Signs of growth

Yesterday the signs of growth were everywhere. The maples and oaks are covered with the new leaves of the year. The lilacs are beginning to bloom and the purple flowerets are beginning to open to reveal the lilac color and fragrance. The dandylions all have their butterball tops and some have the grey puffballs that will bring forth the flower of their genes.
There was another flowering of genes present. I got to see the flowering of my daughter and son-in-law's genes beginning to make their presence known in the sprout that they have created. The quiet of his Father and the penetrating consideration of his Mother are starting to take hold in my grandson. He is calmer than he was and easier than he was. His penetrating look glanced over me more than once. I watched him walking with his Father, holding his Father's hand, and I seemed to see a glimpse of the man he will be. I watched him laughing and squirming as his Aunt tickled him and saw the exhuberance that I remember of his Mother. That exhuberance for life has evolved into a quiet acceptance of all of the beauty of life by his Mother.
So I witnessed the growth of life. The pride that I have in the gene pool that I may have passed on was justified again. My children are no longer children. They are people to be admired. Both of them awaiting the promise that tommorrow offers yet savoring the delights of today. I watched my youngest sitting back and incitefully analyzing life and then diving in to enjoy a romp with her nephew. For the whole time, not one complaint or lament from anyone. Just an enjoyment of what we are presented in life, nevermind what is on someone else's plate.
So what I planted as a young man has grown into maturity, clean and tall and full of beauty of form and mind, and the sapling of the newest generation is tall and straight and bursting with the energy that will carry him above his peers. Mankind, be glad. Hope is here and hope is on the way.

There is a message there.

From what I have been able to glean from Twitter, my Son-in-Law has just won an election due to a write-in campaign. I don't know him that well but one thing that is apparent about him. All of the people that supported him can write. Somehow that seems to indicate something about him and his support base. I wouldn't count on such a small support group if he decides to campaign for national or state politics. His support base is probably confined to the Boston area. Scott Brown's is statewide. Mitt Romney's was statewide. My Son-in-Law's is probably concentrated in areas that have a library and use it.

Same again

Yesterday was the same dish again. Pork, onions, garlic, sliced peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken stock, and rice. This dish can be very habit forming. Having the sliced peppers on hand is wonderful. I have already used one bag and today I will start on the other. I am looking forward to the same dish. I slice the garlic thickly instead if mincing it because I remember reading a book long ago, Love in the Time of Cholera, that explained why bigger pieces of garlic are better. Because it was a novel, not a scientific treatise, I am probably wrong in doing this but it pleases me and at this time of my life that is almost all that is important.
The sky seems to be clearing and perhaps today will be a better day. The ground is soggy enough and we could use some Sun.

The Hidden Soloist

At 5:35 EDT this morning a soloist started chirping away in a tree out front. It is still very dark out and no other performer joined in. The soloist stopped at 5:50 and all was quiet. At 5:53 several others chimed in and the soloist has raised its volume to try and drown the others out. The others have demurred and the soloist is chirping non-stop. At 5:56 the chorus is beginning with more and more performers joining in as the sky begins to lighten.
Yesterday was pork, onions, a lot of garlic, tomato, fried peppers, chicken stock, and rice. The pork was nice and tender even though it was stir-fried. I used a country style sparerib. I boned it and pounded it and fried the bones along with the rest. Country style spareribs will be on the shopping list from now on. It is so easy to control the portion and gnawing on the bones makes my incisors happy. They are also quite inexpensive.
Today I must transplant the tomatoes. They are in seed starting sheets and need room for their feet. They will be able to go outside as the weather has modified and I don't have room inside for all of them. There are 216 of them, three to a pod, and two of each must be clipped off with nail clippers so that the remaining one will have a chance to grow. It is very hard to destroy the extra seedlings as they look so healthy. There are three in a pod to make sure that at least one sprouts. The seeds must have been very healthy as they all sprouted. Some of the seeds were three years old. The vigor of tomato seeds is impressive. Some seeds are not viable after a year but tomatoes are not among them.
It is 6:09 and the chorus has stopped completely. The sky is lightening and I await its return when the Sun peeks through. It may not however as there is a dense layer of clouds blanketing the sky. There will probably be rain today and it is a perfect day to put seedlings out.
I have made quite a few attempts to contact the San Antonio Rose but we seem to be on different schedules. I will try again today.

New Favorite Thing

I have a new favorite thing. Yesterday was so glorious that I went for a long walk. Where did I end up? The grocery store of course. I have exceeded the monthly budget on food. I usually average forty dollars a week for food. I already had a months supply of food in the house but I ran out of one thing and wanted more. The new thing is frozen strips of red and green peppers. I really enjoy using red and green peppers but usually end up with some mushy peppers left it the refrigerator. Peppers are also fairly expensive. On the last visit to the grocery store I noticed frozen strips of peppers and gave them a try. They are wonderful in cooking. I make a lot of stir-fry, as it is easier to judge portion sizes with stir-fry, and I am very fond of any dish that can be combined with rice. The frozen peppers are also very inexpensive, about eighty-nine cents for a half pound bag. Yesterday I purchased two bags. I can use just a few and return the bag to the freezer. Goodbye mushy!
Of course the purchases did not stop with peppers. I got mushrooms and clam juice and tomato sauce and sausages and Asiago cheese and canned pineapple and roasting bags. I have a ham that I am going to try in the roasting bag.
After making a stir-fry from peppers and onions and tomato and garlic and mushrooms and beef, I settled in in front of the television to eat. There was a program on WGBH about the Buddha. It was moving and generated much thought. The premise that we already live in Paradise but do not realize it was heartening. I seem to have had that idea before. The idea that desire is the enemy of tranquility has become familiar to me. Maybe a person has to become older to experience the lessening of desire. The few needs that we have are easily satisfied. Wants are the problem. There were several honored monks on the program and even the Dalai Lhama. They must have the secret for happiness. They all seemed to giggle a lot.
One thing that they all said was that the secret to life is to reject both luxury and asceticism. Happiness to them is the middle road. Happiness is not a state, happiness is simply a lack of suffering. Their definition of suffering is desire. That definition is hard for me to grasp. They feel that suffering also comes from being out of contact with all of the living things on the Earth, the Earth itself, and society. I have probably jumbled all of what was presented together but I know what book I am going to get from the library today. Isaac Asimov wrote of a place he labelled Gaia. That place has always been in my mind. As much as we pride ourselves on being individuals, we are not. We live admidst a web of life.
I have tried meditating many times. I am unable to concentate on just one thing. The wheels of my mind keep spinning. It has been a long time since I giggled. Hermits don't seem to ever giggle. It would be nice to be a little silly once again.
It is Spring. It is the time for hot dogs and watermelon and bubbles and squirt guns and water balloons and popsicles. Maybe this year will be the Year of the Giggle.

The Chorus

This morning, for the first time in a long while, I heard the chorus outside. The birds are back and they have been sorely missed. There were not too many of them, twittering and chirping their way through their repetoire, but there were enough to make me realize how I have missed them. One small one has just begun a gentle peeping. The others stopped about one minute ago. The Sun is rising and the sky is lightening. I have often noticed that when the Sun first begins to rise, all of the birds stop their calls. It is almost as if they have hushed in reverance for the appearance of the giver of life. All of the life on Earth owes its existance to the benevolence of the Sun. Without it there would be no green things. Without the green things there would be no seeds or bugs. Without the seeds and bugs there would be no birds. And so on and so on......
The Earth would be a cold and quiet place. The Earth is in the habitable zone. It is habitable because of the Sun. So the birds show their reverance by being quiet as the giver of life makes its entrance. Once it is esconced in the sky, the birds break out with their hallelulias. I have missed their celebration. It is good to have them back. Even the tiny peeper, hitting high notes that the others did not follow. I remember two little girls hitting high notes for the church chorus that no one else could follow. Those high notes are deep in my memory and heart. Life has been very, very, good to me. I miss the givers of those high notes very much.

Rising

Yesterday was an Italian day. First I had the minestrone. I had made it the day before and, miracle of all miracles, it is not bad at all. The secret was to use V-8 instead of most of the water.
The second meal was pizza. I defrosted some sauce and when I went to make the dough, I discovered that I had no regular yeast. All that I had was rapid-rise yeast. What a difference that made in the dough and the crust. I proofed the yeast, they say you don't have to do that, and the rising time was only one hour instead of one and one half. I punched the dough down and made two small pizzas. The crust was very different from what I usually get. I was told that my usual crust resembles crackers. The crust this time was light and fluffy, the edge was just like pizzaria crust, puffed up and crispy. The center was gorgeous, crispy on the bottom and puffy on the top. Rapid-rise yeast is the only way to go. Even the remainder of the dough, which I put in the refrigerator, had doubled overnight and is now straining to get out of the bowl. So it will be pizza again today, seven days without pizza makes one weak! I will try rapid-rise the next time that I make bread. It is not often that a Swede learns something new and even rarer for him to actually use it but this is something to keep using.
My financial advisor, Mr. Ponzi, has advised me on how to become rich. First you get a farm. Then you purchase fifty female pigs. Then you purchase fifty male deer. Lo and behold, you immediately have one hundred sows and bucks!