What to do on a 116 degree summer day...

Lets go see that exhibit I read about in the paper... Yes, it will be one more item off the To Do list... Wait, we have to do the gold thing outside? Gasp... can I sit somewhere and just ponder how you young people find panning for gold on a 116 degree day fascinating...?

From the courtyard in the back.

Can you see the muscles work?

Indian housing.

Panning for gold

A rear view of the dinosaur

The 4th of July and American history

I was 15. Had been in the USA for less than a week. I sat in a sophomore American history class unable to understand a word being said, or written in the book in front of me. Hell, I say.... it was pure hell, and I don't mean the history. I realized then that I had to prioritize my goals and becoming fluent in English moved up to #1. The history thing popped up in full strength again in college. My history professor was probably ADHDish and he paced ALL THE TIME. My mind wandered off often. I don't remember dates well. I do engage really well when I focus on seeing things as the character in history saw things. It is so easy for me to be detached from all that came before, but the thing is, people fight for Independence all the time. Happy Fourth of July.

Chinese Culture Center - Field Trip

All things Chinese can be found here. It's like entering a world tucked away in the middle of Phoenix. I'm thinking one would appreciate the garden more if the temperature wasn't hovering around 110 F or so. I told my friend that the Chinese were very much a part of Mozambique. The furniture, the parasols, hand fans, and nick knacks too. I think the young ones know what they'll wear for Halloween.

Lets look at raw foods

Raw Yogi

Raw food with Jessica

Raw Teacher

Filling up on Life

Peach Sorbet

Chunks of fresh peach in blender. Add equal parts sugar and water. I eye this, but don't over do it. The sugary substance acts as a lubricant and will make the frozen mixture smoother.

Place the pureed fruit in a container. I used a small bowl because I had only used 4 peaches.

Place the container in the freezer. The goal is to keep an eye on the thing and mix it up as it starts to freeze.

Mine end up frozen solid because I don't go back to mix it up a few more times. If I want to serve the sorbet at this point, I just place my bowl in a larger container with hot water. The sides start to soften, and everything gets mashed with a fork, and ready to eat.

One batch of peach ready to serve, and one batch of strawberry ready to freeze. I'm developing a taste for fresh, water filled foods, as opposed to stuff that contains too much fat. Here's for homemade fresh fruit sorbet.

Humanity

"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." ~~ Carl W. Buechner

Expressive photography

I love photography. I love the old style sepia portraits. I love photography that captures action, but I really love photography that is message ridden, and require a bare minimum of words to finish off the message. These pictures slam the viewer with realities they'd rather hide from. Emmy Taylor is a master of the latter. She calls this one "Don't yell at me". Important themes are conveyed through her art photography.

As sandalias com carinho

If you look hard enough you can see connections made in childhood still floating around in your brain. My momma said the word "sandalias" so many times that they now symbolize her. She reminded me constantly to put them on. She was beside herself in the dusty, unpaved streets of Beira.

Posting at 10 PM

How can I convey today's feeling theme? Is there a picture? Not today... But ... I always associate fish with Portugal and my mother's family. :0)

Workplace gags

A redecorated car in a parking garage.

I've witnessed some outrageous gags, like the one where the girl working in a catholic hospital dressed like a pregnant nun. Or the one where pictures of a less than svelte boss wearing his bathing suit were pasted all over the office. What's been happening in your workplace?

Spectrums

Caging, like not being permitted to live outside a predetermined box, is all about black or white. I so loath that. Being a traveler in spectrums is so much more enriching. Nuances and tones are significant, and the possibilities limitless. How life affirming is that..!?

Space Exploration in a day trip

The Challenger Space Center

A model of Atlantis

The ceiling of the rotunda

Wall art

A visit to the Challenger Space Center has been on a To Do list for a while. It's turns out that we were able to join some friends who like to explore their area as much as we do, and all we had to do is follow a map and drive. Once there, we joined a tour already in progress. The young ones learned about Christa McCullough, the teacher who never made it to space because Challenger blew apart soon after lift off. I remember that day still. We also learned that NASA produces a patch for every shuttle flight. Actually, I think it's every flight, period i.e. the Apollo missions and others I would know if I were a true space freak.

