Ruhiyyih's Cookie Extravaganza!

Ruhiyyih came bearing gifts last night - a platter of cookies she said she dare not keep in her little apartment, or she would eat them all! She had attended a "Cookie Extravaganza Party" with 12 of her friends from college. The purpose of the party was to provide an assortment of holiday confections, with a basket-full for each gal to take home for the holidays. Each friend brought a platter of her favorite recipe, which she then shared with everyone. Not a bad idea to simplify holiday baking!

Since she will be in Washington DC during the holidays, we opened our gifts early. She gave me a little coffee warmer to put by the computer...I was always forgetting about my coffee, and it would get cold. Now, if I can only remember to turn it on, then off. I bought Ruhiyyih a cute leather contact case, for her travels. It has a mirror inside, easy and efficient.

I made cappacino for her when she got up, as she had had a rough night on the sofa. Her brother, Taraz had too many midnight snacks, waking her each time. And the cats just missed her so much they would not leave her alone. So, Ruhiyyih got about four hours of good sleep. I eventually encouraged her to sleep in my bed, because I was going to be posting here, and did not want to disturb her. The photo above shows a "recovered Ruhiyyih". Amazing what a cappacino can do...

Earl Grey, Mordred, Barry and the Girls

A feature of our Ruhi Class Sunday evenings on "Reflections on the Life of the Spirit" is the predictable misconduct of our cat, Mordred. He is an old white cat who makes it his business to find someone wearing black clothing. Then, he climbs onto their lap, cirlces a few times and sits down. No consultation here, not even a glance upward. Barry wore black, so he was the hapless victim of Mordred's attention. It would appear that Barry is attempting an explanation, but Mordred, fist raised, is pressing for squatters rights.

This week, like last week, little boxes were offered at the end of the lesson. The top of each silver box was indented with a star, like a Christmas tree decoration. Inside was a little packet of Earl Grey Tea, and a crystal chunk of sugar that looked like a small stalagmite. This was supposed to illustrate the custom in Iran 100 years ago, when Russian sugar and a package of tea were intended as a gift of love to a visitor.

Also pictured above are Megan and Emmy, students in the class, who giggle about everything, always get the answers correct, and offer a lot of creativity to the evening.

Stir-fry Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce

We had some friends over for lunch - Dave is of Korean-Scotch background and Matta is Persian-American. (She is a long-term friend of my sons). George tried out a great new stirfry recipe: Shrimp Stirfry in Black Bean Sauce. He stir-fried onions, carrots, zuchinni and spinach, then added the cooked shrimp. Add the Black Bean sauce, and serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds. Just a nice winter lunch with old friends.

Mima Mounds and the Black River

Yesterday we loaded up the canoe, put Manheim Steamroller's Christmas music on, got a couple Subway sandwiches and some coffee, and headed south to the Black River for a day of paddling.

It was quite cold out - about 36 degrees, and out on the water it can get even colder. Fortunately, there was no wind, and the sun was out, making the river look a little more friendly than it seemed...you note that photo of the branches out over the water - yikes. Looks like a tarantullah, just spooky.

We paddled upstream, then allowed the current to take us back down again. Whirlpools scurried in the flow. Capricious little devils. There's always something that a whirlpool wants to say, but it's mute, like the dervish, caught up in it's little dance. Even the aquatic plants were swaying, undulating and shuddering, glowing in shallow water.

We've done various parts of this river, and it is the most lovely in early summer when the lily pads line the shore. Then it has the fragrance of wild mint, and small trout can be seen under cutbanks.

We explored the Mima Mounds after our paddle, hiking through the woods and out onto the open prairie. I was able to chat with the naturalist there about the mounds, which are just a mystery, mound after mound, all over the prairie. He was so knowledgable and I enjoyed visiting with him. At age 70, he has retired from an administrative position in geriatric psychiatry, and now is 'weeding' a prairie, removing invasive plants, like Scotch Broom, which must be pulled out or the natural vegetation gets choked out. It is an extremely poisonous plant.

Piece of Pie, Anyone?

Want a piece of Lemon Meringue Pie? Banana Cream? <go to this website,> and select a piece of pie - just look at that selection. I'll take a slice of this Hot Apple Pie Sundae, compliments of Shari's.

Blowing The Snow Away In Montana

These are photos of Frank (Oldeupher) at work clearing his driveway out in Montana. The photos were taken a few years ago - look at that snow!

Imagine, having to plow a driveway to get out to a main road, then hoping that the Department of Transportation has come by with a snowplow so you can drive into town - all of this so you can get to work on time.

Today's posts have been about PLAY, and something tells me that Oldeupher was having a good time spraying that snow up in the air. What a playful wonderland....now, I've got to imagine a snowman.

Mud Bay in Puget Sound

We got off to an early morning glide in the canoe over at Mud Bay, down by Olympia. I should have known by the name that we would be in trouble, but off we went, with an outgoing tide, paddling in extremely overcast, gloomy weather.

I'm not too partial of these paddles on somber days. Just the sky will begrudgingly offer a little solace, and the whole thing seems foreboding. We had very shallow water, with deep muck on the bottom, which can be dangerous if you capsize - you'll get rooted in the depths, and not be able to pull yourself out. We passed only a couple of dwellings - one was a beautiful abandoned brick home, with all the windows busted out. The other was this grouping of old fisherman shacks, up over the water at high tide.

The only consolation were the gulls and buffel-heads, and a pair of eagles. Hundreds of migrating birds were settling on the mudflats.

Mud Bay - Puget Sound

Because the tide went out as we started our glide, when we returned to our put-in place, there was a good 50 feet of mud that we had to walk across to get to shore. We found an old partially submerged log, and walked on top of it, most of the way. Otherwise, we would have sunk down about 8 inches in the mud, with each step. I got out of the canoe first, and pulled a strong rope as I walked along, pulling George in the canoe. When I could pull no more, he had to push with his paddle, to get the canoe up onto the mudflats as far as possible. I was very concerned that he would get mired, and not be able to walk out. Fortunately, mud boots (ordinary garden variety) allow the feet to just slide out if he was, and he would have to slide across the mud on his belly. He did make it, but fell once, covering half of his snowpants in the most retched smelling muck. Dead salmon and carp were lying along the shoreline, twisted in the most gruesome skeletal contortions with mouths gaping. Imagine, struggling to get out of that muck, and being greeted on the low bluffs by the dire image of salmon skins, with eyes eaten out by the crows. Oh my.

Walking In The Forest At Mud Bay

After we loaded up the canoe, we drove to a nature trail where we could hike, and it took us through a beautiful forest, with huge ferns, mossy logs, and tall evergreens. Snow was on the trail, and we noticed that someone had preceeded us, walking with their dog. The trail led out onto the tideflats, where a vast portion was covered in beachgrasses, saturated with wet snow.

Muddy Boots and Snowpants

I'm going to spray my boots off with the hose, then do some laundry... I'm glad I'm safely home, and not stuck in the mud. Mud Bay - not highly recommended for a gloomy, overcast day.

Museum of Glass - Tacoma, WA

Black Vase - Proctor Street Fair

Watching the Birds From My Window

Today I'm going to go to <"Wild Birds Unlimited"> to get a bird-feeder for the sparrows and chicadees that are needing some winter seeds and suet. I hear the little chicadees in the bushes outside my window, and I'm hoping they will visit.

We had these birds over in Montana, and I got used to their call, which seemed so lonesome, and since moving here, I've not heard that particular call from them, but rather a different one. I can't figure this out, but I enjoy this little bird, all the same.

One of the stories I read about the Blackfeet Indians centered around the chicadee. Long ago, they would tell the monthes of winter by the little barbs that grew along the Chicadee's tongue. Each month it grew another barb, and when spring came, no more barbs grew....true or not, I don't know. But, the little chicadees are my favorite bird. <This website >offers a tantalizing journal of bird-watching in the Pacific Northwest.

Candystix Color For a Winter Day

Little Bottles On The Table

On Their Way Home to Montana

My sister Bonnie and her husband, Frank, spent four days here, and are now headed back home to Montana. We spent most of our time just sitting around talking, going through old-old family photos of great-great grandparents, and eating.

Our ancestry goes back to Germany and Wales, and once our ancestors got here, a smattering of other races entered the gene pool, making our children look very ethnic, mixed.

My Dad's old drawings, floorplans of houses, and geneology lists covered the table. It is a goal of mine to figure out his family line, if that is possible, to see where we get these unusual noses, kinky hair, high cheekbones, and slight frames. It is a wonderment, seeing women five generations back, with ten children, in the most straight-laced, solid, stern images, and then the image of Bonnie and I at the same age, wearing REI down jackets, fleece vests and sweatpants.

Bonnie showed family photos of the old ghost town of Gilman, Montana, where our great grand parents owned the Hotel. When the Great Northern Railroad was built, and didn't go through the town, Gilman shut down and the old Hotel was moved to Augusta. A lot of our relatives live in ranching and farming communities around Augusta.

We also went through some old slides, showing my mom's 1957 Thunderbird, our parent's homes on Flathead lake, and all of the kids when they were little. Time sure catches up with you, when you get to be our age. We laughed at all the old fashions, the outrageous hairstyles. And we remembered a lot of good times. I'll have to say that now is the best time of all - much of the hard work is done, and the children are grown, sharing the laughter and stories.

Late Afternoon at the Nisqually Delta

My sister, Bonnie, and her husband, Frank arrived safely Saturday, and we took this hike yesterday at the Nisqually Delta, south of Tacoma. It is a wildlife refuge, with many Canadian geese wintering over. We had a very brisk hike, with some of our children joining us. My son, Taraz, carried the camera, and took some of the photos.

Hiking The Nisqually Delta

I'll have to admit, we were not surprised for how cold it got on this hike, and we also started late, as you can see from the long shadows.

I had to borrow my son's wooly scarf because my ears got cold, and of course, I always have to wear sunglasses and a visor, because my eyes are very sensitive to light. I'm sorry, but, this is how old ladies get, and we simply do not care about fashion when we are desperate to stay warm. That big jacket is Men's Extra Large - big enough to wrap around my life jacket when we are canoeing, and the sleeves are long enough to cover my hands when I walk.

Sunset Beach - Gig Harbor

The Boulevard Hausman - A Fantasy

The Boulevard Hausman is in a sleepy little fishing village where the houses are vibrant with color - white, pink and ocre. Gardens have hedges of pink laurel, jasmine and honeysuckle.

Signac, Matisse and Bonnard painted here, thrilled by the color. Street life is vibrant by day - residents packing aspargus, peeling garlic, hanging tobacco leaves, sorting plums - and street musicians a acrobatics entertain shoppers looking for fresh shrimp, prawns, oysters and crab. Flame throwers entertain in the Arcade. Goats, geese, and chickens are at the Flea Market.

Night life is gentle - lovers stroll through the park, couples show off new babies, old men walk their dogs. Aromas from the Cafe are a calling card to exquisite local cooking, fine china and linens, and lively discourse. This is a time to ignore the rest of the world. At sunset, little boats, provided by Haussman, are free for an evening glide. Rooms are available, and reasonably priced, above the Patisserie. Fresh bread and sweet rolls are compliments to your room. You will find them on your nightstand.

~ Colored pencil drawing with marking pen definitions. A few years ago, I created a set of about 25 little drawings of French and Italian life, improvised a story, and this is one of them. (Click on picture to enlarge illustration.)

Market in Ravenna - Italy

VIETATO TOCCARE LA MERCE ````````````````````````````````````````````
Melanzane Mozzarella - eggplant with cheese
Crostinialle Olive - fried bread with olives
Acciughe al Limone - anchovies with lemon
Caciucco alla Livornese - stew with cuttlefish, red snapper
Risott0 ai Finocchi - rice with fennel, onions, parmesan
Polenta de Grano Saraceno - buckwheat polenta, Gruyere cheese
Malfatti di Ricotta -ricotta gnocchi, spinach, onion
Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa - pasta with turnip greens
Frittata ai Tartufi Neri - black truffle, potato, prosciutto
Sarde a Beccafico - sardines with raisens and pine nuts
Teglia di Pesce Spade - marinated swordfish
Involtini alla Maggiorana - little veal rolls with margoram
Mele al Burro - apples cooked in butter and wine
Cenci Fritti - Tuscan fried pastries
Pesche Ripiene agli Amaretti - Amaretti - coffee ice cream with Amaretti biscuits
Sorbetto al Limone - lemon sorbet
Auccotto - almond and chocolate cake
Zuccotto - almond and chocolate cake
Zabaione con le Fragole - Zabaione with strawberries

~ Donation only ~ Proceeds go to the garden commune workers ~

Colored pencil drawing, with ink highlights ~ from a portfolio of my drawings and their stories that I did several years ago on Italy and France. (Click on illustration to enlarge.)

Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks
For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home
--Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought
--Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free"
--Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

From Our Walk Today - Gig Harbor

Twas a very cold day for a walk, low 40's, but we strolled along the old waterfront along Gig Harbor, where we found this old truck, packed up for the season. Have I ever admitted, I love old trucks, old hubcaps and wheels...

All The Little Treasures

When we were raising our kids, the BIG word was FREE. Because we had about a decade of scrimping along, we never had the extras that a lot of people take for granted. Our kids grew up with paper routes at an early age, to earn money for clothes and amusements. They were always hustling with eachother, trading clothes, finding ingenious ways to stretch their resources.

I remember one Halloween, Ruhiyyih dressed up her two younger brothers in her old costumes - Rahmat used her Oreo Cookie costume and Taraz went as a Maid, with the little black dress and apron with white ruffles. They went to extremes to conserve their resource.

My kids wrote for things, sending stuff off in the mail, when summer simmered down in a slog of boredom. Rahmat wrote to Nintendo offices up in Redmond, WA, with an "Envelope Art" drawing and some suggestions for game strategies. And, he got the most fantastic response back - a personal letter from Greg Wallace, the Game Play Counselor. He said, ' Way cool envelope art, dude!'. The real treasure here is that Rahmat now designs intricate games on his own website - amazing what a kind letter of encouragement can do.

I remember one day something came in the mail for Ruhiyyih - she couldn't have been more than 12 years old. It was a free sample that she'd written away for. It came in a white package, no decoration other than lines drawn to make a bow. I was curious about it, wondering what would be in an unmarked package, and I did what any snooping mother would do - I opened it. Inside was an "Attends Brief" with new Perma Dry Protection, fits 32-34 hips, medium, with instructions for wearing standing or bed-ridden!

She started at age 10 filling out all the Sweepstake forms from Readers Digest and sent them in, hoping we'd win the 6 million dollar prize. I never filled them out, because I thought getting rich would spoil our life. It would rob my kids of the delightful inventiveness that I saw as they tried to figure out how the world works.

Ruhiyyih comes to visit today, and she will look in the piggybank I keep on the windowsill for her - all my loose change. I've got some holiday coupons from stores with free gifts - Bath and Body Works, Victoria Secret, Domino's pizza, and a $7.00 carwash. I save these for her. And, this last week she gave me a $10.00 coupon savings at the Jiffy Lube for my oil change. If you were to talk to her, she'd tell you about all the ways she saves and collects little treasures along the way. Funny, when she tells me about it, she is always giggling and laughing, like she was still that 12 year old child, ready to get a grip on her world.

Snake Lake Wetland Preserve - Tacoma

About 2:00 I hiked around Snake Lake, which is about a mile or so from our house. The trail goes up into light, airy woods and meanders along one edge of the lake. It is about an hour stroll, very peaceful.

Canadian Geese Feeding On Algae

Algae in the water and lichen on tree trunks are very abundant here.
Lichens are nature's pioneers...they are among the first to arrive, finding their homes in some of the most barren and inhospitable parts of the world. From there they slowly begin the process of creating a foundation for habitation by others.

The structure of lichens are unique: a symbioses of two organisms -- a fungus and algae -- so complete that they behave and look like an entirely new being. A lichen can literally eat stones, survive severe cold, and remain dormant for long periods without harm.

Upgrading The Old Man's House

A few years ago I saw an old man sitting at the window of this house, day after day. He had an old dog he called 'Jack', and they would walk the streets of 6th Avenue, three blocks from my home.

Jack and the old man were alone in the house, and seemed to inhabit only one room, the kitchen. It was the only room that ever had a light burning, and also the only room without shades.

The house caught my attention because the old man seemed so alone, and I wondered how he was managing. He and Jack always walked slowly, like they'd been together a long time. Then, one day I noticed that the house never had a light burning, never had the old man at the window. It was like this for several years, and when I drove by, I thought for sure that the old man had passed away - and he had.

I pass this house on my walks, and yesterday a contractor and his son were making plans to fix up the house, by pulling out all the old shrubery, putting in new ones, and by painting and remodeling the inside. They've started to spray-wash the outside, getting it ready. They said they'll be painting next week, gutting portions of the old house, redoing the porch. The contractor is the grandson of the old man who owned it, and he said he will be living in the house with his family when it is finished. I'm so pleased that someone is taking care of this old property, and I'll post a picture of it when everything is finished.

I just wish this contractor had been able to make all the repairs and make it more presentable when the old man was alive - but, who knows, maybe living in an old relic of a house with its memories is just what the old man treasured.

Taking A Lunch Break - Hobo Stew

Its been a gorgeous, sunny day here in Tacoma, so I've spent most of the morning pruning my tree malva and rose bushes, mowing the yard, and doing a little edge-work. I'm dumping my potted flowers, and storing the containers in the garage. We still have one tree - the cherry - that is still dropping yellow leaves everyday, so I'm ignoring that.

I've put together Hobo Stew with English Muffins for a lunch, along with a tossed salad and a cup of tea.

Hobo Stew is an inexpensive stew that is great for pot-lucks - black beans, great northern beans, pinto and kidney beans, mixed frozen vegetables, sauteed onions, saussage and hamburger in a tomato soup-bean soup base, from concentrate. I make up a big batch of it, then thaw portions at a time. It's a real hit with kids.

Lost In The Deep Woods!

Ruhiyyih and I went for a long walk through the woods yesterday - a walk much longer than we had planned...we got lost!

Point Defiance Park is an old growth forest on Puget Sound, right here in Tacoma. I walk through the trails here at least three times a week, but I stay close to the road. It is easy to get lost on all the little trails, as they all interconnect.

Now, if you have to get lost in a beautiful forest, this is the one! As you can see from the photo, the trails are wide, soft with pine needles and leaves, and it invites a journey. George gets lost here all the time when he is running or bird-watching, and he loves it. But, Ruhiyyih had to go to late afternoon services at her church, and we had our Baha'i Friends coming over for the study circle at 5:00. We were loosing time, and it was getting dark.

So we short-cutted through the woods over to the road, and followed it. We must have walked a circle taking that shortcut, or gotten over onto a fork in the road, because the road became miles! We watched a storm roll in off the water, blowing the top branches of the cedars, and the sky turned very dismal. Pretty soon we picked up our step, a little apprehensive about the weather. Cars drove along the road with their headlights on, and a few runners passed us by. We just kept walking - we knew the road would take us back to our car, as it was only a one way route.

We watched a deer, and I almost petted a big black lop-eared rabbit that obviously was tame, someone's discarded pet. (We even watched a herd of caribou, about 8 of them, with big antlers - they were by the zoo boundary). So, it felt like lions, tigers, and bears, oh my, and getting dark, and will my car get towed, and my purse is in the car, and what will we do.... we finally considered called George, to let him know we were lost, couldn't find the car. We'd walked about three and a half miles, and no end in sight. Just as we were thinking about doing that, we rounded a bend, and...... there....... was.......my............... car! We just laughed so hard, more from relief than from our foolishness.

Manchester State Park - Washington

After our Cluster meeting yesterday, we went for a drive through Kitsap County, and found a hiking location at beautiful old Manchester State Park.

The park itself was constructed at the turn of the century as a U.S. Coast Artillery harbor defense installation for the protection of Bremerton. During World War II, the property was converted to a navy fuel supply depot and a navy fire-fighting station.

The buildings you see here are the gun battery deep in the ground and the torpedo warehouse, both built in 1901. The torpedo warehouse was later an officer's club, a barracks and a mess hall, and is now a picnic shelter in the day-use area.

A small concrete building east of the torpedo warehouse (not pictured here) was originally used as a mining casement, and later for coal storage. I walked through it, and it was so eerie - the walls were built two feet thick, with just one window at each end and a trap door in the top. It was incredibly dark and musty. I couldn't imagine men sleeping in such a 'tomb'. As I was walking along in the dark, looking up at the ceiling, I didn't see a pop can at my feet, and I stepped on it. It squashed, popping with an echo, and scared me out of my wits. Just the kind of boom those men living in this barrack probably expected!

Rich Passage in Puget Sound Washington

Our excursion started along Rich Passage in Puget Sound, where we stopped to watch the hundreds of American Widgeons that have congregated along the shoreline. Our hike went through beautiful stands of cedar, hemlock, Douglas fir and maple. Moss and ivy cover a lot of the tall trees - a testiment to the moisture that frequents this area year long. We hiked up trails that led to overlooks of Rich Passage. The trail meanderd through heavily forested campgrounds that are still open for people willing to brave 45 degree temperatures at night. I enjoyed walking along the shoreline here, looking at at the detris on the beach. We've been here a number of times, last time with my dad when he came for a visit. He liked the old buildings at Manchester State Park.