'Tis the season for roasting chestnuts and, when I found them at the supermarket, I bought some thinking it would be fun to roast them. I'd never done so before and figured it would be neat to try something new. And so they were roasted today.
First I scored them will very dull knives.
Then they soaked for a spell.
Next they spent some time in the oven and voila!
Earthy, buttery, and slightly sweet. Delicious.
A friend gave me a Japanese chocolate bar with a label that was bursting with cuteness.
Upon opening the wrapper, I found that a kitten trading card was included!
With a kitten on each side!
A friend treated me to dinner last night at Swagat in Sun Prairie and I ordered something I've never had before: hariyali chicken.
Instead of the brilliant red of tandoori chicken, this stuff was green.
I'm not sure what else was in the marinade besides cilantro - a bit of mint, perhaps - but it was very tasty. Definitely something I'd like to try to cook at home.
This song meant a lot to me as the move from Chicago to Wisconsin loomed in my future. Now, in the new apartment, it once again has a special resonance.
When I get up to refill my coffee and see Piper sleeping in her home, feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, this place feels more like home to me.
I busted out the breadmaker yesterday and tried my hand at making a loaf of rye bread. Well, "making" is a bit of an overstatement since I was, after all, using a breadmaker.
The recipe was from the manual that came with it and called for a ratio of something like 2.5:1 wheat to rye flour. I tweaked it to roughly 1.5:1 and am proud to say that this loaf turned out much better than the last one:
Chewy crust, tender & juicy inside - it was rather tasty. But it still needed more rye taste so I will continue to increase the amount of rye flour in subsequent loaves. I believe using fresh yeast is what made the difference here.
My stepson printed this, a housewarming gift for me.
A couple weeks back I discovered that the east side Woodman's was carrying a selection of delicious comestibles from a Polish bakery down in the Chicago area, Ideal Bakery.
My eyes initially caught a display of breads.
What is the difference between the Polish rye and the Jewish rye? Caraway?
In addition to the Staff of Life, there were also an assortment of sweets to be had. N.B. that the pączki were in a different area than the bread and other sweets - they were over by the doughnuts. Sadly no prune.
Last week I spied a woodpecker clinging to the side of the house. I don't think I've ever gotten this close to one, albeit with a window between us.
A friend who is going through a divorce of her own sent me a couple gifts and a lovely card with an equally lovely sentiment. A small gesture, perhaps, but it had a big impact.
Seen at Gamehole Con:
I hemmed and hawed on buying a bottle and by the time I decided to pull the trigger they were out.
I went to get ice cream the other day and when I saw this
I chuckled to myself because my brain started thinking snappy nappy dugout. Hmm...
Here is the schedule for this year's Madison Polish Film Festival which again takes place over the course of 2 Sundays:
9 November
3:00 p.m. CHOPIN, CHOPIN (2025)
While in Birmingham I bought a bag of African coffee from 200º Coffee. At some point I will rant about the English and their coffee culture (tea still rules the roost over there, it seems) but know that I stopped in at 2 of their shops. It was at the second that I asked what a "Brew Bar" was and discovered much to my delight that it was drip coffee.
Don't get me started on Americanos.
Anyway, I recently busted out their beans.
It was delicious! Earthy, roasty with a bit of stonefruit. Exactly why African coffees are my favorites.
47 years since this great show from Genesis. Broadcast on the radio, this show is legendary.
Some scenes from my trip to Boston. Well, the Boston area as I was only in Boston proper when I was at the airport. Rather my trip was spent in Concord, Framingham, Haverhill, Somerville, Groveland, Methuen, and Beverly.
I landed at Logan and got a car. Then it was off to Concord for a pilgrimage to Walden Pond.
Massachusetts had a lot more color than we do here and it was gorgeous. But more importantly, it was absolutely sublime. My heart was beating out of control as I crossed the road and entered Walden Pond State Reservation. I went down to the main beach and hit the Pond Trail which runs along the shore, 1.7 miles, if I recall correctly. My excitement could barely be contained at walking where Henry David Thoreau's footfalls landed and I became consumed with awe.
