The main thing is that watching this fire go from small to large in a very abnormally fast rate reinforced many fears. The most over heard comment from the gathered crowd – sarcastically said was along the lines of – now who did not see that coming?

The games in here have gone up a notch.  Folks with units that have absolutely nothing to do with all this crap have lost everything. A dog died, two fire persons were hurt, fights happened, rumors (s0me true some BS) spread. Threats of revenge abound.  And a few folks seemed to forget that innocent folks lost out here and were making comments about how at least they would have some peace tonight.

After the fire was at put out the hot spots stage I went home and got my camera.  I just uploaded the first frame that looked ok.  Maybe I will post more later but not right now. As the yelling and threats started I boogied home again.  I lost count of fire trucks at 10.  Police cars, crime scene units, incident response units . …

I wish the public service folks would figure out that not everyone here is a thug, not everyone here is in a gang, not everyone here is third generation welfare – nope a majority of the folks here are hard working and just trying to survive.  If I here the NHLI again I will scream. And P.S. they are townhouses not apartments all you news reporters and fire chiefs they are individually owned no big corporation here to eat the losses.

If they change tack and rule this accidental I will eat my . …

Lots of stuff has gone on this winter here. We have had our cable cut and stolen three times. Our phone line and internet also. Then the next door neighbors went on a power stealing jag. They were caught stealing the associations power three times and the Sacramento Municipal Utility Districts (SMUD our local power company).  SMUD had removed their meter because they did not pay. Somehow they unsafely (according to smud) jumped the power lines – quite the fire hazard I heard. Oh yeah they stole some from us also.

We have had a lot of gang activity, the sac pd here, the FBI etc. etc etc …  we even had one of those mobile surveillance trailers stationed outside our front door by the Sacramento PD here is the info on them if you do not know what they are.

We were treated to a dancing ho on our carport roof – yep all get up and looking in our windows – Annie dog dang near made it up top the carport roof – I stopped her.  Looking back I should have let her take a bite or two but then they would take my dog.

The next door unit now has a posted notice that it is an unsafe structure so we are hoping it takes the owner forever to correct all the violations.

I messed up another vertebrae in my middle back so I have been taking it easy.

Still going to Adaptive PE, playing games, and reading.

How was that for a fast catch up?

My book project is coming along.  I spent the past few days clearing them out of the closet and piling them up in the corner of the bedroom. We so need a bookshelf!  The library-thing is my favorite site for cataloging , reading reviews, and getting recommendations.  I tired goodreads once and never really got into it. It seems more of a social site to me,  prompting me to connect to facebook, something I do not wish to do. I guess it personal preference. I prefer the cataloging features features that librarything offers. What I discovered is that there really is not bookshelf type android app for the librarything.  Goodreads yes, Librarything no, that will update on my tablet.

Since it cold out there and I am bored . …  I scanned every book I found  into goodreads and the librarything. I realize that scanning ISBN codes into an app is not everyones cup o tea.  Modern technology sure saved me on this one though. Reading all the tiny numbers of so many books an almost impossible task for me anymore – scanning them in a major time saver.  I now have most of my books stacked along the wall and in the goodreads and librarything databases.  I imported the librarything database into goodreads  and I can now scan books as I find them into the tablet and update goodreads and librarything.

I found a wonderful local bookstore the other day.  One that carries used and new books not found easily in today’s box stores inventory.  They had works by  Colin Cotterill, Hakan Nesser and Arnaldur Indridason to name a few I have been having trouble finding. Yeah for the independent family owned stores! It pains me to say that my mom has mentioned this store to me before but I never paid much attention.  The folks running the store were so nice and knowledgeable.  They did not treat me like an idiot when I had trouble coming up with authors names and titles with my confused MS brain.  I was looking at my tablet and said oh I would hate to mispronounce the authors name and show my ignorance and the gentleman just giggled and said he had been selling books for years and still had troubles.

He then asked to look at my tablet and he started looking down my list of what I had been reading. You have some nice books here he says. Then the lady that was sitting behind the counter reading asked to take a look. They made me feel comfortable – not stupid – something that does not happen in the big box stores. I am sure that when KRP and I first entered the store first impressions as I hobbled about in my jeans and worn out tennis shoes and had trouble remembering names and titles was not the greatest. Rather than write me off they in a most natural way started suggesting books and found some I needed.   I have few books that they are trying to locate for others and almost have me talked into trading them in – I am still thinking that one over.

It was a pleasure shopping in their store. It is the first book store I have managed to leave in a long time not feeling like an idiot because of my multiple sclerosis chicken walk and brain farts. This afternoon if the television repair person arrives and finishes in time we are going to take Miky to the books store – grin – maybe she will buy some books I need to read – as I have her hooked on a few the series I enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36WZ0Us9QCI

Multiple Sclerosis equals broken to me. Best definition I have today anyways. I really like Elisa’s song if only time would heal and we could be guaranteed the ability to get back on our feet and walk on.
A shout out to a pal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoWQunKQElE

I tried one suggestion using my webcam with crummy results. Then it hit me. I wonder if there is an app for that? I searched the android market and found one that uses my cell phone camera to scan the ISBN number and then connects to the website. I downloaded the app and found it quite satisfactory.  It locks onto the ISBN bar code searches amazon, library of congress, or over 700 other databases and finds the book.  I hit the book on the list it comes up with and it automatically updates my Library Thing database.

