tweet for the day

"Is anyone else sweating champagne this morning?" -- maggie mason

breakfast we can believe in

dianne feinstein says the recipe page was the single most visited part of the inaugural committee's website. wanna know what was in my breakfast this morning?

Yes We Cancakes

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup fine yellow corn flour (bob's red mill)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp canola oil

mix well and fry in butter. serve with:

Blueberry Syrup We Can Believe In

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
juice of one lime
plus water to make 1/3 cup liquid
2 cups blueberries

bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. let cool marginally.

Thick-cut Hickory Smoked Hope

put bacon in a frying pan and cook it 'til it's done.

my favorite parts

Inaugural Address

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

"But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

"Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous."

"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. [is #44 the first president ever to give a shout-out to athiests?!] We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

"To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy."

"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

tweets for the day

"Positive I've missed everything good by hitting snooze just one last time." -- ana marie cox (8am EST)

"Among the differences between Obama & me: at this point I would be cowering in fear and regret and planning to flee the country." -- john moe (8am EST)

"They said it's a secret what Aretha would sing. Oh please freewayoflovefreewayoflovefreewayoflovefreewayoflove" -- john moe (9am EST)

"Lisa Bonnie Morgan thinks a shower in honor of the inauguration is appropriate and fitting." -- lisa morgan (9am EST)

"Obama eating birds at luncheon. Why? Because after that business with the US Airways flight, fuck you birds." -- john moe (1:45pm EST)

"News Flash. Poetry still boring." -- david schmader (12:30pm EST)

"News Flash 2. Old black preachers still inspiring." -- dan savage (12:35pm EST)

"Spotted at mall: obama themed hat, shirt, scarf, shoes, buttons, blanket, baby." -- slate magazine (11am EST)

"These inaugural poems have got to stop. I'm only going to listen to another one if the poet is Ogden Nash." -- slate magazine (12:30pm EST)

"Must all inaugural prayer-sayers feature novelty facial hair?" -- slate magazine (12:30pm EST)

oh, hai

i is on yr homepage
gettin feachured

cornbread on the stovetop!

dinner time was approaching. i had a serious yen for cornbread. alas, dan had his weekly batch of oatmeal molasses bread in the oven, and he refused to share. i wondered if cornbread could be made on the stovetop. if only there were a central repository of information where i could look this up. yippee!

i made a couple adjustments, so i don't feel bad about claiming this recipe as my own.

whisk together:

• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar, or more, entirely optional

whisk separately:

• spoonful sour cream
• 1 egg
• milk to make 3/4 cup total liquid

melt in an 8" cast iron skillet over medium high heat:

• 1 Tbsp butter

pour the egg/milk mixture into the cornmeal and whisk to combine. when the butter is completely melted, swirl it around the skillet, pour about half of it into the batter and stir it in, then pour the batter into the skillet and put a glass cover on it. turn the heat down to medium.


let cook for 7-8 minutes. the edges will be firming and browning slightly. when it looks like this:


turn off the heat and let it continue to steam for a few minutes. yesterday i used this time to make the rest of dinner. today i used this time to chat. the finished product:


it was quick, easy, whole grain and gluten free, and damn it was yummy, too. i may never bake cornbread again.

settle

robin has a largish vocabulary, made up partly of words that i taught him intentionally (e.g. "sit") and partly of words that he picked up on his own, because the knowledge was self-reinforcing. an example of the latter is "getchyerbone!" if he knows what i'm saying and goes and does it, then he has his bone, and how great is that? there's also a third group of words, smaller in number, that i haven't exactly taught him, but have tried to use consistently in the hopes that he'd learn them. one of these is "settle".

i'm lying in bed reading my book. robin is at the foot of the bed, engaged in some obsessive activity: chewing on his bone or licking his paws or worrying his ball. eventually i close the book, turn out the light, snuggle in deeper, and lie still. robin's still licking.

lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick...

i say quietly, "robin. settle." he stops licking, stretches out, puts his head down, lets out a long sigh that speaks paragraphs about his present state of mind and intentions for the future... then, nothing. perfect silence in the room, perfect stillness from the warm furry lump by my feet.

it's my favorite dog trick.

quote for the day

"But everybody loves Christmas -- even singles -- especially since it comes with a host of holiday perks, such as a good-natured guy at every mall who's only too happy to let you sit on his lap and talk about your needs."
-- diane mapes

quote for the day

Picture a koala with a lollipop riding a unicorn over a rainbow. All coated in dried mucus. That's my 7 month old daughter with a cold.
--john moe

a holiday message from president elect barack obama

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

sensory pleasures

• clean sheets
• chai
• pettings of dog
• red silk
• blueberries
  

quotes for the day

"It would be fascinating, even fun to watch it unfold if it weren't that all our futures depended on the result."
-- josh marshall, of obama's big plans for the economy

