Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Staycation With Liz and Pat
Our friend Liz suggested we join her for a "stay-cation" trip down to Skaneateles, NY. Skaneateles, about an hour and a half from Rochester, is a resort town on a really beautiful lake. Most of the little towns in western New York State have had quite a hard time of it -- there just isn't any industry to keep them going. But because Skaneateles is on what must be the most beautiful of the finger lakes, it is actually doing quite well.
Our first stop was at Doug's Fish Fry for lunch. We all had the fried haddock -- which was very lightly battered and fried crisp and delish. (My stomach is actually growling as I write this. It was that good! I might just hop back in the car and have it for dinner!) We are fussy about our fish fries here in in Rochester, and Doug's definitely measured up. It was served with hand cut french fries. I liked them, but this wasn't the universal opinion. They just weren't crispy enough for 3 of the 4 of us. The cole slaw was a big hit, however. Cole slaw is one of those things that you tend to just ignore. It's never the star of the show, for sure. But this was cole slaw like no other, with enough onion and celery and a very light dressing.
After lunch, we strolled around and poked our noses into the shops. Nothing was really irresitable, but we did find a chocolate shop. The heath bar-esque thing I had was good.
After our stroll, we ambled over to the dock and boarded the good ship Judge Ben Wiles for a sightseeing cruise. Skaneateles has some pretty spectacular "camps" as they call lakeside mansions here. There was one place that they told us cost $20 million. And, oh by the way, they were adding on to it. It looked like there was going to be quite the sizable addition, based on the construction we saw.
There wasn't a lot of boat traffic, which was nice. The lake had a very serene feel to it. This is definitely a place I would recommend to you, if you are in the area. I hope we will get back there again soon.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Maybe My Next New Dishes? Sophie Conran for Porteirion
I love my everyday dishes, and it was love at first sight about 15 years ago when I first spotted them at Williams Sonoma. They are creamy white with a broad border of maroon on the rim and a tiny edge of dark blue. But they are stoneware, and that means that they have developed a lot of little chips, especially after they became my everyday china.
So I know I need to replace them sometime soon, but I am not looking forward to that angst producing effort. Not one bit. So imagine my surprise when, while window shopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I saw these dishes! They are Sophie Conran for Porteirion in Celadon blue. And they are porcelain, much sturdier than stoneware. And the internet tells me that they are on sale right now for about 50% off! That makes things very doable for me!
Early in my life I decided that I didn't need serving pieces that matched. I just needed serving pieces that "go with". So my large collection of platters, bowls and other serving pieces will go very nicely. Now, if only J will feel the same way about these!
Early in my life I decided that I didn't need serving pieces that matched. I just needed serving pieces that "go with". So my large collection of platters, bowls and other serving pieces will go very nicely. Now, if only J will feel the same way about these!
Quick Trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake, located on Lake Ontario, is the home to the Shaw Festival. I've wanted to go for a long time, so this year we were able to find a date when we were a)both available and b)the plays were running were ones we wanted to see. So Friday, Miss J and I tossed a few things in a bad and drove up.
We had dinner at a place that I had heard good things from from our friends Laurie and Pat. Zee's is located across the street from the Shaw Festival Theatre, but in our opinion, that was about all it had going for it. I would say the food was only "meh" and the service was really poor.
We started off with Caesar Salads. I don't really go for a Caesar salad very often, but there wasn't anything else on the starters that looked interesting. The salads were ok, although a little odd. the lettuce was cut into thin ribbons, and there were two rounds of fried pancetta. As far as I could taste, no cheese.
When we turned our attention to the main course, J didn't see anything on the main menu that appealed to her -- a very rare thing, as she is easy to please. She asked if they could turn an appetizer into a main dish. They said yes -- and then gave her a pile of shrimp on a dinner plate. No garnish, no side dish.
My choice was diver scallops on creamy polenta with puree of fresh peas. I got four, slightly over-cooked scallops on a very tasty polenta. The pea puree was the narrowest sripe of green around the polenta.
Throughout our service was very lackluster. The waiter would zip by our table from time to time to check on us, but wouldn't actually stop to hear what we needed. We decided to skip the desert and get an ice cream cone somewhere else. We stopped at the first place we came to: Cows. And oh baby, was it worth the points! I had something called Ooey gooey I think -- it was wonderful homemade tasting vanilla ice cream with maybe peanut butter cups or something like them in them. Really wonderful ice cream.
