How to play the children's word game, "I'm Going West" [as I learned and remember it]:
Round One:
Player A says, "I'm going west, and I'm taking a [some object, for example, a wooden spoon.]"
Player B: "I'm going west and I'm taking a [some different object, for example, a vacuum cleaner.]"
Follow with however many players.
Round Two:
Player A says, "I'm going to take my wooden spoon and I'm going to make some cake with it."
Player B: "I'm going to take my vacuum and vacuum my living room."
Round Three [this is where it gets interesting]:
Player A says, "I'm going to take my wooden spoon and vacuum the living room, [plus whatever other activities of other players.] "
Player B: "I'm going to take my vacuum and bake a cake."
This sounds prosaic but can lead to ridiculous and hilarious results. Also, one has to be careful when using any live creatures, particularly humans. We've passed a lot of hours at different times with this, especially on car trips.
Monday, June 29, 2009
A Summer Day Out
Today my daughter needed to drop off a work application at ten off of 84th St, so we got Nick to come along and drove on out to Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. I don't know how many acres there are but there must be miles of trails. I used to drive out there regularly for walking years ago before I started my evening work schedule. A lot of improvements have been made.
First we walked around the circumference of Waughop Lake, a shady path on a warm, breezy, perfect sunny day, only about a mile. It was replete with ducks and ducklings, "lings", as well as awkward adolescent lings. Lots of birds but no cormorants. Bunny rabbits you usually see at dusk and when there are no people with conversations or walking dogs; we didn't see any rabbits.
We hadn't had much for breakfast, if anything, so we went back to a restaurant near the park entrance, Hunan Gardens, which had lots of vegetarian entrees. There were veggie pot stickers and spinach & tofu soup. I found out what "princess tofu" is and the kids, not being vegetarian, had other things. Pearl had the chicken, Nick had butterfly shrimp. Pearl drew a butterfly-shrimp on a napkin, making it look like a pleasant and delicate creature.
Back we went to Fort Steilacoom, refreshed, and walked one of the many trails up the hill this time, picking ripening pie and bing cherries on the way. The apples and blackberries are still in blossom. At the top of the hill is a near-360 degree view of Puget Sound, Western State Hospital with its dramatic red brick fortress-like buildings, and Mount Rainier. We sat at the top on a wooden bench under a pine tree that's just begging for a swing, and played a word game I learned as a child, called "I'm Going West."
Pearl and I festooned our hair and hat with blossoms on the way down. Then we drove down to the town of Steilacoom and the ferry dock, sat on the rocks while Pearl threw rocks into the water, and an Amtrak and a freight train went by. We drove home a new way past a park I wished I'd seen before [but we were headed home now] and came home savoring the sun, sky, breezes, and salt air, as well as the pleasant hike.
First we walked around the circumference of Waughop Lake, a shady path on a warm, breezy, perfect sunny day, only about a mile. It was replete with ducks and ducklings, "lings", as well as awkward adolescent lings. Lots of birds but no cormorants. Bunny rabbits you usually see at dusk and when there are no people with conversations or walking dogs; we didn't see any rabbits.
We hadn't had much for breakfast, if anything, so we went back to a restaurant near the park entrance, Hunan Gardens, which had lots of vegetarian entrees. There were veggie pot stickers and spinach & tofu soup. I found out what "princess tofu" is and the kids, not being vegetarian, had other things. Pearl had the chicken, Nick had butterfly shrimp. Pearl drew a butterfly-shrimp on a napkin, making it look like a pleasant and delicate creature.
Back we went to Fort Steilacoom, refreshed, and walked one of the many trails up the hill this time, picking ripening pie and bing cherries on the way. The apples and blackberries are still in blossom. At the top of the hill is a near-360 degree view of Puget Sound, Western State Hospital with its dramatic red brick fortress-like buildings, and Mount Rainier. We sat at the top on a wooden bench under a pine tree that's just begging for a swing, and played a word game I learned as a child, called "I'm Going West."
Pearl and I festooned our hair and hat with blossoms on the way down. Then we drove down to the town of Steilacoom and the ferry dock, sat on the rocks while Pearl threw rocks into the water, and an Amtrak and a freight train went by. We drove home a new way past a park I wished I'd seen before [but we were headed home now] and came home savoring the sun, sky, breezes, and salt air, as well as the pleasant hike.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Creamy Orange-Colored Soup
I discovered at Marlene's Deli [on 38th Street in Tacoma] where turmeric comes from. I've known about turmeric a few years, but only as a passing acquaintance: a bright yellow powder. I was showing Pearl and Nick where Marlene's is, and the small corner with hideously expensive organic produce, when I came across a root labeled "turmeric."
I could have mistaken it for a small sawn-off finger, with a paper-thin brown, rather humble skin, but orange inside like a carrot. A root. About $10 a pound, but it would probably take about forty or fifty to make a pound. I've been grating it into my dishes, along with the garlic, which I also grate, and the ginger. It's great, and I'm very grateful I found it.
Today's soup is orange-colored, and very simple:
Take a butternut squash and halve it crossways, then lengthwise, as the seeds are in pockets at both ends. Bake it on oiled foil for 45 minutes to an hour on 400 degrees.
Meanwhile, cook one cup red lentils ["dahl"] with two cups water, very gently, for about 20 minutes.
Mix the squash pulp with the lentils, mash with a potato masher, stir in soy milk to desired creamy consistency, and add garlic, ginger, and turmeric, plus the Usual Seasonings: cumin, coriander, dill, oregano and basil. Cook gently a little longer to let the flavors meld. I'm also having stir-fried carrots, broccoli, onion and celery along with it. Also the squash skin, as a side. [For breakfast I had my oatmeal, a little easier on the nuts, due to the oil, so that was my grains for now.]
I used to think all the time about what I was going to eat that someone else was going to cook. Now I think briefly about what there is in the cupboard and fridge, and cook for myself. I have to remember that before, I was spending time and gas money going to these places that were going to treat me, not to mention the extra expense of dining out.
Is there a better way to spend your time?
Best of all: yellow fingers!
I could have mistaken it for a small sawn-off finger, with a paper-thin brown, rather humble skin, but orange inside like a carrot. A root. About $10 a pound, but it would probably take about forty or fifty to make a pound. I've been grating it into my dishes, along with the garlic, which I also grate, and the ginger. It's great, and I'm very grateful I found it.
Today's soup is orange-colored, and very simple:
Take a butternut squash and halve it crossways, then lengthwise, as the seeds are in pockets at both ends. Bake it on oiled foil for 45 minutes to an hour on 400 degrees.
Meanwhile, cook one cup red lentils ["dahl"] with two cups water, very gently, for about 20 minutes.
Mix the squash pulp with the lentils, mash with a potato masher, stir in soy milk to desired creamy consistency, and add garlic, ginger, and turmeric, plus the Usual Seasonings: cumin, coriander, dill, oregano and basil. Cook gently a little longer to let the flavors meld. I'm also having stir-fried carrots, broccoli, onion and celery along with it. Also the squash skin, as a side. [For breakfast I had my oatmeal, a little easier on the nuts, due to the oil, so that was my grains for now.]
I used to think all the time about what I was going to eat that someone else was going to cook. Now I think briefly about what there is in the cupboard and fridge, and cook for myself. I have to remember that before, I was spending time and gas money going to these places that were going to treat me, not to mention the extra expense of dining out.
Is there a better way to spend your time?
Best of all: yellow fingers!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Vegetable Oneness Creamy Soup
Today time was limited: a routine visit to the dentist, while I tried to update my hygienist on all the new wonderful things in my life, talking around the cleaning process. It always makes me prioritize what I say. I also had a meeting at work at 2 PM so I needed to leave for work 30 minutes early. Generally, before I changed my diet, I would have gone out to eat somewhere in the neighborhood after my appointment. This time, I went home to cook.
What a novelty.
I decided to finally try out my new food processor [never had one before, other than my set of knives] and made a cream of vegetable soup. First I pureed about 2 cups of leftover cooked brown rice; meanwhile I quickly boiled some beet greens and pureed them, and halved a small acorn squash which I steamed ten minutes in the microwave.
I pureed and added a carton [about a cup?] of Mori Nu soft tofu for creaminess and protein and calcium; then pureed the acorn squash. I added some plain Silk soymilk to this mixture to adjust the thickness of the soup while it cooked and the flavors blended together. Red lentils could have been cooked, pureed, and added to this, also. I gave my husband the squash skin to eat as an appetizer. He loves them.
I added my usual seasonings: ground cumin, coriander, dill, basil, oregano; and added onion and garlic powder as I hadn't taken time to chop onion or grate fresh garlic. I found that, maybe because the starch of the rice absorbs more flavor, I should have increased the usual amounts of seasonings versus what would be used in a thin soup. At the last I stirred in a bag of fresh spinach leaves. My daughter proclaimed it rich and good; my husband asked for toasted bread, and reluctantly allowed that the seasoning could have been more intense, as mentioned above. Salting to taste brought it more to life, also.
While the soup was preparing, I tried out something new. Instead of throwing out the acorn squash seeds, I cleaned them by rinsing in a colander, patted dry and toasted under the broiler for about ten minutes, then lightly salted them. These made a delicious snack. They can either be eaten whole, or opened and eaten like sunflower seeds. The shells and insides are both rather delicate.
Yum, and off I went to work.
What a novelty.
I decided to finally try out my new food processor [never had one before, other than my set of knives] and made a cream of vegetable soup. First I pureed about 2 cups of leftover cooked brown rice; meanwhile I quickly boiled some beet greens and pureed them, and halved a small acorn squash which I steamed ten minutes in the microwave.
I pureed and added a carton [about a cup?] of Mori Nu soft tofu for creaminess and protein and calcium; then pureed the acorn squash. I added some plain Silk soymilk to this mixture to adjust the thickness of the soup while it cooked and the flavors blended together. Red lentils could have been cooked, pureed, and added to this, also. I gave my husband the squash skin to eat as an appetizer. He loves them.
I added my usual seasonings: ground cumin, coriander, dill, basil, oregano; and added onion and garlic powder as I hadn't taken time to chop onion or grate fresh garlic. I found that, maybe because the starch of the rice absorbs more flavor, I should have increased the usual amounts of seasonings versus what would be used in a thin soup. At the last I stirred in a bag of fresh spinach leaves. My daughter proclaimed it rich and good; my husband asked for toasted bread, and reluctantly allowed that the seasoning could have been more intense, as mentioned above. Salting to taste brought it more to life, also.
While the soup was preparing, I tried out something new. Instead of throwing out the acorn squash seeds, I cleaned them by rinsing in a colander, patted dry and toasted under the broiler for about ten minutes, then lightly salted them. These made a delicious snack. They can either be eaten whole, or opened and eaten like sunflower seeds. The shells and insides are both rather delicate.
Yum, and off I went to work.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Back on Track
So many things to delight my heart tonight in so many blogs. A photo of Pearl and her new boyfriend Nick with the rest of us on FlitzyPhoebe; chanting in the streets of Tehran in support of Sufis and Baha'is; interview with a young lady imprisoned in Iran for a little while [a long while to her!]; the blog I newly discovered the other day, happyveganface; and more poems at last from my friend Charles King on his blog, blackoaktree.
He wrote a poem about trains, and his love for trains from a very young age.
Our house in the tiny town of Albion was about a mile from the railroad tracks. From my house I could hear the chord of the horns of the trains going by the town. We practiced balancing on the rails. We walked along the rails, even sometimes crossing over a river or ravine on the trestles, a gamble with your life at stake. We learned to listen to the rails for the hum of an approaching train.
One time when I was about three our family was walking along the tracks and we were in a deep cut when a freight train came along. There was room by the side of the tracks to stay out of harm's way, but only just. My mother's fear, I learned later, was that I might cross the tracks to be with her at the last minute.
Even at three I knew better than that.
One of my older sisters held onto me while the train passed, impossibly loud. I cried but some part of me was in love, through the terror. The subliminally deep thrumming of the wheels on the tracks, under the roaring of the engine and the wailing of the whistle.
Now in the summer nights with the windows cracked open to let the air chill the humidity of my room, I snuggle down at night and listen to the songs of the passing trains.
He wrote a poem about trains, and his love for trains from a very young age.
Our house in the tiny town of Albion was about a mile from the railroad tracks. From my house I could hear the chord of the horns of the trains going by the town. We practiced balancing on the rails. We walked along the rails, even sometimes crossing over a river or ravine on the trestles, a gamble with your life at stake. We learned to listen to the rails for the hum of an approaching train.
One time when I was about three our family was walking along the tracks and we were in a deep cut when a freight train came along. There was room by the side of the tracks to stay out of harm's way, but only just. My mother's fear, I learned later, was that I might cross the tracks to be with her at the last minute.
Even at three I knew better than that.
One of my older sisters held onto me while the train passed, impossibly loud. I cried but some part of me was in love, through the terror. The subliminally deep thrumming of the wheels on the tracks, under the roaring of the engine and the wailing of the whistle.
Now in the summer nights with the windows cracked open to let the air chill the humidity of my room, I snuggle down at night and listen to the songs of the passing trains.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A Plant-Eaters's Day Out
It was a good day off: I went to a neighborhood secondhand bookstore and bought some books on vegan or near-vegan cooking; bought some pizza for lunch; went to Tandy leather and bought artificial sinew, glover's [leather] needles and leather scissors which were all fortuitously marked down; bought groceries and came home.
The pizza was from Farelli's wood oven pizza and I asked from the get-go if they could leave off the cheese. So I had the base, herbed olive oil, fresh mushrooms, spinach, whole garlic and basil. It was fine without the cheese, although I added a little salt. Took the garlic cloves and mooshed them up, then spread on the pizza again. I just always wanted to try that and see how a pizza is without cheese. It was great. If only the crust was whole wheat instead of white.
When I came home I asked Pearl and Nick if they wanted to go out to Point Defiance Zoo. The lawn mowers had inadvertently found an undiscovered faucet and had to turn off the water until they could fix it. I unloaded groceries and then made quick sandwiches with mini-baguettes, a cream cheese analogue with chives, sliced VegiRella which is actually the best cheese analogue I've tasted yet, spinach leaves and a bit of basil.
I also had brought home a canary melon to try. Very sweet, juicy and mild flavor all its own, though close to honeydew. Sew I cut that up for the lunch as well. I also brought my usual beverage: cut up a lemon, add a slice of ginger root and put into a water bottle [one with a wide neck, obviously] and add water. In this case, the water was off and I put in ice.
I drove Pearl and Nick out Pioneer to I-5 then up Highway 705 to Ruston Way and out along the waterfront. By this time the sun was fully out, so it was a beautiful view. [I'm hoping to show Nick, from Seattle, some of the best of Tacoma.] On through Ruston and up past Pearl Street [named after my daughter, of course] and to the zoo. We saw a glimpse of the polar bear, sea otters and seals, and the walruses [walri?] sleeping in the sun. The belugas are gone: one has died and they shipped out the other one some place he can have some company.
Through the acquarium--to me, an aquarium, with its darkness, dank smells, echoing concrete and damp creatures is nothing more than the ultimate leaky basement. The shark exhibit is always good, though. The elephants were in the barn, we did see a young tiger pacing, and then came across the unexpected best time yet: eight or nine river otters the size of young cats, sleek and playing rough and tumble in the river and pond, herded around by two lumbering porcupines. Delightful.
At this point I was hungry. I opened up the sandwiches and melon and we ate with enthusiasm. Nobody said, "Ooh, what's this stuff?" They were delicious. On the way home we stopped for milkshakes and tomato juice at the Antique Sandwich and back down Ruston Way and home to a new faucet out doors and a note: "Dear Sobhani, we will be back tomorrow to finish the rest of the high grass . . . " They left a long-handled pipe cutter there on the ground.
The pizza was from Farelli's wood oven pizza and I asked from the get-go if they could leave off the cheese. So I had the base, herbed olive oil, fresh mushrooms, spinach, whole garlic and basil. It was fine without the cheese, although I added a little salt. Took the garlic cloves and mooshed them up, then spread on the pizza again. I just always wanted to try that and see how a pizza is without cheese. It was great. If only the crust was whole wheat instead of white.
When I came home I asked Pearl and Nick if they wanted to go out to Point Defiance Zoo. The lawn mowers had inadvertently found an undiscovered faucet and had to turn off the water until they could fix it. I unloaded groceries and then made quick sandwiches with mini-baguettes, a cream cheese analogue with chives, sliced VegiRella which is actually the best cheese analogue I've tasted yet, spinach leaves and a bit of basil.
I also had brought home a canary melon to try. Very sweet, juicy and mild flavor all its own, though close to honeydew. Sew I cut that up for the lunch as well. I also brought my usual beverage: cut up a lemon, add a slice of ginger root and put into a water bottle [one with a wide neck, obviously] and add water. In this case, the water was off and I put in ice.
I drove Pearl and Nick out Pioneer to I-5 then up Highway 705 to Ruston Way and out along the waterfront. By this time the sun was fully out, so it was a beautiful view. [I'm hoping to show Nick, from Seattle, some of the best of Tacoma.] On through Ruston and up past Pearl Street [named after my daughter, of course] and to the zoo. We saw a glimpse of the polar bear, sea otters and seals, and the walruses [walri?] sleeping in the sun. The belugas are gone: one has died and they shipped out the other one some place he can have some company.
Through the acquarium--to me, an aquarium, with its darkness, dank smells, echoing concrete and damp creatures is nothing more than the ultimate leaky basement. The shark exhibit is always good, though. The elephants were in the barn, we did see a young tiger pacing, and then came across the unexpected best time yet: eight or nine river otters the size of young cats, sleek and playing rough and tumble in the river and pond, herded around by two lumbering porcupines. Delightful.
At this point I was hungry. I opened up the sandwiches and melon and we ate with enthusiasm. Nobody said, "Ooh, what's this stuff?" They were delicious. On the way home we stopped for milkshakes and tomato juice at the Antique Sandwich and back down Ruston Way and home to a new faucet out doors and a note: "Dear Sobhani, we will be back tomorrow to finish the rest of the high grass . . . " They left a long-handled pipe cutter there on the ground.
Depression and its Ramifications
I haven't blogged lately as I have been so depressed it seemed pointless to talk about it. I actually became so deeply sad I wanted to cut off my relationships, especially with my family of origin. It makes no sense whatsoever. Part of me was suffering and the other part was watching objectively in awe of the destructiveness and stupidity of my thoughts. My thoughts sounded so ridiculously dramatic.
I'm getting better. Partly from taking more time to pray. I had gotten to an "I don't even know where to start" point with that. Partly from continuing to work. Challenging as it is, for the first time my work is sufficiently engaging and rewarding that it's actually more therapeutic to work than not to. Partly getting more sleep, communicating with family members by email instead of cutting them off, and partly because maybe a person can only stay in a certain psychological state so long.
Sometimes I'm afraid to feel better because I'll again be vulnerable to being hurt and because I'm afraid to start to hope again and then to lose my hope.
I'm thinking of using my time off to go somewhere nice, such as a beach on Vashon Island. I guess we'll see.
I'm getting better. Partly from taking more time to pray. I had gotten to an "I don't even know where to start" point with that. Partly from continuing to work. Challenging as it is, for the first time my work is sufficiently engaging and rewarding that it's actually more therapeutic to work than not to. Partly getting more sleep, communicating with family members by email instead of cutting them off, and partly because maybe a person can only stay in a certain psychological state so long.
Sometimes I'm afraid to feel better because I'll again be vulnerable to being hurt and because I'm afraid to start to hope again and then to lose my hope.
I'm thinking of using my time off to go somewhere nice, such as a beach on Vashon Island. I guess we'll see.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
New Math: Getting to the Root of Things
A Hot Debate:
It was pointed out to me that there is a difference between a square inch of ginger and a cubic inch of ginger. I don't think I could actually produce a square inch of ginger unless I moved to Flatland. No matter how you slice it, it isn't possible to not have a third dimension to your slice of ginger. I could take intellectual refuge in the claim that I meant an inch of ginger squared, but that would be dishonest. No, I will take full responsibility for my impossible portion of ginger.
The book [I'm not sure it qualifies as a novel] Flatland is a wonderful story on perspective: set in a world of two dimensions, with status conferred based on the number of sides a character presents to the world, the premise is, "what happens when someone shows up who magically changes sizes?"
A round character appears who can change from a point to a progressively larger circle, which boggles the minds of the two-dimensional characters. It turns out that this circular character actually is part of a third dimension. Difficult as he finds it to explain himself to the denizens of Flatland, he is actually a sphere. Thus as he travels up and down across the plane of the world of Flatland, his two-dimensional size changes.
Things are not always as they appear.
It was pointed out to me that there is a difference between a square inch of ginger and a cubic inch of ginger. I don't think I could actually produce a square inch of ginger unless I moved to Flatland. No matter how you slice it, it isn't possible to not have a third dimension to your slice of ginger. I could take intellectual refuge in the claim that I meant an inch of ginger squared, but that would be dishonest. No, I will take full responsibility for my impossible portion of ginger.
The book [I'm not sure it qualifies as a novel] Flatland is a wonderful story on perspective: set in a world of two dimensions, with status conferred based on the number of sides a character presents to the world, the premise is, "what happens when someone shows up who magically changes sizes?"
A round character appears who can change from a point to a progressively larger circle, which boggles the minds of the two-dimensional characters. It turns out that this circular character actually is part of a third dimension. Difficult as he finds it to explain himself to the denizens of Flatland, he is actually a sphere. Thus as he travels up and down across the plane of the world of Flatland, his two-dimensional size changes.
Things are not always as they appear.
Friday, June 5, 2009
More Interesting Foods
Yam Peanut Spread
Stick a fork in a small red garnet yam, nuke for 5 minutes. Peel. This should yield about a half cup of cooked yam. Moosh up with the blade part of a hand salsa maker.
Switch to the blending part of the salsa maker. Put in yam, half a Mori Nu cube of silken soft tofu and about an equal amount of fresh-ground peanut butter [Fred Meyer health section.] Blend in salsa maker with about a square inch of ginger root, grated finely, ground cumin and ground coriander to taste.
This can be used as a spread on wraps with sliced vegetables such as onion, orange pepper, English cucumber, raw spinach leaves or grated cabbage; sprinkle on raw sunflower seeds. Roll up [this is the part I haven't mastered yet!]
Stick a fork in a small red garnet yam, nuke for 5 minutes. Peel. This should yield about a half cup of cooked yam. Moosh up with the blade part of a hand salsa maker.
Switch to the blending part of the salsa maker. Put in yam, half a Mori Nu cube of silken soft tofu and about an equal amount of fresh-ground peanut butter [Fred Meyer health section.] Blend in salsa maker with about a square inch of ginger root, grated finely, ground cumin and ground coriander to taste.
This can be used as a spread on wraps with sliced vegetables such as onion, orange pepper, English cucumber, raw spinach leaves or grated cabbage; sprinkle on raw sunflower seeds. Roll up [this is the part I haven't mastered yet!]
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Cutting My Losses
I ran the lawnmower again today, having replaced a knob that had fallen off that holds the handle together. I did mow the front portion of the yard, but in the back yard, the engine kept stalling. Even when I restarted it, it would die. So, angry and discouraged, I gave up. I decided that if I was close to crying and cursing, it was time to stop. Eighty-degree weather did not help.
I looked in the old-fashioned yellow pages and found an ad I liked for yard care: not too big [and therefore maybe not so expensive]; no mention of commercial work and pavement washing, so maybe no commercial mindset; but still one of those master gardener-type of people who know what they are doing.
Will call him in the AM and have him look at the yard and give me a bid for mowing, and go from there.
I felt strangely defeated with the lawnmower. I felt as if I am a failure for not figuring out what was wrong, other than having grass too long and an engine that was probably flooding, neither of which I can fix. I had to remind myself that: I know how to sew, I know how to cook, I know how to write, and I know how to manage the Medicare wing of a skilled nursing facility. I don't have to know everything.
I looked in the old-fashioned yellow pages and found an ad I liked for yard care: not too big [and therefore maybe not so expensive]; no mention of commercial work and pavement washing, so maybe no commercial mindset; but still one of those master gardener-type of people who know what they are doing.
Will call him in the AM and have him look at the yard and give me a bid for mowing, and go from there.
I felt strangely defeated with the lawnmower. I felt as if I am a failure for not figuring out what was wrong, other than having grass too long and an engine that was probably flooding, neither of which I can fix. I had to remind myself that: I know how to sew, I know how to cook, I know how to write, and I know how to manage the Medicare wing of a skilled nursing facility. I don't have to know everything.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Another Update
Something happened during Folklife that I didn't mention on my blog; I was waiting to see how it all turned out.
The Friday of Memorial Day weekend I went to the Folklife Festival by myself [my husband was in New York] and had an absolutely wonderful day. Saturday I brought my daughter Pearl. It took us about an hour to get to Seattle Center from the Mercer Exit to parking; the crowds were thick this time, and we spent about an hour shopping, then went to the Northwest Court. The music there was horrendously loud, so we went over to Fisher Green and sat on the grass. There the music was very indifferent [okay, co-grammar specialists: I was indifferent to the music], and Pearl decided to wander off and look around while I sat on the grass.
After about an hour I called her cell phone. It was so loud, neither of us could hear our phones ring, so we left messages and played phone tag. The upshot was that Pearl, not having a map, not having looked around for landmarks, and having little sense of direction, got lost. After a while of this playing phone tag and looking for her, I was about to suggest she stay put, tell me what was around her, and I would go find her. I was saying the "Remover of Difficulties" prayer* and I looked up and there she was with a young man, about twenty feet in front of me.
This young man was smiling, friendly, overly enthusiastic, saying how beautiful my daughter was, and I'm having difficulty sizing him up. Can this person be for real? His name was Nick, and following some of her clues, he had helped bring her back to my viscinity.
Well, I've finally had some time with him and he really is that pleasant and friendly and positive. And Pearl is actually happy, smiling, and talking again. And to me, that's what counts.
Yesterday we went to Northwest Trek, which was closed, and on to the farm where my husband [and I, part-time] lives, then a bunch of us had dinner at the Puerto Vallarta in Eatonville.
Today we went to Northwest Trek while it was open, and saw many many wild, nonhuman life forms, and it was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. Then I took them to the Thai Mekong on Highway 161, where my husband joined us, and we had lots of delicious food. Then I took them to the movie "Up" at Longston Place, which was pleasant and fun. So we all had a beautiful day today.
*The "Remover of Difficulties" prayer by the Bab: "Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God. He is God. All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding." As some people have pointed out, if you just need to change a tire at the side of the road, the prayer won't change your tire. You still have to do stuff.
The Friday of Memorial Day weekend I went to the Folklife Festival by myself [my husband was in New York] and had an absolutely wonderful day. Saturday I brought my daughter Pearl. It took us about an hour to get to Seattle Center from the Mercer Exit to parking; the crowds were thick this time, and we spent about an hour shopping, then went to the Northwest Court. The music there was horrendously loud, so we went over to Fisher Green and sat on the grass. There the music was very indifferent [okay, co-grammar specialists: I was indifferent to the music], and Pearl decided to wander off and look around while I sat on the grass.
After about an hour I called her cell phone. It was so loud, neither of us could hear our phones ring, so we left messages and played phone tag. The upshot was that Pearl, not having a map, not having looked around for landmarks, and having little sense of direction, got lost. After a while of this playing phone tag and looking for her, I was about to suggest she stay put, tell me what was around her, and I would go find her. I was saying the "Remover of Difficulties" prayer* and I looked up and there she was with a young man, about twenty feet in front of me.
This young man was smiling, friendly, overly enthusiastic, saying how beautiful my daughter was, and I'm having difficulty sizing him up. Can this person be for real? His name was Nick, and following some of her clues, he had helped bring her back to my viscinity.
Well, I've finally had some time with him and he really is that pleasant and friendly and positive. And Pearl is actually happy, smiling, and talking again. And to me, that's what counts.
Yesterday we went to Northwest Trek, which was closed, and on to the farm where my husband [and I, part-time] lives, then a bunch of us had dinner at the Puerto Vallarta in Eatonville.
Today we went to Northwest Trek while it was open, and saw many many wild, nonhuman life forms, and it was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. Then I took them to the Thai Mekong on Highway 161, where my husband joined us, and we had lots of delicious food. Then I took them to the movie "Up" at Longston Place, which was pleasant and fun. So we all had a beautiful day today.
*The "Remover of Difficulties" prayer by the Bab: "Is there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God. He is God. All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding." As some people have pointed out, if you just need to change a tire at the side of the road, the prayer won't change your tire. You still have to do stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
