tamale casserole

here's a very quick but hot and satisfying meal

pre-heat oven to 350degrees

dozen tamales, warmed and unwrapped

enough chili con carne [or a can of wolf brand chili] to cover tamales

shredded cheese

diced onions and jalepenos [optional]

place tamales in a casserole dish and sprinkle some cheese and diced onions over them
cover them with the chili, there should be enough to 'drown' the tamales
-you may also put pinto beans over them at this point if you want
cover with remaining cheese, onions, and jalepenos
garnish with paprika and cilantro
bake uncovered for 20 minutes until heated thoroughly

serve with Spanish rice or lettuce and tomato salad

remembering those lost......

On January 27, 1945 Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland

"The nearly two tons of hair shorn from prisoners for use in German products is exhibited in cases but, as human remains, will be allowed to decay."

from a Smithsonian article on the daunting task of saving and preserving the history of the horror that took place at Auschwitz and Birkenau while seeing more than 1 million visitors in 2009.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Can-Auschwitz-Be-Saved.html

see the link for the full story

step one - meet with artist to discuss...

...tattoo and go through designs. i looked at so many pictures and in the end, wound up drawing, very badly, my wishes for my tattoo. i am hoping to incorporate all the following elements:
mushroom
sun/moon [the moon is female and the sun male - this cannot be changed]
skull
fairy wings
gecko
tree

that's the one for my leg

on my shoulder will be my hawk!!!!

can't wait to see what he comes up

Protests as Vatican Slams Avatar and Pantheist Nature-Worship

Protests as Vatican Slams Avatar and Pantheist Nature-Worship

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Rights of the Disabled - thank you for sharing!

This is just one of the reasons to support the Green Party: their stance on the
6. Rights of the Disabled:

We support the full enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act to enable all people with disabilities to achieve independence and function at the highest possible level. Government should work to ensure that children with disabilities are provided with the same educational opportunities as those without disabilities.

The physically and mentally challenged are people who are differently-abled from the majority, but who are nevertheless able to live independently. The mentally ill are people with serious mental problems who often need social support networks. Physically and mentally challenged people have the right to live independently in their communities. The mentally ill also have the right to live independently, circumscribed only by the limitations of their illness. These people are their own best advocates in securing their rights and for living in the social and economic mainstream.

Current Medicaid policy forces many challenged people to live in costly state-funded institutions. Excluding these people from society alienates them; excluding them from the work force denies them the chance to use their potentials.

The diminishing funds available to provide care for the growing number of the mentally ill often result in their homelessness, vagrancy and dependence on short-term crisis facilities. Lack of funding also increases the necessity of placing them in long-term, locked facilities.

The Green Party urges the government to:

a. Increase rehabilitation funding so that persons with disabilities can pursue education and training to reach their highest potential. The differently-abled should participate fully in the allocation decisions of state rehabilitation departments' funds.

b. Aggressively implement the Americans with Disabilities Act.

c. Fund in-home support services to allow the differently-abled to hire personal care attendants while remaining at home.

d. Allocate adequate funding to support community-based programs that provide out-patient medical services, case management services and counseling programs. We should provide a residential setting within the community for those who do not need institutional care but who are unable to live independently.

e. Make it easier for the chronically mentally ill to apply for and receive Supplemental Security Income.

f. Mainstream the differently-abled. Increase the training of teachers in regards to the needs of differently-abled students.

g. Discourage stereotyping of the mentally and physically challenged by the entertainment industry and the media.

h. Fund programs to increase public sensitivity to the needs of the mentally ill and differently-abled.

sometimes, you just gotta throw yourself on the ground

... and look up at the stars through the branches of the cypress trees, the steams swirling and rolling past as it flies just above the surface of the warm river. the cypress island, what i call it, is one of my favorite spots in the morning, early before the dawn, on a clear, cold mornings just like today. except for the mottled black and gray cat, max and i encountered no wildlife. the twisted roots and bulging 'knees' of the cypress makes walking in the dark on the island a bit of a challenge; for me of course, its no big deal for max. the water is dark and the head light from the train going over the bridge casts any creepy yellowish light on the river. the park is empty and not even the fishermen or the joggers are out yet.

