thrifting day

Last Saturday was a high holy day in the Dallas thrifting community: half price clothes, purses, belts, and shoes at Goodwill. Naturally, I was there. 

I headed to my favorite Goodwill in Lewisville, arriving a few minutes before ten, when they supposedly opened. The parking lot was full, and the store was already in full swing. Soon as I got inside, about six people wheeled past me with carts completely full of shoes, which was fascinating. No way did they have time to try them on. I saw multiple folks filling their carts with any and all shoes they could grab from the bins. What the heck? A shoe phenomenon was clearly occurring the likes of which I've never encountered in twenty-five years of thrifting. Even the workers were cracking up about it. Oh well, the shoe buyers were clearly having a good time. That's the important thing. Though I'm still curious what's happening with all those randomly-sized shoes. Note to self: next time, ask. I never get shoes there, except once I found a new pair of Uggs for my daughter. They were too small, so she sold them on ebay for $90.00, which was schweet, as I'd gotten them for $3.99. 

Here's what I came away with. Three purses: one Fossil bag for $1.99, a Vera Bradley for the same price, and an adorable Brighton over-the-shoulder bag for $5. Even though I've been massively uncluttering lately, I have a purse thing which cannot be denied. I can't pass up a deal. Oh...oh,oh I also got a Longaberger basket for $1.99. Those babies are so hard to find, you basically have to catch the salesclerk putting it on the shelf and take it from her before she sets it down. Which I did. After asking politely. This one is about 12 inches by 5 inches and even had the little plastic insert thingie. 

Lastly, I got another heavy clay lidded pot to bake bread in. I already have one, but sometimes need to make two loaves... bingo, now I can bake both at the same time, thus saving energy. Don't you just love green living? 

Orange Fennel Salad recipe

I have just discovered fennel. It is a beautiful thing. I bought a bulb of it because my buddy Tammilynne, who is of Sicilian Italian heritage, indicated to me that her uncle Santo used to make spaghetti with fennel leaves for Friday night dinners during Lent. Since I made pasta for her and others last Friday night, this being Lent, I felt compelled to get a fennel bulb, to preserve her heritage if nothing else. Up till then, I'd never bought a fennel bulb. How foolish.

I used the delicate leaves for the pasta, but the bulb was still hanging around this afternoon. I seemed to remember something about fennel and orange being a good combo. I had regular oranges and cuties on hand, so I mixed up this simple salad recipe, which made a perfect lunch. Seriously. You have to try it. It's both delish and nutrish. How exciting to discover a new taste sensation at my age. Just goes to show life is full of adventures. Who knew fennel bulbs were so dang good? Here's how to make the salad:

Orange Fennel Salad

One fennel bulb, the size of your average fist
1 teaspoon sugar
1 orange
1 mandarin orange, or 1/2 regular orange
1/4 cup raw pistachio nuts
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Take fennel bulb, cut it into quarters, slice off the thick core in the middle, then thinly slice the layers. Cut peel and pith away from the orange, thinly slice it, then chop those into quarters and mix with fennel. Squeeze the juice from the mandarin, or 1/2 orange, onto the salad. Sprinkle sugar and nuts over the top. Add salt and pepper to taste. Don't skimp on pepper, as it adds a nice zing to contrast with the sweetness. Mix well. Enjoy!

like a ring around the moon

Yesterday morning, QG and I headed out to spend the day at our neighbor's ranch in New York, Texas, by Athens. All these pictures are from The Long Road Ranch. It was an entirely great day.

Today I find myself anxious, which I have no patience for, but I'm trying to be easy and wait till it passes. I expect to be carefree and happy every day like this yellow flower, but I think the fact that I turned the age my mom was when she died on my birthday last Tuesday has me rattled. I told myself it was no big deal, but I lied.

 All my adult life, in my mind, Mom has remained at age 52, with a comfortable gap between us, and now that's my age too. I've entered the gate which always seemed to mark the upper limit.

If I am the same age as my mom, I have to look at myself and ask questions. Am I like her in other ways? 

Did she ever really see me? Did she know me as a growing being like the tree above, or did she look right through me, as I suspect, and see a blank meadow, like this one?

 Mostly, I worry about becoming her. That's what I'm afraid of. What if I end up exactly like that woman who shared my size ten feet and easy laugh? How can I avoid it?

I want to stand on my own and declare independence,

to gather all the flotsam and DNA I've collected or been given,

and chart my own winding journey,

finding shelter in the people I love and who love me,

to end up in my own home. A home of warmth and light

from which to enjoy the twilight, and even beyond.

I want it said I claimed my own life. A life as fine and mysterious as a ring around the moon.

so over it

I'm happy to say I'm so over my computer freak out. I feel silly for having gotten upset over something so trivial when there are starving people and folks with serious health issues all over the globe, but I guess it will always be true that blue days happen occasionally in my life. 

The good news is that my main man, Quiet Guy, was able to fix the issue. Yay, QG! That night, as I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep, I realized that I'd been forgetting to do my "What Went Right" exercises for months. That's a helpful practice of reviewing my day before I fall asleep to pick out three things that went right that day, and concentrating on those for a while. I got this exercise out of a book on happiness and it's really great for fostering a positive outlook. 

I was thinking that, just like I have to keep up my yoga and physical exercises if I want to avoid the pain of arthritis and stuck joints since the accident, I need to keep up my mental exercises to avoid emotional pain and to accomplish the most. Interesting, as I never thought of it in these terms before, and it motivated me to continue with habits of gratitude, prayer & meditation, and What Went Right. 

