2011 Archives

Dec
23

Christmas Rack of Lamb

It’s just before Christmas, and rack of lamb is perfect for the season. My parents brought home a rack for me to grill for them. I tried the sous vide method, adding garlic and herbs at the beginning of the cooking process. It happened that I also had to go do surgery, so I placed [...]

Fri, December 23, 2011

Cooking

Dec
22

Starting the Gazebo

It’s been more than two years since the deck has been sitting empty. The pond was filled in late 2009, and having procrastinated, I finally took the time to design the gazebo. Today, the preliminary framing was done.

Thu, December 22, 2011

Landscaping

Dec
11

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms with Sides

For lunch today, I had some leftover mushrooms and zucchini that I decided to put on the grill. And, there was a container of cooked quinoa as well; with this, I put together a pilaf. To season the zucchini, I combined olive oil, chopped garlic, black pepper, and salt; I coated the zucchini spears with [...]

Sun, December 11, 2011

Cooking

Dec
9

Moonrise Viewing from the Pond

It has been several weeks since I last crawled underground into the plumbing system of the pond to clean out the leaves. Autumn and the strong winds blew a lot of debris into the pond, and it seemed like a good time to empty the leaf traps and flush out the biologic filters. This afternoon [...]

Fri, December 9, 2011

Landscaping

Dec
4

Christmas Events

Several events this weekend helped usher in the holiday season. Last night, Roger and Donna Hadley opened their beautiful home for a Christmas meal, and afterwards, all of us were treated to a dramatic interpretation of It’s a Wonderful Life performed at the Lifehouse Theater as directed by Wayne Scott. The message blessed each of [...]

Sun, December 4, 2011

Profession

Dec
3

Rustic Olive Bread

Last night, I put together ingredients for a nice loaf of bread—for today’s picnic lunch. It’s a slight modification of the wonderful Sullivan Street no-knead bread made popular by the New York Times. I reduced the recipe to two-thirds so that the bread would fit into my Pyrex glass covered pot. This is the recipe, [...]

Sat, December 3, 2011

Cooking

Nov
24

Thanksgiving Reunion

Relatives came into town several days ago to join us for Thanksgiving. My aunts and uncles—Julia and Wilmer and Nipa and Vincent—arrived from Smith River in the northwesternmost corner of California. Uncle Joe and his family, being local, drove over today, as did my cousins who could make it. My morning, though, started in a [...]

Thu, November 24, 2011

Family and Friends

Nov
19

ThankSharing 2011

This evening, Loma Linda University Medical Center presented an inspirational program of ThankSharing to celebrate our blessings and to reach out to our community. Ruthita Fike and Gerald Winslow opened the program with the welcome and prayer. Nicole Johnson, bestselling author, dramatized three messages for this evening’s event. In between, various musical groups shared uplifting [...]

Sat, November 19, 2011

Music

Nov
19

Fall Colors

Although fall started nearly two months ago, yesterday felt like the first day. The sun hid from view and caused a drop in the thermometer. I was indoors most of the day performing surgeries. Today, I have the chance to take the stroll outside. Patchy clouds meld together to form this impenetrable layer even though [...]

Sat, November 19, 2011

Landscaping

Nov
19

Flat Max by the Pond

On this beautiful fall day, the irregular cloud layer obscures much of the sun’s rays, but I can still peek at the blue sky like looking through windows from within a marshmallow. Autumn colors against a background of mostly dark green brighten up this overcast day. I take Flat Max on a walk in the [...]

Sat, November 19, 2011

Family and Friends