Creative Grilling

I apologize that there are no photos to accompany this leg of my California journey. I always worry about freaking people out in places like grocery stores by taking photos. And sometimes I just want to enjoy visiting with people without taking snapshots and disturbing the flow. Hopefully, my words will be sufficient

After our trip to the beach, Lain and I went back to Oakland and picked up V to do some grocery shopping for dinner and for the special meal on Friday that Lain and V were making for me.

We went to the Berkeley Bowl grocery store. I'd never seen so many fruits and vegetables in my life! There were rows and rows of bins on top of bins filled with foods I'd never even seen before! I was feeling like a Minnesota hick again. Lain and V picked out cilantro, avocados, small red potatoes, dill, onions, mustard, and a number of other ingredients to prepare potato salad and the fixings for Carne Asada.

After shopping at the Bowl, we went to a small Mexican grocery store to buy marinated skirt steak and salsa. The meat counter reminded me of a place in Arizona close to my Mom's house where we often stop for breakfast burritos and it's not unusual to catch the guys working behind the counter singing along with the music playing over the speakers. I'd love to look and sound that happy at my job.

So after shopping, V made us hamburgers and we sat and watched "The Office" on TV until I returned, exhausted, back to the hotel.

I spent the next morning once again enjoying my free breakfast and coffee. Around noon, I went to Lain's and worked on editing photos and video while Lain and V went on a scavenger hunt. You see, a grill was needed for the skirt steak preparation for the carne asada and they had no grill. But, there was a house that was evacuated, and they knew that there were a couple grills left in the backyard. Granted there was a reason the tenants didn't bother to take the grills with them as they were pretty beat up, but one of them would do. Hey, it's called "reuse". It's a good thing.

Lain just happened to have a shopping cart to put the grill into. He hoped that they wouldn't get into a fight over the cart with a homeless person along the way. Now, I suppose I could have driven them, but hey, I didn't know how much rust the grill would deposit in the car and I figured a cop might not say too much to two young guys with a shopping cart, but a middle aged woman from Minnesota driving a rental car? I kind of wish I would have walked with them though, because this definitely would have made for some good photos. Video would have been even better!

Anyway, the shopping cart rattled noisily as Lain and V departed. On their way to the abandoned house, they passed too close to a store with a magnet that locked the shopping cart's wheels. As luck would have it, right near by was another shopping cart without locked wheels, so they continued on their way. They took the grill that was in the best shape, just the top part without the frame so it would fit in the cart and wheel back more easily.

V scrubbed the grill clean, filled it with charcoal, got the coals going and waited for them to heat up. Once the coals were glowing, V put the steak on the grill. It was pretty shady in the backyard, which made it kind of cool out. The only sunny section in the yard was on a skateboard ramp a previous tenant had built that practically took up the entire back yard. We moved the card table and chairs onto the sunny spot on the ramp, brought out the fixings for the carne asada, including homemade guacamole, chopped onions and cilantro, salsa, and tortillas. There was also the potato salad, which I have to get the recipe from my son for. It wasn't the heavy mayonnaise version I'm used to, but just slices of the red potatoes that I think was marinated in mustard and mixed with fresh dill. I'm not sure what else was used but it seemed lighter and fresher than regular potato salad.

The carne asada turned out excellent. It was fun eating and drinking a few beers outside on a skateboard ramp. When even the ramp was in the shade, we went inside and watched music videos, including Lady Gaga, whom I've never seen before -- quite an educational experience. I think I left Lain's house about 9:00 as I had packing to do and had to get up early to catch my plane.

It's fun to have your kids grow up and be the ones to entertain you. It was tough saying goodbye.

Pacifica Beach Excursion

When I sat down Thursday morning for my first free breakfast at the Shattuck Hotel, my first thought was, "Oh, my goodness! There is a set of mini salt and pepper grinders at my table!" Doesn't take a whole lot to amaze me.

I ordered a goat cheese and asparagus omelet, which came with potato slices cooked with onion and bell peppers, and wheat artisan toast served with Pure Marion Blackberry Preserves in a mini jar. Too much food, but I did make sure that I ate all the asparagus, which was cooked perfectly. The coffee was just the way I like it too -- strong! I was starting off my day as one happy camper.

I was sitting near a table with a guy dressed in a pinstripe shirt, aqua green jeans, and a black sweater draped over his shoulders. Very preppy. The woman with him had on a blouse that matched his jeans. I wondered if they'd planned it that way... They had backpacks by their chairs but it seemed unlikely to me they could be Berkeley students. Perhaps teachers or business people taking a special seminar at the college?  

