The whole earth was brimming sunshine that morning. She tripped along, the clear sky pouring liquid blue into her soul.
Theodore Dreiser
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Tags: Quoting
Singing the theme song. And no, she is not being beamed away in the process – just an ill placed light pole.
Two great minds that go great together (like Reese’s!).
Spock and Uhura
Khan!
Those compression chambers get me every time.
A preview of next season…
Awesome Portlanders!
Dang it, Portland, you are awesome, really. Filled with fine sights, lovely weather, a love for the environment, and that sometimes zany creative spirit, I can’t think of a finer place for this red roofed writer to call home.
Take, for instance, this past weekend. The hubster and I had a fine outing to North Portland (NoPo if you are so inclined – I am not) for a play-like production of an episode of Star Trek, “Space Seed” to be precise. First, I just love that a group of people would think to do this - a live production of an iconic television show, why not? Second, to be supported by such masses of people, Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike (peace and harmony!), that there was scarcely a place to sit within earshot after we arrived (90 minutes before showtime, I might add). Seriously, how cool is that?!
Anyhoo, it was a grand time, and though the set was rather simple, it was better than alright: the singing of the theme song, the sound effects, the witty repartee, and, of course, Captain Kirk battling with Khan(!). Called Trek in the Park and put on by Atomic Arts, it is word for word, blow by blow, and laugh for laugh accurate. I never thought it could be so fun!
We followed our adventure with a stop at one of our world famous food cart restaurants (Portland is ranked number ONE in the world for street food according to Budget Travel). A place I’d been wanting to try for ages, it didn’t disappoint. A perfect end to a terrific day, but I won’t spoil it with too many words. I’ll let the pictures do the majority of the talking…
Grilled Cheese Gromit!
Get on the bus…
Sip some bubbly…
Eat a sammy – The Jalapeno Popper and The Jersey.
Be Happy!
Nothing that is can pause or stay;
The moon will wax, the moon will wane,
The mist and cloud will turn to rain,
The rain and mist to cloud again,
Tomorrow be today.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tags: Quoting
I’ve been thinking all morning about the past year, the 365 days since I had my hysterectomy. So much of what I feel is a jumble, of memories, and emotions, and wonder. Did all of that pain and suffering really happen, and to me? Despite the fact that I have four scars to prove it, it is hard to fathom that I ever was different from the woman I am now, one glorious year later.
For right now, all I feel is gratitude and a deep in my bones feeling that all is right, utterly and perfectly so, with the world. Part of it is the physical progress I’ve made over the past year. I feel so much better. I am not in constant pain. I’m on a very minimal dose of hormones (soon to be none, I think), and I’ve lost the weight I gained on the awful ones. I no longer need to take iron to cope with the massive surgical blood loss, not to mention the huge deficit every time my period came calling. I am a healthy woman, inside and out.
Most importantly, I feel an immense sense of gratitude for the ways I took care of myself by letting go. I let go of the notion that my pain was okay, that it wasn’t interfering with my life. Sure, I had innumerable ways of coping, of managing, but, looking back, I can’t honestly say that I was truly living. To be even more honest, I didn’t believe I deserved to experience that other life – the one where I was a good and valuable person, one who didn’t need to suffer. What a difference a year makes! Now I know, and in this moment, the only moment that I have, feel truly deserving of a joyous post surgical life.
In this life, I don’t have to fix myself to be a success. I can ask for the help of doctors, nurses, and the people I love. In this life, I am not ashamed of what I cannot do and very proud of what I can (Write! Bake! Garden!). I matter. I am important. I am worthy of all that is good, great, and spectacular! So are we all. Thanks for being part of my journey.
Happy Birthday Buddy! I love you!
Tags: Endometriosis
Hello Monday.
It was a terrific weekend here. One of those lovelies filled with everything and nothing: looking at electric pianos (we’re both going to learn), riding bikes to a pizza place we hadn’t tried before (Dove Vivi – very good), washing clothes, doing chores, lolling about the house reading Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Good golly miss molly! Normally I am a one book at a time kind of reader, zipping straight through, but I just can’t do it with her. The text is so dense. After about ten pages, I have to switch to something else (it was Astrid and Veronika, but now I’ve finished that and need something else, something breezy and light) out of fear of literary overload. It is a good book though, the characters and story so rich and full of everything: life, sorrow, joy, art, nature, food...
The hubster’s birthday is Wednesday, another year more handsome and wonderful, I say! The photo represents his birthday dinner a few days early, a slow sunny Sunday spent in the kitchen. I felt of another era: barefoot, singing, with a messy apron tied tightly about my middle. I made lemonade, barbecue sauce, marinated and slow roasted ribs (boneless – no mess!), boiled and dressed potatoes, too. Talk about the epitome of summer! We followed all of this with chocolate cupcakes, of course, because it certainly wouldn’t be a Gregory Cooper birthday celebration without something chocolate, no way, no how. For some reason I didn’t take a picture of them, but I assure you of their goodness. Anything for my sweetie. He works so hard and is essential to what makes my life the glorious one that it is. I love you, Buddy.
I also played with my watercolors a little, making waves and trees that I’ll scan for your viewing pleasure one of these days. I am definitely growing more confident with a brush. I’m also thinking about another quilt, one for the guest room. I’ve got a stack of pink and green fabrics that I think would be rather nice together.
Oh, and Lori – don’t fret about the quilt making! Just do it, seriously, start wherever you like. I am a wonky sewer, too. My seams never seem to be very straight, and I always mess something up. Oops is a favorite word of mine! As a matter of fact, after thinking I did a pretty good job of sewing on my binding, I learned that I did it wrong. Next time I’ll go straight to the You Tube before reading a description over and over again and thinking, “Yah, I know what I’m doing.” It looks good, at least, certainly not professional, but good.
There you have it, another weekend in Portland Paradise. Be well, everyone.
I know that your heart lies shattered,
Pieces strewn about the floor,
Waiting for your attention,
Waiting for your care.
Until that time arrives,
Until you have shed the tears still welling within you,
Tears for your brother and and the delicately fierce bonds of family,
Know that you are not alone.
The small hands you’ve enveloped in joy,
The eyes that have gazed upon you in admiration and wonder,
The ears that have heard your laugh and been made better by it,
The hearts touched by your caring,
Are collective souls hoping to buoy your spirit in this time of mourning
And return in small part what you have given so freely.
Colleen Sohn
Tags: Poetry
Last week was pretty hot here. Super, retreat to the basement kind of hot. And what does one do in the basement besides row on the machine or watch the old television, the one with the screen that occasionally turns bright red? Why make a quilt, of course!
I had never made one before, and I, like many other people I know, have what seems to be a giant stash of fabric begging for just such a project to be made with it. In particular, this beautiful Japanese cotton (running down the center of the quilt) that Sarah bought me on one of her trips there. I’d been contemplating what to do with it for ages. A dress? A blouse? A bag? When I started putting pieces of fabric together to decide what to quilt, I knew this was just the right use for it.
It was pretty simple, a total of ten pieces, including the batting, as I had no intention of drawing it out or starting something I would not finish because I bit off more than I could chew. I am very pleased with the looks of it (the hubster likes it, too). Not to mention, it’s just the right size for cozying up on the living room sofa on cooler days.
Now that I have the confidence, along with much more fabric in my stash and a piece of batting, don’t be surprised if you see another quilt here soon. It is summer, after all, and there are bound to be more hot days requiring time in the cool basement.
Oh, and the beautiful baked good up there? That’s a clafoutis, made from the recipe I posted here. I used the Raven’s Heart plums that are in season now. Aren’t they gorgeous? They taste delicious, too. I might add.
Have a lovely week!
Tags: Cooking and Baking
I read somewhere recently that the purpose of school is to make people learn to conform. I have to admit that a tight knot formed in my belly upon reading it. Fighting words. School is so much more. Then I thought a bit more about it and found myself conforming to whomever’s idea it was. Sit here, be nice, 2+2=4, oh, and you better agree with me. I’ve spent a lot of my life agreeing with people. Sometimes even when I really don’t. It is easier and kinder and usually feels right. What about those times when it doesn’t? When I quit the charade and speak my mind? It surprises people and I don’t get invited back to that cool clique on the playground. Someone I used to know called it my hard nugget. “See, you’re petite, and have such a sweet smile, and then POW! out comes the hard nugget.”
