What do books and plants have in common?

Catching Up

I’ve now been back from Honduras for a whole week…and I still want to put off writing about it. It’s just that, like most trips, it was a lot to process. I think that I want to share the experience with some poems I have started and will finish for next time, so hold on a little longer.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve been spending a lot of time with friends. Cyrus and Josh1 returned from their busking trip to the West coast while I was away, so it had been a whole month since the three of us were together.  I also spent time with my roomies Faith and Hannah, who came to town for a few days and told me about their adventures in Tanzania. I started to make a list of all of the other people I hung out with this past week, but it was too long and ridiculous. Life has really socked it to me. (Cyrus and I made up this phrase to replace “blessed” or “lucky” as we felt that neither really fit our life views.)

Friday night, the boys and I went up to Michigan to play a show with band manager Kurtis. We spent the night catching up with him and his awesome girlfriend Mackenzie.

Then we decided to visit our friends in Champaign, IL again. We had heard rumor that some of them were to be in a play on Saturday night, so we thought we’d surprise them. The play was…interesting…but the night was fantastic.  A few of our friends from before were away but our disappointment was short-lived at the making of new friends.  Here’s to Anastasia, who gave us a place to sleep and even tucked us in.

Tonight I spent with good ol’ Dad. I thought up a recipe while working at the library last week, so I tried it out: diced zucchini and onion with cracker crumbs and some pre-bottled ginger garlic sauce wrapped in broccoli and/or swiss chard leaves, then steamed, eaten with brown rice. It turned out alright, but the leaf wrapping was difficult so I used rubber bands. I forgot to take pictures. : (  Dessert was inspired by the dumpster finds of the day — an apple and cherry crisp. Yum!

I haven’t updated my blog…

…because I’ve been updating my life, spending time with friends and family.

On the food front, I’ve been receiving a lot of meals and eating at restaurants a lot lately, mostly due to Father’s Day and celebrating both of my parents’ birthdays. I have managed to make some cool things lately, anyway.

First-of-ly, I was inspired by the root vegetable stew that Bethany fed me after she picked me up from the airport.  I made a big pot of vegetable soup with broccoli, zuccini, and greens from the garden. Bethany came over yesterday and I happily repayed my soup debt to her.

Secondly, I made a dark chocolate and lavender cake for my mom’s birthday, all from things I already had in my stash. I mixed chocolate chip muffin mix with some cocoa powder to magically create chocolate cake batter. Then I boiled some lavender from Bourgea Tea (owned by AU student Chris Bourgea, who just launched the new website: www.bourgeatea.com  Check it out and consider buying some tea; I’ve never had better quality stuff and all of the flavors are incredible.) I mixed some of the lavender infusion with chocolate pudding for the layer filling, then made a chocolate glaze by combining lavender infusion, some brown sugar, a few pieces of dark chocolate (melted) and some more cocoa powder.

Finally, I’ve simply been enjoying the fresh produce of the garden. Lately I’ve been eating broccoli leaf and tomato sandwiches (with a dash of hot sauce, of course). Today I enjoyed a side of fresh peas, too. Look how cute they are:

And that’s the update. I won’t be writing again until after the 4th of July because next week, I will be in Honduras with my family.  We will be serving people and vacationing a bit; I’m looking forward to the experience. Hasta luego.

Oregon Trail 5, 6, & 7!

Friday was spent packing up the camping gear and food, driving through Nevada and Oregon, getting lost and driving through woods for a good hour, and finally setting up camp in the dark.

On our way to our camp site at Mt. Hood National Park, we stopped at Crater Lake. Ever since Mr. Pulver showed us slides of Crater Lake in 8th grade science, I’ve wanted to see this beautiful site.  Plus, going to Crater Lake was at the top of the list when Jacqueline and I started planning this trip at Ed’s (not Ed Pulver but the mail carrier Ed who took us to Oklahoma) house one night, so standing there in the snow made us feel very accomplished and well up with pride. We called Ed and left him a voicemail to celebrate.

Saturday was full of aquatic adventures.  To begin with, Jacqueline’s mom surprised Maddie with whitewater rafting for her birthday, so we suited up and paddled about 10 miles of rapids on the Clackamas River. On the last rapid, known as the Toilet Bowl, we got stuck in the middle of a wave and began “surfing”.  Jacqueline was swept away into the frigid water and pulled into another raft downstream. Sadly, I have no photos of the event at this time.

That night we drove to Bagby Hotsprings where we sat in all-natural hot tubs.  The water comes out of the spring at about 136 degrees F, so you let some into a tub (which happens to be a carved out tree trunk!) and then balance it with cold water from another spring. Since there are no park rangers to oversee things, people tend to make the hike with their friends and throw hot tub parties with beer, weed, and the occasional can of ravioli (heated, of course, by the hot spring water).  I don’t have pictures of this, either. : (

On Sunday morning we packed up camp and I said goodbye to her wonderful family.  Jacqueline had to move into her dorm room in Eugene by early evening in order to attend her internship orientation.  My flight wasn’t until 10:20, but because of the circumstances, we drove to Portland and she dropped me off at the airport around 1 pm.  We said farewell and I headed to check my bag and print off my boarding passes.

I learned that you can’t check in more than 8 hours before your flight.

I took advantage of airport wi-fi and waited until the 8-hour mark, then tried again.  I got my boarding passes that time, but found that it would cost $25 to check one bag.  With so much free time left, I really wanted to see the city, so I paid 5 bucks to store my bag, paid another 5 bucks for a day pass on the metro, and picked a stop that sounded interesting: Old Town/Chinatown.

Almost immediately, I found myself staring at the famous Voodoo Doughnut shop and the line of people coming out the door in the middle of the afternoon.  Naturally, I got in line and bought some doughnuts.  They are delicious and I wish I could have tried all of the wacky flavors.

Down the street from Voodoo were some street kids who appeared to be my kind of people, so I sat with them for a bit. They were nice at first and one even drew a picture for me.

I soon discovered that they were not that cool.  These kids were not rebels with a cause, they were unmotivated beggars who don’t care about anything beyond their next drink or smoke. They were wasteful and rude. I learned a very valuable lesson from them: a lifestyle is nothing to strive for; its the purpose behind the lifestyle.

I ditched the street kids and walked around for a few hours, taking pictures of murals and stuff.

Back at the airport, I had to get rid of some stuff to get through security (since I wasn’t about to pay to check my bag). I threw out what was left of my peanut butter and face wash, but I couldn’t throw out a good bottle of Cholula or my pocket knife. I gave the Cholula to a lady who worked at the pizza place and asked her where to get postage supplies. She told me where to look, but all I found was a sign that said “we no longer sell postage”.  I asked around some more with no luck, so I returned to the nice pizza lady and she agreed to mail the knife to me.  Then she gave me a free piece of pizza, too.

I finally went through security and headed for my gate, but didn’t get far before I made a new friend. RJ was playing guitar and singing in the terminal next to a table with his cds for sale.  I was curious as to how he was allowed to do that in the airport, so I started talking to him. He said that the airport is trying to look like it supports art and culture, plus he has some connections. He asked if I wanted a turn, so I eagerly took the opportunity to play a few songs — more as stress relief for myself than anything.  Several people stopped to listen and I think I earned him a few bucks.  One lady even wanted to buy my cd; she looked a little surprised when I got on the plane with her.

After some more talking, I found out that RJ is also a writer and illustrator. You should check out RJ’s stuff at rjballard.com or rjballard.etsy.com

Coming Soon…

…stories and pics from the end of my trip west. I promise I’ll do it tomorrow. Promise!

Oregon Trail 3 & 4

Wednesday was spent driving  through Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada to Jacqueline’s mom’s in Winnemucca.  When we stopped for gas in Point Rocks, Wyoming, we found some rocks to climb.

All day on the road, we gaped at mountain views. Then at Salt Lake and later again at the salt flats, we did some more exploring. Even though the weather was cloudy, we found plenty of beautiful things to look at.  The pictures say more than I can here.

Thursday was spent in Winnemucca with Jacqueline’s family: her sisters Maddie and Kristy, her mom Kathleen, and her mom’s boyfriend (manfriend?) Chuck.

Jacqueline and I started the day with a hike up Winnemucca Mountain with the four dogs.  Then Maddie, Jac, and I went grocery shopping for our camping trip.  Thus,  I indirectly failed incredibly and, since I bought a bottle of Cholula (Chili Lime flavor!) I directly failed minorly (I can’t make Chili Lime Cholula, now can I?)

I tried to dumpster dive at two different stores, but both had compactors. Inside, I found some interesting produce like yucca root and cactus pears. We asked the grocer how to cook cactus and he said not to, then cut one open and had us try it.  It tasted like a sweet, seedy fruit, so we bought a bunch.  I also picked out tomatillos and cilantro to make salsa verde — my first batch of the summer.

For dinner, Chuck took us out to a Basque restaurant where different parties share large tables and the food is served family-style.  Everyone ordered a different entree, but before it arrived, we shared cabbage soup, house salad, homemade bread, mashed potatoes, sweet carrots, chorizo and hominy, pork and beans, and french fries. When my vegetable alfredo arrived, I could barely continue…and then came bread pudding for dessert.

In the morning we pack up our gear and head for Crater Lake!

Oregon Trail 1 & 2

Monday morning, Jacqueline arrived at my tent in Champaign and we began the drive to Oregon. She has a 10-week internship in Eugene doing chemical research, so we are driving out together and I am flying home at the end of the week.

Monday night we stayed with the Murphys in Lincoln, Nebraska.  After a post-drive nap, we went to Noel’s baseball game where we spent some time with Aaron, Katie, and their cute boys.  Later, we tried to visit Sean but, since he wasn’t back from work yet, I taught Jacqueline how to throw a football instead.

Tuesday morning we ate a wonderful breakfast before getting back to I-80.  We stopped in North Platte and ate lunch at Buffalo Bill Cody Park, taking the time to look at the animals and wade in the river.

Four hours later, we made it to Greeley and joined Molly in the ceramics studio for a bit.  She finished the handles on a plate and bowl while I molded a little octopus. I gave him a mustache and named him Alfred.  Then we did normal things like making dinner and running some errands with Molly, which happily included ice cream.  The night ended with music on the sun roof and some mosquito bites.

Saying Farewell to Champaign (for now)

After Sunday’s yoga, the guys and I had an appointment with Mark Ruple of Pogo Studios. Mark showed us his killer collection of instruments, microphones, and other odds and ends. He didn’t have time to show us everything, but promised to let us play his theremin next time we visit.  When Mark had to go, we took advantage of an invitation from Maggie, the yoga instructor.

Maggie lives in a commune on three acres in the middle of town – “along with 7 people, 2 dogs, 21 chickens, and a couple thousand bees” she says with a smile.  The commune was started in the 70s and is known as La Casa (see their blog at lacasaurbana.wordpress.com). Housemate J. P. showed us the extensive garden, which included various fruit trees and several berry bushes. We tried currants, June berries, and gooseberries.  After sharing some guacamole and conversation, we departed with promises to return in August for the music festival Maggie is planning.

We returned to the Urbana college crowd and after a short nap, decided to set up and play a show in a campus parking garage – our way of saying thank you for all of the hospitality we received over two incredible days. The reverb in the garage was crazy cool and one of the guys used his film school skills and equipment to record us.  Then we passed the instruments around and the show became a collective jam and music meditation.

Around 2 AM we said our goodbyes. I agreed to a t-shirt trade with DK, giving him one of my Indiana-themed ones.  He surprised me by handing over a custom, freshly spray-painted shirt.  Then Josh1 and Cyrus packed up the car and embarked on their own road trip to the west coast, leaving me to wait for Jacqueline in the morning.  Coy generously allowed me to stay at his house, but Stevie and I ended up finding a tent and set it up in the backyard.  An hour or two of philosophical conversation later, we fell asleep as greater friends than we had woken the morning before.

Photos by Josh1

IL

Last Friday I drove to Champaign, IL with Josh1 and Cyrus to play for an art show opening. Upon arrival, we went to bed early and went to the farmer’s market in the morning. We played music for an hour and a half and made a little over $25 plus a bunch of smiles.

Last night was the show, which went pretty well even if it was a bit awkward to be playing for a bunch of adults. The shindig was actually held in a yoga studio, so as part of our payment, we got to attend a yoga class. It was great. Super freakin’ hard, but great.

After the show, we hung out with some college-agers, talking philosophy, sharing art, and dancing in the rain.

Today we are going on a tour of Pogo Studios and spending some more time with our new friends. On to one more yoga session; keep your hearts open and grateful.

My Summer in Photos (props to Josh2 on several)

The Boys are Back in Town

I spent a good hour on my bike yesterday, thanks to commuting and running some errands with Josh2. We stopped at Sno Castle and I had my first sno-cone of the summer (definitely not a purchase in the food category).

Dinner last night consisted of another scavenged meal with Josh1, who came to town for the week. We collected spinach, lettuce, lambsquarters, and clover, then added in some broccoli and onion.  To make things interesting, we attempted to concoct a peanut sauce of natural peanut butter, garlic powder, and paprika.  The result was interesting and even somewhat confusing – imagine eating a peanut butter sandwich with lettuce on it –but overall tasty and filling.

Cyrus returned from his trip to Virginia this week and Faith also came to visit for a few days, so we all got together at Bailey’s for a bonfire and midnight swimming. Some trees were also climbed. (Oh, and this really cool girl named Bethany showed up toward the end – she is someone worth writing about, even though I have failed to so far.)

Today I went with Josh1 and Cyrus to a bike shop in the Castleton area.  Cyrus found some mulberry trees and we made friends with Abby, a sweet girl who works at the bike shop and likes all the same things we do. We pulled some bike rims and tires from the dumpster.  Then we dumpstered at Trader Joe’s and scored ingredients for a great curry stirfry.