My nose was enraptured by the smell of pine as I ambled down the trail. It smelled wonderful! I felt like a little kid and ran my hands through the evergreen needles on the boughs I was walked past. Looking up into the trees and then over at the pond, sniffing the pine, feeling the sun upon my skin - it was the blooming and buzzing awe at the majesty of Nature.
At one point I realized that I had missed the site of Thoreau's cabin and so, after I finished the loop, I started it again. The caretakers of Walden aren't exactly enamored of signs so it took a little wayfinding along with some wrong turns before I found it.
A reproduction of his cabin has been erected by the visitors center along with a statue of the man.
Just perfect. I love this statue because it captures one of Walden's main themes: how to live one's life?
What a tremendous, soul shaking experience. I shall never forget it.
I wasn't through with Concord and returned the next day to investigate Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
It features Authors Ridge where the graves of Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, and Ralph Waldo Emerson lie. It took me a while but I finally found it.
Thoreau ran the family pencil business, you see, in addition to being a writer.
I was also in the area to visit an old friend and his family. He and I went out sightseeing one day and I caught St. Joseph catching some rays one evening at St. Basil's Seminary.
We also went out to sample some seafood which I had neglected to do last year in Boston.
Why yes The Simpsons did come to mind.
My friend and his Frau got their daughter a kitten. She was adorable with the cutest ear tufts.
My trip was timed purrfectly for another reason:
Madison's own Forward Marching Band represented the Dairyland.
I kinda sorta vaguely know one of the members. When I said hello between songs I was most unexpectedly given a big hug which meant more to me than I think this person knew. (Hugs mean so much to me right now so thanks!) I was representing Wisconsin with my Ski-Hi Fruit Farm t-shirt and 2 of the band members knew someone who worked there and so I got a nod of approval from Anna Purnell during a song and the other woman came over to me afterwards and asked to take a photo of me with her so that she could send it to her friend who worked there.
HONK! was marvelous and I "danced" the whole time. It felt great to move my body.
Afterwards my friend and I had dinner. I ate a Korean Hot Cheetos corn dog so you don't have to.
With our bellies full, it was off to The Cabot to see Steve Hackett. It was a special night as I had gotten my friend into Genesis back in the sixth grade when I handed him my copy of A Trick of the Tail and said knowingly, "Listen to this..." He'd never seen Hackett live which only added to the magic of the night.
It was a fantastic show. "Shadow of the Hierophant" was fantastic as usual and the extra soloing at the end of "Supper's Ready" was again transcendent. Plus The Lamb material was simply spectacular. And I love love love "Circo Inferno", one of Hackett's newest pieces.
Besides all of this fun & excitement, it was sheer joy spending time with my friend and his family. His daughter has grown into a precocious nine and a half year old and I am slowly getting to know his wife. We all watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail and played Cards Against Humanity, Family Edition. And his wife cooked a tasty Lebanese dinner.
My friend and I also found time for some heart to heart conversation where we discussed our marriages and our lives.
The trip was only a few days long but it was packed with activities and music, with shared meals and communion. It was an intense long weekend and I am still processing it all. So many thoughts fill my mind about what I experienced and heard.
In Walden Thoreau asked how one should live one's life and I find myself asking that question frequently lately as I move into another chapter, as I start mine over in certain ways. What do I want my life to be like once my divorce is over? Is how I feel now going to continue when I am a bachelor once again?
I am preparing to move out of our marital residence and will soon be living alone for the first time in my life. Well, living without another human as I will have Piper. That I shall feel lonely is certain and I need to figure out how to confront the loneliness, to keep it at bay. Perhaps to use it for my own ends?
Having said all this, I do feel that I have been living more deliberately since my divorce began and I take solace that this can provide a foundation for building a new life, for figuring out how to live.