“When someone at my table sneezed yesterday, instead of saying: ‘Gesundheit,’ I said: ‘Seventeen.'”
-- ramsey county election judge diane follmer, who is feeling the pain

quote(s) for the day

via twitter:

"Heard Palin's voice on the radio this morning. It was like a bout of diarrhea 3 days after you thought you'd beaten the flu." -- matthew baldwin

"Gravy is so good. Let's replace 'gilding the lily' with 'gravying the bacon'." -- lisa morgan

jon stewart haz a happee

quote for the day

"Peter Morgan can't wait for Obama to start redistributing Joe the Plumber's back taxes."
-- facebook status from my brudder

best birthday present EVER

happy post-election, and happy my-birthday, everyone! thanks for voting. i'm ever so grateful.

quote for the day

the moon and the year travel and pass away
also the day
also the wind
also the flesh
passes away to the place of its quietness.

-mayan, from the popul vuh

the last day with miss helen

miss helen died semi-peacefully at home last thursday, with me and her daughter-in-law seated on either side of her, murmuring love and encouragement. one useless son had gone for a walk; the other was wandering aimlessly in the house, and happened to wander in just seconds after helen passed, when i was still unsure if that had truly been her last breath.

i say semi-peacefully because although i don't think she was in pain, she was struggling mightily for each breath in the last couple of hours that she was with us. we had run out of liquid morphine (useful to relieve "air hunger"), so were calling and calling hospice to nag them, as they called and called the doctor's office to nag him, and donna was camped out in the seating area of the pharmacy waiting for her scrip to come in. (har.) in the last few moments, helen appeared to be very distressed about her inability to get a good breath, regurgitated a tiny bit, clenched her toothless jaw and groaned. then she let it all out, just like in the movies. the eldest son wandered in, and i sprang up from my chair and told him to sit down; when he didn't sit i told him again, and he sat. there was absolute silence. he said, "she's gone, isn't she?" and then ordered his wife not to cry.

they say every death is unique and i believe it, but this one was just as it might have been described in a textbook. she rattled on schedule, her color changed on schedule, her body temperature spiked and ebbed on schedule, her breathing changed several times on schedule, and she even waited until the most emotionally volitile family members were out of the room before she let go.

a question i was asked: "the difference between a body that is about to die and a body that has just died is really remarkable, isn't it?" in this case, not really. helen's color actually improved after she stopped trying to live (from blue/gray to pink/white), and the slack-jawed, hollow-cheeked expression was unchanged. she was certainly quieter... but she looked much the same.

a question i was asked: "that must have been a sacred experience for you, to feel her there and alive and then feel her leave?" not especially. i was grateful to be there, but i didn't feel her leave. maybe that's because she hadn't really felt "alive" for days.

a question i was asked: "oh, that must have been so hard for you!" it wasn't. i felt lucky and privileged to be there, to know that miss helen apparently trusted me to help her at the end, and all the while i never had to wonder what to do. i think that must be the hardest thing for people: knowing what to do. i had medications to give, notes to take, calls to place and field, a hand to hold, and a series of phrases to cycle through:
"honey, you're working so hard; you don't have to do this anymore."
"your work here is done."
"penny's taken care of. you can let go."
"your boys are here; pam is here."
"i love you, helen, and you can let go now."
"you don't have to do this anymore."

really, what was most remarkable about this death was how unremarkable it was.

mulled wine

• 1 bottle cheap, light-bodied red wine
• equal amount cheap apple juice or cider
• 1/4 cup honey
• heaping teaspoon or two of penzey's mulling spice (made from whole cloves, allspice, cardamom, mace, and cracked cinnamon sticks)

combine all ingredients in a saucepan or stock pot, cover, and heat on low for half an hour. don't let it boil. you can also do this in a slow cooker if you prefer; it'll probably take a little longer. when it's hot and steaming, stir to blend in the honey and distribute the spice-infusion. ladle into mugs, using a small strainer to catch the pieces of spice and dump them back into the pot.

quote for the day

After the election, in the interests of national reconciliation, I imagine Obama and Biden may allow McCain to make special non-custodial visits to his testicles.

--Josh Marshall

best yet re: polls

pollster.com now shows a projected 320 electoral votes in the democratic column (270 required for the win). i don't know if you're familiar with pollster, but they're the most conservative of the poll aggregating sites in their projections, by which i mean they try the hardest not to be swayed by sudden and transitory changes in poll numbers. if pollster is projecting a landslide, then by god there might be a fucking landslide.

best yet re: palin

The Palins' Un-American Activities -- from Salon.com