Under a Red Roof ·

Everlasting Moments

May 15, 2009 in Remembering, Spotlighting, Watching by Colleen | 1 comment

When I was little, the first camera I had was a Kodak Pocket Instamatic. I liked the feel of it in my hand and the power associated with it – this moment will be mine, not only in memory, but as something tangible, for as long as I have the photograph. I remember being so excited to take pictures – there was a distinct thrill in finding a certain light or subject, winding the film, putting my eye to the view finder, and hearing the very sharp click of the shutter. I took a picture! Twelve photos later and I was ready to drop them off at Target, wait another week, and then see the results.

Sometimes they were disappointing – a finger or a blurred image marring what I thought was the perfect composition, but most of the time they were exactly how I remembered the scene to be: my cat Tasha licking her paw, the glorious Royal Gorge Bridge, or the beautiful and prolific sweet pea blooms in our neighbor Helen’s yard. I guess not much has changed, actually. I still get the same thrill when I snap photos now, only I get the instant gratification of seeing my work on the tiny digital screen of my camera.

It is this same thrill that echoes throughout the superb Swedish film from Jan Troell, Everlasting Moments. The story follows Maria, her husband, friends, and children with the same careful attention one pays in capturing the singular moments of life. From her first photograph to her last, we watch this woman grow in maturity, wisdom, and age, all the while taking photos of the mundane to the sacred. No matter what is on the other side of the lens, beyond her eye, she treats it with the delicacy and wonder of a rare object.

However, I would be remiss if I led you to believe this is a film about photography. It certainly is that, but it is really so much more, too. It is about the joys of living, the ways we love, fidelity, sacrifice, loss, and a changing world. I think, oddly enough, what I found most striking was the way everyday sounds, like birdsong, the fluttering of leaves in the trees, even children’s laughter, were incorporated into the story, like a heart beating in time.

Two and One

May 14, 2009 in Quoting by Colleen | Permalink

In nature everything is distinct, yet nothing defined into absolute independent singleness.

William Wordsworth – Guide to the Lakes

Good Morning!

May 11, 2009 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 1 comment

I bought some buttermilk for a recipe that I made for our party the weekend before last and had a lot left over, so I did my best to make use of it – buttermilk salad dressing, buttermilk pancakes, and these rather tasty blueberry muffins. This recipe makes a dozen, and more if you’re like me and don’t fill the cups all the way. They are muffins at their simple best, not too sweet, no crumb toppings or spices necessary – good for sharing with your best friend, feet up, enjoying the morning sun.

Blueberry Muffins

adapted from Martha Stewart Holiday Baking 2002

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (I know – zowie!)

2 1/4 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line muffin tin. Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Allow to cool. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the butter, vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk. Stir just until combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Carefully fold in the berries. Fill muffin cups completely. Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes.

Eat them while they are warm, if you can, and it will be a good morning indeed!

Also, a sugar update: I had a bender about two weeks ago, eating two servings of rice pudding and some cake, along with samples of every cookie I baked for the party. I also ate two of these muffins. Oh golly to be perfectly steady in my saying no! I suppose life is too sweet, in general, for that…

Musical Firsts

May 8, 2009 in Listening, Spotlighting by Colleen | 2 comments

When I was little, my dad got an iron on transfer for St. Pauli Girl beer with the purchase of a six pack. It had the ubiquitous beautiful blonde holding up two beers and said, “You never forget your first girl.” I was too young at the time to know what this meant, but it’s always stuck with me, especially about the firsts.

The other day I was in the car when “Late in the Evening” by Paul Simon came on the radio and with it, a certain cohesion of elements – the Saint Pauli Girl and music, for “Late in the Evening” was the very first 45 I bought with my own money and played, rather proudly, on my Mickey Mouse Record Player. I was nine years old and have never forgotten it. It is a toe tapping, dance till you’re sweaty kind of song, filled with adult references that I didn’t understand at the time.

Three years later, I bought Robert Plant’s Principle of Moments album at Sweets Records and Tapes at the Target Shopping Center at 80th and Wadsworth. I remember Danny, the odd man who ran the place (and now is a purveyor of books in the same shopping center, different location), asking me what the picture on the album cover meant. I was twelve, prone to fits of shyness and embarassment and really just wanted to hear “Big Log” whenever I wanted and not be at the whim of the radio or certain record store clerks, and shrugged, cheeks crimson, “I don’t know.” He looked at me with disdain, and very nearly didn’t let me buy the album, before saying, “It’s THE principle of moments!” “Um okay, can I take it home now?” I enjoyed, at my leisure, some good, but what now sounds like very 80’s music.

When the new and revolutionary technology of CD’s came into the fore, and I bought my first player in 1990, I went back in time with my first musical selection, also from Sweets and thankfully, without hassle from Danny. I got Elton John’s Greatest Hits. It still gets air time around here. The hubster and I both love him!

I think we were among the last people we knew to buy an I-Pod. Our system of CD’s was working pretty well. Now, as with many gadgets technological, it’s hard to imagine what we’d do without it. Anyhoo, the first song I bought was The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.” Unlike the Paul Simon of my youth, it isn’t quite dance-able, but it does have Jack White’s stellar voice and an awesome drum beat.

Also, about the picture. I didn’t feel like putting up each of the album covers, so this is a random dog spotted out walking one day. Its title could be “First Squirrel.”

Deluge

May 4, 2009 in Celebrating, Drinking by Colleen | 1 comment

Well, I did not get my wish for Saturday. I did not get this sky. The rain came precisely at 2:00, stopped after about fifteen minutes to start again about an hour later in a crazy melodramatic deluge akin to something one sees in cinema: sheets, torrents, and thunderclaps, oh my!

Thankfully, despite the rain, the afternoon social was a success. Yay! There were twenty-five cheery guests, each eager for snacks of every stripe, lemonade and some for whiskey, too, myself included. Have I mentioned how much I love whiskey? Indubitably – with Coke, lemonade, orange juice, tamarind soda, a splash of sparkling water and cherry juice, with a cherry on top – quite fine.

We did get to spend a little time out on the patio before it turned vicious, admiring the garden and enjoying the good company of neighbors. I feel wonderfully blessed to know and be in the presence of such fine, kind-hearted people. Life is good.