21 June …
The Castle Crags bicycle event last Saturday started before dawn.
The Moon was still out.
It was quite different that it had been. There were far fewer riders. There were only three rest stops. The SAG wagons didn’t seem to know what was their role or where they should be. We had to use different repeaters and there were mixups about frequencies and tones.
Although I was assigned a different station, I wound up working with the same volunteer group.
This year they were Girl Scouts.
My station was in Hoy Park in the Lake Shastina subdivision. It was very green which was a change from the rather wild gravel roads, tall pines and firs, and the forest undergrowth of Mumbo. That was nice since the day was a bit warm.
After the station closed we returned to the City Park for dinner which consisted of comped IPA, delicious grilled chicken, hot bread, a mixed green salad, and the choice of two pasta salads. Not a bad way to spend a day.
We left home at 0530 and got back at 1815. No tv, even for news. Just basic unpacking, collect eggs, and off to bed.
Next event will be the Mt Shasta 4th.
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Some time ago, during a “parlor” game, the question was “If you could have any other person’s job, either male or female, whose would it be?”
I don’t recall what I said at the time, but I do find myself thinking about the question occasionally and here are my answers (one for each sex) as of today.
Jeffrey Brown of PBS … because he gets to go so many really interesting places and talk with so many really interesting people in all walks of life and such a diversity of professions about such a broad range of subjects. It would seem each day is an adventure.
And Meryl Streep … because in her profession she is allowed to be so many vastly different people, and in her personal life she seems so loved and content. I get the impression she enjoys each day to its fullest.
Those are my choices. How about you?
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A few days ago, on baking day (does anyone remember the embroidered dish towels with day-chore indications … i.e. monday wash, tuesday iron, wednesday bake, etc.), along with a fresh batch of cookies …
I baked a challah using my friend Faye Levy’s recipe (from one of her early cookbooks). It came out great as always, and we had the fresh-out-of-the-oven bread plus a couple of “French” toast breakfasts, and ended with an apple-blueberry-challah bread pudding.
I run a “Depression” kitchen and the challah is a good example. We eat a lot of “garbage” (i.e. leftover) soups, stews, pilafs, casseroles, etc. Some items get recycled a couple of times. And when it reaches the end of the road, it goes out to the chickens to come back in as eggs.
I know some folks will see this as a bit repugnant, but they didn’t grow up when every penny and bean counted (although we seem to be reaching that point once more). And when either George or I see a doctor they comment on the quality of our diet.
It was a very good pudding.
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One evening last week, George and I watched “The Pianist”, a Roman Polanski film. I don’t recall what triggered me to put it in the NetFlix queue (do you put something “in” or “on” a queue?), and I didn’t know it was a Polanski film until I saw a note on the news about the charges which have kept him out of this country for so many years.
All that aside, it is an unsettling film. It is set in Warsaw between 1939 and 2002, based on an autobiography. The music is very good (I don’t know if the actor is actually a pianist, but if not he learned hand positions well) and the thought-provoking aspect of the film make it well worth watching.
We rated it 5 stars.
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The peonies are in bloom. I plan to add more over the next few years since they are deerproof.
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And now it’s time for a thought to end the week …
“If one person calls you a donkey, ignore him; if two people call you a donkey, buy a saddle!”
So … ‘til week …