The only snafu I ran into was with a book that was purchased by a friend in the United Kingdom and when the app searched the British Library it came up with zero matches. I finally ended up entering it and then editing the info directly via the internet. All and all I was pretty impressed. It sure was a time saver.

Every year I promise to add books as I finish reading them and I do so for a bit and then I get lazy about it.  I more than once have had to sit down and enter a lot of books. You think I would learn ha ha.  I have boxes of books ready to enter and more to read.  I have a closet with so many books stacked in it there is no room for anything else. I go back and forth whether or not to donate them or keep them. Keeping them has won out so far. I do not think there is a wall large enough for a bookshelf that would hold them all. Maybe if I just kept the autographed ones, my favorites, the rare ones .  …

My database has 400+ books in it.  I started entering books into it after a gave away most of my books and needed a way to keep track of what I was reading/had read so I did not repurchase a book I had already read.  Kind of a starting over thing. Well here is to hoping I can remember to keep up the database. I think it will be easier with the new app. I can scan the ISBN when I finish the book right then and there. Time will tell.

Here is a screen shot of some of my books covers I took today:

If you want to check my list out click on the widget at the bottom of the sidebar.

My decision to make this soup all by my lonesome presented some challenges. Oh life with MS is it not grand?  I finally gave up on quartering the chicken and asked KRP to cut it up. I am getting wiser here – why cut my dang fingers off when help is available. I did manage to do everything else unassisted except some of chopping up of the toppings.

Sunday I put the chicken in the new pot with a quartered onion and let it cook. I carefully separated the chicken and the broth.   After cleanup I went to bed.   Monday afternoon I continued.

As I mentioned in the prior post I decided to only use the ancho peppers. I used the dehydrated ones  so I had to soak them first and then remove the seeds and stems. Then I added some garlic, basil, and oregano, and ran used the blender to grind them into a paste.

Next I started the process of removing all the bones and from the chicken and shredding it. I removed the onion from the mix also. I then put some of the chile paste, bit of fat skimmed off the top of the broth,  a few more spices, and heated the mixture in the pot. I then slowly added the chicken broth, added some onion, and brought it to a slow boil.  Removing all the bones and shredding the chicken took a long time.  Limited feeling in fingers made it quite the task!  I  added the white Mexican style hominy, turned the heat down to a medium low simmer, set the timer for an hour, and read my book.

Next I added the chicken and of few more spices and let it simmer. My next task was to prepare all the side toppings.  Each time I have been served pezole the sides varied.  Usually sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, lime, chopped onion, cilantro, salsa, hot sauce, Mexican sour cream, are provided along with tostadas.  Here I go again knife in hand – chop chop . …

Pezole really is a simple soap/stew to make but removing the chicken bones and shredding the meat sure took a lot of time for me to complete. Perhaps using pork instead might be easier?  I made a little bit of a mess when dealing with the pepper paste.  Glad we had a good supply of wash towels!  It was super sticky and stuck to me like glue.   Perhaps I have missed a step but I don’t think so. The only information I have not included were the “few more spices”.  I apologize but for every family that makes pezole there seems to be a traditional secret somewhere in the making.  The spices I added were told to me after much begging to a wise one with my promise to never ever divulge them.  I suspect if you did decide to make pezole (or already do) you know how to add to suit your own taste.

Moving forward to New Years Eve:

Pezole ready to Eat

My pezole passed  the taste tests from some of my neighbors – YEAH!

Green Pezole

I will start this post out with a bit of history. Well the history of how this adventure for me came about. First off it is not a road trip or photo story but one of food. Pezole  (Pozole (Nahuatl: pozolli [po'sol?i]), which means “foamy”; variant spellings: pozolé, pozolli,or more commonly in the U.S. – posole)  to be exact.

Our close friends (Mike and Michelle)  daughter married a nice guy originally from Mexico and through the years we have enjoyed invitations to many traditional celebrations.   Our chosen family is definitely multicultural!  I have learned to make lumpia, salsa, fish sauce, pineapple tacos,  spaghetti sauces . …  the list is long.  The thing is no one ever shares a written recipe. I love this as I am not a recipe follower but a taster.  When I cook it tends to be one of those open the fridge, see what is in there, and come up with something that sounds good types. It is a dash of this and a bit of that type thing.  My maternal grandparents came from Kansas so I cook dishes that I watched them make. My paternal grandmother was raised on a farm in Oregon. Her cooking was basic standard fair using typical produce found on a farm. My mother is a recipe follower and a a good baker.  I don’t bake much it is just not my “thing’ and KRP is a great baker.

