Category: Front Porch Musings

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Around Great Falls, Montana

No news is good news.

Bear and I went past the clinic twice and sent love and good vibes to the Bob-a-lu cat. We both miss him. Bear looks all around the motorhome whenever we return. I often think I hear Bob.

The clinic is an ER overnight and weekends and both times we passed the parking lot was fairly full so we did not stop. It is a tough call but my gut feeling is that it is harder for Bob to see me and me not take him with me, then to settle into the hospital routine.

I hate this.

So.

Bear and I had a walk on the River Walk along the Missouri River.

Above is the “great falls” – a little less than great nearing the end of summer.

The tourism link has a beautiful photo of the falls in Spring: Great Falls tourism site

Tired.

Hot.

Actually, residual hot. It was 89F outside, 71F in Wild Thing. But a Jeep ride and then a walk…Hot and tired dog.

Our spot is shady in the afternoon and all things considered, not a bad spot to be in.

Last night…birthday dinner was grilled cheese and mushrooms – good and hit the spot after the day but tonight…for day after birthday dinner: penne pasta with sauteed kale and mushrooms, fresh grated parmesan-reggiano and a side of local tomato.

Dessert was fresh pineapple with a few Flathead sweet cherries.

I think that will hold me until Sunday breakfast!

From the evening walk: Great Falls, Montana.

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Scallion pancakes, morning walk

Sunday, I made these Chinese Scallion Pancakes for the first time. I made 1/2 the recipe to try it out. Then I made another 1/2 recipe to see how they kept – frozen and refrigerated.

This morning I made a double recipe and most of them made it into the freezer!

I woke up, rested, ready to go…at 4:45 a.m.

Bear and I had a quick down the driveway walk in the dark, then back inside and I started a pot of beans, the coffee, put my Dutch Oven in the oven to heat for crusty bread and then mixed and kneaded the dough for the pancakes.

The simple flour and water mix gets kneaded until smooth and then rests for 30 minutes.

The genius of this recipe – in my opinion! – is that the scallions, some salt and olive oil are brushed on the rolled out pancake. Then you roll the circle up like a cigar…roll it around itself like a snail, squash it and roll it into a circle once more which means that the onions and seasoning are inside the pancake.

I’m thinking of many different flavor combos that would be scrumptious using this same technique…herbs like chives or basil or oregano, some garlic and cumin. Maybe a slightly cheese-y version with some parmesan and smoked paprika.

The pancakes get lightly fried in a bit more olive oil so end up a little crispy, a littly chewy and full of flavor. The Woks of Life post also includes a garlic dipping sauce. And by the way, the The Woks of Life blog is not only a lot of fun, with some great recipes but they (it is the entire family writing the blog!) include some pages de-mystifying ingredients and utensils used in their Chinese recipes.

I’ve eaten the pancakes as snacks with the dipping sauce, as a “bread” with a Chinese chicken salad, and this morning with some goat cheese, beans and a drizzle of the dipping sauce. I like them!

As I was working in the kitchen, the sky lightened to the East. I love watching the range of colors as the sun works its way over the mountains of the Continental Divide.

One moment it was a deep blue and the next I was surprised to see fog. The temperature at just before 5 a.m. was 55, but it dropped to 49 as the sun rose – close enough to the morning dewpoint to make fog.

Bear and I took our full morning walk in the misty woods.

The yellow jackets had been buzzing the kitchen windows earlier, but as the fog dropped down, they apparently went back to their nests and we walked in foggy quiet.

Headed back toward the house, the sun found its way though the mist, hitting the house like a spotlight.

Scallion pancakes, morning walk: Tuesday.

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Early evening on a Sunday

A thoroughly pleasant weekend was had.

It was coolish compared to the prior (prior to Friday) 10-12 days – today barely hit 80F before starting back down again.

The Yellow Jacket activity was a bit less, although not enough less to allow enjoyment of the front porch :( !

Bob is slightly less wobbly on this day 3 of medication resumption. We should find out tomorrow where and when we go next.

