The Curious Housewife

This is hardly a revelation, but everything you own and everything you do takes up space and time.  I just purchased a new toaster oven. After years of owning a traditional toaster, I decided to try something different. My move was prompted by a bread recipe. I make this bread that doesn't contain whole wheat flour and hence, no gluten. Gluten gives structure to bread. I like gluten, nothing wrong with it, but I started to make this quinoa/oatmeal bread to broaden my nutritional horizons. The issue is that the bread tends to fall apart in a traditional toaster. It just doesn't have the wherewithal to stand upright and to be subjected to the toasting process. So, laying the bread flat in the toaster oven works really well. The toaster oven works great for this purpose but now, what do I do about that toaster? (My husband still wants to use the regular toaster so it has to stay.) The answer is that I had to make room for it on the shelf in the pantry. That means that I...

Lots of wildflowers! Seems peaceful enough... Bad selfie taken shortly before incident It was bound to happen sooner or later. I have been hiking regularly for about 3 years now and I have been lucky. Let me tell you what happened. On Friday I took myself off to Big Trees State Park in Arnold. I needed some Libby-time. I know that I am home with myself all day and that should be enough time but really, I just needed some space not to think about the laundry and dinner and everything else like that. So off for a hike I went. I have been to Big Trees State Park many times over the years and have always felt very safe. The park, particularly the North Grove where the visitor's center is located, is well populated. I haven't ever really been nervous. Yesterday was no exception. I hiked around the floor of the North Grove and headed up to the overlook. I got up there, slowly, and hiked out onto a kind of plateau/rock outcropping to eat my apple...

Carol Fahrbach, my mom Photo by my Aunt Corliss 1932-2014 That is my mom pictured above. She sure loved her Red Hat Ladies and all of their fun events. Yesterday marked the five year anniversary of my mom's passing. I can't believe it has been that long. In many ways, the night she collapsed and was hospitalized and the following day that she died seem like things that just happened yesterday. Though there is an immediacy to my memories of that time, there is also a remoteness. The passage of time can soften the edges of things if you allow it to. There really is truth to the fact that there isn't a day that goes by without thinking about someone who you have lost.  Wednesday was no exception. The days leading up to that day were kind of vaguely hard for me. I couldn't really put my finger on why though. The best I can do is to say that I miss having someone to "mother" me. The last couple of days I have been considering how most of us need some kind of...

Pardee Reservoir, Calaveras County This is as green as our county gets! This creek was difficult to pass two years ago. Yesterday it was just a hop, skip and a jump! See that little clearing at the top? We were on that ridge! There was a profusion of flowers towards the end of the hike. A real treat! That's me, on Patti's Pt, with the Mokelumne River and Pardee Reservoir in the background. The hillsides were covered with all sorts of orange and yellow flowers. Yesterday, Earth Day, was my birthday. I turned 49 this year, no mean feat! My friends, who are older than me, tell me that I am just a baby still. Let's hope so. I also went on a memorable hike yesterday to celebrate, quietly and inwardly, and to see what I could do for myself physically and mentally. It was a kind of perfect day really: great weather, an abundance of wildflowers, and enjoyable company. In short, a great day for a very long hike. Originally, I ...

Looking northwest, Point Lobos Park Looking  northwest, Point Lobos Park On the trail at Big Sur State Park Looking towards the Santa Lucia Range at the top of the trail. Banana slug! Controversy! Could be wild morning glory or a non native invasive monster! I just got back from spending 3 days on the California coast, down in the Big Sur area. Big Sur is south of Monterey and Carmel, maybe about 30 miles or so. I was actually in a little spot called Lucia, about another 20 miles or so away and staying at a monastery! The place is called New Camoldoli Hermitage  and the men who live there are Roman Catholic Monks. They run a retreat/hostel kind of place where people can come to do whatever they wish to do, in silence. It's a spot for religious contemplation of course but also a place where a person can be quiet for awhile. There is no available Internet, no television or radio, and no talking on the grounds. I live in a small rura...

Coachella Recycled Plastic Bags When did shopping become a struggle in decision making? Part of going vegan almost a year and a half ago has been adjusting my buying habits to reflect my evolving morals. Not wanting to eat animals or to exploit them for my own benefit has morphed into trying to do right in a general way; trying to live responsibly in the world at large. It's very difficult because each choice that is made that benefits me also comes at a detriment to some other living creature. It's a real pickle. Most decisions are a mix of good and bad outcomes. For example, when we bought my car a while back, I asked the salesman if the car contained any animal products such as a leather steering wheel. (It does not so that's good.) But, a car runs on gas (we did not buy a hybrid car) and gas is a petroleum product which is a fossil fuel. Burning fossil fuels  harms our environment by contributing to pollution, global warming, and tearing up the landscape (which af...

Mokelumne River as seen from Middle Bar Bridge     New Melones Reservoir, Table Mt hike, Jamestown, CA Table Mt., Jamestown, CA Lake Hogan, CA Indian Warrior Princess, EBMUD trail Valley Springs, CA I haven't done a hiking post in awhile though I have been hiking. Winter and early Spring are the perfect times in my area for lower elevation hiking. The weather is just right for being outside: cool, high 40's to 50's, maybe some sun and clouds but more likely to be overcast. This year it has been particularly rainy so getting outside has been tricky. It pays to have a flexible schedule so that responding to the forecast is easy. The first pic shows an area that I enjoy quite a bit, the Middle Bar section of the Mokelumne River watershed. There are several trails there that are challenging and which afford views of the river and the surrounding hillsides. The next two pics are from Table Mountain in Jamestown, about an hour or so away from me. The ...