holiday haiku: lights

houses trimmed with lights:
dangling white icicles
or multi-colors?

holiday haiku: snow

cue the swirling flakes
twirling between light displays
nestling in lawn décor

holiday haiku: tunes

holiday cd:
songs selected, mixed, arranged
with friendship and love

holiday haiku: stellar

crystalline constant
silent serendipity
crisp constellation

holiday haiku: wrapped

swathed in fleece blankets
undulating pashmina
and boiled wool slippers

holiday haiku: dwell

spackled gingerbread
confectionary sparkle
home sweet home

holiday haiku: shopping

wandering bookstores
target foodie stores galore
visualize delight

holiday haiku: tree

tinsel draped branches

threaded with tiny white lights

support memories

holiday haiku: tree trimming

unpack ornaments
vintage balls handmade baubles
hanging memories

holiday haiku: first snow

december begins:
swirling flurrying snowflakes
accumulation

daily bliss: gloom busters

At November's end, temperatures plummet, skies grey, and darkness descends early. Somedays, gloom is all too ready to descend and grow.

These days, I take comfort in simple pleasures:

flannel sheets and faux down comforters

early morning yoga or walks

twice daily cafe au lait

steel cut oats with brown sugar, walnuts, and dried fruit

a small fraser fir twinkling with white lights

warm hugs and supportive ears from family and friends

streaming internet music

student engagement

cooking and baking for the ones I love

laughter

love

love

love

haiku: thanks

kindness of strangers
bubbling lasagne, red wine
eighteen months of bliss

bliss eats: sweet sunday soup

I bought this seven pound butternut squash at the last farmers' market of the year, and decided today would be the day I'd test my Wüsthof chef's knife against its sturdy shell. I cut it into eight big pieces and roasted until tender. I tucked most of the wedges in the freezer, but saved one for a warm, sweet, orangey soup that was taking shape in my head. 

I made a batch of veggie stock and cooked two pounds of dried cannelini beans. I set aside some of each for the soup. And then I played with flavor and hoped for the best. 

This soup, which I've decided to name Sweet Sunday Soup, is hearty and yet light. It's perfectly satisfying after eating Thanksgiving foods in a variety of forms, and is warming on a cold late late fall night. 

Sweet Sunday Soup

3 cloves garlic 

several carrots, cut into small pieces

1 rib of celery, diced

part of an onion, diced

4 small yukon gold potatoes, diced

1 sweet potato, diced

part of a butternut squash, roasted and diced

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of fresh thyme

2 cups of cooked cannelini beans

several cups of veggie stock

several cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

fresh spinach

parmesan cheese, grated

Saute the first four ingredients in olive oil until they brown. Toss in the potatoes and sweet potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add stock and water, along with the herbs. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until potatoes are crisp-tender, then add the beans and squash. Cook until flavors meld and all vegetables are tender, adding liquid as necessary. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Tear spinach into soup bowls and then ladle in the hot soup. Garnish with cheese. 

Serve with warm cornbread. 

daily bliss: lazy long weekend

Ahhh, the coveted holiday four day weekend! Thursday feels like Friday and Friday feels like Saturday and Saturday feels like Saturday and Sunday, well, feels like Sunday with a tinge of Monday (but we won't go there just yet).

There's plenty of time to laze on the couch after lunch watching the Food Network; to linger in bed listening to NPR Morning Edition buried under warm soft layers; to empty summer's terra cotta pots and to buy a small cute christmas tree and place it in the stand; to walk or drive downtown to spend a few hours in a bar or coffeeshop connecting with one's significant other; to page through Martha Stewart cookies cookbook and drool over the gorgeous photos whilst debating the merits of chewy versus crispy cookies; to take one's daily shower right before bed to warm up and invite sleep; to listen to the tapping of keys and whirring of dishwasher and the crisp still late late fall silence. 

And tomorrow there will be plenty of time to read and grade and email for work, exercise, bake cookies, trim the tree, do the laundry, and listen to football. 

Savor. Enjoy. Surrender. 

Be right here, right now. 

daily bliss: date day

For sweetest day, G planned an awesome day of fun activities we both would like, from wandering the Mitchell Bio-domes to watching Japanese flower arranging (Ikebana) to dining at a Japanese restaurant.

I wanted to plan a date that centered around some of G's favorite activities, and so today we walked in the blustery cold to a local tavern to watch football, drink an adult beverage, and shoot darts.

As Auburn trailed Alabama at halftime, we took to the dart board, and G, who has been shooting on a league for 15 years, showed me the basics. I loved watching him think and release the dart, and he made many impressive shots.

I'm proud to say I hit the board most of the time.

As the game returned, and Auburn began to build momentum, we focused on the television, and I cheered as Auburn steadily moved toward victory.

A quiet post-holiday afternoon, a little bonding time, and a whole lot of fun were just what I needed today.

giving thanks

autumn/winter:

cafe au lait and paperback novels

ruby red grapefruit and fast flowing pens

meandering conversation and dark chocolate truffles

alarm-free mornings and thick warm sweaters

indie music and the sunday times

unexpected surprises and neverending kisses

woolen slippers and soaring violins

***

gregg

mom and dad

L

grandmas and grandpas

aunts uncles cousins

g's family

friends

students

colleagues

fellow humans

***

daily bliss: new traditions

As the wind howls outside and whips around mixed precipitation, I take a break from prepping vegetarian cornbread stuffing, making roasted garlic gravy, and baking a maple bourbon pecan tart to reflect on the blessings of this holiday, and the chance to create new traditions.

Since G and I are merge holidays this year, spending Thanksgiving here with his family and Christmas in Michigan with my family, I have a chance to see how my town ushers in the holidays.

Tonight G and I watched the local holiday parade, cheering for my colleagues and students, waving at adorable kids, and sipping coffee from the new, narrow shop. Santa, by the way, has officially arrived.

We joined a group of G's friends, back visiting family for the holidays, at a local bar/pizza place for laughter, stories, and beer.

When our take-out order was ready, we headed home to eat pizza slices studded with red pepper flakes and piles of vegetables.

And now, we're doing our cooking and baking and food prep.

We're blogging, the soft clicks and clacks of keys in syncopated rhythm.

They blend well.

And so do we.

daily bliss: frost

That time of year...again...sans snow...

[photo to be added when blogger decides to cooperate again]


the frost performs its secret ministry...

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Frost at Midnight"

daily bliss: auntie

I am blessed to be an auntie to this charming young lady, who calls me Auntie Jess. Isn't she adorable? She's also very smart, super sweet, and highly verbal. She'll be four next month. And, she'll always be my special niece!

haiku: loss/memory

cold november night
miles rolling underneath tires
a friend says goodbye

for S and her family: remembering N, a man full of love, faith, humor, opinions, with many tractors and nifty gadgets and a loving family and a generous heart, who died four years ago today.