cranky people

In December, I find that many, OK most people I encounter are pretty cranky. Whether they are stressed about gift buying, the lack of money for gift buying, or some other stress, people just seem to be exceptionally rude around the holidays. So, what's the remedy you might ask? I have found that being extra extra nice has been the best course of action I have taken so far. If you are nasty in response, you only end up dampening your spirit and then your encounters with others after that, and then we end up in one big bad black holiday cheer cloud. This year I tried the super extra nice method, and it worked, but it was surely tiring. When it didn't work, I cheerfully told people that they didn't need to speak that way to me, with a big-a** smile on my face, of course. That seemed to work, too. I welcome January in the hopes that although it may be blistery cold, people just might be cheerier with the stresses of the holidays behind us -- at least until that ridiculous February holiday.

Washington Valley Park & Buttermilk Falls, Bridgewater, NJ

11/22/07 - Washington Valley Park is nestled in Bridgewater, NJ, and you could live there for decades without knowing it exists. There’s a few ways to get to the park. The way we went involves traveling down Vosseller Ave, ten a turn on Miller Lane, and everything seems suburban so far. Traveling down Miller Lane, the road changes from pavement to dirt, and to the left is woods
, yet everything still seems suburban on the right. After a twist or two, the road dead ends at some sort of parking lot. We parked and got out to explore. We ended up at some historic site? that resembled someone’s home, so we turned around. Back at the parking lot, there’s a small entranceway into the woods in the corner, so we took that. We followed the paths through the woods and here is what we found:

First path:

(a neat looking tree branch) & (view of the quarry)


(Meadow COMING through the path!)


(Meadow GOING through the path!)


Second path:
We found the falls! Buttermilk Falls we think.


View of the reservoir:


Meadow jumped right in, as always! Despite her ear injury, Meadow is truly the Super Adventure Dog!


her first prize was a leaf – she was sooooooo excited!

Then a stick:


The coolest paw shot ever. You know you love it:


Meadow coming out of the water…


A little shake:


Chasing Adventure Boy to shake off near him because he always tortures her. Notice she did not shake near me!


Posing for mom:





Adventure Boy was not cranky today!

A twisty root:

a gorgeous bed of leaves

to be rich or have good friends?

Would you rather have plenty of money or have good friends?

If you ask someone who has plenty of money, and is truly unhappy, they will tell you "to have good friends."
If you ask someone who enjoys having lots of money, and wouldn't know a good friend from a hole in the wall, they might tell you either one, probably "to have money."
If you ask someone who has "been through things," or "knows the value of..." they will tell you "to have good friends."

So, then I asked myself: Why can't you have both? What does God want (albeit hokey)?


I've concluded that neither of those goals really matters. My first goal would be to be happy and content with myself, which comes through working on yourself and a relationship with some spiritual force. Yes, I am playing the God card. I'm not much for regular church attendance or things proper or for talking about the G word too much, but I can't see how I would get anywhere without God. And I use the word God to mean whatever sort of spiritual being / path you follow. And this is not to say that God does everything and controls everything, and I do nothing, because if you are going there with that, you are going in the wrong direction. God's will for us is the best thing, and leads to spiritual growth, but we can choose to do what we want at any time. That's the fun (possibly tortuous) part. My experience is that when I do positive things and try to be a good person, I feel good, and things in the "universe" seem to move smoother - some newfangled celebrities would say it all has to do with your attitude, or your PERSPECTIVE. Either way, it's all the same thing. Some spiritualists will tell you put good out there, and good will come back. It's all the same idea. So you get God in your life, and you get good, and some good feelings come. So, the idea from here would be that once you are in this spiritual place, the rest of it really doesn't matter because you are truly fulfilled.

Sometime I see people with boat loads of money, and they buy whatever they want - sometimes some really stupid or totally overpriced items. And I think how do I get there? But that's not what it's all about. I don't know how someone could appreciate anything unless they have yearned for it and then accomplished it. Then, I listen to some of these people talk, and everything comes to light. Usually they fall into one of two categories: they've worked really hard or they are ignorant. Ignorant to any other way of life, ignorant to how people struggle, ignorant to things that matter other than that Prada purse or Gucci la la gear.

Then I get to thinking about Buddhism and the ideas about the afterlife I learned about years ago. I remember that in each life we transcend spiritually. Then I think maybe these people are on a different plane somewhere? At the same time, the principle of humility is important as I am no better or no worse than anyone else.

So you take all that spiritual stuff, mix it all together in a big bowl with some more of the same, and ultimately it seems that if I live a God-centered life and do my best, help others --> I'll feel good --> my perspective/attitude will be in the right place --> everything from there will work itself out. In the mean time, I keep working toward my physical (as opposed to spiritual) goals, and if I'm going in the right direction it will keep working, and if I'm not it won't work out...as it always has. I need to slow down and appreciate the present and stop worrying about where I am going to be, especially because it's only an illusion that I have control over it anyway.

gift swap, holiday

The three wise men brought gifts to the newborn baby Jesus. The Hebrews had oil that lasted as light for eight days when it should have only lasted for one during the rededication of the holy temple. And hence, we have this gift giving racket. From what I have read, the gift giving for Hanukkah (why is it spelled a bunch of different ways?) arose out of the giving of "gelt" (money) after quizzing youngsters on religious knowledge, and it has expanded with the influence of the gift giving aompanying Christmas. Gift giving for Christmas has evolved over time, but the general motivation springs from the gifts the wise men brought & celebration of Jesus' "birthday."

What is all this nonsense at the mall? in my e-mail? the rushing around? the money spending? I just don't understand it. Most people I know don't even go to church, and they don't go on the holidays either. Many people lose sight of the whole reason for the gift giving. And why by being present am I subject to this? I don't want to be a part of this mass spending and mass getting of gifts. It makes me feel stupid, like I'm being suckered into some dumb game. It's nice to give gifts, and especially when they make people happy, but you shouldn't be obliged to give. And you shouldn't be obliged to give a certain amount of gifts, money, or value. I understand that the holidays are really nice for children, but it seems they have got way out of hand.

And you know what else is out of hand? The massive amount of people that show up at church. I guess its great if a holiday gets you out to church, but if you don't go all year, and you don't want to go, and it's all stressful packing the kids and the grannies up and having everyone argue, what's the point? I really don't think God cares. I passed by the church in my hometown on Christmas Eve afternoon, around four o'clock, and there was traffic backed up and people parking all over - like the mess of fireworks parking on Fourth of July! That many people (especially combined with Christmas Eve Vigil and Christmas Day masses) can't possibly attend church on a regular basis. It's great these people are going to church for the holiday, but I don't understand the idea behind it.

South Mountain Reservation...and Hemlock Falls

11/24/07 - South Mountain Reservation is located in northern NJ, bordered by South Orange, Millburn, Maplewood, and West Orange.


Super Adventure Dog

and Sexy (somewhat cranky) Adventure Man joined me
on this trip...

Because I wanted to travel all over and attempt to find things that proved quite difficult to locate, we arrived at South Mountain shortly before dusk. We drove in to one of the parking areas, took a look at yet another map seemingly leading through nowhere, and we decided to find the "Boy Scout Area" parking as it was closest to the falls. We met some folks on their way out and got directions: "Head into the red trail, pass over a bridge, keep going on the red trail until you see a sign that says, 'Rahway.' Make a left, and you can't miss the falls." Little did the man know who he was dealing with here; I could miss them if I was under them getting soaked! OK, maybe I'm not that bad. We proceeded into the woods, looking at each other as if to say, "Did that man mean we walk right into the woods?" Yes, he did. We finally noticed the markings on the trees. At one point from where we stood there were trees with red, black, yellow, and red/white markings on them: excellent guidance for the novice hiker. So we kept on through, passing makeshift forts that looked more like teepees to me.



