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Here is the full text of Steve Jobs' commencement speech to Stanford in 2005. It is one of the greatest reflections on life we've ever heard. If you want to watch him give the speech we have the video here.

Move Over, Martha!

From Anne:  "So am I the last person to know about this! I never thought of cookie cutters. I may just have to return to one of my favorite past times ... carving pumpkins!"

For instructions, click here!  

Fun, easy and fast!  How much better does it get? 

Many, many thanks, Anne!

  

Office photo gone wrong.

 Very wrong.  I was thinking that's an oddly placed breast. And then I realized...

That's the arm of the person in the foreground.

Thanks to Betty for this brilliant/unfortunate bit of photography.  

Bad Car Karma

Last time it was high-speed impact by a Municipal Bus.  My car was totalled.  Today, an oh-so-apologetic Palo Alto policeman rolling to a stop behind me.  Only a tail light/bumper disrupted this time/hopefully. Wrong place, wrong time.  In front of a distracted driver. 

Mr. Bus Driver was looking for lunch.  Mr. Policeman, checking equipment.  

It could have happened to any of us.  

Cell conversations aside, changing channels or checking AC could take just enough time to roll or roar into the car ahead of you.  

We all do it.  How many times have I applied lipstick and/or more while driving?

Today's message:  Let's pay attention, people.  

Update on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 10:14AM by Lois

Good reminder to pay attention and not be multi-tasking while driving!!!

I did it yesterday, reaching for my sunglasses which had fallen to the floor. This is why they are called 'accidents' I guess.

Ambrosial almond biscuits

Twice-Baked Biscotti

Makes 3 dozen cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 c sugar

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup whole unblanched almonds

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  In food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
• Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts.  Pulse just to blend.  Transfer to a bowl.  Lightly knead in almonds.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Shape each half into a 10-inch log about 1 ½ inches wide.  Place 3 inches apart on baking sheet.
• Bake until logs begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool to touch on a wire rack.
• Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Transfer logs to a cutting board.  Using a very sharp knife, cut each log into 18 equal slices.  Lay slices cut side down on same pan and bake for 7 minutes.  Turn off oven and turn cookie over.  Return to oven until golden and crisp, 10-15 minutes.  When cool, store in an airtight container.

Many, many thanks to Gretchen for baking and bringing this delicious Italian treat to our meeting.  I immediately scarfed down all remaining biscotti after everyone left!

An abundance of apples?

Many asked for my recipe.  Here it is.

For those who headed home with a bit of our bumper crop of apples, it's a variation of Ina Garten's French Apple Tart.

My simplified version:

I've used filo dough, Pillsbury ready-made pie crust and puff pastry in the past/all with pleasing results.  For the workshop, I used puff pastry.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

I used an apple peeler/corer/slicer to produce enough apples to cover pastry. Not necessary, but fast and efficient.

Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement more attractive.)  

Dot with butter/I used no sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking.

When the tart's done, heat low- or no-sugar apricot jam/preserves together with the Calvados, brandy, Triple Sec or cognac and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Terrific, as you might imagine, with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Getting a grip on garlic

WHAT?  CRAZY!  UNBELIEVABLE!  WOW!  

Thanks, Anne!

How to Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.

Who would have guessed?

Sleep well, dear friends

"Could I see a show of hands, please? How many wake up in the middle of the night and have great difficulty getting back to sleep?"  

Almost every hand in the room went up in our workshop yesterday.  AND several participants dashed to Costco for a product one mom very much recommended.  I found and ordered it on Amazon.

Surveys conducted by the National Sleep Foundation revealed that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Interestingly, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems. 

What to do?  

Read on and put a few of these ideas into practice.  Hopefully, they'll help you have a better night's sleep.

Naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin production is controlled by light exposure. Your brain should secrete more in the evening, when it’s dark, to make you sleepy, and less during the day when it’s light and you want to stay awake and alert. However, many aspects of modern life can disrupt your body’s natural production of melatonin and with it your sleep-wake cycle.

Spending long days in an office away from natural light, for example, can impact your daytime wakefulness and make your brain sleepy. Then bright lights at night—especially from hours spent in front of the TV or computer screen—can suppress your body’s production of melatonin and make it harder to sleep. However, there are ways for you to naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle, boost your body’s production of melatonin, and keep your brain on a healthy schedule.

