hello hello cousins (and sister) - i am in panera right now and it's packed. a panera without bagels, a panera without fruit cups, a panera that is the only restaurant with power in 10 miles!!!
last night our power went out. we lit some candles and huddled by the heater (which isn't electric, so that's great). the rain was torrential. we were actually a little scared, especially with the flickering candles, the howling wind, and our graphically active imaginations. i wondered aloud what it would be like if we went to bed and woke out with our whole big old mansion floating out on the atlantic ocean. i said it would be frightening. hannah agreed.
"at least we wouldn't be alone, we'd have so many neighbors!"
"right, maybe a catastrophe like that is what it would take for us to meet them all."
this morning our power was still out. while i was washing my face i heard hannah talking to our neighbor, Deidra. Deidra is a airline stewardess with a rasping voice who keeps odd hours. it turns out she is also a TV commercial actress. in her 40s or so, she is very friendly and reminds me a little of a cricket. anyway, she had gone out to get coffee. as had Jen and Garry, our landlords. you can't make coffee without power! they were gathered around our doorway.
"the power's out for miles!" Deidra exclaimed.
"i'm just going down to the basement to check for flooding." Garry said, and tromped downstairs. seconds later Hannah said she heard him swearing. not good.
pulled on my flannel shirt and met them at the door. we chatted for a while before each going back to our breakfasts.
"hey, we actually did meet our neighbors!" Hannah laughed.
our classes were canceled for the day but we were desperate for power to do our ever-pressing homework. we went to panera. after waiting and waiting we found a booth that an older couple was just vacating. we chatted with them as they left (glaring askance at the other table-hunters pressing in). it turns out they had come all the way down from ipswitch (about 15 miles away) to find a place to get breakfast and coffee. now they were heading out to take a walk on the beach and see what was open in rockport. the power-outage has swept over the whole seacoast. we wished them luck and they left me wanting to go to the ocean.
people continute to crowd into panera even as i sit here. a group of high-schoolers just pushed by, laptops and a power strip in hand! a little group of heavily-accented older women with powdered hair and zippered bags paused beside me while looking for a table.
"maybe you think everyone has come here from the cold to get-a warm?" one of them wondered. they found a spot near me near an indian couple and a frazzled baseball capped mom of three that took one of "our" tables earlier and nearly exploded when she found out they didn't have bagels. just now the gordon students are trickling in (they are out of power too), also clutching laptops, looking a little frantic (i'm glad i powered mine last night). everyone's here sharing their power tales. some have lights but no phone or TV, some (like us) are relying on candles and flashlights and wondering whether they have enough batteries to make it. i'm sitting sipping my 1/2 decaf 1/2 regular coffee with soymilk (panera has soymilk if you ask!) watching people and wondering what your storm stories are? write a post and tell us!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
can we do this please?
Monday, February 15, 2010
a little poem...
for my poetry class we literally have to crank out poetry. this on might still be in transition (actually, it definitely is) but i thought i'd share it anyway:
Grounded
I used to let the ocean take me,
out to sea with the prickly urchins
and the stinging jellyfish
that rise, unafraid, to the top
top of the tide.
Today I am grounded
on the cement wall, eyes
for nothing but the water,
willing the wonder of a million miles
to come (as once it did) and rest
beside me, a small hope of more
crusted in salt and sand.
Now - a damp cement smell mixes
badly with the bitter taste of seaweed.
I dropped my fistful of shells
broken, years ago when flip-flops,
sand-filled, were left beside a trusting stone
and I walked (eyes torn
between the stretch of the sea
and mystery of the treasure-filled sand)
with wonder.
Today the molding wet sticks
to my soul. Foot-print free
it catches and dries, too heavy
to rinse off in the coming waves.
Grounded
I used to let the ocean take me,
out to sea with the prickly urchins
and the stinging jellyfish
that rise, unafraid, to the top
top of the tide.
Today I am grounded
on the cement wall, eyes
for nothing but the water,
willing the wonder of a million miles
to come (as once it did) and rest
beside me, a small hope of more
crusted in salt and sand.
Now - a damp cement smell mixes
badly with the bitter taste of seaweed.
I dropped my fistful of shells
broken, years ago when flip-flops,
sand-filled, were left beside a trusting stone
and I walked (eyes torn
between the stretch of the sea
and mystery of the treasure-filled sand)
with wonder.
Today the molding wet sticks
to my soul. Foot-print free
it catches and dries, too heavy
to rinse off in the coming waves.
