"YOU ARE BRILLIANT...

...AND THE EARTH IS HIRING."
if you have 20 minutes, read this.
it's paul hawken's may 3rd
commencement address
to the university of portland's class of 2009.
wow.

pancakes, authentically yours.

i am thinking that
blueberry pancakes
are going to be necessary
sometime this weekend...
and there are still some
blueberries in the freezer
from a hike we did last fall
at hatcher's pass!
if i had some sourdough starter,
they'd be even more
authentically alaskan.
hmm...

Blueberry Pancakes:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture. Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries. Set aside for 1 hour.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

(recipe and photo from allrecipes.com)

in thanks: may 27, 2009

in thanks for...

* long AK summer days
* visits with Amanda and Cash
* a cozy gray skies day
* dried blueberries
* small dreams coming true
* an upcoming summer full of visitors
* new life in KY (!!!)
* friendships that do not end
* 10:30pm sunny bike rides with Elise

bird to gird

this past saturday, sarah and i
biked the "bird to gird" (bird creek to girdwood) trail.
it was SO incredibly beautiful.
we stopped in girdwood and had
brunch at jack sprat,
which was completely worth the ride.
(blintzes... yum.)
then after going back to bird creek,
we went part way to indian and back for fun.
= almost 30 miles, total.
woo-hoo!
my butt is still feeling it...

at the table

so, we've been experimenting with quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah")
for a couple of months, now. it's a wonder grain:
so many nutrients and lots of protein,
easy to make (just like rice), versatile and SO tasty!
last week at a dinner party,
we ate quinoa with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts,
a spinach pear feta cheese salad (from lovely sarah)
and freshly caught (thanks, tim!) pan-seared halibut (recipe from nancy).
yum.

goodly work

when i need a reminder
of the good work that's being done in this world,
i read the latest adventures of
sarah, wonderteacher of preschoolers in lesotho;
theatre goddess eve in uganda;
and ashley, with her dance revolution in rural vermont.
amazing, these ladies.
i am so blessed to know them and call them friends!

goings on

* the maypole we made today
* my community garden plot ready to be planted, as soon as the water's turned on! (can you see the mountains?)
* yet another stunning sunset in our front 'yard'

in-house productivity

i am home sick from
my job at the music store,
but am being incredibly productive.
por ejemplo, I have:
* figured out how to give these posts a title
* finally changed the blog time zone to alaska time
* signed up for online bill pay (saves trees. hope i remember to pay the bills...)
* pre-ordered beth colgrove's much anticipated (by me) new cd
* researched cd replication options (oasis, discmaker, etc.)
* talked with my mom on the phone
* answered the door
* written a grocery list
* rsvp'd for erica's bridal shower

in thanks for...

* morning smoothies
* my bike!!
* spinach starts from Tracey
* a car loan from Carina (= freeeeeeedom)
* water being turned on tomorrow at the garden plot
* the Laurel's Kitchen cookbook
* a red geranium in a terra cotta pot
* planning new adventures with old friends

seis de mayo with the
bootlegger's cove / westchester lagoon
home team (and christina from san fran)

among other things, we ate
halibut ceviche, burrito pie, chocolate flan cake and mango salsa...

here are the promised photos
from our trip to homer, ak.
they are:
1. the homer 'spit'
2. one of about 50 bald eagles we spied on the spit
3. russian influence
4. somewhere near kenai lake (notice the lack of snow!!!)
5. natalie, christina and carina 'flying' by mt. redoubt and illiamna

so. much. sun,
swashbuckling through
our west-facing window.
The sproutlings and I
aren't entirely sure
what to do with all of it...

in thanks for...

* ice cream walks and talks
* forthright honesty
* options
* this beach home
* books of wisdom
* playing frisbee with people who don't play that often
* not being bitter
* love from kentucky

the green between

we lay on the ground, pretend we're the skin of the earth--
the green between blue sky and brown dirt.
solid below us warms us through.
stars swirling past us, and we spin too.

here's where we are, here's where we love,
where we plant ourselves and reach for the sun above.
here's where we grow, and where we'll die.
more than enough here to get by.

those stars in your eyes, child, keep us all on track.
won't be surprised, child, one day looking back,
to see how you've bloomed... watch you bloom.

oh that sun, he's sure shinin now,
and sister wind, she blows the air around.
rain keeps fallin, fallin down
on that seed, that dream in the ground...

{Click HERE to hear it.}

in thanks for...

* the things that are consistent: Love with a capital "L," friendships, sunrise, family, music, the ability and opportunity to learn, gardens growing, meeting new people
* mothers day flower work this coming weekend
* friends who sing
* great neighbors
* weekend escapes to gorgeous places
* real conversations with Natalie
* running in the sun
* all the 'mamas' i learn from and love so much: my own incredible mom, Nancy, LJ, my grandmas, Gwen

(crazy girls - and one ninja - on the way back from homer.
that's mt. illiamna in the background,
and mt. redoubt, puffing steam.
and there's a bald eagle flying by!)

here are pics from last weekend's
girls' trip to kenai lake and seward.
elise, natalie and i spent most of our time
talking, reading, napping and eating.
but i did find time to do some cool,
andrew goldsworthy-esqe art on the beach.
(pics from this weekend's warm, sunny,
gorgeous trip to homer to follow...)