On the Subject of Growing up ...

There are people in our lives who are family by choice. 

The girl who wrote the bio below,

is going to be 18 this spring.  I came across it tonight.
I have known her since she was a little girl. 
I am honored she calls me Aunty. 

And I am so proud of the young woman she has become. 

So proud that I asked to post her words. 

She's learned what it's taken a lifetime for some  to learn,
and well, some who still have yet to ...

We never know exactly

what we will find on our path,
we may know the direction,

and to learn to let that be enough is huge. 
Taking that first step is only the beginning of the beginning ...

... the rewards will be plentiful for that kind of bravery.

Hey there I'm .... :)
and im not your usual cup of tea :) 

I have been making alot of changes latley 

some people would call me fake but in reality im just growing up (: 

I have learned that hanging on to someone
who isn't adding value to your life, isn't loyalty,
that's stupidity, 

that telling someone the truth can feel like ripping off an old Band Aid. 

It stings at first, but in the end thefreash air helps heal the wound faster,

"By definition, love made you better than good enough; 

it redefined perfection to include your traits, instead of excluding them." 

I have worked hard to make changes in my life 

and i know that in the end it will all be worth it in the end. 

I'm no longer living in the past and making decisions because of what could of been,

because what could of been may never be what i would of wanted in my future.





[ did not edit her words, I wanted this as is ]

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Emeril's Original Essence

I love the color of paprika.

Here's the deal ...

I'd like to share the family rub, I really would.
But ...

It's my father's secret recipe.

It's gold.
So is my father.
It ain't happenin. 

Instead ...

I offer you a classic.

You can't go wrong with  a spice rub by the big E.

Play around with it, you might like what you mix.

And bare with me if I throw in a few extra pictures on here.
It's a special post to me.
I photographed my father making this. 

Emeril's Original Essence

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons paprika

3 tablespoons cayenne

5 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons onion powder

6 tablespoons salt

2 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together.

Store in an airtight container for up to three months.

Home always makes me feel a little nostalgic.
I wish I lived closer. 

Bittersweet Farm

Home is not where you live,

but where they understand you.

Christian Morganstern

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

One the Subject of Living ...

You will find
as you look back upon your life 

that the moments when you have truly lived 

are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.

Henry Drummond 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

FRIENDS and FAMILY

that's what I'm thankful for.

Sometimes our light goes out 

but is blown into flame by another human being. 

Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.
Albert Schweitzer

you all have continually rekindled
mine throughout the years.
for that I thank each and every one of you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Seth's Brisket

I'm on a brisket binge.
This recipe will not disappoint.
I've had it for a year and I'm kicking myself
for waiting this long to make it.

Ingredients:


1 medium to large first cut brisket

6 or so cloves of garlic minced

4 medium onions sliced

4 cans of Rokeach tomato sauce

4 to 5 white potatoes quartered (can be any type of small potato, red bliss, fingerlings etc)

Preparation:

[I went with noodles instead of potatoes]

1) coat the brisket with the garlic and put in fridge overnight

2) preheat oven to 350

in a roasting pan place one can of the sauce; 

one can of water on the bottom of the pan with the onions then the brisket

3) take remaining cans of sauce and add to roasting pan (also diluted 1 to 1)

...sauce should cover the brisket, if not just add a bit of water...

4) place in oven for about 2 hours or more until brisket is tender

5) after about 1 hour of cooking add the potatoes

Seth's notes:

If the sauce at the end is not as thick as you like it just reduce it....personally I always do that and its super.

When done slice and serve and enjoy.......I like it over a good bread that can soak up the gravy....kinda like a hot open sandwich....

Also the brisket should be better the next day...not that its bad the first day just that the flavors become enhanced when it sits in the gravy.

um ...Seth,
it was heavenly.
Thank you!

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Shawn's Brisket ...

Can't say as I've cooked brisket. ever.
But I know who to call
when I need some culinary advice,
one of those people is Shawn.

Here is his recipe,
as cooked by me.



Shawn's Brisket

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper

Light brown sugar

Your favorite rub.

Brisket

Preparation:

Salt and pepper the brisket

Mix the brown sugar with your favorite rub.

The amount I used was dependent upon the size

of my brisket. It was a small one.

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup rub

Mix together

While the oven preheats to 375,

apply the mixture to your meat

covering it well.

Lay the meat on a rack

so the heat can circulate evenly around it.

(with a foil lined tray below it of course)

I like my meat rare.

That would be an internal temp of 120.

And I'm a fan of those digital thermometers

that you can put into the meat and the gadget

sits outside the oven.

If you like your meat well done, let it sear up,

then turn the temp down and cook it low and slow.

Was delicious Shawn!

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

Remembering New York 2007

Simona it was a trip I will never forget.

You may be small in stature but you are a powerhouse

when it comes to life, music, and strength.

I couldn't have asked for a better NYC host, 

I saw more of New York in four days,
that most people who live there.

Three incredible women.

Three very strong women. 

Twilah. 

You are missed.

I'm so glad I got the chance to meet you in person.

R.I.P.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

One the Subject of Clarity

Maybe where there's clarity of air, there's clarity of thought.

Chet Huntley

There's no maybe about it.

Clarity of air... I like that. 

Takes a deep breath ...

I have that.

I am so grateful for the simplicity of my life.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

Thank you ...

Someone who knows what's good for me
sent me a little surprise in the mail,  something in the way of music.
Music is an integral part of my life, always  has been.



I love me some blues...I mean real down and dirty blues,
the kind that, well ...

Johnny Lee Hooker Jr. 

singing the blues 

is makin me real happy right about now.

thank you in more ways than one for the tunes ...

: )

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

One the Subject of Love ...