5 servings a day

I don't like watermelon. But one is always looking for ways to meet the 5 a day requirement of fruits and vegetables. I'm liking the food photography thing.

Words of Wisdom

Oh bother ... ! --- Winnie the Pooh

Sustainability

The oh so subtle sense that one is no longer just responsible for oneself is evident during pregnancy. It's an unexpected - knocks you off your feet - realization. After birth, to paraphrase someone I know, children are like essential organs running around leaving you feeling vulnerable. Yet, like essential organs, they enrich ones soul and make all worth living for. But wait..., just when you think you got the "I'm here for you" groove down, they no longer get the sad twinkle in their eyes when you drop them off somewhere for some activity or other. One isn't needed as much, and that same sense of vulnerability is there again.

To love a child is heaven.

Paella a la Duda

I love to apply basic cooking concepts while using ingredients at hand and a little risk taking to create a treat for me and anyone else who wants to savor my creation. I made paella minus the shrimp or chicken (didn't have them). I did have clams and mussels (canned). I love it.

Wired

by French Toast Girl

I had a Walkman when they were the IPods of the day. I spent that summer doing a lot of biking around the city on my burgundy bike. I had named her Nikita... Apparently naming one's bike is common practice.

Anyhow, I prefer natural sounds. Sound is part of any existing system, it contains vital information that enables me to"get" a full picture of that place/people/event. This is a very subtle thing for me...

Now ask me about how attached I am to my laptop... Go ahead... Well, I don't take it outside the house in daylight because of the brightness and lack of Internet connection. Otherwise, this puppy is always by my side. I'm even wondering how dangerous to my health it is to have it on my lap so frequently. Gotta research laptop radiation emissions.

Love

Made specially for her Dad.

Walk of Inspiration in a day trip

The Stations of the Resurrection garden at Church of the Resurrection in Tempe is a wonderful place to visit, albeit a bit hot in June. One of my favorite things to do is to look through magazines and newspapers for information on places that make for excellent day trips. Day trips last 2 to 4 hours, although this one was only 30 minutes long. They are preferably educational in nature for the two young ones, and they are a great way to get to know where you live. I wasn't exposed to Beira the way I wanted to be because I was young and not in charge. The team is coming up with a list of local places to see during summer vacation.

I have been bitten again

I recently taught a friend a few tricks about crochet. Then, my two young ones wanted to learn too. So here I am, off on my new marathon. I will be making purses, bags, and that sort of thing. I will learn how to felt too. I have classes lined up, so I can improve my skills, and hopefully, I will handing them out as Christmas gifts. One winter, I made about 22 ponchos, most of them for children at school. This is one is Piggy's carrier.

My bounty

My grape tomatoes

I can get a hand full of these once a week.

The so familiar walkway to the back house

I see a lot of cementing was going on. Today, I heard the story of how these pictures came to be. Many thanks to the brave guy who wandered in there and produced a gift that will provide closure to many who left that all behind. The grape vines are still there.

It was lost, and now it's found...

Matacuane, Beira, Mozambique

May 2007

My childhood home. The windows on the right were the dinning room where my friend Alfredo and I looked over our stamp collections. I can see that the planting space in front of that same window was removed and the space cemented. The bars in the windows weren't there in 1975.
The clothing lines weren't in that spot. I could swear that the door is the same, but could it have lasted 30 years? The step by the door was where my mother informed that that cutting the hairs on my legs would only make them grow back thicker, and where she often stood to comb my younger sister's hair. On the left of the door sat her Singer sewing machine out of which came much of our clothing. The floor tile inside that room was light green and it was so cool on hot summer days. She was my home for 8 years.

Do you know what I mean...?

On the playground

click pic to enlarge

Mind games

Growing into thyself...

Emmy Taylor

I'm thinking "space", "room to move", "self discovery", "to be thyself" - in peace, in love.

I am a continuum

A continuous extent, succession, or whole, no part of which can be distinguished from neighboring parts except by arbitrary division.

In my backyard...

Grape tomatoes

Vine

Lantana

White Ruelia

Jacaranda Tree

I spend many warm Saturday mornings tending to my beauties. Every year I manage to grow one tomato plant. We eat the small things as soon as they are picked. Today, they made it into the guacamole.