July 07, 2012

Quiet Across the Tropics

It's funny living in a place where each hourly weather forecast on my radio station features the phrase "and it's quiet across the tropics", or something similar.  I'm sure it's normal for people raised on a coast, but it's new for me.  I have also noticed that when there is something brewing, but the diagnosis remains uncertain, you might hear a phrase like "there are no immediate concerns in the Gulf".

Anyway, for the moment, it is quiet across the tropics.  Every day the high temperature hovers between the low 90s and 100-ish, and every afternoon, almost without fail, there is a 30 percent chance for a thunderstorm, but rarely does it organize itself into actual rain.  I often hear a rumble of thunder, and see big gray clouds for a little while, but just as commonly, the formation disperses before depositing any precipitation.

In the meantime, after days of home-alone quiet and a brewing pity party comprised of my own small matters, I decided it was time to get out of the house.  I went to check out a local business about which I have been curious, that specializes in southeast Texan food.


July 05, 2012

The United States of Chili

Sometimes when I am stumped, I cook.  This week feels like one of those weeks.  Fresh fruit, herbs and veggies are bursting out of displays at the grocery store and I can't resist, even though I don't know how I am going to eat everything I bought.

To celebrate the Fourth of July, I did the most patriotic thing I could think of, which was to go shopping and buy stuff I don't need.  Today, I spent some time thinking about our nation while I made a dinner influenced by at least three states.  I cooked chili using a recipe shared by a restaurant in Minneapolis, served it in a bowl made by a potter in Missouri, and washed it down with a Texan beer.

July 03, 2012

Migrate: Read About It

Moving to places that don't make it onto ten-best lists, and trying to embrace what makes them tick, was the impetus for starting this blog.  It's easy to love a place where the priorities of the community match mine.  Thriving and finding happiness in places where people don't share my values has required developing new mental and emotional muscles, along with a willingness to more accurately identify priorities.

As mentioned in recent posts, in recent weeks my husband and I have been working to decide our next step.  For a period of time, maybe the last month or two, heading for a home base in Minnesota seemed both sure and sure-fire.  In the last few days, the pendulum has swung back to a grey area as we learn more about possibilities that exist if we remain in Houston, and I'm also feeling unsure about signing up for another immediate upheaval.  The benefits of taking our time heading home in order to make the most of the opportunities right here, mixed with an uneasiness about committing to separation for fifty percent of our time (which basing our lives in Minnesota would require), have risen to the surface of our planning efforts.  In all honesty, I'm stumped by this decision.