Another thing we should remark is the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature’s processes. When a loaf of bread, for instance, is in the oven, cracks appear in it here and there; and these flaws, though not intended in the baking, have a rightness of their own, and sharpen the appetite.

-Marcus Aurelius

This is a wordle I made of Moore’s poem:

Image worlde.net

I should have told you I was difficult
I should have shown you the scars on my soul
I should have told you I wanted you to take care of me
Without allowing you any of my control

-Lori McKenna, Beautiful Man

I made the following recipe for Thanksgiving. It was a big hit. I hereby bequeath it to y’all…

1T unsalted butter
1 red onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2lbs 20% fat course ground beef
1 1/2lbs hot italian pork sausage, removed from casings
2T chopped fresh cilantro
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Course salt and ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and sweat onions and garlic until transparent
Let onions cool
Place remaining ingredients and onion mixture in large bowl and mix with your hands
Oil a 9-by-5 inch meatloaf pan with olive oil and place mixture in pan
Bake 40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 170 degrees (which actually took me 75 minutes)

As long as you stick with 50% beef, you can monkey with the other meat and see what comes of it. I want to attempt lamb next time.

Merry Christmas and…

Enjoy!

This is a wordle I made out of the song:

Image: wordle.net

I should know who I am by now
I walk the record stands somehow
Thinking of winter

Your name is the splinter inside me
While I wait

And I remember the sound
Of your November downtown
And I remember the truth
A warm December with you
But I don’t have to make this mistake
And I don’t have to stay this way
If only I would wait

The walk has all been cleared by now
Your voice is all I hear somehow
Calling out winter

Your voice is the splinter inside me
While I wait

And I remember the sound
Of your November downtown
And I remember the truth
A warm December with you
But I don’t have to make this mistake
And I don’t have to stay this way
If only I would wait

I could have lost myself
In rough blue waters in your eyes
And I miss you still

I remember the sound
Of your November downtown
And I remember the truth
A warm December with you
But I don’t have to make this mistake
And I don’t have to stay this way
If only I would wait

Life moves in cycles. It is a river that runs of its own volition, that has its own inexorable pull. We can only hope to channel it for a while.

In the end we too will be swept up. There is no returning. Only exploration, resumption, rejection, love, and finality.

And so 2009 winds to its close.
In memory of the year that was and for the first time here on NotATameBlog…I now hand out the 3rd Annual Bob Awards. Here goes:

The 2009 Bravest Human Being I Know Award goes, yet again, to an Orange Grouper. Maddie risks life and limb every week by poking the caged tiger that is me. She steps on my toes, tries to push me over, makes fun of me for not fighting back…and gets away with it because she knows she absolutely makes my Sundays.

The 2009 Brother From Another Mother Award goes to as a group award to the guys of my small group. Every time we meet they challenge me, provide insight I could never have thought of on my own, and make me laugh. Ed, Fred, John, Todd, Don, Jim, and Lou have taught me so much…I could never adequately express my gratitude if I tried.

The 2009 Sister From Another Mister Award was close. Very close. But it goes to Katie. I had a blast on summer vacation. And she said some things that mean the world to me. That, and I had a fun time sticking those cards under her pillow.

The 2009 Best Person To Have Around When Sh*t Goes Down Award goes to the best Orange Group Leader there has ever been: Emily. Seriously. When it all goes down, I want this one right next to me.

The 2009 ES-Freaking-P Connection Award goes to my friend Ernest. We live a continent apart nowadays…but it amazes me how often our thoughts are on the same thing.

The 2009 This is Why I Hate Most Politicians Award goes to Dick Cheney. Shut up already old man. You flushed the Republic down the drain and now you dare to criticize someone else? You should wear a bag over your head in shame for the rest of your life.

The 2009 Book of the Year Award goes to Dan Simmon’s Drood. It is massive. It is sprawling. It is brilliant. No better tribute to Dickens could be written.

The 2009 Movie of the Year Award goes to The Fantastic Mr. Fox. The kids in the theater with me clearly did not get it…but I laughed like a madman through most of it.

The 2009 Album of the Year Award goes to (though it was released in 2008…I just listened to it this year) Appeal to Reason by Rise Against. Listening to some of these songs is like therapy for me. I love this album!

The 2009 Catchphrase of the Year Award goes to “We’ll find out.” I am sure I invented it long before 2009, but I have deployed it A LOT this year. May well be my last words some day.

The 2009 Hard-fought Lesson of the Year Award: Love does not wait. It comes like a wind and leaves nothing as it was.

Well…friends…I hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s awards. I hope you have a great 2010!

There is a house by the sea
Two jealous sisters, they’re waiting for me
And one is laid on the floor
And one is changing the locks on the doors
And I’ve been buying their time on my knees
And I’ve been selling them blankets to bleed on

Around the house by the sea
The scent of roses and raspberry leaves
And there is smoke in my clothes
Too much time with just smoke in my nose
And I’ve been making the meaning they lack
And I’ve been burning that book they come back to

There is a house by the sea
And an ocean between it and me
And like the shape of a wave
The jealous sisters will sing on my grave
And I’ve been living to run where they led
And I’ve been dying to rise from their bed
And I’ve been sparing my neck from their chain
And they’ve been changing the sound of my name
And I’ve been swimming to them in my sleep
And I’ve been dreaming our love and our freedom

-Iron & Wine

This is a wordle I made out of Iron & Wine’s song:

Image: wordle.net

This Highland pride is all I’ve got
But in the darkness it means everything
It makes me one with the tide
It makes strong when I’m burning inside

-Dougie MacLean, Eternity