Vote! Please, Everybody, Vote!

I am not a rabid debate watcher in general, but this election cycle is so unpredictable that I have changed my usual behavior.  It is so scary that a man so wholly unsuited for public office is even in contention for winning is extremely scary.  So I have watched the two presidential debates and the vie-presidential debate as well.
I don't understand the choice of Mike Pence as a running mate.  He doesn't bring much to the table.  It is unlikely that Indiana will be the state that will put him over the top, but then again you never know.  In any case, I found him offensive before I heard him debate because of his views on gays and women, but hearing it from his own lips was appalling.
He literally described bringing America together on the issue of abortion by eliminating abortion and putting those children up for adoption.  That would be his idea of compromise.  How is that any sort of compromise?  When Tim Kaine talked about a woman's right to make choices about her own body, he almost scoffed.  His response was so patronizing to women that it was painful to watch.  I felt quite sincerely that he wanted us to not go back merely to the 1950's but to the 1850's.  He wanted a chance to squelch the right for women to vote right at the inception of the movement and have men control it start to finish.  So please, voting is a privilege that should not be ignored.  I have already voted, and urge you to also.

Timer (2009)

Really, the best thing about this movie is that it is a light romantic comedy that is streaming on

Netflix.  It is accessible in every sense of the word.  The story is an unusual one.  It is in the near future and everyone has the option of getting a timer, which alerts them to how long it will be until they meet their true love.  This is something that is supremely unattractive to me, and at the same time something that I think is literally impossible to do.  The things that life throws at you make a difference in the quality and quantity of relationships that one has.  In the eye of 'Timer', there is one true person for you, and you have to wait for that person--then you find them, through the miracle of your timer going off, and then it is very awkward because while you now know this is your life love, you don't know the at all.  So it is kind of like an arranged marriage.   Weird.  Despite all this, I enjoyed the movie and the tensions that it created around themes of love.

James Beard Dinner Experience

I had never been to an actual James Beard dinner, but was privileged to do so last weekend in Kansas City.  It was a wonderful experience of being around all sorts of people who love food and who support the ever burgeoning fine food movement in the United States.  My friends at Green Dirt Farm were serving their wonderful cheese during the appetizer portion of the evening and it was spectacular.  The display of cheeses amongst artisanal charcuterie from the Midwest, dried fruits, nuts, and pickled vegetables was the best appetizer out there.  Competing with them was Howard Hannah's sardine appetizer and the cocktails prepared by the Rieger, with wonderful flavor and balance.  The meal itself was very good and prepared with an eye towards feeding 300 guests all at once in a venue that was used primarily for catering rather than as a restaurant.  The first course and the dessert were cold dishes, and the second course was served at room temperature.  The advantage being that only the main course had to be served hot, and so the entire focus could be on that.  I think it is very smart, and if I am ever in a position to serve a large fancy meal at my place, I am going to remember this.  We food was delicious, and the evening was a lot of fun.  I would certainly attend another and I do very much support the work that the foundation is doing.

Quilt Week in Des Moines, Iowa

This week is Quilt Week (well, really it is half a week) in Des Moines.  It is an event that is held by the American Quilt Society and While I have been quilting for over 30 years, and lived in Iowa for 26 years, I have never managed to get to this event.  This year, the year that I had way more sick leave than vacation time, this is the year that I made time for it.  Barely, mind you.  I am still struggling to make the time and commit the energy to being creative with my hands again, to get back to making things that say something about me.  I am going to be there for a say and a half, and while that is less than half of the event, it is way more than I have managed recently.
The timing is good.  I have made three quilts this summer, and I have taken seven courses at my locally owned small craft store and not only have I loved them, I have also finished every project that I have started there.  That is definitely a personal record for me.  When I was a resident I managed to take a lot of classes, but I was no where near 100% in terms of completion.  So I am on a roll, and it feels really good, so I hope these two classes go well, and that I get to see a lot of inspirational quilts!

Sweet and Sour Eggplant and Tomatoes

This is a really delicious way to have eggplant and tomatoes that is not ratatouille.  It has a different kind of flavor profile and more protein for the vegetarians amongst us.  I have a lot of each of these, and this recipe will be a keeper.