That evening we saw One Touch of Venus at the Royal George. The Royal George is described as being plain on the outside, but an Edwardian Jewel box on the inside. If Edwardian Jewel box is code for "tiny little seats intended for tiny Edwardian butts," it was. The play was light and amusing, with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash Book by Ogden Nash and S.J. Perelman.
Saturday we had breakfast at our hotel -- the Hilton Garden Inn, about 10 minutes from the center of Niagara-on-the-lake. The night before I had had a nice glass of Cabernet, and I was keen to buy a couple of bottles. We drove out to Inniskillen Winery. When I saw that the bottle was about $40, a couple of bottles became one. Actually, I realized when I got home that I bought something different than what I had enjoyed the previous night. I bought Legacy Cabernet Franc, not Cabernet Savingnon. Here's what they say bout the Carbernet Franc:
On Saturday we strolled about the town a while, and then had a light lunch in an open-air cafe. It was a really beautiful day, and J enjoyed her Chicken Caesar, and I my Brie and Ham on Croissant. (I'll eat anything on a Croisant and be happy with it!). The town was full of people, and flowers were absolutely beautiful. J's hip was bothering her a little bit so we only walked around a little while until we made our way to the Festival Theatre to see Oscar Wilde's "The Idea Husband." 
This was one of the best plays I have seen in a very long time. First of all, the play itself was hilarious -- Wilde is famous for his wit, of course. But there is such a lack of wittiness in the present time -- what passes for humor is just pale compared to what Wilde turns out. The costumes were scrumptious. I trolled about on the internet to see if I could find a picture to share with you, but unfortunately there was nothing. I highly recommend the play to you so you can see for yourself! The drive home was more or less uneventful. I think it took us about an hour to cross at the Lewiston Bridge. It wasn't as backup up as the last time we crossed there. (That had been on Canadian Thanksgiving and I think we were 2 hours getting accross.) But we didn't get home until 8 pm. But what a great time! I'm looking forward to doing it again next year!
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| Zee's Restaurant The porch was the nicest part. |
We started off with Caesar Salads. I don't really go for a Caesar salad very often, but there wasn't anything else on the starters that looked interesting. The salads were ok, although a little odd. the lettuce was cut into thin ribbons, and there were two rounds of fried pancetta. As far as I could taste, no cheese.
When we turned our attention to the main course, J didn't see anything on the main menu that appealed to her -- a very rare thing, as she is easy to please. She asked if they could turn an appetizer into a main dish. They said yes -- and then gave her a pile of shrimp on a dinner plate. No garnish, no side dish.
My choice was diver scallops on creamy polenta with puree of fresh peas. I got four, slightly over-cooked scallops on a very tasty polenta. The pea puree was the narrowest sripe of green around the polenta.
Throughout our service was very lackluster. The waiter would zip by our table from time to time to check on us, but wouldn't actually stop to hear what we needed. We decided to skip the desert and get an ice cream cone somewhere else. We stopped at the first place we came to: Cows. And oh baby, was it worth the points! I had something called Ooey gooey I think -- it was wonderful homemade tasting vanilla ice cream with maybe peanut butter cups or something like them in them. Really wonderful ice cream.
That evening we saw One Touch of Venus at the Royal George. The Royal George is described as being plain on the outside, but an Edwardian Jewel box on the inside. If Edwardian Jewel box is code for "tiny little seats intended for tiny Edwardian butts," it was. The play was light and amusing, with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash Book by Ogden Nash and S.J. Perelman.
The 2007 vintage in Niagara is one of the best in recent years. The long dry hot summer helped the grapes develop the required flavours. The abundant sunshine provided flexibility to allow extended hang time to achieve optimal fruit ripeness. Look for 2007 wines from Niagara to show more body, structure and flavour.
I'm looking foward to trying it!
Black currant and floral aromas combine with cedar, tobacco and vanilla on the expressive nose. Black currant, ripe raspberry and tobacco flavours are dominant on the approachable palate that displays silky tannins leading into a long finish of blackberry, spice and tobacco.
On Saturday we strolled about the town a while, and then had a light lunch in an open-air cafe. It was a really beautiful day, and J enjoyed her Chicken Caesar, and I my Brie and Ham on Croissant. (I'll eat anything on a Croisant and be happy with it!). The town was full of people, and flowers were absolutely beautiful. J's hip was bothering her a little bit so we only walked around a little while until we made our way to the Festival Theatre to see Oscar Wilde's "The Idea Husband." 
