Last night, while Dave was at his grandson’s 8th grade graduation, so I had to cook for myself. Not complaining…I made something I adore, that Dave is so-so about: quinoa with roasted sweet potato & toasted almond slices. O.M.G.!!! So GOOD!
I washed and peeled the sweet potato, then cut it into 4 wedges and cut those wedges into 4 slices, then cut THOSE slices into bite sized pieces. Got that? Good!
I tossed ‘em with a couple teaspoons of coconut oil and some chipotle spice and stuck ‘em in a 425 oven.
The quinoa I’d cooked earlier, so that rested while the sweet potatoes roasted.
When they were done, I took ‘em out to cool a bit and toasted some almond slices.
Mixed about 3/4 cup of quinoa with 1/3 of the sweet potato and 1/2 the almond slices. DELISH!
The rest of the almond slices went into dessert, which was ricotta cheese, sprinkled with cinnamon and 1 packet of sweetener.
I was full and happy and then was even more happy when I discovered True Blood’s 5th season premiere was available On Demand.

Dear, sweet Sherilee, she of the best kettle corn I’ve ever tasted, tagged me and gave me the following questions to answer:

1. What would you pick as a major, if you could go back to college and do it again? Not having gone to college, and not sure of what I COULD pick as a major, I googled this … and took a test … and this is what I was told:

You are a Social Personality Type! Social people make great teachers! They are great with people because they are open and friendly, and they care about others. They are cooperative, which makes them good in many programs and careers.
They may always be in the center of activity and they are likely to have lots of friends. They are interested in social issues, and they are likely to become politically active. They may use social skills to influence others.
Possible degree programs: Teaching, Ministry, Coaching, Counseling, Nursing, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, History, Journalism, Psychology.
Hmmm…Coaching or counseling sounds good! I am too lazy to be a good teacher, not of sufficient faith to be in the ministry, not THAT good with people to be a nurse, polysci doesn’t do it for me.

2. Who is the one celebrity with whom you would most like to have an indepth conversation? Ruth Gordon! She was in many, many movies, but my favorite of hers was Harold and Maude. I read her autobiography years ago, and was intrigued by the way she lived, not following convention and plus she was a local gal!

3. If you could make a living doing ANYthing, what would that be? Food photography! Take two of my favorite things and put them together. Voila!

4. What’s your all-time very favorite dessert? Frozen grapes Hmmm…I don’t know that I have ONE favorite! I love angel food cake, key lime pie, brownies with or without coffee ice cream, Reve du chocolat, chocolate coated strawberries…hmmm…

5. How many pairs of jeans do you own? I own quite a few pairs, less than 20, of varying sizes. At one point, I could only fit into 1 pair. Now, I’m down 14.8 pounds and able to fit into 5! I’m on a quest to lose 30, and once I hit that goal, I want to lose 20 more, wish me luck!

6. What is your favorite flower, and why? I used to say it was lilacs…love the scent and the various colors. But lately I’m in love with poppies! Such delicate flowers, big heads on long stems. And sunflowers…good for honey bees!

7. What book has most changed your life? I’d have to say The Hobbit! It opened my eyes to fantasy and once on that path, I found Robert Heinlien and Richard Adams to name but a couple. And also, in the same store where I found The Hobbit, I found a book called In Watermelon Sugar, by Richard Brautigan. He intrigued me at 14 years old. Don’t know how well he translates out of the 1970s…

8. What is your least favorite vegetable? Is there any way you can be persuaded to eat it? I think maybe a turnip? The taste is too strong for me.

9. If you could take a nonstop first class flight to any destination, where would you pick to land? It’s no secret I’d love to go back to Japan, ideally for a month…but…which month? Cherry blossom time, while beautiful, is still chilly. Obon…August…HOT! I think I’d chose October…their fall colors are just as beautiful as ours here in New England.

10. If your 15 minutes of fame included a stint on American Idol, what song would be your trademark solo? The Two of Us, by the Beatles. I love that song, it’s sentimental and lovely.

11. If you could pick one former friend (who has remained elusive in this wild Facebook world) to reunite with, who would you unearth? Well, I already unearthed Dave and look what happened there! The only other person I was interested in unearthing, I’m no longer interested in. I found out some things about her, and … eh. That’s all I have to say about that!

I’m tagging anyone who would like to be tagged! And they can answer these questions, since I really have to get some work done LOL!

For the last few months I’ve been trying to participate in Fat Mum Slim’s Photo A Day challenges…but each month I forget a day, then give up. This month, I am NOT giving up! And why? Because I’m quite fond of June for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it contains the first day of summer and my birthday. So here are my first four days of June Photo A Day!

This one was so easy! Walk out the door, and take my shiba for a walk! Wolf happily agreed, the sun rose, and voila!

Melanie, a friend I hadn’t seen in quite some time, invited me to go to Plimoth Plantation with her to participate in “A Night of Food and Film”, which centered around a movie called “Queen of the Sun”. The PlymouthPatch said: “…takes a profound look at the inextricable link between bees and our well-being.” It was certainly eye opening!!! I encourage you to seek out this movie…the part about the miles upon miles of almond trees in CA and honey bees that are trucked in from all over the US to be used for pollination…just amazing!
The drink you see was served there and was a combination of orange & lemon juice, honey, gin and soda water…and rimmed with large sugar crystals and honey. It was quite good, although when I make it again, I’ll use vodka, since I’m not a big fan of gin.

I had many ideas for this one, all of which revolved around food. But…at the last minute, as my day was winding down, I saw a couple in front of me while I was taking Wolf on a walk down by the river. It made me think of my friend Aislinn and her husband JR, who is in the Navy and home for awhile at the moment (they’re enjoying some well deserved time with their two kids at Disney right now).

I found this ring in my Grandmother’s jewelry box and it’s either 1) costume jewelry, or 2) a yellow diamond that belonged to her sister and 2a) her sister gave it to her or 2b) she ‘borrowed’ it and never gave it back. Interesting, wouldn’t you say?