An Evening With Gwen

I told my mom we were going to hear Gwen Ifill at the Oakland Speakers Series, and she said "Oh, I spend every evening with her!  Please give her my best."  and I thought  "Oh yeah, there are over a thousand people there - I'm sure that will happen."

Walking through the lobby, there was Jim Weil, the host of the Speakers Series.  And walking right next to him was Gwen Ifill.  Being the shy retiring violet I am, I called out "Hey!  You're supposed to be in there!" and I pointed at the auditorium.

Gwen smiled and said "I'll be right back - I just want to see some of this beautiful place."  She was so warm.  So when she stopped to say hello to someone, I went over and said "My mom said to tell you hello - she spends every evening with you."  Gwen laughed, and when I asked for a photo (so my mom would believe me) she could not have been nicer.  You'd never know there were a thousand people waiting to hear her speak.  Or a beautiful theatre waiting to be explored.

She talked about Congress behaving badly, and the deadlock (which hopefully will be over by the time you read this).   "They're acting like high-schoolers, not sitting together."  Actually I think high-schoolers are more mature.

She said "There are Federal employees who can't pay their bills, but the Congressional gym is open."  and "Did you know Congress is now less popular than head lice?"  Head lice is getting a bad rap.

"All the finger pointing is like a fun-house mirror - without the fun."  

And she talked about journalism - real journalism where you don't reach a conclusion before you have the facts, not the blow-hards who call themselves journalists while spouting opinions.  How it is the journalist's role to remain in the background - "I have an opinion,"  she said.  "But if I'm doing my job, you won't know what it is."  

She talked about being a black woman and a journalist and the Constitution:.  "I'm not the person the founding fathers had in mind  - it took about a dozen amendments to get to me."   And about how to let the audience know you know the person you're interviewing hasn't answered your question without being argumentative or petulant.  I haven't mastered that one yet.  I'll be watching her for help.

And she left us with a great parting thought.  "Asking questions doesn't make us bullies - it makes us citizens.  And patriots."

I'll be thinking about this for a long time.  We could all use more Gwen Ifill in our lives.  

Vanilla Time

A box arrived today, smelling of vanilla and promising delicious things to come.  It's from Beanilla, my new addiction.

It's not the first time I've made vanilla (check out my old blog post for the recipe).  I was inspired by my dear friend Desiree whose vanilla will change your life.   Beans, alcohol - she knows everything about making The Best Vanilla.  And yes, it makes a huge difference when you're baking.  Or making candy.

And if you want to have it for gift-giving season, it's time to get started.  So if you're lucky (and nice!) you'll be getting some little brown bottles full of deliciousness from me at Holiday time.  And I will be here for the next few months shaking the bottles and smelling the elixer.  Right now my kitchen smells like Christmas and love, my hands are speckled with seeds, and the garbage looks like some stone cold alkies live here.  It's just the vanilla....

Poetry

At a most warm and wonderful garden wedding this weekend (yes it rained Saturday - but not on this wedding!) the bride read a poem to her mother.  Funny, touching, grab-you-in-the-gut wonderful.  Here it is. By Billy Collins.  Now go dig out some old poetry and read it.  With our short attention spans, video games and digital bombardment, we don't read enough poetry.  Think of it as printed yoga.

Or better yet, go to a poetry slam!  I've only ever heard them on the radio, but it's not your grandmother's poetry, and it's on my bucket list.  And mommy, I'm sorry I never made you a lanyard.  But I did make you a lot of weirdly colored ash trays...

The Lanyard - Billy Collins

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

Included in  The Trouble with Poetry. Purchase from your local bookstore.  Like Rakestraw in Danville

Sweet Pea!

A timely reminder from Orchard Nursery in Lafayette - it's Sweet Pea planting time!!!

"Colorful, fragrant Sweet Peas make magnificent cut flowers for the vase - in large, long lasting quantities. They are a hardy, winter - spring annual vine to about 10' tall. Provide a trellis, string, or wire, as plants need support as soon as the tendrils form. They are ideal as a temporary screen. Sweet Peas like sun or light shade; rich, moist, well - drained soil high in organic matter and regular deep watering."