This was one of the best plays I have seen in a very long time. First of all, the play itself was hilarious -- Wilde is famous for his wit, of course. But there is such a lack of wittiness in the present time -- what passes for humor is just pale compared to what Wilde turns out. The costumes were scrumptious. I trolled about on the internet to see if I could find a picture to share with you, but unfortunately there was nothing. I highly recommend the play to you so you can see for yourself! The drive home was more or less uneventful. I think it took us about an hour to cross at the Lewiston Bridge. It wasn't as backup up as the last time we crossed there. (That had been on Canadian Thanksgiving and I think we were 2 hours getting accross.) But we didn't get home until 8 pm. But what a great time! I'm looking forward to doing it again next year!Saturday, July 3, 2010
Hurd's Orchards and a Beautiful Summer Day
So yesterday we took a drive out to Holley, NY to visit my absolute favorite vegetable stand, Hurd's Orchards. Hurd's is a darling place -- full of jams, jellies, and preserves made from their own luscious fruit. And cookies. And dried lavender. And sweet cottage-y linens. And bowls. It is really adorable, as you can see. They have berry fields about 2 miles from the store and J and I headed over to pick raspberries. We intended to only pick 2 quarts for ourselves, plus one for our friend Liz. But the picking was so easy that we actually picked 4 quarts.The raspberries canes were just laden with fruit. When we moved into the field, the buzz of the bees was so loud! I was a little nervous at first because I am very allergic to bee sting. But I had an Epi Pen in my pocket, and the bees were actually too busy to notice us. It took us about 30 minutes to pick our 4 quarts and it was only good sense that made us stop at that. It so beautiful there that I think we could have picked until supper time!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Did You Feel That?
We just had an earthquake -- yes! In Rochester, NY!
So, here's The Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, which is said "during a solar or lunar eclipse, during an earthquake or when the earth rumbles, at the solstices or the New Year."
The Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, The Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra
Ho! Everything - appearance and existence, samsara and nirvana, has a single ground, yet two paths and two fruitions, and magically displays as awareness or unawareness.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all beings become Buddhas, completely perfected in the abode of the dharmadhatu. The ground of all is uncompounded, and the self-arising great expanse, beyond expression, has neither the name samsara nor nirvana. Realizing just this you are a Buddha; not realizing this you are a being wandering in samsara.
I pray that all you beings of the three realms may realize the true meaning of the inexpressible ground.
I, Kuntuzangpo, have realized the truth of this ground, free from cause and condition, which is just this self-arising awareness. It is unstained by outer expression and inner thought, affirmation or denial and is not defiled by the darkness of unmindfulness. Thus this self-manifesting display is free from defects.
I, Kuntuzangpo, abide as intrinsic awareness. Even though the three realms were to be destroyed, there is no fear. There is no attachment to the five desirable qualities of sense objects. In self-arising consciousness, free of thoughts, there is neither solid form nor the five poisons.
In the unceasing clarity of awareness, singular in essence, there yet arises the display of the five wisdoms. From the ripening of these five wisdoms, the five original Buddha families emerge, and through the expanse of their wisdom, the 42 peaceful Buddhas appear. Through the arising power of the five wisdoms, the 60 wrathful Herukas manifest. Thus the ground awareness is never mistaken or wrong.
I, Kuntuzangpo, am the original Buddha of all, and through this prayer of mine, may all you beings who wander in the three realms of samsara realize this self-arising awareness, and may your great wisdom spontaneously increase.
My emanations will continuously manifest in billions of unimaginablevways, appearing in forms to help you beings who can be trained. From thevbeginning you beings are deluded because you do not recognize the awareness of the ground.
Being thus unmindful of what occurs is delusion - the very state of unawareness and the cause of going astray. From this delusive state comes a sudden fainting away and then a subtle consciousness of wavering fear.
From that wavering there arises a separation of self and the perception of others as enemies. Gradually the tendency of separation strengthens, and from this the circle of samsara begins.
Then the emotions of the five poisons develop - the actions of these emotions are endless. You beings lack awareness because you are unmindful, and this is the basis of your going astray.
Through my prayer, may all you beings recognize your intrinsic awareness! Innate unawareness means unmindfulness and distraction. Imputing unawareness means dualistic thoughts towards self and others. Both kinds of unawareness are the basis for the delusion of all beings.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all you beings wandering in samsara clear away the dark fog of unmindfulness, clear away the clinging thoughts of duality!
