Cooking with Chef Michelle Bernstein

First off I’d like everyone to know I will be participating in NaPoWriMo once again next month. However my in-laws will be in town this weekend to celebrate Gretchen’s 21st birthday so the first few prompts may be late.

All this month I was writing my #haikuchallenge pieces about cerebral palsy. I managed it every day through Friday March 25 – National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. But this past weekend I was busy enjoying an online cooking experience with Chef Michelle Bernstein offered by Cocina Corona. It was a fun experience and we made some excellent food, but it was draining. I’m glad it was Saturday so Shawn was here to help with all the prep work and cooking. It even wore him out as he took a nap afterwards before sitting down to enjoy the feast.

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First photo is the glass of sangria with the queso dip prep behind the computer. Second photo is Shawn starting on the chicken thighs. The third photo is the queso dip we doubled the chorizo since we bought a package that was 9 oz and I didn’t have anything else planned for chorizo so we cooked it all and added it. Everyone enjoyed it and I was pleasantly surprised it reheated well the next day too. Shawn with his sangria watching over the tomatoes and peppers sauteing. The chicken is finished and ready to serve. They had a plating comparison, but for obvious reasons my plating has never been artistic. Thankfully my children don’t care how their food is presented. Now that they’ve started cooking and see how difficult plating can be, we joke about it. But none of us are overly concerned about presentation as long as the food tastes great. Chef Bernstein and the moderator check out one of the participant’s plate presentation. Selfie after all the hard work. Last but not least serving the chocolate pudding. Yeah we were worn out and not everything was cleaned up yet.

So Sunday was recuperation day. I did get to the clean up too, and we had great leftovers for lunch. Then today I used the #HaikuChallenge word to talk about my fun weekend.

Pudding skin debate
The piece de resistance
Love it or hate it

Okay growing up my mom did not cover pudding while it set. As we were making the pudding Saturday night Chef Bernstein told us to cover it with parchment paper before putting it in the fridge. I was not a fan of pudding skin growing up, so I had no problem letting my sisters grab pudding first. They took the skin and I had the good pudding. As Shawn was covering the pudding, I laughed and told him, You know that’s going to prevent a pudding skin? Thankfully he still covered it. He never told me which way he fell on the pudding skin debate.

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Herstory – Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

This March I have decided to try to focus on cerebral palsy for the #haikuchallenge word on Twitter. So far I’ve been able to – granted they are not the greatest poems but they’ve all used the daily @baffled word and the correct syllable count.

Learning how to walk
Life with cerebral palsy
Limbs bend awkwardly

March photo contest
Cerebral palsy spotlight
Thank you for voting

Hollywood Star

Make a difference
This month brings awareness to
Cerebral palsy

March – official month
Focus on brain injuries
Cerebral palsy

Those are the four thus far. And yes, I snuck in my photo for the cerebral palsy alliance research foundation contest. Any long time readers will recognize it is the photo of me I used for the silver birch press Same Name series.

Happy New Year!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post. At my three week post-op, they found the new lens was clouding over so I got a free laser treatment to break up the calcification on the lens. Yay to my overactive immune system, my antibodies were attacking the foreign body in my eye. The laser treatment was on December 22 – they were pretty booked up and that was the soonest I could be seen. Well the calcification on the lens made it hard for my eye to focus well which is why I haven’t spent much time on the computer or reading. Hoping I can start enjoying books again in 2022.

At the end of 2021, we were all in quarantine. My mother-in-law came over on Christmas, not feeling well, and two days later tested positive for Covid. We were so careful for almost two years and then it walked right through the front door. Needless to say no one was very pleased with Nonnie but after 5 days no one in this house showed any symptoms and Robin was able to fly back to Oregon on the first. Gretchen has started her spring semester. She just looked at her major map yesterday and told me it looks like all my requirements are completed or in progress (this semester’s courses) what does that mean? I told her if she doesn’t have anything in red it should mean you’re eligible for graduation. She may be able to graduate early. She retorted, It doesn’t say I’m eligible for graduation. It won’t you can still take classes. Robin took some extra classes because he fulfilled his requirements early but wanted to take all four years. He had a full scholarship and mom and dad covered the extra expenses. A full scholarship does not cover all fees as different degrees accrue different costs. Science classes are more expensive than humanities courses.

The other thing Gretchen looked at last night was her GPA she’s only earned Magna Cum Laude. I told her there’s nothing wrong with that (mom graduated magna cum laude), but she told me she’s going to steal Robin’s summa cum laude. The rest of the night we were regaled with how Gretchen was chasing Robin and Robin kept evading her efforts. Then Gretchen said, I’ll kidnap Burke. I laughed and told her, I think you’re a proud new parent then because I don’t see Robin giving up the summa for the return of his cat.

