Two Rock Songs
Music moves me. Always has, always will. These days, there are two particular songs that really move me. Thing is, Im not sure why so the way I figure, this is something meant for my blog. The first song is from a band named Muse. Most of you may know this band, but I only recently learned of their existence. In fact, a 14 year old boy introduced me. Yes, that’s right. A dear friend of mine’s son introduced me to this band and I have to say, I love them. Not sure what that says about me, other than I dig a band meant for 14 year olds. Either way, here’s the song (not the greatest video, but a GREAT song):
So why do I like this song? It’s inspirational, that’s why. It’s a fighting song, a ‘You Can Not Hold Us Back’ song, a revolutionary song. I dig it.
The second song is totally opposite – but really rocks. BIG time. Im obviously exposing how pathetic I am. I found out about this band on Saturday Night Live. You’d think I don’t get out of the house much, eh? The band is called Them Crooked Vultures and they are what is called a ‘Rock Supergroup’. They are called this because this band is made up of members from other bands that Rocked, so they are Super Rockers. And I mean, SUPER Rockers. The bassist, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), the drummer, Dave Grohl (Nirvana), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and Alain Johannes (Unkle). See for yourself. It’s really something to appreciate if you can:
Well, that’s that. Two Rock Songs.
Super Easy, Crazy Good Vegetarian Chili w/ Shmeet
Posted by admin in Recipes and Cooking on February 7th, 2010
This is the best vegetarian chili recipe, ever. Well, at least we think so.
The best thing about it is that it’s really, really super easy. The ‘Spice Pack’ comes from Moosewood Cookbook’s Vegetarian Chili recipe but other than that, it’s just a bit of this and a bit of that. We like our vegetarian chili with Shmeet (fake meat) so I thought I’d share our recipe as I’m making a big ole batch right now.
Ingredients:
1 pack of Quorn Meatless and Soy Free Grounds OR Morning Star Meal Starters (Sausage style or Regular)
1 Medium/Large Onion (chopped)
5/6 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 package of Mushrooms (sliced or chopped)
1 big can of Diced Tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can of Tomato Paste (6 oz)
1 can of RoTel diced tomatoes and green chilies (10 oz) -this is optional. Actually everything is optional.
Spice Pack (combine the following): 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp dried basil, 2 tsp chili powder (more to taste), 1 tsp of kosher salt (more/less to taste – I usually go for less)
1-2 tsp of olive oil
1 cup of water (more or less as you wish)
*We don’t add beans, but if you want to, feel free. Also, feel free to add other vegetables during the onion/mushroom/garlic stage. You can really play around a lot with this recipe.
First Thing:
Throw your chopped onion and garlic in a pot and sauté w/ olive oil for about 5 minutes. Throw in your mushrooms and the ‘spice pack’ and sauté for a few more minutes so everyone gets all spiced up.
Second Thing:
Add your package of Shmeet (the fake meat of your choice- it doesn’t matter if it is frozen or defrosted). Mix this up with your spiced up onion/garlic/mushroom mix and cook that for about 3 minutes (just enough to soak up the flavor).
Third Thing:
Add your tomatoes (all three cans) and mix everything up. At this point, I usually add a little bit of water if it’s too thick, but you can do whatever you want. At minimum, let this simmer for about 25-30 minutes, but an hour or more is best.
Fourth Thing:
Heat up some dippin’ bread (6-7 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees), dish out your chili, and go to town. A dollop of sour cream or a bit of cheddar cheese on top is really yummy and if your anything like Pete, throw in a few drops of something that makes you sweat (Dave’s Insanity Sauce or Blair’s After Death Hot Sauce are favorites – but be warned, less is best. Seriously).
Bon Appetite!
I Love This Plant
Posted by admin in Flowers, Plants and Gardening on January 30th, 2010
I adore plants. Absolutely love them.
I’m not sure where this ‘plant appreciation’ of mine came from, but it’s there. In fact, when I was in high school, my summer job was landscaping. I worked for a small, women owned landscaping company called Maywood Lawn and Landscaping. During my time at Maywood, I cut grass, trimmed hedges, pulled weeds, ‘whacked’ weeds, planted plants, removed plants, sprayed herbicide (not my favorite part), shoveled mulched, spread mulch, loaded trucks, emptied trucks, drove trucks and backed up trailers that made me proud (if you’ve ever had to reverse a truck with a full size trailer, and turn it to the left or right, or both – you know what Im talking about). It was good. It built my confidence, provided an ‘honest’ day of work, and led me to my career behind a desk, since I SWORE I would find myself a job that included air conditioning and DIDN’T include a fear of posion ivy, hornets, sunburn and dehydration. My time in the sun served me well.
Now, I garden for fun, on MY time and not at 5AM or 3:00 PM (when the sun is nothing more than pain). I also have a ton of houseplants, which I love. You can even ask my husband. I know its strange but I regularly walk by one of my plants, hold up a leaf and say to him, ‘Isn’t this amazing? I mean look at this! Seriously, come look at this!’. 
