People in the Public Eye

I don't consider myself to be star-struck by any means...  I'm not one to "ooh and ah" over anyone's every breath but rather, I look at people with some sort of celebrity status (whether they are a movie star,  politician or a Church authority) as a normal person who's job puts their every move under the microscope of public scrutiny.

Still there are some people who I find very interesting.

Bristol Palin is one of those interesting people.  She has a blog that I follow, Bristol's Blog.  Is it a campaign trick for her mother's political ambitions?  Or a publicity stunt to boost sales of her book?  Perhaps.  But now and then it's fun to take a glimpse into the life of a well-known and sometimes controversial family.  A family, who celebrity status notwithstanding, looks an awfully lot like most families I know with their own struggles and moments of joy.

Awhile back, Bristol put up this post about why she is (now) choosing abstinence before marriage.  While I agree with her that it is best to put solid commitment before a sexual relationship, not everyone sees it that way.  And that's ok... we all have the agency to choose for ourselves in this life.  What I think surprised me is the attack mentality of those who disagree.  It is Bristol's blog... her forum to share her ideas and beliefs.

Just like this blog is my forum to put my thoughts into words.  It's my space to share the things that are important to me.  Your approval, while appreciated, isn't necessary.  I'm going to keep telling my story in my voice.

I hope Bristol Palin keeps her voice as well.

The Lilacs Are In Bloom!

I love lilacs!  Especially these big, substantial looking, darker purple ones.   Wish I could capture their intoxicating fragrance for a wonderful potpourri.

My childhood home in Shelley had 2 very old 'lilac trees' or bushes that had been pruned over many decades so that there were huge twisted trunks with peeling bark.  Many dolly tea parties were held in the shade below...  I love that my home in Salt Lake has the same sort of lilac tree, though not nearly as big and old and gnarled, over the back of the garage with a juniper towering above and purple grapes on the fence below

With storms moving in for tonight and tomorrow they'll probably be thrashed so I took this opportunity to capture a few photos.

Can't you almost imagine the luscious heady scent wafting through the air from these beautiful blooms?

Lilacs are one of the flowers that remind me of happy childhood memories and the start of a carefree summer.  In Idaho, where the season is a bit later, lilacs were among the flowers we picked fresh in the yard to decorate family graves for Memorial Day. After a visit to the cemetery we often had a picnic and, if we were really lucky, a swim in the warm mineral pools at Heise Hot Springs.

I truly love the lilac time of year!!

Clean Up Day

I'm sure there is an annual clean up day in many communities around the world.  But for those of you who, like I did, find this a  strange new idea... clean up day is a designated day where you can haul junk to the curb that doesn't fit your every week trash can and the municipality comes around with a big truck to gather it up and haul it away.

We have such a thing in Salt Lake City!

Each year, a few weeks ahead of time, the City mails an over-sized postcard telling us the date of pickup, when it's acceptable to start moving trash to the curb and a reminder of the rules for what can be in our junk piles.  The dates rotate through all of the neighborhoods so everyone has a chance sometime during every year between March and October (I think).  We never know until the postcard arrives if our clean up day will be early in the spring or late in the fall.

When I moved here from rural Southeast Idaho, it was my first experience with a clean up day and over the years I've observed this ritual with many different emotions.  First was curiosity; almost overwhelming curiosity.  Then came a sort of disgust that the same people could accumulate so much junk year after year.  Later, I felt a bit of satisfaction as I joined the many roving 'curb shoppers' and scored some lawn furniture, planters, canning bottles and an antique dining table.  Some years I've felt relief as I had an abundance of trash that needed to be hauled away.  Other times I've sat inside and watched in utter amusement as car after car stops out front to rifle through my trash in search of their treasures.  In fact I'm watching someone out there right now!

This is my contribution for Salt Lake's Spring Clean Up 2012.  There's some rubble from tearing down the old patio structure in the back, a few odd pieces of dry wall from some minor remodeling in the basement, carpet scraps from the downstairs bedroom and a broken picnic table.  Long gone are the old metal electrical box and a couple of lengths of pipe... those are the prizes for the curb shoppers as they can be scrapped for cash.

Today is the day the truck begins in my neighborhood.  Most years, my pile gets picked up on the first day.  I'm kind of hoping to be a little farther into the cycle this round because there's still junk I'd like to add to the pile.

And I will keeping adding to it until I see the City's trucks headed down my street!

