Old Friends/Bookends

Paul Simon

Old friends

Old friends

Sat on their park bench

Like bookends

A newspaper blown through the grass

Falls on the round toes

Of the high shoes

Of the old friends

Old friends

Winter companions

The old men

Lost in their overcoats

Waiting for the sun

The sounds of the city

Sifting through trees

Settles like dust

On the shoulders

Of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today

Sharing a park bench quietly?

How terribly strange to be seventy

Old friends

Memory brushes the same years

Silently sharing the same fears...

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was

A time of innocence, a time of confidences

Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph

Preserve your memories; they're all that's left you

Europe Tour-o-Matic II

Excerpts from the Travel Journal

Monday, 23 June 2008
Paris, France

We arrived in Paris yesterday, but I wasn't fully aware ofthe differences between Paris and the Italian cities we visited [Florence and Rome] until today. The light is completely different - the sunshine that buttered Italy in gold has given way to a crisper light, one that renders Paris in more of a greyscale. It's not gloomy, but the light - like the air - is cooler.

After last night's dinner, a group of us took the tunnel under the Place de l'Etoile to the Arc de Triomphe. It was that part of the early evening where the sun is low and accentuates any haze or particles in the air to give photographs a romantic blur. I was hoping to convince them to go up to the top of the Arc; the last time I was in Paris (November 2001) , I took this gorgeous photograph of the city from the top. Usually I'm not much for aerial shots, but from that relatively low height, you see a lot more detail in the rooflines and there's a lovely shot of the city that includes the Eiffel Tower. And the light was perfect for it. Alas, they didn't want to.

As if to make up for that missed opportunity, later in the evening, a few girls from the group asked me if I would take them into the city the next morning (today) at the crack of dawn so they could get good pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Well, after a country's worth of pictures in harsh midday sun, I was more than happy to agree to their offer, which I negotiated for a free Metro ticket and a bottle of wine [which still has not been delivered!]. We took off from our hotel at 600a and got to the Tower in dramatic sidelighting, with virtually nobody (save for some workers clearing leaves) in the Trocadero plaza opposite the Tower. We made some beautiful photographs, walked up the Champ du Mars, and caught the Metro back. Well, not before stopping at McDonalds for breakfast. The girls were so cute - even excited about the orange juice - and celebrated their first hot breakfast in a week that wasn't crusty bread.

I took our dear student to the Embassy this morning. We rode with the group to the same Metro stop, then they entered the Tuileries on their way to the Louvre, and we crossed the street to find the embassy. Even though I was missing the Louvre, I was happy to volunteer because I, quite honestly, really wanted to see an embassy, and anymore, it seems like you have to have a really good reason to go in one. The location on our maps didn't seem right - and I could tell we weren't in the right place because of the conspicuous lack of heavy security. Even the US embassy in Oslo had barriers that required you to cross the street - ours and Israel's. The sign on the door said that consular services had moved down the street, across the Place de la Concorde. So we walked in that direction, where the presence of armed guards and security fencing confirmed our bearings. I wish the students had had a chance to see this, to see the buffer zone our embassy requires. Maybe it's security theatre, but it just seems unfortunate no matter how you look at it. Anyhow, we got a replacement passport in under 3h and were able to rejoin the group at the Eiffel Tower in the afternoon.

[Public service message to readers who intend to lose their passport in a foreign country: a copy of your passport is invaluable, as is a copy of your passport application or birth certificate, if you have it. Unless you remember your parents' birthdates and locations (which our student did not), in which case you're probably fine without it. A police report of your lost/stolen passport may be required; the Parisian embassy did not ask for it, others do.]

Highway Thoughts

At a recent appointment, my doctor gave me a brochure describing how their pap tests now screen for HPV (previously known by the less-than-savory name "genital warts" and is now recognized as a cause of cervical cancer) and why we women over 30 aren't being vaccinated against it. Pulling out of the parking lot, I was stopped at a traffic light, so I grabbed the brochure and opened it.

My eyes fell on this:

How does a person get HPV?

HPV is a very common virus. It's estimated that 8 out of every 10 people get HPV at some point in their lives. However, many will never know they have had it, since most women fight off the virus before it causes any problem.

"What??" I incredulously ask the paper, but again it tells me the same thing. Eight of every ten. 80%.

Now, I know that statistics can be twisted into illustrating anything, but even if that's half-true, that's horrifying. And that's just one disease.

