Paying homage to the Mighty Ball of Foil

I have a serious job, I really do.  But sometimes you need to make your job fun...and well...a'chem...practical!

I educate people about recycling.  Among other things, I create and send environmental guides to 170,000 households every year, I just coordinated the redesign of our tri-city web site, and I talk to people all the time about proper disposal and how to recycle everything from cans to televisions.  It's my job to inform people about waste and recycling so they hopefully change their habits in a positive way. 
But the education isn't always so "far off"...sometimes it's much closer to "home" and happens right in my office.  Hehehe...

My prime example...my pride and joy...the MIGHTY BALL OF FOIL. 

That's right.  For four years I've collected aluminum foil from my coworkers and made it into a ball.  Layer by layer it has grown.  Here it is as a baby foil ball from about 3 1/2 years ago.  (This is a horrid picture of a picture because I couldn't find an original, nevertheless you can see my excitement.)

It actually started with Hershey Kisses wrappers.  Did you know that Hershey's wraps 20 million Kisses per day using 133 square miles of foil?!?  And all of that usually gets thrown away.  BUT NOT HERE.  No way...I was bound and determined to collect as many as I could (and then it naturally led to collecting larger pieces of foil) to make a ball.  Even the tough guys around the office, the ones who'd sometimes scoff at some girl who wants them to change their ways and what, recycle (?!?), would bring me their Hershey Kisses wrappers and then the foil from last night's dinner.  Ha!  It turned into a phenomenon for a while there, every morning I'd get into my cube and there would be a sheet of the shiny metallic foil. 

Here is the ball...along with some bad asses of the office.  I love my job.  :)

My goal was to one day roll the ball out of the office and into the recycling facility.  I might still do that (it's definitely getting recycled)...I just need to find a photographer to document the event (Angela Hanson where are you when I need you?!). 

Here is the final version of the ball.  4 years after its inception.  And since this is the last week of my job here, I felt it appropriate to share with the world the ball of foil. 
Hehehehe...so much fun:)  I will miss this place and the fun we've had here...

Cheesy, delicate, and delicious.

This weekend was my first attempt at French onion soup from scratch (well almost scratch, I didn't make the beef broth...) and it was a very successful mission. 

Seen here with my also successful BLT.  But when is a BLT not successful?  Anything with bacon is successful in my mind.  It was, afterall, what got me back to the dark side from being a vegetarian.  Oh bacon...how I love thee.  I digress.  The soup:

Anyway, because the soup was so successful and delicious, and really quite easy, I though I should give a shout out to my favorite food blog Smitten Kitchen.  She does a lovely job at creating tasty morsels but also a great job at photographing them (someday I will have a nice camera that I can tastefully photograph my food with) and giving a personal touch to her cooking.  If I had A) more time, B) a computer at home, and C) a nice camera, I would consider doing a blog solely on food. 

I've got so many recipes of hers that I need to try...but these few are on the top of my list right now (this could change at any moment, of course...depending on my mood and cravings.)  Check these out:

• Tomato and sausage risotto 

• Eggs in tomato sauce
• Braised beef short ribs with potato puree, swiss chard, and horseradish cream

Hooray for food!!

Coconut? Yes, please!

Anyone like Lara Bars?  I do.  They're simple.  Very few ingredients, all with at least dates and many with only the addition of a nut variety or two, maybe some dried fruit.  I really enjoy "Cherry Pie" which is simply dates, almonds and unsweetened cherries.  Or maybe the "Cashew Cookie" with it's mere cashews and dates.

But this one...this one is the best I've had... 

"Coconut Cream Pie".  Ingredients: dates, unsweetened coconut, almonds, cashews, and extra virgin coconut oil. 

Delicious!! 

The evidence (one bite left):

A centenarian and gratitude

I have had the unbelievable opportunity to grow up with a man, that I call my grandfather, who is now (or will be in about 3 weeks) a centenarian.  That's right, 100 years old.  Hold up on the "oh wow, you have good genes!" comment, because he's not my biological grandfather...he was my grandmother's second husband, but on that side of the family, the only grandpa I knew. 

Regardless of the lack of biological kinship with this man, I have been one of the luckiest women to know him.  Having him live in the town I grew up in, it was easy to see him a lot as a child.  And I did.  I spent countless hours over at my grandparent's house, after school, on the weekends, during holidays.  My first day of kindergarten I went to their house afterwards and I remember telling them about the friends that I'd met.  I have such fond memories of playing cards (rummy) or Yahtzee!, he'd play the piano (with no sheet music, the man could hear a song and play it back), helping he and my grandma in the garden, or hanging out in his wood crafting studio watching him make wonderful, interesting things. 

But it's not just the memories of activities...it's the memories of his character, who he is and has been as a man, as a grandfather, as a husband to my beloved grandmother (who someday I'll write in this blog about, as she was perhaps the most special woman in my life), as a step-father to my dad and an in-law to my mom.  The unconditional love that he shares with those that he knows, and even that he doesn't.  The love he has for his family is astonishing...one of the little things that has always been a favorite is how much he loved my grandmother.  His second wife after his first passed, she was a jewel to him, and he would write her love letters up until the day she died.  (sigh...)  His strong faith has taken him around the world, helping people and learning about humanity and love.  He is truly one of the most open-minded men I know.  As a person who has questioned faith and religion in her lifetime, he is a beacon of hope of what these things really should be.  Nonjudgmental.  Loving.  Open to learning about what others believe, or what science is all about, or how the world works...all being true to what your heart and spirit tell you. 

A retired methodist minister, one of the most eloquent men I know, he has a way with words.  He makes you feel so special.  He remembers the details of your life and relishes in the pride he has for you.  He also is hilarious.  Always has a joke, a way to make someone laugh.  Even at 99, going on 100, he's got his wits.

When we celebrated his birthday, a bit early, a few weekends back, with his family surrounding him, I got a few simple points from him that I think he wanted us all to take away.

~Have gratitude and be thankful.  For what life brings you, for family, for life, for health, for learning.

~Love.  Love your family, love humanity, show love in all that you do.

~Have faith.  In whatever way you do, or however you find it, have faith in God, life, spirit.  Be positive.

~Laugh.  Always laugh. 

Marvelous Marv, you are a wonder.  To me, the wisest, most loving, open-minded, open-hearted, selfless man I've ever had the chance to know.  To me, someone who has taught me some of life's greatest lessons, just by being the only man you know how to be.  To me, a legend and someone that I will ALWAYS have the utmost admiration and respect for. 

I love you.

Texture

Natural textures are beautiful. 

These leaves are intricate and unique...almost like a snowflake with their fragility. 

This tree struck me as having a really cool pattern or texture to it.   (I need a better camera to capture more intense details...but for now it's what I've got.)

Family Tree

This weekend I had the opportunity to sit and talk with my Grandma and Aunt Mary about family.  We looked at old photos and my grandma told stories.  I love listening to her talk about her family.  I never met my biological maternal Grandfather Russell, her husband, as he died when my mother was a teenager.  I've always wondered about him...what made him special, what kind of man was he, who resembles him in the family, etc.? 

He was a very handsome man, with dreamy green eyes.  My mom got the eyes.  Apparently he had a boisterous laugh that everyone could hear if he was around...I definitely got that laugh, as did my aunt and many of us in the family.  He was a kind man, patient, and never boasted.  I think I would have really admired him, had I known him.  And he loved kids.  His life may have been too short, but I like to learn about him to keep his memory alive.  I know that my grandma, mom and aunt loved him dearly. 

Here he is with my mom in 1950.  My mom was probably almost 3. 

I also learned that my Grandmother's grandfather's name was Olie A. Olson.  Seriously?  I love that.  That is the Norwegian Olson family from my maternal side...not to be confused with my last name that is the Swedish Olson family from my paternal side.  Gotta love the Scandahoovs.

Well this is a new experiment for me...my very own blog.  My reasoning behind it?  I get excited about random things and like to talk about them.  So here's my opportunity.  Share with the world what I think is unique, beautiful, tasty, fun, etc. 

I'm just getting started...so hang with me!