Making it through the winter: a new series

Oh, this gray rainy weather is tough. I noticed the other day that while it was noontime, at the height of the day, it was so dark out I had to turn all of the lights on. Dark, gloomy, cold and stormy. And so it is for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and especially for us up north. Triply so for Northwesterners, where our dark days seem to go on forever. Are you still reading my gloomy post?

I had thought the Australia trip would ward off my winter gloom, but I can feel the SADs inching up on me. Fortunately, I have a whole arsenal of activities and rituals I do to keep them at bay, and it's time to kick them into high gear.

For those of us who are gardeners, the dark days of winter give us time to do other things than work in our gardens and play outside. I'd love to hear what you do to keep your mood up in the winter, and if you're a gardener, how you spend this time dreaming of spring.*

Here is my first installation on Making It Through Winter....



Ritual. There's something about being a gardener that brings out the witch in me. Tending to the earth, connecting to it, and practicing a daily (okay, okay: it's more like weekly) meditation of weed pulling puts me in a place of calm. Weed pulling gives me a time to work through things in my head, or just clear my head of workday worries, deadlines and creative projects I'm noodling through. Establishing a wintertime ritual to help replace this calms me.



One of these rituals is tea making. There's the witchlike steam, potion building, and elixer stirring. The beauty of the color of the tea in a beautiful cup. A cup that is only used for tea drinking. This is a Mexican Mango Chili Mate from Capital Teas in Washington DC. The cup is a bowl and plate from my friends at Lonesomeville Pottery. If my blog had scratch'n'sniff you'd be in herbal, spice, floral heaven. It really does smell like majik.



*I'm writing this as a series gathering my thoughts on making it through our winters, especially for gardeners. I may use this content, and your comments, in an upcoming column I'm writing for PQ Monthly. PQ Monthly is a new monthly print magazine/daily online news launching in February. I'm excited to be their garden/home/living columnist, and will share more information here as that unfolds.

Ye Olde Meme

A long time ago, in a galaxy known as Ye Early Blogging Times, there was "tagging" and these things called "memes." In these times, most people wrote personal blogs, or as they were known then, web logs. I haven't done a meme in a long time, but in my desire to try to kickstart my writing here once again—dammit to hell trying to figure out the content and purpose of this blog—I'm thrilled to have been tagged by Gazelles on Crack!

I have to answer her questions, personal as they might be. Ready? Here we go.

What is your #1 best memory - the one that will always make you smile?
While I may smile both with laughter and with fear on this one, it's an early morning earthquake in Southern California. My bedroom had a linoleum floor, and my crib had wheels. Needless to say, when that room began rockin', my crib began rollin'. And I stood up for the ride. I couldn't have been that little, because I can remember. Standing up, laughing and holding onto the crib's edge, while my mother in her nightgown chased me around the room. I don't think she was laughing though.

If you could do anything (career wise), and money was no object, what would that be?
Honestly? I really love what I do. But I think I'd be an artist. I'd build things, make things, tinker with things, paint things. There might be some welding equipment in there too. But it would all be from my own eye and crazy vision.

What is the most awesome place you've ever visited?
I just visited Australia for the second time, and it was awesome. With animals like kangaroos, and beaches that take your breath away, what else is there to say? Here is a photo of each of those things taken last month. Awesome.



What is your go-to comfort food?
It used to be homemade mac-n-cheese. But these days, it's a big bowl of steaming soup. With lots of lime juice, ginger, green onions, mushrooms and maybe tofu. I like the steamy facial you get at the same time as you slurp the hot soup. On cold days, it's the best.

What's your guilty pleasure (that you're willing to admit to in a public forum?)
This time of year, it's really long hot showers under my rain showerhead. Long showers. Like until the hot water runs out. Such the bad environmentalist. But sometimes that's what it takes to feel warm again in our cold, wet winters. In our summers? My guilty pleasure is laying in the summer sun and working on my tan. Sometimes even without sunscreen on.

