Summer Solstice--SB Style

We saw a fabulous summer solstice parade last weekend. Hula hoopers, feather dancers, aliens, and other extraordinary townfolk gathered downtown for the gathering. It was hot, hot day--but always comfortable in the shade--is that just how desert climates are?

It was fun to see a cultural event like Solstice celebrated in style. It reminded me of Maui and the carefree and fabulous weirdos that are drawn there. It made me feel more a part of life in Santa Barbara as well. I didn't have any idea how unsettling moving is--even if it is an ideal place.

Yes, I can't complain here. I miss my P-town folks, but am realizing how much happier the climate here makes me. Constant rain made me feel stuck and sad. Sun makes me happy. Hooray for the Solstice. Yay, it's summer!

Another lovely float...

Colorful dancers set the mood.

Here comes the sun!

Worth a Read

People by Peter Spier

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Have you guys updated your goodreads lately? Books have such an important role in my life. I have no problem "reviewing" anything I read so I am trying to break my writer's block and try some different themes to these postings.

I loved this book as a kid and read/studied it until the pages fell out. It has great, detailed illustrations celebrating the diversity of the people on this planet.

There is a page where white villagers are pointing and making fun of people dressed like native aborigines...and then a picture of the "natives" pointing at the odd white people. That cultural relevancy was so curious to me as a kid--not all people think the same things are beautiful. Normal is different for everyone.

I use to cry when I thought about the line, "And in the end, all people die." Death is a hard concept for adults, let alone kids. (Plus, I've always been a big crier).

I also enjoyed the page that had all the different shapes noses come in. I still appreciate interesting noses!

It's a very poignant, interesting read for all ages.


View all my reviews.

Garden Queen--The After Picture

Guess what?

I won a prize for being a top gardener this month:

Awesome gardener - weeds tremble as you walk by! Your garden over by the sign has many admirers. No you don't need a fence or bird netting and it looks phenomenal.

Enjoy your dorm food meal tickets - things have changed since you last ate dorm food - Its pretty good!

Andrew and I now have a hot date planned at the DLG (yes, as sung about by Jack Johnson in Bubble Toes).

Other updates:

Ground squirrels did a number on my basil so now I'm keeping it in a pot.

My potted lemon tree has all sorts of new growth and flowers.

I retired my calendula. Our love affair is over. I now have a new patch of wild flowers going--cosmos, zinnias, hollyhocks, and more.

I have pumpkin patch growing (the sweet, smaller cooking ones). Also butternut squash, lemon cucumbers, acorn squash, and bowl gourds for carving.

My pepper plants are happy and tomatoes are starting to ripen already.

I've had an asparagus thief--two plants dug up and today someone helped themselves to about 7 spears (at least they left the plant though--they take 3-5 years to establish!)

My New Project

My garden plot is fully thriving. Colorful flowers for my table and my friends, steam-fries of bok-choy, kale, and broccoli accompany my dinners, and a constant new supply of mixed baby greens make up my salads. You can taste the energy in this fresh, organic food. I'm thrilled. The thing is...there isn't much to do. I water a few times a week, pick flowers to arrange, and edibles for my meals. I have been watching a new crop of spring gardeners emerge, adopting plots and plowing and I look back a bit longingly to the sweaty, satisfying work of making something out of nothing.

So I have a new baby: A rose garden! I've had my eye on this neglected plot for a while. The previous gardener planted the roses just after Sept. 11 and has given up her plot, since she's moving away soon. The picture above is after I started clearing the tangled mess of overgrown rose bushes. I have about 12 roses all together, now freshly pruned. I've moved a wooden table and chair to make a sitting area. I'm going to add cosmos and dahlias, and make it a proper cutting garden. I'll post an "after" picture soon. I feel very fortunate that I have access to land and gardening space.

Pizza Amazing!

When I met Andrew I hardly ever ate pizza. I had overdone it with mozzarella while studying in Italy (my host family considered it a vegetarian food group). Therefore I was taking a break from cheese. But since back then my guy measured the value of his food with a ratio of calories to cost, pizza was high up there on the list (calories being considered a Very Good Thing to somebody with his metabolism). Since it was his favorite food (and relatively cheap) we ate a lot of pizza--and sigh, I grew a bit more plump.

Once we become old people who tend to eat at home, we became thrilled with the frozen pizza selection (made in Italy, mind you) at our local TJ's. Though they are only about $4 each, after a few years the flavors are now tired and too familiar. So now my new favorite trick is to buy the bagged "almost whole wheat" pizza dough and make my own pizza creations.

Every pizza we have is different and pretty much just depends on what's in the fridge. Most are pretty good but a few have been incredible:

THAI CHIK'N PIZZA
(Note: this picture does not do it justice.)

It is based on a recipe with the same name I read about in Vegetarian Times Magazine. I generally have trouble sticking to any recipe and tend to stray and substitute a lot.

I have Andrew stretch the crust onto a baking sheet and then we pre-bake it a bit.

