AfricanKelli

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I haven’t had my sewing machine out in a month. And it is way too hot to knit this time of year. So, more vacation photos it is!

Bruno — one of our canine traveling companions this weekend. I just love this dog. He is so sweet and full of life.

It seems my brother has fished just about every stream in this area. Apparently he once caught a “big one” from this bridge.

Warning! Lots of stickers!

I don’t know that you ever get used to this kind of beauty. Stunning!

Happy hippie life, that Colorado.

~K

I’m visiting my brother in Denver this weekend and simply put: we are having more fun than I can describe. There is something about being around my brother that makes me the most obnoxious, giggly girl on earth. We harass, tease and make each other laugh like nothing else. My abs hurt, and it isn’t from pilates. (Okay, maybe a little bit from pilates. Good Lord. Pretty sure it isn’t a coincidence that Pontius Pilate and pilates are in the same hellacious family, if you know what I mean.)

Pretending like we like each other — Grand Lake, Colorado.

Back to Denver. He surprised me with a manicure and pedicure when I arrived, took me for Mexican food about a dozen times over, and today we met up with my friends Sheila and Charlie for a tour of the Rocky Mountains. We went to Golden, Boulder, Gramby, Grand Lake, etc. It was such a fun day. I love Colorado! Living in Arizona, you forget what the color green looks like this time of year. And my goodness, this state is so incredibly green. And incredibly me. It’s been 10 years since I’ve spent any time in Colorado and I’d forgotten how great this state is. The people are fit (especially in Golden and Boulder.)

Charlie and I head up to the alpine slide.
Everyone here have great dogs and they take with them everywhere. (Seriously, I walked into a bar in Grand Lake — the Lariat — and there was a dog sitting at a bar stool.) Gardens. Hybrid cars. Women with gorgeous, long hair and no makeup. Men with beards that are sexy scruffy and not uni-bomber scary. Farmer’s markets. Bluegrass bands playing in squares using spoons and washboards and violins. Breweries on every corner. Peace bumper stickers. Random rock climbers escalating every valley. Class five rapids and kayakers tackling them every day. People everywhere outside, loving the earth and enjoying a beautiful summer day. I. LOVE. IT. HERE.

Rules. As if.
.
Today we went down the alpine slide in Winter Park. For $14, you ride the ski lift up to the mid-point of one of the mountains and use a tiny plastic to sled down a fiberglass slide to the bottom. Stupidly I got in the “advanced” slide line and ended up going last in our group. My brother and Charlie apparently thought I’d fallen off the slide because they were waiting at the bottom so long. I hadn’t. I was just, um, taking in the scenery, apparently way too slowly to be in the advanced slide lane. By the time I got to the bottom, I’d caused a minor traffic jam with seven other sliders behind me. Without realizing I was the one who caused the problem, a teenager walked by our group at the bottom of the slide telling his friend, “That sucked. I got stuck behind some moron going 2 miles per hour.”
Yep. I’m that moron. This was fuel to the fire for my brother and “one of his favorite stories ever.”

Grand Lake is one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been. Cute man? Check. Cute dog? Check. Boat? Check. Beautiful day? Giddyup.

Hope you are having a great weekend,
K

Diane made me this beautiful necklace. It looks so pretty with my favorite summer color to wear — turquoise. The charms read, “dream” and “inspire.” With tiny pearl beads by the clasp, and the certainty no African had his/her arm chopped off in the process, I’ve deemed it absolutely perfect bling. Ah, guilt free jewelry. As Martie would say, “It’s a good thing.”

I saw Jack Johnson in concert a couple of summers ago. He told this story about how growing up in Hawaii, he wasn’t as exposed to American culture as most kids. As an adult, when his also-sheltered parents listened to his music, he had to explain a lyric that included the word, “bling.” Later on, his mom heard some rapper using the same word and scoffed to her son, “He’s stolen your word!”

~K

My favorite summer foods are all red: tomatoes, strawberries and watermelon. Yum.

Recipes from yesterday’s post:
Phyllo Tomato Feta Tart
Ingredients:
1 package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
3-4 large tomatoes finely sliced, variety of your choice
1/2 cup of feta cheese
1 tablespoon of bay leaves
1 teaspoon of coarse salt

Directions:
Line a standard size cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully unroll your phyllo dough, taking care to separate the layers. I took 5 layers (or so) at a time and placed them on the cookie sheet. In between each of these sets of 5 layers, I used a pastry brush to coat the top layer with olive oil. Then I spread a fine layer of bread crumbs. Then I added the next 5 layers until the tart was the size I was looking for. Then I very carefully turned back the edges of each side of the tart, creating a lip like a pie crust. I dabbed these edges with more olive oil to hold them securely. Then I added my sliced tomatoes, feta, bay leaves, salt on top. I baked the tart for 10 minutes, turned the pan and then baked it for another 10 minutes. Remove from parchment paper and place on a cutting board or other serving dish. Yummy served cold or warm.

Spicy Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients:
2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix (or you can use a good standard cornbread recipe)
1/8 cup of cayenne pepper (I like food a touch spicy!)
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the cornbread mix as directed, but add cayenne, tomatoes and additional cornmeal. I like my cornbread dense and a bit gritty — hence the extra. If you like it otherwise, omit this. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

What is your favorite summer food?
~K

I had a chance to catch up with myself this weekend. I went for a long morning ride through Ahwatukee Saturday morning, managing to return to do the hills a second time through for good measure. Just like running, it always takes me 20 minutes to find my groove. My muscles stretch out a bit, my cadence falls into the right place and my shoulders relax. The first morning light is my favorite time to be swimming, riding or running. There is such potential to a new day that starts with a heart-pounding workout while watching the sun rise.

I found some time in the kitchen too, which was also long overdue. A girlfriend decided to throw a tomato-themed dinner party. Her husband’s garden was overflowing with tomatoes and they didn’t know how they’d use all of them. I could have suggested making and freezing the best marinara recipe on earth, but instead I graciously accepted the invite and brought along a few tomato creations of my own:

Phyllo tomato and feta tart

Spicy cornbread muffins with diced tomatoes and cheddar cheese

Several of you have asked how I am feeling post-trip, and honestly — I’m doing great. There was some initial shock to my system, which is par for the course after two weeks in Africa. I’ll never be able to reconcile that the biggest news in Mozambique is poor families dying of HIV and the biggest news in the United States (in the same week, mind you) is Paris Hilton going to jail, being released from jail, and oh wait! There is the CNN helicopter again. She’s returned to jail.
Oy.
Rather than throw my hands up and cry over such foolishness, instead I chose to celebrate the good. I took two friends to Mozambique who’d never been to Africa before. I know without a doubt, their friends and families are more connected to the issues of the poor abroad than ever before (as are mine).
As for those “stars” who can’t seem to get their DUI butts out of trouble, I highly recommend mandatory hard labor in an African orphanage (although I’m not sure I’d really want them around the kids.)

So, I’m not living in poverty. And I’m not returning to rehab for the third time before my 20th birthday. Life in this in between world is pretty darned good.

~K