am so used to whistling and you crawling up into my lap. You would start purring....and that just made me smile every time. 
I miss just knowing you are here too.  I could look across the room and you would just be looking at me.  Sometimes the look was somewhat like you are the "Queen" of this house, and I should be oh so grateful to serve you.  Much like that picture of you sitting in your chair... you were so beautiful sitting in the Sun that day.  Other times, you would just remind me, that yes, I was your best friend.  That happened more often than not.
I miss you, my sweet friend. Fourteen years is a long time.  
You traveled cross country with me.  Moved more times than I care to actually print.  Put up with a 100-lb yellow lab.   You were always my welcome home committee. I loved coming home and picking you up and feeling your paws on my face... Mostly you were best at loving me.  I am so grateful that I had you in my life, Zoe.   I will always love you, Sister Margaret.

Affogato

How is it that I have lived 43 years on this earth and did not know about this delicious combination?  I know it's simple...espresso and gelato....but, what a beautiful relationship that must be?  Shall I give you a moment to catch your breath?  I'll wait.  Maybe you should also grab a tissue. I fear you may tear up at the utter thought of having this one night after a lovely meal.  For some reason it has been haunting me a bit.  I first read about it on a blog that I follow, and then when I went to Whole Foods today there it was again!  The amazing people at Whole Foods have started offering gelato right next to the happy place where angelic baristas help me make it through my day...otherwise known as the espresso counter.
   I am sorry to inform you that I have yet to try an affogato, but I was compelled to share this with you in case YOU hadn't heard of it as well.  So, go!  Go get yourself an affogato.   I want a full report.

My Happy Place

Be True to Your Heart

I found this today when I turned my calendar over from April to May....I love it.


        "When we surrender, we allow the universe to work it's magic; we say yes to infinite possibilities; we trust that things will work out as they are meant to; and we give our self permission to let go of the outcome.  This can be liberating, intimidating, blissful, and scary...but, in the end if we are true to our heart, life unfolds with magnificence...and we get to celebrate."


(photo by Kerri Hussey)

Delicious Ambiguity

Some stories don't
have a clear beginning,
middle, and end.  Life
is about not knowing,
having to change,
taking the moment and
making the best of it,
without knowing what's
going to happen next.
Delicious ambiguity....
      
               -Gilda Radner

Just Breathe.

On a recent day off I went down to Columbia City for a little excursion.  I headed to Lotus Yoga for a yoga class at 8:00AM.  It was great to be in a class, but I didn't really connect to the teacher that morning.  Maybe because  all I secretly wanted was to just go inward and breathe, but her theme for class was the "skull".  Every pose we did she brought me out of my connection to my  breath  by trying to instruct me on the 1mm movement that my skull should be doing at that moment...not very centering.  Anyways, it is what it is.  C'est la vie.  I happily left and went across the street to the Columbia City Bakery for an americano and a ham and gruyere cheese croissant.   I do believe I found my breath again!  They have the best croissants....ever.  Well, exactly like the croissants I have had in Paris...so that's about as good as it gets in my book.  When you bite into the croissant they are so flaky and full of butter that you will: 1) most likely moan out loud in a public place, so be warned. 2) your fingers will be covered in flaky bits of pastry goodness, and yes, you could  technically use a napkin to clean them off, but I do believe you will be licking your fingers. They make a mess...but, you will be so happy I can guarantee you won't care.
    After I finished my croissant and coffee I thought some breakfast dessert was in order.  Oh, my... so many choices!  I was in the mood for some chocolate so I went with a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie.  Simple, reliable...you know what you are going to get. Sometimes that is comforting in the food arena.
    I should say that it did take a few minutes to come to that decision. I am known not to be very quick in making food choices...ha ha.  The young woman behind the counter was so sweet and patient with me though.  I inquired about many items, and then I decided on the chocolate chip cookie.  She got me though, and I appreciated that.  When she handed me my cookie I noticed she had several tattoos.  One in particular caught my attention.  On the outside of her left forearm from her wrist to her elbow was a sentence in small typerwriter font.  I asked her, "what does your tatoo
say?"  She held it up.....and she said, "I would give you my breath."  wow...I love that.  I think there is something very powerful about that statement.  Apparently it is the lyrics to a song. Who knew?  Someone should tell Hallmark about that one.  

