Happy Pi Day!

A slice of Pecan Pie at Fat Apple's Berkeley (made with maple syrup!) So incredibly good!

Christmas Latkes!

Christmas Day we bundled up (not enough if you ask me!) and headed up to Saul's for Christmas Latkes! Yes, you heard that right.. So what else do you do when two holidays collide?? (sorry I couldn't help it!)




the Soufganiyot was ready to go.. but the Latkes were high in demand and hot & fresh, so we had to wait..


Live Band! Lovely music.. people danced (trust me, people were dancing!)


hot & delicious..

Happy Valentine's Day!

lovely latte from Peet's on Shattuck..


“Love is something to be treated with awe. Or should it be aww? People don’t know my capacity for love. If you tried to bottle it up, I’m sure it would take at least three thermoses to contain it. And if it did get contained, would you drink my love black, or would you add cream and sugar?”
― Jarod Kintz*


*found quote on the Goodreads.com site..

Christmas Eve Baking

something from scratch, something from a mix!


Coffee Cookies made from scratch..

This is my 2nd attempt at making these.. the first didn't come out near as good (more like brownie brittle.) Recipe calls for 1 cup flour & 1 cup sugar, a cube of butter, 1 egg, and 1/4 tsp of baking soda.. and finally 2 tblsp. of instant coffee.

Cookies still came out flat (despite putting batter in the fridge for a few hours) but at least they taste alright.


Pumpkin Spice Bread..

Usually I use a Krusteaz mix from Costco, but SeanYoda brought home a different mix*.. This one doesn't seem to have nuts.. It didn't rise as much as I expected, and I haven't tried it yet.. (don't plan to until my second loaf is finished baking..) You can make a cream cheese frosting for it but I usually serve it without anything. People can put butter or maybe a fruit spread on it if they want, I suppose.

I'll bring these to Christmas Dinner at Sean's older brother's place in the city..

*"Wild Roots" Organic Pumpkin Spice Quick Bread Mix

Merry Christmas (Eve)

Happy Holidays!

Just in case I forget to update.. hoping everyone has a lovely Christmas, however you do or don't celebrate..

"This is as posed as I get people!"

Happy Hanukkah

to friends & family that celebrate.. wishing you a Happy Hanukkah..

Hanukkah Cookies from Saul's Saturday night..

Thanksgiving 2015

It's been a nice quiet Thanksgiving.. The DH was again the founder (and chef) of the feast! We started the day with the Macy's Parade (which I couldn't make it through and managed to find "Sweeney Todd" just as it was starting! This seemed like the perfect thing.. a musical that included songs about making meat pies stuffed with people, whereas we were working on stuffing ourselves.


Sweeney Todd (w/ Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin)

We also managed to take the time to clear off an episode of "Survivor" and "Star Wars Rebels." Some football was viewed but I managed to not pay attention to it.. I was busy eating pie.

SeanYoda ended up purchasing more than we actually ended up eating: crackers, cranberry goat cheese, pickle salad, potatoes (for mashing), onions, cornbread stuffing mix, gravy, fresh cranberry sauce, a whole smoked turkey, and pumpkin pie.

The pie went into the oven first:



The smoked turkey ($30 from Berkeley Bowl) needed to stay in the oven about two hours to reheat:


the meat was very tender..

We have lots of meat leftover for sandwiches, soup, and omelets (he picked up eggs too) and the bones will go to make a soup stock.




Dinner all put together! Smoked Turkey, Stuffing (w/gravy) and cranberry sauce.

and dessert of course!(a couple hours later)


NOTE:
Thanksgiving is an American (and Canadian!) holiday.. The American day of giving thanks was officially made a nataional holiday by President Lincoln in 1863, but was celebrated in various states throughout history.. It often harkens back to Protestantism and giving spiritual thanks for the harvest. So many times the Pilgrims are dragged up as inspiration for Thanksgiving,(and they had plenty to be thankful for what with the local Native Americans saving them from going the way of early Jamestown.)

My experience of Thanksgiving as a child has always been a family holiday infused with religious doctrine (my dad's side of the family was/is Dutch Reformed or Protestant) As I've gotten older I've been able to experience the holiday as the secular day of family, friends, food, and fall festivities.

Today it seems most American Thanksgiving focuses on the food.. I can well imagine a world today that sees America as voracious in all things. In its most ideal, Americans come together as family and friends to share food and company, not unlike the winter holidays. Taking time to slow down and enjoy the time together. There's no wrong way to celebrate.. or not. Many of our family & friends live far off, so phone calls,"face time," emails or texts (or tweets!) are in order.

