Grand Opening

This is the way things were...

No more.

Lander's got a new Safeway-- FREAK OUT!!

The Grand Opening was yesterday and that shit was CRAZY! Lines of carts down every aisle. Parking lot overflowing. People throwing elbows at the olive bar. Mobs around the free samples. Neighbor after neighbor exclaiming, "This is amazing! I don't even know where to begin!" Tons of folks from the Rez.

I haven't seen a turn out like that in this town since Fourth of July and that holiday is our hands down specialty!

For a more thorough analysis of the situation, here's William Roth's take on the whole thing. I was too busy being impressed--

Food in a food desert!

I'm really excited about the pesto.

Blown Away

It's been blustery in Wyoming the past couple of days. By blustery, I mean gale force winds have been ripping across the state.

As I drove north from Colorado yesterday, Pascal and Betsy were driving south. We met up at the Split Rock turnout and flew a kite together until the strings snapped and Otter got blown over.

Keeping with that theme, a few weeks back Annie and Jared blew me away by asking if I'd babysit their steel blue sedan until they move back to Landertown.

I picked her up today...

I think her name is Penelope. She's a beauty and runs like a champ! No power steering meant that after a workout with Steve I was plotting my way home to include the minimum amount of turns possible, but my biceps are going to be tremendous! My favorite thing? Volvo's whole lock-the-driver's-door-and-you-lock-all-the-doors thing. THE bomb.

In other news: I'm hosed. Beautiful lilies arrived via UPS truck today. See #1 from that silly Facebook fad of yesteryear.

Oh Fuck, I'm Drowning...

(click on pic for I Miss You Baby by Lizzie West)

Erin, this is dedicated to those soul weary days when your heart is keening. You're not alone. We all have 'em. The good news is they pass. And, sometimes, they pass us over.

For some comic relief and a sizzling accent:

I love you so. Thinking of you on Passover.

And Another Thing

Trailmobile bus on a wet day in San Francisco

See #23 from that silly Facebook fad of yesteryear.

Killing Me Softly

I am reading this in the bath after work these days, having first seen it on my brother's bedside table. Today's bath was buttermilk, yesterday's lavender, and the day before's eucalyptus. I'm plum full of ache and tears as I sift through these beautiful interviews from the Storycorps Project.

The book reminds me of the Barry Lopez quote:

"The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. That is why we put stories in each others' memory. This is how people care for themselves."

I believe that to be true.

And I am longing for the heady scent of orange blossoms...

Watermelon Deathstar

Nuff said.

Or maybe not.

Thanks to Carolyn.

Taking Flight

(click on pic for music)

Evan's on his way to India with $5000 cash strapped to his body. HE'S SITTING IN A CHAIR IN THE SKY!

I know this because a bunch of nice people allowed me to see him off at Gate C37 in Denver.

Go team, nice people.

Temptation

...thine name is household goods. Sigh.

...and this (recovered in a Mokum fabric).

Back To Work

Gunning for my first paycheck in a month and a half has been both more gratifying and more challenging than I anticipated.

I will never be the person who says, "Gosh, I'm so bored. I can't WAIT to get back to work!" No sir. That said, it's been a total joy to work with WMI students again-- bearing witness to their burgeoning sense of empowerment and the relish with which they learn the skillz I have to teach is good fun. Not at all a bad way to pay the bills or afford that awesome 1970's track suit.

and (embracing paradox)...

I was a total fucking wreak the night I drove to Boulder and installed myself at the Best Western (meltdown actually began after I crossed the border into Colorado). Turns out it's hard to drive away from home (a concept that, for me, embraced a landscape and a community and feels on the verge of expanding to include a guy, a house, and a car) and a life of leisure (the luxury of free time meant self care to infinity and beyond). Who knew? You probably did. I was surprised.

Turns out, eh?

P.S. I'm mainlining this song. Yup. That may constitute as a cry for help.

Life's Gravity

There's a post I'd like you to read by this guy:

Looks really dapper, right? Well, right. But in addition to knowing how and when to rock the argyle, this man knows multiple ways to kill you.

I think it's that difference in background (special forces vs. special ed) that makes me appreciate Alex's take on fear and fatigue all the more.

And after considerable mulling, I've come to the conclusion that my twin-headed hydra is fear and attachment (shout out to the Buddha) rather than fear and fatigue.

That's probably because I rarely push past fatigue, routinely choosing to embrace the luxury of giving up and going to sleep instead.

Wyoming Lit

Ooooo, you say? I KNOW!

These photos brilliantly capture so much of what I love about the Wyoming landscape. They were taken by the uber-talented Mei Ratz (WHOM I LOVE AND ADORE). I follow her blog as if my life depended on it.


All of which has me thinking of the folks out there who can do for this landscape in words what Mei does with her camera.


Here are some of the contenders...



Grass Beyond The Mountains by Richmond Hobson






Close Range by Annie Proulx






The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson







The Meadow by James Galvin






The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller

Touchless

OK, so Yost and Jung walk in the door, express from the Teton Valley.

