Now thinking happy thoughts, such as playing with Piglet at the dog park a few weeks ago. Behind her is another border collie mix, Tess. Piglet and Tess had the same stance, tracked the ball the same way, and ran the same patterns when running after the balls we threw for them, like shadows of one another.
One of the things I miss about Metz are dinners with Annelise and Arnaud, who gave me cooking lessons in exchange for English conversation. Last week, I decided to continue to learn to cook here at home, and joined a cooking group. I went to my first event with them, a potluck, last weekend.
I was salad. I mixed salad greens with nasturtium petals and blackberries from the garden and crumbled feta cheese over it, then toasted pine nuts, and made a blackberry vinaigrette. When I arrived at the party, I realized I'd forgotten the pine nuts! Luckily, no one noticed there was something missing other than myself.
Since this blog entry has no general theme other than randomness, I'll mention here that I went roller skating for the first time in over 20 years last night to celebrate the birthday of a friend of a friend of a friend. I was never much of a skater and last night was no exception, as I tottered out onto the floor, my feet ready to slip out from under me any second. But the people were fun, the music funky and I only fell once! My back is a little sore today, though. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so all I have is this one grossly underexposed camera phone shot.
I just so happen to love random topic posts, as they give a sense of what's going on in the person's life! Dog walking, dog parks, cooking class, salad recipe, skating...sounds like life to me!
ReplyDeleteI guess life in itself can be somewhat random, now that I think about it, Linda.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've heard older officers I know ask the same question. They complain that most of the recruits coming through now are boy scouts that aren't meant for real police work. The older officers are constantly frustrated, so you're not alone.
ReplyDeleteThe dogs are adorable. It's always fun to watch them play, especially when they mirror each other and look so much alike.
As for skating, the last time I went was 22 years ago and I broke my arm. I was good when I first took skating lessons, but it had been a bit and I startled easily when someone went by quickly. I've been contemplating going again myself. Glad to hear that you only had one minor spill!
I don't even think he would qualify as a boy scout, CM. This particular guy always looks disgruntled.
ReplyDeleteOuch, a broken arm might deter me from skating again, too!
So you are a rollerskating salad with a piglet.
ReplyDelete:-P
Well that's not good, Piglets eat salad!
ReplyDeleteMy sister took me to a dog park while I was on vacation. It was a first for me. I was surrounded by pugs. Scary stuff.
ReplyDeleteObviously I've led a sheltered life.
Sorry I'm late, playing catch up. That salad made me hungry and now my back hurts just from the thought of skates on my feet. :D
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely well wishes regarding my father.
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
At least you weren't surrounded by chihuahuas, Walter. They can be pretty vicious for such small dogs. Every time I visit my sister one of her chihuahuas bites my ankles every time I move, a relatively painful place to be bitten, actually. I don't visit often...
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as late with this blog, Jules. It's a casual place and people can drop in at their leisure. I hope your father's recovery from the surgery is going well.
ReplyDeleteA fried had a trained guard dog. As a joke, he would secretly give the dog hand signals every time I entered the room, and the dog would grab my ankle and hold it. Resistance was futile.
ReplyDeleteHumor can be a difficult thing, especially when the joke is on you, but everyone else thought it was funny. Looking back, I am glad I was able to provide the dayz entertainment, making everyone's day brighter.
Wally
I'm glad you were able to make everyone's day brighter, too, Wally. Although next time, I hope it's because they're enjoying your America's Galactic Foreign Legion book series.
ReplyDeleteCatching up. The salad looks divine even without the pine nuts. The flowers in it? Blackberries. Feta? My kind of salad.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've roller skated in twenty years either. Tried roller blading a few years ago. Made it to the end of my flat driveway and said, "NO!"
I found I was okay as long as I went in a straight line or curves with long radii, but stopping was definitely an issue, Julie. I had to stop by running into things!
ReplyDeletePeople are enjoying my Sci/Fi books. I sold 100 in July, and 500+ in August (mostly Amazon Kindle books).
ReplyDeleteI dared to dream, and now my dreams are coming true.
The last time I was in the San Mateo area I played in a Semi Pro football game in Pacifica. Later we got kicked out of a very nice hotel bar. We probably should not have passed the entry dress code in the first place, but we had the key to the city.
Thank goodness my roudy dayz are almost over. It wasn't my fault, it was Bubba Pua's.
It's always the fault of some guy named Bubba. Poor Bubba. So you're on the last hurrah of your rowdy days. Do you plan on going out with a bang? Getting thrown out of two bars or maybe three in one evening?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the book sales are going well!
LOL, sometimes your humor is so dry cactus grows next to it. But, you are right. Bubba gets blamed for a lot of stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the content of my glass is wet, I don't mind a little dry humor.
ReplyDeleteYo dudes, I got so caught up in the fun comments I forgot what the post was. Hmm, OH! Piglet and almost getting mowed down. I'm glad you didn't. And I'm glad I now know that Piglet is an actual DOG and not a pig. Silly me.
ReplyDeleteI happen to love the camera shot. It gives the exact feel to what would certainly have been an otherly experience for me. Skates. Makes me shudder to think.
That's a beautiful salad from your garden.
~that rebel, Olivia
The skate night was fun, Olivia, but it won't be something I do on a regular basis. I like a little more friction under my feet!
ReplyDelete