wtf alex trebeck! leave the girls alone

many years ago, i watched the national geographic society's geography bee on pbs hosted by the jeopardy host alex trebeck. after a few rounds, a very disturbing pattern began to emerge - his "chatting" with the participants took two totally different tones with the boys and the girls. comments such as "this is an easy one" were more than not directed to the boys while things like "this happened way before your time" were told to the girls. IMMEDIATELY you could see the shadow of self-doubt begin to cloud the girls' faces. some to them stammered, some of them paused before answering and many times, they froze - i could see how just a few words, a phrase, made this already nervous girls LOSE IT; their confidence literally slipping away before my very eyes. i wanted to scream! and if they did give a wrong answer, he would say 'tsk tsk' and shake his head.
it illustrated two major points - the POWER of words and the SEXISM that is still very rampant in our society. i hope that my daughter never lets that happen to her and i hope my son never demeans his female peers that way. i guess only time will tell if any of my 'positive' preaching got through their thick skulls LOL
"what i've learned?" - well alex you need to learn NOT to discriminate against females.......

bathers on christmas morning

on a very clear, sunny but cold christmas morning, well, more like 11ish, max and i set out for our daily walk to the river. i guess the outside temperature was around the mid-40's at that time - so picture this, i'm on the bank of the river with my hoodie under my longcoat, gloves and hat, and there, in the river, are close to a dozen swimmers! now, at 70degrees year round, the san marcos river sees kayakers, snorkelers and swimmers all 12 months BUT usually we only see the swimmers in december during a "heatwave" say it gets up to 70 or 80...this is central texas, it could happen and has. anyway, most of the crowd quickly make their way up the grass and disappear into the parking lot. left in the water are two men and a teenage boy. the boy is jumping off the rope swing i'm sure at the urging of the other two. a women in sunglasses and a gray hoodie stands and waits patiently on the rocks. out comes an camera and pictures are taken of the bathers as well as the water falls. i suddenly feel very self-consciencous of my long winter coat, hat and gloves........i secretly wish i could dive into the beautiful clear water but decided walking home in wet clothes would not be worth the quick thrill of the water. alas, i know now that "i am a magnet and you (the water) are steel". did i mention that my children cannot come within 20 feet of a body of water without getting wet???? i now know they inherited the water-gene from me!

busy time

this week has been busy with shopping, wrapping presents, baking and cooking. poor max! my daughter and husband have been nice enough to walk him for me. i still have one last stop at target and then i should be completely done with christmas shopping. i know, i wait til the last minute. its seems my list was not as complete as i has once thought. hopefully i will have time to blog some more soon. falafel to fry up!
mary

for the love of chocolate

my husband and i both love chocolate however we have opposite reactions to it. if there is any chocolate in the house, my husband will eat it, every day, until it is all gone. i however, will eat it, savory and enjoy it, and my craving, wanting for it is satisfied. the bowl of chocolate is there but i feel no need to eat as i have been satisfied and it will be several days until i want chocolate again. for my husband, it is different - he has some chocolate and it only awakens his hunger for chocolate and the more he eats, it seems the more he wants.

no christmas vomit here!

earlier i was at a holiday luncheon with co-workers when someone complimented me on my "tasteful" christmas sweater. her EXACT words "it doesn't look like christmas threw up on it"!!! best quote yet i have gotten on anything i've worn!

our Christmas movie list

The following is our library of holiday classics-
The Polar Express
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Elf
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
The Cricket in the Hearth
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Frosty the Snowman
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The Little Drummer Boy
Frosty Returns
Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold
Pinocchio's Christmas
The Stingiest Man in Town
The Year Without a Santa
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
Frosty's Winter Wonderland
'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

and believe it or not, there's a few important ones missing, like A Christmas Story

pasta salad

i made a bunch of macaroni and then prepared 2 different pasta salads; one vegetarian and one with ham. i don't have exact measurements - i make big batches for potlucks and small for eating at home

for both salads you will need -

pasta* of your choice, salt and pepper to taste
one green and one red bell pepper,diced
several green onions or 1/4 of a red onion (more or less depending on your taste)
frozen peas, thawed in fridge
olive oil vinegarette dressing (i really like newmans' or you can make your own)