After breakfast, I went to pick up my son to take a drive to the beach. First we stopped at Arch art supply store in San Francisco.  Very cool place. Lain needed some large sheets of paper (like 7 foot large) to do some drawings on.  The art store was near the California College of Arts that Lain graduated from.

Then we stopped at Whole Foods and bought a sandwich to share. It was made of "real" mozzarella, avocado, tomato, and artichoke on focaccia. We also bought sweet potato chips (my favorite) for our picnic at the beach.

We went to Pacifica Beach as it it is a little more out of the way and doesn't get so crowded. It was quite the climb down from the road to the beach. And when we left the beach, I discovered the stairs were a  huffing and puffing, leg burning, areobic workout.

Besides the view and sound of the crashing, monster waves, we enjoyed the benefits of a perfect skin warming sun and my new friend, Jonathan Seagull.

And as an added bonus, we had a couple male nudists parading past us. Well, one did have a t-shirt on, but that was it. I'm wondering if this is a legal way of flashing people? But it provided for good humor, although that probably wasn't the effect they were hoping for.

Lain and I sat and ate our food and discussed how much we need our creative outlets. No matter how busy and hectic things get, the healthiest thing we can do for ourselves is take time to create something each day, no matter how small and trivial. Writing for me is the way I make sense out of the world and the people in it. It's how I process life events and confusing actions and words.

If I don't write, I don't process, and then I don't find the conclusions or solutions to things that allow me to move past whatever is bothering or confusing me. That's a bad thing. People should definitely be encouraging me to write, and write a lot! It's in everyone's best interests.

Writing also entertains and soothes me. I create stories that help me to see the humor in difficult circumstances. And I can make things up and create happy endings, many of which actually come true.

I love listening to my son talk about his art. I don't understand everything he says but it's interesting, and it impresses me how much he knows about history and cultures from his study of art. It was nice to not be in any hurry to get somewhere, but to just enjoy each other's company and the awesome power of the ocean.

Below is a video I took at Pacifico Beach and the wild waves.



The second video is of our drive away from the beach area.



Next post I'll tell you about our grocery shopping and barbecuing experience -- the last installment of my 2010 western odyssey.

Head Out On the Highway

On the drive from Arizona to our California destination, we passed by acres and acres of California wind turbines. Go wind energy!

And, of course, more rocky slopes.

California has been getting more rain than usual this spring and things are looking very colorful and lush. I don't think I've ever seen it look so green.

I wish I'd taken more people photos but I was only at my sister's house for a couple days and time just went by way too fast. I do have a couple new t-shirts, a belt, and a pair of sunglasses now. My sister T is my fashion consultant. I sure wish she lived closer, not just for that reason, but because I miss her and the rest of her family already.

After a couple days in southern California, I was on my way to the opposite end of California to visit my son, Lain. I rented a car and drove because I thought it'd be fun to see the scenery along the way, play some tunes, and just have some contemplation time. Unfortunately, it was raining off and on most of the way there. I did stop for coffee and got a photo of a rainbow.

And while I was stuck in Los Angeles traffic, I captured another view of the rainbow leading, hopefully, to a pot of open freeway.

I stopped when I was near the ocean and took some beach photos. Everything looked pretty gray. And it was so windy that I had to step back from the ledge because I almost got gusted over the side.

Once I got past LA, I made pretty good time and was able to have dinner with my son in Berkeley. But wait, I skipped a whole bunch of fun stuff.

Making reservations at a hotel somewhere when you don't know the area very well is always a challenge. I generally go for the best deal in an area that seems pretty safe. I really liked the place my sister and I stayed at when we were in Berkeley a year ago but I found a better deal on Orbitz for a different hotel.

The Shattuck Hotel that I stayed at is near the Berkeley campus and has a lot of fun restaurants and shops nearby. It's a darn fancy hotel and normally out of my price range, but there was a special and I got one night free. Little did I realize that they did not have free hotel parking so my cost went up $15 a day, but I was not going to let that ruin my stay.

So after circling the Berkeley campus a few times, which was a driving nightmare with all the college kids crossing the street everywhere, I finally pulled in front of the hotel and popped the trunk. I got out of the car and realized a guy was already grabbing my suitcase out of my trunk to bring into the hotel. I yelled, "It's open!" but it was too late.

The entire contents of my suitcase emptied onto the street in front of the hotel. The guy was absolutely mortified and apologetic. Fortunately for both of us, my underwear and bras were zipped safely into a compartment.