I made the pizza sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, chili paste, curry powder, some sugar, sesame oil, and a bit of fresh garlic and ginger. So spicy and good!

Then the toppings were: crimini mushrooms, Maui onion, red bell pepper, a yellow summer squash, and chopped Veggie Chik'n Strips from Trader Joe's.

I then sprinkled it with mozzarella and baked it. Once out of the oven, I put a slice of avocado on each piece and topped it with a faint drizzle of sweet chili sauce.

Onolicious! I will certainly be repeating this Asian Fusion creation (in some variation). Who would have thought peanut butter and pizza were a good combo? My favorite Italian word works here: Incredibile! In-cred-DEE-bee--lay!

My Latest Love

I'm awfully fond of flowers. I've considered having them in my house an affordable luxury (thanks to Trader Joe's) during the past few years. They give you a spiritual lift and I find myself gazing at them enough times throughout the day that the price has seemed worth it. But my latest joy has been growing my own.

My newest favorite flower is the calendula. I sowed the seeds directly in the early fall. I didn't water them while I was away for a month and they are still the stars of my garden. They are related to daisies and are a medicinal plant. Calendula are the key ingredient to many salves and tinctures. I plan to make my own skin cream from the petals I've been drying.

They are also edible. You can cook them with rice (they've been referred to as the poor man's saffron).

I think they're becoming pretty popular. I've noticed them in advertisements in two separate magazines I read. Plus, if you type them into google trends (what Andrew and I do for fun on Thursday nights) you'll see a ton of people have been searching for them in 2007--while very few googled them in '06. The number one city where people look them up? Portland, Oregon.

I'm so predictable. Still, I'd recommend these awesome blossoms to any beginning gardener--they are SO easy to grow!

My tulips are poking up and I've cut a few daffodils and purple sweet peas too. I'm currently seeding more plants for my cutting garden. Be on the lookout for future posts about zinnias and dahlias.

Update: I just discovered calendula has been named Herb of the Year for 2008 by the International Herb Association.

Ten Things You Now Know

I just discovered I was "tagged" (over a month ago) by my friend Bekah. Which in blog speak means you have to write 10 random things, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, you choose 10 people to be tagged. Though I don't think I know ten people who blog, consider yourself tagged if you read this (and you have a blog).

1. I've been thinking about trying to make yogurt for the first time. I'm not big on dairy (besides good cheese) but yogurt has an important place in my mornings. I was vegan for a month (Jan. 2006) as an experiment and I found the only thing I really missed was yogurt.

2. I love the Neti pot I bought while home for Christmas on Maui. I just developed allergies in the last few years and they were wretched while I was home. At first it burned (like the feeling of jumping in a pool and having water shoot up your nose) but I realized it was because I used sea salt and not non-iodized table salt in my mix. Plus it has to be the perfect warmth so you don't feel it. I'd recommend it to anyone who has any congestion issues. It makes you feel all cleaned out and refreshed--like you just got out of the ocean. I used to associate the practice with yogi extremes I knew as a child (weirdos) but it is all hip and mainstream now--it was even
recommended on Oprah!

3. I adore making lists. I write them all over the place. Places to visit. Things to read. People I want to write letters to. Movies to watch. All kinds of wish lists. I carry tiny notebooks on me everywhere so I am always prepared to add to my lists.

4. I like lifting weights. I met my boyfriend while lifting weights. I haven't been doing it consistently like I used to but every time I do I wonder, "Why don't I do this more? I love it!" It's very empowering.

5. I suffer from TERRIBLE vertigo. My neighbors built a three story treehouse--I never made it past the second floor. My knees start to wobble when I'm 5 stories up (say Pioneer Place mall in downtown PDX) and I look down. I literally had to crawl up the last section (the open air part) of a 300 ft bell tower my class was visiting in Siena, Italy. I'm not afraid of flying at all though. Where does this come from?

6. I hope to raise bees and have a chicken coop some day. I have very fond memories of gathering eggs with my elementary best bud Kasumi.

7. I like the experience of going to church (even though I don't belong to one). While I believe everyone has their own spiritual path and don't appreciate the exclusivity of some religions, I like the communal energy and I enjoy praying (and sometimes the singing too even if it is truly not a talent of mine).

8. I love a good library. So peaceful yet full of voices and possibility. Like a free bookstore. Lake Oswego's library was the best! Santa Barbara's is decent. Maui's are pretty rotten. My first "real" job was shoveling and shelving books at the Makawao public library--for $5.75 an hour. So not fun.

9. I think it would be cool to have my DNA tested and find out what my ethnic heritage is. As a yellow-haired girl, I'm obviously mainly a Euro-blend, but I could have some other continents mixed in somewhere.

10. I'm into flossing. I sometimes floss twice a day. When I met Andrew he wasn't religious about flossing--now he's hooked too (but I think he uses WAY too long of pieces, we go through it so fast).Reading this I realize I am a bit nerdy: I like libraries, churches, flossing, yogurt, and chicken coops?