for the traditional salad you will also need
diced cooked ham
mayo

for the other salad you will need
olives (i like green so i use green you can use black)
diced cucumber


prepare two cups of pasta of your choice according to package directions
note: as soon as you drain your pasta, put it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process and to avoid over cooking, drain after a few minutes

divide up the pasta, peas, bell peppers, and onions into two bowls
cover lightly with dressing
into one bowl add ham and mayo, and toss

in the other bowl, add the olives and cucumber and a little more dressing and toss

keep in fridge until ready to serve


*i've used the macaroni but the tri-color bowtie pasta is another good choice

my tatt.... or desire for

for some time now i have wanted a tattoo but whenever i mentioned it, my family had this look on their face as if i wanted to cut off my nose or shave my head. i tried to fulfill my desires with the temporary ones - any excuse, there i was, decorating myself with something - sun, lizard, heart, swirls, flower bands, etc for birthdays, holidays, hell, just cuz it was friday! i looked through magazines and websites and finally decided that i couldn't just pick out an image from a wall or page - if this is going to be on me forever, it has to be unique, one of a kind, something that has meaning, profound meaning for me. i have narrowed it down to 2 images - one that incorporates a hawk, tree and river and the other, a mushroom whose top center is a combination of the sun and moon [the sun must be male and the moon female] with a lizard on one end and fairy wings on the other with a skull on the base. i can see it in my head but my drawing is awful! anyway, i now KNOW what i WANT so the getting it will be the next step. i'll try to post some pix when i get that far......

ribbons of cotton

in the moments before the dawn,
the river is black
the warm waters causing steamy swirls,
ribbons of cotton rising
flowing, curling, and eventually falling,
then rising again above the falls
dancing figures disappearing in the cold sky -
a fish surfaces for just a second
shatters the illusion of
flowing obsidian

happening upon 'secret' lovers

my imagination really gets going sometimes while max and i are out and about. i remember one distinct summer morning when i spotted a couple having a picnic? at 6:15am at the playscape. on the up side, the playground at that hour is nice and quiet - max and i kept our distance to give the lovers their privacy. i imagined that they had to meet at the park, in the dark, to escape the prying eyes of a jealous spouse??? perhaps he told his significant other he had to work "late" - i figure he works the night shift so he has to date in the early hours of the morning. she is a busy wife and mom - she fakes a minor domestic emergency and must, NOW, not later, run to Wal-Greens and restock her....what does she say? oh, anything dealing with female issues will do. they finish their whataburger drinks and he puts their trash in the can; he returns to sit beside her and she leans towards him for a kiss and they embrace. another slow, lingering kiss and then they leave...she gets into her champaign colored mini-van with the car seat in the back and he starts up his truck.did they see me? if so, perhaps they'll meet elsewhere........

waking up the neighbors

during the hot summer months, max and i walk pretty early in the morning - some mornings, we are out and about before 6am! the local parks and river have curfews from 11 pm to 6 am but frequently, especially during the good weather months, there a people who sleep in the parks, even the historic cottage near downtown. i don't mean to wake them up - many times i do not see them, huddled in a sleeping bag or wrapped up in a blanket. one morning, i heard a alarm go off right around 6am - i guess the smart thing to do is get out before the rest of the town wakes up and notices you're camping in a no-overnight stay area. in addition to the porch of the cottage and the gazebo itself, other frequented spots include the old fish hatchery porch, the benches and tables in the old Girl Scout camp by the highway and more recently, the newly installed concrete drainage slab behind the city park stage.

mary's broccoli cheese soup

now that the weather is finally feeling like winter, i've been craving SOUP! one of my favorites is broccoli cheese soup but i was afraid it was too difficult to make at home. boy, was i wrong! after perusing many a recipe on food network, i finally one from emeril that i have modified to make it more "figure" friendly and of course, its a vegetarian version.

Mary's Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded medium cheddar

Directions

In a medium pot, melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, carrots, and the onions, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until onions are translucent and carrots are beginning to soften. Add the flour slowly and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant, 2 minutes. Slowly add the stock, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until tender, for 15 to 20 minutes. (to decrease this time, you can thaw out your broccoli ahead of time) Turn off the heat and break up any large pieces of broccoli with a wooden spoon. Add the cream and bring to bare simmer to heat through. Add the cheese a little at a time and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls.