elainegrey

Thank you all for sharing your lives and friendship with me. It enriches me.

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Yesterday I participated in small ways in the hosting of folks without homes at our Meetinghouse. Visiting with early risers on Christmas morning has been a pleasure these past few years. This year it was a bit of a monologue, and i find myself a little judgmental that the person who was speaking was a bit more judgmental about "them" -- other homeless folks who aren't like him -- than I would expect. Reflecting on it, staying proud and "normal" under rough circumstances probably takes more than a little mind games. I really can't imagine. I did feel a little for the other early riser who had been under a roof for only a few nights.

And as i wrote a Swedish cousin in the early hours before i left, i felt shame for my country and how we do not meet the basic needs of folks.

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I made a desert for the Christmas dinner, an attempt at "no bake bars." They're sticky and gooey: i hope folks' dental work survived. The flavors, though, seemed delightful: i used honey instead of molasses (which i ran out of making mulled cider). The salt, toasted coconut, "craisins," cinnamon, ginger, and cardamon came together in a wonderful flavor that kept the sweetness in balance.

The mulled cider is again filling the house with scent. Lesson learned yesterday: the slow cooker will not bring the cider up to heat from room temperature cider. It never got warm the hour i spent at the Meeting house.

The green beans from frozen that i "made" yesterday were quickly zapped up: onions in butter until transparent, the water for microwave cooking with a dash of liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce. Christine's hint to use the liquid smoke was a good one.

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It's pretty crisp here. Yesterday the car was well frosted over. The Mt Hamilton "HamCam" shows snow still at the four thousand plus foot elevation.

There's a negative tide today: i think instead of walking up at the crest of the Santa Cruz mountains (lower elevation than Mt Hamilton, but still) we should go to the coast and visit some tide pools.