These are some beautiful long green beans. I got them at HMart, an Asian grocery store nearby. I've been reading tons of cookbooks lately, and the more I get into cooking, the simpler my methods become. Doing the least to food seems to maintain flavor the most. I've gotten into roasting veggies. I sprinkled these beans with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, then roasted them in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes. So easy. So delish. 

I made them with this simple pasta dish, which I adapted from another recipe. Take 3 fourteen ounce cans chopped tomatoes, heat with 1/2 stick butter, three cloves sauteed garlic, 1/2 chopped sauteed onion, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 to 2 Tablespoons dried basil. Heat to boiling, then simmer about 5 minutes. Cook a pound of spaghetti, and toss with the tomato mixture and 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

The beans and the pasta dish were two of my what went right's for yesterday. The other was the Burberry London fragrance deal I snagged. This is my favorite perfume, and I was out. Found a bottle on sale at Target and got it with my b-day money from my mother in law, Jane. Isn't that the sweetest that she sends me a check on my birthday. That kills me. I am lucky to have such a peach of a mother in law. 

ugh - computers

Ugh. Computers really stress me out. I tried all morning to get the internet to work on our home computer. (Not the one I'm working on now, obviously.) That, in itself, is a joke, as what I know could barely fill a thimble. I ran every Norton task, turned the firewall back on, restarted multiple times, prayed, and did the Hula while circling said computer. Nothing. If the Hula doesn't work, we know it's bad. So I picked up my camera and started taking pictures of these pink roses I got for my b-day. That helped a little, but not much.

I hate that once I get stressed, it is hard to un-stress. Computer issues give me a feeling of impending doom which is hard to shake. I know it's illogical. That feeling is exactly the feeling I used to have as a child whenever my mom would remind me we could end up at the poor house at any time. I thought it was a real place and fretted over which stuffed animals I would take, as I knew I couldn't fit them all in my suitcase. I worried about that a lot. News like that is too heavy for little kids to lug around. Anyhow, I don't know why bad computer mojo brings that back. Perhaps it's the enigma. I can't understand what problem is going on inside that little box, nor can I control or fix it. Frustrating. Oh well. Writing this out has helped. Sometimes the page is my best friend. Let us all praise words spooling out into a line with all their beauty and might!

On a brighter note, it is almost time for my little buddy, Morgan, to get here. Today we are making collages and eating pretzels and apple slices. Now that is something I can understand. And something that makes me happy.

a year in the life

I made it. One year of blogging is now... boom, done. It was so scary to start this blog a year ago, I thought I'd puke. It took five hours just to type and tweak the first entry. But I was stuck and needed this challenge so badly. 

Every day of this adventure has been interesting, fun, challenging, frightening, and exciting. 

 The best thing about it is that I feel close to every reader. In the end, life is really all about the people you share it with. 

Thanks, Buddy! I can't quit you. Thanks for reading and sharing my journey. If there is something you long to do, but are too scared to take the first step, just try it. You are amazing and awesome and you don't have to always know everything or make perfect choices. Sometimes there is no perfect choice, only being who you are and doing your best. That's what counts.  

Here are some flowers for you to enjoy. I went to Whole Foods for a flower fix today. It is so cheerful to see blooms when it is cold and still brown outside. 

Of course, today is also my birthday - 52 years ago today at 1:21 pm I came onto the scene in Pittsburgh, PA saying, "Hello, World... I love you." Okay, maybe I didn't say that exactly. But that's what I meant.

tiny bliss day

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my blog. It is interesting to think about how much I have changed over the year. You'd think once a person is past fifty, they are basically established, but I have learned and changed more than ever these past months. Maybe it's a combo of transitioning from a mom to the empty nest, experiencing the car accident in 2010, which made me reevaluate everything, and ending my job of fifteen years to pursue other priorities. Lots of change. It's been an adventure with dips and peaks. 

More on that tomorrow, but today I was thinking about the little things. The small joys an ordinary days brings. These make a life. More than ever now, I'm a miner for the small joys. 

Everything I've been learning has taught me to stop and fully inhabit each happy second before opening my hand to let the fairy dust journey on. Really, that's the parenting game. I think I've finally got it. By it, I mean the last lesson, the hardest one. Be in, really in, every second, then be brave enough to open your hand when the time comes and let go. 

So, keep watch. Gather every moment you can and hold it tight. Then let go. That's the only way to have an open hand for the next bit of magic that floats your way. 

These pictures are a few treasures I found today. The scent of a new candle filling my kitchen, my dog Jamie lying on the carpet, the wind billowing into my window on a sunny day warm enough to let the outside in, five Jelly Bellies I enjoyed after lunch, the cozy nook where I sit and write. 

poetry Sunday

Open

I 
hold 
no
profound 
thoughts,
only
this 
silence,
tree,
flower,
rock, 
and 
sky.

-Kimberly Laustsen

Doggy day afternoon

 Yesterday, I had a gig at the Klyde Warren Park taking photos of dogs at their big Valentine's event. Seriously, what could be more fun than shooting a bunch of silly, slurpy, sly pups?

Here are some of my faves.

While were on the subject of photos, I wanted to report back on my dorkalicious post about the church photo project. I went on Sunday to help and it was way cool.

The photographers I was helping had mad cred and skills. One had been the Texas Ranger's official team photographer for years. The other one is a full-time photographer, having worked as a White House photographer (as in DC), and now locally. These guys could not have been nicer, humbler, or more willing to answer my questions. Thanks, dudes! Also, there was another beginning photographer/lurker (read fellow dork) which was reassuring. What a blessing.

Both professionals admitted to not being experts on every single solitary aspect of photography, as in one did not know that much about Photoshop. This was so comforting, as I am a person who thinks I need to know every jot and tittle before embarking on any undertaking. Au contraire.  I am learning that a willing heart, openness and steady effort are the main things.