Monday, October 24, 2022

In the category of good eats, I stumbled across a little (untested by me) recipe, from years ago, that accompanied my new baby parakeet. It’s called “Birdie Treat.” These days, two birds residing in my household are a Cockatoo and a rescued Racing Pigeon. A few days ago I decided to cook up the treat.

Its base is brown rice. To one cup of dry rice, add six cups of water. After bringing the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, lower the heat to medium-low for forty minutes.

In the last five minutes of cooking, and now over very low heat, add some, or all, of the following. Add pasta of any kind, mixed nuts, dried fruits and vegetables, and even wild birdseed. After turning off the heat, leave the mixture sitting covered to cool.

According to the recipe, this mix can be spooned into ice cube trays, frozen, and thus ready for birds anytime. I simply left the covered pot setting out for hours to cool the mix, and make it easy to spoon into bird dishes.

My first time preparing this, I added many of the treats called for, including bird seed. Afterward. I decided to taste it. Delicious! Even the crunchy bird seeds were fun. I decided to make the recipe again, and this time with selections from supermarket bulk foods. I chose a small pasta, roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped and slivered almonds, dried chopped dates and raisins, as well as dried veggie mix. The result became a tasty dish for the birds.

And to me delicious! A word of caution, for rice is high in carbs. As a carb watcher, I will consume carefully, and fortunately, have birds and dogs to enjoy doles from the mix. From here on, “Birdie Treat” will be on hand, fresh and/or frozen.

Dear Friends: An inexpensive, easy-to-make staple, that’s fun and tasty. Diana

Sunday, October 23, 2022

These are the times of gigantic topics, like war, supercomputers, AI, and sometimes “misbehaving stars” of the stage, screen, music, and oh yes, entrepreneurship. Okay, political leaders, too. And a Supreme Court Justice’s wife…

Are there still quiet moments of simple pleasures? What are they?

I traveled back into myself, and yes, understood that small events can delight. For example, that first cup of morning coffee, a tentative sip, and also seeing through a kitchen window a hovering hummingbird at the nectar feeder.

My routine includes caring for outside animals, horses, goats, and chickens. It’s sometimes hard to work, like yesterday. In rapid west winds, I had to fight while adding to sheltering for animals designed for a quiet summer. Afterward, exhausted and up in the house, my simple pleasure was dropping into an easy chair, a “first sit” after hours on my feet.

Other such moments, too, help me feel grounded. While reading morning newspapers and feeling confused or angry about world events, the good cup of coffee helps to settle my mind. So does a glance at my hound dog sleeping nearby on a cushy pillow.

Dear Friends: Little things, easing the pressures from big things, feel good. Diana

Saturday, October, 21, 2022

Ohmigosh, this will be very short so I can be on the job by 7:30 a.m. Going in very early means I might find an open parking spot under the lot’s single-shade tree. If I find the “right spot” and later decide to eat lunch in my car, shade makes that okay.

Rain! Lots last night. And for Sunday, a freeze warning.

That’s it for now. Gotta go!

Dear Friends: My starting schedule will ease up after today, thankfully. Diana

Friday, October 21, 2022

Today’s NYT carries a story about the Pacific Northwest Cascades and Mt. Hood area. It speaks to how changing weather patterns are affecting ranchers, farmers, fruit growers, fishing people, and the sports industry.

It’s generously and beautifully illustrated by Ruth Fremson’s photographs, all are gallery worthy.

I felt connected to this article from my perspective near Central Oregon’s Cascades. We southern residents, like Mt. Hood’s, are struggling to adjust to changing weather patterns. Central Oregon’s conditions are worsened because of critical abuses to surrounding natural resources by earlier generations that conducted massive logging operations. This area’s now-exploding population, demanding more dwellings, pushes new home construction into the few remaining local forested areas.

Then, too, this area has water worries because it’s becoming scarce. Warming weather reduces our once-abundant and dependable snows. Historically, melting snowpack and generous natural underground storage capacities fed water throughout Central Oregon. Besides our changing weather, modern abusive water usage negatively is affecting water supplies.

I’m off on a tear, so will stop.

Check out this readable NYT piece and its wonderful photography. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/us/northwest-snowpack-climate.html

Dear Friends: The Cascade Range fosters vibrant and diverse conditions. Diana

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Yesterday afternoon I arrived home and found my flooring expert, Leroy, working with his sons. They were re-setting a complicated banister, removed to lay flooring in the loft. Yes, Leroy has reached the loft area, almost completing this flooring project. He has removed about 2,000 sq. ft. of carpeting and recovered the floor with engineered vinyl.

The vinyl mimics real wood. It looks good, is completely waterproof, and is easy to clean. In my household, it’s more practical than carpeting because I have inside-outside dogs. Engineered flooring makes cleaning after them a breeze.

Also, cleaning is quicker. My cordless vacuum’s fully-charged battery operates for 30-40 minutes before re-charging. One full battery handles all my now-easy flooring (including tiled non-vinyl areas).

Despite its attributes, engineered flooring isn’t perfect. At first walking on it felt a little different and took getting used to. My dogs’ feet can’t grip for hurrying, but they’re learning to slow down, a good thing. Leroy says heavy objects can damage vinyl, so I added protective pads beneath heavier furniture.

More of the good is that vinyl seems to make the house appear more open. The flooring reflects light from ceiling wood and makes art objects more quickly visible. A liking for open space has me replacing heavier furniture with minimalistic pieces.

Dear Friends: This little journey into the unknown has been rewarding. Diana

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Here’s another day of show-up-early to work. So I’ll be brief.

