Beyond Blue A Very Special Moon

This full moon is a blue moon, because it is the second full moon of the month. But it is more than that. It is also a full moon that will shine in two years. How rare. So I asked people to write poems about this moon. Here is mine.

Beyond Blue
Moons have names
bony moon
crane moon
hungry ghost moon
open sea moon
What to name this moon?
platinum moon?
It sends it's brittle rays through the crisp night
pearl moon?
Glowing soft in the sky, rosy in the velvet
precipice moon?
Teetering on the edge of the new
i don't know what is coming but i hope it will all work out ok moon?Holding our breath as we slide seamlessly into the new day.

Getting in the spirit

I just went on Netflix and once again went in search of obscure holiday movies. Reviews to follow. The Flaming Lips: Christmas on Mars looked promising. I did not go in for any of the horror ones. I have standards.

I came to the beach with friends. I slept last night on a porch, listening to the wave watching the stars and bats go by and reading trashy romances. OK, so perhaps I am not so zen. I did do yoga on the beach and am about to sit down to biscuits and chocolate gravy. ( Don't ask. I have no idea what I'm getting in to.) This is definitely "do what you need to do to take care of yourself" weekend. This afternoon: massage. Life is good.

Another Dream

I dreamt that I was having a meeting at a garden center. I wandered through an old house and found myself in the part where they sold plants. Under a wooden lean-to , around a picnic table we met. I was playing around with the guy across from me ( Older, very funny, heavy set black guy) and then the meeting was over (I have no idea what it was about). I went to buy plants for my little water garden and was waited on by a pony tailed twenty something. So far the is all very Austin normal. I had made a mistake with my purchase and the guy was totally cool about fixing it. So far all normal. No hint that this is a dream. I went to look for Debra ( Yes she was there too) and I found her riding one of those little cars like Shriners have in parades. She was tearing all over the street. Then I realized it was a dream and woke up.
I do like to keep myself entertained even when asleep.

Dark Shadows

When Dark Shadows came out I remember hearing about it. I don't even think I had a TV. Or perhaps it was on at a strange time. Whatever, I never saw it.
I love this show. It was like Buffy before Buffy only 80's instead of 90's. There are witches and a governess for goodness sake. A governess? Not in England? Oh well, good fun and steamy bodies, sex and magic and ghosts. Who could ask for more? Thanks to Hulu.

I fell asleep in the hot tub and woke up to the moon shining down between the sunflowers. Life is good.

The Prophesies of Dr. Dolittle?

Dr. Dolittle and Tommy are getting ready to go on a trip. They are going to play "Blind Voyage", open the atlas and promise to go where the pencil falls, with eyes closed. Tommy says" Would we have to go to the North Pole?" And the Doctor repies.
"No. The rules of the game say you don't have to go any place you've been to before. You are allowed another try. I've been to the North Pole," he ended quietly, "so we shan't have to go there." I could hardly speak with astonishment.
"YOU'VE BEEN TO THE NORTH POLE!" I managed to gasp out at last. "But I thought it was still undiscovered. The map shows all the places explorers have reached to, TRYING to get there. Why isn't your name down if you discovered it?"
"I promised to keep it a secret. And you must promise me never to tell any one. Yes, I discovered the North Pole in April, 1809. But shortly after I got there the polar bears came to me in a body and told me there was a great deal of coal there, buried beneath the snow. They knew, they said, that human beings would do anything, and go anywhere, to get coal. So would I please keep it a secret. Because once people began coming up there to start coal-mines, their beautiful white country would be spoiled—and there was nowhere else in the world cold enough for polar bears to be comfortable. So of course I had to promise them I would. Ah, well, it will be discovered again some day, by somebody else. But I want the polar bears to have their play-ground to themselves as long as possible. And I daresay it will be a good while yet—for it certainly is a fiendish place to get to—
Prophetic.

