PERCEPTION

Something to think about….
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The questions raised:
*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*Do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made. How many other things are we missing?

Food for thought.......

New Seasons

Everywhere, there is life.
Birds are still flying, wildlife still feeding, people still buzzing around.
But to me, it is all different somehow.
I am wonderstruck.
Snow does not gracefully descend,
But blows around me like wisps of nothing.
The Wind, in her mighty glory,
Blows the snow in the peaks of the high mountains
And appear as white flags flapping in the sky, as in surrender.
It excites me.
How foreign it feels, anticipating a storm not involving hurricanes.
Life is surreal

I started a new life. I moved 1856 miles away from a place that I basically called home for almost 50 years and moved to an area of the country where I know no one. I live in small town America, where the speed limit on most of the roads in town is 25 mph. And on the interstate you can drive for long periods of time and never come even close to getting run over by an 18-wheeler. So unlike IH-10 in my part of Texas. This little town of Blackfoot Idaho is known as the potato capital of the world, but also is home of the Eastern Idaho State Fair. It is located in what is known as the Snake River Valley. It is the perfect place to live.

Moving here 4 months ago, I rented a small little basement apartment site-unseen. It was unfortunate because we received more rain in the 1st month I was here than Idaho had seen in.....well, most folks said they had NEVER seen this much rain. I guess I brought it with me from Texas. The problem was, my little apartment flooded....twice in the 1st 3 weeks in Idaho. I left Texas and the infamous hurricane alley to come to the arrid desert of Idaho only to get flooded?? Something's wrong with that picture. So I moved. To an above-the-ground-townhouse. It hasn't flooded (but it hasn't really rained since I moved either.....go figure!).

So here I am, up here in Idaho. Don't know a soul. Started a new job. Had to find my way around the community. And slowly in the last few months, I have cultivated a network of people who I can call friends. I have joined some clubs, gotten out and gone to wine bars, and to church, joined a southeast Idaho Singles group. And have met some really great people. I stay active. Every weekend I am out doing something. I go exploring to the Grand Teton National Park or Yellowstone either of which is only 2 hours away. I go hiking and camping. I joined a gym and try to exercise daily. I am looking forward to learning some of the winter sports because I do not plan to stay cooped up in my apartment for the whole winter waiting for the spring to come. I want to grab a hold to life....at whatever season it presents itself to me and fully embrace it.

Lots of my friends are amazed that I had the courage to give up my life down there in Texas and move this far away. But it was one of those things, scarey though it was, you just jump off and do with your whole heart. You have to have the right attitude. You have to realize that you can be yourself and meet people and they will take you in. Important advise I can offer to anyone who is planning on moving away on their on is be positive no matter what happens. Because the unexpected will happen, just go with the flow and have a plan B in place. Remember what Abe Lincoln said: "A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." So just be happy, right where you are. Another tip is to get out there and meet people, as hard as that sounds just do it. You can go to more places than just bars or churches. There are lots of organizations looking for volunteers to help out and that is a great way to get blended into the community and make new contacts. Do not let yourself get depressed! Plan an outing on your day off. Go to a park, throw a frisbee, play with your dog outside, pack a picnic lunch and take a drive, or hike. You will meet people along your trail. I have had a great time visiting museums and hiking the trails around here. I don't spend much money doing it either. Just a little on gas, because I take my own snacks.

Moving on your own will give you some days of deep inward peace and loneliness. Sometimes it feels awful and almost unbearable to be up here without my kids. (My daughter, a senior in high school, chose to stay in Tx and live with her dad and graduate). She is moving here after graduation. My boys are in college. Anyway, this has been a time of self discovery and of learning about me. What I really want out of life and what I really want for my future. I know that there are some things that have been brought into a sharper focus since I have been here alone than if I would have stayed in Texas with everyone around me telling me what I should do, how I should feel, and which way I should go. I really am happy that I made the decision to make this move at this time in my life. It is good. Life is good.

Love

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two. - Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

Cities I've Visited

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God Bless the USA

If you have not been to Vegas, these are the Fountains at the Bellagio. They play music with a water show of the fountains. It is truly spectacular. Make time to see it if you get the chance to go there.

Life on a Train

Cooking

I love to cook. I know....everyone says that, but I truly do. It is like therapy for me. Some people like digging in their garden, pulling weeds, some like yoga, or computing. But there is nothing I would rather be doing than cooking.

It gives me great satisfaction to cook for my family and get accolades for my efforts. They are rarely home to eat these days but when they are I treasure the moments.

So weekends I usually cook up a lot of stuff....so that we have food during the busy week ahead. I have tried some recipies that are really amazing this weekend (and some that were just ok) and so I decided to post them on my blog. Now I realize there are about a ba-zillion food/cooking/recipe/diet related blogs and websites out there...but I figured what the hay....no one looks at mine. So what's the harm. And at least I'll have a place to go back and refresh my memory on what I did with a particular recipe. So if by chance you do happen upon my blog and find one of these recipes...then good for you. Because, I have tried them in my very own kitchen and with my very own hard-to-please teenagers and young adult children. And the recipes posted will have been a hit or will say if they are at least edible.

So Here goes:

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES WITH SPICED PECANS AND PEACH BUTTER

This is, without a doubt,one of the best recipies I've ever tried. With or without the spiced pecans or the peach butter (although, I highly recommend the peach butter, yummo!) the pancakes are delicious. You can eat them with just plain maple syrup, or alone with nothing at all. Yes! They are just that good. They take a little work but the extra effort is worth it, cause they are light and fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth-delicious. I made up a whole batch and froze them. We'll see how they freeze. This recipe gets high marks in my book. You should try it.

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups buttermilk (I used more to thin the batter out some)
3 large eggs (room temperature)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 large sweet potato baked and mashed
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Spiced Pecans
Peach Butter

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In small bowl separate the eggs, reserving the whites to fold in later. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, the 3 egg yolks, and melted butter. Whisk in the cooled mashed sweet potato & the honey. Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture and mix well. With a mixer beat egg whites until white peaks form, about 2 min. Then gently fold egg whites into the pancake batter. Let batter stand for 1 hour. (Or you can make it a day ahead of time and cook the next morning). Laddle the batter onto med hot griddle and cook till golden on each side serve immediately with peach butter and spiced pecans.

PEACH BUTTER
1/2 cup peaches diced
1/2 lb butter softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
Pinch sea salt
In medium combine ingredients and mix well until smooth. Cover and refridgerate until ready to serve.

SPICED PECANS
1 cup Pecans, chopped
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
Heat a Skillet ove medium heat. Add all ingredients and cook until the pecans are lightly brown caramelized, about 8-10 min. Remove from heat, cool, store in airtight container.