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Standing tall in the snow:

A very short life update.

So this will be a quick one. Basically – I’m holding the status quo of a boring and yet somehow terribly busy life.

 

- Started reading Anna Karenina. I’m currently about 3/4 of the way through it. Good stuff, but tough reading just like War and Peace.

 

- Started another ballroom dance class at the college. This time there are only three dances instead of six. I will be learning Rumba, Cha cha, and East coast swing. Definitely looking forward to this. I love me some dancing.

 

- Foodie-wise: meh. Cooking constantly to save money, but not doing anything terribly creative in the kitchen. Mostly just trying to eat a ‘healthy’ diet to fuel the body for all the exercise I’ve been doing. Sometimes it hits the mark and tastes great, sometimes it’s just food. Lately I’ve had a mean sweet tooth going on as well, which I dislike immensely.

 

- Exercise – yeah lots of it. Looking to hit a milestone next week of back squatting 175lbs (my body weight) at the gym! That will be kind of a big deal for me, since last time I got close I managed to bugger up my right knee pretty badly. Beyond lifting I’ve been hiking 3-5 times a week, loving every second of this winter weather. Found a few new trails that are nice, and been bushwhacking quite a bit. Also walking on lunch hours, plus the dance class. I try to get one full true rest day per week, but it’s kind of hard. My body just wants to keep moving.

 

- Photography – I’ve been mildly motivated to go out shooting lately. Mostly with the little G9 on hikes, but on occasion the D90 makes it out with me as well. Pretty much entirely nature pictures lately.

 

- Emotionally/spiritually – doing pretty well. Haven’t been doing any deep investigations of life or anything lately, so just kind of on cruise control. I’m quite happy with cruise control for now.

 

- Random otherness

– Chris and I have swapped in a new room mate – a guy we went to high school with. Living with these two is HILARIOUS.

- Throwing Chris a bachelor party at the end of February in Vegas. That should be stupidly fun.

- Mom had to put one of her dogs down, and the other one is going in for hip surgery. No more buddy makes me sad. Not taking Scrappy to mom’s house for dinner until Red is healed also makes me sad.

- I might have a kind-of girlfriend. It’s comically complicated, but enjoyable for the time being.

- Hoping that Granny J gets back up and at ‘em soon. That girl deserves the very best.

 

So yeah, that’s about all I’ve got. It’s just life, but it’s mine and I’m happy with it. :)

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A snowy trail parallels a small creek. I hike for an hour listening to the burble of water as it meanders through rocks and ice. I am content:

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_yote hits an abandoned house on Lincoln street:

Just a nice song

‘Death is the Road to Awe’ by Clint Mansell. From the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies: ‘The Fountain’

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Brambles and sky.

A stranger.

His name is Ed Jordan. He sits every day at starbucks, a man alone. It's six in the morning when I greet him with my usual friendly 'Morning Sir.' Today he decides to respond, though that response is not what I would expect.

"Afternoon, wouldn't you say?" And for the first time in all these weeks I see his eyes. He looks at me with rummy blue eyes which are only colorful slashes in his tired looking eyelids. He tells me to always look towards the future, so I should say 'good afternoon'. I tell him that I have no way of knowing if I will make it to afternoon, and so instead choose to enjoy the morning which I currently do have. He smiles at this and begins to talk. He intersperses his speech with 'see?' and 'You understand?' as if to make sure that I am listening.

I can tell he just wants to talk to somebody other than himself, and so I sit and listen as he tells me the meandering story of his life.

He was born in Boston and lived there with his mother and father. his mother minded the children, 'as is proper' he is sure to add. His father 'knew all things leather.' He was a shoe store managers who worked with all the jews. He tried to hire Ed on at his stores, but Ed had no desire to sell shoes. His father told him to invest in AT&T, which he eventually did. His father stressed the importance of honesty, diligence, and respect.

After leaving Boston Ed joined the navy. He was stationed in Okinawa. His current girlfriend's dad was an Austrian scientist who assisted in the creation of the atomic bomb in Nevada. "The bomb that saved my life." He says, "If the Japs wouldn't have surrendered we would have had to attack from Okinawa. They figured the entire first wave of soldiers would have been killed. I was supposed to be in that first wave."

He disembarks from his story of the navy in order to explain his view of labor unions, which he was a member of. An electrical engineer, he worked for AT&T testing components. Eventually they laid him off for not being able to perform his duties. He didn't think that was right of them, even though he admits to not being a good tester at the end. "It isn't my fault I got old, why shouldn't I get to keep my job?"

He shows me a plastic spoon which is shaped and colored to mimic the appearance of stainless steel. "You ever seen anything like that?" He asks. He promises to bring me one from the VA next he goes over there. He tells me a boss of his once told him that all sorts of things would be made out of plastic, "including cars." "How do you figure a man gets smart enough to predict something like that?"

He asks me mechanical questions about his mobile home, he's having trouble with fuel delivery. I give him what limited advice I can, but warn him to have it checked by a mechanic.

The conversation draws to a close as Kaite sits down next to me. "Thank you for liistening to me," he says as he walks away.

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I take a drive up to Kingman. I stop in Bagdad for lunch, I take Route 66 to Seligman. I drive all day, only stopping enough to get gas and a few pictures.

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Apparently we had a huge storm blow through town. That’s what the weather guys were saying. It dropped a little rain and snow, but nothing crazy. I still went hiking for two hours the next day:

 

Snow covered Sierra Priettas, along Miller Creek trail.

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The sun sets in the forest, as it does every day. I tell myself that these colors are just for me though. Tonight, they are mine:

When the colors are gone the forest becomes cold. I shiver as I make my way back to the truck. I hold onto the memory of color.

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Jagged and blurry, that’s how I feel some days:

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A random vehicle carcass, down a random trail, randomly tagged by Rimmer Jim:

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A low hanging cloud obscures the next hill over

It’s all computer generated?

That’s what they say, which makes it amazing.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

(via Boing Boing)

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Sometimes you just want the fluff in life:

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Sunset in the dells:

My mind is still melting

Ummm… chain-based gearing running through hydraulically controlled swing arms gives this truck about 7ft of travel on each wheel. Unbelievable. One question though, what happens when this guy gets stuck? Nobody can get anywhere close to where he goes to get him out.

(via Neatorama)

Easy car repair

I wonder how much a mechanic charges for this fix? :)

(via Bits&Pieces)

Family dinner

*Well this turned out a bit longer and more meandering than I had intended. Caution ahead – this is how my brain operates during a ‘kitchen event.’ *

 

It’s a tradition that we try to keep up weekly. Somebody decides to host, a flurry of text messages fly through the air as we figure out who’s coming, what they are bringing, when to show up. It’s family dinner. Not my family of relatives, but my family of friends. Tonight they are coming to my house.

 

A quick run to the store still not entirely sure how many people are showing up to eat, but I want to make sure everybody has enough to eat. Leeks are in season and I’m itching to make soup. I get home at 5:00 and start the circus, one of my favorite acts: cooking. I’ve got two hours before people start showing up, and I know it’s going to be pushing it. Especially since some of those people are bringing necessary ingredients of this meal.

 

Crack open a bottle of beer. It’s time to have some fun.

 

I slice up around six cups worth of leeks and begin sweating them in a large stock pot with butter and oil. I mince an entire head of garlic. Stir the leeks, I don’t want them to caramelize. I peel a bag of potatoes and chop them, setting aside for when the leeks are done.  Stir the leeks because if they color my soup will taste burned. Find a carrot in the fridge and give it a quick chop as well. The store didn’t have a big enough can of vegetable stock, so I make some with bullion. It has to be vegetable, at least one of my guests is a vegetarian. The microwave is currently sitting in the dining room, we had to take it down to clean and fix it a few days ago, so I run back and forth between the two rooms as the stock becomes ready. Stir the leeks, add the garlic, wait for the scent of garlic to fill the air. Add the stock, listen to the sizzle as liquid hits hot pan.

 

Time for the potatoes and carrot. Add water until covered, and stir so that the leeks aren’t all at the bottom of the pot. I don’t want them to burn. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for around an hour. Season as you go – Salt and pepper are a must. Smoked paprika to add a hint of darkness, cumin to wake up the nose, parsley oregano and basil give it a sense of home.

 

At some point Chris gets home, I move the soup off the stove so that we can re-mount the microwave. After some quick issue-resolution we are done, and the soup is back on the stove. Chop up five squash and slice an onion alongside around twenty mushrooms. Keep in separate bowls, some people don’t like mushrooms and there’s no reason to throw them in with the squash anyway. It will only mess up the moisture content of the squash.

 

Courtney arrives early, she said she would. Two bottles of white wine in hand, which she puts in the freezer to chill. We chat as I test the potatoes – they’re done. I begin the process of transferring the chunky  soup into the blender one batch at a time, lamenting the stick blender that I no longer have. I overfill the blender, when I turn it on I am rewarded with a blast of boiling soup on my hand. Ouch. Transfer the smooth soup to a bowl and repeat. I still manage to overfill it, more hot soup on my skin. In no time I have a smooth soup that is flowing back into the stock pot, with cream being added. Set it to low, and check the seasonings. More pepper, more paprika, a pad of butter to get the mouthfeel right.

 

I get an ice bath ready and set a pot of water to boil with salt added. Throw two more pans on the stove, I have lots of veggies to cook still. Just then Ben D. shows up with the asparagus I asked him to bring.  I throw my chopped onions in one of the pans and stir the soup. I throw in a fistful of cheese. I ask Courtney to plug her iPod into the stereo and play DJ, she always picks good tunes.

