Lightning Storm 4-10-2011

Cloud-to-cloud lightning in this storm gave off quite a show Sunday night (April 10, 2011). It was almost a constant stream of lightning. Although you can hear a little rain falling in the background, the thunder was just a low rumble in the distance, barely audible. This is just 45 seconds from our front porch. Although we went to the basement for a while to wait out twister tendencies, the storm wasn't really too bad by us. We were on the edges.

David Sylvian - Rare

An assortment of David Sylvian videos on YouTube. I've tried to purchase the Mps, but these don't seem to be available. So I'm pulling them together here in one HP post, so I can find them again later.

After all these years, David Sylvian is still making beautiful music. So sit back and enjoy a quiet evening. You won't be disappointed. ;-)


Bhajan


I Have Waited for You


Moments in Time


For the Love of Life


Some Small Hope

A Candle for Japan

I lit a candle for Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and resulting upheaval this week. May they feel our support in the recovery.

My sister lives in Chiba City with her two little kids and husband. They are all okay--Thankfully.

Quilts are for People!

We sent this Twin Connection quilt to our old and dear friend, Kevin Bradley. We've known Kevin since our Summit Coop days in Madison.

A quilt he had since he was a kid was stolen out of his van last fall--with him in it. A Quilter (like me) hears a story like that and has to DO something! While it's not the quilt he had since childhood, maybe this one will take him the next 50 years.

Cheers, Kevin!

Cheap Date at Pho Viet in Milwaukee, WI

Bun bi Chia Giao - Yum! This is my all-time favorite Vietnamese dish (so far) : a noodle salad with fresh veggies, and a Vietnamese egg roll. We still affectionately call this #22, because that was the number it had on the menu at I'm Here Vietnamese Restaurant in Madison, WI.


The Special Sauce that goes with the Bun Bi above.


CL had the Pho -- the beef soup.
The restaurant is named after this soup, so it had to be good. It was!
We love Vietnamese Cuisine. The flavors are so light and delicate compared to Chinese or Thai foods (which we also appreciate). Here, you taste the lime and cilantro, and green peppers. Sweet, sour, salty, tangy, fresh --It's all there!


They also had Vietnamese grinders. I saw these on Sandwiches You Will Like (a PBS documentary). It was tasty--and only $3.50. The bread is the French influence on the culture.


This was one of the condiments on the table. I'm still not brave enough to try it, but it's got gorgeous colors! I'm sure we'll be going back there again someday. ;-)

Nearby, there was an Asian grocery store. I've never seen one so big! I wished Wei Ching or Sung Tran were still around to tell me what we were looking at!

At the deli, this looked like a seascape in a cup :

Rosita's Toffee

1 cup sugar
1 cup butter

Nuts
3 Hershey bars

Melt butter. Add sugar and 3T water.
At 280 degrees, add nuts, if desired.
Heat to 300 degrees F.
Pour into a buttered pan.
Lay the Hershey candy bars out on top of the toffee. Spread it out when it melts. Add more nuts.

Rosita brought this to my mom's house at Christmas. Yum!

Perfect Day : Cross Country Skiing Christmas Day 2010

Our little family Christmas tradition is to go cross-country skiing in Gartzke Flowage. After a big holiday meal, and too much time sitting around watching tv, it's time to get up and move!

This year, we had a PERFECT Day with tolerable temps in the 20s, and a good base of snow. The trails were groomed, and Oliver stayed home so we didn't have to hear him complain. We got there about 4 pm, so the sun was going down. It was even starting to snow! Beautiful! This is one of my all-time favorite things!



Merry Christmas!

Taste a Little of the Summer : Peach Jam

Most welcome in January!

"Taste a little of the summer ... my Gramma put it all in jars." -- Greg Brown in "Canned Goods.

Holiday Folk Fair 2010 in Milwaukee : Folk Dancing

This was the first picture I took, thinking that the night setting on my camera might work well as I was sitting in the back of the arena in the dark. It made the dancers a blur, so I switched to the action shot setting with much better results. It does give you a good idea that dance is about motion, and how difficult it is to capture it in a single frame.


The Mid-East Dancers. Yes, they were belly-dancing. ;-)


The Russians.


The Bulgarians (from the back).


The Bulgarians (from the front).


The Pomeranians. They are clapping with their shoes on their hands. And yes, they are dancing in front a huge American flag. This is what being an American means to me, where all these cultures come together.



The Thai.


The African-Americans. These are definitely action shots! These girls can move!


The African-Americans (again).


The Serbians.


The Serbians.


The Irish.


The Ukranians are always a huge crowd-pleaser. You never seen any old guys doing this dance!


The Ukranians!


The Ukranians.


The Poles (from Krakow). The beauty of folk-dancing is that you don't have to be some skinny little bean pole. Big girls can do it too! Anyone who is interested can be part of it!


Latvians (These could be Lithuanian, too. I always get them mixed up. My apologies if I've labled it wrong.)


I am in awe of these costumes. The skirts are woven beauties!


The Poles (Syrena)


Another action shot of these whirling skirts and flying colors!


The Croatians.


Croatian Dancer from the back.


Croatian Dancers. At the Serbian stand, CL saw and heard a Croatian lady talking with a Serbian. It just brings tears to my eyes -- they would be fighting each other, hating each other in the old country. Here in Milwaukee, WI (of all places!), they are both "Balkans." They laugh together, eat together, and dance together.


The Italians. This is another wonderful "happy" dance that brings tears to my eyes.

Action shot of the Italians banging their tambourines.


The Greeks. Note the handkerchiefs.


The Bavarians. I have to say, I consider this dance cruel and unusual for the ladies. They have to spin and spin and spin in one place while the men are off doing manly knee-slapping and clapping. Then they dance together for a while, then it's back to the spinning and spinning.


The Scotts - of course they are one of my favorites! There is no such thing as a quite bag pipe!


Action shot of Scottish kilts flying high.


Schnitzl from Bavaria. (Aka pork loin sandwich, good with mustard and a pickle.)


Rakviki (little coffins) from the Czech Pastry Stand. First stop at the Folk Fair!

Thank you to Mr. Cramer (my high school Latin teacher) for taking so many language classes down to the folk fair through the years. I was in 9th grade when I first went to this window on the world, and I've loved it ever since! Where else but New York City can you see so many people together and celebrating their cultures?

Miracles Happen ... Meet Stina, Mercy ICU Patient

I had the good fortune to meet this remarkable woman and her equally remarkable husband.

They were here at my hospital long enough to "make the rounds" and subsequently made the whole hospital their home during their extended stay with us. It's rare for people to stay so long in our age of managed care. When she was well enough to be parted from machines (or at least when the machines were portable), Steve would take Stina on tour around the hospital, including the library. Everyone knew them, knew what a miracle it was that she recovered. This couple has an aura about them ... maybe that sounds crazy. They were surrounded in light ...

Even now when they come back to visit, it is an inspiration to see them, and to be part of her recovery. It reminds me that what I do in the provision of library services and health information goes beyond just providing people the info they need to make good health care decisions. We can all make a difference in the lives of our patients--and they can make a difference in mine, too!

They are telling their story in the Archival Reading Room in my Library at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh, WI. ;-)