Thursday, April 25, 2013

The "Pit"

I went to a concert last night, in the "Pit" at our old High School . . .Jr High . . .now District Office and Middle School here in Fallon.  I played the piano on a couple of songs for the high school choral ensemble called Minor Details, and also for a couple of the kid's solos that they sang for regional solo & ensemble.  I LOVE those kids, and their talent is amazing.  The director, Tom Fleming is one of the best I've ever known.  The concert was absolutely wonderful.

The "Pit" has been recently renovated and looks beautiful.  The stage is redone, the wood floor refurbished, the balconies re-railed, etc. . .and while it has lost a bit of its authenticity (because I just kind of like the "old and worn" look), I still love it.  I believe it is one of my favorite buildings here in Fallon.  I'm not sure how old it is, but I know that many of the older folks in Fallon attended high school there, so at least back to the 1930's or earlier.  Heidi, Kari, and Sara attended jr high school there, and in 1996 (when Kari was in 7th grade), we started doing our jr high musicals in the "Pit".  Let's see if I can remember. . . the first one was "Ducktails and Bobbysox", then "Shakespeare Comes to Calamity Creek", then "Lucky Hudson", then "Lil Abner", and then "Annie". . . .when we first learned that Sara loved musical theater and she landed the role of Annie.  The next year it was "Crazy for You", and Sara had equally as much fun being one of the chorus and learning to tap dance as she had playing the leading role the year before.  She just loved being there and being a part of the whole production.   I miss doing musicals with her and watching that love flow out of her. 

I stood in the open hallway during intermission of last night's concert, looking around, watching people, and just being filled with so many good memories.  I chatted for a bit with the lady who taught art for years at Northside Elementary.  She taught both Kari and Sara, and Kari was good friends with her son throughout jr high and high school.  At one point in our conversation this dear lady said, "And how's Sara?".  Time stopped, my brain froze and I could feel it clicking, trying to process and find an answer.  I know she saw my confusion and realized her mistake.  She said, "I'm so sorry, I get their names confused, I mean Kari."  We went on for a little bit with our conversation, the lights blinked to start the concert again, and time moved on.  It didn't make me mad or upset.  It was actually kind of nice to hear someone say Sara's name out loud.  I wanted to live in that moment. . . to think that she was still here, somewhere. . . and how was she?  I was even thankful for it, because sometimes I need confirmation that she was really here, that I'm not just living in some dream. 

Anyway. . . I wish I had a good picture of the "Pit" to share.  It is a lovely old building, filled with many memories for many people.  I know it might seem crazy to love a building, but I do. . . . I love all the years of memories it contains.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

"Bread & Wine" by Shauna Niequist

I'm reading a new book by one of my favorite current authors.  The author is Shauna Niequist.  She has written two other books that I have already talked about on caringbridge posts or earlier blog posts.  "Cold Tangerines" was her first, then "Bittersweet", and her new book is "Bread & Wine:  A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes".  I love this woman.  I love her writing, I love her genuineness, I love her perspective, I love her humor, I love her love of food.  We have nothing in common, and yet we have everything in common.  (hard to explain)  I highly recommend this book. 

This book is full of Shauna's life and learning experiences, and also recipes that are tied to those memories.   The funny thing is, I have always said that I really don't enjoy cooking.  Then why is it that I love to READ about cooking, and since Sara's illness, have also developed a love of cooking shows like Chopped or Cupcake Wars?   I remember when my kids were all young and I was reading some novel about a pioneer family.  I don't even remember what it was.  At some point in the novel, the mom was making applesauce cookies with her kids. . .big golden brown cookies the size of your palm, soft and warm from the oven, fragrant with the fresh Fall scent of apples and cinnamon, bursting with plump, juicy raisins.  I think I stopped right there, went to find my Betty Crocker cook book, and found the closest thing I could find to a recipe for applesauce cookies.  (this was before google)  Brown sugar drops sounded close, substituting applesauce and butter for vegetable oil and shortening, adding liberal spoonfuls of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. . . .and of course substituting chocolate chips for the raisins (even though plump, juicy raisins sounded good in print. . . I knew that oooey, gooey chocolate chips would taste much better).   The cookies were a huge hit with my family, and actually permanently displaced Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies in our household from then on. 

Anyway, all that to say, there is just something to reading about delicious foods and the art of putting them together, the words that make your mouth water until you imagine that you can actually taste the sweet or savory creation. . .the words that can actually make someone like me want to get up and go to the kitchen. . . amazing!  If you know me, or paid any attention to all the "substitutions" I listed above, you know that I'm not great at following a recipe when I cook.  I can't seem to help myself when it comes to leaving out things that don't sound good to me, adding extra ingredients, or just adding more of the things that DO sound good.  So, you can imagine my elation when reading through a certain chapter in Shauna's book where she said. . . "Following a recipe is like playing scales, but COOKING is like playing jazz."  I LOVE it!! 

