Non-guilty pleasures

Not the most photogenic food in the world -- browned kale! But, despite its looks they are crisp and a little salty and really yummy.

This is my second batch, and I think I'm quickly becoming addicted. For once in my life, however, the addiction is to a food that is utterly healthy, that I can eat all I want of without guilt.

Nevertheless, I resist the urge to eat it all at once, merely because it's all I have for now.

Easy to make -- takes a little time to wash and dry the greens (would probably take less time if I had a salad spinner), but only a short time to bake into crispy morsels. Still, trips to the market are required, and I don't do that too often.

Dreary day here and I slept very little last night, so I opted against the gym. I don't feel guilty about that, either, as I had a good workout yesterday and giving the old muscles more recoup time is always a good idea.

Time for a nap.

Lots of sad faces around here

Not the best day in Eugene, compounded by lack of sleep and a minor hangover. But the above says it all.  It's been a helluva run and there's always next year. Still wearing my Ducks gear with pride. And check out this awesome video!

Duck Fever

I did mention that I've recently become addicted to Twitter, did I not? Or I should say, Twitter where it concerns the Ducks football playoffs. Haven't signed up for it, because I know I'll lose interest once this is past. At least until next fall.

For those of you out there who haven't discovered Twitter (and I know I'm not the only old fogie ), the draw is the immediacy of the messages, the photos and messages from people who are really on the inside -- UO administration, the equipment folks with their two big semi's and what they have to take, how they set up two locker rooms (1 practice, 1 game), media people from everywhere who are really in the middle. Team members, former team members, future team members (recruits). It's like being there without leaving home.

I can't even begin to describe the state of mind in the State of Oregon right now, and frankly, I'm really, really glad that my return here coincided with this, because it's a really exciting and cool time to be here.

The air here simply buzzes, and I'm not even in town or out-and-about very much. But it's clear that there are a lot more folks wearing their team gear now than even a month ago. Green and yellow are everywhere.

And it doesn't stop with Eugene. The whole state is taking this very personally. Media coverage from Portland stations, twitter shout-outs from folks like our esteemed congressman Peter DeFazio, senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Rob Marciano on GMA, and countless people famous and otherwise, around the world.

With all that, I've pulled a few photos from Twitter that seem to illustrate all this. The kitten, of course, got me simply because it's a kitten.

Bit of a takeoff delay yesterday when the United charter taking the team to Dallas taxied out with a water salute from the local fire department.

Not to be outdone, the local police are flying the colors on their cars, while at the same time cautioning students (and others) to not go crazy with their celebrations Monday night.

 

A woman tweeted this after going here to pick up a sign. Kind of says it all.

Yeah -- we all know we might lose. It's a football game, after all. But we all also really support the team and those of us who aren't just fairweather fans will still respect and appreciate them, no matter what, through bitter disappointment. I've managed to keep the butterflies and excitement factor down all week, until today. It's starting to build again, and Monday can't get here soon enough.

Normal? What's that?

Drove over to the coast yesterday with a friend, fully aware that it was going to be as wet there as it was here, but not caring. Too drizzly to be comfortable outside most of the time, so we stayed in the car other than lunch in Yachats and this single photo, taken north of Florence where there are still some smaller dunes to be seen. Not the most scenic section of the coast, but it looked just fine to me.

I haven't been to this part of the coast in many years, and it's one of my favorites, so I just had to hop out the first time we stopped and take a pic -- even if it's not a particularly inspiring one.  I've spent a lot of time in Yachats in past years and that, too, is one of my favorite places along the coast, so it was great to be back.

Sunnier days to come -- but the escape to different scenery (I love that coast in any weather, and so does my friend!) was terrific. Today, back to figuring out what is normal in my life and how to get back to it after the past few weeks (and there's still one crazy week left to go).

Good as new --- and then some!

Surprise call from the body shop this afternoon -- car ready to pick up already! They had said maybe Wednesday, maybe Friday, so I wasn't expecting Tuesday. I didn't really want to walk over there, almost asked if I could do it tomorrow, but in the end I took the hike. And it was a lot colder than yesterday morning in the dark, let me tell you! Yesterday was in the mid-40s or thereabouts and I thought it would be about the same now. Wrong! It was a chilly walk and when I got in the car the temp read 31. By the time I got home it was 30. Cold.

But the car is gorgeous. State Farm had told me that their service included wash and vacuum, but this thing has been detailed within an inch of its life. He said they replaced the fender and fixed the door. It's so nice I asked if they'd replaced the door panel, too. Not a sign of repair.

Before -- hard to see all the dirt, but it was at one time covered with thick layers of those red leaves. I'd swirled the leaves over the hood and trunk to try and wipe away what seemed like imbedded stains, but it hadn't helped. And that was before I drove to California. You can also see a bit of cloudiness on the headlight -- both had gotten really badly clouded.

Like new -- but cleaner. Striping perfect.

And look at those shiny headlights! It is literally spotless, inside and out, more so than it's been in the almost-seven years I've owned it. I feel like I need to buy a cover for it, now, to keep it that way out there on the street.

So now -- I have all kinds of options about what to do on January 1st that I never expected to have. I need to find a good place to watch the Rose Bowl, although I don't really think that having wheels is going to offer up any really interesting options. There's a place in Brookings, OR that would be perfect, and one down in Guerneville, CA, but I think those are both a bit unrealistic.

It's cold!

Somebody on the Ducks twitter feed said this morning that this week is going by so slow that it's like being young and waiting to grow breasts. I can relate to both. Isn't it always like that while waiting for something you're really looking forward to? Slow week -- then it's over fast, regardless of the outcome.

And that is about all that's happening in my life, I'm afraid. Took my car for its new fender/mirror yesterday morning, had a nice walk back in the early morning dark. Very quiet and peaceful out there at 7am! And even though it wasn't as cold as today is, I was very well dressed for the cold and that wasn't a problem. Now, if I could just get the problem solved inside this cottage!

I've found that it's almost impossible to get it really warm, to any comfort level, although I must admit that by 7-8pm, when I want to turn it down for the night, a reasonable heat level has finally been achieved. The tiny wall heater up high on the wall just doesn't cut it, with or without the ceiling fan activated. Sometimes, the fan merely turns into cool air as it flows down on or about my body, and that doesn't work for me. It could use one more slow speed, I think.

It's 26 out there this morning, and due to dip into the mid-teens tonight. Not looking forward to that. I hope that wherever I live next, unlike this place and my house in Georgia, will actually be a place where winter won't require thermal clothes and many layers, and where my toes might actually not feel like popsicles despite wool socks. Is that too much to ask? The good news about the cold temp is that we have clear skies and sunshine, so some solar heat should be in the offing all week. I'm ready!

Merry Christmas

The sun is half-shining here and I'm just hanging, passing the day with preparing my roast chicken dinner, which turned out to be 2/3 terrific. The chicken was perfect -- moist and tender; the gravy tasted just fine. But the dressing -- well, that was not a winner. I had forgotten to get some necessary ingredients to make it like my mother and grandmother made it (powdered sage, fresh celery), and since I'm trying not to drive the car very much until it's once again legal (driver's side mirror), and since it was raining and I didn't want to walk, I thought I'd punt. Not a good idea.

I picked a bunch of small celery stalks with leaves from the garden, and some fresh sage that I dried and crumbled. Not enough sage -- but the celery was the real issue. Gave an awful taste to the dish that just didn't work. There wasn't all that much of it, but I guess it had gotten really strong after all these months in the garden. I ate some --not bad with gravy over it -- but tossed the rest into the compost. That's ok -- I had all the lovely chicken and gravy I wanted. Now, the carcass is covered in water to make stock and there's lots of pulled meat in the refrigerator.

My landlady has opened the chicken pen door, closing off their exit into the rest of the garden (on the right in the photo) but allowing them to scratch around the area next to my house. Good for both the girls and the garden. They've been hanging right next to the house, but tend to scatter a bit when I go on the deck. Unfamiliar territory to them! The red ones are babies from last summer, the black/white ones are older. They make nice neighbors.

I've entered a whole new world of existence in the last week or so: twitter feeds! I ran across some Oregon ones during all the awards excitement, found one of them (#GoDucks) to be a real source of up-to-the-minute news on what's happening with the team. Another, @WinTheDay, is more official, not as active, so I prefer #GoDucks. From there, I discovered an amazing array of hashtags and sites that could be clicked on. Did you have any idea that there was a page for @NCAAFballtrucks, for example? Used by people to talk about the big trucks that take game equipment to games around the country. Photos, travels. Who knew? The Oregon truck I spotted on I-5 a few weeks ago isn't in the photo with the two Oregon trucks headed to the Rose Bowl, leading me to believe they must have at least one more of these fancy toys.

Today, I made another discovery: @TheOregonDuck, which is a feed purely for and about the mascot, with photos of media appearances and much more. Full of humor. And there are plenty of others I haven't checked out -- probably won't check out. It's kind of addictive, all in all, even though much of what comes across #GoDucks is from fans, right now talking about Duck Gear for Christmas gifts, and Rose Bowl Tickets. Like I said -- a whole new world.

And, oh yeah. That end-of-the-year Holiday Blues? Started going away Monday (birthday) and are still disappearing. All without effort from me, and trust me, I wish I knew how not to make it come for a visit, or how to make it go away sooner. But I know and trust that it always goes, and I can live with that.

That's my day. Happy day to all.

Tuesday around here

You know how I just gotta bake in the winter, but how I really need to share the final product so that less goes on my belly. I've been planning this one for a few days -- gave 3/4 of it to the ladies in the main house here, and kept just this portion for myself. It's so rich I don't need any more. The glaze tastes like sweetened condensed milk, which it is not. Sweet Potato Pound Cake. Yum.

Walked to the store this morning, very nice in the fresh air, clearing skies and good hints of sunshine.

I am now officially a year older -- as of yesterday. As usual, I felt a definite lightening of woes all day, as whatever grabs hold of my emotions during this season began to wane. More will leave on Christmas day and actually, I'm feeling pretty good already.

Other than that -- about the only thing going on around here is a lot of impatient waiting for the Rose Bowl to happen, on January 1st. The whole town is wrapped up in the excitement, and with the possibility of a national championship. Mariota is still the hero of the year, as well he should be. The youngster (all of 21) is getting his fourth Sports Illustrated cover and added yet another trophy to his pile, winning the AP Player of the year award. I can't imagine what it's going to be like here with him gone next year.

So tomorrow -- gonna bake some cornbread to make dressing with, then roast a nice chicken on Christmas day. And that'll be dinner -- chicken, dressing, gravy. Whatever chicken I don't eat will become a real southern traditional chicken and dumplings in a few days. Saw somebody making that on Food Network a few days ago, and just couldn't resist, since I will already have the chicken and will be looking for something to do with it.

So that's my exciting life. Actually, I rather like this level of excitement, so no complaints.

Soggy solstice

It's a soggy Sunday Solstice morning here in the Willamette Valley! The old Pineapple Express (nowadays renamed to something like 'atmospheric river') is at it again, bringing warm rain in from Hawaii and environs. Rain has fallen almost steadily for the past day or so, and should continue on through today and tonight. I like the sounds of it on my tin roof and skylight, but so far I have not ventured outside into it for any reason. It's pretty darned wet and I have no real need to leave the house. The bad news about it stopping is that it's due to be followed by a few really cold nights. Brrr!

Didn't sleep last night -- can't remember when I had such a wide-awake, sleepless night, and don't know why. Yuk! Slept for an hour or so, woke up around 11pm, wide awake, clearly not going to sleep again for awhile. OK -- so I got up and checked the Comcast schedule for a rerun of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives I wanted to see because it featured a local restaurant. Knew it was supposed to air in the wee hours, wasn't sure when. Turned out to be 2am. Didn't seem like that would be a problem. In the meantime, I turned on the radio talk show to keep my mind off the sleeplessness. Listened to that until maybe 1am, maybe later. Then -- wouldn't you know I dozed off and woke up at 2:15! Turned on the TV, caught the second half of the show but nothing was from here. Turns out the local spot was the first feature. Naturally. Wide awake again -- left the TV on and watched another episode or so, then sometime after 3 realized the foolishness of keeping it on even though I probably wouldn't sleep anyway. No TV, no radio. Still wide awake at 4am, so I got up and had some good Peets coffee.

Now, even caffeinated, I'm groggy. Yuk again! There was a lot of irony in the situation. Normally, my lack of sleep comes from a bladder that becomes very active at night, waking me up every hour or two, so I don't get much solid sleep. Last night, already awake, the bladder apparently was asleep and would not have been an issue. Getting old sucks, and there are plenty of days when I'm no longer sure it beats the alternative. There should be an expiration date on these bodies. Actually, I'm pretty sure there is a pre-determined genetically-based expiration date that comes with each human body. We just don't know what it is or have a voice in when it might come due.

On the other hand, it's a good thing I don't have a job anymore, because in the past I had to go to work, whether I slept or not. Nowadays, if I want to be lazy and do nothing (the agenda for today) I can.

OK -- that's it for today. Nothing really worth reading here, but there was my need to communicate. :)

Is it over yet?

I seem to have to re-learn this every year. There was a time when I knew that I was going to dread this season and everything about it, and that I would be depressed whether I wanted to or not (I called it the Holiday Blues, which is quite fitting). I was never able to control it -- full awareness of what was happening didn't help. I just needed to grit my teeth and know that by January 1st (probably by December 26th) it would all go away.

In recent years, probably due to my meditation practice and studies, I find that I no longer expect things to be terrible during the holidays, even though I still have to grit my teeth and ignore all the hoopla and even that gets easier each year. But, every year I am now taken by surprise when it happens right under my nose. This isn't a case of expectations becoming reality, because I don't even think about it until things get bad enough that I can no longer stick my head in the sand and pretend it's not happening. Friends, it's happening! The good news about all this is that once recognized as the Holiday Blues, I can see a definite light at the end of the tunnel. Another week, maybe two, and those blues will lift. Hallelujah!

Don't even ask what's behind this, because I don't have a real answer. It goes back decades, and while I've certainly given it plenty of thought over those decades, answers are vague and elusive. I can see possibilities of a beginning going back to early childhood, when well-meaning relatives would offer up a gift couched as 'birthday and Christmas'. I felt gypped. I felt a lot of things I really don't want to go into here. Nowadays, the adult in me is no longer bothered by such things, but that hurt kid is still alive and well. Whatever.

One more week. One more week. One more week.