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#WeekendCoffeeShare, Yuletide Edition
December 24, 2016
— 8 Comments
Inn of Gingerbread
Arizona Inn Dining Room
If we were having coffee today I would invite you to quench your thirst with some fresh grapefruit juice. Our ruby-red grapefruit tree is yielding fruit that we will harvest from now until March. It is bright red in the spirit of Christmas, and delightfully tart. Citrus season is generous, bright and cheerful. We have a calamondin tree which bears heavily all winter too. It is a very tart lime flavored small fruit. I am going to town by scenting the air with mandarin and lime oils in the gingerbread house diffuser. I am serving a selection hot teas and coffee for your drinking pleasure. I am even on a citrus jag with tea, loving the roiboos lemon cloud flavor. It does make me feel like I am on a cloud for a few minutes when I drink it. Help yourself to your favorite beverage, and you can feel free to add a splash of alcohol if you are arriving at happy hour in your time zone.
Here in Tucson it is 7:45 am and 46 degrees F. It will be warm and sunny all day, so soak up some rays and the beauty of the desert before you leave. We are going to the Arizona Inn, very close to home, for our Christmas Eve lunch. Our 1:30 reservation for the main dining room is the perfect plan for this couple. I am vegetarian and Bob is not. At home he has to keep kosher, which means no meat in the house. When he dines out he likes to have super excellent carnivore cuts. The Arizona Inn has fabulous selections for me, and outstanding dishes for him. He might eat a duck today, and that is fine with me. We are going there for the elegance, the service, and the superb cuisine. They will prepare and serve our dinner in a highly sophisticated style we just can’t replicate at home in our condo. We have no chef at home, and more importantly, no dishwashers. They never disappoint. They go over the top so we don’t have to make such an effort. I look forward to this traditional lazy holiday.
They will have a glorious flower arrangement in the center of the room, and a fire in the adobe fireplace. The Inn has all the trimmings for a fancy over the top holiday experience. All we have to do is Uber on over and enjoy the day. We take Uber when we want to cocktail, and we do plan to cocktail this afternoon. The car service adds an element of luxury our daily lives do not normally include, and that is fun too. Our driver will deliver us to the front door of the Inn, where the doormen (plural) will welcome us. We will take our traditional photos next to the decorated tree in the library before taking our table in the dining room. For me it is the best no fuss no muss way to celebrate this holiday weekend.
I have plenty of time this morning to hear about your holiday (or not) plans. What kind of celebration will happen where you live? Drop in on Diana to share your comments or a post of your own. Diana keeps the party going from New Orleans, but this is a world wide event. Share coffee with some very cool writers from all over the world. Cheers, all!
Inn of Gingerbread
Jolly Jolly Jingles
December 23, 2016
— 1 Comment
Santa horse
holiday decorating
holiday decorating
holiday decorating
I am taking this time so easy I can’t even believe it myself. We do not stress ourselves by including obligatory events in December, so our home life is without strain to complete or compete. We decorate a little, and I like to burn candles this time of year because the dark begins in the afternoon and seems like a cheery flicker in the dark. We celebrate not exactly any holiday other than the winter solstice, but are happy to join in the whole festive season. I drive less and shop very little because the crowds and traffic are not on my list of jolly things to experience. I buy a little more than usual in the specialty foods and booze category, but in general our consumption is normal in December. We certainly do not go wild. We like it quiet.
I am very lucky that the Tucson Botanical Gardens is right around the corner from home, so I zip over there for some outdoor nature time. It is also a winter treat to have the butterfly and tropical frog show at the gardens in the greenhouse. It is a gift the year around to be able to take a beautiful botanical break away from traffic and shopping and work. This is my idea of a jolly good time.
I consider my life to be blessed with ease and good health. I wish all my gentle readers a holiday week of gladness and good fortune. May you all be the merriest of readers in the jolliest of good company. God bless us every one.
orchid wreath
Cause Of Death
December 14, 2016
— 3 Comments
homicide
heart disease
I just found a site with an interactive map of statistics about life expectancy in the United States. I am delighted to see that Arizona is light to moderate in the heart disease category, but this map looks bleak under homicide. Pima County’s rate is lower than some. Apache County is the worst place for death by homicide in Arizona, followed by Navajo County. At a glance the national map for homicide is telling. The highest rates stretch across the southern states, with interesting pockets in west Texas of low probability. I think that is because nobody lives there.
I wonder how this will change over time. My guess is that it will only intensify in the way it appears now. Arizona is in terrible shape under death by liver disease, and I can guess that is all about alcohol. I tend to think of health in personal terms, but when I see these figures I see we are in a public health crisis of epic proportions. I urge you to look up your county and state to see what is happening. I am surprised, and I believe you will be too, gentle reader. How can we work to improve these statistics? This is a bigger question than health insurance and drug companies bring to our attention.
El Tiradito, Tucson’s Sinner Shrine
December 12, 2016
— 1 Comment
We had a houseguest over the weekend who was starting a long car journey to Michigan. I took her on a miniature guided tour of Tucson Saturday afternoon. We stopped at the venerable Arizona Inn, near home, to visit the Christmas tree, the croquet court, and the elegance that is the Inn. Next stop was the U of A Poetry Center. My guest was delighted at the chance to read for about 45 minutes in our fabulous environment dedicated strictly to poetry. She found some great poets, and so did I. From there we travelled to my favorite, often overlooked, art in the city, some forged metal window guards by Tom Bredlow , a Tucson blacksmith of great skill and artistry, that depict the desert animals. Bredlow is now a total recluse who continued a legacy of Raul Vasquez. Tom even purchased some of his tools when Raul passed away. He continued to hammer out super fine metal art that graces the city. These window guards are in the Barrio Viejo de Tucson, looking right at home.
forged metal by Tom Bredlow
forged metal by Tom Bredlow
forged metal by Tom Bredlow
Our final destination on the tour was El Tiradito. I had given her a couple of milagros carved from jet to make offering/wishes along her route. The tradition of wishing on this spot is deeply rooted in the history of Tucson. This popular shrine is in use since the 1870s. It stands on what was once part of El Camino Real, or royal road to Mexico City. Padre Kino himself was once walking on this exact location, giving it a connection to the Spanish conquest in the 1600’s. The legend surrounding the shrine is a story of a doomed love triangle and murdered lover who could not be buried in the Catholic cemetery due to his sinful final state. The murdered man was supposedly buried under the stoop of his lover’s house, where she built a shrine. Juan Oliveras is the only sinner to have his own place on the National Historical Register.
El Tiradito
El Tiradito
El Tiradito
Today is Virgin of Guadalupe Day, 12 December, the day Mexico celebrates the day of its patron saint. Before the Spanish conquest Mexico had a female deity protecting it. Tonantzin was on the job since prehistory as an Aztec goddess. Her history and tradition is preColombian. She is, and has been, the local female deity for centuries. Our friend went to Mesilla, New Mexico on her first stopover after leaving us. The nearby village of Tortugas is the site of one of the oldest Virgin of Guadalupe celebrations in this country. She is being fully initiated by our local Enchantment before heading north into the snow. Her mystical as well as her physical journey is now blessed by both Tonantzin and Juan Oliveras. Nice benediction.
Carved Copal Art By The Cruz Family of Oaxaca
December 7, 2016
— 1 Comment
I had the pleasure of meeting Agustín Cruz Prudencia and his nephew Jesus at the Tucson Botanical Gardens yesterday. The copal wood carvings they brought to Tucson for sale are lively and brightly colored. I fell in love with the figures instantly. I am officially on restriction from buying any art, but I could not pass up the chance to own a piece of their stunning work. I was in a pinch for time, but made a choice to buy the frog that is happily decorating my living room now. It goes with all the art in my house, and yet has a unique quality that makes it stand out. It will be a prized momento from my encounter with these incredible craftsmen.
They are Zapotec from a tribe that lived, and still lives in a remote part of the state of Oaxaca. Agustín’s father moved his family to the capitol city of Oaxaca in order to make a living by selling his art. They now have a workshop that employs about 15 family members carving and painting the folkloric figures. The super fine painting is done without stencil or straight edge. They develop the ability to create super intricate geometric patterns by eye, by hand. The apprenticeship to learn this craft takes a long time. It is easy to appreciate all the fine work that goes into each piece. With both delicate carving and intricate paint designs these little characters pop with personal style.
They are going home for Christmas to be with their family. They will be celebrating with banana leaf tamales and other special seasonal dishes. They are very proud of their culture and cuisine, and rightly so. Both of my new young friends had spoken their native mother tongue as children, but have lost the ability to speak it after years in the city. They suffer from heavy discrimination against indigenous tribes in the city, so speaking it is dangerous. They still understand their mother tongue when they hear it. Their elders dressed in traditional clothing, and those members of the tribe in remote mountains still do. Modern Zapotec life as an artist is complicated, and includes borders and customs. I am glad they made the effort to bring this unique folk art to Tucson. I hope the sale works out very well for them so they will return. If you are in Tucson this weekend you can make a purchase at the United Nations Association of Southern AZ on 10 and 11 December. They have gifts in all price ranges for all art lovers.
Copal carvings
Oaxacan folk art
Oaxacan folk art
Oaxacan folk art
Copal carvings
Copal carvings
Copal carvings
Copal carvings
Copal carvings
Copal carvings
Cruz family carvers
folk art from Oaxaca
Copal carvings
my new frog
my new frog
#WeekendCoffeeShare Set For The Season
December 4, 2016
— 10 Comments
high notes
front yard decorated
candles
front yard decorated
If we were having coffee this morning I would serve you any hot or iced tea you might like or a cup of medium roast coffee. For those of you arriving at cocktail hour from other continents I have some cranberry vodka for cocktails. It is pretty and tasty at the same time. Have a seat, put up your feet on the fireside ottoman and tell me what is happening with you. I have the room seriously scented with lavender and citrus essential oils. The wood stove is a perfect diffuser. I need to replenish the moisture it sucks out of the air, so I position two containers of water on top to continually evaporate. It is a little bit shocking to see how much goes into the air. I dump substantial amounts of essential oils in those vessels, which become my giant air fresheners all winter.
Citrus is the scent of the season for me. I have purchased a full set of citrus essential oils for December which are going quickly because I love using them liberally. Now I am rocking sweet orange and mandarin, mixed with a lot of lavender. These are all high notes in aromatherapy, or uppers if you will. The idea is to extend comfort and joy in the atmosphere. I have my ceramic gingerbread diffuser rocking the scent with a scented candle as the heat. This is the only time of year when I burn wax candles in my house because it does pollute the air inside that we breathe. I am not worried about the amount of pollution a few tiny tea lights will emit. I also have my digital candles with remote control LED lights that change color. They make me very happy. My decorating theme is not exactly geared to a modern religious holiday but to the winter solstice, and a celebration of light that seemed to happen universally in ancient times around the darkest night of the year. I am fully ready of Old Man Winter. We are stocked with wood for the fire and I have mounted all manner of solar twinkle lights in the front and back yard. We are warm and, if I do say so myself, lit.
If we were having coffee and American politics came up I would tell you that yesterday I attended a meeting to organize a satellite protest march to show support for the Million Women March on Washington, 21 Jan. Many American women are traveling to DC to march on the mall to protest the inauguration of the Donald. I have much sympathy for this movement, but not enough to travel to DC. I decided to find out what the Tucson group looked like, and what they planned to do. I live streamed the event to my FaceBook page. The meeting was at once very uplifting and disconcerting. The median age of the women in attendance was around 55 or 60, with very few under 40, and I saw nobody under 30. They debated the language of protest and how to best express the outrage they felt. They talked about Gandhi and Martin Luther King, which was predictable. There were 3 men over 60 in the crowd. One with his wife, one with Occupy Tucson, to convince the group to join their march, and one who had very good sense who came out of nowhere. He suggested the group use positive rather than negative language. A lot of women wanted to show off and talk about their previous political involvement and how they knew Trump supporters who were poor and underserved who needed to be converted. When I asked them if they knew how hashtags work I was told they planned to find high school girls who would instagram and hashtag the whole thing for them. These old ladies have missed the point. They can march until the world looks level and will have little sway on national politics. They need to learn how to lobby, how to hashtag, how to trend, and how to relate to the youth. The times they have been are a changin’ and they need to acknowledge that the problem here is not HOW Americans voted, but that half of Americans did not vote at all. I am in favor of their march and movement, but the medium is the message. The most efficient and effective mediums must be exploited along with the labor intensive.
If you were relaxing by the fire today I would now end my observations of politics and society in general and find out what you have been doing. I have a killer nutloaf of spinach and almond with a nice parsley sauce. Let me heat up a slice and serve it to you while you enjoy the fire. I have almost used up all the nuts from last year, but am still pitching the nuts to guests because they are so healthy and tasty. Thanks for stopping in today. You are welcome to take a nap by the stove after your snack, especially if you have a long trip home. Alexa is loaded with Amazon unlimited music, so please ask her to play your favorite music. Just say her name and tell her what you want.
Ending the year with this sophisticated group of digital coffee drinkers is a pleasure. I appreciate knowing you, sharing with you, and learning about your writing journeys. Thanks to Diana for keeping the party going from New Orleans even week. Drop in and comment, post, or just enjoy the coffee. Cheers!
Christmas cactus
Season’s decorations
scent diffuser
Progress Through Procrastination
November 27, 2016
— 2 Comments
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- fresh foods
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- fresh foods
In the month of October I took the #OctoberUnprocessed challenge as I have for a few years now. Each year I give up fake meat products, chips and crackers for the month. I eat pretty well, but those products have been prominent in my diet forever. I also bought two small packages of sugar, one brown and one confectioners, and vowed to make them last until 2017. I am happy to report that both of those sugar bags remain unopened. I probably will open one today for banana bread, but I have used no sugar in the kitchen for almost two months. The other progress I made was to adapt to life without bags of chips and boxes of crackers. I made one tasty batch of home baked crackers in October and then just forgot about them. I decided that if I go to a great Mexican restaurant once a month that makes tortillas in house I never really need to buy bags of chips. So far, this is working too. Instead of answering each and every whim I have to eat nachos, I am practicing delayed gratification by anticipating much better nachos in the future. There is no way I want to give up nachos forever.
I have stumbled upon a positive way to use procrastination. This word means putting off necessary tasks. I have reversed this process by putting off bad habits without giving them up once and for all. It is brilliant. I will admit I am back on the fake meat. I was wolfing down bacon bits on the fist of November like they were going out of style. Maybe next October I will break that habit. There are far worse things to which one can be addicted to than fake chicken McFriedFood and veggie burgers. I can accept myself with this silly exception to my almost all unprocessed diet. I am feeling good about the cracker conquest. They have no power over me any more. Do you have a processed food that you can not bear to stop eating, gentle reader? What is yours? I have to have really good taco salads in my life:
tortilla fix
Weekend Coffee Share, Thanksgiving Edition
November 26, 2016
— 11 Comments
holiday buffet
holiday buffet
Govinda’s Thanksgiving
Govinda’s Thanksgiving
Friend for lunch
If we were having coffee today I would tell you our week was almost perfect here. Welcome to my home this lovely mild weekend in Tucson. If you are living up north I hope you packed your bathing suit so you can go in the jacuzzi and get some sun on the deck before you head back home. These are the perfect weather days that make Tucson so popular as a winter destination. Help yourself to tea or coffee, and please enjoy a snack from the sideboard laden with food. I know many of the Americans will be weary of even seeing food, but for those of you who live in other countries we are serving pecan sweet potatoes, mini-croissants, green beans almandine, homemade spicy cranberry ketchup with chunks of ginger to compliment a large cheese tray. In the center of the table is a mega plate of raw and pickled vegetables, olives, pickled peppers of every kind, and 20 different sauces in which to dip them. If that does not overwhelm you with the colors and flavors of the fall season, there is nothing more I can do. Please make yourself at home and eat as much or as little as you want. Tell me what has been going on in your life. Pull up a chair and stay a while.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about our day on Thursday. We went to Thanksgiving lunch at our local vegetarian buffet run by the Hare Krishna community. They have a great selection, beautiful outdoor patio, a band, and a live turkey. This is the perfect place for our celebration. We ran into an old friend we had not seen for years and ate our meal with her. That was pleasant surprise. I chose not to overeat at lunch because I could take the leftovers home in a box and keep going later. It all tasted great cold, especially the green beans mixed with mashed potatoes and gravy. I dump the carrot gravy on all my food because it is the thing that pulls the whole meal together. I could drink this gravy as a beverage. We write down what we appreciate most on a piece of paper to enter a drawing to win a free lunch. It is not important if you win the lunch, but writing your gratitude and putting it in the jar with the other papers completes the group intention. It is simple yet effective. They would love to encourage participation in their religion, but never solicit or recruit patrons of the restaurant. The old days of aggressive Hare Krishnas chanting in airports are gone. Now they make fabulous food and finance their temple feeding Tucson. They announced a new delivery service they are launching which I will surely use, even though I live right up the street. They will bring me delicious food as well as any clothing, incense, wall hangings, or books I might need in the future.
As we drove to Govinda’s we were stopped at a red light when we observed two cop cars and two cops running around in a shopping center next to us. One cop approached a Native American man who was waiting at the bus stop on the corner. We rolled down the window to listen to the conversation between the two men. The cop asked the native man if he had seen anything in the area. We did not clearly hear his response, but he seemed to indicate the he had seen someone enter one of the locked, closed businesses. The cop asked him for ID. The man asked why he had to show ID. The cop told him “I don’t know who you are…” The light turned green and we drove on thinking that must have been some Twilight Zone Thanksgiving re-enactors back at that bus stop. Why should a Native man at a bus stop have to show ID to Tucson Police Department employee? I thought about Standing Rock and the military vets who are self deploying to protect the sovereign rights and water quality of the First Nations in the Dakotas. The violence being used at Standing Rock reminds me of the Indian Wars, and that reminds me of Harvard being founded to convert the local Native Peoples to a particular brand of christianity. All that reminds me of Wounded Knee. Our history is highly genocidal. The irony is wildly significant on our “how we bonded with the Indians” holiday.
On a lighter note, my Thanksgiving cactus started blooming right on cue, on the very day. I am proud of her. Please check out her rapidly unfurling flowers next to the front window. Thanks very much for visiting on this busy weekend. Please check out our other coffee sharing friends who gather at Diana’s site, here. Post, comment, or just enjoy the coffee.
Healing Through Hedonism
November 22, 2016
— 1 Comment
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- vinegar face
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- helpful staff
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- blackberry ginger balsamic
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- perfect gift
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- Alfonso’s
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- lunch
Without further ado I dedicate the rest of 2016 to pure pleasure. If politics is the malady, happiness and personal fellowship is the remedy. The election will not dominate my December. The inauguration and the results will come soon enough for me. What I do best is cook and entertain. The drudgery of politics not only bores me, but usually astounds me with the futility of it all. I have spent some time trying to change the political horizon during my life, but I now look upon all that time as a monumental waste. I could have been just living my life in the most pleasurable way possible at the time. This investment would serve me better than taking time to convince others to participate in political causes. Being happy and free is where it is at.
When I use the word hedonism I mean only fun. I do not mean overindulgence to the point of ruining all the good times. This common mistake has given fun a bad name. Addiction is perhaps the shadow side of hedonism, but it is not pleasurable. Fun is only fun when it is well managed. Well executed pleasurable pursuits provide stimulus to all the senses and a feeling of time well spent. It can be a week in Thailand or a walk around the block. The difference between the ordinary and the hedonistic is attention to detail. Wear what you want, see what you like to see, eat what delights you, linger over what intrigues you without trespassing on the pleasure of others. Travel to your own happy place. This will require that you get to know your own true preferences, which will naturally change over time. Self care for a teen is different than it will be when that person turns 65. We must evolve with our own best interests in mind.