My muse lies quiet
Writing haiku – a reflex
Long out of practice

Two Weeks and Counting

Good afternoon two weeks from today is my cataract surgery, and it seems even Twitter wants to remind me. Yesterday @SpaceLiminalBot posted a photo from an eye test. Back in April I discovered the Liminal Space account on Twitter for a #NaPoWriMo prompt and I followed the page. This was a photo they tweeted yesterday.

@SpaceLiminalBot photo Twitter 10/18/2021

Cataracts cloud lens
My right eye has vision loss
Hard pressed to see house

Today I used the #HaikuChallenge word – press to write a poem about my vision experience. I’ve been doing quite well with the challenge since returning from our trip. Of course I’ve been using photos from the trip as inspiration for my haiku, starting on my actual anniversary.

Just married
25 years pass
What happened?

Weekend getaway
Hotel room mirror selfies
My super hot bod

Celebrate love
Twenty five years of marriage
Does it really show?

Repurpose glass box
Old phone booth experiment
Dial a poem

Anniversary
Soft cries encourage him on
Wine and strawberries

Long four day weekend
Start celebrating early
And carry on late

Press grapes to make juice
Then ferment inside barrels
Enjoy wine tasting

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  Shawn & Me on our honeymoon

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Friday I get to go have more testing done on my right eye so they can make the best artificial lens to fit the eye. They try to get it as close to 20/20 as possible. Three weeks after the surgery I go back to have my eyesight tested and get new glasses. Since I’m not sure how well things will go between the surgery and vision check, I’m pretty sure my computer screen time will be limited. Even if my right eye will be able to see well there is the fact my left eye still needs corrective lenses. So my eyesight will still be catawampus until I get new glasses.

World Cerebral Palsy Day

Welcome to world cerebral palsy day! I reminded Gretchen this morning to wear green and she loves her mother and went off to school donning green. Shawn, on the other hand… “I am wearing green, black is the presence of all colors”. So yeah, I said some not so nice things about his sense of humor and then I told him he better go to work to earn the money to pay for his wife’s acute late-stage cerebral palsy eye surgery. In less than a month (November 2), I’m scheduled for cataract surgery. Back at the end of May, early June, I noticed I couldn’t see out of my right eye. Of course I put off going to the eye doctor until August. He was quite surprised when he saw I had cataracts, telling me I’m 15-20 years too young for this to be age related. Thanks – I’m pretty sure it’s the lovely premature aging they say comes with cerebral palsy. Of course after watching The Sum of All Fears anything CP related is now referred to as my acute late-stage cerebral palsy. And I told Shawn this was going to bite us in the wallet. He went to the consultation visit with me and yeah the price tag gave him sticker shock. I also learned there is cataracts developing in my left eye as well and they wanted to do surgery two weeks after the right eye. But we’re holding off on that one – 1) because the surgery would be on my birthday and I don’t want to have surgery then and 2) they can correct the vision in my left eye to 20/20 with glasses so I don’t see doubling the price tag to see again when we don’t have to. I’m also curious as to how effective artificial lenses will be. Right now everything I see in my right eye is either a big white blur or a big black blur, depending on the ambient lighting.

Wear green to support
Cerebral palsy research
Help make lives better

Accentuate the Positive

Twenty Years Ago

Twenty years ago Shawn worked 6am-2pm so he woke up and left for work before anyone else started to stir. Then I was awoken to the phone ringing, Shawn called to tell me to turn on the TV a plane crashed into one of the twin towers in NYC. I watched in disbelief, working on autopilot. I woke up Robin and Gretchen, got Robin dressed and fed and ready for preschool and off we went. In the classroom several moms came up to me asking if I was alright and did I know anyone. I smiled and said, I’m fine I didn’t know anyone who worked in the city. My mom was born and raised outside New York City (in Pompton Plains New Jersey), and eleven years after 9-11 Robin asked my Uncle Jim to take us into the city for his 8th grade promotion. We flew to Buffalo and drove over to my other aunt and uncle’s in Warwick, NY before driving into the city for a couple days.

I’m not sure if Robin’s apple print he made in preschool all those years ago was still hanging on our front door. I do know it decorated the door for years because the teachers wrote the date on it and I did not have the heart to take it down. Despite the number of years it was up, I had a hard time finding a picture of the print on the door. This was the best I could do.

Robin’s 9-11 apple print

Preschool apple print
Masterpiece made years ago
Decorates front door

Summer Disappearing

Robin finished his first year at the Carlson School of Veterinary Medicine in June. We had a small staycation over at the Talking Stick Resort and the Arizona Boardwalk. We had a lovely time seeing the butterflies and the aquarium.

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At the beginning of July, I reconnected with an old friend. She is selling color street dry nail polish and had a few patriotic sets. I asked if she could be my manicurist if I bought a set. It’s a little difficult for me to do my own nails. Of course she agreed, we had a nice time catching up while I got my nails done. Then I actually took a photo of my left hand to show it off.

4th of July nails with engagement wedding rings next to my new 25th wedding anniversary band.

