Sixteen hours on a train affords a person a lot of time to reflect on life, on love, on the people who have come into and left their life. Let me just say, though, that while travel by train is a very romantic notion, that notion is lost in coach class.
I leave late tonight to come home. This time, I will have a book to read.
(Video/editing/music: me. Sound FX: not me.)
Overall, I’ve been more than a little bit down for a good long stretch now which is a large part of why I haven’t written much here lately. That is to say, every time I sit down to write something here and not simply post a photo, I start writing one thing and then it spirals into some narcissistic negative piece o’ poo. So I pause, wait a day, then realize that nothing I’m writing has any bit of positivity. And I don’t want to spread bad things.
But Thanksgiving is around the corner. So here’s something good. My holiday gift to you. A recipe. It’s just an appetizer a snack and it’s really very simple and really addicting. And food and holidays and happiness all go together really nicely. So hopefully, you’ll make this, eat it, and enjoy it.
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. dried rosemary (rub between fingers to crumble a little)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (only use 1/2 tsp salt if using salted nuts)
1/2 tsp. cayenne, or to taste
3 to 4 cups mixed (such as unsalted pecan halves and slightly salted cashews)
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt together butter, rosemary, salt and cayenne. Pour this mixture over the mixed nuts, tossing to coat them
3) Bake the nuts on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Couple of notes:
1) Fresh rosemary is awesome.
2) Try to find mixed nuts that don’t have a high peanut percentage. Unless you love peanuts. And I know I’m not going to win any friends over at the Peanut Council in saying this, but in my opinion, peanuts are the redneck hillbillies of nuts. So minimize their usage. Tastes so much better with less of them.
Photo unrelated. Except I developed a horrible cold or something overnight and feel like crud. So even though the photo is a couple of years old, this is my standard “I’m sick as a dog” photo now.
Ginger was the person that first introduced me to the concept of making a wish at 11:11. We would usually be in the middle of watching some horribly good reality television and she would scream out “Make a wish!”
So I did. Every time. And strangely, my wish always came true. I wished for happiness, in various forms.
I haven’t made wishes much lately. I’m cashing in on today’s 11:11. Wouldn’t it be awesome if everyone on the planet believed, for just one minute? If everyone believed that they could affect the world around them… if they believed that things could change for the better… I wish that everyone could see the beauty in life and find happiness.
Photo – scooter’s odometer over the summer.
I don’t like to think about my own death much, though I spend a great deal of time doing it, actually. I’ve had unfortunate communications with people as of late. Recently, this was stated to me: “…you will be dead one day and it’s sooner than you think.”
Happy Halloween, here’s a video from last year to put you in the mood.
(Shot at the Miami City Cemetery while with Kevin.)