This time of the year  at every party or meal I have attended Pezole was served. I love pezole. I was craving Pezole the other night so I started calling around to find out how it was made. Well,  for as many people as I asked I have a version of how to make Pezole.   Michelle offered to have me come over after the New Year and we could make a pot together.  I don’t wanna wait till then so I have decided to make my own version of red chicken pezole. An internet search produced so many variations it was mind boggling. I am going to combine what I remember from all the various versions and come up with my own version.  This may or may not bode well for the end product.

One of the interesting things I did learn was the history behind Pezole.  And yes, there are lots of version of this also out there! So this is my best interpretation of the history of pezole.

Pezole is a pre-Columbian soup made for special occasions.  The stories all have a theme that is rather well yucky.  When the priest’s  showed up and discovered that one of the ingredients to this special soup was human flesh from sacrificial rituals.  Once it was established that using human flesh was a no- no pork was substituted.  One story version has it that pork was used because it tasted closest to the original ingredient .  Ok I did say this was yucky right? Another one of the ingredients is Hominy.   Corn prepared using the process of  nixtamalization a big word for soaking corn in an alkali solution.

I am going to use chicken and ancho peppers  in mine.  I am leaving out the guajillo,  pasilla because I have not clue as to the flavors the produce.

The first problem I  encountered was my lack of a good stock pot – well any real stock pot for that matter. I could borrow my moms but yikes I looked up its cost and if I messed it up I would have to sell something to cover the replacement costs. A stock pot is not just a stock  pot anymore LOL.  I emptied my piggy bank  and decided to purchase a new stock pot. Not just for the pezole as we did need a replacement for one that died a few years back and got tossed out.  So here is a cell phone pic of my present to myself.  I really should feel guilty for buying this but since my family and most of our friends decided on a present free Christmas this year . … and I am saving a whole tank of gas expense because we are on school break . …  rationalization at its best:

Next I hope to get some photos of the process for now I will leave you with this made in America chicken the only fowl I eat:

Mouse over the top and get the controls to speed up or slow down the show

Most of the birds were just out my lens range to get a clear picture. The only birds up close and personal were the coots. Coots around here plentiful and it is very common to hear photographers and bird watchers say there is nothing here but the coots to let each other know that there are no interesting birds about. (I actually find the coots fun to watch.)  I spent most of my time just watching and listening. It is the first time in a long time that I have managed to get myself out there. The sun was shining (yeah) and there wind was not too bad, although a bit chilly. After about an hour and a half the clouds came and the sky became grey. Brrr . . .. so I headed back home before I froze what little arse I have off.

On the way back I found this scene interesting – different birds one without feathers:

Driving down the road I spotted a hawk atop the telephone line. I pulled the truck over and the bird flew off and landed a few poles down along the side of the roadway.  I drove forward and as soon as I rolled down my passenger window the bird flew away again LOL. You thing I would have this down by now eh?  I left the window down and slowly crept forward past where the hawk had landed figuring that each time he flew he landed ahead of me. This time it worked. Even with the vibration of the running truck and shooting at an odd angel out the passenger window I managed to an ok set of it landing.

I left the photos untouched except the second one – I bumped up the  brightness a tad so you might see the the hawks colorful plumage more as I did in person.

Yesterday we had temps around 99 – 100 depending on what monitoring station readings you read.  Seriously, I am really, really tired of the heat.  Usually by this time of the year I expect a few cooler days to get out and about . … the cranes have arrived and it is still way to hot to go take a look at them.  I still turn off the computer up here because the room temps hit over 85 and well that is just to hot really to take the chance of an electronic meltdown.

I have been dealing with a stupid ear infection for a month now. I unfortunately was seen by a ENT that was one of those docs that do not listen. Thank goodness when KRP called back the other morning to get yet another appointment and request a new doc (not always easy when they are a specialist) we found out that the doc is no longer there – can you say YIPPEE!!! The new doc was very nice and he listened and explained in terms even I could comprehend LOL. Another round of antibiotics – bleh. I have to time this set out. I take thyroid meds that you have to not eat so many hours before and after and this new  med is to be taken four times a day with food. I have so many reminders and alarms (hard to hear) to remind me to take the new  additional pill. Ummm.

I am going to adaptive PE three times a week and taking part in a Mock PT clinic on Thursdays at the state university. The PT students get practical on hands experience and we MS peeps get free PT – works for me. My friend Toni picks me up and we go together. At least there are two of us in the car as we circle and circle the parking area near where we all meet.  We lucked out last time and found a space right out in front of the hall. the time before we ended up in no mans land. Now if we end up way out there one of the students will park and retrieve her car – nice.

I am noticing that many of same group people show up to the adaptive PE classes at the community college and programs like the one at the university.  I am not sure if it is because they are aware of the programs via word of mouth or if we are a group that is determined to do all that we can do to help ourselves?

Oh yeah, I was kinda bummed about the death of Andy Williams but he sure had one heck of a ride on this earth.  Here is a past post about  our trip to Branson.

That is all I have for now.