coffee crisis

ok, so.....i shop in the same stores, and reach for the same products unless there is a compelling reason to choose otherwise.....minimal decision anxiety....on to the next task....until this morning, when i reached for my usual ground coffee (8'o'clock hazelnut)...a bargain with or without the shoppers card discount.....but my usual brand was not there.....its shelf tag was also gone.....seems it made way for additional varieties of starbucks or store brand.....i have been using this coffee for as long as i can remember.....at least 10 years and likely more.....and so i was forced to select a different brand of hazelnut coffee.....and i studied and i contemplated and while i was deep in thought a fellow holding a huge slab of raw ribs (shrink-wrapped, of course) asked me if i knew where he could find sauerkraut....... that i did know....and i suggested the bush's bavarian with caraway seeds......but back to the coffee.....i ended up going random with the non-starbucks flavors......just in case they were to blame for the disruption to my routine.....

still life....

ok, so my art lectures have reached northern european genre paintings, which include both landscapes and still lifes (still lives?)......i had forgotten just how much i enjoy the still life......especially those with the peeled lemon and the wine glass.....both indications that the artist is very skilled....the still life pictured is by Willem Kalf painted in 1653......possibly for a guild on commission, as the horn is a guild symbol.....

the christmas art lectures.....

ok, so i asked for a set of 24 art lectures on dvd that i saw advertised in the new yorker sometime in early december....as a christmas gift that would entertain me as i walk the treadmill.....as well as expand my limited knowledge of painting beyond the notion of 'liking only what i would hang in my own home'......we are up to the early 1600's....and thankfully we are moving slowly away from religious art and into heroic scenes and portraits and landscapes and even portriats with landscapes/still life elements.....i have a soft spot in my heart for the madonna and child paintings......not so much because of the subject matter, but because of how the subject matter is portrayed in such a range of interpretations......take for example, the scrawny baby Jesus...popular with both Italian and Northern European painters.....this baby is painted with scanty flesh on its bones and one wonders if the painter was unfamiliar with the story and had no idea the baby would survive to adulthood....and then there is the disproportionate head baby- either too small or too big for its body.....and the non-swaddled babies......didn't the painters catch the part about Jesus wrapped in clothes.....certainly nothing in the Gospels about the baby Jesus flashing his private parts on the cold winter night.....and then there are the Mary variations......Mary as a middle-aged woman, Mary as a child, Mary with a single breast positioned under her chin so the nursing infant can be shown in the center of the composition.....though Mary is usually in blue...bright blue (UK rather than North Carolina)there is nothing in the Gospels to suggest that she wore this color on the night that the baby was delivered...and why does Mary look so calm and thoughtful when she has clearly given birth to a difficult baby who neither sleeps nor smiles (or at least on canvas).....and then there is the fact that none of these mothers and babies look the least bit Middle-Eastern.....enough of this curmudgeon rant about early art.......I suppose that this has something to do with the treadmilling.....I have walked for a solid hour each of the last 11 days.....and I have yet to feel the first bit of endorphin uplift......11 hours of walking with no afterglo? what is up with that?....a new wave of artists might find this visage worthy of a portrait....endorphin-deprived middle-aged woman talking back to art lecturer during daily treadmill work-out.....

knitted hat pattern

ok, so i knitted three of these hats last week, using yarn from my late mother-in-law that i found in a drawer......

KNITTED MINNESOTA WINTER HAT by Beth
(Copyright 2001 Beth Koskie)
Materials:
Size 10.5 needles
Double strand worsted weight (or you can use bulky/chunky yarn)

Note: size given for men; ladies, teens and schoolage children give in ( ).

Start at lower edge:
Cast on 70 (66 – 62 – 58) stitches.
Row 1: Work in ribbing of k2, p2 across.
Row 2: Work in ribbing of p2, k2 across.
Repeat these two rows for pattern, for 12 (11 – 10 – 9) inches, ending on wrong side (row 2).

To shape crown:
Row 1: K2 tog, *p2, k2 tog, repeat from * across.
Row 2: P1, *k2 tog, p1, repeat from * across.
Row 3: K1, p1 across.
Row 4: P1, k1 across.
Row 5: K2tog, p2 tog across. Cut yarn, leaving approximately 15-20”; with yarn needles, draw yarn through remaining stitches and pull tight. Sew seam along side and turn right side out; fold “cuff” back.

dumbest passwords....

ok, so the twitter people have released a list of the 370 dumbest passwords.....so dumb that they will not allow new subscribers to use them.......my own twitter password made the list........which eithe rmeasn that i am not clever enough to come up with a 'stronger' password, or it means that simple is best for those of us who are getting a bit feeble.....

oh, come oh come thou mostly forgotten blog.....

ok, so......the purpose of this blog was to chronicle those details in my life that i would not want to forget....as well as interesting pictures and/or commentary on the day's events....and for the most part that is how things have turned out......but lately the details of my life are such that i would prefer to forget them.....i am still seeking the silver lining in all of this....

ok, so a friend sent his today....and rather than to pass it along to my emaillist, i am posting a copy to help me remember this sage advice.....

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm fourand a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life !You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling.. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN30, then you're PUSHING40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone...

