Artistic Visions

While there is always the option of browsing through art museums and galleries, supporting local children can make for an interesting afternoon. Our library hosted a gallery showing of elementary students' art projects.

My honey and I wandered separately around the exhibit and paused to admire and study our favorites. On our second trip around the exhibit we held hands and pointed out what we liked about our favorites. The contrast in our favorite styles allowed us to develop and understanding of how we view the world and new insight on how we experience our relationship.

While my honey was draw to those pictures closer to realism, I enjoyed the pieces showcasing the raw talent of younger artists not yet schooled in the design principles of perspective and shading. Perhaps critics would be unappreciative of these works, but an art patron is not required to satisfy others. Enjoying a piece of art is truly subjective and we should each trust personal instincts.

If you'd like to follow in our footsteps, the experience can be replicated often for free anywhere. Contact local schools to ask if they host exhibits or student work open to the public. Other possibilities are science fairs, writing competitions, band and theater group presentation. Be prepared to pay a minimal fee for some public performances to help support the arts programs in our schools.

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Casserole Worthy of Romance

Casseroles have always been a comfort food even in times of bounty. They might have a reputation for being a plain food and not worthy of cuisine status, but most cultures boast at least one very popular casserole dish. The French enjoy cassoulet a rich stew with beans, vegetables and sausage. The Greeks, Mexicans and Italians have similar layered meat and tomato dishes; moussaka is made with eggplant, enchiladas use tortillas and lasagna has several layers of filling and noodles. Asian stir-fries or stews are served over rice to make a modified version of the casserole.

Sunday afternoons of my childhood were reserved for visiting. Often a variety of aunts, uncles and cousins gathered at my grandmother’s home for dinner. After grace, we waited patiently to pass our plates to Grammy and she would use a huge metal spoon to cut into a hot casserole and give us a big serving. We sopped up every drop of the juices with a thick slice of homemade bread. We always had plenty of filling food and through the years developed a craving for her casseroles.

I have modified my cooking to my grandmother’s skills. Her recipes were adapted to make do and those recipes have been passed down through the family. One casserole she called Seven-course-dinner consisted of seven basic ingredients, potatoes, rice, onion, green pepper, hamburger, tomato and bacon layered and baked until the bacon on top was crisp and the vegetables tender. This satisfying casserole stretches the more expensive ingredients. Though I’ve adopted a meatless diet, I still make this casserole with substitutions. When I create my own casseroles, I maintain the tradition and include at least seven ingredients.

This morning my honey and I raided the refrigerator and pantry for leftovers and other ingredients. We layered everything in the slow-cooker and added tomato juice. Then we kneaded the bread dough and formed loaves. Today is the day we spend time together twice, once to prepare and then later to share the results.

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Patchwork Day

A cold breeze and a wet snow made me want to stay indoors for comfort instead of venturing outside. My honey suggested reading a book together or watching a movie if I was also avoiding chores. Then I grew restless needing something interesting to do. Instead my honey pointed out the trim on my favorite towel had shrunk, the edges frayed and a threadbare spot in the cloth.

I don’t like admitting a favorite item is worn out, but he had a brilliant idea. Instead of just turning the towel into rags we could resurrect it as a bath rug. He cut away the damage and then measured the new size. We cut triangles from scrapped advertising for patterns.

Then I raided my scrap fabric to find favorite colors and cut them out. We each designed one side and then I sewed the pieces together and attached them to each side of the towel. Our project took up most of the snowy afternoon and we found a new purpose for my favorite towel as a warm cuddly cushion for damp feet after a warm shower. With two different patterns in two different colors we can flip the mat to suit our moods.

To follow our lead, check out sewing books at your local library.

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Couples Tennis

Tennis might seem to be a sport of the elite athlete or the club member. I played tennis during my high school years and then only on occasion. The quick bursts of speed and stretching movements give a great workout. I wanted to add tennis to my workouts as a cross-training activity I could do with my honey.

A trip to the charity-run thrift store yielded two rackets at one dollar each. I dug through boxes in the shed to find the can of tennis balls left over from fifteen years ago. Tennis didn’t appear to be a bad investment so far and would be environmentally friendly with used equipment. Where to play? We found two public courts maintained by the city. Our best times to play were early on the weekends and at lunchtime during the week.

We followed all the rules of the championship game except we didn’t keep score. We figured we’d both win with a great workout. Now we understand why championship games have ball retrievers. Until we practice to the point of perfection at volleying our best exercise might be chasing the ball.

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Dinner and a Documentary

Lentils, onions, carrots and peppers simmered all afternoon and then I added tomato paste for my version of Lentil Sloppies to be served on homemade wholegrain rolls. My slow cooker was a gift from my honey. I think he considered it an investment in future dinners. We eschewed the dining table and curled up in front of the television with our comfort good to watch a science program on the future of trash.

Researchers are thinking creatively and about long-term goals to solve the current problems associated with waste including hazardous substances. The ideal goal would be to rethink practices to reduce the amount of trash created and to find less ecologically toxic practices for manufacturing.

To envision a future without trash might defy ingrained notions of a throw away society. I believe if it can be dreamed, it can be done. Convincing regulators and the public may be the challenge. All require an investment in the future and the ability to think over a longer term. I find it romantic that my honey uses this type of forward thinking when it comes to giving me gifts.

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Starting the New Year off Right

Resolutions are great as long as follow through is the next step. I live by this superstition; whatever is set in motion on the first will be a driving force throughout the year. I make my New Year’s Day special instead of the eve.

I gave my honey the honor of choosing our meal. He picked homemade pizza because it’s his favorite. I made a four-way, four-person thick crust pan pizza. Four people mean four different favorite toppings. While I prepped, I made extra dough for bread too. That’s starting the year off with a promise of warm bread throughout the year and nothing is more cheering to come home to than fresh bread after an adventure.

Being an avid adventurer my other task was choosing my itinerary for the upcoming year. While I worked on that, my honey who prefers to tinker and design read science magazines for new project ideas. We alternated reading interesting blurbs to each other and connected for inspiration.

Our celebration of the New Year was less about resolutions of what we’d like to accomplish and more about brainstorming possibilities. After all nothing can be accomplished without first having a spark and then following through with a plan.

Here’s to fresh starts and enjoying pizza the way you want it and sometimes tasting something new.

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