Over the hills and through the woods, winding and meandering, we found the falls - nearly all dried up!
close up: other side:

Some rock formations that were neat:


A pretty view:

blackle.com

a neat website that supposedly uses less energy because of the black color scheme...

patina

- the film that results from oxidation, often seen as green film on bronze

- The sheen on any surface, produced by age and use (dictionary)

- A change in appearance produced by long-standing behavior, practice, or use: a face etched with a patina of fine lines and tiny wrinkles (dictionary)

culinary delights: recipie #2: a real big turkey in the oven and all

Night before:
Take all the giblets, etc. out. Wash Scrub turkey with salt. Rinse.
Spice up turkey: we used rosemary sprigs, tarragon leaves, S & P, garlic, onion. We placed spices under skin & inside cavity. Garlic also pressed into turkey. Let marinate overnight (oh boy, we are getting really serious with this overnight business) in some water.

Day of:
Preheat oven to 325 for slow cook or 350 for faster cook. Brush turkey with olive oil. Place turkey in oven, breast side up, in shallow olive oil & water. Baste as often as you want. Cover with foil "tent" if desired. You may want to remove foil tent and/or turn up the heat towards the end for a more browned turkey. Turkey should cook between 2-3 hours (closer to 3) for 6-8 lb turkey. Cook until the thinger in it pops or until meat thermometer (placed in thickest part, not touching bone) reads 170. I've always heard the thinger pops on the early side, so the thermometer is the best indicator...

culinary delights: recipie #1: quinoa, veggies, chicken, stir-fry, paella, jumbalaya?

Ingredients:
Quinoa - 1 cup
Veggies - your choice
Chicken broth - I made about 2 cups worth from a bullion cube & water. make it
however you like it, or buy it in a box!
Chicken - I diced/cubed it up into pieces.

I should preface this by saying I am an unconventional cook, and my creations turn out pretty damn good usually, but if you need to be exact and proper, you are in the wrong place...

Basically, if you want the short version, you cook the quinoa, make the broth, saute the veggies in a little olive oil (and chicken broth if you want), saute the chicken in the same, & put it all together.

The Long Version:
Wash quinoa in warm water to rinse the saponin (bitter coating) off of it. I would imagine it would be a good idea to agitate it quite a bit. I neglected these rinsing steps as I spaced out a little bit, so when I finished cooking it, I rinsed it really well & we made out darn fine :o) BTW, The saponin causes some soapy looking suds.

Boil 2 cups water. Add 1 cup quinoa. Keep an eye on it & stir :o) It's supposed to take a bout 15 minutes to cook, but I always cook it longer than that. Taste it, and you'll know when it's done. The other option you have here is to use the chicken broth to cook it in. I neglected to do this as well because I was so preoccupied with everything else in the kitchen, so what I did was add some chicken broth to the quinoa after I cooked it & let it soak up the flavor - it worked. Fancy me.

Clean the chicken psychotically as always. Cut it up into small pieces - whatever yo uthink looks cute. Add a little olive oil, S & P, rosemary sprig leaves, oregano, lemon juice... garlic powder. Let it soak in.

Dice up onions, scallions, garlic, carrots, snow peas, red pepper, and a bit of zucchini.

Saute chicken in olive oil & a little chicken broth.

Heat up olive oil. Put the onions, scallions, and garlic in...add the carrots...add everything else (veggie-wise). Add some spices that you like (I used oregano, S & P, garlic powder & adobo sin pimenta). I also added some lemon juice.

Fold in quinoa & chicken pieces.

Spoon & serve. I think it would taste better in bowls, so we ate in bowls.

We added a little salt & sprinkled cayenne pepper....

Enjoy! I should have taken a picture it was so pretty.

PS - All the recipes I consulted before making this dish referred to it as a pilaf, paella, and jambalaya, so call it what you want; it's good!

Here's a new quinoa recipe that looks good, too!

domes & such

In response to Katie's question about the dome on the Jesuit Church: the structure is a dome. The things on top of the domes have all different names (i.e. pinnacle, spire).

Here's the picture of the squinch (tiotally unrelated):





There is such a thing called an onion dome, but that is usually Russian architecture where the height is greater than the width of the structure. It seems domes are classified more by their building material than by their shape; strange. More on this if I find anything...