I’m just amazed by natural diversity. Here is a picture of my newest plant. Im not sure the name (I’ll get back to you with that) but the leafs are just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I love this plant.
Wildflowers Don’t Care Where They Grow
So true, isn’t it?
This is another one of my favorite songs. Dolly Parton sings this and its absolutely beautiful. I tried to find her singing it and this is all I found. I wish it was just her singing, but apparently its a movie clip. Either way, you can see how beautiful this song is and of course, Dolly is amazing.
Listen closely to the lyrics. Beautiful.
So, Im trying to learn to play this on the mandolin. It might do better on a guitar and/or the instrument she is playing (which Im not yet sure what that is), but for now, Im going to try to learn on the mandolin. Im slightly embarassed to have myself singing so closely after Dolly, but we all have to aspire towards something, right? Minus the plastic surgery, of course. (Dolly, no disrespect. Im one of your biggest fans).
Now here is me. Desperately trying to figure out how to play the mandolin so it doesn’t hurt the ears. The one thing Im struggling with is strumming. If anyone out there reading this knows anything about the mandolin, or has any helpful hints when it comes to strumming, please let me know! Im finding that every song I play ends up sounding like Wagon Wheel. Im also considering taking up the Guitar. Hell, why not?
Birds, Birds, Birds
I love birds. So, I’ve decided to be come a more informed bird watcher.
To start my journey, I purchased a copy of Stokes Field Guide to Birds and started spending all of my spare time watching these beautiful little creatures- and trying to figure out who’s who. I’ve actually been quite amazed. I had no idea there was such a variety of birds right in my back yard . When you take the time to just watch and listen, you’ll see a whole world you may have never even noticed. I only wish I had paid attention sooner. They are just the most gentle, beautiful things.
In addition to just watching, I’ve also been video taping my fine feathered friends. Right now Im trying to pull together a video clip so you can see them in action, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures of the birds that frequent my feeders. To attract the buggers I simply placed a few dishes of bird seed on my deck, kicked back, and waited for the party to begin. A bird party.
Below is a sample of who showed up. There is one bird I’m not 100% sure of (the starling) and a few others were hard to identify. Older birds look different than younger birds, some birds look different in the winter than in the summer, etc. But for now, here are the ones I could make a positive ID. A taste of Jana’s Wild Kingdom (video coming soon):
1. The Tufted Titmouse. I LOVE this bird. These guys are so cute its ridiculous.
2. The Cardinal, of course. Here is a pic of a female. I have males come to visit as well but mostly, Im seeing females. As you all know, the males are bright red, and a beautiful sight.
3. The House Finch. These guys are on my deck all the time, in pairs for the most part which I find interesting. I rarely see a female without a male, or male without a female. They are a pair, for sure (the male has red on his chest).
4. The Dark Eyed Junco. I just dig it’s name. Junco.
5. The Blue Jay. Let me say a word or two about the blue jay. Compared to my other fine feathered friends, the blue jay is a MONSTER bird. They are what I like to call my ‘big boys’ and when they are in town, everyone backs down. I always knew the blue jay as those birds that like to harass cats (if you’ve ever had an outdoor cat, you know what Im talking about). But now I see them as big ole lugs with beautiful tail feathers. 
6. Song Sparrow. When this one first showed up on the scene, I thought it was a finch, but lo.. it was a sparrow. A beautiful, lovely sparrow.
7. The Starling. This one I’m still not 100% sure about. I have him on video. He made a brief appearance and I had no idea what he was. His feathers were spotted and his beak was black, which makes me think he is a junior starling. The picture I found on line isn’t exactly what he looks like (I have him on video). I’ll have to double check on this one. I don’t think it was a blackbird, and certainly not a crow. It was just a very cool looking black bird with spots. 
8. And last but not least, this morning I saw an American Goldfinch. It was adorable. At first I thought it was a house bird that managed to escape it’s cage. This morning was the first time I’ve seen a goldfinch. I hope to see her again.
The James River and Steve Miller Band
Some of my fondest memories are of Summer days spent on the James River with my friend Cathleen. I met Cathy when I was 15 years old. Hard to believe its been 22 years, but it has. Cathy lived right down the road from me and we instantly became best friends. I can’t tell you how many times we went to the James and spent hours sunning ourselves, exploring the river and singing to the fish. Yes, singing to the fish.
For those of you who are not familiar with the James River, the James is a river that runs through Richmond and back in the day, the river was where it was at. We spent all of our time there, hanging out, just doing what teenagers do. Here is a picture I found of the James River Rocks so you get the idea..
Cathy and I used to go to a cluster of rocks we called the Bread Basket down at the 43rd Street entrance. It was kind of hard to get to, so only on a rare occasion would we find that someone else had taken over our rock. We would come equipped with towels, sun tan lotion, river shoes (if you’ve been to the James, you know what I mean) snacks, a battery powered ‘boom box’, diet coke and/or beer if we were lucky, and cigarettes in a ziplock bag. We had so much fun on those rocks.
