more music

Attended another orchestral performance in town, this time by the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra. The program was titled "Drama, Energy and Colour" and definitely lived up to it. Featuring Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, it was simply superb. I'm always amazed at the musical signatures of great composers such as these three, even without having learned about their compositions, it's so easy to distinguish between them. Some things just sound "so Tchaikovsky", or Beethoven, that you can't help but think of all the rest of their works. I left feeling energized, happy, and somewhat dazed. Went out for a coffee with a nice guy I met at the concert, then took a circuitous route home to enjoy all the fall colors that are appearing around town and in the gardens. Also did my fair share of stomping through crisp leaves in my official "fancy" shoes (having one of everything makes life so much simpler!), and recreated a classic picture from years ago. Don't know if it was the fact that I had my hair off my face and those favorite earrings on again, but it just seemed like the thing to do. And made me extremely excited for warm summer days at Saranac Lake. So many conflicting feelings over the current seasons here in Australia and back in the states!

Some of the very best fall colors are right at Hightor!

Even the bark on some of the trees feels festive

New version, with some fantastic refracted light...

...and the old one, a perfect summer day

                                                         

Here's the program if you'd like a listen. Classical music makes every day a little better in my humble opinion.

zanahorias en escabeche

Or, pickled carrots. Mexican style. We had a ton of carrots in the fridge, plenty of chilies, and the kids love burritos and tacos like you wouldn't believe. Constantly watching them eat a somewhat compromised version of Mexican food makes me want the real little things like this all that much more to go along. So now we'll have spicy pickled carrots in addition to Cholula (muchos gracias padre!) to put on top of our burritos and such. Thinking a real Mexican feast might be coming up (maybe for Benito Juárez's birthday?), I'm craving an excuse to make a huge pot of frijoles refritos!
And the recipe I use for these follows because, well, you need it in your life to be frankly honest!

Gather your ingredients. A bunch of carrots, some chili peppers, vinegar and sugar.

Peel, then slice the carrots into thin coins. Slice the chilies, too.

If you have OCD tendencies like yours truly, pile them together and determine whether or not you like the ratio of carrot to chili. I added one more chili at this point.

Put a pot on the stove. Admire the view. 

Put some white vinegar and sugar in your pot. You want slightly less liquid than you have vegetables. I had about 4.5 cups of carrots, so used approximately 3 cups of vinegar and a half cup of sugar. 

Bring the vinegar and sugar to a gentle simmer, making sure the sugar fully dissolves. Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the hot burner. Toss in your vegetables and give them a good stir. 

When the mixture is cool, decant into an airtight container. Make sure the vegetables are fully submerged/covered by the brine. This ensures that they remain fresh for a long time. 

Pick up on your cat's subtle hint that he needs some food. Go feed him, you're done anyway! All that's left to do is put your jar of freshly pickled carrots in the fridge and try to wait a decent amount of time before helping yourself to them.

As a side note, I took a trip down dance floor lane while making these, listening to what Allison and I call "prom music". Basically soul and funk classics and 80s guilty pleasures.  Give it a listen!


                                                


Update: Just went to the kitchen to try one (that was the intention at least), and they were good. Really good. Addictive. So, guess I'm just telling you that I fully endorse my own recipe, which should be inherent, but oh well! 

gold

Today the sun was warm and the wind was cold. Summer is already slipping away, and I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, I love the hot, sunny days where the only option that seems reasonable is throwing on a bikini and diving into the lake. But with this sudden cold snap, I'm feeling refreshed, happy, and full of energy and inspiration. Went for a long run this morning, and then was distracted in my work outside by how purely content I was. And the bodily memory that says this type of day should be spent wandering around La Mesa's Oktoberfest. That's a "problem" I wish on every one of you. And now my mind is racing with things to do, sew, cook, draw, write, you name it! So in celebration, here's a playlist of songs that capture the season for me. Nothing particularly themed or anything, but I do notice that this weather has me craving a very specific type of melody and mood. Happy listening!
                                             

                                            


This weather also has me remembering a trip my dad and I took to see the fall leaves years ago in Ohio and West Virginia. Driving down two lane, back country highways, finding random towns to sleep in, never having a plan besides knowing when we needed to be back at the airport. Always say yes to quick trips! Here's a handful of pictures from those few days, and contrary to the evidence they provide, I can promise you that my dad really was there. Acting as faithful driver and photographer, while I was the DJ. Thanks dad.