My Hero

The video is a bit long, but so important and necessary.  His passion is palpable, and I hope with all my heart it is contagious as well.  I was very fortunate to grow up on a farm when I was a kid, and I learned to love and appreciate real food. I think every child deserves that opportunity.  How sad is it that there are kids who don't know WHERE carrots come from?  Most can probably tell you where McDonalds is located though.  How great would it be if the local pea patch had such appeal?
Bravo, Jamie Oliver.  Thank you for starting your Food Revolution.

Gratitude

"The universe is a stage..... your mind dances with your body, guided by your heart. "

        Thank you, Kathleen....my dear sweet friend....for sharing this quote with me today.  You are a treasure to me, and I am grateful for your sweet presence in my life.   xoxo

(photo by Kerri Hussey)

Murphy

Seriously....how cute is that face?  I had a bit of a cold today, and was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with my puppy sleeping on the floor next to me while I watched Avatar for the first time.  I loved that movie.

When I was lying on the couch Murphy reached up with his ENORMOUS paw.....as if to say, "hello??....there is a belly here waiting to be loved." It was so great hanging out with my old friend....my heart misses him.

Note to Self

If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I will tell you..... I came to live out  LOUD.   

~Émile Zola

Crush

I admitted recently to an obvious crush that I currently have in my life.  That's right....the Essential Baking Company.  It was one of the things I craved the most when I was in India. The rosemary bread with sea salt is at the top of the list.  Sliced, toasted, and topped with butter....oh, it's heaven, I tell you.   When I go camping I always take along a loaf of their raisin pecan bread.  I slice it up, make it happy with a generous dose of butter, wrap it in foil, and toss it on the campfire.   The raisins and the butter and all the other bits and pieces toast up to a caramel-brown slice of goodness.   This of course is always accompanied by a fresh cup of coffee.   These two items are on my top ten list for survival when camping.....
    I recently decided to get all daredevil and live on the edge...I actually bought their ciabatta bread.  I was shocked.  This simple, unassuming character that I have passed up on numerous occasions for the otherwise beautiful focacia, was delicious!  Crispy on the outside, soft, and yet chewy on the inside.  Yum.   The only down side is if you have leftovers.   I came home early from work tonight, on a beautiful, sunny Spring afternoon.   I was feeling quite lazy and didn't feel too much like cooking.   I decided I would have some ciabatta and curry red lentil soup with spinach.  Well, when I picked up the bread it was hard....as...a....rock. oh, no.  I thought..."maybe I could heat it in the oven?"  Well, I couldn't even get a knife through it, so that wasn't going to work.  Then...I had an idea.   I ripped it in half.  Yes, the inside was still soft.  So, I ripped it into pieces, like the size of small biscuits.   I mixed together 2 eggs, some vanilla soy milk, and some cinnamon and I made baby size ciabatta french toasts!   Oh, it wasn't pretty to look at, but it was delicious.   The spongy bits of bread soaked up the egg and the milk and the result was like bread pudding on the inside and toasted, maple syrup craziness on the outside.  It was so good I didn't even MAKE it to the table to sit down.  There I stood at my kitchen counter...with the sun beaming into my apartment, the Cowboy Junkies singing "Blue Moon" in the background....and I ate every last bit on my plate.   I guess the crush continues....

