Yes Sir, Big Sir

lesazerac: Wedding ceremony photos up on Facebook. Finally! I’m not sure how to share a large...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:07:15 -0700

Wedding ceremony photos up on Facebook. Finally!

I’m not sure how to share a large number of photos on tumblr (do you know how?). For now, they’re all on Facebook. Photo booth photos are also up. Party photos to come. If you don’t have a FB account, let me know and we’ll find another way. Love to all.

photo by Kate Harrison

“My heart can be hard as a rock, but soft as water.” - Bob...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:09:52 -0700

“My heart can be hard as a rock, but soft as water.” - Bob Marley. A beautiful, complicated, serious man, who from a liminal space reached the whole world. He died too, too soon. See the new Bob Marley documentary. Truly riveting.

http://www.bobmarley.com/marley_the_movie.php/

This may sound crazy, but last week’s Community of Writers...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 23:01:00 -0700

This may sound crazy, but last week’s Community of Writers at Squaw Valley Writers Workshop was one of the best experiences of my life. Crazy because on the surface it’s just a conference and who ever has a life changing time at a conference? But the thing is I left feeling a sense of community that I had never before felt since I started writing fiction. I’d also been slumpy after not getting into grad school. Knowing that I had to workshop 2 stories, in the weeks leading up to it, I started writing seriously again, and I guess consequently taking myself seriously as a writer again. Squaw helped to propel me, then it caught me in its beak and kept flying. The result was magical. In the future, I promise I will try my damndest to keep at it, and keep on putting my work out there. Because good things happen when I do. (I’m using the word “good” in the broadest sense.) I am also getting better, never the same as a minute ago, which is important. I learned so much this week about myself as a writer and story teller, the things I care about and the things I need and want to work at. I filled an entire Moleskine with ideas about writing and life. I won’t tell you the substance now. First, process. And the substance will hopefully find its way into my fiction. I met some writers who I feel will be my friends/writing buddies forever—maybe this sounds crazy again, but I don’t care. It felt like falling in love with writing, again. And I needed that. I feel so motivated it’s not even funny.

So thank you, Squaw Valley. Thank you for taking me in, and doing me a solid. And altering my perception of what a conference can be.

These are a few photos of our house from the outside. I love the nighttime quiet and the noises of the frogs, and the shell of darkness enveloping my office/lair. From here, this place, I can write my stories. Oh, and in case you were wondering, we’re staying in Big Sur until next summer. At least.

(PS, I may keep revising this post. It is the writer in me, needing to make it better. It’s also helping me understand and appreciate the beautiful messy state I’m in.)

newyorker: Cartoon of the night. For more: http://nyr.kr/KOM1UW

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:23:04 -0700

newyorker:

Cartoon of the night. For more: http://nyr.kr/KOM1UW

Driving up the dirt road from the post office, I played this...

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 02:17:00 -0700

Driving up the dirt road from the post office, I played this song. Blasted it. I hadn’t heard it in a while, and I spontaneously burst into tears. Now, I don’t know if that will happen to you, but it might. It is a beautiful song. When I reached our house at the top of the hill, I turned off the engine, opened the door and serenaded my husband with it—he was working in his second floor office, and walked out onto the balcony, just like Juliet. I don’t really know what the lyrics to this song mean or anything (I am a music, not lyrics person), but somehow this song reminds me of why I love things—my husband, music, whatever.

Conchigle all’arrabbiata with lacinto kale & Anderson...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:14:13 -0700

Conchigle all’arrabbiata with lacinto kale & Anderson Valley summer solstice. (Taken with Instagram at Big Sur)

Plain yogurt, strawberries, apple, almonds, cinnamon &...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 15:30:11 -0700

Plain yogurt, strawberries, apple, almonds, cinnamon & cardamom (Taken with Instagram at Big Sur)

A confession: I have not been a real writer the past two months....

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:12:00 -0700

A confession: I have not been a real writer the past two months. A real writer writes, a lot. I have been doing a lot else: traveling by land and by air (f- you, sea travel), undergoing faulty organ removal (see Instagram), getting reacquainted with my 82 year old grandmother, attending two weddings, volunteering at two “libraries” (the Henry Miller Memorial Library is not a library), crashing a third wedding as a volunteer at the Henry Miller “Library,” playing host to friends and family, sort of celebrating our one year wedding anniversary by receiving a lovely bracelet of Peruvian opal to then floating happily on a Vicodin cloud (I scheduled my organ removal for the same day and I’m not kidding that there is a romantic reason for me doing so, I just can’t tell you), going on a week-long silent meditation retreat for the first time, taking a hike (or two), learning to garden (i.e. weed—hello spring!), getting my chef on, and falling further in love with this country life, but also spending so much time reading my iphone in bed that my arms hurt, and feeling bad that I’m doing everything I want except what I really want.

Maybe tomorrow will be a good day to be a writer. It better be. I miss feeling like one. I miss writing. (Oh, this blog post is being such a tease!)

And a caption: Cabbage in Agrodolce with a French green lentil quinoa pilaf. Cabbage recipe courtesy of my culinary obsession, Canal House Cooking (Taken with Instagram).

Frittata with kale, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, basil, feta....

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:03:53 -0700

Frittata with kale, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, basil, feta. Redwoods reflected in my coffee cup. Eggs laid on Saturday. (Taken with Instagram at Big Sur)

Making literate biscuits, not literally (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 03:05:50 -0700

Making literate biscuits, not literally (Taken with instagram)

White calf (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:39:54 -0700

White calf (Taken with instagram)

Stocking up at our neighbors’ pickle stand. They’ve...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:06:00 -0700

Stocking up at our neighbors’ pickle stand. They’ve noticed an upswing in sales since we moved to the hood. Today’s purchases: raw local sage honey, whole dry-farmed tomatoes, quince jelly, raspberry lemon summer jam. (Taken with instagram)

Oh, and if you’re curious what dry-farmed tomatoes are: Read this. They are special because the “lack of water [in the summertime once they’ve become established] stresses the plant, forcing its roots deep into the soil in search of water and focuses its efforts on producing fruit. The resulting tomatoes are usually smaller and lower in yield but pack tremendous flavor and texture.” Indeed.

Kind of like my comment below about deprivation leading to inspiration. If tomato plants have feelings, that is, and I’ll go on a limb and say they do.

Edan, I wish you were sitting next to me right now, like this.

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:33:06 -0700

Edan, I wish you were sitting next to me right now, like this.

Reward (Taken with instagram)

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:25:48 -0700

Reward (Taken with instagram)

Four: add them black beans (Taken with instagram)

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:21:00 -0700

Four: add them black beans (Taken with instagram)

The scene (Taken with instagram)

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:20:27 -0700

The scene (Taken with instagram)

And now, tres: Add carrots and celery (Taken with instagram)

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:16:00 -0700

And now, tres: Add carrots and celery (Taken with instagram)

Step 2: Add cumin, bay leaves, black and chili peppers (Taken...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:14:00 -0700

Step 2: Add cumin, bay leaves, black and chili peppers (Taken with instagram)

Step 1: Onions and garlic in olive oil (Taken with...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:11:00 -0700

Step 1: Onions and garlic in olive oil (Taken with instagram)

[Note: I (finally) dropped my 3-year-old iphone badly enough that the screen cracked and I needed a new one. The new 4S is so much spiffier. Hence, the following series of instagram shares. I spent all evening playing with my social media accounts, but I’ll try not to go overboard, for my sake and yours.]

I gave birth to a baby goat today. It was tough going, but once...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 23:44:00 -0700

I gave birth to a baby goat today. It was tough going, but once the first hoof emerged, the little goat just nose dived herself out of there. I licked her clean and after a long first feeding (I had to try my own colostrum, it was delicious), I felt I finally knew the true meaning of unconditional love.