Recipes

This is a story about recipes, not really the recipes. Well there are recipes but they aren't the point.
Rosemary lemonade.
Those of us with rosemary are always looking for something to do with it, and if you are mostly vegetarian ( yes mostly) then chicken is out. So Vegetarian Times ( not just for vegetarians) had a thing about your favorite summer drink and someone mentioned rosemary lemonade. I looked it up on the web but then sort of invented my own version and it is good. Just simple syrup with some rosemary cooked in it for awhile then left to steep in some more fresh rosemary in the fridge. That in a glass with a slice of lemon squeezed in and lots of ice is great. I'm going for a rumless mojito ( which my friend Debra informs me is actually minty limeade).
Then there was the gazpacho that turned out to be really good thin hot sauce. Don't just upend the habenero lime hot sauce over the blender. On a positive note, it did clear my sinuses. I probably shouldn't have added the chipotle chili powder either.
Lastly, fresh figs poached in white wine NOT with thyme, which is the only recipe that came up on google. Mine are either star anise and cardamon or saffron and cinnamon sticks. These are killer and I tried canning it but am afraid that it is neither sugary enough or acid enough to can well so I'm keeping it in the fridge. It is so good, but again it response to having so many figs I don't know what to do with them all. The birds , butterflies and flies are doing there best to help. The tree at this time of year becomes a city, full of life, stinky in a good over-sweet way. I stand underneath and fig nectar rains on you. Then you eat warm figs off the tree, with the birds complaining overhead. It's a good thing I like my tree since it is trying to take over the backyard. Not winning but trying never the less. Life is good.

What I Learned on My Trip.

I found out that there are nice people all over the country. The busiest clerk had time to wish us a safe trip. But they couldn’t connect unless I breeched the wall first. I guess the message is chat, with real people, in the now. Our trip was like a trail of smiles.
Kias rule! I’m sorry, but my little car made it up and down the mountains and went 80 in West Texas, with the air on. I just took it back in to my mechanics (John and Charles at Superior Automotive on 1st and Congress. You guys are awesome. Go see them if you need a truly honest mechanic.) Clean bill of health.
Friends, beware. Move away from Austin and you too may get to host me, and any friends I choose to drag along. Thanks again to Doug and Faye in Fort Collins, Bruce and Phillip in Las Vegas and Carl and Janie in Tempe.
You can become jaded to anything. I asked Corey to take a picture of a mountain in Texas for my collection and she said no. She did take it, but I have to tell you, the mind can only accept so much. I think we were both mountained out. “Oh another spectacular red rock mountain view, Yaaaaawn."
Thanks for following the trip. I’m going to put a slide show of mountains from different states on facebook soon. If you are not inured to mountain pictures yet.

In response to 107 ( 107 degrees in Austin yesterday) I have struck back with my very own cool down system which I am willing to share.

1 Family Size Fun Pool- On sale at Target for 14.99

1 bath spa Thrift Town special for 20.00

1 extention cord - No clue where this came from.

1 Laudry detergent bucket- Free This is my pool side table.

1 Tarp Home depot maybe 6.00

1 glass of wine Twin vines, my new fav and only 6.00 at HEB.

1 steamy romance Book Exchange World's best used bookstore.

Results Priceless

I also included a shot of my new gazebo put together with my two hands and invaluable help from Michael and Kyle.

This system is not yet patented so anyone is free to copy the design or contact me for further instructions. Enjoy!

An Uncommon Blog: Hunger

An Uncommon Blog: Hunger

It’s late and I’ve been up since 5:30 mountain time, but I’m still buzzing from driving. We stayed with old friends of Corey’s in Tempe. Carl had the grill going and made Daddy Burgers and grilled shrimp and we had all the fixings to go with it. This was at poolside folks. While they were at it they fed half of their neighbors too. Salt of the earth doesn’t even begin to describe how kind these people are. We got a tour of the resort where Janie works. It was huge. We got lost wandering around the complex of rooms ,villas, restaurants, even a water park.
Sunday, Janie made us a wonderful breakfast from the baguette I got at the Wildflower Bakery in Sedona, (10% goes to help schools at risk.) Then we were off to the mountains that overlook the city. But it was silent Sunday and we couldn't go up the mountain unless we walked or rode a bike. Hmmmm walking up the asphalt road or even biking up a mountain in the over 90-degree heat, I don’t think so. So after goodbyes and invites to come to Austin and Bradenton, we were off on the road again. We did good. Made it all the way to El Paso. I will say that Tempe and most of southern Arizona is hot as the dickens. You couldn’t even know you were sweating. It just evaporated. What really got us were the signs. Caution : Blowing Dust Keep light on. Visibility may be zero. We saw the dust devils dancing between the mountains and us. There was a haze over everything. At night the side of the sky away from the sunset glowed pink with dust.
Starting out this morning after breakfast in the office. ( Janie, we miss your French toast!) We are home by tonight. Whoopee!

