Having Cake and Eating It

I went here for a few days:


Chicago - Brrr

It was chilly, but it was certainly pleasant to (briefly) experience actual winter scenes with snow rather than our Arizona quasi-winter with slightly less warm temperatures (although we did have that rare snowfall in February!)

We celebrated my brother’s birthday with some good meals and a delicious chocolate-raspberry cake. I got to spend time with my niece, who gave me a tour of the neighborhood, made special meringue cookies, and kept me entertained for the weekend.

 

Back in Phoenix, the Piemaker was not to be outdone by birthday cake, and he welcomed me home with this masterpiece.



Strawberries & Cream Cake

Wow! It’s really strawberry! And really good! The layers of filling start out separate, but over several days they soak into the cake layers until the inside of the cake is more red than white.

The recipe is from the April issue of Southern Living. I recommend it!

Cake, cookies, more cake. I know there are Easter eggs around here too. Did someone mention exercise?

Katrina

 

200th Post: I've Got the Pictures to Show For It

Here we go with the last few photos that I love but haven't managed to fit into the first 200 blog posts:

Flowers of Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis, the perfect desert landscaping tree

 

 An Arabian friend

 

My hibiscus put on a big show last spring

Manny likes his sweater, even though it doesn’t quite fit over his round belly.

I just loved this image, but I felt it needed some witty aphorism as a caption. Now I’ve realized I’m just not witty enough, so here it is.

Next week I hope to be productive and get something – anything – done. Ten days til Christmas, people!

Katrina

200th Post: I've Seen Some Things

I wanted to share a few images I captured in my travels, but which didn’t quite fit into my earlier blog posts for whatever reason.

Why doesn’t anyone ever photograph the back  of a peacock?

  

An old piece of honeycomb in a field – how did it get there?

Really cool graphics in a Healdsburg, CA shop window (too bad about the poor photo quality!)

Normally I wouldn’t be happy to see a vegetable garden pest, but I like this ghostly image of a cabbage white moth floating over someone else’s broccoli.

On Friday I will have a few more flora and fauna pics to share.

Katrina

Blubber and Bubbles

If you ever need a reminder of how to relax and have a good time, you should spend time with seals.

During last week’s trip to California, we drove out to Goat Rock Beach, where the Russian River flows into the Pacific Ocean. A colony of Pacific Harbor Seals has managed to hang on here, in spite of troublesome people and pollution.

When we viewed them (from the recommended distance), most of them were belly-up on the beach, enjoying the sun.

 

Occasionally one of them went for a swim, willing to catch a fish if it was easy.

I think that seal was smiling.

Katrina

Another Quick Trip

I'm going on another short trip, hope to be back next Monday.

Have a lovely weekend!

Katrina

Patriot Day

Tomorrow is the eleventh anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. I have been living in a cocoon of denial for those eleven years, refusing to watch video footage of the planes, unable to even consider seeing one of the movies about that day, and avoiding conversations on the topic. I just recently discovered that I can finally approach the subject without breaking into sobs.

The World Trade Center was my home away from home for the month of August, 2001.


The Marriot was in WTC 3. A walk through the lobby of the North Tower and across the bridge got me to work each morning. source



While I worked at the Financial Center across the street, I stayed at the Marriot WTC, a twenty-two story hotel that was completely dwarfed by the 110-floor towers on either side. There were coffee shops everywhere, and it was nice to get a big cappuccino and sit in the plaza and people-watch. There were so many good restaurants in the hotel and the WTC complex that I didn’t even have to leave the building on busy working nights. There was a huge shopping mall below the WTC, and a big clothing store across the street, so any last-minute necessities could be procured immediately (and late-night shopping urges could be satisfied).

It was not uncommon to find a tourist sprawled in the middle of the plaza with a camera pointed upwards, trying to get as much of the towers as possible. source 

The WTC was also the perfect base of operations for weekend activities – located nearly at the southern tip of Manhattan and with access to train and subway stations, the hotel was my launching pad for four weekends of non-stop shopping, dining, and sightseeing.

