Friday, February 5, 2016

Alpha Male and Grace

photo by Jack Heniford (1947-2015)

Grace

It comes when you’re not looking. Has been there
Before you noticed. Blazes forth between
The hickory’s new leaves, their tender green
Massy above you flopped into a chair,
Hot from the garden, with an aching back.
Two phoebes flit from tree to eave to tree
Feeding the tyrant nestlings you can’t see;
You watch them labor, mind and body slack

Then among bobbing boughs a flick of red!
Binoculars have leapt into your hand,
Swept the green shapes and fixed an active blur
That moves—moves—lights in focus as the wind
Pushes, and full sun strikes him breast and head.
It flares, it flames out. Scarlet tanager.

"Grace" by Judith Moffett from Tarzan in Kentucky. © David Robert Books, 2015

photo by Jack Heniford (1947-2015)

Post Script:

Julie is back at the manor and doing very, very well.  Thank you for all your prayers.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Ollie is Away

Either the owl is inside, or has left the rental property


And Julie will go back to Mesa Manor today!

Monday, February 1, 2016

Recipes from Deliciously Ella and Karen Ehman

For ease of reference, so I can easily locate them and cook from iPad instead of printing them out:

From Deliciously Ella


  • 500g new potatoes, halved
  •  
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  •  
  • 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  •  
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes or powder
  •  
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 400g can of coconut milk
  •  
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  •  
  • 180g quinoa
  • 400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  •  
  • 150g spinach
  •  
  • 400g can of chopped tomatoes
  • salt and pepper
Place the potatoes in a pan of cold water and bring to the boil, then let them cook for about 25 minutes, until you can easily stick a knife through them. Drain them well.
Place the potatoes in a large pan and add the garlic, turmeric, coriander, chilli, ginger, coconut milk, tomato purée and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper, then add the quinoa with a mug of just-boiled water (300ml).
Reduce the heat to a simmer, place the lid on and allow to cook. Over the next 30 minutes, stir every 5 minutes or so to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. (This is quite a long cooking time, but this is how long quinoa takes to cook in all these ingredients, rather than just in water.) Halfway through cooking, add the chickpeas. When there are just 5 minutes left, add the spinach and stir it in until it wilts. Once the quinoa has cooked and is fluffy, not crunchy, it’s ready.
Thank you, Betty the Woodfairy, for posting that you made this, because I shamelessly copied it and will make it this week!  Or Maybe Gene will, except he cannot have greens because it messes with his rat poison, and he does not care for chickpeas.  Never mind, I will make it.
1 (15 oz) can Crushed tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can Diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can Tomato sauce

1/4 cup Grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup Plain low fat Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1/2-1 tsp Salt (to taste)

1/4-1/2 tsp Pepper (to taste)

Optional: pinch of sweetener of choice or honey (to taste)

Put all of the ingredients for the soup into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into individual bowls and microwave until it reaches the temperature you desire (or put soup in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it is warmed through).   Yields: 4 Servings

Julie Update:

Still in hospital, grumpy about it, discouraged because daily wound care takes a long time for nurses to attend wounds.  The 3 x/week "team"(wound care team consists of two specialized nurses and often the doctor observes progress) will see her this morning for assessment. 

Infection is decreasing according to the numbers in the blood, but she is still on IV antibiotics but needs to be on oral medication before being released back to the manor.  She was placed in a recliner twice over the weekend.  That could be called progress.

Huge snow day today, and schools are closed; town is on accident alert as it continues to come down.  Using Jack's camera while it is still dark in the early hours of Feb. 1: