A Short, Short Story: Beginnings

     The flowers were beginning to grow again and that very morning when she woke with new feelings to which she could not name, she heard a bird song. The rain had washed the ancient earth in the night and the morning brought not only a new day, but also a promise of new beginnings for the two people who were left. She was seized with a longing to see him, to feel his smile for her alone. She ran through the rubble of a city gone to decay, unheeding of it's demise; not history, but rather, forgotten. She called his name and when he did not answer, she felt a sudden tremor in her stomach. What if he was gone? She called again and this time he heard.

     "I am here." She felt a surge of relief and she ran to him. He stood as though he'd been waiting.

     "I wanted you and called and.....I had to find you."

He smiled at her, bemused.

     "Why?" he asked.

     "I don't know. I want to see you. Be with you."

     "You haven't always felt so. Last month you forgot that I was here."

She frowned. "I know. I wondered about that myself."

He took her hand and said, "I found another book today. I was reading it when you called."

     "Is it interesting?" She didn't really care about the books he found, but if he liked them, then so did she, now. He smiled at her slyly.

     "Very interesting." They turned and walked the way she'd just run, in accord without speaking.

     "Tell me," he asked, "When you felt you had to see me, did you feel it urgently?"

     "Oh, yes," she answered truthfully.

     "And now that you have found me, do you feel happy?" he went on.

     "Oh, yes. Very," she answered, puzzled. He stopped walking and put his arm around her shoulders.

     "You love me," he stated.

     "What? Love?" she asked.

     "I found the word in my new book. You love me. And I love you, too." He smiled down at her. She said the word again, wonderingly, savoring it, smiling back at him.

     "Love.....that's a good word."

Mississippi Muffaletta

Hello again. This, my friends, is the sunrise over a meandering Mississippi River, mother of all waterways. The first time I saw it, I was so moved that I burst into my own interpretation of "Old Man River" and embarrassed my husband. We were in New Orleans visiting our darling sister-in-law, Michelle, last spring. I took this photo from the Hilton window one early morning. Wow, huh? My feelings about New Orleans are, like this place, complex and I may go into it another time. I have another mission in mind for this blog. Oh. There is one more thing I'd like to say about it. Some people named Macias came here and helped in the founding of the city some hundreds of years ago. Cool, huh? We all have roots that go deep in the earth, you know.

Back to my point; don't laugh, but my purpose is to tell you not about something we saw or heard or felt. It's to tell you about something we ATE. Seriously.

Have you ever heard of a Muffaletta sandwich? Well, I never had and neither had Dan. We're open to new culinary sensations, so one day, as we strolled through the French Quarter around lunchtime, we decided to give them a try. We were so glad that we did! It's Italian meats with a breath-takingly delicious kind of olive salad on ciabatta bread. In the jargon of our distant youth, we scarfed them up. I later found the recipe online that seems to follow what we happily sank our teeth into that day. And guess what? I have it right here. Of course I'm going to share it with you-all. The only thanks I require is that you let me know that you tried it.

Muffaletta Sandwich

1 loaf good Italian bread

1 cup olive mix (see below)

1/4 sliced ham

1/4 sliced mortadella

1/4 sliced salami

1/4 sliced provolone

(You can actually use bologna or whatever kind of meat you prefer. I didn't add mortadella or salami cause I'm trying to eat stuff that will actually help me live longer, as opposed to killing me off. So I went light on the meat and heavy with the olive mix.)

Slice bread in half horizontally. Spread half with olive mix then layer on meats and cheese and cover. Ideally, this should be wrapped in plastic wrap and left for a half hour or so in order to enable the juices to soak the bread, making it juicier. Slice and serve.

Olive Mix Salad

3/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives

1/4 cup giardiniera (pickled vegetables)

2 large pepperoncini

3-4 pickled onions

2 Tablespoons capers

1 med. garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp. dried oregano

a couple of grinds of black pepper

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Drain ingredients. Place them in food processor and chop. Don't turn it into paste! Just chop into small pieces. Let flavors meld a full day before use. Can keep in the refrigerator for months.

This stuff is so good. I wonder how it would taste with some pasta and olive oil?

That's it, a culinary delight from a non-chef. Bon appetit!

Colorado

Hello, dear ones!

This blog set up lies. It only seems I have my choice in regards to font size, color, spacing, etc. I know when I'm done, it's going to be all squished up and wrong. This even takes the indents out of the paragraphs. Isn't that weird? Well, so long as it doesn't change my ideas.....become Republican when I write Democrat, that sort of thing.

The picture is that of a Colorado Columbine and my hand, trying to hold it still in the breeze so I could take the photo without a blur. Isn't it gorgeous? It was there beside the wildwood lake, high above the city of Grand Junction, past Glade Park, on a sparsely settled flat-top mountain close to the sky. Juli drove my new car that day we decided to fish and it got totally dusty! I'm so glad Dan wasn't there to see it covered with dirt. It was worth it. Pine trees and white Aspen trees surrounded a perfectly blue, smoothly perfect expanse of water. The forest around us was filled with wildflowers like the Columbine, and pink roses and little white somethings growing close to the earth. And what were those leaves with a familiar shape? Wild strawberry?

It only seemed that we were far from civilization 'cause guess what? Across the lake was a family with tents erected, and lots of kids hollering and fishing dads and moms listening to country western-type music. It wafted it's way on the breeze, filling the wilderness with redneck cries of lonliness and grief. No matter, it only added to the ambience. And we still caught lots of fish. They tasted succulent later when Val dredged them in buttermilk and cornmeal and fried them up for supper.

Well, I had the most wonderful of times with Juli, Val and Nick. We did ordinary things in an ordinary way.....together. More memories and grist for my mill! Nick and I drove to Colorado after his visit was over for this summer. I'm very happy he likes to spend time with us. Danny and I have fun when he's around. Camryn and Claire were here for a few days, too. They also like to hang with Nick.

We had a great time driving back to Colorado together. Nick drove quite a bit of the way. He has his driver's license now. He loves driving and it was nice to have him there to take over the driving. It was a drag coming home without him but I listened to the book Kim had given me on CD, Water for Elephants. I almost finished it. It's a good book! I highly recommend it. Listening to a good book when driving long distances is a terrific way to travel. You get entertained while getting closer to your destination. Maybe sometime Jack will drive me. What a concept! (He's six now)

Let me know if you want to see more summer pictures and I'll send you the shutterfly link. I vowed to keep this blog short, so I'm signing off early. My other vow is to write more often. I will, now that I don't have a job.....more about that next time. Love you!