Stephanie says

I work for a man with a passion for Ducks football – to the extent that our firm maintains the landscape at Autzen Stadium for free. The season for Ken is a feverish mix of season tickets, boisterous tailgate parties and of course, the main event. The GAME. Which hopefully includes jetting off to the playoffs. And even more hopefully, a WIN this year. My knowledge of football is limited. I dated a guy in high school nicknamed “Tasmanian Devil” for his prowess on the field – hey that counts because I sat in the bleachers and pretended to watch. I am partial to the term “tight end” (position) just because of the image it conjures up in my bawdy mind. And of course, the actual football is a funny, oblong pigskin ball. Oh and you get seven points for something. Ken invited me to the Oregon:Washington State. “Thank you for thinking of me. But no. I don’t like football.” “What?” “Yeah, I really hate football.” Big stare, long pause, funny look. This was clearly so out of his realm of the pos...

Written by Amy Tan, published in 1996. I’ve read a lot of her novels over the years with great enjoyment; the first I heard of this book was when my friend Steven lent me his copy. My nose was stuck in that book until I finished. Amy Tan is a great storyteller. I enjoy her portrayal of a modern American heroine’s interactions with her Chinese immigrant sister. The characters are fully developed and take on a life of their own. It’s a good read. This novel is about fate and reincarnation, two subjects that enthrall me. Right now I’m particularly intrigued with the concept of fate. BFF Melissa and I have a long-running discussion about fate. She’ll comment about some life event “It it’s meant to be, it will be.” And I’ll counter with “So does that mean you believe in fate?” “No, not necessarily.” “But if you believe what’s meant to be is – well then isn’t that predestination?” “No, not necessarily.” Mind you, I’m merely trying to pin Melissa down on her actual belief, (or perhaps drive h...

Post from my child: "My first go at rock climbing!" posted by Into the Invisible World at 11:01 PM on Oct 7, 2011 Comment: Stephanie said... Sure. Every mothers wish to see only child dangling from ropes while climbing a sheer precipice – halfway round the world. Hmmm. Hey my girl, you could do this at Smith Rock... I have turned into my mother.

A postcard from my girl. This buddha dating from 751 is in the Seokguram Grotto, (Mt. Tohamsan)in S Korea

On my way home from work this afternoon I stopped and picked these beauties, organic plum tomatoes destined for a divine sauce. A bushel cost me $12 and will yield a heady aroma of sun-kissed tomatoes in the drear of winter. Hansen's Farm has a produce stand and u-pick fields. A sign instructs if stand is unmanned to deposit payment for your purchase in the lockbox. Naked Tomato Sauce from Smitten Kitchen. I made this recipe the other night, it smelled so wonderful I decided photo be damned, and ate the evidence. This is an amazing sauce!

Surfing the net recently a Match.com popup popped up. I thought “Gee, I should take a look.” And I did. One fellow really caught my eye. He was articulate, big plus. Among other things, his great fishing photo struck me. But peeps, as we all know, I am nothing if not frugal. Possibly parsimonious. Whatever. I searched the web for free dating sites and “Plenty of Fish” ranked high and is totally free. Okay. Time for me to venture back into the dating scene. I signed up. Within the hour, and I am not (for once) exaggerating, there was THE fisherman sending me a message. I responded that I’d been looking for a fisherman as I needed fish frames (that would be the carcass for you non-cooks) to perfect my beurre blanc sauce. And the rest, as they say, is history. Music swells in the background. Think literary love stories, crossed signals, little misadventures, like Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxane, such lovely tales. Well, this is nothing like that. Joe and I make a date (his...