Sasha

Tonight I was just mindlessly surfing thru the Internet - reading the news, and I just happened upon an article from nearly 3 years ago.  It was about a man I knew as a little boy - his name was Sasha.  Sasha Clapper.  My mom was his babysitter back in the 70's.  The house this little boy lived in (with his parents Jim and Debbie) was my dream house.  It was on Highway 6 near the dam.  It was contemporary, with a skylight and a red kitchen!  I was entranced by that house the first time I saw it.  I was a teenager then.  In the years that came to pass, I actually was fortunate enough to own and live in that wonderful home for a number of years, until my marriage ended and I left that house.  This post is not about that house, though.  It's about the loss of a sweet little boy; a precocious little boy in the day.  Tonight in reading a news article in a Portland newspaper some 3 years ago, I learned that my little Sasha died in a motorcycle accident in April 2009.  I saw his picture.  His eyes were the same eyes I remembered in that sweet little boy.  Dark eyes.  Eyes that could look right thru you.  Sasha is gone now - having been taken away in the best years of his life.  He left behind his parents, Jim and Debbie (whom we knew - Jim was a professor at USC) and his brother, Evan and other family members.    To them, the grief has probably dulled as it has been nearly 3 years.  For me it is still a shock, having only learned of this tonight.  My days at "The Clapper House" are full of memories. Some wonderful; and in my last days there before leaving, some pretty traumatic.  I have a picture of little Sasha somewhere.  You know I am a packrat, so of course I still have it....someplace.  I'll find it.  And I will probably write Jim and Debbie a letter soon - just to let them know how sorry I am to have learned of their loss.  Sasha, you lived life LARGE.  We should all learn to do the same.  Make each and every day the best we possibly can.  You did......
                                                        .
                                                         Sasha Clapper 1973-2009

Wining and Dining

This weekend the weather has been beautfiul....bright blue sunny skies, a breeze, birds singing, daffodils in bloom, and  COLD!  Last weekend it was almost summer-.it was warm.  I mean, I mowed the backyard wearing a t-shirt and crocs...and no socks!  This weekend, boy oh boy, is it different.  Friday night was nice - cool, but bearable without a coat as long as you ran from point A to point B....yesterday, Saturday, it was cold.  The wind started to blow.  And it blew all day long.  Never stopped.  When that happens I always know 'the wind is blowing the cold in'.....

I was right.  Last night I brought my geraniums inside - I still have three beautiful plants on my front porch.  They are doing very well, considering it's February.  One of them even has new growth.  So, I brought them inside after my dinner guests, Chapel & Brian, left.  This was about midnight.  Lo, and behold, and true to form, I forgot one.  I forgot to bring in ny aloe plant.  Poor thing succumbed to the cold last night.  Today it's limp and lifeless in the pot.  I sure hope I don't burn myself now because I won't have ANY aloe to put on it.  A good friend's mom gave me the plant so I really feel bad about forgetting to bring it in.

Speaking of my dinner guests - let me tell you what we had last night...AND what I made!  I made Italian Cream Puffs.  Really I did!  They were bellissimo!  Today, I baked white almond cupcakes with almond buttercream for Valentine's Day.  Frosted very simply, with a dusting of white sanding sugar over the buttercream.  Yum.   So, back to dinner....

We grilled a rack of pork spareribs with homemade "Chiquita" sauce; steamed ears of fresh crispy yellow corn, homemade cole slaw with both green and red cabbage and homemade dressing - once it marinates it is WONDERFUL,  It's slightly soggy but still has a bite to it - a crunch in every bite. I made baked beans - mine are slightly different.  They have a 'secret' ingredient that sets them apart from all others.  They're not bad!!!!  We also had a loaf of sourdough bread. Sourdough bread is heavy.  It is a very 'solid' bread.  And just as the name indicates, it has a slightly 'sour' taste.  I love any bread (well, except rye) though - and sourdough is one of my favorites by far...

We also had appetizers - I put together an antipasto tray with salame, proscuitto, Asiago cheese, green olives stuffed with garlic, black pitted olives, & roasted red peppers.  As if this weren't enough, I also made these little pastry shells filled with asparagus-shrimp dijonnaise. 

My friends make their own wine - and they provided several bottles for 'tasting' throughout the evening.  River Vines Estates is one of the newest, up and coming BEST wineries at the coast.  A home brewed wine - and we had this Chardonnay that was simply the best.  It was aged with coffee beans.    Thank you, thank you Chapel and Brian.  We had  the best time with you - it was great having you here with us.  I hope we can do it again VERY soon. ....We can't wait to sample more of your wines.....I'll be your taste tester ANYTIME you want!!!!

Today was a 'do nothing' day for me.  I don't do that very often.  I always have SOMETHING going on.......but not today.  I'm posting this and thinking about what else I can bake for Tuesday, the day of love....St. Valentine's Day.  Are any of you out there bakers?  I'd like to hear what your favorites are!

Winter? Spring?

Anybody out there been able to figure out how a rodent can decide if we're going to have 6 weeks of winter still to go?  If you think about it, no matter whether he sees his shadow or NOT, there's still six weeks before spring.  I don't get it....

It's been a while since my last post and I just realized it had been a whole month!  I started back to work on January 3 and it's been a long, LONG few weeks.  I'm learning what is expected of me; what my job entails, and how the process works.  It's detailed, it's complicated and I have made more notes than I ever did anywhere.  If it were not for this wonderful lady named Karen Stewart, I would be SO LOST.  I probably would have walked out - for the first week I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to handle it.  There's just SO much to learn.  But you know, I am learning it!  Karen has taught me everything I have learned; she is patient, kind, and she is very thorough and tolerant of all my 'why' questions.  I tell you, I owe her everything.   Thank you, Karen - for EVERYTHING!

Guess what?  I have spring flowers already blooming.  I saw yellow crocus' bloomng when I got in the car yesterday headed to work.  Spring has sprung!  At least here in SC it has.  In other places, spring probably feels like a whole season away! 

When it gets just a 'tad' warmer, I intend to start going out at lunch - I am downtown and plan to visit the State House Grounds on a regular basis.  My lunch and I can hang out in the park with the squirrels and the Occupy Columbia participants loitering all around. 

What do those of you who work do on your lunch hour?  Do you stay at your desk?  Do you walk?  What do you do?  I'd like to know.