May you recognize your own intrinsic awareness! Dualistic thoughts create doubt, from subtle attachment to this dualistic turn of mind dualistic tendencies become stronger and thicker. Food, wealth, clothes, home and friends, the five objects of the senses and your beloved family - all these things cause torment by creating longing and desire. These are all worldly delusions; the activities of grasping and clinging are endless. When the fruition of attachment ripens, you are born as a hungry ghost, tormented by coveting and desiring, miserable, starving and thirsty.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all you desirous and lustful beings who have attachments, neither reject longing desire, nor accept attachment to desires. Let your consciousness relax in its own natural state, then your awareness will be able to hold its own. May you achieve the wisdom of
perfect discernment! When external objects appear, the subtle consciousness of fear will arise. From this fear, the habit of anger becomes stronger and stronger. Finally, hostility comes, causing violence and murder. When the fruition of this anger ripens, you will suffer in hell by boiling and burning.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, you beings of the six realms, when strong anger arises for you, neither reject nor accept it. Instead relax in the natural state and achieve the wisdom of clarity!
When your mind becomes full of pride there will arise thoughts of competition and humiliation. As this pride becomes stronger and stronger, you will experience the suffering of quarrels and abuse. When the fruition of this karma ripens, you will be reborn in the god realms and experience the suffering of change and falling to the lower rebirths.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may you beings who developed pride let your consciousness relax in the natural state. Then your awareness will be able to hold its own. May you achieve the wisdom of equanimity! By increasing the habit of duality, by praising yourself and denigrating others, your competitive mind will lead you to jealousy and fighting, and you will be reborn in the jealous god realm, where there is much killing and injury. From the result of that killing, you will fall into the hell realm.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, when jealousy and competitive thoughts arise, do not grasp them as enemies. Just relax in ease, then consciousness can hold its natural state. May you achieve the wisdom of unobstructed action! By being distracted, careless and unmindful, you beings will become dull, foggy and forgetful.
By being unconscious and lazy, you will increase your ignorance and the fruition of this ignorance will be to wander helplessly in the animal realm. Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may you beings who have fallen into the dark pit of ignorance shine the light of mindfulness and thereby achieve wisdom
free from thought.
All you beings of the three realms are actually identical to Buddhas, the ground of all. But your misunderstanding of the ground causes you to go astray, so you act without aim. The six karmic actions are delusion like a dream. I am the primordial Buddha here to train the six kinds of beings
through all my manifestations.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer may all you beings without exception attain enlightenment in the state of dharmadhatu.
Ah Ho! Hereafter whenever a very powerful yogin with his or her awareness radiant and free from delusion recites this very powerful prayer, then all who hear it will achieve enlightenment within three lifetimes. During a solar or lunar eclipse, during an earthquake or when the earth rumbles, at the solstices or the New Year you should visualize Kuntuzangpo And if you pray loudly so all can hear, then beings of the three realms will be gradually liberated from suffering, through the prayer of the yogin and will finally achieve enlightenment.
So, here's The Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, which is said "during a solar or lunar eclipse, during an earthquake or when the earth rumbles, at the solstices or the New Year."
The Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, The Primordial Buddha Samantabhadra
Ho! Everything - appearance and existence, samsara and nirvana, has a single ground, yet two paths and two fruitions, and magically displays as awareness or unawareness.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all beings become Buddhas, completely perfected in the abode of the dharmadhatu. The ground of all is uncompounded, and the self-arising great expanse, beyond expression, has neither the name samsara nor nirvana. Realizing just this you are a Buddha; not realizing this you are a being wandering in samsara.
I pray that all you beings of the three realms may realize the true meaning of the inexpressible ground.
I, Kuntuzangpo, have realized the truth of this ground, free from cause and condition, which is just this self-arising awareness. It is unstained by outer expression and inner thought, affirmation or denial and is not defiled by the darkness of unmindfulness. Thus this self-manifesting display is free from defects.
I, Kuntuzangpo, abide as intrinsic awareness. Even though the three realms were to be destroyed, there is no fear. There is no attachment to the five desirable qualities of sense objects. In self-arising consciousness, free of thoughts, there is neither solid form nor the five poisons.
In the unceasing clarity of awareness, singular in essence, there yet arises the display of the five wisdoms. From the ripening of these five wisdoms, the five original Buddha families emerge, and through the expanse of their wisdom, the 42 peaceful Buddhas appear. Through the arising power of the five wisdoms, the 60 wrathful Herukas manifest. Thus the ground awareness is never mistaken or wrong.
