Recalling spring

Eats first! Particularly vibrant snack plate that highlights my resurgence in grocery shopping and dining at home.

I've been thinking a lot about wealth and consumption lately, having re-read The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn and finished Revolution in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan. Both excellent. What am I supposed to do with my money? Is it really so I can buy more stuff and eat at fancier places? I realize I'm more like the rich, young ruler and my call is more like his than I'd like to think.

Back in April, the tree across the street burst with publicly beheld beauty despite all the signage and fence.

My second (mini) dinner party: Chicken Marsala tacos with Tiffany and Juanita. We watched Planet Earth. I made the guacamole and gave them my secret on easy authentic-looking salsa: put some Tostitos chunky medium in the blender. :) That's nappa cabbage next to the chicken.

So I came to NYC to cover my friend's maternity leave. I'd been back in 2009 as some of you may remember for her first maternity leave. I finally got to meet her new baby last week and here's her big firstborn son!

After I met the boys, we went to Queens for Thai by way of Williamsburg where we saw another colleagues lovely new apartment and Greenpoint where we got some pre-lunch Polish pastries.

After lunch, Tiffany and I went to MoMA and got hot cocoa with marshmellows (see the link to Terrace 5, it's in the slideshow) in tradition and this blueberry tart. There is a blueberry theme to my blog, I think.

View from the Terrace 5. The rain poured down and we enjoyed watching it fall. 

The summer is nice. I'm playing softball with my company team, training for a sprint triathlon in Richlandia in July, watching lots of TV  (SYTYCD, The Voice), and seeing old friends. Hopefully making a few new ones too. We'll see...

Ten lepers-esque

Waiting for my re-booked flight out of Salt Lake City (free wifi!). I volunteered to take a later flight in return for 300 Delta dollars and a $7 meal voucher that I just redeemed at Wolfgang Puck Express for a turkey avocado sandwich. And after making up the 86 cent balance, I have 25 cents left in cash.

This is what Christians call a praise report. i.e., I didn't want to spend the subway fare to head into Manhattan but I did want to see Nancy one last time. Remembered that my two-week unlimited expired today and not yesterday. So I got to see Nancy without extra cost.

Then, Nancy paid for my beef goulash at Hallo Berlin after we met Diane--a lonely elder lady who is family-less in NYC and said her company voted to stop paying for health insurance instead of doing layoffs. She said her insurance bill is more than her rent. Nancy shared with her about the only For Sure we have.

As mentioned, my metrocard expired today but I didn't have to use it because last night I went to Jersey City and stayed the night at Linsey's place. And she and Kristen made curry split pea soup, linguini and meatballs, and a huge lemon tart with freshly whipped schlag. Then, they both woke up at 5:30am to drive me to Newark. Did I mention I don't have enough money to pay for the path/nj transit/airtrain? No worries.

Moreover, as far as my Tucson plans I don't have a job yet nor a place to live. I was beginning to wonder: is this happening? Am I gonna have to bum off my parents indefinitely? How am I even gonna GET to Tucson? Cue overbooking of my Salt Lake-Pasco flight. Now I have $300 to fly to Tucson! Wow. Thank you, my God. Love, me of little faith. What kind of volunteering ends up with $307 in compensation? Wow.

Also, on my Newark-SLC segment, I uses the free wifi trial, flight attendant gave me extra Biscoff (dude I love those cookies), and I had the row to myself.

Oh, and since I'm on a roll, at _two_ upstairs climbs on my trip from Juanita's in Queens to Jersey City, a young woman offered to help me with my luggage. Two angels. At separate places at the right time.    

Ninth morning in Queens

I've got two hours to post some photos. Let's go!



Thanksgiving! My whole family at my sister's house with her husband's family too.



Sue, my roommate from my Israel trip, with Mooch's cousin!













The view from Sue's kitchen window. You better believe that I want to take her up on her guest room offer! Amazing.



Currant scone and curd at Rice in Fort Greene.















Nini! Just as cute as last time we hung out.




Linsey with her fabulous new hair cut!

