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into ! your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio.. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And thedevil's family name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6... The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

wishing my life away.....

ok, so...i attended a publ;ic hearing on potential sewer service to a local community on monday night, helped with an h1n1 clinic at a school wednesday night, gave my last exam of the year on thursday night, and lived through another quarterly board meeting on friday.......board meetings have become problematic not because i have anything to hide, but because the headlines of late are about other groups who have gotten caught betraying public....and so i was especially pleased to drag opn into the house last evening.....ready to......start knitting a hat.....i got it into my head that i really needed to 'knit-up' the drawers of yarn i have in the upstairs guest room...mostly from my late mother-in-law.....and sadly mostly too itchy to make good hats....those skeins i will pass along to the goodwill when i have exhausted the hat-worthy materials.....i am ready to cast-off hat #1 already.....and then on to hat #2....i am using inherited needles, and i pattern i downloaded for free.....it is a minnesota tobaggan hat, for the record......i also made another batch of havarti/almond bites and pecan tarts...and and apple cobbler.....and graded the exams and posted the grades....and now i will go back to playing those wretchedly addictive facebook games until it is time to eat supper......more essential activities penciled in for sunday......all i haver to do is to make it through three days of work before i have 4 days off.....

ok, so...the final remarks from President Obama's Nobel speech

Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. (Applause.)

Somewhere today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place for that child's dreams.

Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that -- for that is the story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

mamma's day out....

ok, so.....i left the house at 6:15am yesterday.... heading north......dropped child #2 at the n.ky. airport, then proceeded to the wyoming-area of cincinnati to visit my friend jan ein her assisted -living facility.....where we enjoyed mimosa's at 9:30 am.....drinking champagne is a tradition with jane and i.....and so we added the orange juice so as to not upset the staff......had lunch with my sister-in-law lisa at grand finale.....a lovely old home-restaurant conversion in glendale that specializes in crepes.....i ate there a few times in grad school so was pleased to find it still in business.....and then i turned back south....i had intended to shop my way home, but the cold rain started just after i left trader joes.....and i opted for the quickest way home rather than following my original goodwill/tuesday morning gameplan......for the record, there are at least 3 tm near to I71/75 and as many goodwill stores.....but they must wait for another day......i digress from my trader joe experience.....i have purchased vegetable sushi a lovely pastry tray for the 23rd birthday of child#2 on friday.....as well as numerous indian middle-eastern treats for his dining pleasure....and i decided too take advantage of the 10% off a case of random wines......sauvingon blanc and proseco mostly......today is our christmas brunch followed by the remainder of the day off.....i am considering using my time to take the wallpaper off of the upstairs bathroom.....not necessarily a christmas-related activity, but one that needs doing.....

havarti-almond nibbles

ok, so...i cannot find my recipe for my little baked cheese nibbles., so here is a new version:

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups grated hot pepper havarti
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
dash or two of hot sauce
2 Tbsp. chopped almonds

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine butter and cheese. Mix together until well blended. Add flour, salt and almonds to butter mixture and mix until blended. Roll out dough on floured board; cut with half-moon cutter from Dehillerin. Bake crackers at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until very lightly browned around the edges. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

a house in town...

ok, so in my fitful dreams we bought a house 'in town'.....a flat town with large front yards in the downtown and lots of trees.......the house was in two parts......a front section with 2 rooms down and 2 up....then a vacant sort of area......then 2 rooms up and two rooms down right behind.....like a chunk had been taken out, or part of the house had caved in and the rubble removed.....and we had plans to reconnect the sections with an atrium......and i was planning to move furniture from my mother's attic into this 'townhouse'......where we would stay only occasionally.......mostly we would plant roses and fanciful boxwood knot gardens on the flat yard......what a strange thing to dream.......

mrs. weasley-style tennis outfit....

ok, so......not only did i sleep the night completely through til 7:15 am.....i managed to recall these many hours later several scenarios of incredible detail........one of being in a home in hyde park in cincinnati that i have only seen form the street but never entered.....that involved visiting my grad school room-mate and her extended family while i was in cincinnati for some errand......and my room-mates mother arrived home wearing tennis garb....and the outfit she was wearing was of the same kinda crazy-color knitted milieu that mrs weasley wears in the harry potter films...down to the bloomers under the tennis dress.....the crazy-color mother tells me that she will fix dinner as soon as she is done with her tennis match, i only i can locate the kabab skewers......as i have never before been in thsi home, i wander aimlessly through the rooms in search of skewers.....at some point my car has been stolen, but reappears in the neighbors driveway.....and an unidentified woman is taking her children to the dentist and needs help getting them in their coats.......such vibrant details to a nonsensical dream.....i AM driving to cincinnati early on tuesday on an airport run...and i DO plan on meeting a sister-in-law for lunch as well as shopping at the trader joes.......my ex-roommate DOES live in hyde park, just not in the home featured in my dream sequence.......dreams are so vary curious.......

damp pajamas

ok, so.....in my dreams i was carrying around a baby.....wearing a clean diaper but no undershirt and wearing pajamas damp from the diaper-change and cleanup.....i spent far too much dream time trying to locate undershirts and pajamas......not really pajamas but a one-piece zip-up longsleeved sleeper......no clue as to the baby's identity....could have been one of mine,,,,could have been random dream-seqence baby......at some point i stopped at a farm for coffee.....no clue how i managed to get to the farm carrying a damp baby.....or why i thought coffee would be available......bottom-line is that i am exhausted this morning and filled with the feeling that i failed the mystery baby.....

the decemberist.....

ok, so i like this time of year.....the preparations, both in terms of gift selection as well as the baking of goodies and the creation of greenery accents.....i like that i have some freebie time off coming up.....and that when i have to work most folks are in jovial moods.....and most folks in my family manage to make to most of the highlight holiday events......and i get around to making the charitable donations that i have been meaniong to make since last december, when i vowed that i would do better at supporting worthy causes.......ah, december...