My phone rings and it's Rathke.

"I know how much you like car washes..."

And I'm all, "Yeah, but Lindsay and Audra just arrived and I've got dinner plans at 6pm..."

And she's all, "I'll be right over."

And I'm all, "Brillant."

And then, moments later, the four of us are in the proverbial Escalade and headed to the car wash.

Does it get any better than that?!

The answer is no.

The touchless bay was closed for repairs and the tricolor wax is only available in Riverton, but the five year old girl making faces at us through the spittle on the windshield made up for all of that.

And Rathke reversed for more blasting power... because SHE'S A REVOLUTIONARY.

The players:

Jung

Gast Yost

Rathke

Sick Day

Common wisdom says to feed a cold and with snow swirling outside and a sore throat inside, that sounds just about right.


Meagan Binkley's Asian Salad:

1 crown broccoli in small pieces
1/3 head purple cabbage (shredded)
3 green onions (diced)
2 carrots (julienned)
big handful of cilantro (diced)
a liberal amount of sesame seeds (toasted for 10 min at 350)

Combine the above in a bowl. Whisk the following into an emulsion and add to salad as a dressing.

1 lime (juiced)
4 tbl olive oil
4 tbl soy sauce or tamari
2 tbl sesame oil
2 tbl brown sugar
1 inch of fresh ginger (diced)
1 clove of garlic (diced)
a dash of an asian spicy sauce to give some heat

Don't let the following picture tweek you 'cause this is the ultimate comfort food...


Nanna's Matzo Ball Soup:

Put a whole chicken in 9 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiled, skim off the foam and turn heat to low. Add 1 large onion (quartered), 2 carrots (in large chunks), 2 celery stalks (in large chunks), 1 leek (in large chunks) and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 hours. Strain the broth and put it in the fridge. Once the fat has congealed, skim it off the top and save it for the matzo balls. Ummmm, lard.

For the matzo balls, mix together 1/2 cup matzo meal, 4 eggs (beaten), 4 tbls chicken fat (make up any difference with butter), 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp parsley (diced), 4 tbl cold seltzer water and a dash of nutmeg. Refrigerate for an hour. With a spoon dipped in cold water, form balls and drop them into pot of boiling water. Once all the balls are in, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Then strain and add to chicken broth.

Ta-dah. Now curl up on the couch and blow your nose.

Vitamin D

The amount of sunshine my skin absorbed yesterday was nothing short of glorious.

(Trouvelot Astronomy Illustrations)

Beyond solar radiation, nothing says happy happy joy joy quite like Bobby McFerrin BRINGIN' IT on stage at a science festival:



And, my, isn't he hot?!

Oscar Nite

Not many noteworthy movies make it to the Grand Theatre. Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel had a long run recently. This is typical of what you'll see up on the marquees of Main Street...

My point being that I haven't seen many movies in theaters of late-- a serious blow to my various and sundry movie candy addictions. Of those that I HAVE seen, two are in contention for the Oscar...

The botany on Pandora alone (hello, phosphorescence) was worth the price of admission to Avatar. For me and roughly a billion other people.

And I loved how the director kept killing off famous actors in the Hurt Locker.

An aside: I can't help but feel that something's off when I'm looking forward to travel because it opens up movie-going options... Crazy Heart is high on my list of destination films.

As for tonight's fashion commentary, I'm psyched to tune into the acerbic tongues behind Go Fug Yourself. Me likey.

Betabel

Snow is melting and I'd like to think that spring has sprung-- sometimes it's lovely to play the fool.

I can't wait to bury my toes in warm soil and I can't get the Spanish word for beet out of my head. I've been saying "betabel" under my breath all day long.

That, and I've held close the thought that sun is glinting off water somewhere in the world.


This bout of spring fever may be the result of listening to Little Secrets by Passion Pit on Repeat 1. Rathke, you put the hey in heyo.

When Monday hits and some of you go back inside to face a computer screen, here's a reminder from Door Sixteen that you'll be creating a work of art:


A map of mousepad activity from 10am to 5:30pm. The lines are movement, and the dots are periods of inactivity. (The bigger the dot, the longer the rest.)

And, no, I haven't lost my mind... just my capacity for coherent narrative.

Winter Olympics 2010

Photo by Sebastiao Salgado

"We do not tolerate confinement to one station, we are wholly and singly a yearning to soar." -- from The Javid-Nama by Iqbal

And the gold medal goes to my dear friend Kate's fuera del control facebook profile picture of her dog, Victor Raul:

Speaking of winter (we WERE once upon a time, weren't we?), I now worship at the alter of Curtis' new refrigerator, the Big Chill. Behold...


He got one marked down 10% in white.

See That Guy In The Boat??

(click on pic for music video)

I like him.

And it seems he likes me.

Who would have thunk it?

Don't Mind If I Do...

I'm in the market for headgear to wear while teaching an upcoming instructor course. Any leads welcome.