what weed is this

My dream blog

This woman has got it right.

http://feministryangosling.tumblr.com/post/14469966929

I love this cat

If one day in the distant future I decide to get a cat again, I think I'll get a Scottish fold...

Language alert, NSFW

This is BY FAR the funniest video I have seen since the first time I ever discovered You Tube. Ames sensibles, s'abstenir !! Lots of language, but this woman is smart, hilarious and full of intelligent insight. She also gets in more fantastically repeatable one-liners in under 5 minutes than many comedy films do in 90 minutes. I love her and I can't stop watching this. Enjoy.
(Note: if you haven't been following the Eddie Long debacle, this might not be as funny to you... so Google Bishop Long and then come back and watch it. It's worth it.)

Viva l'italia !

I’m having one of the best vacations I’ve had in ages, which is funny because when this trip started last week, I thought it would be the worst. On the night train from Dijon to Rome, one of the other women in my compartment stole all the cash from my purse while I was sleeping. So much for women's solidarity. Then when I got to filthy, noisy, overcrowded, polluted and touristy Rome, it rained for almost 3 solid days. And, I was burning up with fever and suffering from what felt like the stomach flu, except nothing was coming out. Neat. Not.
The tribulations continued from Rome to Puglia. After the rotten first three days, I thought I deserved a first-class ticket for the train down to see Amory & Jim. So, I splurged, thinking I would have a 4-hour ride in the comfort of a modern, well-equipped train. This was true for almost the entire first hour of the journey. Then, the conductor came by and explained that we would all have to get off the train and onto a bus, because the tracks were washed out. (!!!???) The bus would take us to Foggia, where we would get back on another train. Of course, there’s no distinction between first and second class on a bus, and it was impossible to sleep with all the Italians jabbering away on their cell phones, not to mention the unbelievably overwhelming and unpleasant odour of stale cigarette smoke emanating from the couple sitting right in front of me that made it seem as though I had just licked several ashtrays myself. Then the second train seemed to be from about 50 years ago, so not exactly cushy travelling comfort, even in “1st class”. I am preparing another photo essay entitled “Italy: first or third world?” but that’s for another blog entry…
Luckily, things improved vastly as soon as Jim & Amory came to pick me up, right on time as usual (but the train was over an hour late!).
The weather has been nearly perfect, the food fantastic, the wine divine and the company splendid. We have spent time biking, chatting, eating and drinking. Amory has made several delicious meals at home, we were invited to a charming birthday party one evening, we ordered in pizza another time, and we had a fabulous evening out where somehow I managed to finish off everyone else’s pasta except Jim’s. I have overindulged in various kinds of cornetti filled with either vanilla cream or chocolate cream. Although I could almost fit into my skinny jeans before leaving Cormatin, I think that several weeks of major hiking will be required now before a true fit becomes a reality. La dolce vita !

Tis the season

Spring seems to be just around the corner… the temperatures have leaped into the double-digits (in Celsius, of course!), new-born lambs with spring-loaded legs are bouncing around like pop-up toys in the fields that are also full of countless new calves who kick up their heels.
The sun is getting up earlier and going to bed later.
There’s an entirely different feel to the air.
My backyard is full of birds serenading me to let me know they are back for good, no longer just passing through to warmer climes. Even the semi-wild cats have fresh good-hearted mischief and more love in them.
There’s only one thing I can say about it all, or rather, I’ll let Louis do the talking for me…
For some reason, the site is not letting me put the video in here, so please click on the "Tis the season" title now.

My intentions of napping on the train to Paris have been thwarted by the screaming baby in the row just in front of me and to my left… shouldn’t there be an age and/or height limit to get into the first-class cars, like on carnival rides? Here is where I would actually be for a “separate but equal” policy – families travelling with screaming, boisterous children could all go in one car, and business and child-free travellers can be in another car, just like there used to be smoking and non-smoking compartments… I purposely chose my travel dates so as to avoid the school holidays, a time when trains in France are any childless person’s worst nightmare… but I am being punished for my organization by someone too young to be affected by the winter break. I take some solace in the fact that I can see on the faces of everyone else around me that they are also totally irritated. The sign that reads “Voiture silencieuse” on the door seems to mock us. We are travel martyrs but at least we have more comfortable seats than in 2nd class…
So, since I can’t sleep, I thought I’d take advantage of the plug at my seat to follow up on my return to the blog.
In the same vein as that first note of the year, herewith some more reasons why I would never want to move back to Paris or any big city for that matter. This morning I took the photos that follow during a 15-minute walk back to my house from dropping my car off at the garage to have some work done on it while I’m in Paris. Can you imagine getting this scenery during a 15-minute walk in Paris? or anywhere else for that matter? Can you feel the love?
A love which grows as the train whizzes through the rest of Burgundy, which appears to be entirely snowbound and bitterly cold.
Enjoy.

Back on the blog

Now that I’m single again, I should have more time to update the blog (although we can all cross our fingers that more work will be coming in soon to prevent me from having too much free time on my hands, and of course, that Prince Charming will arrive in the not-too distant future too… ;)

People often ask me if I miss Paris now that I live out in the boonies. This question bewilders me, as it seems so OBVIOUS to me how much better life is out here in the country and what could I possibly miss about the stress/noise/pollution/dog-poop on the sidewalks/overcrowded and smelly subway/constant aggression from your fellow Parisian/no smiles/not nearly enough trees or space or sunshine, etc etc etc.
In my mind, what sums up the perfection of where I reside is something quite simple.
It is this:
I see blue herons every day.

Ever since I was a little girl in Texas, blue herons have been one of my favorite birds. I think they are strikingly beautiful, so graceful, and then that unusual color…
We used to get so excited on the exceptional occasion that we would spot one on Lake Livingston or Lake Conroe.

Now I see them all the time. Literally every day. Sometimes in groups of 5 or 6, usually just one on its own. Yet I am never blasé in their presence. I saw one swoop down and nail a fish last week, a first, and I almost shouted out loud with joy.
I always know that the best way to ensure that I get really, really close to one before it flies off is to forget to take my camera on a walk. Somehow, they sense this.
I never take them for granted.
I also see countless crows, starlings, goldfinches, thrushes, buzzards, kestrels, robins, white egrets, ducks, geese, cormorants, coots, etc. and the occasional couple of swans. But it’s the blue herons that get me every time. Their beauty moves me, in much the same way as the southern Burgundy landscapes.

Yes, sometimes I wish I could eat sushi every week, or just walk downstairs to pick out some of my favorite cheeses and maybe a new pair of shoes, or not have to worry about driving home after a late night at a fabulous restaurant… but those times are rare, while here, blue herons are not.

Happy Holidays

It's turning out to be another fabulous fall and winter here in Cormatin. After a stellar visit to Austin with a delicious Thanksgiving and an unforgettable 40th birthday, I've returned to stunning sunsets, a bit of snow, and plenty of Christmas spirit.

Life is good.


Happy Holidays everyone!








Surprise pre-birthday bash here in France
Blessed by the presence of so many friends and family at my party, including my cousins Karen, Shauna, and Susan



Emmanuelle's wedding













Amazing cloud formations upon my return home











First Christmas tree in Cormatin!

Wish I had found this earlier...

Even though the shameful WBush era is now going into the garbage can -- good riddance! this older video is still a great laugh.

A very telling Sarah Palin clip

No comment necessary for this one. She digs her own grave by herself...

Clearing things up for the election

This brilliant piece highlighting the hypocrisy of the McCain/Palin campaign was written by Tom Minor. Folks on the fence might want to give it some deep thought.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.


* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, and you're a maverick.



* Graduate from Harvard law School and be President of the Law Review, and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.


* If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.


* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.



* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible.


* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.


OK, much clearer now.

Because we all need a good laugh out loud during these trying times

And this video is just the key to some big belly laughs!!
Thanks to Gene for sharing.
Enjoy!

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

Here's hoping that all this creativity channelled into these videos also gets channelled to the voting booths...

Words of wisdom

from 1798, bringing back to mind the quote that I have probably uttered the most in my life: those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
Thanks to CWB for sharing this gem.

A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt... -- Thomas Jefferson

Talk To Your Parents About John McCain

You know these kinds of discussions can sometimes be difficult between parents and children... but this video could help!

Serious arguments for voting Republican

How quickly we forget...

Every election year both political parties in the US start playing fast and loose with the facts. And unfortunately, it seems that most US media outlets are not willing to call them out on their exaggerating and lying.
So, don't forget that you can always turn to www.factcheck.org for a non-partisan run-down on what is the TRUTH. Or, just the facts, presented in an unbiased, straightforward manner.
Why don't our politicians keep in mind the advice the Thompson Twins gave us in the 1980s?

Putting things in perspective...

with humour... some of the first election coverage I've seen that didn't turn my stomach. Thanks for sharing, Dan!

Politics and eat your veggies

So my esteem has risen for Paris Hilton (well, actually, previously I had no esteem whatsoever for her, so on a scale of 1 to 10 she's gone from sub-zero to about a 4) after her snappy comeback to John McCain's pathetic attack ad comparing her to Obama (jealousmuch?) and I think her video is worth watching for a good laugh (although I'm against her plug for tanning! doesn't she know about skin cancer risk???)
I was impressed with her sense of humour and delivery, although disappointed that the folks at funny or die only came up with an overly simplistic energy policy when they could have taken this opportunity to make a truly intelligent point.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

But I'll get off my soapbox and get to more important matters: food.



Featuring a recipe from my garden.

Well, kind of… this zucchini (or courgette for my UK friends) is from my garden (my first ‑ I’m so proud!) but the recipe was inspired by a few I found on the internet, to which I added my own personal touch. I actually came up with this recipe prior to having my very own courgette/ zucchini plant so I had some time to perfect it before my garden began giving birth to such beautiful babies.

What you’ll need:
Round zucchini or hefty long ones (for a main course to feed two people, I usually make 4 of the round or 2 of the long)
Feta (when in stock, I buy the reduced fat version as there is no detectable difference in taste, especially for this recipe)
Already cooked lentils
Pine nuts (optional)
Olive oil
Various curry spices (besides a pre-mixed curry powder, I also throw in some garlic, cumin and ginger, as well as salt and pepper)

Now, I despise following recipes to a T and for a dish like this, don’t think that exact measurements are important. It’s the taste that’s important! So these are just my general guidelines and then you can play with it and make your adjustments as suits your mood or personal preferences. For example, the first time I made this, I wasn’t chez moi so I didn’t have access to much in the way of spice. Instead of going the pseudo-Indian route, I had to go the pseudo-Provençal/ Mediterranean route, using “herbes de Provence” and mixing in some parmesan with the feta to give it a bigger bang. It was also very good, but right now I’m on a curry groove.

Preheat the oven to around 180°C. Cut the tops off the round zucchini or halve the long ones lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh to around a quarter of an inch from the skin (finally a use for that melon baller I bought years ago and never touched!!). Drizzle a little olive oil on the zucchini shells. Salt, pepper. Stick them in the oven for around 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the flesh until its tender. I add some curry to this while it’s cooking. I then mix a package of feta (there’s a standard size here in France but I couldn’t tell you how many grams or ounces it is…) with a package of pre-cooked lentils (the vacuum packed ones sold in the veggie section of most French grocery stores) in a separate bowl. I spice this up to taste. If I have the time, I do things properly and let the zucchini flesh cool before incorporating it into the lentil/feta mix. Have I mentioned that you should be toasting the pine nuts about now too? When they’re done, mix them in with the feta/lentils/zucchini flesh. Scoop this unfortunately rather unattractive-looking mixture into the zucchini shells and put it back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes with a sprinkle of pine nuts on top. Serve straight to the table. I find that the end result – a very easy, tasty, low-fat and extremely healthy (as well as filling!) meal ‑ goes equally well with white or red or rosé.
Bon appétit !