Anna and Ben's menagerie: Bubbles (the bear), Nay Nay (the donkey), and Pigletta. I didn't get the little ones' names. Hung out with Anna yesterday, met for lunch at Zemi, where the tofu was quite good, and then I saw her apartment in Park Slope. It's beautifully decorated and there is lots of light.




After leaving Anna's, I traveled deeper into Brooklyn to Nancy's mom's house where she persuaded her mom to cook for me (and the rest of the family and half the neighborhood). Chicken and spaghetti. Oh my! Yum! This is it cooking.




And here it is plated, my plate to be exact.


Final shot is Evelyn (Nancy's mom), Alexis (Nancy's brother), and Nancy. What fun! We decorated and laughed well into the night. I am thankful for good eats and shared eats.

Guns & Noodles

This is Elegua, Olivia's pitbull mix puppy. We took him to Bad Dog training class yesterday and it was educational. For me. He got a lot of treats and got to pee indoors. But I think he'll grow lots.






On Saturday, we went to the gun show!








They don't allow photographs inside so here's the one I got caught taking. The rest you'll have to use your imagination if you haven't already been to a gun show yourself. Olivia owns an old Beretta that she was looking to get a magazine for. But no one had one that fit her model. I amused myself by practicing apologetics with a nice lady whose father has self-published literature asserting the King James Version of the bible is the only one we should be reading, because it's "the best".

Guns of all sorts.











Later that evening, we went to Lee's house in the desert. We took the scenic route for my benefit.






















The stars were beautiful and the fire nice.











Lee's dinner. Yum.








Sunday I went to church with Peter and his family. Here he is with his sons James and Joshua. The family, who used to live in Richland, are friends of my parents.
Ellen cooking my favorite veggie.











As promised, this is the scarf Lynn knit for me!











Monday, yesterday, after a busy day of pilates and puppy training class, Olivia was exhausted. Luckily, Peter called to see if I could come over for dinner in fact their in-laws were waiting for me in a van across the intersection. I've been watching lots of forensic TV shows with Olivia and Lynn. This was funny.

Ok, so this photo is only funny if you have a Chinese mother. Who saves Styrofoam trays that meat comes on for future use. These are powdered and ready for noodles.




Peter and Ellen's parents have been friends for a long time having lived in the same village in Beijing. Peter and Ellen have known each other since elementary school. But Peter was only able to get Ellen's attention after college when there was less competition. ;) This is their moms.








Ellen's dad is making noodles (chang sho = long life and is homonym for long and thin, thus birthday noodles are long and thin)










Fresh off the press.

Fresh out of the pot and freshly dressed with mushroom egg sauce.








The whole clan including cousin and Kathy, their daughter, and her boyfriend Ethan, who works at the hospital where Olivia will be receiving treatment.

Bloomin' Desert

So this is kind of like when I was staying with Karen in Turkey: lots of posts and lots of photos.

This is Olivia. My friend from college and NYC. She reminded me that she lived with me on the Lower East Side for a few weeks back in 2000 when she was between apartments. It was grand. Now, after a bit more than a year in Ecuador, she's living in Tucson. I was going to visit her and her parents' farm in South America but things changed. She got sick and now is awaiting treatment back in the States. Aside from diminished energy, startling weight loss, and sensitivity to germ/bad people exposure, she is the same rambunctious intellectual that I've always loved.




Here, Olivia and her mom took me to Tohono Chul Park for lunch and a walk. The gallery was my favorite.







Olivia and her cute mom Lynn.








Desert flora.












Lynn and her sister Lee. Lunch at Roma Italian Imports. Almost like Chelsea Market except for the large seating area and freestanding-ness. I joked with Olivia that the guy there who recommended the strawberry tiramisu is her boyfriend...





Lynn is knitting me a scarf too! :) Will look similar to Lee's.











Yesterday, we went to Bisbee, an old mining town, and took a tour of Queen's copper mine. We were going to have a stroll about Tombstone but settled for a drive through Wyatt Earp's town instead.






















Paella before cooking. Olivia and her mom whipped this together in about five minutes.
Cook at 500 until you can 'hear the rice boiling' and then reduce to 350 for another hour or so.