I, Kuntuzangpo, am the original Buddha of all, and through this prayer of mine, may all you beings who wander in the three realms of samsara realize this self-arising awareness, and may your great wisdom spontaneously increase.
My emanations will continuously manifest in billions of unimaginablevways, appearing in forms to help you beings who can be trained. From thevbeginning you beings are deluded because you do not recognize the awareness of the ground.
Being thus unmindful of what occurs is delusion - the very state of unawareness and the cause of going astray. From this delusive state comes a sudden fainting away and then a subtle consciousness of wavering fear.
From that wavering there arises a separation of self and the perception of others as enemies. Gradually the tendency of separation strengthens, and from this the circle of samsara begins.
Then the emotions of the five poisons develop - the actions of these emotions are endless. You beings lack awareness because you are unmindful, and this is the basis of your going astray.
Through my prayer, may all you beings recognize your intrinsic awareness! Innate unawareness means unmindfulness and distraction. Imputing unawareness means dualistic thoughts towards self and others. Both kinds of unawareness are the basis for the delusion of all beings.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all you beings wandering in samsara clear away the dark fog of unmindfulness, clear away the clinging thoughts of duality!
May you recognize your own intrinsic awareness! Dualistic thoughts create doubt, from subtle attachment to this dualistic turn of mind dualistic tendencies become stronger and thicker. Food, wealth, clothes, home and friends, the five objects of the senses and your beloved family - all these things cause torment by creating longing and desire. These are all worldly delusions; the activities of grasping and clinging are endless. When the fruition of attachment ripens, you are born as a hungry ghost, tormented by coveting and desiring, miserable, starving and thirsty.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may all you desirous and lustful beings who have attachments, neither reject longing desire, nor accept attachment to desires. Let your consciousness relax in its own natural state, then your awareness will be able to hold its own. May you achieve the wisdom of
perfect discernment! When external objects appear, the subtle consciousness of fear will arise. From this fear, the habit of anger becomes stronger and stronger. Finally, hostility comes, causing violence and murder. When the fruition of this anger ripens, you will suffer in hell by boiling and burning.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, you beings of the six realms, when strong anger arises for you, neither reject nor accept it. Instead relax in the natural state and achieve the wisdom of clarity!
When your mind becomes full of pride there will arise thoughts of competition and humiliation. As this pride becomes stronger and stronger, you will experience the suffering of quarrels and abuse. When the fruition of this karma ripens, you will be reborn in the god realms and experience the suffering of change and falling to the lower rebirths.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may you beings who developed pride let your consciousness relax in the natural state. Then your awareness will be able to hold its own. May you achieve the wisdom of equanimity! By increasing the habit of duality, by praising yourself and denigrating others, your competitive mind will lead you to jealousy and fighting, and you will be reborn in the jealous god realm, where there is much killing and injury. From the result of that killing, you will fall into the hell realm.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, when jealousy and competitive thoughts arise, do not grasp them as enemies. Just relax in ease, then consciousness can hold its natural state. May you achieve the wisdom of unobstructed action! By being distracted, careless and unmindful, you beings will become dull, foggy and forgetful.
By being unconscious and lazy, you will increase your ignorance and the fruition of this ignorance will be to wander helplessly in the animal realm. Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer, may you beings who have fallen into the dark pit of ignorance shine the light of mindfulness and thereby achieve wisdom
free from thought.
All you beings of the three realms are actually identical to Buddhas, the ground of all. But your misunderstanding of the ground causes you to go astray, so you act without aim. The six karmic actions are delusion like a dream. I am the primordial Buddha here to train the six kinds of beings
through all my manifestations.
Through Kuntuzangpo's prayer may all you beings without exception attain enlightenment in the state of dharmadhatu.
Ah Ho! Hereafter whenever a very powerful yogin with his or her awareness radiant and free from delusion recites this very powerful prayer, then all who hear it will achieve enlightenment within three lifetimes. During a solar or lunar eclipse, during an earthquake or when the earth rumbles, at the solstices or the New Year you should visualize Kuntuzangpo And if you pray loudly so all can hear, then beings of the three realms will be gradually liberated from suffering, through the prayer of the yogin and will finally achieve enlightenment.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Garden Report - Mid June
We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful space.
Every part of gardening is a joy.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
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