Yes there is the binge eating, and the 'turkey coma'..but we joke about it and move on, (and not everyone does turkey.. some do tofu, others tamales, others lamb, or duck, or chicken..It's not about what you eat, it's more that you're not eating alone if you can help it. And you take the time to think about the people and things that give your life meaning,(or at least you are thankful for), and the people who probably who aren't as fortunate as yourself.. gratitude, grace, and thankfulness.


Thanksgiving 2015 flickr set

One Cat Family Now

my little boy..



while he doesn't help me sleep,

and he's terrible at helping me with my homework..

in fact, he'd rather park himself on my textbooks & notes than meow the answers to me..

He does miss me & greets me at the door whenever I come home from being out on a walk or at school:




I'm thinking to create a new blog to put all those cat pix.. old and new.. starting back in Sept 10th, 2001 when Alexander first came to us as a 3 week old kitten (we're eventually letting our website lapse.. so where to host those cat pix??) and honestly, these are a bit more personal than I wanted to put here.. but he (and his sister while she was with us)is definitely a good part of the good stuff in my life here in Berkeley, and what makes life livable for me.. and a better Thanksgiving.

Summer Reading

Managing to just squeek through another semester of school has me frustrated, but determined to not let the summer holiday go without getting some reading & study done. Yes, there are many things to look forward to, but time formerly used for school can be used for study:

I. Maths! to read through my old math notes, work through some of my old homework (like flossing, I suppose I will do it but not as often as I profess to.. but will give it an honest go!) I also want to find a book or two on math theory if there's such a thing.. something to help me to understand the history, creation & usage of math formulas.

II. pleasure reading! a few of the random things I want to read or (re-read/finish**)this summer!

01. "Dead Wake" (Erik Larson)
02. "Lathe of Heaven" (Ursula LeGuin) a book long on my 'to read' list...finally! summer!
03. All the Wrong Questions series (Lemony Snicket)
04. "Gold Mountain" (Lisa See)**
05. "Bad Indians" (Deborah Mirandah)**
06. "The Country in the City" (Richard Walker)** [..now that I have my own copy, no excuses!]
07. "Alfred Kroeber: A Personal Configuration" (Theodora Kroeber)
08. "The Bohemians" (Ben Tarnoff)
09. "Wherever There's a Fight" (Elaine Elinson,)
10.



III. Linguistics! Gratefully, I've gotten a list of some intro linguistics books/ authors to run down and read.. while it's for my own pleasure, it's also edification..


Along with some fun events, festivals, and panels, (not to mention D23 Expo in August!) I'm looking forward to the time being restful too. This last semester really wore me out.. and rather than dwell on why it may have done so (I cut out a considerable amount of volunteering and other pleasurable things and still felt I was a day late and a month behind most of the time..) I plan to move on with refreshed vigor.. ie: a new semester means new opportunity!

Free Summer means renewed energy for projects and other things I enjoy.. but especially reading... maybe some walks, parks & better sleep. We'll see!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's our first Thanksgiving owning our own place, and it's Throw-back Thursday! Not so much a Berkeley post.. Then again I doubt the 2 or 3 people that show up reading this really care, and hey! It's been a month since my last post! (that's another post tho..)

I give you my first Thanksgiving:


(photo credit J. Hesselink)

Here we are in our Norman Rockwell 1973 splendor.. My brother Bob is wearing his headgear at the table.. I'm sitting next to him, then my mom.. Despite it being our original home in Indiana, it's Gramma at the head of the table taking charge of "Grace" and my dad carving the turkey from the opoosite end.. My Aunt Violet sits to her left of Gramma and there's my brother Craig.. I'm pretty sure my Uncle Earl was there (Violet's husband) but not in the shot. My dad took this with one of those neat Poloroids where you had a time dial and then could peel the photo off it's chemical backing when the buzzer went off..

Happy Hallowe'en!

*not our house..

One of the more spirited homes in South Berkeley all decked out for Halloween!

It's too early!

Out of milk, so headed to Berkeley Bowl to get a little something to tie over til the weekend.. and what do I spot front and center with the Berkeley Farms milk???

eggnog!!?? It's not even Hallowe'en yet!! *argh!!*

Though I do love the stuff.. it's just TOO EARLY!!!

Temescal Street Fair

My enthusiasm for my first Berkeley 4th of July weekend in many years was moderately diminished by the fact I messed up my foot late Thursday night of the 3rd.. (I jammed my toe on the bed-frame and pretty much been having issue walking on my right foot for the past few days.)

I tried walking some on Sunday, down Telegraph to the Temescal Street Fair (we went last year and had a good time.) I admit I felt like I was cheating on Berkeley just a bit; our quick visit to Donut Dolly to fulfill a donut craving I'd had for the last two weeks did little to change that.. Then we came across this band performing between 44th & 45th Street (in front of the Jack in the Box no less.) Happiness and contentment were the prevailing moods as I forgot about worrying about what Berkeley was up to for the moment (although I did think about it briefly when we took the BART back one station.) I even forgot about my foot hurting me for a while..

The John Brothers Piano Company (Quintet) were playing.. Maybe they'd make you forget your minor troubles too??




My foot was hurting, so we BART'ed back to Ashby.. which is something I would NEVER do under normal circumstances I swear, but pretty sure I tore or strained something.. I'm still waiting for the swelling and bruising to abate, but I'm still walking.. just not as much for a couple more days.

Happy Caturday

How I spent my 4th of July.. (another feline intermission)


Hope you're enjoying your 4th of July weekend relaxing in whatever way you enjoy (this is how the cat does it) As for me, I've got this pile of books..

Día de los Muertos E*Ville Style

The Day of the Dead, or "Dia De Los Muertos" is celebrated from Halloween through the 2nd of November.. the Day of the Dead. Like All Saints' Day is celebrated in New Orleans, (and other places), it is a day of remembrance of family and friends who have died.



While seemingly not as big a celebration as other cities, Emeryville has its own Day of the Dead celebrations represented. Local Bakery Arizmendi recently celebrated the day of the Dead several days early on October 27th with music, food, chalk art and dancing & prayers in and around the San Pablo Avenue Bakery.

Arizmendi is usually closed early on Mondays, so it seems it's also the best opportunity to have a celebration! Delicious (and free!) food was provided for all who came to take part in the festivities. There was live Music and dancing, sidewalk chalk art and sugar skull decorating for the kids.. and the food.. The food was amazing..





These lovely ladies provided some of the live music during the celebrations..


Besides the vegetarian tamales (which I almost forgot to take a photo of my plate before devouring my tamale!) they also had: vegan or cheese tamales, mixed green salad, refried beans, rice and sweet roll pieces for dessert. Water and just the right amount of horchata was available too! (I love horchata! So it's a good thing they kept me from the supplies).


Sugar Skull decorating..


and did I mention the dancing??








Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria
4301 San Pablo Ave,
Emeryville, CA 94608

4th Street Holiday Lights

Short video from a drive down 4th Street shops in Berkeley. May try another time for a more complete pass later this year.. =)

Shopping Cart Tree is Lit!

Easter Sunday Breakfast @ Doyle Street!

Doyle Street Cafe menu

Doyle Street Cafe was one of our favorite places to have Sunday brunch the years before we moved to SoCal. The staff is always super friendly, and the service (in our experience) is always really good. It's a great local and loyal crowd I would say, and even if they don't know your name, they seem to remember you when you come back often enough like we did and will do again.

These past eight years, we'd visit back home once or twice a year maybe, rotating through our top three or so favorite places. We tried to make Doyle Street a stop every trip.. The staff would seem to remember us, and one person would even ask "you move back yet??" =) Suffice to say, when Sean suggested we walk over there from home this morning, I immediately agreed! This was our first meal at Doyle Street as permanent residents again! I ran to get my shoes and sweater for the walk.

Turns out the walk wasn't much further than walking to Rudy's.. just in a northerly direction.

We got seated and Sean got comfy:


I usually order the chorizo scramble or the "Joe's Special" but that's because I never know when I'm going to get to come back for another visit. Since we're locals again now, I went for the "home fries heaven" ('add bacon' option):


Add a side of corn bread, because you just HAVE TO!!


Sean's Easter feast:

Potato Cake, scrambled eggs & cornbread with a side order of bacon

We were stuffed.. Well, I was stuffed!!! You have no idea how good it felt to be sipping my coffee, relaxing, not feeling rushed to get to get to the airport, or worried about how the line at TSA would be.. Just being "home" home.


A Very Happy Easter! It's good being home!


Doyle Street Cafe
5515 Doyle St # 10
Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 547-3552

Their website seems to be in flux but you can read the Yelp reviews, if you want..

Most Wonderful Time Coming Soon!

A chance view out the window had us spotting a big flatbed truck parked across the street this afternoon:


So what's under those tarps??




Holiday lights are here!


They were pulled off the truck:


and then carried off to be stored temporarily..



Assuming they'll go up within the next week (since Thanksgiving is next week) and our neighborhood will begin to look all festive again:

Lights on 4th Street between Spring and Main,(photo from Dec 2008).

**UPDATE** Indeed they are holiday lights but not for 4th Street.. They'll start work in the next day or so I've been told.