Sunday Morning

The look out the window this morning presented me with my excuse for not walking today.  Yes, today it is raining.  And yes, sometimes it doesn’t take much to discourage me from doing something I know is good for me.  But enough of that.  This morning I am going to share breakfast with you.  We’ll take the walk another day.

When I was just a pre-teen kid I learned to make biscuits and pancakes from scratch.  No pre-mixed stuff.  Get the flour, the baking powder, the shortening, etc. and mix it up.  Seems to me my chin was not much above the drain board at the time.  I credit my dad with my early lessons in cooking, since he was often the first one up.  His early rising most likely came from his days as a postal carrier when you had to get there early to sort the mail and get out on the route.  In those days the carriers made twice-daily deliveries.  (Can you imagine that?  Now they are talking about getting rid of Saturday deliveries and closing post offices.)

In the years since my early biscuit and pancake making days, Bisquick and other premixes for biscuits and pancakes came out in the stores.  Well, I was not about to give in to the lazy man’s way to cook!  Shortly after getting married, I started mixing up my own batches of biscuit mix and storing it for use through the weeks.  I think, obviously, that my mixes were every bit as good as the premixes.  Many years later I finally gave up and started using them.

Now that you have my personal cooking background, it’s time for breakfast.  Here is what was on the table this morning:  Special pancakes (recipe follows), two eggs and lots of coffee.  While I admit to starting my pancakes with a premix like Bisquick, it is all original after that.  Here goes . . .

           1 egg

           Chopped walnuts

           Cran-raisins

           All bran

           Raw oatmeal

           Milk (powdered or fresh)

           Vanilla

           Sugar

           Bisquick

Beat the egg, add all bran, oatmeal, cran-raisins, walnuts, sugar, milk, and vanilla and mix well.  Then add the biscuit mix and gently mix.  If you have to ask what portions of the ingredients to use, just forget it and go back to reading the morning paper.  I’ll finish getting breakfast!  I am an intuitive cook.  The upside is always a surprise.  The down side is that it is often difficult to get it as good the next time.  (I could tell you many stories about experiments.)  But, hey, that’s what is fun about cooking.

Oh, by the way, if you eat as many pancakes as I do, you are making a mistake!  But they are so good and the pain doesn’t last forever!  Pancake mix just isn’t good as a left over no matter what anybody says, and I don’t like waste (so I add waist instead!).

Bon appetite!

Saturday Morning

Oh, I just did not want to do it!

But as I sat at my computer getting ready to catch up on the overnight news feeds and any mail that might have come in (rare for me on Friday night/Saturday morning), I glanced out of my window and saw that the morning clouds were beginning to break.  Spots of blue sky and sun began showing up.  Instead of the rain I hoped would give me an excuse for staying in my comfy chair listening to music and reading the news, I had to get going.

So I put on my shoes, layered my shirt and hoodie and headed out into the 56-degree morning for my regular walk in Greenway Park.  For the first ten minutes or so my body protested.  Tendons tightened, muscles didn’t want to flex and my feet hurt!  What the heck am I doing out here?  Then, as magically as turning a corner, my body relaxed into the pace and a whole new world of sensation opened up for me.

The trails in Greenway Park that wander in part along Fanno Creek were rich this morning in brilliant greens.  The sun highlighted the dew on the grass.  The squirrels scurried around gathering their winter stores.  The big crows, ever present, were picking whatever they could from the grounds.  Then came the freshness of the morning air into my nostrils.  There is nothing like an Oregon morning after the rain.

We had an unusually dry summer so I have walked these trails every morning.  There are certain folks I see every morning and though we don’t break our walks to stop and speak, it feels like we have developed a camaraderie as we greet each other.

By the time I have reached my two to three miles, depending on the course I follow, I am ready to head home.  Coat comes off, hat in hand so the perspiration can evaporate helping to cool me down.  I have to admit it gets harder all the time to climb the stairs to my second floor apartment after the walk, but oh my, does it ever feel good once I have!

I plan to take my camera for my next walks.  The trees will be turning soon and a whole new beauty will grace my path.  Hope to share them with you later.

In Memorium--Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs Commencement Address at Stanford (A Must Read)

I originally posted this on June 17, 2009.

With appreciation to the folks at “The View From Outside My Tiny Window” blog, who brought this item to the attention of their readers, I am also recommending this address. Not only is it an insightful look into the life of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Corporation, but it is also a compelling story marking a path for success in business and in life. If you are a graduate or know one, I urge the reading of this address. Click the URL below or cut and paste it into the address line of your browser.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html