SPAM Happy

"Aunty Em, Aunty Em, I'm frightened!"

Oh yeah, this may be a bit disturbing for you to read (reader beware!)

It ain't art. Some folks say it's not even a food! But ah, I was so happy to find this today at the supermarket! I told you ,you might find this post distrubing to read!

A single serving of Spam Lite. That made me happy. Only if you are from Hawaii could you ever understand this. At least Anthony Bourdain kinda 'got it' (catch the episode he did on Hawaii on the Travel Channel).

Living here in New Mexico, I even succeeded at imparting my affection for this mysterious meat that is a salty, pink, pork concoction to my son. He loves Spam musubis!

I don't eat it very often; maybe several times a year. In Hawaii, we like to slice it up , fry it so that it has a caramelized crust and eat it with hot and sticky white rice with a side of catsup. That's the household version of serving it. There are many other dishes that Spam appears in out there in the islands. Too numerous to mention (now you're really frightened, huh?).

Anyway, finding a single portion of this in the Lite variety truly makes me chuckle and happy at the same time.

My new coined phrase? It makes me SPAM HAPPY!

Spoons For Mien!

This post is in repsonse to Mien's post (please click on her name to see what she posted).

The only spoon I made in this collection is the funky one by itself. Never again for that one! Can you say, "fire scale"? Lots and lots of it because I didn't have experience in joining two metal pieces together that are different thicknesses. I nearly had a meltdown myself trying to get the handle joined to the bowl of the spoon. And, if you've never done soldering like this, this will have no meaning to you whatsoever! No matter!

So, Mien, this one's for you! I think what you created is way cool!

Throwing Sound

"they throw sound into

a full river like a stone

no voice could hold it under"

Painted Shoes

If you can't paint your toes, then paint your shoes!

I did these last fall; bought the shoes on sale at Kohl's and then painted them. I used Luminere paint and didn't give them a topcoat at all and they seem to be holding up rather well!

wabi sabi

one could not even begin to attempt to explain adequately the concept behind wabi sabi. that is my disclaimer here even though i am about to offer a bit of explanation (my apologies).

wabi sabi is somewhat of a spiritual perspective or a way of looking at life that the japanese practice.

it is about impermanence. this could offer explanation to those of us who get excited about rusty things and aged metal full of deterioration and patinas all at one time.

it about imperfection. life is imperfect. we are imperfect.

the ability to embrace this imperfection is an art form unto itself.

i know that i have been an apprentice (don't think i can say i'm a disciple yet) of this perspective for quite some time.

i took these images in a house that we were staying at up at angel fire a few weeks ago. i love the aged look of the wood on the sideboard; this commercial attempt at impermanence. very convincing.

the snow up against the window full of debris. the color is off due to how i had the light setting in my camera. makes it feel cold. the mardi gras beads.

all were captivating vignettes for me; they had to be recorded.

there is a really good book written by an englishman, andrew juniper. it's called: wabi sabi the japanese art of impernanence. he did a fantastic job at trying to convey just exactly what wabi sabi is.

Tuna Melt

Time for me to 'fess up if you don't already know. I'm a foodophile. I love to eat and I love good food. Not just junk, but food made well. I don't eat fast foods and for all the years that I worked at UNM, I usually brought my lunch with me.

I'm getting geared up for a long awaited and much needed kitchen remodel in a few months. I dread the process, but I am starting to get excited about what I'll have. Appliances that I've dreamed of and a good 'working triangle' that any good kitchen has (between the stove, the refirgerator and the sink). And, thinking of all of this makes me think of cooking more, well, really, thinking about food more!

And then I started thinking about how I make the effort to present the food I serve; a habit I picked up from working in restaurants for so many years. Yep, even if it's just dinner at home with my two boys, I plate up and present the food. Which started me thinking about "how come I don't take pictures of that?". Cooking can be a very creative process. I make art much in the same manner that I cook; there are a lot of spontaneous elements in both processes for me. Which can be a dilemma when someone asks me how I made something be it food or art! Particularly if I was very spontaneous at that moment.

So, here you see one of my favorite sandwhiches (it's in the line of comfort food for me). It's MY tuna melt. I have this one down to a science. I use regular chunk tuna packed in water (not the fancy white tuna), a safflower mayonaise (I never use anything made with Canola oil which is a topic for another discussion). I add fresh ground pepper, salt and lots of capers! I love those capers! Then the spread goes onto a multi-grain bread with some swiss cheese (it has to be swiss), some fresh spinach if I have any, and then I grill it. I like to use one of those pans with the ridges and I use a heavy skillet to press it down while it's cooking.

I'll eat it just like this. If I have any cornichons, I'll have those with it too. Potato chips too if I have them.

Gads...I'm getting hungry!

Myopia

Don't try to adjust your screen! The image REALLY is out of focus!

Since I was in the fifth grade, I became myopic: nearsighted. I had been a voracious reader and would try to read several books a week; sometimes one a day just to see if I could do it. I think between having the genetic disposition for being nearsighted and totally exhausting my eyes beyond reason is what tilted the charts for me. Each year I needed a new pair of glasses in a stronger perscription. My mother found this very alarming (since I was a teenager, I was numb to thinking it was wierd that my eyesight was rapidly deteriorating). She did research and found that if I wore contacts, it would slow down the deterioration. So, I got contacts. And, it did slow it down. But, over time, I ended up with being beyond the number determined for legally blind. Since my eyesight was correctable with lenses, I wasn't considered legally blind. I asked my eye doctor once (when I was in my twenties) what my vision really was. He said it was about 20/20,000 (I swear that's the number he said). Anyway, it equated to what a normal person can see at twenty feet, I would have to be within less than three inches to be in focus.

Several years ago (gosh, I think it's been six years), I had lasik surgery performed on my eyes. My glasses at that time was minus 10. It's been hard for me to describe what my vision was like without correction. I think I can do it best via my camera by throwing the image out of focus. Actually, my vision was WORSE than the blurry image you see here. I just can't get my camera to go beyond that range!

And there you have it. That's what it is like to be severely myopic in the literal sense!