Daily prompt: Ring of fire

Tags

cooking, paella, postaday2014, spice

Do you love hot and spicy foods or do you avoid them for fear of what tomorrow might bring?

I love spicy foods, albeit not necessarily hot, spicy should not have to mean feeling as if your mouth is on fire or that the skin inside your mouth is peeling off. I love spice such as how nutmeg spikes up the flavor profile of spinach or the way it gives added depth to béchamel sauce. Cinnamon is another spice that perks up a variety of dishes, it is a secret ingredient in my husband’s chili; I can spill this little secret because there are a few more secrets to his chili, one slip won’t be the end of the world.

Saffron is another lovely spice that brings so much to the plate and the table; it is one of the key ingredients in my paella and I love adding it to my sautéed cauliflower.

One of the most exciting discoveries that I have made about spices is how beneficial they are to our overall health. Turmeric has been shown to have great effects on brain health, cinnamon has excellent antioxidant properties and nutmeg just has to have medicinal properties, just think of how wonderful you feel after eating pumpkin pie, it must be the nutmeg, I’m sure of it.

Just the thought of cooking without pepper, salt, cayenne, oregano, paprika or any other spice, leaves me bereft of joy and anticipation; where would all of the fun be without spices and the experimentation and individuality of spicing something up?

Spices have been in our culinary history for eons and we are so very lucky for it.

Daily prompt: Dust in the wind

Tags

postaday2014, travel, writing

Have you made your bucket list? Now’s the time — write about the things you want to do and see before you become dust in the wind.

Now I have the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas stuck in my head, I shouldn’t complain, it is a beautiful song. I haven’t made a bucket list as of yet. I don’t remember hearing about bucket lists when I was little; it seems to me that the concept of a bucket list is fairly recent.

If I were to start one; the number one item on my bucket list would be to Finish My Novel. I will get to it, I will. While I was driving today, my husband was writing e-mails and making phone calls, I had a flash of exactly the mindset that I was looking for, for my character while she gets to know New York. That is what had me stuck for the longest time; I was so very comfortable imagining myself in 1925 Paris, but I was clueless as to how to feel in 1926 New York, a stranger in a strange land, because I know New York so well, I was having the devil of a time getting out of my intimate knowledge of present day New York and climbing into a tourist/new comer frame of mind from another era. But today I think my spontaneous flash of insight will go far in getting me back into the saddle of writing fiction.

Other items for my bucket list would be all about travel. I know that one of my first posts was about three places that I would visit if I could; Istanbul Turkey, Portugal and Thailand. This list hasn’t changed but if I had to expand on it, I would love to have a chance to revisit Greece. Traveling is one of my favorite things to do and I am so very lucky to have been able to travel as much as I have throughout the years. One of the first things that I would do if I were fortunate enough to travel to Istanbul, Turkey would be to visit the Sofia-Haggia museum, the Blue Mosque and after that I would love to take a cruise down the Bosphorus River and I would go across the river and visit the Green Mosque. I would spend days visiting the bazaars and eating all of the goodies that Turkey is known for; it would be marvelous. Needless to say, I would employ the same strategies when I went to Portugal and Thailand, first visit the museums and places of interest and then explore the market places, finally indulging in my culinary curiosity.

I have to say planning a bucket list is fun.

 

Daily prompt: If I had a Hammer

Tags

building electrical, plumbing, postaday2014, trades

If you could learn a trade — say carpentry, electrical work, roofing, landscaping, plumbing, flooring, drywall — you name it — what skill(s) would you love to have in your back pocket?

Having spent 23 years with my husband, a construction executive, I have been on numerous construction sites and exposed to all the trades that are necessary for building a skyscraper, hospital, restaurant or high end hair salon and spa, so I do have some knowledge of what all of the trades entail. This knowledge doesn’t make this question that much easier simply because I can imagine the downsides just as easily as the upsides.

I can narrow the list by going through the trades that I wouldn’t pick such as plumbing; it is a dirty trade, there is no way around it, very handy to know if you have small problems at home, but you will get wet and more than likely dirty. I don’t like to get that kind of dirty. I appreciate plumbers a lot, don’t get me wrong, but I remember how hard-working and worn out by the end of the day they were, great guys, but not a trade that I would want to put one of its tools in my back pocket.

Carpentry, either rough or finish, is another trade that I wouldn’t be interested in because for one, I don’t have the patience for rough carpentry; it entails drywall, compound and caulk, you need to get the drywall as smooth as possible and that takes infinite amounts of patience, I don’t have it for drywall. Finish carpentry is a wonderful trade, but I don’t have the skills nor the finesse to even contemplate ever doing it.

Roofing is a non-starter because I have a huge fear of heights.

HVAC is another non-starter because you spend way too much of the time in duct ways and rooftops as well.

Landscaping for me is a no brainer, but that is practically not even worth writing about because anyone familiar with my writing knows that I am a passionate gardener, I am far from the best and I have tons to learn, but I love it no matter how amateurish my gardens look like. So landscaping wouldn’t really be a challenge or anything brand new.