Favorite way to relieve stress?
To prevent it, I work out. Hard. At the gym or by running. I do a morning spin class 3+ times a week, and on other days, run or take a yoga class. If I work out in the morning, it keeps me calm and stress free throughout the day. If I end up feeling stressed anyway, working in the garden or being outdoors helps me disconnect and come back to my center.

Favorite book?
I've gone through different phases in different times of my life, including a love affair with all of Tom Robbins' classic books in the early 1990s. Hello, Jitterbug Perfume and Still Life With Woodpecker. But I think if there's anything I continually come back to, it's the classic witty prose in The Portable Dorothy Parker. I would love to have a drink with Dorothy. What a bitterly delightful woman.

Favorite movie?
Moulin Rouge. Everything about it. The art direction, the costumes, the music, the cast: I know the soundtrack word for word. Did you know Wink's middle name, Satine, was for the main character in Moulin Rouge? Satine, in her white dress, so elegant.

What are you good at that hardly gets recognized?
I'm an early adopter. Technology, trends, you name it. Hello. What year did we organize the first pie-off? Hello. And I just received a happy five year anniversary note from Twitter. I've been on it five years.

What did your 10-year-old self want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a piano teacher. Because that's what I knew. I may still be a teacher in my lifetime, it just won't be piano. I don't know yet what I will teach but I know I will.

What's holding you back?
I've learned this past year that the only thing holding me back is myself. The world, my friends, is our oyster.

The amazing year of 2011

Lest you think 2011 was a horrible year, since my last post was about the loss of our sweet Wink Satine, I have something to show you about last year, because sometimes pictures really do say a thousand words.

This was me at the beginning of 2011:

This is me at the end of 2011:

Photos from ILiveHerePdx

It was an incredible and amazing year, and I've been going round and round how to tell you some stories. Stories of intention, authenticity, fun, making space, and incredible adventure. Here's a taste of adventure for you:
More to come....

RIP Wink Satine: Farewell to the Best Dog Ever

She really was the best dog ever. Sweet and loyal, fun and social, she mastered the fine art of lap sitting like Rembrandt mastered capturing light. But like many great artists, her candle glowed bright but burned out far too soon.

At age 4 she began to have seizures, and at 4 and a half she went blind due to an auto immune disease called SARDs. The coming year and a half found her coping with new illnesses, none that doctors could link together, but as one of our many veterinarians said, it was "plain bad luck" and "little white dog syndrome." Eventually a diagnosis of kidney disease came a few months ago, but one day before we left for a trip to the other side of the world, she showed signs of distress. But she rallied and while we traveled, she spent her last days with amazing friends who cared for her and helped her through her final hours. Even her best rallying to hold it together couldn't do it in the end.

Despite Wink's illnesses, she loved life and she loved all the people in her life. She knew the path, even while blind, to our next neighbor's house and would run it if we let her. She loved giving licks, jumping with glee, seeking out her favorite treats of carrots and apples, and simply sharing a seat with her peeps.

She taught us so much. To love a rare snowfall, to get to know our neighbors more, to try new things, to revel in the simplicity of a good walk and to care for little people. To lean in when needed, to cherish a fresh pea from the garden, to catch a good breeze and how to make it work. We loved that dog so much and our lives are forever changed. Words don't do justice but I needed to make this post.

Love the ones you're with people. Life is fleeting and you never know what's around the bend.

A simple summer evening walk from LeloNopo on Vimeo.

wink is a rocker from LeloNopo on Vimeo.

Why I give to change, not charity

I don't give to charity. I give to change. I work for change. I support change. And the most important work in our communities, nation and world. I give to hope for a better world, for the discovery of cures and creativity and aid. I give in thanks for the abundance that my life has afforded me and for the privilege that I walk through this world with. I give in ways that provide funding for causes I believe wholeheartedly in, and I strive to vote with my dollar and put my money where my mouth is. I give because I walk the talk, and because I know I am part of the change we wish to see in the world.