A to W - critters i've seen in san marcos

a is for armadillo

b is for bats and bunnies

c is for camel and cow and chickens

d is for deer and ducks

e is for earthworm and egret

f is for fox and a frog as big as my shoe!

g is for goose

h is for horse

i is for iguana

l is for lamb

m is for mouse

n is for nutria

o is for owl

p is for parrot and possum

r is for raccoon and rat

s is for snake

t is for tarantula and turtle

v is for vulture

w is for wallaby


not quite all the letters from A to Z but pretty close....i'm keeping my eyes open for more critters

the aftermath of rain...

the dank, rancid smell of decaying vegetation mixed with the smell of the water made me think of dark caves and cold nights; visions of ghosts and memories of funerals in the rain.

max and the armadillo

a new one for max! walking at the park near the river very early one morning, before the dawn, we chanced upon an armadillo heading home for the night. it saw us before max saw him and it froze; hoping that we just pass by. unfortunately, max did see it and had to investigate. the armadillo didn't run away immediately, instead it stood still while max cautiously approached to give it a good, deep sniff. of course, the armadillo is a creature of the past - its ancestors first appeared in giant elephant size thousands of years ago. while they are now about the size of a raccoon, they have not really changed or evolved much. a hard, articulated, bony shell body reminiscent of something from jurasic park, the only mammal that can catch leporsy and its on my list of "the crazies things i've ever eaten". yes, i'm from texas - it was caught, killed, and you guessedit, BAR-B-Q'd. i know, its a cliche, but it did taste like chicken!

1-16-2010

it had rained for the last 24 hours when max and i made it down to the river...considering all the rain and runoff, the water was pretty clear. we could see the bass and algae eaters a'plenty! what i was surprised that we didnt' see were turtles bathing themselves in the sun; also absent were any water fowl. the slugee way next the rio vista falls has been unblocked recently (thank goodness) and so it is down 2 to 3 feet from previous weeks, allowing for the rising river overflow to continue unimpeded.

Mary's Tex-Mex chicken soup

okay, some might call it tortilla soup but since it is only a topping and not an ingredient in my soup, i gave it my own name...

cook time: min 1 hour - its soup, you can let it simmer most of the day
prep time: less than 20 minutes

ingredients:
chicken [this can be whole or pieces, white or dark meat - what you prefer]

large can of tomatoes - my fav are the roasted ones, diced or whole okay

can of black beans, rinsed and strained [you can put dry beans in the beginning but it will color the entire soup and make your chicken meat look purple - taste is fine]

can of hominy, rinsed and strained [corn may be substituted, can or frozen]

onions and peppers to taste [i 'cheat' and use the onion/pepper stir fry frozen veggies]

carton of stock plus water to cover everything [i use veggie stock but you can use chicken if you prefer]

spices
salt and pepper to taste
two to three teaspoons of the following [you can add more later after you taste]
cumino
mexican oregano
aniote or paprika [mainly for color]
cilantro [use fresh as a garnish, a bit of dried while cooking is good too]
garlic powder unless you want to use fresh then diced finely and toss in with stock
and a sprinkle of dried red pepper flakes [optional]


put a little oil in a large pot and brown chicken thoroughly then remove and set aside

put in onions and peppers, tomatoes in juice and a little stock; loosen up all the crumbly brown bits from the bottom of the pan; return chicken and add spices and stock

bring up to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and stir every once and a while
after chicken is cooked, remove and de-bone it then add meat back in
at this time, add your can of beans and hominy [or corn]
cook at least 20 more minutes to meld all the flavors

for garnish, i slice up corn tortillas into strips and fry them quickly in very hot oil
[i use at least 2 or 3 inches of oil in a small cast iron pan]
other goodies include
shredded cheese
sliced avacado
fresh cilantro
salsa

freezes great!

the heron and the turtle

i'm not sure if it was the full night's sleep but i awoke this morning full of energy and feeling good. max and i took a brisk walk to the river early this morning - at 40 something degrees, it was a heat wave compared to the 20's we had been walking in the last 5 days! we were careful not to get too close and disturb the great blue heron resting on the largest pink granite rock located right before the falls. it was crouched down low on the rock with his beak the only thing distinguishing him from his granite perch. further down the river, by the second falls, i spotted a turtle in the water - i may have inadvertently chased him from his rocky resting spot; it seems at soon as i spotted him, he knew it and quickly disappeared into the frothy white river. i took off my denim jacket and unzipped my hoodie - the biting cold was gone and max and i got home with plenty of time for another cup of coffee before i had to head to work. i will be looking up the turtle to see what he signifies - i know the turtle for many is the one who is carrying or holding up the earth; the olmecs had their earth dragons but that's a different story! how i miss dr. reilly - i should go visit him when the semester starts again.

enjoying the dawn

max and i went to the river this morning - if you stand really, really close to the falls, the sound of the water drowns out the roar of traffic on IH 35 as well as the trains. the stars were still peeking out through the disappearing clouds while the pink of the sun showed itself on the horizon. a lone tall egret standing on a rock, its reflection in the water showing more movement than the bird itself.....the ducks make their way across the river... i want to stay here forever, in this spot, at this very moment, the birth of hope with the dawn. the feeling that all will be right, the untainted and sweet anticipation that today will be the day without failure. i'm more like the river this morning - usually clear but now, cloudy and waiting for my thoughts to once again run clear. i arrive back at the house just as the sky turns from dark to blue and i try to carry that one brief moment with me all day long.................

