Pearl #36 ~ Food Series: Inca Trail Jello

In what can only be described as mesmerizing Incan magic, the porters watching over us during our trek along this ancient path were able to produce some of the most delicious food!  Among that food was jello!

Now, anyone who's made jello will know that it takes time and a cooling mechanism in order to get the jello to set.  How these guys did it when we were packing up and moving to a new location every day and had no electricity is beyond me.  But then, they also did the trail in half the time it took us to do it, carrying our bags for us and setting up our tents and waking us at the crack of dawn with the welcome call, "Coca té, señoritas, coca té!"

Believe you me, this was not your grand-dad's Inca trail trek.  Eat your heart out, Hiram Bingham III!

Pearl #35 ~ We're Gettin' Away!

Hubby and me in front of the Milwaukee County Courthouse, having just gotten married!

Ohmygoodness!!!  I just found what I consider to be the perfect get-away spot for Hubby and me to celebrate our anniversary!  And I booked it.  Immediately.  Here's the low-down, without giving too much away:

• It has charm and whimsy and eccentricity all in one.
• It reminds me of Robert Wyland, a childhood favorite.
• It is in Wisconsin and has a definite Wisconsin essence throughout.
• The price is right.
• There is a zoo.
• There are antiques.
• There are Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
• There will be many photos.
• I will blog about it after the fact.
• There may be pirating.
• They're buying breakfast but we're cooking it, and, well, paying for it.
• This will be a fantastic get-away.

Okay, that's all the dirt you're getting since this blog has yet to go viral and I'm pretty sure the two people reading it know Hubby (not that I think you'll spill the beans or anything) and I think I'm going to keep it a surprise.  He knows he's being kidnapped for the weekend and that we will be exchanging gifts - or maybe buying gifts there - but nothing more than that.  Stay tuned, all will be revealed after October.

This will be a pearl of an experience for sure!  Yay for four years of marriage!

Pearl #34 ~ Happy Anniversary to Us!!

Hubby gives me a victory spin on the day we got married - 08/25/08

Astonishingly, Hubby and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary this past weekend!  We were actually at a beautiful wedding on a lake in central Wisconsin, so we didn't do anything too fancy for ourselves.

This led to what I believe is a brilliant idea:  While I am a huge fan of our anniversary, we have still not mastered the art of celebrating it.  I tend to talk about our anniversary for weeks leading up to it, asking Hubby what he wants to do, how he wants to handle the whole gift exchange thing, when we're going to take time out to celebrate.

That last bit is the main point.  It's not so much that I want to do something super fancy like take a huge trip or eat a decadent meal or spend gobs of money, although I'll acknowledge that I do like to do things that are super fancy like all of the above.  The gift isn't the biggest thing on my agenda, either, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't want anything.  I do.  I like gifts, both giving and receiving.

It's mainly that I want this day to be special.  Acknowledged.  Celebrated in its own right.  Officially.  Not shared or tacked on to any other sort of event or happening.  I want to be able to say, "This is what we did for our anniversary."  Because four years of marriage is a big deal, you know?  And we should treat it as such.

That's what led to our brilliant idea. Because, you see, we've actually already celebrated our anniversary.  We've gone to Discovery World, which was on our list of to-dos for awhile; we saw our favorite band at Irish Fest and danced in the rain to their music (a waltz, no less); we did a little antique shopping and ate lobster; we took impromptu anniversary pictures while dressed all pretty at our friends' wedding on a lake.

But none of it was "officially our anniversary celebration" (although Discovery World was semi-official.  Don't ask me to explain the difference.  It's a super girly impractical and emotionally-based differential.  You either get it or you don't).

And we haven't exchanged gifts.  Haven't even purchased them yet.  Haven't even decided whether we will purchase them, or whether we'll make them, or whether we'll pick them out together while on some excursion.  But mark my words, there will be gifts whether big or small.

So here's what we decided to do to prevent this annual ambivalence that seems chronically tied to our anniversary.  Don't get me wrong, we've had some great anniversary celebrations so far.  Dinner at a Turkish restaurant followed by a play last year was sublime, and probably the best we've done at "officially" celebrating so far!  But we struggle to decide when and where and how we will officially celebrate.  Inevitably, we wind up celebrating and exchanging gifts a month or two after the fact.  Last year, we stretched it out and exchanged gifts in three stages as they arrived in the mail (we're big online shoppers).  Really fun, actually!  We might keep some of that going.

So, to satisfy my need for all things official, we have decided to have an anniversary weekend.  A get-away.  Time for just the two of us (and maybe our future kids) set aside apart from our daily life to celebrate our marriage and the accomplishment of preserving and nurturing it for yet another year.  Because that's the way it should be.  This will also help us with our goal of exploring the place in which we live:  visiting new towns in our state, trying new experiences in our community, and exploring our extended back yard.