So if I was going to pick a trade, it would have to be electrical work. I like the puzzle aspect to the work; more often than not, you need to figure out how to get from point A to point B, branching out to other sources to get to point C; the tool box is compact, the work isn’t too dirty and you are involved at several stages of construction; just as in carpentry, you have rough electrical and finish electrical, it is very interesting, vital to any project and I could see myself doing it quite easily.

Daily prompt: Teen Age Idol

Tags

Jon Erik Hexum, Pierce Brosnan, postaday2014, teenage crushes

Who did you idolize as a teenager? Did you go crazy for the Beatles? Ga-ga over Duran Duran? In love with Justin Bieber? Did you think Elvis was the livin’ end?

I had a few crushes when I was a teenager, but my crushes were never directed to the teeny boppers, I liked the more mature twenty something group. I remember having two big crushes, I can’t remember who came first; Pierce Brosnan when I first saw him in the mini-series Manions of America and then in Remington Steele or Jon-Erik Hexum in the drama series Cover Up. Both men were dreamy in my teenage opinion. I even had a poster of Jon-Erik Hexum and I was so sad when I found out that he accidentally took his own life goofing around with a pistol filled with blanks on the set of Cover Up during downtime in between takes. He was only 26 years old and it was the most stupid accident that I had ever heard of at that point. He was replaced or should I say that his character was embodied by another actor, but for me the series was never the same and I quickly lost interest.

It was then that I dedicated my attentions towards Pierce Brosnan, the Irish, devilishly handsome, quick with a quip, actor who charmed everyone with his character as Remington Steele which ran for several years before he was tapped to be James Bond. I fondly remember him in the mini-series of Manions of America where I fell in infatuation with his Irish brogue, black hair and piercing blue eyes.

These were my two crushes; I didn’t really go for the rock star crush, I think that my two were enough to fill any young girl’s fantasy world. I was more than happy with my adolescent day dreams. Silly young girls and their teenage crushes.

Daily prompt: Saturday Night!

Tags

dinner, mashed potatoes, postaday2014, Saturday night, sausage

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT! What’s your favorite way to spend Saturday night?

Our favorite way to spend Saturday night is to spend it together, no matter where we are, home or away. My husband and I love spending our Saturday nights home with the kids if they are around and most definitely with Jack. We love the quiet of our time at home, watching the shows that we had missed during the week. Usually Saturday is when I make something for the rest of the weekend so that Saturday night we have something tasty to enjoy while we relax together. Tonight I made something very simple; mashed potatoes with grated Jarlsberg cheese and smoked Andouille sausage from the purveyor D’Artagnan that we miraculously found for the very first time at our local supermarket. Right next to the sausage we also found from the same purveyor D’Artagnan, Jambon de Bayonne and cured duck bacon, we bought all three products. I also bought a cantaloupe to serve with the Jambon de Bayonne, a cured ham very similar to prosciutto, which is why I thought of the cantaloupe; the combination of the two is delicious as an appetizer; the sweet and the salty is a marriage made in heaven.

So that is the extent of our Saturday nights; together, uneventful, full of good food and good entertainment, can’t ask for more than that.

Transcendence : a movie review

Tags

movies, postaday2014, reviews, Transcendence

My husband and I went to see the Johnny Depp movie Transcendence and afterwards we had Arby’s. As of late I have stopped getting my chocolate shake, I am really trying hard to cease and desist with the sugar and I am doing fairly well forgoing on the chocolate shakes. I have now gotten into the habit of ordering the classic Reuben at Arby’s, my new favorite. I have always loved the combination of Thousand Island dressing, corned beef, sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese surrounded by the wonderful flavor and texture of a marbled rye bread, Arby’s makes a very nice one.

Anyhoo, back to the movie. I don’t know what to tell you about it. It is very definitely about Artificial Intelligence and human beings, but in my mind, the movie is essentially a love story between two people and the implications of death and separation in their love story. If you had the chance to hold on to someone despite them “dying” would you? The other questions raised by the movie are important ones as well; what exactly defines self-awareness? Where resides the soul? Who are you, really? Can emotional intelligence be downloaded? All these questions are thrown at you and are they answered by the movie? Yes and no, depends on what you take away from the movie.
My husband focused on how close we were to artificial intelligence, how likely the events that happened in the movie could actually happen now, How dangerous could this whole industry be? This line of thinking occupied my husband’s thoughts and conversation the entire ride home. I was stuck on the love story angle and also I couldn’t help but think of Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park when he said “the question isn’t could we, but more importantly SHOULD we?” This movie had this statement screaming out at me. Forgive me, but I think artificial intelligence and mankind should not be flirting with each other, we aren’t quite ready for the implications or the consequences. When I read the news, I feel sad that we haven’t grown up enough to come together as humanity to heal our planet, equitably distribute food, provide clean drinking water everywhere; things of this nature. I do not believe that we are ready to welcome self aware computers yet, the movie Terminator should be a red flag, hello!

