Weekend visit

This weekend Paul's parents, sister, & our 3 nieces came to the island for a visit. They made the trek down from Ft. Worth in Stan & Mona's Winnebago-- which was fabulous because it's like they brought their very own guest house! Saturday was a fun-filled day: including an early morning bike ride, plenty of excellent food (especially the delicious homemade vanilla custard-- mmm!), & of course, beach-time! We had a great time & look forward to the next visit!

Fig-tacular, fig-ilicious fig preserves

It's that time again! Every July I get excited & my mouth starts watering when I start thinking about one of my favorite summer things: FIG PRESERVES! To me, fig preserves goes right along with homemade ice cream, & lazy afternoons at the beach. It's just a summer thing. You gotta have it. And one thing I do have is one fabulous recipe for fig preserves (straight from the Austin Junior League cookbook, Necessities & Temptations-- the best cookbook I will ever own).

All cut up, these little beauties look like a piece of art.

Voila! Canned & ready to enjoy and share.

For those interested, the recipe goes like this:

FIG PRESERVES
A Collection Classic

1 gallon figs, cut into small pieces (I discovered about 80 figs equal a gallon)
8 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3 lemons, thinly sliced (however, I use the rind & juice of just one lemon)

1. Combine all ingredients and cook until thick.
2. Pour into sterilized jars and seal with paraffin.

Yields 8 pints.

Not smart? Not a problem

Some words written by Garrison Keillor that made me smile recently...

My time is short and so is yours, so why not tell the truth: A person can get along very well in life without one bit of the mathematics and physics they rammed into our brains in high school. Fifty years later, and there hasn't been a single moment when I've thought, "Oh, if only I could remember higher algebra!"..... No, it isn't smarts, it's personal charm that propels you forward in this world... and a terrific smile will take you a long way too. .... If your kid flunked out of school, don't worry about it. Teach him to love his life. Teach her to do good work and not expect recognition. Not smart? No problem. Be useful. That may be better for humanity than to be brilliant and troubled. And it wouldn't hurt you to smile more. Just do it.

All of that high school pre-cal bullsh*t be damned!

(If only I would've had that perspective back then)
;)

iCan't wait...

...for this!

*Coming soon to the Ford household. Probably not on the exact release date, but SOON. Very, very soon!

Surprise!!

Even more exciting than pulleys & window coverings was the surprise visit by Ryan & his entire family this past weekend! Ryan & Jenny were making great time on the return trip from their Gulf Shores vacation, so they decided to make a slight detour and drop in Saturday evening for a surprise sleep-over. I was the only one who knew of the arrangement ahead of time. Mom, Dad, & Paul were so surprised when the doorbell rang & there stood Jack & Rebecca! It was great, even if it was a quick visit!

I can't wait for these guys to come back!

Ready or not....

...hurricane season is here. And we're going to be ready this year!

Dad finally hooked us up with his handy-dandy pulley system for the window coverings. One of my biggest fears regarding hurricane season has been that there would be a storm coming, we needed to board up the windows, & Paul is either on-call or at some away rotation, & not able to help me secure the house. When Ike blew in 2 years ago, we paid someone a ton of money to have the windows boarded up. Never again! Now, with this sweet little pulley system, I feel (fairly) confident that I can get the windows secured even if Paul isn't around to help.

Dad is the handiest of handy-men.

This is where I was re-acquainted with my fear of heights.

Happy to have successfully passed the pulley-system test,
and even happier to get the hell off that ladder.

Eat this.

From the garden to the plate, here's what was for dinner last night.

A tomato tart in the making.

Plenty of thyme, oregano, rosemary, & basil made this an extra special treat.
(All parts from the garden except of course the pie crust & cheese.)

Delish.

Leftovers this morning were superb with a fried egg on top.
Mmm-mmm good!

Back in the saddle again...

...and it feels great!!

Paul's dad graciously let us borrow his tandem from now through the fall so we can train for the Leakey Death Ride in October. Hooray for the Team Ford revival! We're so happy to be out riding again together. The above pic was taken on the Leakey Death Ride of '04 on our beloved Co-Motion tandem (may she rest in peace). She tragically drowned in our garage during Hurricane Ike (may he burn in hell).

Many great rides (and not so great ones) have been made on the tandem. But the Leakey Death Ride is legendary. Three days, 210 miles of killer hills, & plenty of good food to enjoy. Nothing's better than icing your weary legs down in the Frio River after a long day of riding. I'm excited!

Love your Earth....& your Neighbor

How do you love your earth? Do you recycle to show your love? Do you bike or walk to work? Maybe you grow your own food, hang your clothes to dry, or collect rain water for your plants. Whatever it is, however small the action may be-- it matters. I love loving the earth the ways that I do.

Paul & I are fortunate enough to live in a place in which we can bike or walk to work everyday. I love my commute to work! Sometimes that's the best part of my day. And speaking of hanging your clothes out to dry-- my little dryer-free challenge is still going strong (for those that may be wondering). I didn't realize how satisfying doing the laundry could be! We also have half a dozen tomato plants growing like weeds, a 3 foot tall cilantro plant, and basil making its comeback. It brings us joy to eat from our little garden. I don't know about you, but mojitos with fresh-from-the-garden mint is soooo much more enjoyable :)

Earth Day is not just about the earth, but the people that are living in it too. As well as the plants, and the animals, and all of the little creatures of the earth. Right? On the back of a New Belgium beer-tasting order card (saved from a previous visit) there's a nice blurb about "loving your neighbor" that I thought was perfect for today.

John Lennon said all you need is love, so love your neighbor. Not just the Jones' down the street but also the flowers, the foxes, the birds, the mountains, and the rivers. All things are inexplicably connected, and if we can begin to treat our wider neighbors with the respect that we strive to treat other humans, the results will be beautiful. Live with an awareness of your actions.

HAPPY EARTH DAY.

I can't wait to meet this guy!

I get to meet sweet Baby James this weekend and I can't wait! Paul & I will be in Austin for Jack's first communion on Saturday. But really-- I just wanna kiss this little guy's sweet cheeks! Look at him. He's sweet as pie :)

Healthy People 2010...

...or are we?

Not to bore you, but.... here is what's been on my mind today.

Healthy People 2010 is a comprehensive group of health objectives for the nation to achieve over ten years. Hopefully. It's suppose to show how we have progressed in public health and medicine; as well as clearly state objectives to bring better health to everyone in the U.S. I first learned about Healthy People 2010 way back in nursing school(8 years ago!). Reading and studying health initiatives the Dept of HHS had developed for the year 2010 seemed so far away. But now, 2010 is here. (Although, it doesn't seem that long ago when I was reading the Healthy People goals.)

The objective that came to the forefront of my mind today is one aimed at reducing the number of maternal deaths. I discovered today that Dad's boss's daughter died suddenly immediately post-partum in the hospital this weekend. This is a horribly tragic event for anyone to encounter. As a labor and delivery nurse (or anyone, really), you hope this will never happen. But it does. Thankfully, not often. I certainly will never forget the handful of patients I have helped care for that ended in a maternal death. That just stays with you, I suppose.

In 1999, there were 9.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the U.S. The goal for 2010 was to reduce the number to 4.3 deaths/100,000 live births. The 2010 stats haven't been released yet, but the most recent numbers show that we now have 15.1 deaths/100,000. What's worse, black women have a rate of 36.5 deaths/100,000 births (!). WTF. Clearly, we are sucking it up on this particular health objective. But why? We're one of the most advanced nations in the world. We have excellent medical and obstetrical services here. Why can't we save more of our moms from dying? I could bore you some more with my opinions on this matter, but I won't. I'll just keep it simple and say, 'God only knows why it is the way it is.' ....And if that's the case-- God, can you please read the Healthy People 2010 initiatives? We're trying to reduce the bad-ness and improve outcomes. Can you help us out here? Thanks.

"Gater-bait"

As I was enjoying my morning ritual pot of tea on the side porch and reading the latest news from The Week, Stretch started barking incessantly in the yard. Annoyed, I got up from my post to reprimand him. Instead of the usual squirrel or cat, Stretch was barking at two construction workers from next door who were taking a break. The workers were leaning over their deck, watching Stretch, clearly amused by him.

"What's his name?"

"Stretch."

"That's a good name. We jus' been callin' 'im Gater-bait."

Nice. Should I be amused or alarmed that these very country Cajun workers have dubbed my wiener dog "Gater-bait"? Hmmm..... Well, he is the sweetest little gater-bait there ever was, though :)

Easter Pieta

This picture was taken back in 2007 when Paul & I were in Florence. While touring the Duomo Museum, I was particularly drawn to this unfinished sculpture by Michelangelo called Pieta. Originally intended for Michelangelo's own tomb, he attempted to destroy the sculpture after detecting impurities in the marble - making it difficult to work with. Pieta means "pity" in Italian and depicts four figures: Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, & the Virgin Mary taking down the body of Jesus from the cross. It's said that the figure representing Nicodemus is actually a self portrait of Michelangelo. The obvious aspects of unfinished sculpting (& the only one I can point out) is clearly seen in the one-legged Jesus. Michelangelo carved this between 1548-1555 when he was in his 70's. That's a ton of work to just give up on! It's a "pity" his Pieta was never completed as he intended ;)

Wishing everyone this Easter season a renewed spirit,
with Hope that shines,
Joy that celebrates,
and Peace that lasts!

30-day challenge?

Yesterday I read that the dryer is the 2nd-most energy consumptive household appliance after the refrigerator. And apparently, the most frivolous (so they say). That got me thinking.... can Paul & I live without our dryer? For one month, can we dedicate our clothes to the sun and fresh air? Are we up for this challenge? This will mean of course, a little more planning on our part. There will be no more marathon clothes washing (and drying) at 9pm when we realize that we're all out of scrubs for the next day. And just how will it impact our energy bill? I don't know, but I'm willing to find out. Paul & I are both a little skeptical and perhaps a little apprehensive about the inconvenience this dryer-free way of living will cause us. But, it makes us happy imagining the smaller carbon footprint we will be creating for the next 30 days. Bring on the sunshine!

Little Bee

Rarely is a book able to keep me up at night reading. My usual form is to fall asleep after ten minutes or less of reading. Not the case with this one. I consumed this book like it was a delicious cocktail during happy hour. That should say something, right? I don't want to give away too much, as the book sleeve begs you not to divulge anything-- except this: It's about two women who meet one fateful day on an African beach. One of them must make a terrible, terrible decision. Two years later, they meet again. And that's where the story starts. Fabulously written by Chris Cleave (his 2nd novel), the story is told from both woman's perspectives. And now I'm ready for his first novel--Incendiary. I just checked it out from the library :)

This Valentine's Day....

LOVE SOMEONE.