Villlage Life Outside Datong, China

We stopped in a very nice village outside Datong on our way to the Yungang Grottoes to get a glimpse of what small town life might be like.  Our guide did qualify the stop by saying that this was a place where people stayed by choice and had a nice life, implying that might not be true across China.

According to the 2010 census, 51.3 percent of China's population lives in rural areas. This is down from 63.9 percent in the 2000 census, which used a different counting system, and over 95 percent in the 1920s. There are around 800 million rural peasants and migrant workers--roughly 500 million farmers and 300 million to 400 million excess unskilled rural laborers. It is almost certainly lower now.  I fist went to China in 2014 and it continues to urbanize.

A typical village farmer grow rice, corn, chilies and vegetables on a half acre of land, and maybe keeps some chickens and pigs. Farmers produce enough to eat but not much to sell. There are inadequate basic public services such as education, health and applications of new technologies. Typical rural families live in simple wooden houses, use outhouses and cook in shacks over open hearths. Note everything about this photo, from the housing to the manual removal of corn from the cob, to the way that corn is stored.

Nine Dragon Screen, Datong, China

 

Nine Dragon Wall in Datong was built during the regime of the first Emperor of Ming Dynasty. It is a screen wall in the gate of the residence of an Imperial prince, Zhu Gui, who is the thirteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhan. It is the oldest and largest glazed-tile Nine Dragon wall still extant in China.

It is famous for its still perfect glazed-tile work, as can be appreciated in this detail view. With 426 glazed tiles fired specially in five different colors, the exquisite design of green wave at bottom is as sea, blue background as sky and white as clouds. The glazed nine dragons on the wall are expressing their varying movements vividly, rising out of the sea and chasing the mythical suns with the supernatural ability to control the forces of nature. Painted in different colors, these nine dragons are lively just like flying swiftly upward. The clearance among the dragons was filled with stones and float grasses. Two fierce and colorful dragons disport among clouds and water, chasing between them a Flaming Pearl of Wisdom. These dragons only have four toes on their feet, since five-toed dragons were reserved for the Emperor himself.

Shanxi Shaved Noodles, China

There is a Chinese saying that can be loosely translated to, "There is no satisfaction without noodles," which pretty much describes my take on life. 

We spent our entire last trip to China in the north, where there is plenty of rice, but handmade noodles are a staple for breakfast.  In Datong we had dao xiao mian is also known as Shanxi knife-cut noodles, referring to the province in Northern China east of Beijing where the dish originates, and describing the age-old technique of using a knife to quickly shave wheat noodles off a block of dough into a boiling pot of water. The resulting noodles are fresh, wide and comforting; a perfect base onto which sauces and flavors can cling. 

The traditional method of making these noodles is tricky to do and fascinating to watch.  One uses a very sharp knife and has a pot of salted boiling water ready. With your left hand, hold the oval dough pointed downward at a 30º angle, with the downward-facing edge resting on a cutting board. This will help you make smooth, even cuts. With your right hand, shave the knife down the dough to create thin noodles. There's a Chinese saying to help you visualize this technique, "Knife doesn't leave the dough, and doghdoesn't leave the knife." It should be a continuous loop.

Huáyán Temple, Datong, China

 

Huayan Temple is the largest and most perfectly preserved temple of the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties in China.  It is east facing because the sun was worshipped in that time.  Emperors in the Liao Dynasty sincerely believed in Buddhism, so they built many monasteries. The Huayan Monastery was originally the ancestral temple of the imperial family, offering sacrifices for emperors of the Liao Dynasty. In the middle period of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the temple was divided into two parts the upper and lower monasteries and was renovated and enlarged several times to its present form.

 It was the imperial ancestral temple, enjoying prominent position at that time. Then it was destroyed in a war. In 1140 during Kin Dynasty, the temple was reconstructed.  The upper one referred to as the Grand Hall housing five large Ming Dynasty Buddhas, and the lower section referred to as the Sutra Temple containing a library of some 18,000 volumes of Buddhist writings. After several repairs in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the temple formed today's scale.  On top of the hall are color paintings from the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911) portraying dragons, cranes, flowers, all of which are images often found in Chinese legends on Buddhism.

Huayan Pagoda is the second largest pure wooden tenon and mortise structure after Yingxian Pagoda in the country. This pagoda is 43 meters high. Under the pagoda is a 500-square-meter underground palace, which was constructed with 100 tons of copper.

Chanson d'Automne by Paul Verlaine

In preparation for the D-Day Landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944, Operation Overlord, the BBC had signalled to the French Resistance that the opening lines of the 1866 Verlaine poem “Chanson d’Automne” , a widely known poem at the time, were to indicate the start of the D-Day operations. The first three lines of the poem, “Les sanglots longs / des violons / de l’automne” (“The long sobs of autumn violins”), meant that Operation Overlord was to start within two weeks. These lines were broadcast on 1st June 1944. The next set of lines, “Blessent mon coeur / d’une langueur / monotone” (“wound my heart with a monotonous languor”), meant that it would start within 48 hours and that the resistance should begin sabotage operations especially on the French railroad system; these lines were broadcast on 5th June at 23:15 GMT.

 ‘Chanson d’Automne’

The long sobs
Of the violins
Of Autumn
Wound my heart
With a monotonous
Languor.
All choked
And pale, when
The hour chimes,
I remember
Days of old
And I cry
And I’m going
On an ill wind
That carries me
Here and there,
As if a
Dead leaf.
– Paul Verlaine

Sculpture of Rice Making, Datong, China

A sculpture to making rice is a bit surprising until you think about it.

Rice is the most important human food crop in the world, directly feeding more people than any other crop. Nearly half of world’s population – more than 3 billion people – rely on rice every day.  Rice has also fed more people over a longer time than has any other crop. It is spectacularly diverse, both in the way it is grown and how it is used by humans. Rice is unique because it can grow in wet environments that other crops cannot survive in. Such wet environments are abundant across Asia. The domestication of rice ranks as one of the most important developments in history and now thousands of rice varieties are cultivated on every continent except Antarctica.

When and where the domestication of rice took place is not specifically known, but new archaeological evidence points to an area along the Yangtze River in central China. Researched by a team of Japanese and Chinese archaeologists unanimously indicate a median age of over 11,000 years. Another discovery of possibly the oldest settlement found in China, which is located closely upstream from the other sites, gives credence to the new findings.

Rice can be boiled or steamed, or else first ground into flour and made into noodles, breads, cakes, and other products. Besides the standard domestic cooking methods summarized here, rice can also be processed into other rice-based food and drink products.

Banana Bread

Since childhood, the hidden silver lining in having the bananas get too ripe to eat was the potential for banana bread.  the easy and delicious solution to a problem.
Of late, with most of the kids out of the house, and much more sporadic shopping trips that are aimed at the one ingredient we need and the few things that we could use, mostly using the farmer's market and our local CSA in the summer and Costco in the winter to supplement with fresh fruits and vegetables, we just do not seem to have all that many bananas that might get to the banana bread state.  More is the pity.  The low oven temperature creates a less burnt exterior.

1 cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter

2 large eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. 
2. Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
3. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
4. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears. 
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing. 

West of Memphis (2012)

This is a documentary about a miscarriage of justice that took three previous films, a lot of famous people, and a team of investigators to get to the point where an injustice was reversed. 
In 1993, the bodies of three young boys were found bound, mutilated and drowned in a drainage canal in the Robin Hood Hills neighborhood of West Memphis. A month later, three local teenagers were linked to the crime after one of them confessed; the prosecution claimed it was a satanic cult murder.  The community seized upon this, not paying much attention to how the confession was elicited or who made it, and as a result, a guilty verdict was achieved and nobody else was closely investigated.
This film does that.  They get a team of forensic pathologists to look at the evidence, there is new DNA information, and there is one suspect identified who was never looked at very closely, maybe because he had what turns out to be a largely fabricated alibi and perhaps a sympathetic police force.  The ending is not as satisfying as you would hope but better than might have otherwise happened, and it demonstrates that if you get it wrong the first time, it is very hard to undo that in the criminal justice system.

Via Carlota Green Salad

I read this salad dressing recipe in detail, and while I did not follow it to a T, which the article in the New York Times states is critical to success, I did make one of the best salad dressings that I have made in a long time, and I did follow some principles.  I used locally grown flavorful lettuce because it is way better than anything that I can buy, but this is well worth reading through from beginning to end.

• 2 heads butter lettuce, such as Boston or bibb
• 1 romaine heart
• 1 large Belgian endive
• 1 bunch watercress
• ½ small head frisée

For the dressing:

• 1 large shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon aged sherry vinegar, plus additional, as needed
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 ½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 ½ teaspoons honey (optional)
• 2 sprigs thyme, washed and stripped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the greens: Fill a sink or large basin with tepid water. Remove any wilted or damaged leaves from the butter lettuce, romaine and endive. Trim each head at the root to release whole leaves. Leave butter-lettuce leaves whole, but halve large leaves of romaine and endive on the bias, then drop into water. Trim and discard any roots and long stems off watercress, and drop remaining leaves and tender stems into water. Trim and discard dark green outer leaves and tops from frisée until only light green and white parts remain. Trim at the root to release leaves, and drop into water. Swirl greens in water, then drain. Wash twice more in cool, then cold, water, then transfer to a salad spinner to dry. Gently wrap in clean dish towels, and set aside.
2. Place the shallot in a fine-mesh strainer, and quickly rinse with cold water. Allow to drain, then place in a medium bowl, and add vinegar and warm water. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, then whisk in oil, mustards, honey (if using), thyme, garlic and a large pinch of salt. Taste, and adjust salt and vinegar as needed.
3. To serve, gently pile a generous handful of greens into a serving bowl, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and a generous drizzle of dressing. Continue with another handful of salad and more seasoning and dressing, repeating until you have a glorious, gravity-defying mound of salad. Top with a final drizzle of dressing, and serve immediately.

Alabama Get Away

The Handmaid's Tale imagery is a very appropriate reaction to the Alabama abortion restrictions passed last week.  I have let it sit for a while, and my anger has not dissipated.
As the Grateful Dead song says,
Alabama get away
Only way to please me
Turn around and leave
And walk away.
Which is what I would do if I ever had reason to consider living there.  All too often I wonder about succession--is it still an option for the American South?
The criminalization  of abortion is not about personhood starting at conception.  That is a religious rather than a biological determination.  It is about men controlling women, thinly veiled in imposing religious beliefs of a minority of Americans onto everyone.  The Founding Fathers might well support the patriarchy, but not based on religion, and let's face it, those guys have been dead for a hundred years.  So start letting your representatives know exactly how you feel about that.

Celebrate Often

I have a monumental birthday today (or bird day, as some of my favorite people to celebrate any occasion would say), and the best piece of wisdom I have to pass along from the many years that I have lived is that restricting the celebration to a single day.  It is no laughing matter to grow old, and this is one way to combat it.
When I was a child, there was a favored cake and some would have a favored dinner, but a one and done approach was pretty ubiquitous in my family and friends.  As an adult I have found that to be quite restrictive.  Those who cannot make it are left out.  The celebration needs to be one kind of fun.  Now that I am facing yet another new decade, I have come to see that a month of celebrating is a much more thorough approach to a satisfying celebration.  Many places, many people, many special meals, and then, when all is said and done, the pain of the passage of years is eased.

Short Term 12 (2013)

At the start of this movie, my son said, "Is this an indie movie?"  The answer of course was yes, but the question came about not only because of the subject matter (foster kids in a group home setting with therapy and at risk kids), but because of the filming shots and overall style.  It is informal in a way that makes you feel like you are eavesdropping on a conversation happening over a coffee break.
The material within is much grittier than that.  Grace is in a relationship with a fellow coworker, but he notes that he doesn't totally know what is going on, that she is with holding part
of her self from his.  As the film unrolls, amidst the tales of betrayal, abuse and neglect that the kids reveal, we see that she is more like them than she is different.  She gives a lot of herself in her job, but may not have the sufficient barriers build up to prevent her own problems from spilling over into her work.  The catalyst for her unraveling is that her father is soon going to be released from prison, coupled with a young girl she suspects is being abused by her father is released to his custody.  Very true to life, and more funny than I am making it sound.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This is good start to a literary career.  The connection between poverty and an intimacy with nature has long been part of class divisions in rural communities, a source of idyllic benefit for the economically depressed places, and the American South is no exception.  I myself fall into this stereotype all too often.

This book is both a murder mystery and a coming-of-age story set in coastal North Carolina in the 1950s-’60s. The narrative draws on the author’s naturalist background to  vividly and critically depict a Southern society that’s still within living memory.  The plot revolves around a child named Kya, who is abandoned by her family to live by herself in the marshes and swamps along the North Carolina coast.. Nature and the environs of the marsh supply her with independence as well as an ad hoc family, and ultimately her intimate relationship with her home gives her both renown and an income. Unfortunately, the romanticizing of poverty and its possibilities is most likely well off the mark for similarly situated people.

Asparagus, Peas, and Fava Beans

This comes from the Six Seasons cookbook, which I will reiterate, is well worth exploring.  Some friends made it in celebration of my upcoming birthday and it was spectacular.

·       3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1-2 tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

·       Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

·       2 cups fresh fava beans (from about 2 pounds pods) or frozen fava beans, thawed

·       2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, stalks peeled if thick

·       1 cup shelled fresh peas (from about 1 pound pods) or frozen peas, thawed

·       1/2 cup vegetable oil

·       1 shallot, thinly sliced

RECIPE PREPARATION

·       Whisk olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl to blend. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Set dressing aside.

·       If using fresh fava beans, cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a colander set in a bowl of ice water (do not cook frozen beans). Drain and peel; place in a large bowl.

·       Return water in saucepan to a boil; add asparagus and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to colander in ice water.

·       If using fresh peas, return water in saucepan to a boil; add peas and cook until tender, about 3 minutes (do not cook frozen peas). Drain; transfer to colander in ice water. Drain vegetables. Add to bowl with fava beans.

·       Combine vegetable oil and shallot in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallot is golden brown and crisp, 10-12 minutes. Transfer shallot to a paper towel-lined plate.

·       Add dressing to bowl with vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Transfer salad to a serving platter and top with shallot.

One Missing Sibling

This is a picture of my sibling and I from the summer of 2001 on the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  This is just one of many adventures that we have shared as siblings over the years, with and without our parents at hand.  He is the sibling that saved me from becoming an only child, and there are so many things that he and our relationship have taught me over the years.
There is one sibling missing though.  When I was two years old, my parents brought home a baby who would not live to see adulthood.  He caught polio when he was just 5 months old and while he survived, and thrived, it was most likely the after effects of polio that contributed to his death eight years later.  So two things about this.  I am of course an adamant proponent of vaccination.  It is almost too emotional for me even now to talk about it because it is very very personal to me.  I went on to have a child on chemotherapy and then to undergo chemotherapy myself, and the odd unvaccinated person could have caused a great deal of harm to us.  But the most important thing I learned from my brother, who would have been 58 years old today, is the satisfaction of taking care of people.  He led me into medicine and I will be forever grateful for that.

The Hollars (2016)

This is the sort of move that I really like but is not all that popular these days.  It is a family comedy/drama about the Hollars.  John Hollar ably played by the director and actor John Krasinski) is a struggling graphic novelist who lives in New York City. He returns to his rural hometown (the movie was shot in various Mississippi counties) after learning that his mother Sally (Margo Martindale) has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and re-enters his old world with regret and resistance. 
The family is dysfunctional to start with and worse now.  You can immediately see why he ran far away and never came back.  His brother, who just got fired by his father from the family business and is also living with them, complains that he never calls, but why would he?  These people will suck you in and drown you in their misery. 
Meanwhile his pregnant girlfriend Rebecca (Anna Kendrick, who definitely doesn’t get a role that she is capable of here) waits for John back in the big city initially, but after some disturbing phone calls, gets herself there in order that things not go too far off the rails.  The movie plays out with just the narrowest of casts, demonstrating why it is both easy to leave home but hard to shed your past.

Lemon Mascarpone Cake

This is my birthday cake this year and it was really quite delicious!  Especially the frosting.  The cake can be a bit hard to cut because the icing is so soft and the cake pretty dense.  Beware, but it is all delicious.

LEMON CURD

• 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice (about 1–2 lemons)
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup (69g) sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp (42g) salted butter

LEMON CAKE LAYERS

• 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups (310g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (173g) sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 6 egg whites
• 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
• 2 tbsp (30ml) water
• 6 tbsp (90ml) fresh lemon juice

WHIPPED MASCARPONE FROSTING

• 2 1/2 cups (720ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 1/2 cups (173g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 16 oz (452g) mascarpone cheese, chilled*

Instructions

TO MAKE THE LEMON CURD:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a double boiler (or in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water). Heat while whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees, or coats the back of a spoon.
2. Pour the lemon curd into a heat proof bowl, cover with clear wrap pressed onto the the top of the curd to avoid a film developing, and refrigerate until cold.

TO MAKE THE CAKE LAYERS:

3. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and line three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix until combined.
6. Add the egg whites in two batches, mixing until well combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure all is incorporated and smooth.
7. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another small bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk, water and lemon juice.
8. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined. Add the milk mixture and mix until well combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
9. Divide the batter evenly between the three 8 inch pans and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
10. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE FROSTING:

11. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.
12. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly. Set whipped frosting in the refrigerator.
13. To assemble the cake, use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes.
14. Place the first layer of cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round. Pipe a dam of frosting around the outside of the cake. I use Ateco tip 808 for the dam so that it’s tall.
15. Spread half of the lemon curd evenly on top of the cake layer, inside the dam. It should fill the dam about half way full.
16. Add some mascarpone frosting to the top of the lemon filling and spread into an even layer to fill in the remaining dam space.
17. Add the second layer of cake and repeat the filling layer with the remaining lemon curd and additional mascarpone frosting.
18. Add the final layer of cake on top, then smooth out the frosting around the sides of the cake.
19. Frost the outside of the cake, then use an offset spatula to create a striped pattern on the sides of the cake, if desired. Pipe swirls of frosting onto the top of the cake and finish it off with some lemon slice candies and white pearl sprinkles.
20. Refrigerate well covered until ready to serve. I find that the cake is best when served a little chilled, but not cold. Cake should stay fresh when well covered for 2-4 days.
*I prefer to use the mascarpone cheese when still chilled, but soft, so that it’ll in corporate well, without chunks. The warmer mascarpone cheese is, the more likely it is to soften to the point that it won’t firm up well again and can make too soft of a frosting.

Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov

This is a horror graphic novel with a mental health twist. 
Echoes is the story of Brian Cohn, a loving husband and expectant father who is living with schizophrenia.  On his deathbed, Brian’s father confesses to a life as a serial killer, and a horrifying secret hidden at an abandoned suburban home.   Things go from bad to worse, as Brian starts to question if he and his father share the same madness, and Brian’s carefully-maintained sense of normalcy gives way to an ongoing nightmare.  But is that really what happened?

The author generates the tension in this story by bringing everything close to home.  The killers here aren’t monsters from hockey masks, they’re our neighbors.  Which carries its own brand of horror.
The thing that I like about this is that while Brian's struggles are very real and different from the thinking most of us experience, but we are rooting for him to come out on top. A swiftly read but not easily forgotten graphic novel.

Destination Wedding (2018)

I can see where a lot of people would not like this movie, but I would have to disagree with them.  As opposed to your average romantic comedy (which one of my sons has informed me is a form of cinema on the wane), this is a messy affair involving two people who are a little damaged and fearful of intimacy.  We can see why when we get a glimpse of the family he grew up in and she was involved with for six years before she got dumped.
Lindsay (Winona Ryder) and Frank (Keanu Reeves) meet at the airport, waiting for an eight-seat plane to take them to California wine country for a wedding. After they have bickered at the airport, the hotel, the rehearsal dinner, through the games and activities and the wedding itself, and are now back at the hotel, they are at the moment when love should be triumphing over all with a tender embrace. Not so here.
Frank and Lindsay are the entire movie. They stand out and never stop talking nonsense and complaining about everyone, even in the midst of what has to be one of the most ridiculous sex scenes ever filmed. But when Frank and Lindsey are annoying each other most, they still have an easy charm and a sparkling chemistry together. So if a quirky romcom is on the menu, think of this one.

Parenthood

Our only grand child, poised between her mother and her great grandmother, seems like the perfect theme for Mother's Day.
Parenthood is something that most people really do not get until they are there.  Even if you did some heavy lifting with the raising of a sibling for some reason, or you were a nanny or babysat a lot of children, you just do not have that exact bond with your own child.  I totally get not desiring children.  I wanted zero and my husband wanted four, and when all was said and done we had four of them, one at a time, with plenty of time to not press onward, but when you have already stepped off that cliff, you are beyond the point of heading back.  Yes, every child is one more human to get you up at night, strike fear in your heart time and time again, and who is your responsibility to get to adulthood.  But the feeling of parenthood is no stronger as more children enter your life.  You are or you are not, and there is no in between, at least for me.
As we are about to have another grand child this summer, I am thinking that it is the same thing with grandparenthood.  The first time is a huge plunge, a brand new way to be in the world, and once it happens, your heart is forever changed by it.  More is probably better, but I am still relishing the grandparent experience.

Crawfish Pasta

Tis the season! For a short period of time mid spring we can get crawfish brought up from the Gulf Coast.  These are rich, almost lobster like in their taste and this recipe, which is basically a scampi recipe with a bit of Creole seasoning and a cup of half and half, really high lights that quality.

• 1/3 c. butter
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 2/3 c. onion diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 lb. cooked crawfish tails
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 tsp. Creole seasoning
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. pasta
• Chopped parsley, for serving

1. In a saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, onions, and celery, and sauté until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Stir in the flour until the vegetables are well-coated and no white clumps remain. Stir in the tomato paste until completely combined.
2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and crawfish; let the wine simmer out for a couple of minutes. Pour in the 1/2 and 1/2. Add the creole seasoning, a generous pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and freshly ground pepper. Cook the sauce at a gentle boil until it is thickened and coats the back of the spoon, about 5 - 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste.
3. Fold the cooked pasta into the crawfish sauce. Stir in a handful of chopped parsley.

It Might Get Loud (2008)

This was a really fun documentary about three guitar legends: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2, and Jack White from the White Stripes and the Raconteurs.  So the 1960's, the 1980's, and the 2000's, all represented accounted for.
The film has at its center an unscripted Los Angeles sound stage jam session that brings the three generations of guitarists together, then branches off with personal profiles of each musician and their individual paths to developing their signature styles.
Page is the most private of the three, so his openness to the project is all the more remarkable as he invites the filmmakers into his London home to listen to his record collection and a side trip to the country house where the legendary "Stairway to Heaven"album was recorded.  He is very engaging and plays guitar throughout.
The Edge literally goes back to the Dublin high school where the U2 quartet formed as teenagers to highlight his musical journey, while a visit to his riverside studio reveals his unique, effects-laden guitar techniques and command of audio technology.
A trip to Jack White's  Tennessee home base reveals the origins of his minimalist, roots-oriented rock and blues style as he leads the filmmakers through his development as a respected musician and producer. It is just all out fun to watch and left me feeling kind of sad that it had to end.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

This is a great book, long listed for the Booker Prize, and well worth searching out.  It does a very good job of conveying the way trauma ripples across a lifetime, engulfing others along the way.  The abuse of children is forever.  This is a gentle and well written reminder of that.
The book chronicles the relationship between two teenagers in Ireland in the early 2010s. Marianne is wealthy and despised, considered “an object of disgust” at school, where “people have said she doesn’t shave her legs or anything.” Connell is poor — his mother is a cleaner at Marianne’s house — but popular. They are both very bright, Marianne openly and Connell secretly, which explains part of the popularity gap between them.
The situation shifts when they go to University.  Marianne’s eccentricities and open brilliance, make her sought after and admired. Connell’s blue-collar reticence leaves him friendless and ignored.  They slowly and somewhat painfully end their way to an adult relationship that is both satisfying and surprising.

Prayer Wheels in the Hexi Corridor

These gorgeous 6 foot tall prayer wheels were outside a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the Qilian Mountain foothills.
In Buddhism, a prayer wheel is of a hollow metal cylinder, often beautifully embossed, mounted on a rod handle and containing a tightly wound scroll printed with a mantra. Prayer wheels come in many sizes: they may be small, attached to a stick, and spun around by hand, medium-sized and set up at monasteries or temples, or very large and continuously spun by a wind or water mill.
Prayer wheels are used primarily by the Buddhists of Tibet and Nepal, where hand-held prayer wheels are carried by pilgrims and other devotees and turned during devotional activities.
According to Tibetan Buddhist belief, spinning a prayer wheel is just as effective as reciting the sacred texts aloud. This belief derives from the Buddhist belief in the power of sound and the formulas to which deities are subject. For many Buddhists, the prayer wheel also represents the Wheel of the Law (or Dharma) set in motion by the Buddha.
The prayer wheel is also useful for illiterate members of the lay Buddhist community, since they can "read" the prayers by turning the wheel.