sometimes in september . . .

you realize 

there is almost nothing left of the chocolate you bought 

in Germany in May

and it's sad

like the end of summer

but worse

because instead of the consolation of fall--

crisp and lovely, full of soup and tea and sweaters--

you have only
empty wrappers

holds upon happiness

“What beautiful hyacinths! I have just learnt to love a hyacinth.”

“And how might you learn? By accident or argument?”

“Your sister taught me; I cannot tell how. Mrs. Allen used to take pains, year after year, to make me like them; but I never could, till I saw them the other day in Milsom Street; I am naturally indifferent about flowers.”

“But now you love a hyacinth. So much the better. You have gained a new source of enjoyment, and it is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible."

--Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Some things that I love doing are . . .

Having tea time with my roommate Michelle and anyone else who decides to join us.

Cleaning a room.

Eating chocolate. Or ice cream. Or guacamole with lime chips. Or salsa with lime chips. Or Thai food. Food brings me lots and lots of happiness.

Teaching at BYU.

Meeting with students to discuss their concerns about class and life.

Reading. I've long loved reading novels, but recent years have taught me to love reading poetry, compositional and rheotrical theory, nonfiction, and the news (especially opinion pieces).

Listening to NPR, the Mormon Channel, and other podcasts.

Sitting outside in the hour before sunset.

Being awake in the still of the early morning.

Talking with my family.

Sitting in the Celestial Room of any temple.

Emailing and receiving emails from my family (oh those delightful family email chains . . . ).

Visiting cemeteries. (I learned this one over the summer while visiting cemeteries in Massachusetts, Europe, and small Utah towns. Thanks, Sam.)

Writing journal entries, lists, thank you notes, blog posts, and, yes, even assignment sheets.

Getting absorbed in a meaningful conversation.

Laughing with good friends.

Listening in on strangers' conversations.

Browsing through books in a bookstore, touching the spines and feeling the pages, hmmming and smiling over the excerpts I read.

To me, each of these things is about an experience of calm. All of them cause me to slow down and reflect on how rich and good my life actually is and how kind and wonderful the people are around me really are and how numerous and personal my gifts from God have been. And maybe that's what happiness is? The experience of stopping to see the reality of the good God has woven into your life?

This e. e. cummings' poem captures my gratitude for these experiences well:

i thank You God for most this amazing 

day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees 

and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything 

which is natural which is infinite which is yes 

Yes.

Cambridge, MA

So, I've spent most of the past couple of days in Cambridge, MA. I love it. There are so many old houses and buildings and lots of red brick--it's just so pretty and old.

On Monday, I had a lazy morning trying to take care of stuff for Europe (like calling my bank and telling them not to freeze my cards when I start spending money in Dublin), and then met up with my friend Patrick for lunch in Harvard Square.

We went to a sandwich place called Darwin's. (I took a nice picture of myself standing in front of it which I would post if I had access to a computer with an SD card slot.) We both had portobello mushroom, mozzarella, basil sandwiches (so good) and ate them in a little grassy area along Mt. Auburn Ave (Or was it Mt. Auburn Street? I don't know actually). After that, we visited the Mt. Auburn Cemetery where I took pictures of EVERYTHING. Lots of headstone and flower pictures--pictures that no one but me will ever want to look at. Again, I'd post them for you but I don't have a camera USB cord or a computer with an SD card slot.

We spent about two hours wandering around the cemetery. Apparently, it's the first landscaped cemetery in the United States. It was beautiful--peaceful and quiet. There are a lot of famous people buried there, most of whom I'd never heard of. But we did look at the graves of some people whose names I recognized: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mary Baker Eddy (founder of Christian Science), and Edwin Booth (brother of John Wilkes Booth and one of the most famous Shakespearean actors in 1860s America).

In the middle of the cemetery is a tower that you can climb and see an awesome view of Cambridge and Boston.