 

It’s 7:00 and people should be arriving in earnest now. The doorbell rings, Claire and Ben O. are here. Claire comes bearing a huge bowl of salad, and in Ben’s hands; a bottle of wine. I give hugs and handshakes, I throw my squash in with the onions, add salt pepper and garlic. Chop the ends off the asparagus and toss in the salted water. Mushrooms go in the last empty pan, medium low heat with a pad of butter. Room mate Perry comes out of his room and joins the burgeoning conversation.

 

Sam and his girlfriend Jessica are next to arrive, two loaves of french bread come with them. I welcome them in as I stir the squash and asparagus. It’s time to juggle a bit, the trash is full and I ask for somebody to take it out for me. Ben D. is on it and soon I can clear off counter space for bowls and strainers. The asparagus comes out of the water, and right into the waiting ice bath. Back into the freezer for a few minutes. The kitchen gets crowded as people talk while watching me cook. They ask if I need help, I politely decline. This is exactly where I want to be; this is my happy place. Stacy arrives with two cakes for desert. I put a large pan on the stove where the asparagus was, turn it to high and add some oil

 

Slice the two loaves of bread, ask Courtney to melt me some butter, pull the asparagus out of the ice bath and allow to drain for a moment. Add melted butter to the loaves of bread, Stacy wants one to be garlicky, and so I find the garlic powder, add, and toss all the bread under the broiler. Have Ben stir the soup as I toss the mushrooms and drain some of their accumulated liquid. A glass of wine is presented to me and I take a swig before throwing the asparagus into the now-hot oil. Fire as oil hits flame and finds its way into the pan. Nothing serious, it barely even registers on my radar. Alex calls, he needs directions. I’m not even sure what I tell him as I toss two pans of vegetables.

 

Stir the squash, taste the soup, laugh at an inappropriate comment, add more pepper. Check the bread, bring out the plates, pull the asparagus out of the pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Pull the bread out when it is browned, burn my fingers as I slice it and place it in bowls. I begin handing finished items to people, knowing they will find their way to the table. The mushrooms and squash are done, the soup is ready, asparagus done and bread on the table.

 

The burners are off and for the first time in almost three hours I sit. We pull every chair in the house around a table that is too small, we are forced to crowd but we are all comfortable with it. Alex arrives just as we are plating, apparently my directions were good enough. Bowls are passed, plates are filled, and I give everybody a sincere thanks for coming over. Most of them are just back recently from holiday vacations home to see family. I eat as I watch all the interactions, I open another beer and begin to relax as these ten people make the entire evening worthwhile.

 

The dogs beg for treats, and wiggle their way between peoples legs underneath the table as we take turns talking about what our favorite part of the holiday season was. One at a time around the table we go, finding odd tangent conversations along the way. We joke with each other, we smile, we laugh. The dinner is not about the food, it is about the people here. Sledding, skylines, seeing old friends, dancing, sporting events, all favorite things by different people

 

I sit back and simply try to soak up all that occurs before me. This is the reason why we do these dinners. The camaraderie, the easy dialog between friends, the shared experience. The plates are emptied and refilled, cleared and cleaned. Ben O. wrestles with Scrappy as the dishwasher is loaded, both of them enjoying the interaction. Eventually there is cake and a full kitchen scrub down. Everybody helps and in no time it is just as pristine as it started the day.

 

Eventually conversation dies down, tired looks are passed around as people decide to head home. More hugs and handshakes as people make their way out the door. Another successful family dinner in the books.

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Gone Rabid:

from downtown Phoenix

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We sit through the sunset, awaiting the rising of a blue moon:

Courtney, in the dells.

Sick on new years

It seems to be a growing trend for me: being sick on or around New Years. While I did make it out on the town New Years Eve this year, the following day had me at home with a hangover and a cold. After two days of continual dosing of Nyquil, drinking an absurd amount of water, and some awesome treatment by a good friend, I was on my feet again.

 

After being stuck in the house for two full days I needed an escape. And I needed some sunshine. The answer was found North of Wickenburg, where temperatures were above seventy, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

 

Along the way I stopped to photograph the tunnel of Forest Road 54 under South Highway 89 (thanks to PrescottStyle and GrannyJ for info on this!):

 

Then it was onto BLM land, parked between two mountains, and then a scramble up the taller of the two. Not a bad view from the top. Looking northward:

 

Looking Southward, with my truck somewhere in between here and there:

 

Along for the jaunt was my ever-faithful side-kick:

 

Then it was back to the truck for more water, ditch the camera and climb up the smaller of the two hills. Between the two it was just the right amount of exercise for a sick guy to tackle. And when I was done? Oh, I totally threw a blanket on the ground and laid in the sunshine for an hour. It was awesome.

 

I think I might have even found a little peace of mind along with all that sunshine.

A new year

2010 is here, we made it. I would normally try to do some kind of ‘resolution’ list, but realistically? All of my resolutions are just life goals.

1. Be happy.

2. Follow my dreams.

3. Love and laugh lots.

 

So far, so good.

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Blue moon from new years eve: