November 12, 2008
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Lately
I’ve not been writing anything lately. I’ve got nothing to say.
I’m thinking in pictures.
A collage: Giant Tina Turner thrashes ankle-deep in a crowd of vintage illustrated Chinese villagers.
A sketch: Tangerine. Skin worn thin with rot and hugging each segment individually.
Doodles: Bodies. Trees. Birds. Cats. Umbrellas. Ladies in winter hats.
Photos: The lake. Clouds, gray and brain-like. Flat, gray sky.I’m cooking.
Soups and curries for the freezer. A weekly batch of quinoa for lunch salads. A stash of cooked lentils. Baked fish. Poached fish. Boiled eggs. Crockpot.
Beans. Beats. Kale.
Mustard greens. Turnip greens. Red cabbage. Spinach.
Steel cut oats. Butternut love.
We eat protein daily now. I struggle to afford hormone-free meat/dairy. It makes me angry that I have to pay more to not be poisoned.I go to parties.
New friends, old acquaintances turned new friends, building a permanent life, a feel-good network. Its amazing how easy friends come once commitment to place is made. Is that what’s changed? Is it us? Yes.
I bring pumpkin things parties.
A pumpkin pie. A pumpkin loaf. Cajun-spiced seeds. Not canned pumpkins. Whole, orange, ‘lil guys. It takes forever to peel and roast and puree, but its satisfying in that crazy Martha Stewart way when you know that a pretty pie was once a gourd.
Truly [whispered to fresh batch of pumpkin spice muffins]: You’ve come a long way, baby.
I’m working.
I like my job. I like my colleagues. I like what I do. But I’ve been working way too many consecutive days in a row lately (weekdays–weekends) in order to accrue days off for Thanksgiving. Like most work-a-holics, I have no one to blame but myself. I have 10 days vacation time, but I’d like to save those up for a spring trip to Colorado and a few long weekend early summer trips (my friend Bryan and I are thinking about an upper Peninsula camping/hiking trip in June). The days I accrued earlier in the month allow me six days off in a row for Thanksgiving.
I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving.
We rented a car to drive back to MI. I’m looking forward to piling in and hitting the road. I’m looking forward to going on long walks with my mom. I’m looking forward to sleeping in. I’m looking forward to going to the pub with my Bryan. I don’t get the Turkey Fever (meat-eating is a chore for me that I do for health not pleasure), but I’m looking forward to seeing family. I like talking to Shaun’s aunt Deb. I like snuggling my nephews and reading to them in funny voices (Shaun does a funny recitation of kids books using an faux-academic “poetry voice.” The nephews and I think this is super weird and funny.) I can’t wait to hang out with my brothers and the noisy Pacellas. I’ve got a game to bring over to my family’s to play. Its gonna be fun. I’m mildly curious to know if I’ll see my dad, but I’m not bent out of shape about it anymore. I’ve stopped caring. And not in the way that I just tell myself that I’m over it. There’s honestly no feelings of attachment there anymore. No feelings to disappointment or abandonment or a desire to be acknowledged. That family loves me to the best of their ability. Which doesn’t say much, but which can’t expect much either. Besides: why should I stress myself out to see someone who calls possibly once a year when there are plenty of people around me who reach out all the time?
I’m reading.
Lots of stuff. Whats new?I’m running and walking.
The bike is put away for the season. Its FREEZING! And worse: too windy. There is nothing worse than trying to bike against a Chicago wind whipping off the lake. Impossible!I’m trying not to panic about money.
Shaun has another job interview on Friday. Fingers crossed!I’m trying to stay healthy.
I still go to the medicine women and acupuncture. It seems to be working. If I didn’t already want to do a billion things in this life, I’d become a medicine woman myself. Who knows–perhaps this can be added to my goals for later in life, like after I retire from teaching (something that I still have to figure out how to afford going back to school for). I’ve got a full plate as it is. But still. I think I’d be a good medicine woman.
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What are you up to? Are you thinking in words? What are you looking forward to?
Comments (7)
This was a wonderful, warm and cozy peek at your life – which currently resembles mine in that I’m taking a break from words and have been doing much of what is on your list (with the exception of making pumpkin pie from scratch – big props to you there!). I’m enjoying the cooler weather and looking forward to the holidays. I’m smiling, which I haven’t done enough of lately. And this post. . .this post just added to the smiles. . .
It’s lovely to hear from you, cavewoman.
Right now I am taking a break from updating spreadsheets that track our nutrition education grants at work. The federal fiscal year ended 9/30, so new sheets are needed for a new year. It takes a surprising amount of time, especially since I’m doing some tweaking this year. It doesn’t feel creative or new.
I always think in words – SPOKEN words. That’s important. I think I’m more aural than visual. I write blog posts by talking to myself as I drive to work. Not too many of them get translated into written words, though, due to lack of time.
I am looking forward to being DONE with grad school, and no longer having to read bloodless academic stuff that I can’t quite understand no matter how many times I read it. I wrote my last short paper last night. Decided to take a kick-out-the-jams approach to the assignment, which was about performance measurement by public organizations. I found an article that said maybe we should measure a program’s impact on citizenship, not just look for waste and efficiency. I’m asking the question, what are we (in public institutions) here for anyway? I celebrated by ordering a lot of yarn.
You sound ready for a break. It’s coming soon!
Your blog is a pleasure, as always, to read.
I, too, have been making a ton of great food lately. Mostly squash-based, because I love, love, love winter squash. Have you heard of the site culinate.com? Great recipes. Actually (this is very exciting), my coworker is a contributing writer for that site and an essay she ran there recently got picked up and published in Best American Food Writing 2008! (her essay is here if you want to read it) To be published in the same book as Michael Pollan–really, so cool!!
So, with the pumpkin–if you cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and bake it face down on a cookie sheet at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour (depending on the size), then you don’t need to peel it, chop it or puree it. Just scoop out the pulp when it’s done and it’s ready to go into your recipe. Much less work!
I’ve also been pretty visual lately. I used to be really into art and making art, and I am starting to revisit that again after nearly a decade. It feels really good to be working with my hands and that part of my brain again.
I have been thinking in pictures as well. Dreams come awake and asleep that jolt me. Reality comes and does that too. I am sort of once removed from my life right now.
Just too many things to mention that I need to do. overwhelmed is an understatement. I am more near catatonic at it all.
I’ve visited all of my immediate family recently so I will be on my own for the holidays. I am looking forward to those times being, if not restful and recharging, at least not harmful or dangerous. We’ll see.
You whispered to the muffins and I love that.
Your working to save days is admirable and the future potential hike sounds like a blast.
I hope the job stuff goes well for Shaun!
ok, just realized that you still need to puree it. I forgot that the pumpkin pie recipe I use calls for it to be made in the food processor, hence why I’ve never needed to puree the pumpkin pulp before adding it. But last night, I made pumpkin cupcakes with fresh pumpkin and realized, yes, even when you cut it in half and bake it in the shell, you still need to puree it. But not having to peel or chop is pretty awesome. Oh! And my pumpkin baked in about 35 min.
@mydogischelsea - OH. MY. GOD. This is why I love blogs. Thanks, Laura! Is a whole new world of gourds for me from now on.
I mostly don’t think about anything. I hate the fact I don’t think about anything. Some people would call this “clarity” or freedom of mind or something. I just feel blank.
However, now I’m thinking a little bit about making a pumpkin pie which is one of my most favorite things anywhere. And that’s saying a lot, because I don’t really have favorite anythings.
Wow, I didn’t mean for this to sound like a downer of a comment, but that’s sort of the path it took. I just never know sometimes.