Southern Style

Sorry for the delay - I was so busy preparing food for the party last Friday that I didn't take any pictures! I'll summarize the bday weekend in bullet form:

• I was pleasantly surprised by an invite to get breakfast with my dad on Friday morning. I talked a lot, as is usual with my parents, but it felt really nice to share so much with him one-on-one. It meant a lot to me. Funny how talking with parents at this age makes you feel both young and old - a good feeling. 
• I took a walk with a great lady friend on Friday while my pita bread was rising, and she made me laugh and also generously poured me a little drink of St. Germain when we reached her apartment. What a luxury.
• Fortunately there was enough food for the 15 or so people that stopped by for the party on Friday night, and all of it turned out well. Guests were grateful and I felt loved. Even the coconut macaroons were a hit, to my surprise!
• On my birthday SB took me out for breakfast at my favorite local cafe, and then to see The Master. It was complex and hard to watch, but beautiful and interesting. Puzzling, dazzling, frustrating, boring...all at once somehow. GREAT acting. Worth a viewing. Then we took a much-needed nap.
• The evening of my bday we went out for drinks and moonlight bowling with my brother and sister-in-law - such fun! We laughed nonstop. It was a blast.
• The next morning we all had breakfast at my parents' house, including my hilarious little niece, who is a ball of energy. She repeatedly yelled "touchdown!" and threw her hands up in the air. What a riot. She also attempted to say my name for the first time, which mostly came out as a K- sound, but made me melt.

A great birthday. One of my best. Most of it thanks to SB and my great family and friends. I'm lucky. 

Since then, I've been putting my new birthday apron and cookbook to good use! Earlier this week I experimented with new veggies for our usual stir fry, adding celery (duh, delicious) and cabbage. How wonderful to make something scrumptious out of random items in your refrigerator. Nothing beats surprising yourself.

Here is a picture of today's meal - "Hottie Black-Eyed Peas & Greens" with ginger mashed sweet potatoes. We LOVE southern food - especially getting a taste for greens. I'm already big fan of this new cookbook - by the author of Veganomicon. 

On a final note, I'm reading two awesome books right now - My Life in Paris by Julia Child (the joy leaps off of the page) and, very different but also profoundly compelling, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Though I'm not finished with either, I recommend them both. 

Last Day of Summer

Well, the last official day of summer has arrived. Tonight we have our "Summer's End" party, which I'm mostly looking forward to. The whole crew and more are expected, and I will soon be on my way to the grocery store in an attempt to purchase the right amount of food for more than a dozen people. Thank goodness for the large slow cooker that I borrowed from SB's mom. By this afternoon it will be full of veggie chili.

Last night I reconnected with two friends who I had not seen in 6 months or more. We ate at a posh little foodie restaurant and, I must say, it was de-lish. The portions were slightly smaller than you'd expect elsewhere and the meals slightly more expensive, but hey - we got appetizers and dessert and had so much fun and it was the most worthwhile $25 I've spent in ages. Sometimes I'm too cheap, and last night was a good lesson in thinking about the return value of the dollars I spend.


A final note - my boss was so sweet and got doughnuts and coffee for my entire team of coworkers for my birthday. We had a little social in her office for 30 minutes or so in the morning and it was such a treat. It was thoughtful that she included so many people in the celebration, making me feel even more a part of the team (rather than if she had just gotten me a little sweet for my bday). She is the best. Also, my coworker made amazingly delicious pumpkin scones for my birthday (topped with spiced frosting)! So sweet. And all of this even though my birthday falls on the weekend. I am LUCKY.  Happy Friday. First, a poem. Then I'm off to begin cooking and cleaning...

Now it is fall

BY EDITH SÖDERGRAN

TRANSLATED FROM THE SWEDISH BY AVERILL CURDY

when all the golden birds

fly home across the blue deep water;

On shore I sit rapt in its scattering

                                                       glitter;

departure rustles through the trees.

This farewell is vast and separation draws close,

but reunion, that also is certain.

My head on my arm I fall asleep easily.

On my eyes a mother’s breath,

from her mouth to my heart:

sleep, child, and dream now the sun is gone.—

Birthday Week

We joke in my family that instead of having a birthday, one should have a "birthday week." While we don't actually celebrate for a week, yesterday began my "birthday week." I have very few plans for the day itself - I think that bowling with my brother will be in order, and hopefully time with my niece.

Below is a photo of what felt like one of the greatest moments of my life - getting to walk hand-in-hand with my favorite little lady. It is unbelievable how special it feels when she reaches for your hand and squeezes it tightly.

On Friday we are hosting a dozen or so friends for food and drinks - I took the day off to cook and bake all day. Cooking more for others is a goal of mine for my 28th year. As of right now, I'm not sure what will be on the menu. The only certainties at this point are vegetarian chili and coconut macaroons topped with chocolate. For some reason the change in season is giving me a craving for these toasty treats. Expect photos of the cooking extravaganza that will be my Friday.

One other note - we saw the movie Sleepwalk with Me at the newly renovated Uptown Theater and were pleasantly surprised when the writer/director/star of the movie, a comedian, came out on stage after the showing for an informal Q&A! It was the closest I've been to seeing live standup - a scenario that I always thought uncomfortable - but it was really fun. SB has turned me into a lover of comedy. And why not? Nothing beats a good laugh.

Out Loud

I've been trying to keep it to myself, but I just have to say - I have total wedding fever. I am so happy with SB and he has insinuated that a proposal is on the horizon...and the anticipation is killing me. Killing me! I never thought I would be so excited for something like a wedding, but time has proven me wrong. I am SO excited. A quote from our neighbor (from back in the day) seems fitting:

Soapbox

For a student who has degrees in social justice, philosophy and public policy, I am remarkably soft-spoken about my opinions. For more than a decade, I have been utterly fascinated by all facets of ethics, notions of justice and the political ideals that are written in the US Constitution and the Federalist Papers; and while I have participated in a diverse mix of advocacy and charity over time, I have been pretty quiet as an individual in intimate groups of friends or family. I avoid conflict at all cost, and still feel like I "don't really know what I'm talking about" enough to really assert or argue my point.

And I don't plan to assert or argue a point here, either. But I have been overwhelmingly inspired lately, and from a diverse array of sources. I share them with you, to flutter around in your mind as they have been in mine. 

A poem that was included in an address from my CEO:

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was duty.

I acted, and behold—

Duty was joy. 

- Rabindranath Tagore

Pieces from President Barack Obama's speech:

As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, rights that no man or government can take away. We insist on personal responsibility, and we celebrate individual initiative. We're not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk- takers, the entrepreneurs who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system, the greatest engine of growth and prosperity that the world's ever known.

But we also believe in something called citizenship — (cheers, applause) — citizenship, a word at the very heart of our founding, a word at the very essence of our democracy, the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations....We don't think the government can solve all of our problems, but we don't think the government is the source of all of our problems — (cheers, applause) — any more than our welfare recipients or corporations or unions or immigrants or gays or any other group we're told to blame for our troubles — (cheers, applause) — because — because America, we understand that this democracy is ours.

We, the people — (cheers) — recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which asks only, what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense. (Cheers, applause.) As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us, together — (cheers, applause) — through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. That's what we believe.

From a letter from one my Hamline professors to the President of Hamline University regarding the neutral position of the University on the effort to amend the MN Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman:

Some have argued that universities should not take a position on issues such as this because we are a place that welcomes everyone, that welcomes a diversity of perspectives. It is true that we welcome spirited debate. But, do we really believe that all views are entitled to a seat at the table? Are the civil rights of our faculty, staff, students, and alums really something we believe should be subject to intellectual debate? I hope not.