A Trial Run

Off and on for a long time I've talked about a dream I have to adopt some kids.  In my mind I've always had a preference for a 2-3 child sibling group.  I've read (and re-read many times) all the information on adoption websites and felt the heart-tugs during Wednesday's Child presentations both on TV and on the web.  But I've always held back from making that first phone call to start the process because of doubts about if I could make a great parent and if I even qualified under the State of Utah's rules.   But it's time to either move forward or give up the dream and right now I have the opportunity to test my commitment, patience, sanity, endurance and probably lots of other skills I can only hope I possess while stretching my suffering finances a little farther.  I have a roommate moving in for a few months with 5 kids - 4 teen girls and a 5-year old boy.

One day soon I'll ask Tami (the mom) to share her story of just how much can go wrong in life and where she finds her resilience as she works to right their situation and create happy and meaningful memories for her kids... but for now I'd like you to meet the Nelson family:  Tami, Morgan, Rachel, Nikki, and Sarah (to the left) and the handsome little man, Jake (with mom, below).





So... if you see my focus drifting to more family-oriented topics and activities and "we" taking the place of "I" in these posts, you know why.  I'm going to be learning what life looks like with children in the home 24/7 and how to organize, prioritize and keep boundaries with them in mind.  It's going to be quite the experience!

Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale

A few weeks ago a friend asked to store some things in my garage while she moved.  Moving got a bit of a wrinkle in it so her things have been there somewhat longer than anticipated but she has been organizing (I needed my lawn mower and garden tools to be accessible) and getting things sorted out after her helpers just kind of stuffed it in any which way.  In doing that she's unearthed several boxes of food and gave them to me.  In many cases much more than I will ever use, so I'm going to be looking to re-gift many items.

This morning, since it's too cold and rainy for me to want to be out in the garden so far, I've been looking through a collection of fancy oils, vinegars and other seasonings. With labels lacking storage instructions for after the bottle was opened, and because my mom put opened vinegar bottles in the fridge, I always had done that too.  But you don't need to... I learned a cool dark cupboard is ideal.  And even a bit of exposure to heat and light isn't going to destroy the quality of the vinegar.

I found the historic lore of balsamic vinegar, or Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, on the website of The Napolean Co. quite interesting.

Vinegar is one of the oldest fermented products known to man.  The word vinegar comes from the French words for wine, “vin”, and “aigre”, meaning sour, which in turn came from the Latin “vinum acer”.  Vinegar in Italy is named “aceto” for the aerobic bacteria that produces vinegar rather for the wine from which it is made.  The Babylonians were making vinegar as early as 5000 B.C.  Hippocrates recommended vinegar for its medicinal benefits as early as the 5th Century, B.C.  “Balsamico” derives its name from the word “balm” (rooted in the Latin balsalum), which refers to an aromatic odor/resin, a healing or soothing medicine or aromatic, a medicinal substance possessing a spicy fragrance as well as stimulant qualities.  (It has nothing to do with balsa wood).  It is also reported to have been used as an aphrodisiac, a gargle, and tonic, in addition to its use as an air purifier against the Black Plague.  Written records mentioning special vinegars made in the town of Modena (a historic town west of Bologna) and long aging in wood barrels date to the 11th century.  It appears, however, that the first Balsamic was preserved/barreled by the Este Family in the Hodgna region around 1300.  The earliest written recordings of Balsamic date back to 1747, where it is mentioned in the vintage books and sale records of the Este Family.  By the 19th century, heads of state knew Archduke Francesco Tu for his “aceto del duca”, which he gave as a symbol of friendship.

If you decide to give balsamic as a gift, you’re in royal company - Count Boniface of Modena presented a barrel as a gift to Emperor Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire.   In those days, balsamic was consumed primarily as a drink or a digestif…it was kept in the family, passed from generation to generation, as it aged.  New barrels were started at birth, and given away at weddings.

 A little farther into their webpage, there are a number of ways to use balsamic vinegar beyond the expected oil and vinegar salad dressings.  Thinking on which to try first:

• to give flavor depth to soups and stews
• drizzled over meats and vegetables
• splash over fresh berries
• pour over Brie
• as a marinade for chicken or duck
• drizzled over vanilla ice cream
• blended into pasta

I first started using balsamic vinegar 7-8 years ago after visiting Portland OR for work and having a tomato salad at the Portland Chop House (seemingly now closed) at Embassy Suites.  It was simply sliced heirloom tomatoes with a bit of freshly cracked black pepper and parmesan shavings drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction.   And it was so wonderful that I started trying to recreate it with my own garden tomatoes.  Even after all these years, I've not quite got the reduction perfected but the experiments have been so very enjoyable!