Gramma Hoole’s Slumgullion

This is the ultimate comfort food and relatively easy to make. This is a bit different from the other Slumgullion recipes online. Implements Ingredients This is a recipe for 4 people. Step 1: Pick a Starch Step 2: Get your ingredients together Instructions Enjoy!

Notes from a SEMI-NEW Painter

I started painting with acrylics, mostly abstract textures and colors, in 2020. I’m finally signed up to take art classes in January. But I’ve spent a couple years watching art videos on YouTube–everything from the history of the various art movements, deep-dives into specific artists, and videos simply watching people paint and observing their process. […]

Femmes de la créme

When people ask me what my favorite subject is to photograph, they usually expect me to say “weddings” or “food” (the two things I’m most known for). But honestly, it is “women.” I’m not sure why, but I think that being a person who is not comfortable in front of the camera (which is why […]

The Ugly Pumpkin Pie

On Thanksgiving, I did most of the cooking and my sis-in-law brought desserts. It’s her turn to cook the main meal on Christmas Eve, and so I will bring the desserts. (We trade off.) Anyway, she brought two pies from our favorite pie place in Seattle: A la Mode Pies. There was a Holiday Pumpkin […]

Stoofvlees Met Frieten

(Les Carbonades Flamandes or Flemish Beef and Beer Stew with Fries) This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. Implements Knife Large pan Dutch oven Bottle opener Ingredients 4 pounds boneless beef, such as chuck, cut into 1″ or 2″ cubes Salt and pepper 2 or 3 TB all-purpose flour 4 TB (half stick) butter […]

A Pandemic Year

Time, during this pandemic, has ceased nearly all meaning. Minutes, days, months, seasons all speed up and slow down simultaneously; it drags its feet as it’s also slipping through my fingers. Time is measured between visits with my brother and his family, and George, as those are just about the only in-person human contact that […]

Gluten

I’ve typically stayed away from heavy doses of gluten for the last 5 years or so. I just feel better without it. However, I’m doing intermittent fasting right now, and in the 6 house a day that I can eat, I’m allowed to eat anything. Also, somewhat related, in a bizarre way, I’m also giving […]

My Birth Chart

I didn’t use to give a whole lot of weight to the alignment of planets, and to astrology, in general. But a newer friend of mine wanted to do my birth chart so I gave her my birth place, date, and time. She did a really interesting video for me, and I’d say that most […]

Nana.

Yesterday would’ve been my great-grandmother’s 115th birthday. All day long, I was thinking to myself “Why does January 23 feel important to me? Is it someone’s birthday, or an anniversary of something?” This morning, it dawned on me. My great-grandmother (we called her Nana) was born January 23, 1906 in Ashland, Oregon. She passed away […]

Spicy Beef Jerky

I was recently visiting a close friend in Nashville and he brought a bag of jerky he’d made, knowing that I might be peckish after the flight. It was so good, and I continued to gnaw on it over the next days. Great snack! As he says, this recipe is pretty forgiving. Tweak it to […]