Friday, February 5, 2010
a truly lovely advertisement (really? do tell.)
this is just an advertisement for a stupid tv, but it's really beautiful and fun to watch. someone showed it to me yesterday and i really liked it. they really did this in san franscico.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
un-cooking
thursday night was dessert night at my place: lots of lovely friends and one very yummy torte: here's how:
crust:
1 tsp veggie oil
1 c raw almonds
2 T raw honey
1 T raw peanut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
filling:
2 c raw cashews
2 tsp vanilla
2 T water
2 T raw honey
4 very ripe strawberries
a pinch of salt
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp melted coconut oil (optional for thickening)
topping:
assorted chopped strawberries and blueberries
for the crust:
in a blender grind the almonds into a fine meal. pour into a bowl. add the honey, peanut butter, and cinnamon and mix well until it's a sticky ball. press the pie-crust "dough" into the bottom of a lightly oiled glass pie pan.
filling:
rinse the cashews and soak for 5+ hours. rinse again.
blend the cashews with 2 T water, stirring frequently. add the other filling ingredients and blend well. it should be a thick pudding consistency. scoop into crust. top with chopped berries and refrigerate overnight or freeze for 2 hours.
enjoy!
this was a HUGE hit at my place. it slices so beautifully and tastes sooooooo good.
crust:
1 tsp veggie oil
1 c raw almonds
2 T raw honey
1 T raw peanut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
filling:
2 c raw cashews
2 tsp vanilla
2 T water
2 T raw honey
4 very ripe strawberries
a pinch of salt
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp melted coconut oil (optional for thickening)
topping:
assorted chopped strawberries and blueberries
for the crust:
in a blender grind the almonds into a fine meal. pour into a bowl. add the honey, peanut butter, and cinnamon and mix well until it's a sticky ball. press the pie-crust "dough" into the bottom of a lightly oiled glass pie pan.
filling:
rinse the cashews and soak for 5+ hours. rinse again.
blend the cashews with 2 T water, stirring frequently. add the other filling ingredients and blend well. it should be a thick pudding consistency. scoop into crust. top with chopped berries and refrigerate overnight or freeze for 2 hours.
enjoy!
this was a HUGE hit at my place. it slices so beautifully and tastes sooooooo good.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Recipes...
So, this is manly for Becca but obviously because I'm posting it on here it's for any of you..
This is my recipe for the week, Rebecca. Sorry I didn't post one last week. It's very simple, very loose, and very versetile.
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1 can of chick peas, almost completely drained
1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of chopped up brocoli (there's really not much measurement as far as the brocoli goes...)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
a small dash of crushed red pepper (only a very little bit of this...alittle goes a long way...)
a handful of peanuts
oil for cooking
salt and pepper to taste
In a frying pan, cook the onions with a minute or two, then add the brocoli and the peanuts. Cook for another 3 minutes or so, or until the vegetables are starting to get soft. Add the spices, cook for a few seconds then add the chick peas with their liquid. Cook until chick peas are done, the vegetables are soft, and almost all the liquid in the pan is gone. Add salt and pepper.
Now, like I said, you can switch this up alot. Add more or less spices as you like it, cashews are good if you don't have peanuts (although I really prefere peanuts). Change it up to fit what you want at the moment. I like this alot because it's reallly simple, the taste isn't hard to get, and it's really just the two flavors but mixed together they make one yummy dish.
Enjoy this! I have a really good recipe for a chocolate-cinnamon cookie which is really just chocolate cookie dough rolled in cinnamon sugar. They make delicious chewy cookies I just have to vegan-proof the recipe before I share it with you.
I hope you have a great weekend!
This is my recipe for the week, Rebecca. Sorry I didn't post one last week. It's very simple, very loose, and very versetile.
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1 can of chick peas, almost completely drained
1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of chopped up brocoli (there's really not much measurement as far as the brocoli goes...)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
a small dash of crushed red pepper (only a very little bit of this...alittle goes a long way...)
a handful of peanuts
oil for cooking
salt and pepper to taste
In a frying pan, cook the onions with a minute or two, then add the brocoli and the peanuts. Cook for another 3 minutes or so, or until the vegetables are starting to get soft. Add the spices, cook for a few seconds then add the chick peas with their liquid. Cook until chick peas are done, the vegetables are soft, and almost all the liquid in the pan is gone. Add salt and pepper.
Now, like I said, you can switch this up alot. Add more or less spices as you like it, cashews are good if you don't have peanuts (although I really prefere peanuts). Change it up to fit what you want at the moment. I like this alot because it's reallly simple, the taste isn't hard to get, and it's really just the two flavors but mixed together they make one yummy dish.
Enjoy this! I have a really good recipe for a chocolate-cinnamon cookie which is really just chocolate cookie dough rolled in cinnamon sugar. They make delicious chewy cookies I just have to vegan-proof the recipe before I share it with you.
I hope you have a great weekend!
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