I had the subway figured out, at least enough so that if I got off at the wrong stop once in a while I didn’t worry, but either got back on the next train or just explored a new area. I walked miles and miles of city streets and was forever getting turned around. I found more neat little shops, tiny churches, and colorful neighborhoods than if I’d somehow found my destination the first time. I dined on caviar at a Russian restaurant, drank sangria at a Spanish restaurant, saw a Broadway show, and found kindred spirits in the Village. I shopped for linen suits (August in New York City!), and shoes to replace the ones I wore out. By the end of my time there I was pretty sure I could stay forever. I enjoyed that assignment in NYC more than any other during my nearly 20 years of on-the-job travel.


A familiar sight: approaching the towers at street level. source

I’d been back home for a little more than a week when my radio alarm woke me with the babble of panicked voices talking about the World Trade Center, and of course, I thought it was a dream. Just in case it wasn’t, I detoured toward the television, just in time to see the second plane crash into the South Tower. Not a dream, but definitely a nightmare. So many people lost.

Why did I have such a prolonged emotional response? It’s common enough that there are popular theories: survivor guilt, misdirected anger, generalized anxiety. I think it is simpler: just plain grief.  It was a strange, terrible day, and it’s been a strange eleven years, but I seem to be waking up from the nightmare finally.

Patriot Day, as we call it now, does not make me feel patriotic, it makes me feel sad. But it also makes me nostalgic for a wonderful summer I had once in New York City. Tomorrow when I take a moment to remember the victims, the rescuers, and the survivors, I will also remember what was there before. 


source

Katrina

 

A Midsummer Daydream

There’s still something magical about the summer solstice, even though the day length doesn’t vary much at this latitude, and I’m unlikely to dance in the forest at midnight. (Just saying it’s improbable, not impossible.) Today I might find a snowy movie to watch or maybe read a book set in Iceland or Alaska.

For more cooling effects, here are some photos of cool places I visited on my last trip to Northern California.

My favorite bridge

A very blue Pacific

Quiet beach

Favorite Inn

Gardens at the inn. So green!

 

Sweet-smelling jasmine directly below our window!

Favorite restaurant

I hope you enjoy cool breezes or warm sunshine (whichever you prefer!) for your summer celestial celebrations.

Katrina

A Very Special Birthday

Today is my dad’s 80^th birthday! Hooray!

Dad is a doctor, astronomer, photographer, naturalist, inventor, teacher, traveler, writer, baker, and gardener, as well as being an excellent all-around family guy.

The Piemaker and I made a quick trip out to California for a family celebration of the big birthday. It was great to see some aunts, uncles, and cousins (including some brand-new baby cousins!), in addition to Bro, SIL, the Niece, and of course, my parents. We had a lovely visit, breathed in the cool air, and now we’re back in Arizona. Hope to get back to the coast soon.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Katrina

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. And Oregano.

I picked handfuls of herbs for The Piemaker to take to a friend. We are getting a very good crop, in spite of the extreme heat and hungry pests.

Front, L-R: Curly Parsley, English Thyme, Greek Oregano.  Back, L-R: Purple Sage, Upright Rosemary

Soon we'll be heading off on another quick trip to San Francisco. I’ll be back posting again next week.

Have a great week (and weekend)!

Katrina

Top Ten Things To Do When You Have a Cold

This stupid cold! I can’t focus on small work long enough to do much reading or sewing, and I don’t have enough energy to undertake any huge landscaping projects, so I’ve just been bouncing around. Here are my top ten things to amuse oneself while sick.

10. Find someone to blame. I haven’t had a head cold for years, and I’m disappointed that my one souvenir from my trip to California is this mess of sore throat, stuffy head and watery eyes. With my recent visits to airports, planes, taxicabs, and hotels, along with sudden close contact with fifty or more people at a party, it’s not too surprising that I picked up a virus, but I’m not happy about it. I think I’ll blame air travel in general.

9. Sleep. This actually should count as items 2 though 9, because it’s practically all I can do. I am such a wimp.

8. Do boring tasks. I’ve paid the bills, vacuumed, done loads of laundry, looked up tax information. Yawn.

7. Organize. Not quite in the category of boring tasks, but not always my favorite activity, either. I reorganized the closets for the umpteenth time. I never quite meet my goal of having all wearable garments in one closet, visible and organized. This time I managed to get all tops, jackets, and pants into one closet, skirts, dresses, and coats into another, and items needing repair into a third. I also did a bit of cleaning and organizing in the sewing room.

