jo burgess hannon

fit for today, fit for life

Small changes, over time, can make a difference.

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tulips

We have had amazing weather this last year in the Pacific Northwest.  I have joked that if our blue skies and warm days are a result of global warming, then bring it on.  I swear this afternoon my bedroom felt brighter and lighter than yesterday and the day before that.  It might have something to do with this being the first winter with our new white doors and window frames all through the house.  It was so worth the effort.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent hours, days and weeks with a paint brush in my hand.  I think I might have to write a how-to on my efforts as I am sure I am not the only one that has a home full of contractor 90’s golden oak.

Back to global warming.  Well, not exactly.  I know I am ignorant on this topic.  I recently read an article on Leonardo DiCaprio.  Now there’s a face that can talk about our planet and I might listen.  Or at least watch.  Especially if he shaves off that Revenant beard. He mentioned in the article that in between filming scenes he would sit around and chew his facial hair.  Gross.  Anyway, after reading about his passion to eliminate the use of fossil fuels I looked out my window and was again grateful for the blue peaking through the clouds.

I love this planet, too.  I hope to see more of it in the coming years.  I recycle all I can so I contribute less to the landfills. I use compost bought from the local company who recycles our yard waste. I have even bought ladybugs and red worms to cut back on the chemicals used in my yard.

Admittedly, these are small contributions.  Even though I have a water filter and even though I make every effort to recycle the bottles, I still buy cases of water and some end up in the garbage.  I have thrown old underwear in the trash.  (It’s embarrassing to think about the workers at Goodwill pulling them out of the bag. And who wants them?) Even though I pull cans & bottles out of the trash after a party, I leave behind the used paper plates and napkins.

Here’s the thing. We got rid of the trash compactor in the kitchen update because we just didn’t need it. What was once the size of the garbage can is now the size of the recycle bin.  Probably at your house, too. That feels good. All the little efforts we make add up.  Let’s celebrate that and leave the planet saving to Leo.

Rookie mistakes and fish stew

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beef chili with jalepeno & diced zuk

The more I think about it the more I recognize the voices from my past rolling through my thoughts. Honey might call it my reticular activating system: I thought he was making that up the first time he said it out loud. One sibling taunt was the word, “Rookie!” Used in a derogatory way to indicate you didn’t know what were doing. Like striking out when you were up to bat.

I’ve had a lot of rookie mistakes in my life. As I was making chili the other night I remembered once when I tried to make Cioppino. It was a newlywed cooking disaster– Honey & I still laugh about it after 30 years. I brought the recipe home after tasting the delicious soup at an office potluck. If I had the Internet and Google in 1985 I would have looked up several recipe options, read reviews, learned from other’s mistakes. I may not have made it had I known it was fish stew. Instead I had a few scribbled notes on a yellow notepad.

Honey was golfing so I spent my whole Saturday & most of the week’s grocery budget making this soup. My notes called for 2-4 fish heads. I went to a local fish shop and got 2 huge King Salmon ones. The counter guy said that would be plenty and gave them to me for free. I also bought scallops, shrimp and crab. I stewed ’em up, those heads, all day, until the eyeballs fell out. That should have been a warning sign. It was kind of gross. OK, really gross. I strained the fish parts out and finished the recipe. (I saved the eyeballs to show Honey later; appetizing, right?)

I set the table with our wedding china, placemats, candles, everything. I was SO EXCITED for Honey to come home so we could eat. Well the soup was horrible, so fishy, like eating fish oil. I was shocked it didn’t taste like the one from work. We tried to save the seafood by straining and rinsing. We ended up ordering pizza.

So what went wrong? Well, I never once tasted the stew as it was cooking. And, turns out my co-worker used 2 little, tiny lake trout heads.  Oops.  Sometimes only those close to us see our failures. Sometimes we are publically humiliated when we make mistakes. The key is to not let our past errors define our future. It’s ok to be a rookie. We have to start somewhere, right?