Stephanie says

I lived in Portland in the late 1960s and some of my haunts still stand, like “The Original Pancake House” at the end of the Ross Island Bridge. It seems like my group were pretty much unemployed and we’d hang there eating pancakes, drinking endless cups coffee (free refills) and smoking cigarette after cigarette. Ah, fond memories hack, hack. Restaurant venues in those days were blue collar American: Burger joints; pizzerias; breakfast chains; steak houses; bar food at taverns; one Greek cantina; fish houses; and “Chinese” – mainstream version of Mandarin. Taco Bells were just opening up and Mexican food was new to me and probably most of Portland, it seemed exotic, and I’m talking Taco Bell here. Go ahead and laugh. In the ensuing 40 years good food has made it to Portland and I make it a point to try new places when I visit my daughter. We had some very good Turkish food for cheap, cheap, cheap on my last visit. She taught a course in Thailand a few years back so we’ve been...

We had the company of a ten-year old this Christmas. Miss M set the table in full holiday splendor - lining up every fork and spoon available. She adored the dogs - it was mutual.

My beloved Cuisinart coffee maker has shut down. There is no l.e.d. indicator - no power - a serious event in the life of a coffee junkie. This has been a fine machine nicely grinding the coffee beans just prior to brewing, sweet scent of coffee wafting out to grab me by the throat - "come get your coffee" Ahhh. So I got out the owners manual - three-year warranty - which expired 10/15/2009. Go figure. This morning rather than get dressed and make a coffee run I opted for pomegranite green tea. I'm here to report its just not the same.

I've started on some Christmas goodies. While toasting the almonds and burning a CD simultaneously I nearly burnt the nuts. My dogs love me cooking in the kitchen. They are always available for floor cleanup. This is a first time to make this recipe in this rain planet. I'm concerned the popcorn may get soggy. Almond Toffee Popcorn Recipe 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white corn syrup 1/4 cup water 1 cup almonds, chopped and toasted 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup popcorn kernels - popped In heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, water and almonds. Cook over a moderate heat to 280 degrees F on candy thermometer. Add the vanilla. Stir well and pour over the popped corn. Recipe from That's My Home.com

So much for my recollection that Julia's husband wrote the following for their wedding anniversary. It's much tamer than I recall! Birthday 1961 O Julia, Julia, cook and nifty wench, Whose unsurpassed quenelles and hot souffles, Whose English, Norse and German, and whose French, Are all beyond my piteous powers to praise -- Whose sweetly rounded bottom and whose legs, Whose gracious face, whose nature temperate, Are only equalled by her scrambled eggs: Accept from me, your ever-loving mate, This acclamation shaped in fourteen lines Whose inner truth belies its outer sight; For never were there foods, nor were there wines Whose flavor equals yours for sheer delight. O luscious dish! O gustatory pleasure! You satisfy my taste buds beyond measure. PAUL CHILD

I watched “Julie & Julia” recently, a movie about Julie Powell, an aspiring writer who starts a blog (in 2002!!! man, I don’t think I’d ever even heard the term then.) about cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” 524 recipes in one year. The film is interspersed with scenes of Child’s life in France learning to cook and is based on her autobiography. It was a sure bet I’d like this film as I am a confirmed foodie - which is how I keep my girlish, whoops, make that matronly figure. That and I’ve admired Julia Child for decades and used to watch her TV show. I recall one particular program where Julia read a poem on air, a wedding anniversary poem actually, written by her husband Paul; they’d been married a very long time by then. The poem’s title is “Julia’s Bottom”. Hearing Julia read this poem was both humorous and unsettling. I didn’t want to consider their sexual attraction. Sort of like thinking about your parents… But now that I’m a ...

My family: Keith, Helene, Michael and I, lived in the Coos Bay Timber Co.’s Sitkum logging camp housing, built close to the east fork of the Coquille River. Sitkum, a small community in a narrow valley of the coastal range, thrived in the post WW2 boom. Eisenhower was president, timber was plentiful, the housing market strong. Times were good. Mom worked at the camp cookhouse to earn money for a piano. She’d take us along and Michael and I got to choose a little carton of cereal and then eat it right out of the box, a big treat. The excitement level was high when the long yearned for piano was delivered. Dad played his guitar and Mom played the piano one-handed with the cornet in the other for an occasional toot. We kids danced and sang. Our Post grandparents doted on us and loved to watch our performances thinking us quite brilliant. Bruce was born during this time. I remember a very pregnant Mom gone to Myrtle Point for doctor appointments while Dad cooked up pancakes in shapes...

Lady of Wellington's "White Christmas" post on Theme Thursday reminded me that my grandmother had the “White Christmas” sheet music, usually standing on the piano music stand. I’d riffle through just to look at the cover all through the year. This memory segued into the following: I’ve loved Christmas as long as I can remember. The excitement of the season as a child was an escalating flurry of fun. It began early in December with Mom baking and making candy. We kids helped where we could, (read that to mean we ate the broken cookies and licked the frosting bowl.) Mom had a gift with sweets, her goody plates were legend. The house smelled of sugar for weeks. We’d make a foray into the dime store in Myrtle Point to select gifts for the siblings. I’d forget my purpose and wander mesmerized down dimly lit rows admiring its wares: pots and pans, coffee pots, wooden clothespins, dolls, miniature tea sets, board games and puzzles, rings and bracelets, tools, pill boxes...

More like an ice day... Now this is a snow day. This Is A Theme Thursday Post.

I cashed in some airline miles and got an Ipod touch. It arrived today. So far I've figured out how to play music - the sound is good. Will need to master the apps feature! My friend Teresa makes playlists for her various exercise routines. Yeah right, I can really see me doing that... What tunes work well with walking the hounds?

I volunteer at the local library one day a week. Sometimes its special projects but frequently I’m in the stacks shelving books and tidying rows. Browsing the many books I handle results in a constant supply of reading material to take home. All sorts of books make the cut. Case in point: Mutant Message Down Under. The book notes say this is a woman’s spiritual odyssey with the Aborigines in Australia. I’ve got a certain fascination with Australia. Have two beautifully illustrated “dreamtime” books with Aboriginal creation myths. Loved “Thornbirds” and “A Town Like Alice”. So I checked out MMDU and brought it home. I enjoyed reading about the Aboriginal telepathy abilities, likened to a cell phone without the phone. Yeah, I liked that. No more phone to keep track of or batteries to charge. There was a bit about well telepathy works with child rearing – i.e., the child’s naughty thought goes out into the ether and then all the adults are looking at the kid, saying “nope” in...

Look what came in the mail! I'll be spending these long wintry evenings curled up in my easy chair, hot tea at my side, glasses perched on my nose, perusing this catalog and planning my spring garden. Visions of celeriac root, sweet peas, and heirloom tomatoes dance through my head.

I’m glancing through the August copy of Central Electric Ruralite this evening, relaxing until my tv program airs. The Ruralite is a monthly energy magazine for us outback souls off PGE or Pacific Power grids. Flip, flip. I find the editorial cartoon. And get a chuckle from the caption. Yeah, right. People look forward to getting this rag? I realize that I do look forward to each new edition. Not for the energy articles. I scan them feeling the need to be current on fuel cell development or harnessing wind power. The odd article turns up double-duty for old air conditioners: you can warm your water for free using the handy tips included. I browse through the feature human-interest story. A country slant typically featuring musical folks, once in a while some of them even live here on the Butte. Flip, flip. I’m nearing the section near and dear to my easily entertained heart. Flip, flip. Good reproduction on the recipe photo page – “Blueberry, Apricot & Pear Salad wi...