The Iranian woman who climbed competitively in Korea without wearing a headscarf has returned to Iran. She deplaned, her hair covered by a baseball cap and scarf, meeting cheers from a large crowd of greeters. We hope for her safety, after she didn’t adhere to religious rules mandating women to cover their hair.

In the U.S. women feel free to wear whatever they want and to tackle whatever interests them. However, this country never has adopted, nor likely will, an official Equal Rights Amendment. For bunches of reasons, but essentially because ours is a male-and-money-dominated society.

I applaud the brave crowds in Iran’s streets demanding freedom from strict religious governance. Those people have managed for weeks to roil, and communications to the outside world haven’t been cut off. Their activity, supported by technology and compassionate individuals helping to keep communications alive, represent both local and international objecting to restrictive social policies.

It’s unfortunate in Iran’s process that individuals have been slaughtered. Let’s hope that the uprising leads toward more social freedom in the world. Maybe there will be more viral social uprisings against injustices; the world still awaits reckoning for the inhumane murder of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi Prince.

Those are my thoughts today while getting ready for work.

Dear Friends: Way back when, America should have instituted the ERA. Diana

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

I’ve described how busy the supermarket is where I’m a cashier. Here’s a metric: last Sunday the store grossed nearly one-half million dollars. That’s not unusual for our store. It’s one of the chain’s highest grossing outlets, within a business model focused on pricing goods barely over wholesale purchasing costs and underselling competition.

Our store is a twenty-four-hour beehive. It’s always open to customers while employees stock and restock, ensuring that every slot is full and products look tidy. Fresh produce is abundant and inviting. The overall efficiency is amazing.

So are customer savings, which I hear about throughout my shifts. Often customers say they drive many miles to shop in the store. Many are from all nearby communities. Others drive as far as seventy miles, one-way, from home. Those from great distances explain that they combine various needs by making several in-town stops, including our store, before driving home. They’re planners and accomplishers.

In our store, customers must work by bagging their groceries, a fast game. Items quickly cross the computer and head toward the bagging area, while a line of other customers await their turns to check out. Experienced shoppers quickly get their bags into position and fill them rapidly as possible.

Back when I was a shopper only, bagging work looked easy. I’ve learned that isn’t so. The efficient shoppers arrange purchases into groups for checking out, and for efficient bagging and transporting. Canned goods are easy to bag, but fresh produce and frozen items need special accommodations.

Every day teaches more about how to shop, various items worth shopping for, and options for bagging and storing efficiently. Customers explain how to use fresh ginger, tomatillos, and Mexican squash; the list goes on. I’ve begun to evaluate what I actually need and use versus what I might try out and trash. Focused grocery purchasing equates to paying less and wasting less.

Dear Friends: Jolts of awareness while in action, and learning that’s helpful. Diana

Monday, October 17, 2022

I’m trying to bolster the courage to glance at what today’s stock market might be doing. Just a quick look at what it suggests about world conditions. Maybe an upward tilt would hint at a shift toward global sanity.

There’s plenty of insanity: war in Ukraine, British political craziness, Xi’s mighty ambitions, riots in Iran, and America’s upcoming election. To name a few.

The bright spots from my perspective are limited. I have a blind faith in humanity’s wish to survive and believe in my heart that chaos will end, and end well enough. But I seek realistic clues for a forward perspective. The stock market is easy to assess. It reflects the real-time, is in the moment, and suggests the next moments and tomorrows.

Early today, the market predicts a rally. Hopefully, it will carry through this and even through its following sessions, and spark a sense that the economy is settling.

Dear Friends: Grabbing at straws to gain more optimism. Diana

Sunday, October 16, 2022

This is a quick hello. I must be at work at 8 a.m. and more of the same for another few days. So early to leave requires readjusting my morning routine, and day one always is messy.

The upside is that I’ll be home in the mid-afternoon making my evening easier. My home’s interior finally is becoming reorganized, following a complete re-flooring.

This afternoon might be an opportunity to play outside with a camera.

Dear Friends: Enjoy this lovely fall day. Diana

Saturday, October 15, 2022

It’s a day off from my part-time job. I’ve lots to accomplish from an unappealing list of to-dos.

Now, from the mundane to the ridiculous.

It’s fascinating, the war in Ukraine, Putin, Xi, and other nation leaders, ethnic conditions and conflicts nearly everywhere, and American raging politics and economics.

Along with others here in the middle of Oregon, I’m changing my shopping habits; evaluating how often and far I am willing to drive a vehicle, and re-thinking many of my long-held world views.

It’s impossible not to reflect on today’s exploded populations, technological upgrades, and educational needs. Our very human selves wish to cling to what’s already understood and accepted.

But the known world roils.

This morning, I was surprised at finding myself pursuing information about Chile’s Araucania region, home to the Mapuche, that country’s indigenous people. Chile is the only Latin American country with a constitution that doesn’t recognize its indigenous populations and their rights. The Mapuche are demanding a more egalitarian society.

New learning offered insight into that region’s terrain, the Mapuche history and culture, and how those associate to current Chilean politics. Fascinating stuff.

Similar unrest occurs in Iran, Myanmar, and Shri Lanka. All related, too, to American unrest over limited educational and employment opportunities for ethnic minorities, immigrants, and youth.

Lots of people pass through my grocery checkout line spouting old ideas about the inefficiencies of formal education, muscular changes our government needs, and etc. They say nothing or little about a genuine need to view the known world afresh.

Dear Friends: Today’s house- and barn-work might re-center my brain. Diana