Journaling in Beaufort

At this moment I am in Beaufort, NC. The balcony of my room happens to look out on the water. It is a pretty amazing spot. The boats are going back and forth. A school bus just went over the bridge. Across the way, some men are using a hose to clean off their place of business and they are all wearing white boots; I saw some boats up next to that building earlier. Another man is on the pier fishing. The wind is blowing as the seagulls fly and squawk.

 And here I sit, watching it all happen. I wonder if any of them are aware that they are being watched, or has it crossed their minds at all. For that matter, someone might be watching me as I sit on this balcony writing this.

I do my best to take in my surroundings because I might be able to use it in a story later. I want to remember what I see, so I write it down in a journal. I describe the birds (I think they are storks) floating on top of the water, the rattle of the bridge as the cars go over it, the absolutely blue sky that graduates from a true Carolina blue to a pale baby blue in the distance. The smell of fish, the bottle cap left on the rail, the odd shape of the pier. Any of these descriptions could go into a story.

When I am sharing a story I want to paint a picture. My goal is to disappear so all that is left is the story. I sometimes go to a coffee shop or store and try to disappear into a corner to watch people and take in the surroundings. Being aware of how the people walk, hold their coffee, cross their legs, or even talk to the barista helps me to prepare a story.

Sometimes friends will call or text me with something that could really add to a story. For instance, a friend sent me a text telling me that a man in Starbucks ordered a cup of regular coffee and spent nearly $10 on it. I responded with a gasp. She continued to tell me that he got 6 shots of expresso and a bunch of other stuff dumped in it. That tidbit she shared with me will so go in my journal to use in a story one day. 

As I finish writing this post, I wish I had some inspirational note to wrap it all up, but I don’t. Instead, I'm attaching some pictures of the view from my balcony.

Now, I am going to go disappear into a corner.

Pondering...

If you read my blogs very often you can probably tell they are just ponderings.

I ponder most of the day and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. I think about a lot of things; for instance, why do emergency vehicles have different sounds in different countries? OK, so I realize there is not a United Federation of Emergency Sounds, but really, why are they different? Who decided what was a good emergency sound? Was there a group of people who got together in a secret room somewhere and brought a bunch of noise makers to come up with the proper sounds?

I think about stuff like that. My brain just goes; it’s not like I intentionally think; stuff just pops in my head. It is not uncommon for me to exclaim, “Oh, my, gosh!!”, because something has just opened up in my head. I have been notified that there is something else to ponder.

These little sparks make me want to learn. I want to find out about things. I want to explore it all; visit museums, watch documentaries, talk to people, go to plays and the theatre. I want to travel to Ireland, Scotland, Alaska, California; take a cruise around the Caribbean. I want to experience life and think about it.

I have been asked many times, “Why do you think about things like that?”  I don’t know; thoughts just climb into my head and take a seat, so I ponder about it.

Since I am a storyteller and puppeteer, it is good that I think about things so much. Pondering is how I develop my stories and create my characters. 

Take some time today and ponder. You might be surprised what climbs into your head.

All plans subject to change without notice!

My blog has been lost. Darn it!!!

I write my blogs ahead of time. I do my best to stay ahead of the game and most weeks I can do that but not this week, and not next week. I wrote my blogs but they have gone AWOL… absent without leave. When I saw that they were gone, I gasped and then shouted to no one, "NOOOOO!!"

This… was… not… my… plan!!! My plan was to have it all in order, to write something philosophical, to inspire, to speak truth. Oh well, so much for that.

This situation does remind me, however, of a mantra that my father often stated when I was growing up, “All plans subject to change without notice.” Ain’t that the truth? It is a mantra that still rings through my home and my siblings' homes, as well. 

Let’s face it, we all make plans — then sometimes our plans work out and sometimes they just don’t. The key is to change and keep on going. It might seem like everything is falling apart, but really they might be falling into place. Change leads you down a different path, to a new opportunity, often to something bigger and better. But let's be honest, sometimes it just rots, too!! In that case, you take a breath and change again.

Stuff happens. It is what it is. Sometimes it seems the only thing constant is change. So go ahead, make a plan and set priorities — but always keep this in mind as you tackle that to-do list: All Plans Subject to Change Without Notice.

