Knitting, Singing, the Universe and all....

Just in case you were worried, we got the cabbages shredded and salted and pounded and crocked -whew!- picture is of the kraut in one of my Grandmother Emma's crocks that my mom gave me for my recent birthday. Hooray!!! I am rich in crocks because she actually gave me both of them - a #2 and a #3. Kraut is in #2, and bags of coffee beans are hiding in #3. I wonder what fermenting coffee would do....... Jon and I spent Thanksgiving day at the home of his step-sister, Stephne and her husband, Stephen. We were in charge of the pies: Super Spicy Pumpkin (Jon hand-ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon and cardamom) and Cultured Sour Cream Apple (nose in the air and pie in the mouth!). We had a great turkey dinner and even watched a little football after dinner...... I snagged the end of the couch under the lamp and knit to my heart's delight :) Then on Friday morning , my mom, Bev stopped in to pet the purps and have leftover pie and coffee, and later that day, Cindy and Dennis came ...

Yep, it's possible. Last year, I was fascinated by a bread making technique that had made the rounds of the Internet that claimed "no kneading". I have weak hands, scrawny fore arms, and actually purchased a bread machine years ago because I have never been able to "knead" properly. I was truly ashamed of my no-knead-ability. That "recipe" was a hit at our house! Essentially you mixed together water, yeast, salt and flour until "shaggy", and then let it ferment for 24 hours or so (room-temperature) before dumping it in a pre -heated cast-iron dutch oven and baking it. Yurmm ! But, eventually, we quit pre - preparing the dough on a daily basis. Another month or so and we were back to purchasing our "pain quotidien ". Recently, I found a copy of " Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" - and we are giving daily baking a new whirl. The cookbook's assortment of recipes is ..... you can find these bread-shaping ideas and in...

About a month ago, I watched my nice little retirement nest egg drop $5000 in about 2 minutes. Then, I had to shut the program. Today, I was brave enough to venture back to look again and found about 50% of my egg rather boiled. Dry. Then I spent much of the day shipping folders and then straining my brain over how to implement a "call tag" from our end to someone on the other end who had received 20 of the WRONG folders, embossed. Meaning not-re-saleable. poof! My plan for the day as of 8 a.m. was: 1) ship folders 2) finish up by 2 p.m. 3) send off my passport for more pages (we are going to China again in January) via expedited mail 4) slice cabbage to start a new batch of sauerkraut 5) make dinner 6)knit on the Holiday Hasty Gift project Revised Plan (as of 6:10 p.m.: 1) folders shipped 2) approach the UPS call-tag issue. spend 2 hours searching on-line UPS "help" for any and all key words that might possibly lead to "call tag". Ask Jon to help. Spend...

After the Swan Valley gig, we came home, worked really really hard at getting folders out the door and catching up on paperwork and then we had 3 intense rehearsals Thursday evening, Thursday later evening, and Saturday morning before this sold-out performance on Sunday in Missoula!! Here's the PROGRAM: Frostiana (Seven Country Songs set to the words of Robert Frost) - Randall Thompson The Road Not Taken The Pasture Come In Margaret Lund Schuberg, flute The Telephone A Girl's Garden Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Choose Something Like a Star Blow Ye the Trumpet - Kirke Mechem Sinfonia Sacra - Daniel Pinkham John Driscoll & James Smart, trumpets Lance Boyd & Gary Gillett, trombones Jeff Stickney, organ Distant Land - John Rutter My comments: Frostiana song cycle is a favorite of so many pepole.... but for me -meh....

Jon and I and several friends and colleagues, spent early last week in the lovely Swan Valley working with the schools in Condon and Seeley Lake. Here are a few pictures of our " Informances " with the kids. We worked with ages kindergarten through High School, from large full-gym presentations to small, in-class "help-along" sessions. We actually used a quartet of singers (Hank Jennings-Bass, Jon Rose-Tenor, Sally Ethridge -Alto, and Robbin Rose-Soprano) to sing choral excerpts from Handel's Messiah for these kids - and they were attentive and asked really good questions so we know they were paying attention!! We were accompanied by our conductor (of course!) Dr. Ron Wilcott , his wife, Debbie on the flute, our pianist extraordinaire Alice Williams, and our Chorus Manager, Kathy Settevendemie . We were in the schools, singing and presenting from 8:30 Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon, then we were joined by the Missoula Community Chorus' Chamber Chora...

Here's how to roast any autumn vegie combination, and voila! a "gourmet" dinner (as my mom calls just about anything I cook :)) First up is Hit and Run Chicken . Here's the technique: buy a really big jar of marinated artichoke hearts at Costco. Use about 1/3 of them in various pasta and green salads for several months. Eat about 1/3 of them right out of the jar when the mood strikes (use a fork!!). After another month or so, look in the fridge and decide you'd better eat them up, pronto. Pour some of the juice in a 9 x 13 pan, throw in several and varied chicken pieces - here we have a breast. I also always add at least 3-4 thighs for Jonathan (he's a leg man!). Throw the remaining artichoke hearts in the pan. Peel and chunk-chop some carrots and celery - throw those in the pan. Toss in some pine nuts that were shivering in the back of the freezer. Slice the Delicata squash received in the CSA delivery on Wednesday, and drizzle a little more of the artichoke ...

Here at the Obama House on Poplar Street, in Missoula, people have been up and hanging door knob reminders to vote today since 6 a.m. Downtown Missoula is hopping with Democrat "parties", and there is a general feeling of grand anticipation coupled with urgency and sweat!! The TV is quietly and persistently reminding us that today is a crucial date in the turning of the year, and the movement of the world. Even one butterfly's wings beating can affect a change in the weather.... every person's intention today has impact beyond their own life sphere. Here are some pictures of our house today -

After doing what I hope will be a GREAT Happy Dance on November 5th, I'll go back to knitting, and other, more domestic, entries. Thanks for sticking with me through out this most important election cycle : )Though, I will likely rant on about lots of world issues - When you think of it, politics is often the greatest application of all our domestic skills - what do we most fervently want for our future, our childrens' futures; what kind of world do we envision, and who we choose to lead us makes all the difference. Imagine. Just imagine. Then ACT!