My artist Brother

Konsaeng Chris Everson follows his Zen spirit. He writes poetry and publishes books of his uniquely personal poems. Konsaeng composes music - primarily for his favorite "axe" his toy piano and is featured on You Tube. Check out his piece called "Simple Study" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9AO1P66xLQ.

Kongsaeng is also a painter, often working on found materials in acrylics. Although it took him a long time to warm up to the idea and give up pen and paper, he now also does digital paintings on the computer.
The painting above is one of my favorites titled "The Old Lady Dances"

I have to hand it to my brother. While he doesn't make much money for what he does, he pursues it passionately every day.

Aarggh! Gotta go gluten-free

After 2 years of unbelievable pain and 13 doctors....I finally figured it out. I've got a gluten-intolerance, possibly celiac disease. That means no wheat, barley or rye. Sounds simple enough...
That is until you start reading labels on all the processed foods I used to eat. Plus it means no pizza, no beer, no regular cakes or cookies or even soy sauce.

So it means most of my cooking has to be done from scratch. My strategy is to make one or two "vats" of food a week and freeze some to have an instant meal later on. Here's my latest recipe for creamy cauliflower soup:

Dice a medium onion, a couple stalks of celery and a few cloves of garlic. Saute in 1T butter and a film of olive oil in a large pot. Add two diced potatoes and one medium head of cauliflower that is cut into segments.. Cover with 4 c. vegetable broth. Add salt, pepper, thyme and a dash of cayenne to taste and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until vegeables are soft. Mash vegetables with potato masher and finish with milk, half and half or cream. For carnivores serve with crumbled bacon and a generous helping of shredded cheese. Makes one vat.

Tribute to Dad

My Dad passed away this spring. He was an avid gardener and didn't quite make it to see the red tulips he had planted bloom once again in front of the house. I owe so much to him...my love of nature and the garden, a sense of responsibility and hard work and the need to be creative and follow ideas where they take you.

Dad would work tirelessly on the garden. Even in his late 70s he could out pace me. He would putter steadily, deadheading marigolds and clipping ivy. This year, as I take over his gardening chores, I realize what his steady work achieved. His garden doesn't match the standards he set, but mom, whose eyesight is failing, is happy with the bright color I planted for her this year.

Dad is missed terribly, but his memory lives on in traditions he established and funny stories we share with one another. My mom, brother and I have all shared that we dream about Dad and he has been happy in those dreams. We can only hope that where he is now is a radiantly happy place, filled with flowers and green lawns that he loved so much.

Dream Come True

As a horsewoman, having had a few horses in the past, it was always my dream to get an unbroken colt and make him my own. The colt would be gray and I would ride off into the sunset with him. You know, the kind of dream that 16 year-old-girls who are crazy for horses have...

In 2000, the opportunity to realize that dream came true. I was offered - for free- to take a mostly wild colt off some friends' hands who had too many horses. The result is Skipper Delight - I just call him Skipper or Skippy - now seven and a wonderful companion and trail horse.

He was a bit of a handful in the beginning. My friend Paul and I trained him to lunge - or work around in a circle on a rope - by first tying him to a tree, so he wouldn't drag us all over the property. I groomed him as often as I could, worked with his feet and slowly he bacame more accustomed to people working on and around him.

Worked him with me on the ground for the first year and ultimately put a saddle and bridle on him. Got on, for the first time, in his 3 year old summer and he didn't flinch a bit, only bumping his butt once, when he decided he'd rather stay under the apple tree than to move on.

Now, he lives right near a public recreation area with horse trails that can be ridden for hours and he has friends in his pasture and I have buddies to ride with.

What started as a dream at 16 became one l;ater in life. It's never too late for your dreams to become real.