good night 2022

i just backspaced over a long paragraph, because my rambling sounded a little too much like complaining and i don't want to go out on 2022 sounding sour.. so shifting gears.. 

i'm watching old black & white episodes of the Twilight Zone.. i grew up on these.. loved them then & still love them now.. 

i do so love the beginning of a new year.. ah, i think i'll save this new year rambling for tomorrow.. seems more appropriate after the new year has started.. maybe i'm a little superstitious.. like my Gramma Dot believed it was bad luck to hang a calendar early.. so i shall wait.. 

good night 2022

positive journal prompt - 26 december 2022

 write about a time when you hesitated but then went out & socialized with others and had a great time

maybe it's the time of year, coming up on the New Year, that instantly brought this memory to the forefront of my thoughts.. somewhere in the the time frame of 1999-2001.. in Canada.. it was New Years Eve and i had my evening all set out.. i'd made some comfort food, gotten into my pajamas and was settling in to watch a Kids In The Hall marathon on tv.. the perfect evening for any introvert.. then the phone started ringing.. i rolled my eyes & i don't know why i answered the phone, but i did.. it was Leenie & Desi & Snowy [the work gang] begging me to come out with them.. after many grumbled NO's, i let myself be talked into it.. it takes about 25 minutes to get from the Reserve to my Apt, so i had plenty of time to get dressed & made up.. 

we went to Club 445.. not the real name of the club, but i don't remember the name.. it was nicknamed 445 by way of how many Indians [ahem, Native Americans.. growing up, i only knew we were Indians.. no politically incorrectness happening on the Rez] frequented the club.. 445 was the telephone area code on the Rez.. 

at the club, no one wanted to be the first on the dance floor, so LeeAnn & i went out and got the ball rolling.. a couple girls without shame nor shyness.. 

i remember being outside for fresh air & finding Brento curled up on the ground under the back wheels of his Suburban.. apparently too much alcohol & coke.. he was so cold.. so we got him in a car & drove him home.. we dumped him inside his house on the floor.. his Dad apparently stumbled over him during the night, giving him the nickname SpeedBump that remained with him among our circle.. 

i left Canada soon after this.. but i DID end up having a good time that night..

side note: as fun as that night was & i remember with a smile.. i can't help think about LeeAnn & Leenie as they both lost young daughters.. 

snowy saturday

 

i woke up this morning at 4.30a to find the hydro [power] out.. luckily we'd just barked up the woodstove, so we were in no worries of being cold.. it sure is dark out here in the woods without a light to be seen anywhere.. we got a bit of snow from the storm that moved across the country.. i'm here in upstate New York, so we are near the end of that storm.. so i curled up on the couch with my kitty Ava and read a book with my clip on light.. 

the fella roused a couple hours after me.. we lit some candles, i put water on the woodstove for tea & coffee.. put peanuts & sunflower seeds on the window ledge for the critters.. we got quite the pile of snow.. heavy, wet snow.. a huge part of a maple tree came down in the yard,. it was turning into a woodpecker tree.. the pileated woodpeckers love that tree behind the firepit.. luckily it missed the trailer & the she-shed & the apple trees.. 

i had to go outside.. it was barely light and i'm trudging thru deep snow with my camera.. so darn pretty.. every direction i turned, it looked like a postcard.. the snow is so insulating.. no sounds of the living yet.. even the birds hadn't roused.. i managed to occupy myself easily enough with painting, reading, writing part of a letter to my sister.. till the power came back on just before noon..  

the nightbirde series

it's early evening, not quite dark out.. it's been lightly snowing here all day in upstate new york.. maybe an inch or two.. it is so pretty.. the kind of snow that sticks to the skeletons of trees.. the woods out in the back 40 are gorgeous.. 

so i've been so busy lately, that today i finally had a couple hours of ME time & i did 4 quick pieces of art.. watercolour & marker.. this is the "nightbirde series".. do you ever see someone, either in person or in the media & feel something for them? i came across a video of a beautiful soul named Nightbirde [Jane Markzewski] and i was so moved by her.. and come to find out, she has passed on.. i think everything about her is beautiful.. her voice, her spirit, her eyes, her smile.. she moved me before i knew about her struggle.. i feel like i'm mourning her some here.. 

do we have to physically know a person or animal, to feel a sadness or sense of loss? i would wake up in the middle of the night & she would be on my mind, like i dreamt of her but don't remember.. she'd be in the background of my feelings.. yeah, not full on thoughts, but like an ambiance, an aura, a feeling.. 

sometimes moments of strong empathy surprise me, overwhelm me & i need to process it in my own way.. usually some creative way.. 

so i did a few paintings to honour the lovely Nightbirde..

canning blueberry bourbon cinnamon cayenne jam

 

so i came into a pile of cherry tomatoes & blueberries.. i am not one to waste the good fortune of free food.. so this morning i made & canned 8 jars [1/2 pint] of roasted salsa and 10 jars of blueberry bourbon preserves.. 

for the salsa, i cut & squeezed the seeds out of all the tomatoes, put them in a 425 degrees oven on baking sheets, along with onion, garlic & jalapeno peppers.. i wanted a nice char on them.. roasting them off makes a big difference in the taste.. and then i seasoned it to taste.. yummy stuff like cumin, cilantro, paprika, chili seasonings.. also lime juice & apple cider vinegar to get the ph balance proper for long storage..

then i got to work on the blueberries.. cooked them down with sugar. bourbon, cinnamon & cayenne.. i just came up with the flavour profile as i was going along.. i didn't want to use too much sugar, so i added some sure jell for low sugar jams & a bit of clear jell.. the zest of a lemon & plenty of juice to keep the acidity proper.. and mmmm.. 

put some of that on a piece of rye toast. bourbon is subtle, the cinnamon gives it a smoky hue & the cayenne catches you on the back side.. i could see this stuff on pancakes or ice cream.. 

sorry no real recipe to follow.. i'm not one for measuring.. i just add this & that.. it's all on the fly.. but for some free food that would've gone bad in a day or so, i now have 18 jars of goodness for the fella & i.. all just for a bit of my time & energy.. and it was fun.. 

time for drawing

the thunderstorm from last night turned into snow as the temps dropped overnight,  so i woke up to a pretty scene of white..  i didn't have much in the form of chores or projects today, so i took some time to create.. i had this magazine clipping of a vulture photo that has been on my to-draw list.. it was so relaxing.. curled up on the couch, heated blanket over me, coloured pencils scattered about while it snowed outside..  

no real deep thoughts going on here tonight.. it was nice to have such a low key day.. 

the fella & i always have a dozen projects on the go, it seems.. we've been organizing, re-arranging, cleaning & fixing.. we cook, can, ferment, pickle.. we harvest, dehydrate, bake & freeze.. if there is something we want, we try to do it ourselves.. 

a day with minimal chores is a good day..