Jack in New York City

Tags

Jack, New York City, parks, postaday2014

Today the three of us spent several hours in New York, my husband had a few meetings so Jack and I were on our own. That is never a bad thing in New York City. Jack was fine while the three of us were together walking up Ninth Avenue; I made sure to take a picture of the apartment building where we used to live in Hell’s Kitchen, the neighborhood no longer suits its name, it has become trendy over the past ten years, but as I was saying, Jack was fine with the three of us walking, but as soon as we parted ways with my husband, poor little Jack was a trembling basket case.

I decided to take Jack to Bryant Park to cheer him up; Bryant Park is one of my favorite places to visit, I hadn’t realized just how people friendly it was as opposed to dog friendly. Jack was walking sniffing and looking longingly at the pristine lawn but it clearly stated “Please keep off the lawn” Jack and I walked all around the park and I took pictures of carousel, all of the beautiful tulips and daffodils and then I made sure to take a few pictures of one of my favorite restaurants that I used to bring the kids to when we used to spend a lot of time in New York City.

Since we weren’t having the best time in Bryant Park, Jack couldn’t frolic about, I decided to bring Jack to Central Park so that he could frolic there. Jack and I walked up Sixth Avenue, he was making me laugh because he kept on sniffing men’s trouser pants searching for his papa; a few of the men were jumped on by Jack, I am happy to say that no one minded, Jack is a cutie.

When we got to Central Park, there were quite a few things that absolutely needed to be photographed, the blue sky against the skyscrapers mixed in with the beauty of nature, made for scenes that I tried to capture, I hope that I did the real world justice. I did get all excited over a beaver sighting, I took the best picture I could, but I’m not sure that you can adequately see it. He definitely was a fatty, he fit right in with the chubby squirrels running all around him. The last thing that I wanted to pay homage to was my pair of shoes; I love my shoes, they are exquisitely comfortable and bring me where I need to go, they deserve a picture.

What a day and an adventure.

Arlington Virginia

Tags

pictures, postaday2014, Virginia

Today I am wandering around Arlington, Virginia. Architecturally it seems to be a hodge-podge of various architectural styles and inclinations making for an eclectic mix that is rather unique in my opinion. I do love all of the tulips in bloom, with the crisp chill still present in the air, the tulips will be in bloom for quite a while which is a boon to the residents of Arlington because who doesn’t love tulips?

So far I have visited Reston, Herndon, Chantilly; driven through Fairfax and now walking around Arlington. All of these areas are charming in their own way; everything seems so new compared to Boston or even New York City. I get the sense of large areas and spread out vistas as opposed to everything built upwards due to limited space as we have up north in the two cities that I know best.

These visits down to Virginia has given me the chance to get to know a part of the States that I had previously sped through on my way further south, it was always a point on a map, now I am getting familiar with this point and it is rather pleasant.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Tags

Earth Day, NASA, postaday2014

#Global Selfie Earth Day

What a production to get my tweet out there to NASA lol. Jack is with us and I don’t like to leave him in the hotel room, I also figured that Jack should be in my GlobalSelfie, because he lives on Earth and he loves our planet as much as I do. So I took him downstairs with me to the Business Center to print out the PDF for NASA tweet, he was a little squirrelly on my lap because he had to do to the bathroom, but since it was drizzling outside, I wasn’t going outside first to get wet and then come back in to print the paper and then have to go back out into the rain. Jack settled down after a bit and I got the printout and outside we went. Jack did his business and then I picked him up where he got squirrelly again, my thumb grazed the button and poof,poof, poof, three shots and I said to Jack “well that is going to have to do it, because we aren’t getting anything better looking than this, we were getting pretty bedraggled by this point.

I went through all of this because my first attempt came out very nicely, but I didn’t have access to a printer so my tweet doesn’t show any coordinates, a pretty picture without the details, so useless.

Earth Day is a special day for you, me and everyone in this world. 😀

Springtime in Virginia

Tags

pollen, postaday2014, spring, Virginia

I spent a good part of the day taking in the beauty of various neighborhoods in the surrounding Herndon and Reston areas of Northern Virginia with my husband and Jack; getting an idea of the lay of the land. I have to say that the landscaping, everywhere we visited, was top notch, everything well groomed and immaculately pruned and maintained, the gardener in me was greatly impressed.

However, as much as I love the blooms and the beauty of it all, as we were walking outside and I noticed petals and pollen swarming around our heads, I couldn’t help but think of the latest headline that I saw with the word vortex in it; the upcoming pollen vortex. Since we had been assaulted by those nasty polar vortices, all the new growth, instead of appearing in a staggered manner as usual, was going to all appear, simultaneously and thus the pollen vortex, all pollen at all times. I am not sure if I am being psychosomatic but my nose is feeling a little stuffed at the moment. 😀