As is customary, I chewed on this the whole fifty-minute drive home.

As my life goes on, the more I realize the freedom afforded by God (and living according to His ways and not of the world) is not as much freedom to, it's more freedom from. Freedom from worry. Freedom from shame. Freedom from heartbreak. These are not insignificant freedoms. And I'm not perfect, so I understand this kind of captivity. But I also get that we are granted an even greater freedom - freedom from our pasts.


80%.

Miscellany

I've had a fantastic mail week! A birthday gift, notes and letters from a few far-flung friends, a couple postcards from a friend who's touring the country and knows I love postcards. Hooray! :) I can't even describe the joy I get in my driveway as I leaf through mail and spot a hand-addressed envelope with my name on it. I think I will spend tomorrow morning making some cards and doing some writing - something for which I have loads of supplies but never the time.

My great mail week was punctuated today by an unfortunate kitchen incident. I was carrying a stack of dishes - 2 bowls, a plate, 3 glasses - over to the dishwasher. I thought I had everything secure, but then something shifted, and CRASH! I lost everything but the plate to the unforgiving tile floor. I try really hard not to get hung up on stuff and things, but I really love my kitchen items - particularly little bowls - and of the casualties, I lost one of my favorite bowls, one of my oldest bowls, and one of my oldest-and-favorite glasses. I will admit I tend to attribute a lot of memory and meaning to my things. I could tell you where I was when I got them or who gave them to me, triggering a whole flurry of memories just by going to the cupboard. And as is human nature, I think I grieve the loss of intangibles more than the loss of the tangibles. Which is silly - it isn't like I won't ever think of these people or places again. And then there is the shock of a particularly catastrophic event - five objects in a fraction of a second. I've swept three times, vacuumed once, and mopped twice, and I'm still picking shards of glass and ceramic out of the soles of my shoes.

Dumpster outside ceramic studio, Assisi, Italy. June 2008.

Cakery Chronicles 2008

[Updated with pictures: 21 July 2008]

Since I have my laptop in the kitchen, I'm tempted to liveblog my cake-making today. I'll do it as long as I'm running on schedule. :) Delivery is set for 500p, with a 50-min drive.

Pre-Blog: Most of cake baked. Top tier (6" pecan spice), second tier (9" pecan spice), third tier (12" toasted coconut), and one layer of bottom tier (16" vanilla bean - but without the bean...) are already baked and wrapped and ready to go. I even have a couple 4" pecan spice layers that I may make into a special bride-and-groom cake for them to share. I had leftover batter, but the bride and groom never get any cake that they don't feed each other after cutting, so this seems like a good use of my little layers.

1017a: Oven preheating. About to make second layer of vanilla bean cake. I'm going all Rachael Ray with a garbage bowl. Someone stop me. [WTF - they sell these? Use a mixing bowl, people!]

1020a: Almost forgot to take out butter to soften!

1022a: Playlist choice for today is High School Favorites. REM, 10,000 Maniacs, Milla Jovovich, Don Henley, Tracy Chapman, Gin Blossoms. Decided yesterday (with ridicule from a certain music snob) that Third Eye Blind is good kitchenwork music. But that's on my College Favorites playlist.

1034a: ...Leonard Bernstein!... Ha ha ha.

1113a: Six minutes to go on the cake in the oven. Apricot filling ready to go between some layers. Took the picture of my pans above.

1125a: Vanilla layer out of oven. Very soon I am going to have to make a decision whether to bake another. They're baking deeper than I expected, but they're still a bit shallower than the others. Well, if some is good, more is better... This means I need more eggs. :-\

1151a: All (except the hot one out of the oven) layers are leveled. Coconut tier filled and squared off, same with top anniversary tier and the bonus tiny tier. I'm really pleased with the vanilla bean-less cake - it's a new recipe. Tight, dense crumb that trims easily, tastes like pound cake. The coconut tier is messy - very crumby and just sort of dissolved when I carved out a well for filling. I'd better go get some eggs.

1239p: Back from my egg run. Oven re-heating.

118p: Third bottom vanilla layer in the oven - 26 min to go. Quick kitchen cleanup, then I'm going to start buttercreams and level the now-cool vanilla layer.

135p: No matter how innocuous it is, "beating butter" for buttercream just sounds dirty. "whipping butter" isn't much better. Tee hee. Maple buttercream about to fill pecan spice cake. Just need to hollow out a well for it.

Maple Buttercream

150p: Last cake is out of the oven. Pecan spice cake filled and edges trimmed. Time to coat all but largest tier with crumb layer of buttercream to prepare it for fondant.

202p: Water simmering in double boiler to melt chocolate for espresso ganache. Brewing espresso.

243p: Ganache is filling the vanilla layers. Just waiting for the third vanilla layer to cool so I can trim it and put it on top. About to crumb coat the other tiers.

252p: Sky over the airport is getting very dark, and I'm starting to hear thunder. Should also hear some aborted landings, if it's typical operations. [254p: Yep, there's one, as if on cue. Spirit, I think?]

331p: All layers crumbcoated. Rolling out fondant means I have to move my computer so I have enough room. I severely overestimated my powdered sugar needs. And forgot I had a big ol' bag in my pantry. So now I have three unopened seven-pound bags of confectioner's sugar in my pantry. Yipes!

427p: Fondant on all but one layer. My layer supports are too tall for them, so I'm going to have to improvise. Running a little behind schedule, but still on target.

455p: Okay, everything that's supposed to be covered in fondant is covered in fondant. Plus some other things. Like the chef. Okay, off to put on some clean clothes, real shoes, and then these go in the car.

458p: Whoops. Never mind. I should make a small batch of royal icing before I go.

525p: Fortuitous discovery of dowels in the house! Engaging in an activity with a saw that is highly likely to end in serious injury.

817p: Cake is delivered and assembled, but no photos yet because the tiers need ribbons, which I had to pick up on the way home. I'll add those before the reception tomorrow!

Done!

Lilies

Speaking of a macro lens, these weren't taken with one. But they approach the effect more than any photos I've taken (at least recently).

Raspberries

Hello, my name is Jennifer, and I have a problem.

I definitely need a macro lens.

Cherries

Apparently, I'm starting a new series. I haven't forgotten my plans to write about my trip, honest. Summer produce is just so darn photogenic.

Cabbage

A food-porn shot of a cabbage I brought home for my last batch of tortellini soup. (link SFW!)

Water droplets were natural - present when I pulled off the outer leaves.

Pasta Party

This fete was a long time in the planning. My grandmother gave me her pasta maker years ago, and I've never put it to use. I can say with confidence that it will not fall into disuse from now on. It was so much fun to make fresh pasta! We threw quite the soiree to celebrate its debut, with nearly the same cast of characters from our July 4th party.

We made regular semolina fettuccine (which our chef friend tossed together with Alfredo sauce), some chocolate fettuccine for dessert (to be served with a raspberry sauce and white chocolate shavings) - which we actually didn't end up serving, and a trio of ravioli. So we wouldn't confuse fillings, we tinted the dough - and if you're going to tint, go big or go home - turquoise (chicken curry with coconut and peanut), orange (potato, bacon, and cheddar), and hot pink (shrimp scampi). Not your average ravioli fillings.

Since Hazel and I needed to get our bake on, we made a Kentucky Derby pie (pecan pie with bourbon and chocolate), baklava (I let it cool too much before pouring the honey syrup over it, and I don't think I baked it nearly long enough - I was off my game), and bean pie (not for amateurs). I've seen loads of retro recipes for war-shortages-beget-creativity mock pies lately - No-Apples-Were-Harmed-During-the-Making-of-This-Pie pie using Ritz crackers (actually not awful - kind of fun for my AP students during our organic chapter), mock-pecan pie using beans, etc etc. So when Hazel pulled out her recipe file and showed me a 1979 recipe for "Bean Pie" - I was in! We went to the grocery store for the requisite navy beans (also lemon extract and evaporated milk), came home, unfolded the recipe, and read "makes three pies". Hm. Well, if some is good, more is better, I always say. So we (actually, we made Nunzio do it) made up three bean pies! The texture is much more like pumpkin pie. But blonder. And ... interesting. Nevertheless, I still want to try this.

European Tour-O-Matic I

Top Fives, European Edition

1. Abundance of sparkling water (frizzante!)
2. Paying for pizza by the 100-g increment
3. Reliable and useful public transportation
4. Affordable and well-crafted espresso drinks that don't come in gallon-capacity takeaway cups
5. Masterpieces as public art

Honorable mention: the chocolate




Bonus Joke!

What do you call a dehydrated Frenchman?

Pierre.