Time

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ClocksThere never seems to be enough time in the right parts of the day. Of course, the whole point of Quarterly Speed Bump Magazine is to get people (myself included) to slow down and relax rather than feel like every moment of every day should be filled with busyness or business. I just read a four part series on Time on the NPR 13.7 Cosmos and Culture Blog. Great food for thought there. As the author (& astrophysicist), Adam Frank, says in the final part of the time series:

Can you cancel just one appointment next week? How about leaving early enough for an appointment that you have time to hang around and just wait? How about keeping some version of a Sabbath — a day where you don’t buy anything or drive anywhere or accomplish any damn thing? Finally, and most important, how about just slowing down?

Really.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. The entirety of Adam Frank’s blog series on Time can be found at the following links to the Cosmos and Culture blog:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Take the time to read the series and see what you think. You don’t have to agree but it’s great thought fodder. Also, Frank has a new book out that, when I have the time (hahaha), I’ll be checking out.

Silver Lining

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There’s a storm rolling in so the cloud cover is going to foil my viewing of the Leonid meteors tonight (as would the brightness of the moon if there were no cloud cover). So, I decided to appreciate the clouds instead:

Clouds

Clouds=Not so bad after all.

And then I found this cool society, The Cloud Appreciation Society, online. They have a huge photo gallery of clouds. Heck, they even have a music player of cloud-related songs. I think I’m a fan. My local library branch has a copy of the book written by the society’s founder, too. Guess what I’m reading next?

All this is to say that looking at clouds is a worthwhile thing to do. It’s relaxing. When’s the last time you went outside and just looked up, noticed the clouds, and breathed? Try it today. The cumulonimbus to the west might look like a giant chasing a rabbit but, if you don’t look, you’ll miss it.

Persimmon Drop Cookies

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This is another recipe from my maternal grandmother, Edith Davis. I have no recollection of her ever making them–she usually had chocolate chip cookies on hand. These are approved by The Taste Taster who called them “perfect for autumn” even if neither he nor I could really discern any persimmon flavor. Do try them for yourself to see if you can.Persimmon Drop CookiesPersimmon Drop Cookies
Makes 3-4 dozen

Note: You should use Hachiya-type persimmons for this recipe. Make sure they’re nice and soft before you start or the astringency and texture will both be gross. Use a wooden spoon to push the persimmon flesh through a mesh strainer. It took approximately 1 pound of persimmons (2 large fruit) to make 1 cup of pulp.

1 cup strained persimmon pulp
1 teaspoon baking soda, sprinkled over pulp
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 cup white whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Blend sugar and butter together until fluffy. Add persimmon pulp to which baking soda has already been added. Add egg and beat thoroughly. Then add dry ingredients (flour, spices, & salt) and mix well. Add oats, nuts, and raisins and mix to combine.

Drop 1-2 tablespoons of dough onto greased or parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350*F for 12-15 minutes. Cookies should be lightly golden on top. Cool on a rack then store in an airtight container once completely cool. Enjoy!

Go for a Walk

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Whew! Got sucked down the rabbit hole of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear there for a bit. But I’m back since who knows how long the wait will be until we see the third Rothfuss book. On to today’s musings….

Do you walk JUST to walk? Not because it’s good exercise, not because it’s a mode of transportation? I’m not sure that happens very often. I love to go out for a walk and always feel better afterward so maybe it’s never just a walk. Some of my best ideas come during or just after one of my jaunts. And, I usually have my camera in my pocket to record anything interesting–mostly bugs–or eye-catching so a walk becomes a photo expedition as well. Or I need fresh air or to burn off excess energy.

One Yellow Leaf

Photo from a recent walk.

Something that amazes me is how few people The Taste Tester and I run into on some of our weekend walks. We have some amazing open space with flat paths all throughout nearby. How many other walkers do we see on our hour plus rambles? Maybe 6. That seems sad.

Being me (and you’ll come to know this in time), I’ve been reading up on the subject. Also pondering the subject of walking while walking which seems sort of meta. Wanderlust: A History of Walking by one of my favorite essayists, Rebecca Solnit and The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, Philosophy and Literature of Pedestrianism (which ended up being kind of annoying) by Geoff Nicholson were my books of choice. That was quite a bit to ponder and the Solnit book especially was the inspiration for the following question.

When you say “I’m going for a walk,” what is your primary motive?
1. Get exercise
2. Get fresh air
3. See things
4. Calm down
5. Escape
6. Reclaim public space
7. Think
8. Other (If you would drop a line to say what this “other” is, that would be groovy.)

Why not go for a walk today? If it’s raining, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll melt. If it’s cold, you can bundle up. If it’s hot, don’t wear too much. Maybe you’ll see something new. You’ll most likely get some fresh air. And exercise is not a bad thing. I’ll be out there too. Seeing things, thinking, getting fresh air & exercise, and taking photos.

Clubbing

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I read. A lot. Maybe you do to. One of my great pleasures is discovering what new books are coming out and what new authors might float my boat. But I get stuck in ruts anyway. That’s one of the reasons that I so enjoy belonging to a book club (the food & the company are the other reasons…sometimes we call ourselves an eating club with an interest in books). Because of the club I read books I never would choose on my own. Some are great (though, many, I have to say have not been contenders for re-reading–The Gravedigger’s Daughter, I’m looking at you.)
Right now, our book club is reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I had been intending to read it since right after it came out (the buzz!) and I like fantasy, I do. But I just wasn’t in the mood and other books grabbed my attention first and time went on. Now I’m enjoying it and wondering what took me so long. Have you read it? And the second book in the eventual-trilogy? What do you think? Thank goodness for the artificial assignments of a book club or just see what I’d be missing.

