punkinhead

Hey there SG folks,

I hope this finds you well and good. And warm and dry its a cold rainy one here in
Athens GA. Athens is, of course, home of the world famous double-barreled cannon.

Hi Ho the Holidays! I am all about this time of year. I dearly love Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Years and Chanukah. I have admittedly never been invited to a Kwanza or Ramadan party but I bet there tons of fun. If they werent, why would anyone celebrate them?

Things are a mixed bag right this minute. I had a slow writing week about seven pages all told, kind of slack for me. We are broke broke broke I just got the heat turned on and now me and the misuses are officially below the poverty line. Right before T-Day and Xmas, naturally. Im also feeling a bit under the weather, and so is Maya. So all of that blows.

But, the world is an amazing place full of opportunity and reward. The universe is unfolding as it should. Its true. Nothing happens for a reason, but everything happens correctly none the less. Plus, Im happy about everything but money that means that everything meaningful in my life is working.

My new thing is cooking. Let me go way back for a minute and tell the whole story.

The night I asked Maya to go steady we talked and talked and talked. We hit on just about everything that you can cover in a pre-relationship talk what we wanted, what we expected and what we couldnt tolerate. It was an amazing experience two adults talking frankly about what they wanted. It was almost a bit scientific, which is to be expected considering who my girl is.

One of the things she said right off the bat was that she was going to do the cooking. I could have jumped for joy I never considered myself a good cook but dishes/ kitchen detail dont bother me at all. I thought it would be a great combo.

Then came Grad School. Suddenly Lori is teaching, studying, writing, doing office hours, etc . . . and Yours Truly gets to put the chef hat on.

I was depressed at first cooking is a pain in my ass and its time that I would rather be writing. But one night I was just feeling whimsical and made this crazy sauce up for pasta. It turned out great, and it made me want to explore more.

Now Im all about the cooking shows, the online recipies, the SG The Kitchen group and having lots of fun with it. My best stuff so far:

- My crazy pasta sauce, kind of a faux marsala wine with mushroom sauce.

- My guacamole

- My baked salmon with Creole mustard and walnuts.


I need to read more. Here is a tidbit for all yall erstwhile writers out there reading is the fuel. You have to read in order to write, and its just that simple. Right now Im not getting much reading done, and its making my writing slow. Im going to make an effort to read something big and weighty that Ive been avoiding this holiday. Perhaps its time for my third run at Gravitys Rainbow.

Anyway, thats it. Im ready to be out.

First though HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

To all yall, from the bottom of my heart health and happiness for you and your loved ones in this season and in the upcoming year. Nothin but love, people.


be well,

ph

Taoist thought of the day: Be tolerant of others as a spiritual exercise and as a means of respecting the Tao.

Cat Report: Ah, Vindaloo. Love of my life, fire of my warm belly. I love her very much. She loves Bacchus the dog, and follows him around all day. He just wants the cat to go away he only loves Maya, you see. Who I am banging loud daily. Woe the circle of love betides.

Factoid: My favorite director is shaping up to be Billy Wilder.