Loving oneself is crucial.

If we do not love ourselves,

how can we love others?

It seems that when some people

talk of compassion, they have the notion

that it entails a total disregard for one's own interest's ...

a sacrificing of one's interests. This is not the case.

In fact genuine love should first be directed at one's self.

The Dali Lama

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

One the Subject of Pudding...

Mamma always said 

"An ounce of action beats a ton of words ..."

Martin Sexton

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

NYE in NYC Bucket list...

The Sands

Emerils

Manhattan

The Rainbow Room

Rockafeller Center Iceskating with all the lights and the big Christmas Tree

Photographing the city all day, all the Christmas Decorations, all the people

Dinner in some ridiculously fabulous restaurant...undecided at present.

NYE concert Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings Time Square

Midnight in Times Square watching the ball drop live

Post Midnight craziness

Boston

Salem

New England Coast

Barnacles

North Hampton

Philadelphia , dancing all night long.

NYC again in a hotel voted the SEXIEST in NEW YORK ...  and it is.

Ice skating in Bryant Park where Serendipity was filmed.

Central Park

Hell's Kitchen

Chinatown

Little Italy
Grand Central Station

Riding the Subway

Restaurants to die for.....we'll see as we go, suggestions welcome.
Babbo [Mario Batali's restaurant]
The Met

The Roman & Greek sculpture hall at the met, after dark for the cool lighting

MOMA, Modern Mueseum of Art
Brooklyn Bridge at night

Brooklyn food tour with  Sue, Robert and Seth

Katz's Deli for a pastrami on rye for sure!

The Bethlehem, PA tour with a real live local [ha!]

 McGrady's

A quick trip up to the pocono mountains on one of the down days........

A prairie girl like me needs to get elevated and the Empire State Building is so over rated.

I think it's a damn fine Bucket List.

: )

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

The North Shore...

always a welcome slice of heaven.

Thank you my brother!

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

On the Subject of Living...

                                            

Spain 2007

This is what you shall do:

Love the earth and sun and the animals,
despise riches,
give alms to every one that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others,
hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people,
take off your hat to nothing known or unknown
or to any man or number of men,
go freely with powerful uneducated persons
and with the young and with the mothers of families,
read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life,
re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book,
dismiss whatever insults your own soul,
and your very flesh shall be a great poem
and have the richest fluency not only in it's words
but in the silent lines of its lips and face
and between the lashes of your eyes
and in every motion and joint of your body.

from Preface to Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman

On the Subject of Hindsight ...

Hindsight, or our ability to see our past clearly, 

is a learning function that, when damaged ... 

renders us unable to look at the past to guide ourselves 

through the present and into the future.

Without this ability, we cannot learn from our mistakes.

We cannot clean up the wreckage of our actions.

 

We are locked into a cycle

of repeating the same thing 

over and over again,

expecting different results.

This is commonly known as the definition of insanity.

 ~Barbara S. Cole

What is it that you are doing differently  ...

What am I doing differently ...

I think that's something

we should ask ourselves from time to time.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

November 11th

sometimes there are not enough words to 

say...

 

Thank You.

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

On the Subject of Strength...

amazing what Lake Superior does for the soul.

 

The water reaches towards us.

It's grasp scatters along the rocks.

It is drawn back from the break.

Renewed, it surfaces to stretch forth again.

Undaunted by the shoreline.

It's strength in it's ability to endure,

To never be destroyed. 

For as small as we are in comparison to many things,
we are undoubtedly strong.
It is a matter of will,
our power to endure
surpasses the power to be defeated.

`J. Anderson

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

On the Subject of Soul ...

I saw this young man when I was in Boston.
I am shooting while walking, trying
to photograph him without disturbing his space.
This is one of my favorite images.
.
I look at his face and I wonder what his story is...
if eyes truly are the window to the soul I have
never seen soul more wounded nor more beautiful.

It does not interest me what you do for a living. 

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It does not interest me how old you are. 

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, 

for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It does not interest me what planets are squaring your moon. 

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, 

if you have been opened by life's betrayals 

or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!

I want to know if you can sit with pain, 

mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, 

if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy 

fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, 

realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It does not interest me if the story you are telling me is true, 

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, 

if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, 

and if you can source your life from God's presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, 

and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the moon, "YES"!

It does not interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. 

I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,

weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here, 

I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire 

with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. 

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself 

and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer -Native American Elder 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

I Would Like to Thank Delta...

for bumping me twice this last trip.

They profusely apologized with 2 flight vouchers,

hotel, meal and cab vouchers.
I want to give props to the
reservation people who helped in the process
of finding replacement flights.
Their patience was unwavering.

How does

New Years Eve 

in 

New York City Times Square

sound?

I'd also like to thank my NYC music buddy 

 who got the tickets 

to the concert on NYE in Times Square.

that's right, where the big ball drops at midnight.

You want good music... 

check out 

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

 

All the Christmas decorations,

ice skating in Central Park and Rockafeller Center,

great restaurants, while I'm in the neighborhood,
Boston, Philly, Poconos mountains,
Jersey Shore, hook up with Snookie...
(lol I stole it strait out)
um the list goes on...

Lately all it's been for me ...
hit the ground running.
Seems to be the thing to do right now.
My dad would, if he could.
All he wants to be able to do is go back to work.

So yeh. 

trip of a life time is what it sounds like to me.
especially when it's free.


I think I'll wait to decide where to go with
the second flight voucher...

THANK YOU DELTA!
in more ways than one. 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways. 

On the Subject of Living...

“To live is to choose. 

But to choose well, 

you must know who you are and what you stand for, 

where you want to go and why you want to get there.”

Kofi Annan 

I do.

On all counts. 

One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.