Where There's Smoke...

On the way home from The French Laundry:

(anniversary lunch.  Yes it was fabulous - thanks for asking) where we had out favorites, Oysters and Pearls with cauliflower panna cotta...

...and Salmon cones with creme fraiche...

...we saw the mushroom cloud.  Smoke, being hot, rises 'til it hits cooler air, then it spreads.  We are becoming experts (albeit unwilling) in identifying the mushroom clouds that go with fires.

"How far away do you think that fire is?"  Wally asked.

"Thirty miles" I replied, and rolled over on the car seat and went back to sleep.

Nearly home, the smell of smoke woke me.  When the sun went down the sky looked angry, clouds of smoke glowed red and orange.

We sat by the pool and watched the fire grow.  By this morning the flames were lapping over the ridge.  Creepy.  Scary.

Grace called in a panic - should we grab the dogs and run?  Leslie stopped in the street.  Her kids were freaked out.  Friends from London and New York called.  The big question: "Are you alright?"

"Yes"  I replied.  "There are lots of very expensive houses between us and the fire.  They're not going to let all that pricey real estate burn."  And if it does?   We are more than the sum of our possessions.  As long as we have the dog and each other, the rest is unimportant.  Yup, even the jewelry.  And the books.

Late this morning when I took Mommy out for lunch we could barely breathe.  When we went to get in the car after lunch it was coated with ash.  Thought I would have to turn on the windshield wipers.

About 2 in the afternoon the Borate bombers arrived.  By 5 the smoke had cleared.  We had dinner in the garden under a blue sky.  And we are off to sleep under the stars.

It's one of the hazards of living in California, where it does not rain from April to October, sometimes later.  If you didn't grow up here it seems weird.  If you grew up here fire, heat, dry - it's all a part of the seasons, like snow in New England.   Which is rare here - when it does snow, about once every 20 years, we all run outside and act like little kids.  

What do you live with that freaks other people out?  Earthquakes, tornadoes?  Hurricanes?  Monsoons?  

To Do In The Garden

And while we're on the subject of year, here is the list of what needs doing in the garden at this time of year, courtesy of Sloat Garden Center.  Shop Local!  

This month in the garden at Sloat Garden Center: September

PLANT

• Watch for the arrival of all our spring bulbs. Shop early for the best selection.
• Plan landscaping projects now. Think about walkways and flower/vegetable beds, as well as focal point shrubs and trees. Need guidance? Call Sloat’s Garden Design Department for expert advice.
• Choose fall blooming pansies and other autumn color.
• Plant fall vegetables such as kale, collard, spinach, arugula and lettuces.

FERTILIZE

• Apply lawn fertilizer monthly with Nature’s Green Lawn Food.
• Aerate compacted soil.
• Containers, summer annuals and cool season annuals will enjoy monthly feeding at this time of year with Maxsea all-purpose fertilizer.

PRUNE/MAINTAIN

• Keep the garden clean. Pick up fallen fruit to avoid pests and disease next year. Clean out plant debris. Prepare soil with Loam Builder for fall vegetable beds.
• Mulch with Greenall Micro Bark to inhibit weeds and conserve moisture.

Now go out and plant something.  Preferably something from Sloat. 

How To Get Sweeter Oranges

This tip just came from Orchard Nursery in Lafayette - a World Class Nursery.  Incredibly knowledgable staff, great selection of basics and really unusual plants (check out the 4 inch section for the most mouth-watering perennials!) with great displays to inspire new plant combinations and new cravings.  Come with your car empty - it will be full when you leave.  And! they have great classes.  A petting zoo in fall, a winter wonderland during the holidays.  What more could you ask for? For Sweeter Oranges: Fertilize in late summer, fall and winter with Master Nursery Master Bloom or Garden Elements Ultra Bloom. These fertilizers are formulated without nitrogen to aid in the development of flowers and fruits, and they also help plants resist disease and cold weather damage. High potassium is very important in increasing sugar levels in citrus (especially oranges and tangerines) and studies have shown that high potassium levels in the soil improve yield, color, size and quality of the fruit. Apply once a month from late summer to spring and taste the difference in your next crop.