It's rainy and damp and first thing in the morning it feels as cool as it ever gets here in Panama City. We didn't even get to the park on the weekend because it was just too wet. It is contemplative, taking stock kind of weather.
I've been cleaning out closets and cupboards. The musty mouldiness is not kind to clothes and papers and I need to go through and cull stuff regularly. In this climate there is no point in keeping anything you don't need. I like this about the tropics, it forces you to keep the junk at a minimum (which I could be better at--I don't think I dislike anyone enough to give them a Christmas gift in a mouldy gift bag from last year).
I hate throwing things out. The best solution would probably to bring less stuff in. I think about it when I am buying things. Do I really need this? Will I ever actually wear this? But I need to do better judging from the amount of stuff I got rid of this weekend.
The hem of my jeans is always wet these days. The streets of Panama do not favour walkers at the best of times and when it's wet like this, it's pain to have to walk anywhere.
Clearly our rabbits are male and female (we couldn't tell before). So far I haven't found a vet who will fix them. This means we will have to get another cage and separate them and this makes me sad because they are pals.
This last season of Breaking Bad was good. I just watched the finale and thought it was one of the best episodes of the season. I really appreciate the careful plotting of this show. The acting is good, but it's the writing that really impresses me.
Hot black coffee with something sweet is one of the great pleasures in life. I fell in love with coffee all over again while enjoying a cupcake the other day. I don't eat many sweets and I've cut back on coffee and it was amazing how much pleasure this little indulgence gave me. I don't really miss sweets and coffee (I really feel better without them). But this particular cupcake and cup of coffee were heavenly.
I like this song. I didn't so much at first, but it has grown on me:
The most impressive thing I did in the kitchen this week was the birthday cupcakes. I really liked this recipe and the one bowl technique. I can't get cake flour here, so I just used the whitest all-purpose I could find an the texture was very nice. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart. Make sure you watch the video and see a fellow who is very enthusiastic about cupcakes!
My older daughter turned twelve yesterday. It was a good day. I made many vanilla cupcakes to take to school. The tradition at our school is for the parents to dash in with a cake at lunch recess (it's only twenty minutes) and sing happy birthday with the kid's class. It's a nice tradition for middle of the week birthdays. After school she had quite a bit of homework, but she did it without complaining (I cannot say the same for her sister who complained quite a lot about her own homework). Then we went out for sushi. Even though it seemed kind of uneventful, she said it was her best birthday yet. I adore that child.
The books and stuff I ordered for her just arrived today. So when she gets home I get to give her Jacob Have I Loved, which was my favourite book as a girl, and season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm not sure who will be more pleased (it might well be her silly mother).
We had a rather rainy weekend in Panama City but we did mange to get out for some biking/running/walking in Kiwanis Park in Clayton. I'm encouraging the girls to get stronger and faster on their bikes so we can all go for a long ride once the dry season starts. They don't get tons of opportunity to ride but, they are both getting stronger.
The park was lovely, and green and not too hot, and their were millions of fireflies in the grass when it got dark.
I love reading to my kids. Sometimes I'm lazy and slow to get there but it's the best. We are finishing The BFG and are going to start the The Graveyard Book next. We started The Graveyard Book once before but the opening scene is so scary we stopped. My younger daughter loves stories about ghosts so we're planning to try again (maybe we'll skip/skim the murder scene).
This is probably the last time I'll have to drill the multiplication tables. My youngest is on the threes this week (why is 3x9 so particularly hard?). I don't really enjoy math flash cards, but this is it so I should enjoy it (or something).
My almost twelve year old cannot seem to get enough sleep. It's freaky how tired she is (I keep getting paranoid that she's sick). I read somewhere once that adolescents actually need more sleep (contrary to their love of staying up late) because of growth and hormones and I can totally see that.
My cats do love me after all. I was lamenting the other day how little my cats like to be held and snoodled, but then I noticed that they're always around. They seem to like to like to hang around me (laundry, bathroom, kitchen, wherever), they just don't like to be touched very much.
Laura Marling is totally impressive (can you believe that she is just 21?). I like her new album and have really enjoyed hearing her interviewed lately. But this song from her last album is still my favourite:
This week's recipe is for chocolate muffins. This is what my kids request when they want something fresh-baked. I oblige them because this is so simple and fast and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. I sometimes do half quinoa flour to improve it nutritionally. My kids could do this recipe on their own and next time I'll likely let them. Also, even though it's not a huge recipe, there's always left-overs for the lunch boxes.
Chocolate Muffins
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (save 1/4 cup for sprinkling)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 12 muffin cups with papers.
Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar (sift, if your kitchen is as humid as mine), and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips into a large bowl. Mix all the liquid ingredients into another bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Don't overmix. Spoon into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top and then bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are springy.
I've been busy with some of my teacher responsibilities this week. There have been grades to hand in and also recommendation letters. I don't get asked too often to write recommendations, so it's really a pleasure rather than a burden. I've had the privilege to teach some really smart kids and I like to have the opportunity to tell the world how great they are.
Last year a student asked me for a letter for some activity he was hoping to participate in. This was a smart kid, and not just test smart, but an actual deep thinker. Also quiet. Some teachers complained he didn't participate enough in class, which I never minded (I always knew I could count on him for an answer when his classmates were faltering). Quiet people are punished sometimes and I think there's actually a shortage of quiet observers in this world (and way too many people running off at the mouth, and way too much value given to said verbosity). Anyway, I was happy to write a letter for him. Once I had the letter, I wasn't sure of the protocol for getting school letterhead etc.. and I went to my department head. She told me what I needed to do, and told me to make sure I sealed the envelope before I gave it to the student. I did this and have regretted it ever since. He deserved to see the letter! He's a brilliant kid totally deserving of my praise. I decided after to give him a copy of the letter, but I didn't get the chance. It seems so stingy and it still bugs me.
This time I'll make sure the kids get to read my recommendations. And I really can't imagine why they shouldn't.
So I finally ran my much anticipated 21k on Sunday. It rained the entire race. Which seemed bad at first when I got out of the car, and seemed worse as I stood in line for the portable toilet, and dreadful as we all stood milling around, soaked to the skin, waiting for the race to start (6:30 start time was delayed to 7:00 because of the rain). But it was totally fine. In fact it was great--I don't think I've ever enjoyed running more.
It was so cool, and green, and beautiful. The rain was not torrential, but steady and the scenery on the course was spectacular. The jungle along the canal is gorgeous and the rainy misty weather only made the greens more intense. The rain also kept the temperature down and I found that I felt much better than I had during any of the past sunny races. Between the verdant gorgeousness that surrounded me and the refreshing rain, I enjoyed the run immensely.
My final time was 2:20. Maybe not as fast as I would like, but probably not so bad for my first time.
finish line
So now I can cross half marathon off my 2011 to-do list and move on to the next thing. A Panamanian driver's licence. This will probably be harder for me than the half marathon. I am afraid of driving and I haven't driven in the last fifteen years. Panama is a driving city and my life will be better if I drive... but I dread it.