As the holiday season approaches, in my mind I hear the death march in the background. The crass commercialism, the attempts to over dominate with one religion all others, and the out of balance beliefs that more equals love and we must go in debt to pay for holiday gifts. All these things grate on my very last nerve.

But after an amazing year, I'm filled with inspiration of the possibility of a country waking up from an oppression by the 1%, and seeing the light bulbs go off over their heads as so many move their money from Big Banks to their local economies. I'm inspired by the countless hours my friends volunteer for causes they passionately believe in, and for the work every one of my clients does to make things better for women, girls, the LGBTQ community, our nation's health, our reproductive health and rights, those who are developmentally disabled, and our libraries. So. Lucky. So lucky I am to live this life, in this world.

And because of these things I give. To change, to hope, to miracles, to hard work, to compassion, to determination, to getting it done. Non profit organizations are here for us this time of year to honor and celebrate our place in the world. I hope you can be inspired by the world around you and give to the organizations you admire and want to see continue.

Need ideas? Here's where we're giving/have given in 2011...
AIDS Life Cycle
Basic Rights Oregon
Destination DIY
Milagro Theater
Mercy Corps
Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp
Oregon Humane Society
PHAME Academy
Planned Parenthood Advocates for Oregon
Portland Women's Crisis Line
Q Center
The Equity Foundation
The National Crittenton Foundation
Urban Gleaners

I hope you'll give—to hope, to change, to others. It's a lot more than "charity."

Gnome update

Someone has been a very bad gnome and is in gnome jail for the winter.

And here we are, the happy gnome couple:


In other gardening news, we did some garden fall clean-up this weekend, getting a head start on next spring's clean-up. I think it might have been the first fall clean-up in our garden in years. Usually I leave things for the birds, but this year, I don't know what's in me. This morning we have a truck full of debris AdRi is dropping off at the dump, and the front yard actually looks presentable. The vegetable beds are tucked in for the winter, and all of the solar lights and lanterns are filed away in the garage until next year. Seriously, pinch me. It's a rare year. Perhaps the gnomes inspired us.

Oh and hey! My column in Just Out is on winter hiatus, but I did write a little recommendation on a recent book I loved, The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell of The Fabulous Beekman Boys. You can read it here.

Designing salads as a feast for the eye and for the mouth: kale salad!

I know it sounds like such a cliche: feast for the eyes. But I've been playing with this theme for the past several months, and designing meals for beauty on the plate is really fun, and super healthy. As a visual designer, I love the challenge of hitting different notes of the color wheel, and where I've embraced this the most is in salad creation.

Who knew that I'd come to love kale as much as I do? Sometimes I even crave it. I know: crazy. What can I say? If anyone has an I Heart Kale bumpersticker, you know who to send it to. Wait. Of course there's an online generator for that. Here you go:But a big part of what I love about kale is its ability to hold up in a salad, and to even get better the second day. Combine that deep green with other colors from the rainbow and you are guaranteed to have a plate full of vibrancy and health. I like having an acidic dressing because it helps to break it down a bit, and if you chop chop chop the kale, you have really palatable bits to chow down on.

I don't have a strict recipe to share with you, but instead a technique to follow, allowing for creativity and working with what you have or what's in season.

Let's start with the kale. Lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale, is usually my kale of choice. (Good kale reading here!) Start with a big healthy bunch or two, rinse it thoroughly, then using two fingers, strip the center stem, leaving long strips of kale from either side to work with next. Pile all of the strips up, and chiffonade or chop it up. I like to sing the Choppin' Broccoli song while doing so. Don't ask why, I just do. Also, if you want to save some time, Trader Joe's sells big bags of washed and prepped kale, leaving you with only the chopping to do: sweet!



