Oh yeah, that news...

...or, a  Penn's woods expat turned sandpiper is on the move...maybe

 Having officially joined the 21st century this week (begrudgingly) with a brand new phone, a lovely chime alerted attention just about the time a snack was about to pop into ye old gullet. This lady takes snacks seriously, so the news better be important (ie. Aliens are real, the sun blew up, or "Ooh look at the awesome steam buns that are on the way to your lunch plate") and it was...I think..I'm not too sure...we'll talk about it later, Mr Bird texts. You see, he is a computer engineer doing some serious computer mumbo jumbo in DC and we have no idea where this training will move us...until now...maybe...we'll talk about it tonight...OHIO.

 Dear Ohio,
 
 There is no real beef between us, my awesome surgeon when this bird was a wee chick was there, a girl who tried to steal my high school sweetheart is from there (wait, that was bad), you get cold, and have a great lake. Fab. Great. Why am I so meh? I told you, from an early age growing up in Penn's woods we are told to pretend we don't like you (but, make sure to like them more than Jersey) and well, you are a stranger, we're just not acquainted yet. I think, maybe...oh yeeah, and my family is calling me a traitor...that too. I hope they're kidding (probably not). I dig your name, two cheerios on each end and a "hi" in the middle...you guys are nice right? Will you make fun of my 15 years earned southern drawl? If so, "bless your heart" (ask any one south of the mason dixon and they will lie through their teeth saying that's hospitality...hint: it's not, google that).

  You are also the home to a zoo that looks incredible... my fancy schmancy education could have a purpose and I could work with your ruminants or large carnivores. Why did large carnivores sound like a good idea? Working a long time with no human contact dogs taught me it doesn't matter, pretty sure they'd be embarrassed to attack a lanky beanpole...or they just believe this bird is their pet....either way...rambles....

  So anyway Ohio, all in all, you seem pretty great. This one has been in the south almost as long as the north, no bad blood or ill will, right?

The vegan experiment....

...or, how processed foods usually freak me out but, I am taste testing them anyway.

 So, if you haven't gleaned this from the posts yet, some really big changes have been  going on in this bird's nest (are you sick of the bird references? It's ok, I'll run out eventually).  The largest is, Mr. Littlebird has flown the coop (sorry). Not permanently, mind you, but for the next seven weeks he is back and forth between our beach-y town and DC doing some intense technical training...after which, WE ARE MOVING! Here is the awesome fun kicker...we have no idea where yet! Adventures (of any sort) rank into my top ten, this qualifies as the second crazy move made in adult life. Wilmington has been my home since moving here from the chilly northeast in 2001, fourteen years and lots of memories later, fully prepared to NEVER challenge another vacuum to suckupeverygrainofsand (btw, you can't, not possible).

  

 Oh, the experiment. So, in light of the challenges faced in packing a home solo, the bar has been raised and the vegan experiment has begun. Not too far a stretch, after a near 20 year stint as a home cooking vegetarian, veganism sounded like a fun endeavor (also, the legumes are taking over my home so, they need to get in someone's belly).   Like a dolt, my camera charger was left in the luggage packed for Mr. Littlebird, leaving you with no pictures for now. But this news had to be shared...I found the most delicious vegan cheese in all of the land and you need to know of it!!

 Quick backstory...cheese is delicious...cheeseboards with fancy jams and accouterments are the go to on fancy vacations...the next day is pure agony...like, praying for death, intestines in sailors knots and writhing like eels (again, sorry). Until now, if you haven't yet meet this amazing company!!

http://stemartaen.com/

 As a person who has studied animal science (thanks, Perdue and NC State), I really admire small scale agribusiness and think that if you are a consumer of meat, cheese, and eggs you can do no better. Truly, these types of establishments put their all into their animals. After interviewing a few (if you'd like to know more, let me know) and befriending many, you can tell the difference, passion and love for their products really shine. This is precisely what I experienced with this vegan product. Family owned and run, this seems to be a small batch company and foodtruck, They are self taught chefs and a couple raising a family...that's a lot of spinning plates in the air at once.

 The cheese tested here was their pepperjack. The consistency reminded me of a semi soft cheese and was used only for snacking but, before impulse control kicked in, a quarter of a block disappeared in one sitting. Spicy, tangy, a nice bounce and non-grainy mouth-feel, it comes vacu-sealed and can be ordered directly from their website. Immediately, said website was hunted down and these eyes are scoping hard at the Olive (which, as a wee bird, would have elicited serious side eye) and smoked gouda. Ok, getting a bit carried away here. A full review after the entire block o cheese has been devoured. And a rating system must be employed...carrots? The Pepperjack from stemartaen would get : 8.5/10 carrots

 What do you think? Have you ever tried a vegan cheese ? Which is your favorite?

~m

Postcards from the quiet perch...

 There is no easy way to fill in a time gap, it would be one giant run-on sentence (which is normally what happens when this one is excited about something). Rather, I'd like to start here and eek out tiny snippets of what adventures have happened from there to here.