I had stopped along my drive and got a jacket out of my suitcase and didn't close it back up in case I needed something else along the way. I wasn't expecting anyone but me to handle my suitcase. What do I know about the behavior of employees at fancy hotels? I mean, I'm crouched at the curb throwing things back into my suitcase wearing my bright red sweatshirt jacket that says "Farm Girl". It might as well have also said "silly Minnesota hickster".

Anyway, the hotel guy's faux pas, caused by my lack of worldly knowledge, earned me a free breakfast for the three days I was staying in the hotel. Score!

Did I mention that I also had problems opening my hotel room door and had to get someone to show me how to open it? Honestly, I had to practically put all my weight into pushing the silly handle down to unlatch the thing!

I sat in my room and giggled to myself at the whole suitcase and hotel door incident as it is such a typical "Maery" thing to happen. I am like a constant comedy of errors. Makes life more interesting and funny though.

And I tell you, I loved my hotel Shattuck experience, even if I felt a little uncomfortable next to all the stylish people. The hotel may not be fancy to some people. but it is pretty nice in my world.

We met Lain's boyfriend V down in the bar for a beer, a $5 beer. Geeze! But I haven't laughed so long and hard for a long time. It's so great to spend time with my son!

In my next post, I'll tell you about our trip to Pacifica Beach to see the ocean. If I can edit down the video we took driving around the twisty road to a tolerable level of nauseousness, I'll post that too.

Traveling in Arizona

I've been out of town for about a week. First I went to the Arizona mountains for a celebration of my brother in law L's life. It was a bittersweet day -- sad because of the loss of my sister S's husband, but sweet because I got to see so many family members that I haven't seen for a long time - my brother, three sisters, my birth Mom, and a bunch of nieces and nephews.

I flew into Phoenix, and my sister T and a caravan of people on their way to the service picked me up at the airport, and we continued on our way. We still had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. There was a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. Most of the shots were taken through the window of a car going 70 miles an hour so they aren't the clearest photos.

But I kind of liked the blurry yellow flowers in this one.

Late in the drive, the skies turned a bit stormy

The following day, we took a walk through the town we were staying in. I tried to capture the town feeling by taking photos of a few of the signs.

And one photo of the mountains that still have a bit of snow on their peaks.

After our walk and breakfast, we went to help get things ready for the lunch that would follow the service for my brother in law. Friends and neighbors brought tons of food. I wish I would have taken a photo of all of it but it was pretty hectic in the kitchen.

A color guard was present for the service.

After the minister spoke, some family members and friends got up and talked about L. He was known as a man who was always helping people out. It's a wonderfully, close mountain community. The community center where we had the service and lunch was my brother in law's dream and there will be a special plaque there commemorating him.

L used to played guitar with this group of men, who were at the service as part of the celebration.

A few people danced along with the music.

The next day, I rode back to California with my little sister T to visit with her for a couple days.

It was a whopping 10 hour drive to California. I'll continue with the California part of the story in my next post.

Right Rider for the Right Horse

With my love of music and dance, I had dreams of competing in the Musical Kur. Unfortunately, I never quite had the right horse. None of them moved like this.



The closest I got to this dream was my horse Finian. He was beautiful and certainly athletic enough, but he fought me on everything, every step of the way. I didn't have the time or the right personality to deal with his attitude.

About 3 months after Finian was moved to our little hobby farm, he took off and bucked me off his back end, which resulted in a broken collar bone and wrist, and I had to get my head stapled closed.

That was pretty much the end of our 8-year relationship. I wasn't able to trust Finian again, so he was sold to someone competing as a hunter jumper. When Finian tried to run away with his new owner, she let him run. She even asked him for more. He ran until he couldn't run anymore and didn't pull that garbage on her again. The right rider for the right horse; it's important.

So here I am now, with a mutt-mix of quarter horse and Tennessee Walker.

It's a combination that delivered a quarter horse with a pretty mane and tail, but also a horse that moves in confusion at times between being gaited and not being gaited. At times, he gets stuck in some odd gear that is terribly uncomfortable. And he's a bit jumpy about monsters in the woods. But he tries and that counts for a lot.

There are certain animals that we bond with in a special way. And it's not always something that happens immediately. With Luke, it took time for him to trust me. Luke came to me from someone who bought him at an auction. He was skin and bones and had rain rot. I was told he was 8 years old when I bought him. After a vet exam, I discovered he was actually 3.  No wonder he didn't seem to know anything.

It took awhile for me to trust Luke and get over the fear from the Finian accident.  But even at Luke's worst moments, his misbehavior came from fear, which for me was easier to deal with than having a horse that seemed to spend every waking moment trying to figure out what he could pull on me next.

