Grateful

As those close to me know, I have suffered from "severe acute rheumatoid arthritis" for most of my life. Generally it's just a nuisance. Occasionally it's horrible. This week has been in the "horrible" category. Living alone out in the country has many advantages to be sure: I love the solitude, the quiet, the lack of cellular service for my phone  (I have always hated the sound of a ringing phone). So far the only disadvantage that has surfaced has been my distance to the closest pharmacy. Every other year or so I have what can be called a "severe attack", like I'm having now. Inability to walk, shower, stand at the stove, etc. The pain is simply too great.

This week I have been reminded of how many true and amazing people that I can call my friends. I put out a tiny distress call on Monday, about twenty four hours after the "attack" came on. I reached out to two people and they both responded, so far above the call of duty that I am humbled. John Haverkamp and Janet Ripley, both friends I have known for most of my life, stepped up and saved my sorry ass. John stayed with me for a few days, driving me around and generally humoring me, and buoyed my spirits with his energy and good nature. Janet just left a few minutes ago after driving over an hour out of her way to pick up an emergency prescription for me and having worked seven double shifts at the hospital in a row. Such amazing people. I am so grateful to my friends who have stuck by my side through thick and thin and look after me with such loving affection. I am truly blessed and grateful.

Badass ninja

As part of my ongoing quest to prepare and eat simple slow-cooked food, last week I discovered that I finally had acquired all the ingredients for homemade beef stock. Approximately seven pounds of meaty ribs, knuckles and shanks had accumulated in the freezer and it was time to get busy.

Four hours of oven-roasting bones, vegetables and fresh herbs (not to mention a whole head of garlic) later and the pot was ready to go stovetop. A gallon of water was added. After checking a half dozen sources, mostly French cookbooks, I decided to slow simmer (that’s about a bubble a minute, folks) the stock for sixteen hours for maximum effect. A plan in place, it was time for bed. Every few hours I would wake, check the stock and adjust the heat if necessary, then go back to sleep. At seven o’clock sharp, the stock would finally be done simmering.

I awoke promptly at seven (my internal alarm clock rarely fails) and walked naked into the kitchen to turn off the stove. I intentionally left my glasses by the bedside, not wanting to fully wake up that early, and had every intention of climbing immediately back into bed. Sadly, it was not to be.

The stove now off, I had started back towards the bedroom when I sensed something behind me. Something moving very slowly. Without my glasses I’m nearly blind so I never even bothered to turn my head. But that feeling was there; I was being watched. In one swift move, I picked up the wooden cutting board that lay before me and, turning it on its side, spun and brought its edge down on the counter with all the sleepy force I could muster. I heard a tiny crack and, surprised by the sound, turned and examined the kitchen counter. A grey and brown mouse lay sprawled before me, neck clearly broken and legs akimbo.

I ran back into the bedroom to retrieve my glasses and bathrobe. On the off chance that the mouse reanimated I decided to err on the side of caution and suited up, slipping on a pair of oven mitts: one black and white checkered, the other a bright blue penguin. I picked the mouse up by the tail and it swung slowly back and forth like a cute little pendulum. A bizarre feeling of accomplishment washed over me and I went to taunt my sleeping cat, Mucha. “Do you see?” I said, proudly waving it in front of her face. “Do you see what your Daddy did? You sleep all day and I’m the one catching mice!” Mucha was nonplussed.

Still feeling immensely impressed with myself (I should point out here for those of you that don’t know me very well, I am practically a Buddhist and usually take no pleasure in the killing of anything; I just carried a bee outside and set him free even though I am highly allergic to their stings), I strutted through the living room and out onto the front porch and flung the mouse down onto the lawn. His tiny lifeless body lying before me, I pumped my fists towards the heavens and sounded my barbaric yawp: “I AM A BADASS NINJA MOTHERFUCKER!!”

The sound of an approaching car brought me back to reality. Well, that and the cold morning breeze. It was at that exact moment that I realized that while I had remembered to grab my glasses I had completely forgotten my bathrobe. I was standing on the front porch and shaking my fists over the broken body of my tiny enemy wearing nothing but mismatched oven mitts.

Hello country living! I have arrived.

Rent this!

I have been waiting for this to be released for quite some time now and last night finally got around to watching it.

My review:

I freaking loved it.

Twisted, dark and laugh out loud hilarious.

I'm already looking forward to watching it again.

We had joy, we had fun...

We had a kitten in the sun.

They say you can tell a lot about a person by the books they keep next to their bedside. Well, beside my bed is a copy of Thoreau's Walden but on top is Campbell's The Power of Myth and Gurney's Color and Light.

I suppose it suggests that I am on a spiritual quest and trying to become a better painter while living out in the woods. Sounds about right.

Spring

Despite the recent snowfall I know in my heart that Spring is right around the corner. How did I come by this knowledge you may ask? Well, unlike that simple-minded, lying bastard known as "Phil", some critters truly do sense when Old Man Winter has finally relaxed his icy grip and is ready to call it a night.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the Spring Peeper, otherwise known 'round these parts as P. c. crucifer. 

They apparently wake up rather horny after spending all Winter buried in frozen ooze and immediately begin the search for a mate. Their calls are so loud they can often be heard from as far as two and a half miles away. Gathered by the gazillions, as they seem to be directly across from my house, you can imagine the magnificent Peeper Orchestra that I am treated to on a nightly basis. 

So as I prepare to throw another log in the wood stove and am eternally thankful that the power just came back on, I rest easy in my soul knowing that the Peepers are out there, soliciting Spring with their warbled symphony.

The Lumineers

I have been a bit obsessed with this song lately; it seems to sum things up perfectly.

What's new is old again. I hope to catch these guys this summer at Floyd Fest.

Moving to the country...

I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches.

Yep, I'm moving to the country for a while folks! Beautiful old farm house, inspirational surroundings and a lot of natural light. I plan to get serious about this painting thing.

Besides, my cat Mucha misses bird watching and I promised her a while ago that I would do my best to remedy that. Happy now, you tiny fuzzball? I suppose I'll have to buy her a bird feeder too.