Scraping ice off the car, always a good start to your day

A sweet little town we settled in one night in Ohio

And a fascinating ancient Native American burial mound there

A random stop on the road

The Glade Creek grist mill in West Virginia

The New River Gorge bridge. Beautiful

Charleston's capitol building. The whole place was deserted when we arrived, it was pretty eerie

The most gorgeous autumn tree

of the woods; of the hills; of our home

Found this mix yesterday which just happens to fit the feelings I've had lately of loving nature and craving to be surrounded and enveloped by it, removed from the human world. Really been enjoying it, hope you do too.

alexanderperchov:

of the woods; of the hills; of our home21 songs for returning to nature, for going up to the mountains, laying in the dappled sunlight, by the riverside, and dreaming of never coming back down again.                  (for sarah.)

1. move to the mountains - clock opera | 2. on nature - matisyahu | 3. turn the dirt over - sea wolf | 4. mountain laurels - rogue valley | 5. riverside - agnes obel | 6. in the hidden places - the mountain goats | 7. cliffs of moher - ann & charlie heymann | 8. under and in rocks - mimicking birds | 9. meadows - adventure | 10. rocks and water - deb talan | 11. june hymn - the decemberists | 12. mother nature’s son - the beatles | 13. wild mountain thyme - ben folds | 14. hill of our home - psapp | 15. blue ridge mountains - fleet foxes | 16. this place is a shelter - olafur arnalds | 17. pale green things - the mountain goats | 18. flowers (everybody, everywhere) - mercy bell | 19. like a mountain - timber timbre | 20. primavera - ludovico einaudi | 21. wild go - dark dark dark

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” - John Muir
                  listen | download | cover credit

musical monday

Wow. What a night. First of all, after a few brutally hot days, yesterday was nice and cool and windy. And even some little rain showers. I'm starting to gain back my strength and will to live (only slightly joking), and just in time. Daylesford has been plastered with signs for a philharmonic performance for the last month or so, and on a whim I bought a ticket. Great decision. My dad, sister and I regularly attend the San Diego Symphony, and I didn't realize just how much I missed the overwhelming beauty of live classical music until this company came to town. When the time came, I dressed up, put on a little makeup (felt strange to break out the mascara after a few months of ignoring it!), and headed out into the evening. Walked down the hill through the gardens, and thoroughly enjoyed letting the now truly strong winds play around with my hair and loose top. The concert was held in one of the churches in Daylesford (there are quite a few, I'll have to tell you about them later), and the crowd was wonderful to see. The director gifted me a program after a little chat ($2 saved is $2 earned!), and I found a pew to settle into. Can't even describe the playing, but it was exactly what I needed. The music was beautiful, the playing superb, and the wind was really picking up outside, making its own dramatic soundtrack and shaking the building. It felt so perfect to be sheltered in the church with the music while the storm raged outside. At one point the wind was so loud and wild and threatening, and the music was building to a climax, I just had to smile and try to suppress a laugh. In my grin, I caught the eye of one of the players and he smiled a big smile back. It was hilarious. At the intermission, spotted my friend Fiona, and she and I had a lovely chat. We ended up being a very international group of friends, Fiona is Scottish, and another friend of hers who joined us is from Denmark. And all of us just happened to be gathered in Daylesford together. Magical. The concert continued, and I was truly sorry when they prepared to play the last piece. But the audience was so appreciative and vocally thankful that they came back out for an encore. And my was that amazing. All this to say that I had an incredible night and felt that the music was the perfect tonic to get me back to feeling healthy. In the end, I was pushed back up the hill by the wind, waltzed a little in the moonlight, and arrived home happy and content.

And here's the program in case you want a listen. Trust me, you do. Have to send out many thanks to the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne for a flawless evening. See them if you ever get the chance!

                                                    

summer sounds

Been feeling down in the dumps the last few days with a terrible summer cold/flu/plague/whatever. But even in the darkest moments and seemingly endless sleepless nights, there's always wonderful music to listen to. This is just a taste of what I've been playing lately, and it's pretty darn random. Keeping my fingers crossed that you're all happy and healthy and enjoying your own good tunes, whatever they may be.                    


                                             

bits and bobs and beats

A little kookaburra just begging to have his picture taken

More front page news: Daylesford was voted the best town in Australia! And the Daylesford Hotel received a letter from Her Majesty The Queen congratulating them on 100 years of business

Pasca soaking up the sun on our first pool day of the season! Yay summer! 

A beautiful butterfly basking in the late afternoon sun

The cutest little bug on our fence

Teeth are placed in a glass of water for the tooth fairy here, no creeping into bedrooms and looking under pillows down under! 

With a new marble tabletop in the kitchen, Mary was placed outside, and possum church was created! 

Just a little sample of the music I've been digging lately. Happy listening! 

                                                      

rainy day

It's been a few days of constant wind, rain, and general bad weather here. Being cooped up in the house makes me crave either down-tempo, mellow music, or something a little wilder I can dance to and release all the pent-up energy that would otherwise be spent outside. So here's the first of those two. A small playlist good for curling up on the couch with a hot cup of tea and a long book. Happy listening!