ok, today it was COLD @ 26 degrees

too bad there's no precipitation in the area or it would be snowing right now! we don't see much of the white stuff in central texas - i believe it was close to 6 or 7 years ago when there was barely enough on the ground for my daughter and i to make a very, very small snowman who only lasted half the day :( ever since that winter, she has wanted to spend christmas where there is snow. we have had a very freezing nights and some days with ice on the road since then, but no snow. at 5am this morning when I got up, it was 28degrees in town and 34.5 on our back porch. later it would get down to 26 in san marcos. for some unknown reason, my son was disappointed we did not reach 22degrees. he says it must get down to 22 tonight! not sure where that particular number came from. anyway, i got dressed to take max out - long sleeve shirt, hoodie, skull cap, scarf, longcoat, gloves and off we went. it didn't seem too bad at first - i mean i had been out in the 300's before anyway but with the wind chill, it was feeling in the teens! was very glad to get inside the house and am very grateful i have a warm house to come home to and a job that keeps me inside! did not see any birds or other urban wildlife although max and i did hear some chirping. i am NOT looking forward to our walk tonight....i may have to wear a few more layers. now if it were snowing, then yes, it would still be just as cold but then walking out in it would be a TREAT!!

IMHO - there's NO COOKIES IN FOOTBALL!!!

ok, i know i'm gonna in trouble with ut fans but enuf already! the game isn't til tomorrow and i am so sick and tired of hearing everything "longhorn" but nothing about FOOTBALL. the sports casters from austin arrived yesterday so we could have coverage of the fountain in front of the hotel? are football shaped pizzas really "news" much less sports news? and oh my, no more flights from houston......like no one else could possibly have any other reason to fly except for ut longhorns fans.....but the worse was the fuss over the orange iced longhorn head shaped cookies.........i'm gonna vomit now and can't wait til next week when the season is over. i mean, if you're going to 'report' on the game for a whole week before, i want to hear stats, predictions, records from past games, cool re-plays of game making moments, how the players are doing now - any body sick or injured? what happened the last time these teams met? what are the strengths and weaknesses of each team's defense and offensive? etc, etc...i don't want to hear some one whining how expensive their ticket was or see footage of people at the airport - TALK ME SOME GAME, HON OR SHUT THE F*CK UP ALREADY......oh, and GO LONGHORNS! i mean, i still want them to win :)

woodpeckers

during the time off, max and i walked a bit later in the day than our usual 6am. this allowed me to see a lot more of the surroundings and i really enjoyed our treks to the river, parks and i especially enjoyed seeing the woodpeckers. we even had a woodpecker in our yard; last year, the robins were abundant and we saw them all winter long while this year, not one robin has been sighted. i put black sunflower seeds in my two birdfeeders only to have them constantly raided by the damn rats with fuzzy tails [some folks call them squirrels]. anyway, i was surprised at how many times the woodpecker showed up. i wondered what it meant so i went to one of my fav sites

http://www.sayahda.com/cycle.htm to look it up


The Woodpecker is a climber, a speedy flyer and difficult to catch; there are about 180 species of woodpeckers in the world.
"Those with this totem often find that their path in life wont always conform to society's standards and that their personal unique rhythm needs to be honored. Woodpeckers teach us to honor our personal truth and move through life with perseverance and inner strength. By staying grounded in our pursuits our goals can be obtained."

Woodpeckers are opportunists, defend their territory and are known as the Earths drummer. "Drumming is the heartbeat of mother earth and is associated with shamanism and the ability to move into other dimensions at will. For those with this totem the woodpecker represents self discovery. s they peck into and through trees and dead wood, hidden layers of ones psyche are revealed."

new year's day 'dunk' @ rio vista falls

while the "polar bears" of san marcos celebrated the new year by plunging into the river at noon at sewell park, watson and i had our own new year's dunk in the river at rio vista falls later that day. due to the swiftly running and high water @ sewell, i was not too keen on chasing watson and battling the current so we participated as photographer at the main plunge. around 1:30 or so, we headed to the river - we parked the car across the street from the river pub and little man and i walked down just past the second little fall where we slowly inched into the water up to my waist, chest level for watson. it was cold - yes it was warmer at 70degrees than the ambient air temperature, but it was cold. it wasn't even 5 minutes yet when watson announced 'ok, mom we can go home now'. and then i said 'well, it won't count if we don't get our heads wet' at which time watson pinched his nose shut and stuck his head in the river! okay mom, i told myself, you started this... i too pinched my nose and had planned to 'sit' in the water when watson pushed the back of head into the water! there, it was done - our new year's dunk in the river!!!