Perception and Reality...

OK, so a few years ago, we bought a scanner. We had some serious wild fires and we could never tell if the fires were just over the next ridge or miles away. We also listen to it for fun. And we pick up our local HVLA security, and sometimes it is hilarious. What we heard today was kind of funny, but also kind of sad...

"Paul 4, base- we have a report of an older male with his fly open and his hand down his pants on Sullivan Ct."

We thought, "Oh great, some perv in our neighborhood, that's all we need."

A few minutes later we heard...

"Base, Paul 4- we contacted the gentleman's daughter. He has dementia and Parkinson's and recently had a stroke. He has difficulty dressing himself, and can't pull up his zipper, and because of the stroke, he keeps his left hand tucked in his pants."

Our first reaction was to crack up laughing. And then the sadness of it kicked in. And then I got to thinking about how things aren't always what they appear to be. And how laughter heals and how quickly anger can be replaced by compassion when we take a moment to understand others.

Everything Old is new again...

The following comes mostly from an old post from 2005. With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I would repost for my non-vegetarian foodie freak friends...

Lola’s Stuffing

Lola was my great grandmother. I guess she's still my great grandmother, she just isn't living any more. She died when I was an infant or toddler. But while she was alive, I'm told, she never let me cry. And she spoke only Castilian Spanish, though she understood a great deal more English than she let on. Because my Dad and Mom decided to wait to have children, Lola called my Dad "pendejo" and "mediohombre," implying that he was incapable of knocking up the Moms. Because she often looked after me, some of my first words were Spanish- while most kids had a “pacifier,” I had a “chupa.”

Anyway - Lola's stuffing is without question, the best stuffing in the known Universe. Here's the recipe:

½ - ¾ lb ground veal
½ - ¾ lb ground pork
1 green apple
1 or 2 chopped onion
3 stalks celery chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
¼ cup parsley chopped
2 eggs
1-3 cups of croutons
½ cup raisins (soaked in hot water, drained)
½ cup of butter

Brown onions, celery, garlic, and parsley in 1 cube of butter (5 min)

Add meat, apple, croutons raisins, salt, and pepper. Cook until done.

Remove from heat. Add eggs slightly beaten. If stuffing is runny, add more croutons or breadcrumbs.

Prepare the night before and let sit in refrigerator overnight.


I know there's some vagueness in this recipe - like a 50% swing in the amount of meat. I like a little more meat and a few more raisins. But mess around a bit. Add stuff until it smells right. And this year, I could not find ground veal. Normally, I would never buy veal anyway, but it's a family tradition. But this year I could not find any at three different grocery stores. So I think I'm going to sub a bit of ground beef and a bit of ground turkey. The point is for it to have beef flavor and be a bit moist. I hope it works. (Update for 2009 – It does.)

Out with the old...

and in with the new...


These ARE the Droids you're looking for.

Also - from Halloween, our poor pumpkin caught H1N1...



And here's the reason I've been growing out my hair and beard...


Hi kids! Recently deceased T.V. Pitchman and possible coke fiend Billy Mays here to tell you about the amazing OxyClean Pail. Tired of old pillow cases that sag? Or paper bags that rip? And what about those old plastic pumpkins that just get in the way? Well the new OxyClean Pail replaces them all. It has a convenient handle, a removable lid and best of all, it holds all of you favorite Halloween candy! It hold Twizzlers and Kit Kats, Snickers galore! Reese's and Whoppers, Milky Way and more! Don't settle for candy holders that fail! Try the OxyClean Pail!

Last weekend first...

Last weekend we had a ton o' fun. The Detroit Disciples, you know, the band that played our wedding, played the Tradewinds. Rachel and I had a date night that included a yummy Mexican dinner at Dos Amigos followed by coffee, dessert, and a little Jazz at the cafe near The Winds. Ted, you know, the guy who performed our wedding ceremony, was in the neighborhood and met us there.

The cool thing was Ted also had a friend passing through the Bay Area. Dianne was driving a Bago from Vancouver, BC to the L.A. area. She was fun to hang out with - a free spirit, cute as pie, and very kind. So at the end of the night, when she had nowhere to park her 21 (or 24) ft. camper, I called our security and asked if we could park it near us. And they said fine. So that became the plan.

The night was a lot of fun, but the addition of Dianne brought back a feeling I haven't had in a long time. It was a sense of weirdness and magic - like anything can happen and everything sounds like a good idea. In the past, it's been things like, "Hey, the bar's closing, let's go to Reno." Or "Hey the bar's closing, let's take everyone back to Club 658." This night it was, "Hey, let's caravan a monster camper through the twisty bits and not get home till 4 in the morning."

I like that feeling and want to experience it more often.

And here's Cinammon Girl...



And here's a big pot of white bean soup I made a while ago.

It was yummy. And it made the house smell like Fall.