6. Shop online. Somehow, I can lose half a day scrolling through vintage kitchenware, fabrics and patterns, and dresses and shoes. So far I’ve resisted the urge to actually hit the checkout button on any of my shopping carts. Good thing I went through all my closets and supplies first!

5. Work outside. I managed to weed three of the four vegetable beds before my energy ran out. Then I decided to inventory my cactus collection. I want to photograph, map and label everything. Some of them I know by sight, others have plant tags around here somewhere, and others are a complete mystery requiring research online and in my cactus books. All this is because a local cactus salvager stopped by my house a few weeks ago and offered to buy some of my specimens. I declined the offer but thought it would be prudent to create a complete record of everything just in case someone decides to collect my cacti without my permission.

4. Play with dogs. My pups are always willing to play or sleep, whatever the situation calls for. Manny the terrier takes things very seriously and understands that I’m not feeling well. He has temporarily abandoned his independent ways and has been sitting on my lap to let me know how much he cares. Dolly the chi mix thinks that continuing her regular antics is the best medicine for me.

3. Drink juice. I can’t taste much with my nose stopped up, but fruit juice is the most delicious thing on the planet right now. I also enjoyed the three grapefruit that our baby tree gave us this year. I’m happy to see it has plenty of green shoots coming out so it can grow big and strong.

2. Plan projects. I have so many things in progress right now: embroidery to finish, cut fabric to sew, zippers to replace. And I can’t stop thinking about linen pants and knit tops I want to make for spring and summer.

1. Eat Pie. I know, you already guessed that one. The Piemaker has been too busy to bake, but we had buttermilk pie and tangerine pie from the backup supply in the freezer. I hope there’s some pumpkin pie in there!

Hoping that you get through cold and flu season safely!

Katrina


(all graphics from The Graphics Fairy)

You Can Go Home Again

When I visit "home" I like to tour around some of my old haunts, but I rarely seem to have the time. While we were in CA last week, I really wanted to get out to the coast, even if it was to get just a glimpse of the ocean. Unfortunately I got a migraine and we didn’t quite make it all the way to the beach, but it was still a nice drive and I got a few pictures that I think are representative of the area.

Miles and miles of dairyland lie between Hwy 101 and the coast.

The black and white cows are my favorite.

We stopped in Point Reyes and ate lunch at the Pine Cone Diner.

Pt Reyes is an old and diverse community, with some unusual public art.

This is "Our Lady of the Harbor" in an empty lot just off the main street.

Closeup: she has birds, feathers, shells, fish, plants and other accessories and offerings

I could not resist this mossy, falling-down shack on the road to Petaluma

Of course, the common theme in my photos is the lush greenery. We had rain for two of our four days, and the air was humid the rest of the time. It was quite a shock to my desert-adapted system, but so pleasant. I hope to get back there again soon!
Katrina

Things We Don’t Often See

On our lovely trip to Northern California, we saw many things we don’t get enough of in Arizona:

The color GREEN!

Fog

Redwoods

Dew (and a little friend)

Ancient oak trees covered in moss

Jackrabbit

Yes, we see plenty of jackrabbits in AZ, but they’re usually moving fast. This guy was happy to sit and eat while I took his picture.

We had a great but too-short trip. Our friend’s celebration of life was colorful, joyous, and sad, as it should be. My parents are doing wonderfully well, or else they are very good at hiding whatever may ail them. They entertained us with stories and good meals and loaded us up with books. (Probably the greatest fear known to anyone in my family is being trapped on an airplane for hours with nothing to read.)

Between family and friends we squeezed in a nice drive to the coast, and I will have a few photos to share with you next time.

Katrina

Going Away; Back Soon

I’m leaving on a short trip tomorrow – just a couple of days in SF to attend a celebration of life for the dearly departed D. While I’m there, I’ll also visit my parents and maybe have a bit of time to take in the local color. Going back to the Bay Area (my childhood home and home of my heart) is always frustrating because there are approximately 8000 things to do and we usually only have time for two or three.

I’m not going to fool myself into thinking I’ll be able to visit the blogoverse from any of my destinations. The last time I traveled, my laptop refused to boot up. The time before, I could not get a wi-fi signal. So I just won’t worry about it. I figure if I bring a couple of embroidery canvases with me, I won’t even think about the internet.

And I'll be back next week with news and pics. Have a lovely week!

Katrina