After our cemetery-ing, Patrick showed me around Harvard campus and we headed back to Harvard Square where we got dark hot chocolate at Barlick's (YUM) and looked around the Harvard Coop--Harvard's university bookstore that is run by Barnes & Noble (I know, right).

Later, we met up with Patrick's bible study friends, Tom and Courtney, for dinner at a place called India Castle. It was delicious.

Today was rainy and overcast, so we didn't actually go to Walden Pond or Orchard House (that will happen tomorrow!). But Sarah and I did do a session at the Boston Temple (which was really pretty). We also ate at Chipotle (shout out to Gina & Rebecca!), ran errands at Target, and went to J. P. Lick's, an ice cream place in Harvard Square. I had chocolate pretzel ice cream. Again, yum. (I love food.)

Sarah dropped me off at the Harvard Coop where I read poetry while waiting to meet up with my friend Natalie. I came across this amazing poem that I think I'm going to make copies of and pass out to students who ask me if they missed anything important when they were absent from my class.

Natalie and I went to a concert by Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo, who I guess were in America for the Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennial. It was a beautiful concert that took place in beautiful concert hall on campus. The concert hall was in the same building where the Harvard freshman dining hall is located. BYU's Cannon Center has a lot of room for improvement.

After the concert, Natalie and I grabbed dinner at a cool little place on Harvard Square. I can't remember what it was called, but we had hummus and red lentil soup. So good.

And now I'm seriously considering moving to Cambridge.

indian curry wrap

For lunch this afternoon, I gathered together all the vegetables and leftover things in my fridge that I needed to use before they went bad and started experimenting. The result was this curry concoction:
 

Feel free to salivate.

This dish was inspired by two different curry recipes that my roommate and I have cooked up over the past couple of weeks. I sort of mixed the recipes together, and BAM, the Indian Curry Wrap was born.

To recreate this deliciousness, you'll need:

2 medium red potatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 zucchini
1-2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp curry power (yellow)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Salt to taste
3/4 cups of black-eyed peas
2 roma tomatoes

(Note: I'm mostly guesstimating on the amounts here--particularly with the spices: I mostly just threw stuff in until it seemed good and in amounts that seemed to work.)

Instructions:
Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and put them in a small saucepan to boil. Chop the zucchini and onion and saute them in about a tablespoon of coconut oil (or olive oil) with the mustard seed in a wok or large saucepan. When the onions are slightly cooked, add the coriander, turmeric, chili powder, curry powder, and ginger. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Add black-eyed peas. Cook for 3 minutes. Add boiled potatoes and chopped fresh roma tomatoes. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add salt to taste.

I served this with hummus in a tortilla, as pictured below (yay Costco tortillas), but I'm sure it would be good over rice or quinoa as well.

Enjoy!

Mountain West Burrito

Yesterday, I met up with a couple of friends from my graduate program to chat about our plans for fall courses and eat lunch at Mountain West Burrito in Provo.

Before I arrived, I was already impressed with this place because they cook with only fresh, organic, locally-grown food. Even their meat is free range. And, ever since I read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food last month, I've become very self-conscious (maybe too self-conscious) about my food and where it's coming from. It's nice to have an option for eating out that I can feel good about.

I ordered a roasted veggie burrito with a side of guacamole. (Each burrito already comes with a side of chips and salsa.) The roasted veggie burrito featured pinto beans and rice (was it brown rice?), zucchini, green peppers, onions, and probably some other stuff I didn't notice (I was paying more attention to planning a first-year writing course than getting the details right). Whatever was in it, it was yummy! The portions sizes are perfect: very filling without making you sick. The price is also great: my meal (including the add-on guacamole) was $7 even. Considering the quality of food, this is quite impressive.

This place almost makes up for this area having no Chipotle. Pretty sure I'll be a regular. You should go too.

P.S. Since I don't have a camera, you can check out this blog and their lovely photoed review of Mountain West Burrito for a better idea of the deliciousness that awaits you.