Craving

crav·ing 

Pronunciation: \ˈkrā-viŋ\

Function: noun

: an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing


    I went to the Pike Place Farmer's Market yesterday afternoon.  It was a beautiful, sunny Spring day.  The kind of day that almost lets you forget about Winter.  All I want to do is cook anything with fresh vegetables, and I am patiently waiting for fresh salmon to get here.  I know, I know....there is fresh salmon available now.  I just don't want to pay $34.99/lb. for it.  Yeah, call me crazy.  So, I decided I would go to one of my favorite places in Seattle and take care of my  salmon craving once and for all, and at a very decent price I might add. In theory, this should have been to appease the situation at hand until salmon season officially starts.  Which should be soon, right??  Anyways, I  went down to the Pike Market with my salmon craving and meandered my way to the "Market Grill".  It's a tiny place with about 8 counter seats right inside the market.  All they have on the menu is halibut, salmon, and clam chowder. Oh, and really good cole slaw.  You can have a baguette sandwich, or fresh grilled fish on a field greens salad with tomato, grilled onions and a side of garlic bread.  It's right across from my favorite place to buy fish in the market too which is handy for me, in my opinion. I made my way through the crowd, and walked up to the counter.  Low and behold, there was actually a seat!  If you  have been there, you know there is ALWAYS a line waiting.  Well....this is my lucky day I thought.   I sat my happy, salmon-craving, salivating self down on a stool...and waited patiently.  The young woman working behind the counter looked at me with a very weary face, and said....."there are a few things you should know. (oh, this can't be good) I am out of halibut, salmon, and bread....but, I  do have chowder left."  I don't even think I said a word.  I picked up my bag and my salmon craving, and I slowly walked away.   Then, it dawned on me.  HOW can you be out of "salmon and halibut" when you are INSIDE the fish market?  Do you see my logic? Seriously.

   How gorgeous are all those berries though? oh, my, goodness.

Sweet Memory

I have been eating my body's weight in Satsumas as of late. I suppose it is partly because you have to buy a box of 25 if you really want them.  I can't resist though...they are like candy.  Small, sweet, no seeds to be bothered with, and not all the work of peeling that an orange requires.  Plus, you have so many of them at home that you end up sharing them with your co-workers, and that is just a good thing, isn't it?   Having a crazy day at work?  Put a Satsuma in front of a co-worker....you'll get an instant smile. Seriously, go ahead and try it.
   I was on my breakfast break at work enjoying my oatmeal and eggs, and decided that some breakfast dessert was in order.  (who says you can't have dessert with your breakfast?)  I prefer it to be fruit...but I can't say I haven't had chocolate cake for breakfast dessert.   If, for instance, it just happened to be in the fridge.  Anyways, I sat there looking out at the mountains and Puget Sound from the fourth floor break room, and had a smile on my face enjoying my delicious orange treats.  Even the color of them is perfect.  Which brought back a sweet memory from my recent trip to India...
   When I was in India I was a bit frustrated with my wardrobe choices that I brought with me for a month long yoga teacher training program.  I was more concerned with being cold than with what I would be wearing, and that led me to pack a duffle bag of essentially ALL black clothes.   I was on a yoga trip, and it really shouldn't matter...but, I love clothes and I love color. (not really sure what I was thinking)  One of the many reasons I loved India turned out to be all the amazing colors.  The yellow mustard fields, the women in their beautiful saris....it made me crazy!  I have 650 pictures from the trip to prove my obsession. Anyways, one day before I took my shower I looked into my bag and thought..."I really wish I had something orange.  That would make me happy."  Well, that wasn't going to happen, so I collected my black yoga pants and my black yoga top and walked out of my eco-cottage and headed to the shower.  I was walking by myself, and then right in front of me...... there were two BIG beautiful orange butterflies dancing in the air.  They hovered in front of me flying in unison, and then they were gone.  I smiled, and I was grateful.   It reminded me that sometimes when we want something it may be right in front of us....we just have to see it. It may not even be in the form that we were hoping for....but, it may be even better.  It made putting on my black yoga pants that day really not such a big deal.

Weather Report

Well, hello there

It was brought to my attention that I might talk about food...alot.  Maybe even perhaps with a bit more passion than most. (understatement apparently)  Well, Ok....since this is my first post I will confess that I may be obsessed with food.  There.  I said it.
I know this will NOT be a shock to anyone who knows me, but I think it is good to get this out in the open.  So, here starts the adventure of sharing things with you that take my breath away, make me weak in the knees, or just give me a big smile.  There will be more than just my passionate food rantings, however chocolate may come up once or twice, so please forgive me in advance.