View from our window


Hello again, this time from Sedona. We woke up yesterday in Las Vegas. Bruce filled us full of coffee, even pouring the cream. We talked and played with the dogs, then set out for the Pilipino grocery store. Aisles of fresh whole fish on ice, along with octopus, squid and pork blood (?). (Corey claims she was glad to be there with friends because it was scary. I did find some new fruits and veggies. I bought some purple yams, evidently a mainstay of the diet, and banana pears, (just short, fat bananas) and seaweed salad). Corey reminded me of the milkshakes, avocado, yam and other things I’m not sure of the spelling. We went to Jason’s Deli for lunch and then took off for Arizona.
Blowing kisses goodbye to Bruce we went first to the AT&T store to figure out why my Bluetooth wouldn’t work. (Don’t ever turn it off at the phone.) Then we were off to the Hoover Dam. Do you know that there is a security Guard at the Dam and it takes about an hour to make it across? Crawl, crawl crawl. But we saw that they are making a bridge to flyover the dam, so they can eliminate the security stop and speed up that spot.
The dam buildings at the top are all Art Deco, with Statues and gold art deco doors. On one side you are in Nevada and on the other side you are in Arizona. If driving with a standard transmission, I advise coasting down the hill to the dam to save your clutch. We had to go about 5 MPH the whole way down.
On the other side we hit our first real desert. We did spend short time on Route 66. Mostly a lot of really funky old building with "Historic Route 66" painted on the side. Still lots of mountains and the signs claimed elk and big horn sheep were going to jump us anytime, along with falling rocks. Nothing jumped us, the weather cooled from the razor wire wind we met it first to cool breezes and we were again in the mountains, this time with firs and the twistiest roads to date. But here we are in Sedona! First thing out of the car (at 8:30 at night) was Gypsy Jenny’s. Awesome clothes from Nepal. She really, really hoped that selling these clothes was a good thing for the people in Nepal. She knew and liked her suppliers, a family from Nepal. I talked Corey into a wonderful cute dress made of recycled saris and I got some truly wonderful pants. Jenny had been a hairdresser, but she now has the shop, with singing bells and jewelry and this unique clothes. I really haven’t seen anything like them.
We met a youth group on a mission trip from Richardson Texas, Church of the Nazarene. The youth minister was in front of us in the line (Sorry for the delay taking your order. We weren’t expecting 50 teenagers). They had been to a Navaho reservation for community service and were on their way back. We got the veggie pizza, truely fine and listened to a musician sing about his father and how he was sure he too had long hair while he was standing next to Jesus and now he understood his son.
It was hot tub and sleep time. Woke up and looked straight out on those rocks in the picture. Took that from our window. Now we are off to Tempe.

Morning all. I write from sunny Las Vegas. Yesterday was delightful. Free breakfast at the motel and it was good. Fresh waffles off the grill. Then we got on the shuttle to the park. Once in the park we got on another shuttle that took us through the park. You could get out at any stop, wander around as much as you wanted and catch another shuttle. It was all very clean and organized. We took some short walks, nothing over a mile. There were tons of people there of all sorts. So many different languages. Nice folk. We at garlic French bread with goat cheese and avocados, blackberries and cherries outside the old lodge that was built for tourists back in the 20’s. We stayed until about 3 then went back to town, picked up our car and headed for Las Vegas. Along the way we went to the Big Chill for snow cones. I was just thinking that snow cones were few and far between in this neck of the woods and here is a Hawaiian shaved ice place. Bright blue, built like a little house, cute as it could be. Very nice man inside. I really liked him because there were some kids there and he listened to what they wanted instead of listening to the Mom yelling from the car. Rather sounds like I’m a traitor to my own kind but she did sound a little bitchy. Anyway Austin got his three flavors instead of just two and he gave them an extra punch on their frequent customer card.
At this point we had gone through so many time changes, we literally didn’t know what time it was. Our various electronic devises didn’t agree either. Oh we changed the Tomtom’s voice so now he sounds like a Brit, sort of a young Sean Connery. But he still didn’t know what time it was. So we thought we were going to get here at 7:30, then we revised to 6:30 and it was actually 5:30. I think we now know we are firmly in the Pacific Time Zone.
We went out for Thai food, which was very good. We went swimming in a pool that is Bruce and Phillip’s backyard. ( We don’t need no stinking grass!) Today we are messing around in Las Vegas and then it’s off to Arizona. Yes we are going to Sedona Debra. Then off to Tempe.

Rain and Rocks

This is Bryce Canyon . Me & Lou's



I’m trying something new. I’m writing as we go along the road.
We had the most extraordinary luck last night. We ended up in this cool little town of Malad. The motel was simple but you could tell a lot of work was being done. I talked to the lady who ran the place and she was trying to bring it back after the neglect of the former managers. She told me about her kids who “lived close enough to see but not so close they could show up on the doorstep with all the grandkids” . We went to eat at Me and Lou’s café. Wowee zowee! Gorgeous. Ed was there. He was from Dallas but had family in Austin. Went north after his divorce and never looked back. I had the best biscuits and gravy.
What a long day it was. We traveled down to Bryce Canyon and got there about 4:00. We almost passed it up because of the rain, cold and unrelenting. I was not a happy camper. ( Speaking of which, we have not been able to camp a single night. Either too tired, too late, too cold, or too wet. Lots of toos.) I’m so glad we got to go to Bryce. I thought it would be too much the same, but every new spot was another OMG experience. We aren’t seeing a lot of animal life. We saw a foolish prairie dog standing upright in the middle of the road. Much like our bison friend but so much smaller as to be stupid rather than brazen. There was one lone deer.
We are off to Zion today, so biblical. They have a great system. We are staying just outside the park. They shuttle you to the park and then they shuttle you around the park . There are shuttles every ten minutes all day. We are going to stay until about three then we are off to Las Vegas.

Today we drove to the Grand Tetons. Wyoming started out sort of like a green north Texas, sort of all rolling plains. Then gradually the hills got taller, and then we saw the mountains. It just got bigger and better as we went along. Craggy towers were growing right next to the road. We did hit some of our tax dollars in action (shovel ready as it were) and the roads were rugged. Rain also gifted us. We went into Chugwater to eat, but the Buffalo Stampede Inn was under new management and wasn’t open yet. While taking pictures of charming downtown Chugwater one of the natives came out to take pictures of the tourists. We ate breakfast at Wheatland Inn, where we found out that the lady next to us had a lazy daughter-in-law and who was getting what test. Just like home. Yummy blueberry pancakes. We are now in the economy room at the Hatchet Resort. Very nice place. They cut us a deal since we got there late. Wonderful food in the dining area and our hardworking waitress was from Romania.
I’m off to bed. No internet because of the rain. Will post tomorrow.

Hail to the Rockies

And they'll know you are Texan by your hat, by your hat. And they'll know you are Texan by your hat

Today Faye took us up to the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain State Park. It's cold up there, people, too cold for the elk. Faye stopped for every possible photo op. We ate homemade almond butter sandwiches in the car. The altitude started getting to me a little and did I mention it was COLD? So we didn't hike to the very top of the divide. For Texas folk, it was like walking halfway up Enchanted Rock in 40 degrees with a 30 mph wind. The wind was really bad. But you can see the sky was blue and it was a lovely day. Lots of people around. The women co-oped the men's room at one stop ( We had a line and they didn't) . Very empowering.
We topped it of with a tourist crawl through Estes Park and the Chocolate Factory. Ancho Chili Truffles! Tres, tres yummy.
We are home tonight ( Yes we think of it as home. Doug and Faye are so welcoming and they listen to NPR in the morning and buy organic produce and Doug is turning his front yard into a vegetable patch. Our kind of people.)

Onward through the rain

Today we hightailed it up thru Colorado to light in Fort Collins with the Lovely Doug and delightful Faye.
I got to see a windmill farm. Forget your grandma's windmills. This guys are huge and clustered on the edge of a ridge and go on for miles. Fantastic to see.
We ate at the Freedom Cafe. 2 eggs , 3 pancakes, 2 sausage patties and hash browns for 6.50. Waited on by the little girl( Seventeen is little to me) who was on the student council and serenaded by a little girl ( This one was about 6) on singing along with "This Little Light of Mine" on her laptop computer. You have to love it.
We went from the flat ,flat Texas plains to the mountains of Colorado in just a few miles. And it is cold up here. We are going to the Continental Divide tomorrow and there is going to be SNOW. Take that Austin with your 100 degree heat.
We did hit a patch of rain outside Denver, but Cori made it through with flying colors.
The trip is now going on longer because I totally messed up and got my dates messed up. This is going to be great. More tomorrow.

Northwest Bound

Cori and I are on the high trail to adventure, heading north and west as we please. We went on a lot of smaller roads today. We saw a lot of ranches and places that looked like movie sets for westerns. We got a twelve pack of cinnamon rolls and lots of health snacks and snacked across the country. There was this fantastic sign in Paducah that said SATAN SUCKS 2' high letters on a black background, brought to us by hellfighters.com. We found the best rest stop ever, complete with Beware of rattlesnake signs on the playground. The inside was truly beautiful. There was a little museum of the near by town of Clareton, founded to bring God and Education to the wild west. It was named after the founder's wife Clara, a saintly name if ever there was one. We are now camped out in Amarillo after a dip in a very cold pool we are in for the night. Tomorrow we head for Fort Collins.
People in Texas are so nice. We have been God Blessed and Be Safed all across the country.

T Mobile video

So why am I crying after watching a cute TMobile ad? For some reason, any time I see community as in people connecting, it brings me to tears. It is so moving to see people seeing others as part of themselves as opposed to different or outside themselves. Watch the video and judge for yourself. Yeah I know it's a commercial , but they provided the opportunity not the spirit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orukqxeWmM0&feature=PlayList&p=EF254AFBDF6F1259&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

Great Day

It was one of those days that make you know why you are a teacher. I didn't have all my usual help and the day was just a blessing. My guys rose to the occasion. Not perfect but they definitely took turns creating trouble. What a wonderful morning. Now I just need to get through the field trip tomorrow.

How to spot a Special Ed Teacher

You want coffee in your room in the morning.
Gen. Ed. teacher- Buys it on the way in or brings it from home.
Good Gen. Ed.- Has a coffee maker in the room but if everything isn't there, forget it.
Good Resource Teacher- Will try to jiggle around with what they have, but knows when to give it up as a bad deal.
Severe disabilities teacher- When faced with no container for the coffee filter, decides maybe the apple corer will work. Smashes the filter around to sort of fit. Gets the hot water out of the microwave and pours it in. Filter lists to one side and spills a slurry of hot water and coffee on the counter. Grab the filter to hold it up. Burn fingers. Reevaluate and reposition filter. Pour water in again. Again get coffee all over plus coffee grounds in the cup. Reevaluate. Change filter posistion again and very slowly pour water in. Fingers now burning a lot. Get most of the water in . Gently squeeze filter and get a hole in the bottom that puts more grounds in the cup. Toss filter, clean up coffee muck off counter and floor. Drink coffee.
I will get it done NO MATTER WHAT!

Psychic connection

So I woke up around 4 AM this morning. No big deal, this happens fairly often. All three parents of my school kids came in and said that the kids got up at 4 AM. We have arrived at a whole new level on connectedness. This is scary. :)

Really the last Christmas review

I just watched "What Would Jesus Buy?" A documentary about a guy who dresses like a flashy TV fundamentalist who's message is simple, Quit Shopping. Quit buying Christmas from Box stores. Make your own gifts. Figure out what is important. Give your time and love to those around you.
I watched this on a lark. It looked so goofy. But it is a fantastic film about attitudes and values and a creative way that some dedicated people have taken a stand about something they believe in. Watch it now or some how remind your self to watch it before next Christmas. Join the revolution.

The Christmas Card: Also the last Christmas review

This was a sweet, predictable movie with out being completely saccharine. Ed Asner is fun. There is a soldier, a randomly received Christmas card and love. I liked it. No angst either, which is a nice change from all the other stuff I watched. Sometimes you want to watch a movie that is more like a cup of hot cocoa than a shot of Jack Daniels

30 Rock

I had resisted, for no good reason, watching 30 Rock. It is fantastic. I know, everyone knows that. But I didn't and now I do.

Fun Free Internet Stuff

These are two great places to go.
Pandora radio is free, no commercial music that plays only what you want to hear. It is great for having a seamless background and for finding new artists.
Librivox is free audio books, read by real people that volunteer to do this. Now the catch is they only do books in the public domain, but that just means old. There are a few contemporary authors that have given them the right to read their books and let them go free of charge.) I just signed up for a podcast of The Beasts of Tarzan A chapter a day. Walking the dogs is going to be so much more fun.

Poirot's Christmas

The boiler in his flat is broken, and Poirot's vision of a quiet Christmas with succulent food and a good book is shattered. So when an offer comes in from a paranoid, elderly diamond mine owner to protect him over Christmas comes, Poirot asks if he has central heat and accepts. The rest is all classic Agatha Christie, a dead body and dysfunctional families. The good part is the sound track, snatches of English Christmas carols in a minor key, by far the coolest part of the drama.