It appears that the structure on top of the Jesuit Church is some type of religious symbol, maybe the cross for their church

temporal arteritis, aka Giant cell arteritis

Basically, temporal arteritis, is an inflammation of the blood vessels in the head, notably in the temporal area (sides of the eyes). It can also affect other vessels in the head, but mainly in the It can lead to vision loss, is more common in women, and usually affects people over 60 although it has been seen in younger individuals. If treated, vision loss can be prevented. Main symptoms are headache, tenderness of head and scalp, vision loss and / or reduction in the ability to see clearly (vision acuity).

RFID

RFID - radio frequency identification is some scary shit. It's basically a device whereby the tag can be found via radio waves. Weird... They can be put on clothing, cars, etc. Apparently the radio waves get messed up by water, so I guess, in theory, they don't work well implanted in the body. There are also different frequencies (high, intermediate, and low), which correspond with diffretn ranges whereby the tags can be read. The cool (albeit scary) thing about RFIDs is that you don't necessarily need to see the tag in order to read, hence unknown tracking. I guess in this day and age, people might start RFIDing their kids and partners...creepy. What happened to good old shoplifting, gate jumping, and sneaking around?

confessions of a true shopaholic - vol. 1

My father calls it "the sickness," and he says it's just genetic, but I am a shopaholic. The good thing about it, well, one of the good things about it, is that I know it, and 99% of the time I'm okay with it; I even enjoy it.

I was sitting in the dentist's office, peaceful as could be, not a thought of clothes or items or check-outs or even returns, and this young girl walked in. Well, she has nice jeans on! Can you believe the nerve of her? I happened to be in the middle of jean shopping (it can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on when I find a decent pair or give up). My mom happened to be with me, and we were both staring at her. Thank God no one else was in the office or they would have thought I was trying to get an awful close look at her butt - I was trying to read the label! Then, I looked at my mom, and I got the visual "I like those, too" look, so I asked the girl, "What kind of Lucky jeans are those?" (Yes, I had managed to read the label!) Well, she turned out to be really nice, and apparently they were Maggie's or Maddie's -- something that was way too low for bending, but it was a nice fleeting thought.

I liked her jacket, too. Granted she was nice, but I didn't want to weird her out, so I let the jacket thing go, but lucky for me, when I was leaving I saw her jacket on the hook. Out comes the shopaholic. I checked the label - Old Navy. Wow, I thought it was way more expensive than that...too short though, so why did I even look in the first place. The answer can only be that it is "the sickness," shopaholism.

a few words

sarcophagus is defines as A stone coffin, often inscribed or decorated with sculpture (dictionary.com) as well as the stone container for another coffin or body (wikipedia).

juxtaposition - comparing two things that are often next to one another

jettison - to propel

quagmire - situation from which extrication is very difficult... (dictionary.com), similar to quandary - state of perplexity

Dietary Laws: Kashrut & Dhabiĥa halal

I was sitting with my aunt and my grandmother - two women I feel are well versed in the Bible and all that...and the question of why Jews and Muslims do not eat pork came up. After some diligent research this is what I have found. Knock yourself out correcting me if you want; it's great to learn.

According to the Torah, there are dietary laws (Kashrut). Two important terms are kosher (permissible) and traif (prohibited). The guidelines as I understand them are:

1. For land animals, animals that have cloven hooves (meaning the hoof is split) & "chew their own cud" (cud being that the animal partially digests the food and then regurgitates it to chew it some more) are OK to eat. An example: cow. Examples of excluded animals: rabbit, camel, pork.

- *pork - pork/swine is a special case because the animal is "cloven," but it does not chew its own cud & it is considered dirty.

2. And you might be thinking, well what about chicken? Remember, chicken is a bird, so the ruling on birds seems to be that birds that aren't scavengers are OK, so sea gulls are out, chicken is in. I read something that said there is a list of "forbidden birds" in the Torah (20 of them), but people who have studied these laws go with the scavenger idea which makes sense with the way the other laws are set up.

