Happy New Year!

And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

   

Happy New Year! 

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

An Old Fashioned Meme: Seven Years Later

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy;

for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves;

we must die to one life before we can enter another. 
~ Anatole France

In August, I’m participating in BlogHer’s Blogging Challenge.  The theme this month is: Hot.

R

emember when a meme was a list of questions you answered and then tagged a bunch of friends to also answer?

I found one I participated in seven years ago.  For fun, I decided to do it again.  Interesting to see how my answers have changed.  Some things I said seven years...well, some lifestyle changes have been made since then.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

That would have been 2003.  The only event that I can remember without my 2003 journal nearby (this is why journaling is good!) is that I was in a relationship with a man who was living a lie and knowingly leading me on.  Ten years later, I still have rare moments where I want to just punch him.  Mostly, I’ve moved on to forgiving my younger self for ignoring all the red flags.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

A year ago today, I was trying to eat all the tomatoes my first garden was producing and preparing for the fall planting.

Five snacks you enjoy:

1. Kombucha (well, I guess it’s technically not a snack)

2. Raw Coconut Macaroons

3. Fresh basil with tomatoes

4. Chocolate-covered Gojii berries

5. Iced Cold-Brewed Coffee with Coconut Milk Creamer

Five songs you know all the words to:

1. The Highwayman (Loreena McKennitt)

2. Sleepsong (Secret Garden)

3. Better Dig Two (The Band Perry)

4. Jacob’s Dream (Alison Krauss)

5. You Are Water (Hayley Westenra)

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1.  Pay all my medical bills

2.  Either buy my childhood home or a B&B with an organic farm connected to it.

3.  Visit Alaska 2-3 times a year

4.  Buy a Steinway concert grand (this is still true seven years later)

5.  Pay all the bills for a friend I know is struggling

Five bad habits:

1. Not writing every day (this one from 2006 still gets me, but it’s not as bad because I keep signing up for these writing challenges!)

2. Hitting the snooze button

3-5. 2006’s answer still stands: this is not a talk show.

Five things you enjoy doing:

1. Reading (which oddly didn’t make it on the list in 2006)

2. Spending time with friends (still true)

3. Writing essays for my blog

4. Gardening

5. Hiking waterfalls

Five things you would never wear again:

Seriously?

Five favorite toys:

1. My baby grands – yep, 2 of them (still true, although it’s been a YEAR since I’ve touched that type of keyboard)

2. Pen and ink collection (still true)

3. Kindle App on my smarty-pants phone

4. Roads of Rome I, II, and III

5. Is Netflix a toy?  Well, it’s a favorite.  I’ve gotten through 4 seasons of ST:NG on there, and was introduced to BBC’s Sherlock.  That is all.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Did you do a meme like this years ago?  How have your answers changed or remained the same?

The La Belle Daybook: Week of 6 May

The only thing that has to be finished by next Tuesday is next Monday. 

~ Jennifer Yane

 

 

M

y friend and fellow blogger, Anne, over at Our Little Nuthouse, shared her Daybook meme; I liked it, so in case you were wondering  about the inner workings of my creative genius. . . . .you won’t find it here. Ha! 

But you will find out a little bit more about La Belle.

Outside my window:  A gray and chilly day.  At this rate, I’m worried I won’t be able to put my tomato plants in the ground in time for a summer harvest.

Thankful for: supportive friends.  Without their laughter, love and encouragement, life would be so blah!

Thinking about:  my to do lists, social calendar, future blog posts, the concert I’m attending this afternoon,  a friend who is mourning, a friend that I miss, my vision for my arts group, a new writing project, planning a gardening get together, and my garden.

Learning all the time: how to be a better person and a better artist.  Usually this means being a more engaged listener, following through on my awesomely great intentions (tough for us dreamers), and reading non-verbal cues more accurately.  It also means loving others as God loves me: unconditionally and with great patience and forgiveness.  This includes me.

Currently drinking: lemon herbal tea (fair trade and organic – of course!)

Creating: my father’s/my memoir.  I write a little of it every day, although some days it’s so emotionally draining, that I take a break and journal or write poetry.

Working on: my garden.  Especially my poor little seeds (see last Wednesday’s post.)

Going: to a concert at the National Gallery of Art this afternoon (did you know it’s the European Month of Culture?) and the locally owned garden center on Friday (buying more compost for the herb garden).

Reading: blogs to get inspired!

Hearing: the window washers outside my building.  Weird.

Around the house: taking a page from Anne’s list – cleaning, decorating, and (my addition) composting for this weekend.  This is going to be one garden party where we all get dirty!

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

What about you?  What's on your list?

Food Meme: Food from Apple to Zucchini

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate.

 ~ Julia Child

One of the great aspects of the 2011 Blogathon was getting to “meet” the great community of bloggers that participated.  Some had been blogging for years, other were brand-spanking new.

Bookworm has been blogging since 2009 and just recently began a series called  Civil War Sundays where they talk about different aspects of the war.  It’s fitting that they began the blog posts this year ~ the 150th anniversary of the war.

Another blog post Bookworm did recently was a Food Meme ~ one I haven’t seen before.  I love memes and haven’t participated in one in awhile.  No clue who started it, but here is my contribution:

A is for Apple: What’s your favorite variety?

Hands down: Granny Smiths.  Great in pies, cobblers and in my favorite kitchen appliance: the juicer.

B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?

Shameless of me, but my homemade French bread, recipe courtesy of Southern Living.

C is for Cereal: What is your favorite kind currently? (just one!)

Not a huge cereal fan, but if I had to choose, probably Cream of Wheat.  Does that count?

D is for Donuts: You might not currently eat them, but what kind do you fancy?

Before I became dairy intolerant, custard filled.  Sigh.  Now I don’t really eat them, but Paul’s Bakery in Fredericksburg has THE best doughnut holes EVER.

E is for Eggs: How would you like yours prepared?

When I could eat them? Fried.  In bacon grease.  Over easy.

F is for Fat Free: What is your favorite fat free product?

Kale?  I don’t do processed.

G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?

Farmer’s Market in the summer, Whole Foods, then Trader Joe’s.

H is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?

Regular: chai tea.  Alcoholic: hot mead. 

I is for Ice Cream: Pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.

Coconut milk-based ice cream: coconut with Framboise.

J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?

Pumpkin butter.  Ahhh.

K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?

Crackers? Maybe?

L is for Lunch: What was yours today?

Ha!  Lobster roll [CT style] from The Lobster Truck with a dill pickle and an Arnold Palmer.  That and 73 degree weather and a nice breeze ~ can this day get any better?!

M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?

I don’t microwave if I can help it.  Cooking with gas, baby!

N is for nutrients: Do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?

Proteins. Love kale, spinach and anything made of meat – in moderation of course.

O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?

Safflower for cooking.  Olive oil for everything else.

P is for protein: How do you get yours?

Chicken and greens.  Tough being a foodie who is both egg and dairy intolerant.  

Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?

With coconut milk, butter and brown sugar.  Or in a cookie with raisins.  Whaaaat?

R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?

Mwhahahaha.  Oh.  We’re talking about food.  Ummmm ~ red peppers?

S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?

Pulled pork with homemade slaw.  The P.O.R.C. mobile has a fantastic sandwich ~ not to mention to-die-for chocolate truffles on a stick!

T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?

Again, before food intolerances attacked me, I would try to find the local mom and pop places and ask for the local favorite.  Now I also look up Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives to see which places were highlighted before I travel.  I also google the nearest Whole Foods.  What can I say ~ I like my food organic!

U is for unique: What is one of your weirdest food combos?

Hmmmm.  I'll have to think about that one.  Or ask someone I've fed recently...

V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?

B Complex, Antioxidants, Flax Oil, C, E, Carotene, a dietary supplement and one other herb that’s supposed to be good for stress.

W is for wasabi: Yay or nay?

Just a pinch.

X is for XRAY: If we xrayed your belly right now, what food would we see?

Ewwwww!!  Probably lunch; possibly yesterday’s potluck dinner: fresh fruit salad [ala moi], Chinese chicken pasta salad, tomato and corn salad, sweet potato soufflé with pecans and brown sugar [Oh. My. Gosh], broiled asparagus, and green tea with raspberries.

Y is for youth: What food reminds you of your childhood?

Fried chicken [mom still makes the best], bigos [sauerkraut with kielbasa, chicken and beef], chicken and dumplings, boiled custard [there is a reason we only make it at Christmas!]

Z is for zucchini: How do you prepare it?

I don’t.  I hate it. We grew acres of it when I was a kid.  But I tolerate it in bread. ;)

What about you?

Oremus pro invicem,
~ Mikaela