I did a small-medium clear-out of some items that have been on my list…some glassware and dishes – family stuff that I’ve packed and moved and packed and moved and packed and moved! – things taking up space that I want and need for other purposes. I kept the things that really matter to me and the rest I donated. I spoke to both my grandmothers (both in Heaven!) as I packed and thought about how and where… It was good and I am confident that all will go where it should.

I took my first film photos. As I was taking them and changing camera settings, it occurred to me that I should record the settings. I am so used to being able to see the settings with the digital output that I forgot this was not going to be available with the film camera. And I made some notes about how different this little camera feels. An interesting exercise.

I made Chinese scallion “pancakes”…more later but they will be a staple. They are somewhere between a tortilla and a spiced up naan. Bottom line: delicious! ( Scallion Pancake Recipe – if you can’t wait!)

I have been reading a blog, a first book: If you lived here, I’d know your name and am partly into the 2nd (Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs) by Heather Lende. The first book: As I read her essays, I am reminded of Jan Karon’s Mitford series and the peace, contentment and wisdom that come from reflection on the simple happenings of life. And, by the way, Heather had a “good dog Carl” whose passing is written of at the end of the first book. Like her, I am NOT resigned…but I have made peace (mostly) with my own Karl’s passing. And although our lives have many differences, like her, I am grateful for all that is my life.

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We might, we just might…

Inside most of today…again.

It has been cooler and tomorrow we are to get a cold front and rain to continue through the weekend.

But, the Yellow Jackets still plague us and will continue until a killing freeze kills them off.

Wild Thing…

…she is off getting washed and waxed.

And when she returns, we just might load up and go.

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Something old, something new

No, NOT another wedding for me :) …although just because I’ve failed 3 times, that does NOT mean I wouldn’t try a 4th!

Never, Never, Never give up!! – I think Winston Churchill said that.

I digress.

It is almost the end of July and that means it is almost birthday month!!! – YEA!!!

And after birthday month is September and if I live that long it will mean that I have survived yet another Summer.

I digress yet again – back to birthday month and something old, something new.

I ordered a kind of birthday present for me…from Etsy. …from a seller in Bulgaria. A very nice seller who sent me a wonderful note about being glad I was giving this item a home.

A new camera!

Actually, it is an old camera: a 35mm film camera.

My first “real” camera was a Minolta that my father bought me for my 16th birthday. I remember the story being that he found it in a used “bin” at a camera store. My brother, who is ALWAYS right, tells me that my father got it at a silent auction.

Whatever.

The Minolta that I was given was old(er) even then, but I remember it as wonderful and I have photos from it that are spectacular – in my opinion – and given what I know now.

I don’t think that this camera is the same as what I had but there are definite similarities.

When I saw the listing on Etsy, I just bought it.

Two of the food bloggers I follow shoot film and I’ve been thinking about film and wondering how I would do with film, knowing what I know now and understanding the timing issues as well as the shooting and processing issues.

We shall see.

I have 4 rolls of high speed color film zipping their way to me as I write.

A local photo store still develops film.

I will post the good, the bad and the ugly…hopefully the good will prevail.

As I waited for the camera and researched processing options and thought about the food bloggers and about things in my own life I’ve been thinking about… it occurred to me that this fits a theme I’ve been mulling: a “slowing down” theme. I’ve been simplifying and slowing down for years now, but lately…probably because it is Summer and I always think about changing things in the Summer (because I very much DISLIKE Summer!!!) – I thought about what it might mean to shoot film.

Film is slower in that I will shoot a roll of 36 photos before I take the film to a lab and wait 7-10 days for its return. And since I am paying for EACH, it is a vastly different exercise than digital which costs nothing but my time to take and review 50-100 images. And I am very good and very speedy at reviewing and deleting!

So…what will the film shooting mean to what I choose to shoot? And obviously, if any of the film images become part of a blog post, they will be somewhere in the 2-4 week time frame post shooting.

Slowing down.

I am not giving up digital – I LOVE digital, but I am certainly interested to see how shooting film turns out.

Something old, something new.