‘O Christmas Tree

December 13, 2012 by Beth Shepherd

Baby Bird is celebrating her first Christmas in the U.S.!

The three of us went to Enchanted Winds to cut our tree.

Baby Bird was appropriately decked out in her red plaid woodsman coat (Thank you Sherri!), striped elf hat, and red rain boots (after all, this is Washington).

Lots of lovely trees to choose from.

We found it!

Uh-oh. Trouble in Paradise (Issaquah).

This is not going well.

Bring home tree. Do not proceed to Santa visit.

Want to look at more festive photos? Check out Delicious Baby Photo Friday!

Happy 12-12-12: Twelve ways to live a better life

December 12, 2012 by Beth Shepherd

Karl A. Pillemer, a renowned Cornell gerontologist, used the wisdom of crowds — more than 1,000 Americans over 65 years old — to glean material for his book “30 Lessons in Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.”

Here are twelve of those lessons (as adapted from this article in the Washington Post):

Marry someone like you
Act now if you will need your body for 100 years
Stay connected
Be able to look everyone in the eye
Say yes to opportunities
Travel more
Send flowers to the living
Share time with your children
With adult children, YOU usually need to compromise
Take advantage of the time you have
Find freedom
Don’t waste your time worrying about getting old

When you wish upon a star

November 21, 2012 by Beth Shepherd

This morning I read Baby Bird a new book, Olivia and the Fairy Princess. She loves the original Olivia and I’d heard great reports about this book too. In this book, Olivia is having an identity crisis. There are too many ruffled, sparkly princesses around. She wants to do more than just fit in. She wants to stand out. At the end of the story, as Olivia lies in bed unable to sleep, she starts imagining who she could be.

I read aloud to my daughter:

Maybe I could be a nurse and devote myself to the sick and elderly. I could use my brothers to practice bandaging and various other treatments.

Then I turned the page and continued:

Or maybe adopt orphans from all over the world.

I stopped, took a deep breath, and finished reading the book.

As the day went along I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about this one sentence. I had a something else in mind to post today, but now I feel compelled to write about this.

There are many fairy tales with an adoptee in the storyline: Cinderella, Snow White, Pinocchio, and Bambi; the list goes on and on. And, as we all know, there is always a happy ending with the protagonist fulfilling his or her dreams, securing a warm home (if not a castle), finding true love, everlasting happiness, and being accepted as part of a healthy, loving family.

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

But the truth is that life—for many– is quite unlike the Disney fantasy. It does make a difference who you are, anything your heart desires may not come to you, and fate is frequently unkind. And there are millions of people, not just orphans, who are unable to find a place to lay their head at night, a meal to fill their belly, and family and friends to love and care for them.

Sometimes, I feel selfish that we chose to shower time, money and attention on making a difference for one, when there are so many in need. It was truly heartbreaking to spend a great deal of time in several orphanages, and see children whose lives are never going to be filled with the opportunities our daughter will have.

For whatever challenges I’ve had or might face, my life is indeed blessed. I live in a beautiful city, inside a cute house with a lovely garden filled with color and nature. Each night I fall asleep in my own bed beside my wonderful husband. While I have lost several friends and family members who were dear to me, I have many incredible friends who sustain me and a family who loves me. I am healthy and fit and eat delicious meals on most nights. I’m able to indulge my interests in photography, gardening, cooking, and writing. I have been able to fulfill some of my dreams: to travel, to marry and to become a mom.

I am one lucky girl.

Happy Thanksgiving to my family, my friends and those of you who faithfully read my blog.

To Big Papa: There are no words to really say how deeply grateful I am to share my life with you.

To Baby Bird: May this, your first Thanksgiving, be the foundation for a life with many more.

For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Seeds of the season

October 31, 2012 by Beth Shepherd

I like Halloween pumpkin carving as much–if not more– for the seeds as for the Jack ‘o Lantern. Every year, after I roast my pumpkin seeds, I ask myself: Why don’t I buy pumpkins and do this more often? Roasted pumpkin seeds are addictively delicious. I’ve seen recipes for roasted pumpkin seeds with: curry, cinnamon-sugar, Tamari sauce, spicy garlic and cayenne…you name it. I’ll bet they’re all tasty as can be, but when I roast ’em, I’m a traditionalist all the way: olive oil and kosher salt, simple and satisfying as can be.