Want to see what my club has picked out for 2012? We’re an eclectic bunch. Here’s the subject-to-change (linkless) list:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot, Rebecca
The Women. Boyle, T.C.
Deep Fathom. Rollins, James
The River of Doubt. Millard, Candice
Justinian. Turteltaub, H.N.
Little Bee. Cleave, Chris
Parrot and Olivier in America. Carey, Peter
Stones from the River. Hegi, Ursula
Buffalo for the Broken Heart. O’Brien, Dan
Russian Winter. Kalotay, Daphne
Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Shrink. Johnson-Bennett, Pam
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution. Moran, Michelle

Are you in a book club? Does it expand your horizons, broaden your mind, help you relax? Do something else for you? What’s on your club’s to read list? If you have a list to share, please do!

And now I’m going to try to get 1667 words of my own “novel” written before I crash and burn for the night. Happy reading/writing!

The Write Stuff

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How many of you out there are participating in NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month? It starts in just a few days. I’ve participated a few times but never won, always petering out at around the 8000-10000 word mark. I get busy and think I can make up for lost time in one grand day of writing. And that grand day never comes so I get discouraged and, well, you get the idea.Past novel starts have included sheep ranching meets the mafia, furniture restorers turn polar bear saviors, and ghost bicycles meet time travel. Yeah.

Undaunted, I’m going to try for 50,000 words again this year. Not that I have any compelling ideas. You can watch me flame out around Nov. 11 or keep on going this year through the word-count doohickey on the sidebar when I finally put it up there. Exciting, I’m sure.

To get myself amped, I always like to re-read my favorite writers-on-writing books. These are: Stephen King’s On Writing; Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird, and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. For times when I get stuck there are Pen on Fire by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves, and Escaping Into the Open by Elizabeth Berg. I tried Chris Baty’s (creator of NaNoWriMo) No Plot? No Problem! but it’s not one that helps me find inspiration even though I got a kick out of my read-through and it’s definitely a fun one to try.

Good luck to the NaNo-ers out there. What are you going to write about?

Silence

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I love music. But not at the 80 watts per channel that The Taste Tester prefers. My ears would bleed. I’ve spent many years playing the piano and was in an orchestra for a very long time. There’s usually a song running through my head and I hum to that internal tune to the point of annoying others. The odd thing is, if there’s music playing, I find it hard to do anything else but listen unless the music itself is pretty mellow. I’ve been trying to branch out because I’ve completely lost touch with much of current music which seems like something that happens to old people (and I’m not that old yet). Pandora and the like help a bit but my stations all start sounding the same after a while. NPR and other online radio shows/stations are useful too. Where do you find your new music?

I’ve been listening to the album Sister Kinderhook by Rasputina. It’s compelling but I haven’t yet formed a complete opinion. Still listening, though.
Sister Kinderhook album cover

Pumpkin Bread for Breakfast

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Did anyone see any of the Orionid meteors this weekend?  I saw nothing.  As a consolation prize for being unable to stay up late/get up super early, a spiced quick bread seemed ideal.Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Bread

Before you start mixing, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Also grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan and have it standing by.

Wet Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 egg
1 – 15 ounce can pumpkin puree (or make your own as in here)

Dry Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix wet ingredients until smooth. Mix dry ingredients together in another bowl until all combined (a wire whisk works well). Stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined–don’t over mix. Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and smooth to the edges, leveling the top as you go. Batter will be somewhat fluffy (and orange).

Bake for 1 hour then remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. The bread may be frosted if you so desire but that’s not my choice. Slice to serve. I like it for breakfast so I’ll take my slice lightly toasted with a bit of soft goat cheese or butter and NO FROSTING. It’s moist and sweet (but not too sweet) and The Taste Tester approves.

Pumpkin Bread with Chevre

Make mine with chevre!

Give Bees a Chance

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One of my favorite books on books and reading (yes, shocking!) is Anne Fadiman’s Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader–her collected essays regarding her life with books and words. If you can find the little volume, do read it for yourself and see what you think but one concept she talks about is the “odd shelf.” That’s the shelf of books that one collects about a specific topic that seems an unlikely choice. Her topic: polar expeditions. I have several odd shelves but the most crowded one is filled with insect books. A subset is all about bees and beekeeping. No, I don’t keep bees but I sure would like to.

On the odd shelf:

The Hive and the Honey Bee. Dadant & Sons. Methods for the real beekeeper but fascinating nonetheless.

A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them by Sue Hubbell. A year in the life of a beekeeper with wonderful tangents and autobiographical tidbits.

Plan Bee: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest-Working Creatures on the Planet by Susan M. Brackney. Somewhat like the Hubbell book but a little cutesy and less informed, I guess I’ll say.

Never in a million years would I keep my hypothetical hive in the location she chooses but beekeeping features in Novella Carpenter’s Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer.

The Beekeeper’s Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses by Richard Jones & Sharon Sweeney-Lynch. Great color photos with beekeeping explanations plus history.

I’ve not yet read The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America by Hannah Nordhaus (2011) but am looking forward to it. Tell ya later if I like it.

It’s not just about the honeybees which, after all, aren’t native to North America. No, native bees are important too. And, though we hear about honeybees’ Colony Collapse Disorder, native bees are menaced by various threats as well. Learn more and even how to identify some of the different species (bees & other pollinators) in two Xerces Society guides (the Xerces Society is worth checking out as well–their mission is to protect wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat):

Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat

and

Pollinator Conservation Handbook: A Guide to Understanding, Protecting, and Providing Habitat for Native Pollinator Insects by Shepherd, Buchmann, Vaughan, and Black.

A native bee on a sunflower. Click to enlarge and see the bee better.

Are you a beekeeper or just a wannabe like me? What related books or websites are you keen on? Oh, and check out The Great Sunflower Project and “Join the Hunt for Bees!”