Four New Monkeys

Some of you are aware that I have a monkey Christmas tree. For those of you that didn't know that, I do. It is a 7' narrow Christmas tree and every single ornament on the tree is a monkey. Why? I really don't know. I guess it goes clear back to a conversation I had with Beth Leech one afternoon while strolling State Street in Santa Barbara. I told her I wanted to collect something but I didn't know what to collect. She suggested monkeys.

My mother is the Christmas tree queen. She has... plenty. At least one in every room of their home. And several of them are theme trees. I think it started way back on the farm when she started collecting pig ornaments. Then there was the kitchen utinsel tree, the victorian tree, the mittens tree... it goes on and on. Well, I wanted a theme tree after Chris and I got married and I suggested monkeys. Why? Like I said, I really don't know. But everyone thought it was a good idea and now, several years later, we have many monkeys on this tree.

Yesterday I was in Springfield at the mall and I found 4 new ones. They aren't anything spectacular, but anytime I find one I'm pretty happy because they aren't that easy to find. Here are the ones I got yesterday:

Happy Halloween / Creepy Photo

This one is for you, Andrew. I had forgot about this picture until this evening when I was going through snapshots. This is a photo I took at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, last month when we were up for there for the Irish Festival. It was taken down the hall on the second floor that was supposedly used for the movie "The Shining." Remember the child on the bicycle? Well, when the photo was developed, there was this eerie light that was showing up in the picture. I have seen and heard a lot about images similar to this purported to be manefestations of spirits. Isn't this creepy. Happy Halloween!

Kitchen Valance

Just a quick post to let you guys see some of my handiwork. This is the valance/awning that I made last week for our kitchen window. I think it's pretty neat. Chris really liked it, too. I started and finished it in one day. Pretty obsessive, but I was anxious to get it done. I ordered the 8" cafe curtain rod on the bottom several months ago and it had been leaning up against the wall for too long. I know Chris was glad to see me finish this project. Now on to finishing the island! That won't be a one-day project though.

Elba

I feel like I'm jumping around a lot with my blogging, but I have to mention my newest travel destination passion: Elba. Why? Well, honestly I would have to say the interest was sparked by Roberto Crochetta, my physician friend in Rome this past July. One afternoon while discussing great trips, he mentioned Elba as the perfect Italian beach retreat in early summer. He made it sound so perfect that since we returned in August, I haven't been able to stop reading and researching the place.

Roberto suggested a two week Elba/Tuscany trip as a near perfect 2 week Italian experience. And now after a couple months of thought and research, I feel he may just be right. I would would love to make a trip in April or May for a couple weeks, but with Jewell's graduation and Kip's wedding, I am quite certain that it will be out of the question next year. But I am going to keep dreaming and planning. Who knows what the new year will bring?

Here are a couple cool snaps I've found of the Island:














Come join me to the Old Country!

The Motorcycle Diaries

Chris went to Gentry to visit with her sister this weekend. She took Jewell so Bo and I are home alone for a couple days. Last night I went to Blockbusters and picked up a half dozen movies to occupy some of our time.

The first one that I watched was a foreign film called "The Motorcycle Diaries". Released in 2004, this movie is the story of two Argentineans, Ernesto Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student specializing in leprosy, and Alberto Granado, a 29-year-old biochemist, as they traveled out of Buenos Aires in 1952 on a 1939 Norton 500 motorcycle. Before they parted some eight months later, they had ridden, walked, hitchhiked and sailed some 8,000 miles of Latin America. En route, they came face-to-face with a continent of poverty and injustice they yearned to change. It was a beautiful movie that made me reflect on my journey with my compatriot, Brady Cline, in 1997.

As I am researching more on the lives of these two individuals though, the picture is becoming less attractive.

"The Motorcycle Diaries" is a film about the sowing of revolution designed for the approval of bourgeois gentlefolk - for the very type of person that Che, once one himself, would not think twice about putting a bullet into. Why didn't the film acknowledge that violence and repression were at least as much a part of his legacy as egalitarianism, martyrdom and a really popular poster?

Well, I will continue to study more on the lives of these two very interesting people and you have a good weekend.

Koshari

When I was traveling in Cairo, Egypt in 1997 I was introduced to a vegetarian dish called Koshari. It was such an interesting and delicious meal that we returned to the restaurant a couple different times to enjoy it. After returning to the states, I often wished I had a recipe for this dish. I looked several times on the Internet with no success and after several years, had pretty much given up hope of finding this recipe.

Then one day several months ago I met an Egyptian woman in Harrison. Her husband is a doctor here and they had just returned from Cairo. I got up he nerve to ask her if she had ever heard of Koshari. She had indeed. She took great pleasure in sharing with me that it is a very common meal served in “fast food” type restaurants, sold from carts by street vendors and made in homes all over Egypt. “I’ll bring you the recipe” she said. I was ecstatic and the day she brought it to me I was so excited. It was like I was bringing home a part of my trip that I had lost.

Well, tonight I served Koshari to my family for the first time. And I think it was a big hit! It will forever be know in our house as “Egyptian Chili” and I think it is something we will have from time to time since everyone liked it. I think that the hot, spicy, red sauce that you put on top is the kicker. I understand that there are many variations to the sauce, and quite frankly mine was not even close to the hot sauce we had in Cairo. But it was delicious and I share the recipe with you! Enjoy.














KOSHARI
2 cups Bismati Rice cooked
2 cups small pasta (penne, elbow or shell), cooked
1 cup lentils, cooked
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
¼ cup butter

HOT SAUCE:
6 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
¼ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
Chili pepper to taste (if you like it hot!)

GARLIC SAUCE:
Crushed garlic
½ cup vinegar
½ cup lemon juice

1. Cook rice according to package instructions and set aside.

2. Cook pasta according to package instructions and set aside.

3. Wash the lentils and soak covered in water for at least 2 hours. Drain. (Although there is no need to soak lentils as with beans, soaking in warm water for several hours or overnight helps bring out the lentil’s flavor and maintain its shape during cooking.) Rinse lentils and put them in a pot, covering them with water and bring to a boil. Then simmer on a low heat until almost all water is absorbed and lentils are well cooked, about 20 minutes. Add extra water if longer time is needed.

4. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until golden brown and slightly crispy, 10-15 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.

To make the Hot Sauce:
Slice garlic. Sauté in small amount of oil. Add vinegar, tomato paste, salt, cumin, water, and chili pepper, if desired. Cook until mixture boils. Lower heat and simmer until cooked.

To make the Garlic Sauce:
Combine the crushed garlic with the lemon juice and vinegar in a bowl and leave for one hour till flavors blend well.

The dish should be arranged as a layer of lentils (on the bottom), followed by a layer of rice, then another layer of lentils and another layer of rice. Sprinkle the onions and the sauce on top before serving.

Try it! You'll like it!

Global Trekker

I enjoyed getting reacquainted with Ian Wright this evening while watching the program Global Trekker on the Discovery Travel Channel. I have surely missed his great English humor. I used to watch his show, Lonely Planet, over a decade ago when I was living in Siloam Springs. It was in great part the inspiration for my traveling in 1997. I have many VHS tapes in a box somewhere down in our basement of old episodes of Lonely Planet. I was absolutely overjoyed earlier in the week when I saw Global Trekker advertised. I was quick to set the TV to record the show... all episodes, new and old!

I could feel the adventure travel bug stirring within me while I watched the show this evening. I remember all too well the joy of finding a $10 hotel in Egypt; the joy of stepping off the ferry in Aqaba, Jordan; being fascinated watching a woman weave a rug on the isle of Rhodes; and playing cards in the 2nd floor kitchen of a hostel in Athens at 1 a.m. Surely there will me more of this for me in my future.

You can read a great interview with Ian Wright at this address: http://www.pilotguides.com/community/features/ian_wright_interview.php

Enjoy!

211

Sorry for the hiatus. But today I finally got my blog back (as in "How Stella Got Her Grove Back").

I had to make a trip to Siloam Springs for a Dr.’s. appointment this morning. I was in Siloam all last week with several Dr.’s appointments to try and remedy this sciatica problem that has plagued me now for the better part of four months. I had a follow-up appointment with my MD (officially my "Primary Care Physician" as of about 9:35 this a.m... I got sick of my local Harrison MD just throwing painkillers at the problem for over four months!) this morning.

Well, after the visit and yet another Cortizone shot in the rear, it was still early in the day so I decided to venture over to Fayetteville to do some window-shopping. I didn't have much on my list of things I needed to buy. Just a gift for my sweet little nephew Kevin German who turns 5 tomorrow. Incidentally, he's getting a Toys-R-US pirate’s sword, buccaneer eye patch, skull and crossbones flag and a nifty looking glass all packaged neatly together. And the sword has this neat feature where if you push a button, the blade lights up and you hear the clinking sound like two real swords clashing. I'm sure little pirate Kevin is going to have hours of fun pretending with these items.

After finding Kevin's gift and a much too long walk through "Tuesday Mornings" and walking out empty handed, I was feeling a bit down. So, I got this bright idea to drive up to Rogers to try and meet up with my therapist of days gone by. I drove up 71B and took in all the new construction and growth. I must say that stretch of road is the ugliest business district I think I've been through in a decade. Regardless of the growth and prosperity of that area, they still seem to have no zoning codes. Crap boxes next to multi-million dollar business complexes. I would NEVER want to live, trade or own a business on or near that stretch of highway.

Once in Rogers I had a little bit of a difficult time finding the old offices of my therapist, Ross. I remembered it to be in the historic area, but I just wasn't quite sure what street it was on. It has been over 7 years since the last time I was over there. After driving back and forth for about 15 minutes I found it. The sight was ominous. The grass was overgrown and there was a Remax sign in the front yard. The place looked haunted. I couldn't believe it. My suspicions were true. They had closed up shop. Or at least moved to another location. The sign listing all the counselors was still standing in the yard, dusty and worn, with their phone numbers listed under their names. Ross' was the first one. At the top. A little poignant I thought as I always remember Ross as the best. At the top of the heap.

I took a stroll around the house, peaked in the windows and I could tell the place had been deserted for quiet some time. Inside I could see furniture was still there and the desk still in Ross' office just where it had been the last time that I had sat with him. As I approached the porch, high in the tree next to the house, a crow cawed several times as if to say, "Go away, nothing to see here. They're gone my friend. Their job is done." It was eerie.

I walked back to the van and picked up my cell phone. One by one I called each number under each name on the sign to see if I could get an answer from at least one to find out what happened. Each one answered with a message, "I'm sorry, the number you're trying to reach has been disconnected or is no longer in service at this time." Well, all but one. Ross'. But all that I got from his number was a mechanical automated answering machine stating "Please leave you name and number and someone will return your call as soon as possible." I did leave my name and number and hopefully I will get a return call. But if my gut instinct is correct, I don't think my phone is going to ring. I think the only "caw" I'm going to get if from the crow that has made his home in that old tree.

Across the street I saw an older woman leaving work, walking to her car. I thought she may know the story so I approached her and asked her if she knew how long the offices had been closed. "Oh goodness," she said, "I've worked here for over 2 years and there has been a for sale sign in the yard the entire time. I would guess a few years." And I must say the placed looked it. It was time to go.

Well, although he will probably never read this, Thank you Ross for all the time you spent listening to me during those hard years. Thank you for your sympathy, thank you for you understanding and insight and kind words. Thank you for never telling me what to do, but letting me figure it out. Thank you for cutting me off, even though I wanted to continue and I would get angry because you said "That's it this week!" You are a wise man Ross. Thank you for introducing me to Melanie during our first meeting. I would hate to think where I would be today if I had never met you guys! Thank you.

As a good friend of mine says, "Pain has been my teacher." Certainly many lessons I have learned. But I truly think that this poem on pain is one of the best, and one lesson I am still perfecting. But at least I know it. Thanks for this poem Ross:

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson

I. I walk down the street.
There's a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost.....I am helpless;
it isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

II. I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place;
but it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III. I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in....it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV. I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V. I walk down a different street.

I will have to walk down a different street to meet with Ross again, but hopefully someday we will meet up and I can sit and visit with him. He wasn't just my therapist, he was indeed a caring friend. I will never forget him.



PS And this is just too weird… I just looked down to see what time it was when I finished this article. It's 2:11 a.m. Take a look at the picture and notice the street number on the house. 211. It's no coincidence my friends. And, oh yes, Gene has definitely got his Blog Back!!!