3. For the sea, shellfish are excluded (not eaten) as the rules only allow for those with "fins" and "scales."

4. Vegetables are cool, you just have to check for little critters.

5. Dead animals are not eaten - meaning if they were found dead (i.e. not slaughtered properly).

6. No blood.

So, there is also a special way the animal must be slaughtered whereby it is sliced at the neck so the blood can drain out very quickly. The idea here is that it is a humane way of killing and also the most expeditious way to drain out the blood. All the blood must be drained out. Certain parts of the animal can be eaten, but I am not going into all that, so if your interest is piqued, go look it up! And, as many people know, meat and dairy cannot be consumed together.
- Addendum: Apparently, chicken and milk are not eaten together because the rabbis made a law because it is too easy to confuse chicken meat from other meats, so to answer the question I was posed, I suppose chicken parm is not kosher :o)
- And "Parve," which you may see on some labels, means there has been no dairy or meat that has come into contact with that food!

So, what do we make of all this? It seems that through the years of scientific research, much has been shown that many of these rules may have been made in part to maintain hygiene & health of the body. The animals forbidden tend to harbor more disease than others, and the method of kosher slaughter are cleanlier than regular slaughter.

As far as Muslims, the rules are termed Dhabiĥa halal. Two terms are halal (permissible) and haram (prohibited).

1. No pork.

2. No alcohol.

3. No blood.

4. The fish issue - some consider all fish OK & others consider only scales & fins OK (meaning no shellfish)

5. Clawed & fanged animals are debatable.

6. No scavengers

7. Dead animals are not eaten.

Animals must be slaughtered in accordance with halal rules, which include invocation of the name of Allah.

sine qua non

I heard someone use this phrase last week, and I wasn't sure what it meant or if it was even a word....

sine qua non: Without which, not; an indispensable condition (cited)

sucanat and other "sugars"

Sucanat - shortened form of "sugar cane natural," an unrefined sugar that still contains molasses, and has less sucrose than table sugar, also contains some minerals

raw sugar - unrefined as well, so it still contains molasses, but it is crystallized, has less sucrose, brown sugar, (Turbinado, Demerara)

(brown) rice syrup - (made from rice), high in maltose --> low glycemic index

maple sugar - straight up boiled map sap, and deeeelicious

coconut syrup - just what it says

cane juice - crystallized & less sucrose than table sugar w/o added chemicals

agave - one of my favorites, from the cactus, mostly fructose, low glycemic

Jaggery / palm sugar - unrefined sugar, common in India, palm tree sap

When baking & cooking, sweetener equivalences differ....so look it up!

vena cava filter

So, a question came up recently in causal chit chat about vena cava filters. Here's my understanding of the filter and clotting. This by no means is any kind of certified information, solely my understanding from what I have read, so please don't take this as any kind of medical advice because it's not!

a (heparin coated metal) filter put into the vena cava (which is a large vein that returns blood to the heart from the body) to "catch" clots so as to prevent a pulmonary embolism which occurs when a clot travels to the lungs through the circulatory system and cuts off blood supply to a part of the lungs. You may wonder well what happens when the filter catches all these clots? Does it get all clogged up? The body naturally absorbs clots. Well then if the body naturally absorbs clots, why do we worry about clots? We worry about clots getting lodged somewhere and reducing blood flow or cutting off blood supply to an organ. There is platelet aggregation & the clotting cascade, which is quite complex, but basically involves factors --> factors & prothrombin --> thrombin --> fibrinogen --> fibrin --> clot. Clot formation is limited to the need for a clot. When it is time for dissolution of the clot, "fibrinolysis:" plasminogen + factors --> plasmin --> breaks up the fibrin meshwork leaving what are termed fibrin degradation products. Then other enzymes in the body work to dissolve these leftover products. Prostacyclin is also produced, which does not allow platelet aggregation to occur.

On the natural health front, nattokinase (found in natto (Japanese), fermented soybeans) is thought to be a natural enzyme that can be taken to reduce blood clotting...some claim that it dissolves clots...

broccolini vs. broccoli rabe - demystified

In the past year, I discovered broccolini, a most wonderful vegetable. When trying to explain broccolini to those who haven't discovered it yet, I am often given baffled looks or directed to the broccoli rabe section of the grocery store. So, here is some clarification.
Brocolini is a cross between broccoli and some Chinese vegetable ( I have heard it's Chinese kale as well as chard, and also that it is a relative of bok choi...nonetheless, broccoli is crossed with some Chinese vegetable). The part I am interested in is the appearance and the Taste! It has long stalks with bushy heads that look like broccoli florets. The stalks are said to resemble asparagus, but I don't see that resemblance :o) It also has long thin leaves.
Istockphoto has some nice images:








Broccoli rabe, on the other hand, looks like a big bush: image








So, the motivation for writing about this was that I fell in love with broccolini, and I saw some broccoli rabe at the Italian deli, and I thought, hmm, that would be good, relating the two in my head. Well, broccoli rabe is broccoli rabe, and it hasn't changed: it's still bitter with that weird taste. Broccolini falls somewhere in between all these green vegetables, taking the texture of broccoli as well as the texture of asparagus stalks with an un-bitter taste all of its own.