Here’s my recipe:

1. Scoop out the seeds from your pumpkin

2. Separate seeds from the pumpkin gook

3. Rinse seeds off in the sink (I do this in a colander) and dry on paper towel (I leave them overnight)

4. Scrape seeds off paper towel (they do stick) onto a cookie sheet or large, flat baking pan

5. Drizzle with olive oil and stir with your hands to coat

6. Sprinkle with kosher salt

7. Spread them as flat as possible in the pan

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

9. Roast seeds until golden brown (20-30 minutes)

10. Try to stop yourself from eating them all in one sitting

‘Tis the season to get busy in the kitchen, so HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all my readers from our very own busy bee!

Want to seed your foodie imagination with more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Happy Birthday USA…and Big Papa

July 4, 2012 by Beth Shepherd

Happy Birthday USA!

And…Happy Birthday, Big Papa, also born on the fourth of July. Baby Bird, Maggie and I are the luckiest girls in the world to walk alongside you.

Pomegranate Spritzer Recipe

January 4, 2012 by Beth Shepherd

Big Papa and I kicked off 2012 with a bit of bubbly, a special creation I concocted to welcome the New Year. I filled our glasses half-way with Cava, topped them off with a semi-sweet pomegranate wine from Armenia that I picked up this past summer at our favorite wine shop, and floated a few pomegranate seeds on top. Then we lifted our glasses, clinked them together, and toasted to happiness and good fortune in the coming year.

I love pomegranates with their ruby-red seeds that shine like jewels when the fruit is cut open. The name pomegranate derives from Middle French, pomme garnete, literally “seeded apple”; it is sometimes referred to as a Chinese apple. Many scholars also believe that the forbidden, yet irresistible fruit that Eve indulged in from the Garden of Eden was actually a pomegranate (and not an apple).

Pomegranates are also said to represent good luck because of their bright red color, which is thought to denote life and fertility. In many cultures, pomegranates are prominently featured during the winter holiday season and into the new year. The fruit’s beneficial medicinal properties are often touted in health and cooking magazines. And the abundant seeds represent prosperity. Cheers to that!

Pomegranate Spritzer

Ingredients

Bubbly (Cava, Prosecco or champagne)
Pomegranate wine (or pomegranate juice like POM, in which case fill ¾ with bubbly)
Pomegranate seeds

How to:

Fill a glass half-way with bubbly, top off with pomegranate wine (or juice). Float pomegranate seeds on top. Start sipping!

Come on-a my house my house, I’m gonna give you Christmas tree
Come on-a my house, my house, I’m gonna give you
Marriage ring and a pomegranate too ah

~Rosemary Clooney, Come on a my house

Want to launch your New Year with more deliciousness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!

Santa floats! Seattle’s Christmas Ships

December 16, 2011 by Beth Shepherd

Did you know that Seattle hosts the largest floating parade in the world? For 62 years, a flotilla of brightly decorated Christmas ships, share holiday cheer at waterfront locations all around Seattle during the month of December. During each stop, revelers are treated to a twenty minute serenade of holiday music by one of several local choirs, while they warm their hands by the bonfire and sip hot cocoa.

Standing by the water surrounded by fellow community members, watching the boats bob in all their lighted glory, is one of the best ways to celebrate the holiday season in Seattle. My favorite part of the evening is at the end when the main “Spirit of Christmas” ship sounds its horn and then, in chorus, the surrounding boats do the same. Horns honk loudly and all the boats flash their lights on and off, before heading to the next site on their itinerary.

During this time of the year, when all signals are “GO-GO-GO” there is nothing like take a few minutes to simply: Stop. Look. Listen. Therein lies the true beauty of the season.

Let there be lights! Luminaria light up Seattle’s Green Lake

December 9, 2011 by Beth Shepherd

Every city has its own unique holiday traditions. Three that I love in Seattle are: Christmas Ships, Nutcracker with its Maurice Sendak sets, and The Pathway of Lights.

