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And the Results Are In

I posted recently some culinary ramblings about experimenting with new recipes when cooking for one. The experiment under discussion turned out to be a great success. Here is the outcome of my efforts.

This one is a keeper.

Boneless Pork Loin and Peaches
in the Slow Cooker

6 to 8 firm fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
2 to 4 sweet potatoes, …[MORE]

Making a Flagging Effort

Soon after I bought my house, I purchased and installed a flag mount for my front porch. I have a sizeable American flag that I hang on the usual flag-appropriate holidays. And then I bring it in.

I have a few neighbors who no doubt consider themselves super patriots. Their flag mounts are high up in the eaves, reachable only with a tall …[MORE]

Winter, Such As It Is, Is Coming

I am not slipping into dementia. I know that it’s early September, and by any reckoning Houston can expect another 7 or 8 weeks of brutal heat. There will be at least one more massive light bill. Hurricanes are still a threat.

But all that aside, I can feel winter coming on.

It started a couple of weeks ago. A late-day storm caused a …[MORE]

Storytime

My most constant activity in retirement has been reading. From Day One, and for practically every day since, I’ve begun the day with an hour or two of reading. The delight never fades. Sometimes, when I’ve just finished a book and haven’t yet decided on my next one, I’ll take a day or two where I watch TV or read the news …[MORE]

The Finish Line

There’s one personality flaw I have that causes me a little stress. For reasons I won’t dive into, I have something of an aversion to finishing things. It’s not that I don’t want to finish; it’s that I don’t want to press on to the finish once I lose interest. My problem is with the persistence, not the completion.

Since I’ve learned to keep this bad …[MORE]

Furry Friends

Pets bring me lots of joy. I’ve kept pets most of my life. Since I’ve usually lived alone and worked full time, cats have been my most common pet. They fit well into such a life, being largely self-contained and ambivalent about human interaction. I’ve only had a few dogs over the years. Still, I’ve observed one major …[MORE]

Out On a Limb of the Old Family Tree

I’ve never considered taking one of the DNA analysis tests. I have no idea whatsoever about the makeup of my ancestry; what’s more, I’m content to remain ignorant. I consider it totally irrelevant. I’m not even interested in my own family tree.

What little I do know of my lineage fades into the mist around two generations back. There is no old …[MORE]

A Delightful Thought

I came across a lovely image the other day. I’m reading Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, a tale of a medieval monk and his young apprentice. The apprentice narrates how he once thought of books as separate and individual things, each distinct from the others. Then he discovered that some books contained parts of others; grew out of others; …[MORE]

Birdworld

I don’t know much about birds, but I watch them a lot because I find their behaviors fascinating. A few days ago, I witnessed a bird drama play out at length while I filled my gas tank.

On the ground around the gas tanks, someone had spilled a bag of some sort of cheesy poof chips. Some were intact, some trod …[MORE]

The Little Questions of Life

In a moment of wool-gathering, I picked up a pen and notepad and wrote down four questions. I’m going to keep them around for a while. I think they will make good koans.

    What do you want?
    What are you doing to get it?
    What is the next thing you need to change?
    What’s holding you back?