My favorite broccolini recipe is boiling the broccolini in just enough water to cover it to soften it. Pour off the water. Then heat up olive oil & garlic & roll the broccolini in it until it coats it. Add some S & P and whatever else you like, and there you go!

nepotism - word of the day

showing of favoritism toward relatives, based upon that relationship, rather than on an objective evaluation of ability or suitability (wikipedia).

(Potassium) sorbate

So, Trader Joe's sells these non-sorbate pitted prunes, which begs the question: what's with the sorbate? Apparently, sorbates are used to preserve food & inhibit mold & yeast. I still don't understand what the big deal is with sorbate? Anyone know?

hidden trails of Wenonah...nature girl strikes again!

(backdated)
nature girls & their fearless leader, Meadow











After a long journey in the car to find the "hidden trails of Wenonah" (who knew there could be trails in flat south jersey?), we parked the car at South Princeton & East Willow St* alongside someone's home and ventured out. There appeared to be a pathway (the entrance perhaps?) through the woods, so we went, Katie & I following our fearless leader, Miss Meadow. Alas! We found some steps, dangerous steps, but we proceeded onward...you would think the steps would lead somewhere, right? We get to the bottom of the steps, and it appears as though we have lost the path. Yes, we have lost the path already, map in hand, and we've been at this less than a minute, minus the hour car ride to the destination that should have been 10 mins away. So, as Katie & I are looking at the map, our fearless leader explores. All of the sudden she sinks into the ground! Quicksand, I think! I start pulling on her leash, yelping Meadow, c'mon! Katie is dumbstruck as well, thinking quicksand. Why would there be quicksand, we aren't anywhere exotic...

>>>>honestly i was thinking " great vanessa's gonna jump in and then i have to jump in after vanessa" <<<<<

so, we get the dog out, but she is now half black and half blonde. She looks similar to the victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill tragedy, and she STINKS!

So, to recap: in the middle of nowhere, one hour car drive, 2 minutes on the path, one stinky dirty dog, and I am ready to quit. Katie and I are puzzled over the map and what to do with the dog, and these people emerge out of the trees. They explain how the trail goes...well, I guess all I heard was that you don't go down the steps b/c I don't remember what they said, so we started off to the right...Meadow in the lead, of course. The next point of interest would be the house that we came to where we tried to decide if it was a "real" house or if it was somehow part of this escapade --> real house. So we trample through what seems like their backyard, yet what also seems to be part of the "hidden trails of..." That is when we saw the sign: "BEWARE of snakes in rocks!" Yes, indeedie, that said snakes IN rocks.
And we also discovered that the quicksand like mud pile that Meadow sunk in was part of a lake:


The rest of the story is that we walked in a giant circle, met some more people that seemed to appear out of nowhere & continued to explain that the trails actually went somewhere other than around the lake. When we got to a certain point, I asked Katie where we were, and she said we were where we started (apparently).

...the Prize of the day was this "Tea House:"


**Wenonah Trails to be supposedly attempted again in the "spring" when you can actually see where you are going. I think there will be much better places to venture to & adventure through!

This is a copy of the map I printed from some website explaining the trails:

Paterson, Day 2

(backdated)

So troubling to get here :o)

I have been experimenting with the camera as I haven't been photographing for a few years now, so there's dome decent pictures and some crappy pictures. I don't think getting them developed at Walgreen's has helped much...


same scene, longer exposure times (but i don't have anything sold to rest the camera on (a tripod is way out of the question) so it's just luck if the camera doesn't shake!):

from the other side:


and...