One of our favorite things to do was to sing to the fish. I know it sounds strange, but Cathy and I often listened to Steve Miller Band and loved to harmonize to the song Dance, Dance, Dance. One day we thought we’d hang on the side of the rock and start singing and sure enough, all these little fish swam up to us and just stayed there while we sang! We did this all the time and ever time we started singing, fish would appear. Mostly guppies, but fish none the less. It was pretty cool.
For those of you that know, I recently started taking Mandolin lessons. During my last lesson I asked my teacher to show me how to play Steve Miller Band’s Dance, Dance, Dance, and here it is. My dedication to all those wonderful days on the James. I told Cathy that the next time I see her we are going to record us harmonizing it together. She doesn’t think Im serious.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody is easily one of my favorite songs, ever. Just the other day, a friend of mine sent me a video of the Muppets singing Bohemian Rhapsody.
I laughed. I cried.
I hope you do too.
Crazy Train: Our Trip to Manteo
I finally figured it out. I can’t tell you how much work was put into the production of this ridiculously simple video. Last Summer, Peter and I flew to Manteo, North Carolina. It was an incredible trip and I did my best to video tape it. We left from Chesterfield Airport around 11:00 AM and made it to Manteo in about an hour, which is pretty amazing considering it is about a 4 hour drive.
After we returned I spent countless hours on my Mac trying to figure out how to put music to this video. I’m not sure how those ‘kids’ figure this stuff out so quick, but it took me a really long time. Either way, thanks to Garage Band and Ozzie, here she is.
Our trip to Manteo. Enjoy!
Keep on Moving
For those of you who don’t already know, I’m on crutches. Have been for the past 3 weeks.
Even though being on crutches has made me completely and utterly miserable, it may be one of the best things that’s happened to me.
Long story short, you know that earlier post back in August titled ‘RUN’? Well, I ran. And ran and ran and ran, until I gave myself a stress fracture in my femoral neck. Yes, the femoral neck. The bone that connects your femur to your hip. It’s really not that surprising to me seeing how I am a complete and total idiot. For some reason, I thought it would be good to bump myself up to the intermediate training team – you know, to run more and faster quicker. Well, apparently that’s not how the body likes to work. Apparently bodies, such as mine, prefer not to be rushed but instead, slowly build capacity until it can confidently adopt a new way of being. Simply put, I ran way too much, too often, too soon. Now, don’t get me wrong. I may be out of the running for now, but I plan to be back next Spring. Slower, more patient, but back.
For now, I’m still going to the gym (just not working the lower half), and trying my best to continue life ‘as usual’ because other than a bum leg, I really feel quite good. It’s been a wild ride though. I’ve had about 3 or 4 people tell me that I’ve been an inspiration. Me? An inspiration? I guess hobbling along from machine to machine isn’t what most people in my position would do, but honestly, Im just trying to avoid insanity. And really, I just assume anyone in my position would do the same. It’s been pretty powerful though, to think for one tiny minute that I could make a difference in someone else’s day, just by being myself.
When life throws you a curve, you never really know how you are going to respond, or how life will respond to you. At first, I really thought it was the end for me. The sheer magnitude of not being able to do something so simple as carrying a cup of coffee was overwhelming. Then I got introspective and started seeing this for what it really is. A bum leg.
On my way back from the gym this morning I was feeling a bit gloomy. When I got home, I turned on some music and heard the song below. Today, Soul II Soul is my inspiration.
Secret Art of Dr. Seuss
Everyone knows about , Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, and Horton Hears a Who!, but not everyone knows about the Secret Art of Dr. Seuss and his ‘creepy-cute’ collection of unorthodox taxidermy. It’s pretty bizarre, I’ll admit, but its also pretty damn incredible.
We first discovered this ’secret world’ on a trip to California last year. It was innocent enough, Peter and I found ourselves wandering in and out of galleries, not seeing anything overly striking and quite frankly not even really looking, and the it happened. There it was. Dr. Seuss’s Secret Art. I’ve included a link to the website in this post (just click on Secret Art of Dr. Seuss above), but in a nutshell this collection of art was never released during Ted Geisel’s lifetime. Six years after his death, his wife made the collection of this Secret Art available, and I for one thank her. But mostly, thank him.
Peter and I fell in love with this one particular piece, Fooling Noone. Not only is it just beautiful, its powerful. The intent behind this piece is that no matter what we do or how we act, we are who we are and you’re fooling noone when you try to convince yourself or anyone else that your someone different. Peter and I pondered this over our week in California and it resonated so strongly for us, we just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Note the nuclear eyes on the lion mask that the meek little bird has on display. Even the lion, despite his nuclear eyes, looks far from intimidating and the little bird is nothing more than hopeful. Its just such a beautiful piece.
I love this portrait and look at it frequently. I wish I could relieve the lion of his duty and tell the little bird she’s just fine exactly how she is.