Fire trucks, doughnuts, and cider

I LOVE the Fall!! Always have!! The cool fresh air, crisp apples, cider, sweaters, scarves, and, of course, the colors of the leaves! Love it, love it, love it!!

I grew up in a tiny community, Richmondville, New York. There are still only about 2,000 people in the village. The school, Richmondville Central School, was one main building and it housed K-12, less than 500 students in the entire school district. The brick structure had three floors and the high school was on the 3rd level. There were a couple of extra buildings for shop class and a house for home economics. 

Every Fall near Halloween, there was an evening when the Volunteer Fire Department would open and they would serve powdered doughnuts and apple cider for free to the community. The big thrill, though, was the ride on the back of the fire truck. We would step on the landing and climb up onto the heavy fabric of the hoses. When there was no space left for anyone else to get on that big red machine, the driver would clang the bell and run the siren and we were off. The air was cold on our faces and nearly everyone on the ride wore a jacket with a hood and gloves. It only took about 10 trips for every child in the community to get a ride. I participated in the tradition even through high school and college. It just wasn’t Fall without powdered doughnuts, cider, and a ride on the fire truck.

It’s a simple memory and it comes back to me every October. I live in Charlotte, NC, now and although there are no October fire truck rides (that I know of), I do have to have at least one powdered doughnut and cup of cider to welcome the season!! It just wouldn’t be Fall without it.

Here are a few pictures I took on a summer trip back to Richmondville.   

Oatmeal Pancakes and Waffles

Sometimes on my personal Facebook page I post pictures of food — doesn’t everybody? I often get requests for my recipes. I am, what I call, a "cupboard cook." In other words, I look to see what is in the cupboard, then I dump it together to make a meal. Sure, I do have a few recipes that I follow, but even then I usually alter them in some way. 

In my kitchen I try to stay as organic as I can and eat only humanely raised meat. Most of our meals are vegetarian, but we do have meat about once a week. Nearly every Sunday morning I make oatmeal pancakes or waffles for breakfast. So many people have asked for the recipe, I decided to try to share my recipe/process here. So here goes.

Here is the recipe I began with. It hangs on my refrigerator, along with some other recipes I use often. The original recipe did call for whole rolled oats but unground make it kind of dense, so I started to grind down whole rolled oats in the food processor to make it into a flour and the recipe lighter. I always grind extra oats into flour to keep in a canister on my counter; that way, I only have to make oat flour once a month or so.

Over time I have gradually changed the recipe to replace the all-purpose flour with ground oat flour. I also add extra baking power and baking soda to help the waffles or pancakes rise. Honestly, my husband and I prefer the heartiness of the oatmeal rather than white flour; we find it fills us better and we end up eating less. Oats are also more complex than all-purpose flour, providing more fiber and nutrition. To boost the fiber an extra notch, try adding a tablespoon of ground flaxseed. (I grind my flaxseed, too — using a coffee grinder that is reserved just for herbs, nuts, and seeds.)

I do like creating variations of the recipe. Sometimes I add fruit, like blueberries. Pecans or walnuts are a great addition. It's also fun to play with spices; pumpkin spice is one of our favorites!! The recipe was was delicious when I added some leftover pumpkin (1/4 - 1/2 cup) that was in my fridge. The point is to have fun with the recipe and just use what you have. Spices can be stirred directly into the batter. I don't add the fruits and nuts to the batter; instead, I put some batter on the griddle, then add the fruit and nuts. That way, it's also easy to customize the recipe for each person.

I really like using a nicely-seasoned cast iron griddle to cook my pancakes. Be sure to heat up the skillet before adding spray-on oil or butter. Pour your batter on immediately; this helps to keep it from sticking. You want a hot pan and cool oil.

You can use the same process for making waffles. Simply add a little extra liquid; waffle batter should be a bit thinner than pancake batter. Add some homemade whipped cream, a side of humanely-raised turkey sausage or turkey bacon, and you have a perfect breakfast.

I hope this helps a little. If you have any questions, make a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Happy Breakfast to all!!