Hello there again! Nice to see you...I'd like to ask you a few questions (if that's okay?)

  Have you ever:

 -Just woken up in the morning before the sun stretches it's beams and listened to the bird symphony?
 -Spent time completely without your phone, internet, books, television, or words?
 - Left your front door wide open during a thunderstorm and hear the sky's rumbling bass and filled    your house with the smell of freshly poured clouds?
 -Had a week to be completely alone? 

 If you have, you're lucky. If you haven't, you should test your wings at it (even just for one day). Luck is on my side as of late (not for reason that would bring heartache but, rather, progress), these are just a few things that have been gleaned from an oft ill frowned upon word "solitude".  Too often being alone is equated with "lonely"... this is a word that should make no sense as defined...

lonely: (adj.)
  affected with, characterized by, or causing a depressing feeling of being alone ; lonesome

 Most of the time, we are gathered together in social groups. A salmagundi of characters weaving their way in and out of every moment of waking thought (in dreams as well, if you recall them). What about that quiet time...the alone. The solitary bird on the perch. Nowadays it seems nearing absurd to desire a break ( admittedly, the break on this side of the screen was not requested...just a hurdle in the track).

 It takes adjusting (just like when you are settling into your comfy spot in bed) and attention (is it nerves or newness?) to test this experiment out. A day or two to stretch out into yourself (or something along those lines) and shake off all of the daily grind duties. So,  to be trite, "me-time" seems much more friendly a connotation.

m's me-time list :


-work:

                              waiting for bardo - start to finish in studio solitude

- listening to:





-reading:
 
~ Periodic Tales- Hugh Aldersey- Williams

 ~She Weeps Each Time You're Born - Quan Barry

 Maybe a book review ? A recipe post?

What do you you do in your "me-time"?

Until then,
~m


 

Back to roost...

...the bird flew the coop to spread her wings awhile.

 Well, hello again! It' always quite lovely running into to an old friend in passing. I hadn't even realized you were here but, no time catching up on all of those years...how are you?

  In the usual stylings of m, I listened to Burroughs, "Leap, and the net will appear". Unlike last time, the full works of Murakami will not be read (though I'd love to revisit ColorlessTsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage for it was burned through like wildfire) rather, paintings will be painted, a house will be packed, and MY dingo wingman and tortie will be the only pets taken care of. The job has been quit. No looking back.
  
I'd hate to take up all of your time, maybe we can meet again this week?


 ~m

*whew* a puff of air before finals...

...or, "studying is much like packing a u-haul".....

 a minute, weeks, days, well...it is the internets and all is a minute time-capsule of the day-to-day anyhow...but, don't over think that....sore gray matter does not = fun. This is a love/ hate semester....being that a challenge, is on my "hearts list" and 30 points off- total for an A, is not. All was well until family came to visit....then, I overstepped my "me time" boundaries, which I am notorious for (but, working on). So let's rewind in our-internet-only-ability-to-do... Before the havok...when autumn was sneaking in...I needed my own personal Walden pond...Let's go back!

=some wind for my sails. off to share dinner with a neighbor and pore over the books

~megs

grapefruit juice and fizzy water...

...or, recovery from a whirl-windy week...

 It has been a minute...that, for me, has passed in mere seconds. Insomnia has been a buddy of mine since early July...the wide eyes in the dark that last well past 3am, even though life happens in between. This week has been, woah. First exam of the semester (all essay) was owned =75 out of 75, my cos' band played my town of residence

  and played a fab set,  a 60th birthday celebration that lasted until all hours of the night, and an old friend visiting from Washington state kept my sleepness-ness company. Now is for the reset button. A return to bed before tomorrow due to a funky fever. Autumn is sneaking up upon us (ever so slowly here in NC)...time for roasted hard squashes, pumpkin carving, mulled apple cider, wild oyster mushroom hunts, fire pits, smoky whiskey beverages, and most of all a cabin es-cap-e.  Hope all is well in your day to day. Cheers to good sleep for all....
zzz's
- m

A secret love of Powerpoints...

...when combined with Indie Euro Music scene musicians playing in bathrooms.

  I have lamented and complained a wee too much about the semester, thus far. I have to admit that I have come up to my favorite part...the RACES...err....exams. The first exam of the semester, to me, is like the first crispy, red maple leaf in the autumn ( or, the first goldenrod-colored dandelion....we know crayola mixed those two up in the box).  So, that may have sounded a smidge weird in times of study...Try it this way,maybe? 

    (*at your own risk) 

I enjoyed THIS:

apbrwww5.apsu.edu/thompsonj/.../Chapter04_BK_Hall.ppt

because I was listening to THIS(concurrently):

http://www.scenedebain.com/dour-festival-2012/brns

  -sidenote: j' t'ador scene de bain

  This semester started on a lighter load note. The books are actually unpleasant to carry (minus bag) but, this part is after that. My fingers have no pen indentations nor highlighter marks and pencil rubs. When the notes are done, Powerpoints complete, and exam on the horizon...study+mixtapes.....

best

~m