The concepts Shauna puts forth in her book are so much deeper than just food and cooking.  I know I am going to go back and re-read this book when I'm done, to mull it all over and let it sink in.  But it has been fun to have an immediate connection through some of my recent cooking experiences.  Because I continue to have such a hard time sleeping at night, I have been browsing for ideas about healthy foods to eat in the evening that might help with that problem.  I found a recipe for "lullaby muffins" that includes several ingredients said to induce a good's night's rest.  Mashed bananas, applesauce, whole wheat flour, almonds, oats, milk, and honey are the ingredients I remember.  Sounds like it could be a winner, right?  Definitely not!!  I actually did follow the recipe (except for adding several shakes of cinnamon, which just needs to be included in anything with applesauce), but I wouldn't really even call the result a muffin.  The next recipe I tried was for some healthy cookies (because I am also trying very hard to lose some weight, but struggle with the craving for something sweet - and baked).  These also included mashed bananas, applesauce, and oats (and I added chocolate chips since I believe they should be included in most every cookie).  These did not taste like, or even resemble anything close to a cookie!  As I thought over those two baking disasters, I asked myself why I even tried those recipes, when I don't really like, and rarely eat bananas.  ??   During my later browsings, I read that one of the foods you should never eat if you want to lose weight is a banana.  Done and done!

Before I close, I do want to share two recipes that have been successes in the past couple of weeks. 
The first is a kale salad, a recipe I got from Heidi.  Notice that I don't give measures.  Sorry, that is one of my big culinary flaws.  (or, just the way I play jazz)  :)

Chopped kale
Carrot matchsticks
Toasted slivered almonds
Craisins
Shredded parmesan cheese
Grilled chicken
Dressing:  Olive oil, lemon juice & zest, crushed red pepper, garlic, salt & pepper

This was delicious.  Woody even liked it.  The other recipe is one I made up as a result of reading that black beans are good for keeping your body from storing fat.  I call it chicken & black bean nachos.  I'm thinking the "not storing fat" part probably only works if you eat one SMALL helping.

Cut chicken breasts in small pieces, place in baking dish, and cover with taco sauce or salsa
Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes
Add black beans, chopped green onions, chopped sweet peppers, chopped cilantro
Top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake 10-15 more minutes
Eat with your favorite tortilla chips

I'm ashamed to say Woody and I didn't have any leftovers.  We probably stored a little fat! 

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Dear Sara. . .

Dear Sara,
There are so many memories that make me smile.  There are so many memories that make my heart ache with missing you so much.  Maybe this time of year makes me miss you more.  I miss competing with you while watching Wheel of Fortune when I come home from work.  I miss thinking of what we'll have for dessert before deciding what we'll have for dinner.  I miss your laugh, I miss your smile, I miss hearing your voice, I miss talking to you on the phone.  I miss you on our road trips. . . every time I walk into a public restroom and see the handicap stall I think of how much we laughed while you were in your brace and couldn't bend your leg.  (difficult and frustrating at the time - but at least we laughed!)

I often call you on your phone, just to hear your sweet voice say, "I can't get to my phone right now, but leave a message and I'll call you back."  It helps somehow.  I think of you in heaven, laughing, because of course you can't get to your phone right now!  After a long day at school today, I got in the car and pushed speed dial #6, just to hear you for a moment.  Apparently all of our phones have had some kind of technical overall (I remember having to redo my voicemail last weekend), and your message was gone.  Just gone.  I know you are probably saying. . . . "It's time mom.  It's kind of ridiculous that you have been paying for my phone for almost two years, when I don't need it anymore."  I know that's true, and I suppose God knew it had to happen that way or we would never have been able to cancel your phone, but oh how my heart hurts. 

So, instead of a phone call, I'll write you a letter on lined paper.
Love you so much,
Mom

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

continued thankful list. . . .

297.  Wyatt Reed Timmerman - 3 years old today
298.  Time spent with all of our kids - missed you Brady!  (and Sara)
299.  Oregon rain
300.  Original Pancake House in Salem now serves pumpkin pancakes year round - YES!
301.  Anticipation of more grandbabies - Ellery Sara Swenson coming May 25th and Baby Boy
         Timmerman coming mid-August
302.  Being back to the same time zone as AZ - early morning chats with Heidi
303.  Last quarter of the school year
304.  An incredibly patient husband that puts up with so much from me
305.  Spring snow & warm blankets
306.  Forecast of a sunny weekend
307.  Dreams
308.  New mercies every morning
309.  Counting blessings
310.  Choices