Please pass the seaweed...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "International Laverbread Day."  Now you may know what laverbread is, especially if you are from Wales or  have travelled there.  I did not, so I had to look it up.

I have been to Wales. The tour group that I was with stayed in a very interesting old castle there but we were not offered laverbread.  I'm sure I would have tried it and I'm sure I would remember it.  I think I would have liked it but I will probably never know. Since I don't have access to laver seaweed I will not be cooking this delicacy.  Although now that I think about it, I can probably order it from Amazon.  If that's the case I will have to think of another reason not to cook it.  The fact that it takes more than ten hours to cook is actually reason enough because I know that if I suggested to my wonder spouse, who does almost all our cooking, that we spend ten hours whipping up something made from seaweed he would certainly wonder about me.

Laverbread is a traditional Welsh delicacy made from boiled (for more than ten hours) and mashed laver seaweed (which grows off the coast of Wales) creating a dark blackish green savory paste often called "Welsh Caviar." It's a nutrition rich super-food, historically eaten by miners for its health benefits.  It's commonly served as part of a traditional Welsh breakfast, rolled in oatmeal and fried into patties (laverbread cakes) with bacon and cockles or simply spread on toast.

As it happens, my spouse is very fond of oatmeal and crispy bacon and he likes toast.  Maybe, if I tell him that all these elements can be found in a traditiona laverbread breakfast he would give it a try. Although, since the man won't even eat fish, I am not too hopeful. On the other hand it is believed that it was first introduced as a survival food by the Vikings.  We will be going on a Viking cruise next month.  Will they serve laverbread? It's doubtful.  If they do will my wonder spouse give it a try?  What do you think?

Nooo, not again...

 At last my husband and I have finished our most recent jigsaw puzzle project and this one really was a project - 2000 pieces.  Never to be dissassembled.  We have put a backing on it and will frame it and hang it on the wall in our puzzle corner in the basement rec room.  I have named this one Never Again! although my wonder spouse (sometimes I do wonder about him) has said he would be happy to tackle another two thousand piecer.  

Here's what the puzzle looks like.  It's detritus on the ocean floor.  If you look closely you will see that there is a message rolled up inside the bottle which is firmly corked.  So pretty when it was finally finished.  It's lucky we both really like to do jigsaw puzzles. It keeps us off the streets during retirement, between trips.  

presenting MJ

 Today was a big day in our family.  The newest addition to our family, little MJ, was baptized.  He was baptized in the church where his mother's family has gone for five generations.  His other great-grandma was in attendance as well as several family members from both sides of the family.  Obviously Wonder Great Grandpa and I were there.  MJ is about five weeks old now.  

He was very well behaved during the baptism until a strange man dripped some water on his head, but he didn't fuss too much. 

We all went to Olive Garden for lunch.  That's when he finally opened his eyes and smiled at me.  

This is right after the church service.  It was an exhausting experience.  Having to look adorable at all times is tough work but, obviously, he was up to the task.

simply amazing....

 This evening was another night at the Philharmonic; another great concert (at least half of it was). 

The first piece this evening was Schwantner's Concerto for Percussion.  Lisa Pegher was the percussionist soloist and she was amazing, awesome, unbelievable, a joy to hear and to watch.  One review described her as "more than just a drummer - an alchemist of time, sound, and space, crafting viseral landscapes that penetrate the ears and mind."  This is so true.  If you ever have the opportunity to see her you must do so.  Listening to her music would be ok but this is a performance that really must be seen and heard to be truly appreciated.  

On the other hand, the second half of the evening was a performance of Edward Elgar's Symphony No, 2 in E-flat Major, Op.63.  Flat pretty well describes it (at least that was my untrained reaction). It consisted of three tedious movements followed by the fourth movement "Moderato e maestoso" which was moderately good.  

Next month Beethoven.  I can't wait!

Splash down!!!

Nine days ago I watched Artemis blast off.  This evening I watched it's capsule Intregrity safely splash down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.  All four astronauts returned safely and all is well.

While I appreciate that this flight did go out and around the moon at a greater distance than any prior space flights, I can't help feeling a bit of deja vu.  I think that many people of my generation may feel the same. In 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.  From 1981 to 2011the Space Shuttle orbited and landed on dry land; the first reusable space craft.  

I remember being so pleased with the Space Shuttle, knowing that astronauts would no longer have to bob around in the water in their capsules wating to be picked up. There were some close calls with that system.  Yet here I am this evening watching as the Artemis crew is picked up out of Integrity, as it bobs in the water, by helicopter then transferred to a Navy ship.  

I am glad that everything went well and they are safely home, but that water landing felt like a giant step backwards.

ASMR???

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "International Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response Day" also known as ASMR Day.  Naturally I had to look that one up. 

ASMR is a relaxing tingling sensation triggered by soft sounds, whispering or gentle, repetative movements.  It relieves stress, anxity and insomnia.  If you massage your scalp until it tingles that is evidently a good thing. So I am going to get into bed right now and gently massage my scalp until it tingles.  Doesn't that sound nice?  Feel free to try it. I think that maybe this is a day we all should celebrate. Sweet dreams.

more about the birds...

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "Draw a Picture of a Bird Day."  That sounds like fun and I would draw a picture or several pictures of birds if they would just hold still. 

As I've said before, my spouse and I spend time every morning watching birds while we have our breakfast and linger over coffee.  Being retired, we have lingering down to a science. Ocassionally I will take a picture of an interesting bird with my phone but mostly I'm satisfied to just watch them. 

But thinking about drawing birds makes me think of John James Audubon (1785-1851), the ultimate drawer of birds.  I knew that he drew lots of pictures of birds, but I did not know, until I looked him up, that his bird drawings were contained in "a monumental four-volume collection of life size prints of North American birds."  The volumes contain 435 handcolored plates plus a separate five-volume biographical text.  Wow, that is a lot of big heavy books.  I'm sure they are fascinating and I will spend some time looking as his drawings on line. 

But meanwhile my wonder spouse and I will content ourselves with referring to our little one-volume paperback guide to the birds of Indiana whenever a mystery bird shows up at our feeders.