yesterday.

cornish game hens stuffed with lemon, sage, butter, and garlic, and more butter and sage stuffed under the skin.

















mixed beans sauteed in butter with garlic, lemon, and thyme.



















sweet potatoes, roasted with hens, then caramelized in brown sugar, butter and a pinch of garam masala.
















sausage stuffing with gianelli luganiga sausage, sourdough from work, celery, onion, garlic, chicken stock, red pepper flakes, and thyme.























pumpkin tart topped with powdered sugar and candied walnuts.

thankful.

my partner. my daughter. my family. my skills. my friends...but most of all, i am thankful for how difficult my life has been this past year. thank you pain and joy - for being my teachers.

the guest house

this being human is a guest house.
every morning a new arrival.

a joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

welcome and entertain them all!
even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
he may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

the dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

- rumi

preparations.

fresh baked rolls i brought home from work.



















thawing the hens so i can stuff them with sage, lemon, garlic and butter.



















drying out the sourdough {also baked today at work} to be used in sausage stuffing tomorrow.

palette.

i won't go as far as to say the mad hatter is a style icon - though i am tempted to - but the colors in his ensemble are so rich and inspired. the aqua bow tie is such a fresh touch to the muted palette.

clearly, this movie has occupied my thoughts quite a bit lately. this snippet of a review from peace and loveism sums up my thoughts on the film quite nicely:

The definition given in this film about reality is excellent. Alice, while talking to her cat in her waking reality, says that “Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?” This fundamental principle of reality essentially is saying that All that Is, is simply Nothing that Is not, since all is One, and nothing is not. There is no such thing as duality. Non duality means all reality combined, comprises the Ultimate Reality, and therefore, it is not nonsense to have a world of non-sense.

At another point, Alice makes the statement to one of the anthropomorphic creatures in Wonderland saying that “I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir, because I’m not myself you see.” Alice says she is not who she is. This can be seen as representing a false sense of one reality being more real than another reality. There is no quantitative measure with respect to how real one reality is over another parallel and seemingly as-real reality. This can also be seen as an ego issue. If Alice had no ego at all, which is what Wonderland can make her realize about her Self, she would understand that there is no “her” and that she just “is”. She has an attachment so some false sense of self in another reality, which she believes is the true reality. However, as Alice ventures through Wonderland, she comes in contact with many other creatures that believe quite the opposite.

alice.

amazing work by nick bertke. download the mp3 for free here.

luna loves alice in wonderland far more than any computer generated animated films coming out these days. i can understand why - this movie is so hypnotic.

zazen.

using bread as the timer for my early morning zazen.

halloween.