Not so much has changed since I wrote my March blog: I am still busking in the Berkeley BART stations twice a day five days a week, plus singing at the Farmers’ Market some Saturdays. I get up and eat breakfast, often flavored oatmeal cooked in milk, but sometimes leftover pie or scrambled eggs with cheese or vegetables, fresh cinnamon rolls, Shredded Wheat with sliced strawberries now that spring has come.
I am almost always home for lunch, which I generally eat with a pot a black tea, served with milk, English-style. Today I had tacos from some leftover poached chicken, simmered in green salsa, with sour cream, shredded cheese, romaine lettuce and cilantro. Yesterday I ate leftover rolls and Cotswold cheese, a blood orange and a sliver of leftover coconut custard pie (It was a pie-for-breakfast day).
Ever since my younger brother moved home my mother has taken over most of the cooking — she seems to think that Bryan will starve without her intervention. I sometimes cook for Johnny: Friday I cooked him an impromptu gumbo, featuring andouille sausage, leftover shrimp, chicken and fennel, not unlike the Mumbo-Jumbo Gumbo I’ve written about before. Tonight I helped prepare a simple supper of spaghetti, grated cheese, Italian sausage-flavored Prego from the jar. I ate my pasta mixed with leftover sauteed bok choy. Mom fixed a bowl of fresh blackberries with sugar and, voila, c’est tout.
I am still buying bags of “cosmetically-challenged” Moro blood oranges from the Farmers’ Market and eating them out of hand as snacks. I still buy Farmers’ Market carrots, which are sweeter than supermarket ones. I still buy fresh walnuts in the shell — not much has changed, although last week I bought a few fresh sugar snap peas to snack on.
Tomorrow I am taking a morning off my busking day job to attend a pre-dawn Morris Dance event in Tilden Park. I will assist my friend Vicki at the grand May Day breakfast after the sun has been danced into the sky (You last heard of Vicki when I mentioned attending the Hobbits’ Second Breakfast at her house). Perhaps I will bring back some food stories or recipes for May. You never know. Anything can happen.
What I completely forgot to mention in my March post because I was running around going to Natalie Goldberg‘s readings for her new book, The True Secret of Writing, is that I am featured in the book: the chapter on Practice contains a story about me, a snippet of my writing and the words to my song “The Wallflower Waltz.” Those of you who are interested in writing or meditation practice (which is the true secret of writing) will want to read this book. Natalie, of course, is best-known for her book Writing Down the Bones.
Nice to see your blog post pop up on my reader, Sharyn. Best wishes to you and your family.
daisy
Thank you, Daisy.
I was thinking about you the other day as I made some of your feta pancakes. I’ll check out the links later as I’m using my phone and I find it has limitations for reading!
Nice to hear from you, Claire. I don’t spend much time in the blogosphere anymore.
So glad to see a post and catch up with all your activity. Glad to see that you are still creating, writing, music and meals.
Thank you, Jane. Yes, I am keeping on.
Glad to see you posting! Lovely to read your writing, as always.
Thank you, Susan. I can manage about once a month, it seems.
I enjoy hearing from you whenever you find the time to pop in to the blogging world, Sharyn. How wonderful to be included in one of Natalie’s books. And it sounds like your life is very full right now, and that’s what matters! 🙂 ox
Ha! So good to land here again, as myself this time! I just listened to your music. Ever thought of submitting it to NPR’s All The Traditions? I’ve been thinking about you. You are the reason I finally launched my art blog. It took a long time and a sudden change of circumstances, but finding you and following your blog planted a seed that never stopped growing in the background. THANK YOU. Wishing you a splendid month of May.
Good to hear from you, MacMurray. What’s this about an art blog? I’ll have to check it out, although I spend only minutes rather than hours in the blogosphere these days, what with working so many more hours.
Thank you. Glad to hear you spend so much more time doing something you love.
All of it is creative. But I always wanted to be a “real musician,” working as one, playing everyday, and now I am one on a minor level.
You work hard but you always make sure to eat well, I am sure this helps energise you as you go, thank goodness the wintry busking is over for another year, I could just feel your cold feet sometimes.. love to your Mum, and Jonny… c
Some days it is so cold and windy here, it might as well be winter, Miss C., but the other spring days have been in the high seventies and low eighties — I have to check the weather forecast every morning before I go out to sing. Singing is hard work, although not as hard as the work you do! I’m still singing three hours a day six days a week. I’ll get a break next month (more about that later).
Mumbo-Jumbo Gumbo indeed… and to think of these going with some nice spaghetti! Very nice writing.
Shakti
Congratulations on being featured in the book Sharyn 🙂
I have not made gumbo in so long, I need to change that
Thank you, Sawsan. It is exciting to read my story in Natalie’s book.
Somehow I missed this post, Sharyn. I have not been out reading as much as I’d like lately…multi tasking for work here, too and it takes a lot of time. Glad you are hanging in and doing well and congrats on being in the book…and again, the good news about you and Johnny. Looking forward to your next post.