My good friend and neighbor and I have opposing political views. We never need to talk about politics at all. If we do we joke about how crazy people are. We have much in common, including an interest in cooking and cuisines. To celebrate Heidi’s birthday we visited one of my favorite stores in Tucson, Alfonso’s Olive Oil, for a tasting of their vast selection. It was a blast for me to introduce her to this wonderland of flavor and my great pleasure to buy her first bottle to start her own specialty oil and vinegar collection. We tasted all over the store for a long time before she came to a decision. She wisely selected the classic best unflavored dark balsamic vinegar because she can infuse it herself if she wants. The vinegar she chose is exquisite, deep, complex, fruity….everything you want in a vinegar. I was happy to buy the gift, but more happy to introduce her to someplace she did not previously know. Then we had lunch, also very good. The balsamic birthday will go down as a complete success with little effort or expense on anyone’s part. It was all about the discovery.
I suggest you look into your heart and decide what makes you happy. Just do that, gentle reader. Start with that.
Clulusion-The Sinister Fusion of Cluelessness and Collusion
November 21, 2016
Judgement
If we make it through this Thanksgiving week without a flood of car traffic invited to park outside our front door to donate to a charity scam it will be the first time since I have been in my home. Our HOA has forced the homeowners here to host a donation drop off in the fire lane of our private property for the entire time I have lived here, almost 15 years. Literally thousands of cars have passed by my front door to leave junk, or food, or volunteer hours preparing food for the public for a fake charity. The HOA board has a fiduciary (legal) responsibility to protect the property value of the corporation, but they see fit to use our property to show off their own fake philanthropy to the neighborhood. They operated these scams all year, and solicited donations in various ways. They used the US Postal service to solicit funds from the neighbors, which was incredible. Holidays were special times when we had non-stop cars drive through and park for hours to donate to the charity scams.
The most amazing feat they accomplished was to go to court and get a restraining order from a city court judge. They told him they were “giving back” and need to restrain the people who live here and own the driveway with the fire lane they occupy from stopping the charity scam donations or food prep. We tried for years to stop it through our official Tucson Police Department neighborhood watch, but the cop was in favor of both filling the fire lane with cars, and inviting the public to drive through this driveway we have to pay to pave in order to keep the white collar criminals happy. She did not even know them, but wanted, in general, to make this a shittier place to live. She encouraged the HOA board to trash the environment and break federal revenue law. It seems she was just untrained or not paying any attention. There was no way to know what she was thinking because she simply refused to respond when we reported the crime. She was able to influence the whole city government to refuse to enforce the fire lane law here for reasons known only to herself…or more likely to nobody, since it was a mindless clueless action. Cluelessness is contagious and soon the whole city government was too clueless to even collude with each other. They had manifested the ultimate willfully blind untrust. They unknowingly were the biggest promoters of obvious crime in front of all of us in the area. They stuck to their guns for more than a decade, and last night there were 4 cars in the fire lane and 1 in a neighbor’s driveway without permission. If a fire had broken out they had blocked people into their garages who would be trapped while the fire truck would be blocked. They don’t see any reason not to expose us to that kind of risk.
After being forced to live with this full time donation drop off site in my front yard for years, the neighbors and I petitioned the newly elected mayor, who is a lawyer. He refused to respond, and in fact since the first petition in 2013 he has not been willing to respond to the citizens here who petitioned his office to halt the charity scam activity that freaked the whole neighborhood out. His office thinks it has a right to remain silent while refusing to give us any law enforcement services for more than a decade. They are not trying to refuse to perform. This is the extent of the ability they have. They send out a cop to promote charity scamming and filling the fire lane of the property with as many cars as possible, and then refuse to respond when we ask for at least a clear fire lane. No can do. I have pointed out the total number of nights our fire lanes have been clear in the last 15 years. The number is stuck at 6 nights total. They passively aggressively pretend that this law enforcement task is impossible for them, so they can’t do anything to improve this situation. They manage to keep the fire lanes clear downtown. They do know how to write these expensive tickets. They prefer to ignore the issue. They have fully trashed our hood as well as trust in the police with their actions. I still can’t get them to repair the damage because it would include admission of an error. They are sticking with deeper clulusion. This is why we can’t have nice things.
mermaidcamp 