• 1 1/2 lb.  eggplant cut into small cubes
• Salt to taste
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, as needed
• 2 large garlic cloves minced
• 1 ½ pounds tomatoes chopped
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, or a combination of mint and parsley

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy lidded casserole or skillet. Add the garlic. Cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and cook until softening, adding a bit of water if the pan starts to brown.  Stir in the tomatoes, salt to taste, sugar and pepper. Bring to a simmer, and simmer uncovered over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell very fragrant.
2. Add the pomegranite molasses and chickpeas. Cover and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. The mixture should be thick and the eggplant should be very tender, melting into the mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle on the parsley and/or mint, and serve. Alternately, allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Take Me Home (2016)

This is a fun film to watch when you want something light but not too light.  It is streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime (so you can download it to your tablet for travel ease).  This movie follows the script for a road trip movie with a dash of romantic comedy thrown in.  Pop the popcorn and sit back for a movie where you know what to expect. 
There is an almost invariable formula to the road movie. The protagonists must travel a great distance in an impossibly short amount of time. For some reason, early on, everyone runs out of money and only realizes it at an inopportune moment, forcing the travelers to devise hare-brained schemes to fund their odyssey. At some point, their source of transportation fails, leading them from their preferred method of transport into something altogether different, and potentially perilous. And if the movie stars a man and a woman, you can bet that even if they initially despise each other or if one of them is currently romantically involved, they're going to hook up eventually.  This movie follows that exactly, but because the man and the woman, Tom and Claire in this case, are both in their mid-thirties, there is something bittersweet in their demeanor and the complications are more substantial than a younger couple would face.  Life is complicated, and yet there is still an opportunity to change it for the better.

15 Minutes of Fame

The University of Iowa does a Dance Marathon to raise money for childhood cancer causes.  It is a student run organization that raises literally millions of dollars each year to support childhood cancer research as well as multiple endeavors that benefit children who are being treated for cancer or who have survived it.  It is a very good cause, and one that is dear to our hearts as we have a childhood cancer survivor under our roof.  Our second son, featured in this photo right under Herky, the University of Iowa mascot who is crowd surfing right over his head, spent hundreds of hours during his college career participating in Dance Marathon.  The photo is prominently featured at the local airport and has been for the past 2 1/2 years.  We love to visit it when we are there, and point him out, as we are doing here.  It is like an icon, something that represents him that we have nothing to do with.  He, however, is less fond of it.  It is the moment of fame that fails to completely fade away.  So beware of what you wish for. 

Happy New Year

I has been a difficult year for me, but that is no reason to not celebrate the new year.  I have had major abdominal surgery,  been on chemotherapy almost the entire year, and I have been unexpectedly hospitalized on more than one occasion this past year.  On the traditional calendar, I had met my deductible for the year within the first few days, because I was in the ICU and those bills add up quickly.  No more niggling copayments.  Come in for a liter of fluids?  Not a problem.  Not that I would hunt for bargain basement prices for my healthcare, but it is indicative of the seriousness of the situation.
So what is there to celebrate?  Thankfully quite a lot.  One thing about being seriously ill is that I was the recipient of hundreds of acts of kindness.  I spoke early on with a woman who was a couple of years ahead of me in the ovarian cancer maze, and she told me how much the cards she received meant to her going forward, so I saved them all in a box for future inspiration.  I received lots of beautiful things that were helpful to me in terms of spirit, as well as being actually useful.  It was humbling and heart warming, and I am looking forward to what I can do this year to reciprocate some of the wonderfulness that I got last year.  So celebrate everyone!

Green Dirt Farm Creamery, Weston, Missouri

Green Dirt Farm has gotten some wonderful press.  The most recent article is from the Wall Street Journal this week, and while it highlights more of the sheep’s milk cheese that the farm produces than most articles do, it is one in a long stream of press that describe this remarkably wonderful cheese.  Unfortunately, despite the press, there are many challenges in getting the cheese into the hands of appreciative consumers, and so the opening of a creamery in Weston, where the farm resides and the cheese is produced is one of the latest efforts to increase their visibility.  The sandwiches at this shop are wonderful, especially the grilled cheese!  And to make things even better, the ice cream is absolutely the best.  It is well worth a trip to try the cheese, and there is a wine room from Vox Vinyards to try local wines as well.

Singing in the Rain (1952)

My youngest got this out of the library because it is a film that was technically difficult to make when it was done, and because it is a classic.  The one thing that I loved about it was that it pretty accurately depicted to Hollywood studio situation prior to modern day, where actors were under contract to a studio, and they had little choice about who did what for whom.  The story is very mundane, even as romantic comedies go.  A big star meets a woman who intrigues him from the beginning, and she has no interest in him.  Up until the time that she develops an interest and then they are a thing.  No big surprise there.  The singing and dancing are superb, and make the movie well worth watching, even though it is terribly dated.