After I had my nails done, Gretchen asked to see my wedding rings. Well the engagement ring came off without a problem, but the wedding band was a different story had to enlist Shawn to help me get it off. I thought since our 25th wedding anniversary is coming up a new ring would be nice. I saw the infinity knot on glityjewels.com not that long after writing a haiku for the haiku challenge.

Recall our first date
Young man in search of prom date
Finds forever ♾ love 

I think Shawn likes my new band. He did acknowledge it fits better. There is no mystery there; when I saw how tight my wedding band was I ordered a bigger ring size. This past April, Shawn and I had our first date anniversary. We have been an official couple for thirty years now. Then we got engaged in April 1992 since I was still a senior in high school, we had a long engagement while I finished high school and college. Of course I wrote about it during #NaPoWriMo.

After our staycation and while Robin was on vacation up in Yellowstone with a friend, Shawn and I were planning our 25th wedding anniversary trip in October. And so my haiku challenge tweets have been focused on us.

Before our first date
Watch him run around the track
Surreptitiously

Young couple in love
Settle into married life
Twenty five years pass

#NaPoWriMo 2021 Day Twenty Nine

My mom in silhouette

Through Kitchen Window

Drop by childhood home
Mom in kitchen, drinking tea
Her cigarettes close

Peek through back window
Mom sits at counter reading
Permanent fixture

NaPoWriMo Prompt – And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). This one is called “in the window.” Imagine a window looking into a place or onto a particular scene. It could be your childhood neighbor’s workshop, or a window looking into an alien spaceship. Maybe a window looking into a witch’s gingerbread cottage, or Lord Nelson’s cabin aboard the H.M.S. Victory. What do you see? What’s going on?

Good morning and welcome to day twenty nine of #NaPoWriMo where I’m looking in a window instead of looking out of one. I did go back to my childhood, but I dropped into my own home, and knew I had a picture of my mom sitting at “her spot” at the kitchen counter. I used the #haikuchallenge word – drop for the first part of the poem.

Portrait of Motherhood

#NaPoWriMo – My History of Participation

The first year I participated in #NaPoWriMo was in 2010. One of the poems I wrote that year can be found in the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Anthology (September 2010). Tea Time was one of my first concrete poems, I wrote about the memory of my mom making us tea. I skipped 2011 – MaMaZinA was publishing its final issue that spring and I also went back to Buffalo for my dad’s 70th birthday. Shutterfly sent me my photo memories from 10 years ago. My dad’s photo collage for his 70th birthday was among them and one of the photos is his kindergarten portrait.

My Dad 1946

Father has gray hair
Frame kindergarten photo
Towhead little boy

When I was little, I actually thought my dad had gray hair as a kid not really knowing much about black and white photos. I used today’s #haikuchallenge word frame to write the poem. Then I looked up my kindergarten photo in my yearbook. Yes, I have my yearbook from kindergarten.

Kindergarten 1980

Man has four daughters
Frame kindergarten photo
Third born his junior

I added to my #haikuchallenge thread with my kindergarten photo and of course I had to include the fact I’m Ron jr. I skipped #NaPoWriMo in 2011 but ever since 2012, I’ve been writing poems every April. Unfortunately in 2012 and ’13 my poems were posted on gather.com so I don’t have all of them. I do have some as I do write a lot of my poems long hand in journals, but they are not available online to read. But as of 2014 all my April musings can be found on this blog. And as for 2021 there is one week to go. So far I’ve been writing at least one poem a day something I haven’t done the last couple of years. We’ll see how well I keep up my writing come May 1st.

#NaPoWriMo 2021 Day Seventeen

Moon in Arizona night sky

Moon gains prominence
Darkness falls over desert
Lone coyote howls

NaPoWriMo Prompt – And now, our (optional) prompt. I’ve seen some fairly funny twitter conversations lately among poets who are coming to terms with the fact that they keep writing poems about the moon. For better or worse, the moon seems to exert a powerful hold on poets, as this large collection of moon-themed poems suggests. Today, I’d like to challenge you to stop fighting the moon. Lean in. Accept the moon. The moon just wants what’s best for you and your poems. So yes – write a poem that is about, or that involves, the moon.

Good afternoon and welcome to day seventeen of #NaPoWriMo aka haiku day because 17 for the seventeen syllables in a haiku. So when Maureen said write about the moon, I knew I could stay on prompt and come up with a haiku. I even used the #haikuchallenge word today gain.

I also learned a couple years ago from Patricia over at poetry pea that a renku pays special attention to the moon. And is mentioned in the fifth stanza. Here is the link to the renku I contributed to over at poetry pea. Please go have a read and if you enjoy it, consider contributing to the current renku verse. And finally here is another haiku I wrote last month about the moon.

Smoke takes to the sky
Rising out of chimenea
Blocks moon’s radiance

Now apparently mom has to put on her editing hat. The semester is drawing to a close and papers are due and mom gives her editing skills away for free.