Like I said, the personality of the rider and the horse have to be a good match or the relationship just won't work. A good trainer can train all kinds of horses, but what I look for in a horse is a partner, not a challenge. And Luke and I are good partners.

Happy trails!

Changing Lanes

We forget sometimes how much the world can hurt.
It can hurt people we love,
people we don't,
people caught in the middle,
even people who would give anything to never, ever get hurt again.
But sometimes the hurt can't be avoided,
It's just coming at us and can't be stopped.
It's in us and can't be seen,
or is lying next to us in the dark, waiting.
But sometimes it doesn't come at all.
Sometimes we get this other thing that flutters down out of nowhere,
and stays just long enough to give us hope.
Sometimes rarely, barely, but just when we need it the most
and expect it the least,
we get a break.
(from In Plain Sight, April 7, 2010, USA Network)


Hurt can be like a seed planted by another person in our life, but we end up being the one that waters it and keeps it growing. At some point, the damage is self-inflicted and becomes our own fault and responsibility.

It's a lot of work not to get stuck in the past, to not let those hurts define me. I used to think the right person, the right situation, the right job, some "break" would erase the hurt and make me whole again. It doesn't work that way. I either see myself as whole and complete or I don't. Nobody and nothing on earth is going to make it all better for me. And if I don't stop looking behind me, I may not even notice what's right in front of me.

Checking the rearview mirror and taking a look over your shoulder before you make a lane change is a good idea, but that's it, just a glance, before you focus back on what's in front of you. Because that's what matters now.

Downtime and Done Time

Another weekend bites the dust. Shoot!

Do any of you make "To Do" lists? Well, I do and I managed to knock a few things off this weekend, but still fit in some doing nothing time.

The weather on both Saturday and Sunday was gorgeous, although at this point of extreme dryness and dead pasture and bushes, I'd rather have a weekend of rain. But since we had sunshine, one does have to make the best of it.

Much of Saturday was just slow moving relaxation. Saturday morning, I went to an art show called "50 on 50th", held in Edina, MN. Portions of Edina are pretty upscale and I always feel like a country bumpkin when I see all of them, there, fancy, city folk.

My friend Sue had her art at the show. I really wanted one of her leafy tree branches but she had sold out most of her art pieces in the first hour the show was opened so I'll wait and see what she has at her summer sale. You can see a video of Sue's welding process on YouTube.

After that, we ate at the Edina Grill, where I had a delicious chicken salad and had a primo view of the passing peoples.

Back home, played Java frisbee for a bit, tried to get my bike rear brakes to work but they seem to be broken, got my planters filled with black dirt, rested and enjoyed the sun for awhile, put planters around the pool and house, and yelled at Java to get off the pool cover.

She is so anxious to be back in the water. The snow melt must have put quite a bit of water into the pool as Java's weight on the cover brings the water up through it, and she thinks it's very amusing to splash across the surface. I try to keep her off but it's somewhat of a losing battle and well, kind of funny, and you know how much I enjoy something funny.

A good splash, must be followed by a good roll.

And all of this fun was followed by grilled hamburgers and baking a batch of cookies. There's nothing quite like a beer and chocolate chip cookies to make the day so gosh darn perfect.

Sunday after church, I first rode Luke, who was his usual hard working self.

Then I rode Murphy, who was his usual lazy self. It was his first time under saddle but he's so lazy, I just got on him and rode. Murphy felt kind of odd and I plan to try some glucosamine to see if that makes a difference. He wasn't off-off, but he wasn't quite right either. This is me scratching my head trying to figure it out.

The neighbor and his little bitty daughter came over to see the "horsey". Murphy was very thankful for the petting break.

These are my two lovely boys after I've washed them and they've thanked me by rolling in the dirt. Just lovely...

Murphy is the master of funny faces. And note in the background that Java is looking for the perfect pile of manure to roll in.

I hope to do an actual trail ride in a couple more weeks. Yeah!

The saddle girth and the two pads I used were so hairy and sweaty that I decided to try and clean them up a bit.

I first tried removing as much of the hair as possible.

I then used some of the Super Poo horse shampoo (hey, I didn't name it!) so if there was any residue, it wouldn't be some detergent that would irritate their skin.

Then I hosed the shampoo out and hung everything on the fence to dry.

I went out to check the fence line and discovered an extender was pulled off a t-post but realized I hadn't shut off the fence and didn't feel like getting jolted so I left it for another day to fix. The horses won't be out in that pasture for quite awhile if we don't get any rain. Nothing is growing out there.

I finished off the day with coffee ice cream with Heath bars broken up on top. The best!

Food, frolicking, and special folks made for another great weekend!