We haven't chosen where our get-away for this will be yet, but it will most likely be in October sometime, since that's the first we'll have available.  What can I say?  It's a busy time of year and there are a number of non-anniversary get-aways scheduled between now and the end of September!  But mark my words, an official anniversary weekend is in the works.  And there will be gifts, especially the gift of each other, together, celebrating our marriage.  Officially.

Happy Anniversary, Hubby.

Pearl #33 ~ Food Series: Fallen Angel

One of the best steaks of my life.  It had a cilantro sauce that couldn't have tasted better!

You may think that all we do when we're together is eat good food and take pictures of our blissful expressions while doing so.  It's true that this is a core pillar of our friendship.

I'm a steak lover.  Steak is my favorite food and in my nearly 30 years I have tasted some amazing steaks.  A handful, though, are a cut above the rest.  Literally.  These delectable cuts of meat hover in the recesses of my memory and set the bar of comparison high for the (hopefully) many future steak encounters yet to come. 

The steak at Fallen Angel in Cusco, Perú, was one such steak.  Topped with some sort of cilantro-based sauce, this piece of meat was cooked to perfection and managed to excite

every. single. tastebud.

To top it off, I was with the best of company.  The now infamous (at least in the realm of this blog) HubbyBubby was at my side enjoying one of the best steaks of her life.  The table had fish swimming under a plane of glass.  The décor and experience of the place convinced one that they had entered an other-worldly domain.  Perhaps that's the secret.  This particular steak was quite literally out of this world.

***

 

Pearl #32 ~ Ambering Days

The Summer Sun got old yesterday.

You could see a subtle shift in her appearance, the fringe of her golden frock tinged with amber like the cheese gets on the frozen pizzas in my oven. The darker crust speaks to you, saying it’s not quite done, but keep watch or it will burn.

So speaks the Summer Sun’s smile, it’s ordinary frivolity now paired with an almost imperceptible nostalgia.

There’s not much time now; the days are shortening and soon the cool breezes will be crisped with Winter’s soft whisper promising her return.

Soon.

The Summer Sun got old, but she does not regret it. She was strong this year and played her role well. She’s ready. Ready for this year’s turn at autumnal wisdom; the sweet, humming absorption of the year’s final warmth; the refreshed anticipation of harvest bounty; the comforting swath of flannel and jeans and jackets; the reflective pause before sipping a hot cider; the congratulatory pull of the quilt over her head as she lays down to sleep.

And rests.

The Summer Sun got old, but she’s not done yet. It’s only August, after all, and she still likes to play. She’ll come with us to the lake next week, she’ll dance at the last festivals, she’ll help us build another campfire, she’ll rise early with us as we go back to school invigorated for another year’s work.

Yes, the Summer Sun will still play with us.

As she does, the amber fringe of her dress will deepen, spreading along the folds of her skirt, continuing to soften its sparkling hue into rich caramels until, one morning, when we wake to greet her we’ll say to her,

“You look different, somehow.”

Autumn Sun will point to the red and orange leaves and invite us to wander the pumpkin patch with her. As we pull on our boots and take our first steps forward with our new friend, a final laughing summer ray will warm us as if to say,

“Catch ya next year!”

***

Pearl #31 ~ Food Series: Shrimp Soup Hideaway

HubbyBubby and I broke away from the crowd during our visit to Arequipa, Perú, and we discovered this delectable little hideaway with some of the most incredible seafood soup I've ever experienced.  And that strawberry daiquiri was nothing less than bliss in a cup!

Pearl #30 ~ Moving On

Well, I did say this blog is an experiment.  Yes, it's August 23rd and I'm only on my 30th pearl.  That means that there are at least 335 pearls for me to post by January 25th, 2013.  The challenge is looking a little more daunting now than it did in January of this year, when I was inspired and unemployed, with all the time in the world to dedicate to a blog.  The thing is that I didn't dedicate my time then, just as I haven't dedicated a whole ton of time in the five months I've been employed at my new job.

But here's the thing about me.  I'm a processor, a muddler, a mulling-things-over-before-I-execute kinda gal.  This can be good and this can be bad.  It can result in severe procrastinational tendencies but it can also mean that when I get around to executing, I've thought through many of the pitfalls, found solutions, plotted out an efficient and workable plan.  Packing for a vacation is a good example.  Rarely do I start packing ahead of time, but I start thinking about packing about a week out, if not more.  I mean, I already know what I'm planning to wear to my friend's wedding in Oregon in September, so the worst of that packing scenario is already resolved and I've still got a full two weeks before I leave!