Comforting things this week:
Corn and Cheese Chowder, Wordsworth, Protests and Puppies
Yesterday we picked up a puppy and that took a while and now we are all trying to get used to life with the puppy. It’s all going pretty well except for Pogie Dog.
This is normal for Pogie Dog. She is a dog of routine and suspicions, but it is getting vaguely less cranky for Pogie as we start to settle into our routines.
Despite the chaos of adjustment, I find puppies so comforting. Their joy. Their boundless love of everything. That urge to explore. . . and yes sometimes exploring with their mouths.
The puppy photos are below.
THE PHOTO THAT I FIND COMFORTING
I know people have very big feelings about protesters, especially when people are supporting or protesting what you might not. But what I love is that we can still do this. We can still gather and yell or sing or silently express what we feel.
I’ll never understand the concept that politics has to be approached like teams and winner-take-all. Because politics is not about winning a game, it’s about taking care of a community or a town or a nation. The Red Sox don’t have to do that. They just have to win games. But politicians? They have so much responsibility. And families (be they nations or households or states or communities) usually work better when we work together for a common good.
This is a photo Shaun took for our paper last Saturday. It was part of a stand out for the Hands Off protests that happened, which we covered.
What I want you to notice here though is that woman’s joy. You can feel it through the photo, right? Look how beautiful and shiny she is. That’s what I care about. That joy. The power of that joy. The power of being a part of the democratic process. I find comfort in that.
THE POEM
I went a bit old school this morning with Wordsworth, mostly because the first line is being a bit of an ear worm in my head.
The world is too much with us….
He wrote this sonnet way back in 1802, I think, but those beginning words? Man, they hit right through me today, this random Monday in April.
Here’s the poem, maybe it’ll hit right through you, too?
The World Is Too Much With Us
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
THE SOUP: CORN AND CHEESE CHOWDER!
Recipe By : Horn of the Moon Cookbook
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THINGS TO PUT IN IT
4 large unpeeled potatoes all diced
4 cups water or stock
bay leaves
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup onion chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seed
3 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1 cup heavy cream (You can use evaporated skim milk)
2 cups grated cheese (jack, cheddar or whatever)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
1 pinch dill
HOW TO MAKE IT
Combine potatoes, water and bay leaves in a 3-quart soup pot.
Bring to boil and simmer, covered, until tender.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a fry pan and saute onions with cumin until brown. Add to soup, then add corn.
Mix flour with cream until smooth then add slowly to soup.
Add grated cheese and stir until melted.
Keep heat low. When all cheese is melted, add herbs, salt and pepper and serve.
BONUS!
So, I have long loved John Gorka. His poster hung over my daughter’s crib, Scotch taped to the wall because we couldn’t afford actual tacks let alone art.
For me, his voice is really comforting whether he’s singing live like in the first link or the second video of his one-song video concerts.