For the past 35 years, on the second Saturday in December, if you add up a hundred volunteers, two thousand candles plus two thousand brown paper bags, you get one night of pure magic. The Pathway of Lights takes place at Green Lake, a small lake just north of downtown Seattle. If you go, you’ll experience an evening of urban Pacific Northwest at its best: Santa paddles his way across the lake in a kayak accompanied by Rudolf in a canoe. Upwards of ten thousand city dwellers swath themselves in REI finery accessorized with all manner of sparkly hats and blinking jewelry as they walk the 2.8 mile path that surrounds the lake, basking in the glow set off by thousands of luminaria.

The festivities include free musical entertainment, free hot cider, and this year’s event is even offering up a free full moon. Of course, this being Seattle, it’s anyone’s guess if we’ll actually see it. Depending on the year—and the weather– I’ve walked the lake and gazed at luminaria under a dusting of snow, luminaria being blown by fierce winds, and luminaria doing their best to stay lit in a downpour.

But no matter the forecast, I can’t think of a better way to welcome the winter season. Here’s how Big Papa and I get into the spirit. First, the two of us “don we now our fleece apparel.” I deck myself out in some groovy sparkly, jingly or blinky jewels, and sometimes throw on a pair of reindeer antlers for extra panache. Next, we stash a few airplane –sized bottles of Grand Marnier and Amaretto in a backpack which come in handy when we spike two cups of toasty hot cocoa that we purchase at a cute little coffee and chocolate shop a block away from the lake. Then we set out to circumambulate Green Lake.

Big Papa and I have headed out to see the luminaria almost every year since we became a duo. Last year we shared the evening with two close friends, who will be joining us again this year. Before I met Big Papa, I always made a point of going, even if I strolled solo. Because even on the darkest of days, it’s important to seek out the light, embrace what brings us joy, and—when we have the opportunity–share it with others.

Flags across the generations

May 30, 2011 by Beth Shepherd

When I was a little, my father took great pride in flying a flag on a flagpole he’d built on our front lawn. On the metal pole, he inscribed a message of dedication, to his two daughters in memory of his father.

Our little fingers would help him carefully unfold the flag and – always making sure it never touched the ground – we’d raise it up the flagpole. My father taught us the flag represented respect, for those who served—and for those who served and never made it home.

The flag we flew was one given to my father’s father, when he immigrated to the United States and arrived at Ellis Island. Although I never spoke to my grandfather about this personally, my father has always spoken of how proud my grandfather was to be a U.S. citizen. As a house painter in New York City, my grandfather didn’t make that much money, though there was always food on the table and a roof over their heads, even during the Great Depression. Despite the poverty they lived in, I know my grandfather was grateful to live in a country with the freedoms he’d never enjoyed during his own childhood.

My father served in the Merchant Marines during World War II. In fact he was a doctor on the ship, a doctor with no formal training. He still loves to tell stories and reminisce about his time of service. His favorite tales are those that describe the more gruesome injuries he encountered as a ship’s doctor, and the misadventures of crew members which typically involved smuggled alcohol or women.

When I met Big Papa, I was surprised to find out he had a flag too. On Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and July 4, it flies in front of our house, the sole flag on the street and one of the few, if not the only flag, I see as I drive the streets in Seattle. It’s not a tradition that many continue to carry, or at least not where we live.

During the early months of our dating lives, Big Papa told me about the many hours he spent creating and managing a website to honor the navy ship, USS Enterprise CV-6, that his father had served on. We even went on a trip together to Corpus Christi, Texas to attend a reunion of men who served on that ship.

I loved meeting those fascinating men; they reminded me of my father, with their stories full of piss and vinegar, pride in their service and excitement still in their eyes as they retold tales of adventures on the high seas during wartime.

Big Papa’s father passed away long before we were a couple. I wished I’d had a chance to know him and hear him tell a few of his own stories. And I wish he had been able to see his son’s house, and know his son flies the flag, just as he did. He would have been so very proud. I know I am, and Big Papa is too—we carry on the tradition of honoring those who served and the memory of those who never made it home.

Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

~Francis Scott Key, The Star-Spangled Banner

Take the road less traveled, Beth