I would rather be alone than not be me. It’s that simple. Which is a rather roundabout way of getting to Visioneers, the topic of today’s spotlight. It is a weird and wacky black comedy about the power of corporate America to infiltrate our lives (and the government), and one man’s struggle to discover his authentic self, no matter the cost.
When the number of people exploding from some mystery ailment drastically increases, Visioneer George Washington Winsterhammerman (played by Zach Galifianakis of The Hangover fame) begins to worry. He’s got the classic symptoms – insomnia, loss of interest in sex, binge eating and, most frightening of all – he still dreams.
I really liked this movie. First off, in the aforementioned wacky way, it totally made me laugh. People at the company where George works flip each other off and say, “Jeffers Morning” to greet each other. The insignia for the company is this same gesture (see it there in the poster?). They are terrified by chaos, but they call it “chay-os.” They are an uber efficient and detached group of conformists, with an extreme terror of exploding. Especially George.
Yet there is a certain pleasure in his work, a connection with his level four boss, Charisma. She calls and is friendly, human even. She attaches sticky notes with smiley faces to his work. But, when she gets fired and disappears, George starts to unravel and descend into chay-os. His already troubled marriage takes a turn; his weird, drop-out brother starts to make sense, and his dreams intensify. Is he going to explode? It was terribly worthwhile to find out.
There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.
Celia Thaxter
When I was in high school and college, I worked at an Italian family restaurant. It was very homey, decorated for every holiday, and served really good food. It was red sauce galore, pizza, great steaks, pepperoni on the salad, and one of the best sandwiches in the world – The Sausage Special. Made on garlic bread with green chiles and just a touch of that sauce, it made me ever so happy. Whenever I visit my parents, a visit must be made to indulge.
It was the eighties, and there was lots of drama at the restaurant, not to mention make-up, big hair, big clothes, and personalities to match, save one. The sister of the owner, Aunt Liz, was a hostess on one of the shifts I worked. I loved her. She was soft spoken and kind, beautiful without a stitch of make up, had great style, close cropped hair, and made this awesome strawberry cake. She brought it in a 13×9 pan with a metal lid that slid across the top, like the lip gloss that I loved. To be honest, the cake could have been pretty average, and I may still have liked it, just for the sake of the container. I am that kind of person. But, it wasn’t just the tin, the cake was gorgeous and delicious. So strawberry! So summer!
I got the recipe from her but never made it, but it has been on my mind lately. The memories of it have been clearer. So yesterday, when I got an awesome deal on organic strawberries (three pounds for two dollars!) I made these cupcakes in homage to her. They aren’t Aunt Liz’s recipe – hers were the frozen in syrup kind – but boy oh boy are they delicious and cute as a button. We shared them with the neighbors, but mum’s the word if you want to eat them all yourself. You just might.
Adapted from 1 Mix, 100 Muffins, by Susanna Tee
Strawberry Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
6 tablespoons sunflower or other mild oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup strawberries, hulled
Preheat the oven to 400. Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt, in a large bowl. Puree the eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and strawberries (I used a large measuring cup and my trusty hand blender). Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for five minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Strawberry Frosting
1/4 cup strawberries, hulled
4 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
1/4 cup shortening
pinch salt
1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Puree the strawberries (again, the hand blender in a measuring cup – or mash with a fork), set aside. Beat together the butter, shortening, and salt, until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, beat until combined. Add the strawberry puree and mix just until blended. You may need the extra 1/2 cup of powdered sugar here, if the frosting is too wet.
Frost your cooled cupcakes and top with strawberry halves, if you like.
Enjoy!
Tags: Cooking and Baking, Recipes
Hi
Welcome to Under a Red Roof.
I’m Colleen Sohn, writer, poet, dreamer.
I like to take pictures.
I’m a bit silly, love yoga, eating, and good stories, because bad ones are a bummer.
Thanks for stopping by…
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