Next up, build your salad ingredients based on beauty of the color wheel, what's in your fridge or garden, or what's in season. Ideas:

• Red-cherry tomatoes (halved), red bell pepper, roasted bell pepper from a jar
• Orange-orange cherry tomatoes, orange bell pepper, orange slices chopped into bitesize pieces, shredded carrot
• Purple-purple onion thinly sliced, chopped purple cabbage, chopped purple kale
• Cream-slices of apple, thin slices of fennel bulb

Use a few or a lot of the ingredients listed above. I always include shredded carrot in mine, but everything else is up for grabs.

Finally? The dressing. Here's how I do it:
In a mixing bowl, throw in a big dollop of dijon or flavored mustard. Add to that a big squeeze of honey if you want some sweetness, the juice of an orange (fresh makes a big difference in the brightness of flavor), and a good splash and a half of vinegar. I like balsamic, but have experimented with apple cider, champagne, or flavored vinegars (like blood orange). Grind enough black pepper into the bowl until your arm tires, season with sea salt, an mix it all up. You don't need oil in this, but if you want to, you can always whisk in some good olive oil. Taste for flavor, then toss toss toss with your salad. Toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds can add some texture to finish off your salad.

Enjoy the salad fresh, taking in the beauty of your plate. Seriously, look how gorgeous this is:


Then keep in the fridge a big container of this salad and enjoy on day 2 and day 3. The acid of the orange juice helps break down the kale, softening it a bit but never leaving it mushy.

The more you experiment, the more you'll get comfortable changing ingredients up and trying new things in your mix. But following the practice of creating a bowl of beauty is always a winner in my book.

Making way for new

Just a quick note to my Portland-area readers (Holla! Portland! Put a bird on it!)  Is it time to clear out your closet and make way for some new things? Are you holding onto some workplace clothes you really aren't wearing anymore? If your answer is yes, join me in donating gently used clothes to women who can really put them to good use, through Dress for Success, a fantastic organization providing access to office-appropriate clothes for low-income women trying hard to make it in the workplace.

A friendly recently visited Dress for Success and discovered they have very little clothing for women with curves, meaning size 14 and up. So extra kudos to you if you're able to help in this department. I have six huge bags of clothing to donate and I'm so happy to be able to make sure they go to women who can really benefit from them, including the fantastic leather coats I'm letting go of.

This Saturday I've joined with some friends to host a clothing get-together for Dress for Success and I wanted to let my readers know how to help. Bring your clothing donation—purses and jewelry are also accepted—to Cupcake Jones this Saturday, November 5, between noon and 3pm, say hey and get a free cupcake!

• What: Curvaceous: Making sure success comes in all sizes
  Find the Facebook invite here
• When: Saturday, November 5, Noon-3pm
• Where: Cupcake Jones, 307 NW 10th Avenue, Portland, OR

And just think: with all of the space you create in your closet, you're opening the window to filling it with something new and wonderful. I love that feeling.

I can't help it

Wink wishes you a Happy Halloween. She also wishes she didn't have to wear her Wonder Woman costume.

We have a screaming, shaking, light-up monster living in the front garden bed that I'm sure is going to scare the bajeezus out of tonight's trick-or-treaters. I wish it was scary enough to kill the invasive Bishop's Weed it's tucked into. 

Happy halloween!

A completely random post featuring photos from my trip to DC

I went to DC and I don't know why everyone stared at my feet...


While there, I took some photos for you. Not just of me and my big feet. But of colors seen in the fall...


Of murals I saw in the making...


Of the completely inspiring new MLK monument...



I sought advice from the Psychic Rooster...


Marveled at the sites, and yes I took this photo and it's not just a postcard I bought...


Reflected on the thoughtfulness that the beds in front of the USDA federal building are edged in edibles: parsley...


Laughed at the ladyfingers...


Learned how cacao is grown (weird, huh?!)...


Decided we need to have these signs on all of the streets in Portland in response to gas powered lawn machines...


And discovered my nephew is a farmer.


Completely random photos, for you, my dear readers. If only I had photos from Kabob Palace and Amsterdam Falafal, this post would be complete.