30 July 08
Fly, Julia, Soar
Her name was Julia. I remembered. I doubt this will be the last tribute I make to her, either.
30 July 08
Mystery Plant
This plant recently sprouted and grew quickly in one of Pica’s garden plots, which has since been heavily mulched. If anybody has any idea what it is, do let us know.
28 July 08
Summer Doesn't Wait
The beans the earwigs the ground squirrels the almonds the squashed plums the parched lilies the flooded field the half-drowned gophers the bunnies the mockingbird the Swainson’s hawks the moon the swallow brood the laundry the clutter the cooking the pickling the biking the daydreams the not enough sketching.
The nearly August. Gulp.
27 July 08
26 July 08
Korean Mexican Italian
I’ve begun the long journey into learning how to preserve food. Our freezer is humble, so methods that don’t require refrigeration are prized. The garden is starting to produce things in such quantity that if they don’t get eaten or preserved, they’ll end up in the compost.
First, I’ve made my first batch of kimchi. If you don’t know it, it’s a Korean pickled cabbage delight, where the pickling is done entirely with salt and fermentation, not vinegar. It’s not a long process and the kimchi is almost finished, having started the process on Wednesday evening. I couldn’t resist tonight, though, and had a few mouthfuls. (Garlic ginger chilis onions radish cabbage and of course salt: how can you go wrong?) I’m very pleased with it and am hoping it will become a staple in our house, or more precisely in my office, where I’ll go to it at 3:00 pm when I have the munchies.
Second, we roasted a good 25 jalapeño peppers today in the solar cooker. They took on some good charring and will be used in all kinds of things. They’re coming in like gangbusters.
Third, with the oceans of chard and Kathy’s eggs, we made ravioli. From scratch. It’s a long, meditative process. The chard, onions, walnuts, and garlic were from the garden; we opted for tofu over ricotta, mostly because of its texture. Ravioli, we can freeze. I’d forgotten how delicious homemade pasta was… And I’m so grateful I didn’t ditch the hand-cranked pasta roller or devote its energies to Fimo millefiore.
New item for the drawer devoted to the goddess Anoia: a crinkle-cut pasta cutter.
26 July 08
Bike Whisperer
It’s never too late to learn to ride a bike, as this story about a bicycle riding instructor in Somerville, Massachusetts relates.
24 July 08
Letter to a Former Classmate with Down's Syndrome
We sit on chairs
two feet tall, you and I:
pencils in hand
the dust of Castille
sloshed round by
Maria’s swift mop—
Tracing books ready.
Patterns. Sir Alfred’s.
They are lines to worlds
galaxies
words
and, you and I,
we trace them.
My line wobbles but
I clench my fist round
my pencil and,
readysetgo, follow the lines.
Your almond eyes
wander, yet focused, and your
staff
follows unscripted calls,
out of order, explores,
it’s Breaking the
Rules.
A new dance.
Be kind, Teacher said.
Your name is now lost.
But if I could return,
dear friend, and be not
just kind
but
learn
from your uncharted brain
hows and whys of
breaking the rules:
fortysomething years on,
the universe
might hold just a little
more sense.
24 July 08
Host City
Our breakfasts continue to be enlivened by following the Tour de France. Today was the critical final mountain stage, this year ending in the famed Alpine climb up l’Alpe d’Huez. Carlos Sastre rode like a banshee the final few steep kilometers, winning both the stage and taking the overall lead. The remaining decisive stage will be Saturday’s time trial; we shall see whether Sastre can hold his lead, or will lose it to a better time trialist.
Today we had exciting news about California’s answer to the Tour de France, the Tour of California. This cycling race, first held in 2006, has become the biggest stage race in the United States. These past couple of years the race has passed through Davis in a stage running from Santa Rosa to Sacramento. Thanks in part to the enthusiasm of Davis cycling fans these past two years, Davis won’t just be an intermediate town on the way, but will be the starting point for the second stage of the race next year. This stage will run from Davis to Santa Rosa. Happily, this stage will be on a Sunday (February 15) so we’ll be there to watch and take in the pre-stage festivities!
22 July 08
Confessions of an Art Supply Junkie
We’ve been keeping a fairly close eye on what we’ve been spending in 2008 in an effort to understand where all the money goes, what should (and can) be changed, and what we really need to live on. No full answers to those questions yet, but Numenius compiled a breakdown the other night.
What I spend on art materials is daunting. Do they get used right away? No. Most of them are filling nooks and crannies and the books are stacked by the bed and it’s all a bit frightening.
Katherine Tyrrell of Making a Mark has a wonderful post today on the art of economizing on art materials. First step, for me, is to organize what I have, see what I still want, and find a good home for stuff I don’t. And, proud of myself, I didn’t go into an art store in Berkeley over the weekend. This is another easy thing to do: avoid the temptation in the first place…
21 July 08
Solar Castle
This residence just southeast of Davis on a favorite bike loop of mine intrigues me. On the south side of the residence, one sees a series of 10 massive solar panels mounted on pylons, the panels rotating to track the sun. The residence itself is partly obscured behind some recently planted trees, but one gets a better view of it in its full glory a little further down the road. 
Ostentatious? To be sure. How about contradictory? In solar building design, isn’t it the first principle to start with a structure that is small and efficient, just to give yourself a fighting chance to balance a much more limited energy budget?
Or you can throw hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of photovoltaics at your McSolarMansion, I suppose, never mind about efficiency.