Increase light exposure during the day

• Remove your sunglasses in the morning and let light onto your face.
• Spend more time outside during daylight. Try to take your work breaks outside in sunlight, exercise outside, or walk your dog during the day instead of at night.
• Let as much light into your home/workspace as possible. Keep curtains and blinds open during the day, move your desk closer to the window.
• If necessary, use a light therapy box. A light therapy box can simulate sunshine and can be especially useful during short winter days when there’s limited daylight.

Boost melatonin production at night

• Turn off your television and computer. Many people use the television to fall asleep or relax at the end of the day. Not only does the light suppress melatonin production, but television can actually stimulate the mind, rather than relaxing it. Try listening to music or audio books instead, or practicing relaxation exercises. If your favorite TV show is on late at night, record it for viewing earlier in the day.
• Don’t read from a backlit device at night (such as an iPad). If you use a portable electronic device to read, use an eReader that is not backlit, i.e. one that requires an additional light source such as a bedside lamp.
• Change your light bulbs. Avoid bright lights before bed, use low-wattage bulbs instead.
• When it’s time to sleep, make sure the room is dark. The darker it is, the better you’ll sleep. Cover electrical displays, use heavy curtains or shades to block light from windows, or try an eye mask to cover your eyes.
• Use a flashlight to go to the bathroom at night. As long as it’s safe to do so, keep the light to a minimum so it will be easier to go back to sleep.

Click here to read the entire article.

Update on Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 8:44PM by Lois

Regarding sleep issues, a friend gave me a highly recommended DVD that has been a huge help (haven't tried it myself yet) called Rodney Yee's A.M. P.M. Yoga, especially the P.M. part for night.  TM

Forecasting the future?

Thank you Judi!  You made my day!  How did they ever keep a straight face?  Truly talented.  I can watch this again and again.

Here's Josh!!!

You may have missed this last night.  Gotta love the mom! 

Moshi Moshi!

Your cell phone rings...  

but it's buried at the bottom of your bag.

And you can't find it fast enough to catch the call.  

It happens all the time, right? 

Never again!

Not if you have this totally awesome Moshi Moshi Retro POP Handset!

Brief background:

We were at a meeting this AM together. Across the table, the darling young mom pictured below picked up a message with The Most Extraordinary handset Ever! 

I mouthed, “I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT! WHERE DID YOU GET IT?  I HAVE to HAVE one!” 

“Happy Birthday!”  “What color do you want?”

WOW!!!  How lucky am I?

What a surprisingly colorful/creative/thoughtful way to start my day!  And it's not even my BD.

Here's what others on Amazon had to say...

Having lived six years In Japan and one in Okinawa decades ago, it tickled me that the product's name is Moshi Moshi. Moshi Moshi (hello) is the greeting Japanese people there used when answering the telephone. 

My initial reaction when I saw the Moshi Moshi handset was that is was a cool novelty that I wanted to get a few laughs from friends. But as I used it on my iPhone 4, I noticed an immediate improvement in reception and call/voice quality. People I spoke with also commented that my voice was much clearer compared with my Bluetooth headset or even when I'm not using any headset at all. 

I finally ditched my landline, and use my cell phone only now. And while that's more convenient for me, an iPhone isn't really designed well for long conversations -- it will heat enough that my ear gets sweat all over the phone, it's uncomfortable to try and hold head-to-shoulder if I'm on the phone and typing at the same time, etc. For those reasons, this works great for me. I can grab it and plug it in at any point in the call, the cord is the right length to use without being bulky, and the handset is a nice size and weight for holding head-to-shoulder without strain. Plus, the plastic has that "soft touch" finish I like, that seems to make plastic feel less cold, and definitely helps it stay looking nice longer. 

Works out of the box - just plug it into your iPhone and call! The sound coming out of this handset is clear and melodious ... brings nack memories of the very first phone my parents bought ... pure nostalgia for the soul, while the honey of a sound satisfies one's ears. 

In recent years one reads about the danger of radiation from cell phones - a higher incidence of brain cancers on the side of the head to which a person customarily holds his or her phone. While this risk is not fully proven, suspicions remain - but it is a fact that wired handsets are absolutely safe in this regard. Now, instead of using a wired set of earhones and a mic, I plug in this handsome handset into my iPhone. 

Enjoy it in good health! 

An Excellent Exchange!

When our children were younger, a few neighborhood friends shared cooking responsibilities three nights a week.  We did this for fifteen years!  Remarkable, really.

          

Each of us would double or triple a recipe and deliver dinner to the two other families. Very little coordination ever took place. And there were few, if any, disappointments. All of us were ecstatic that someone else had taken time to consider what our family was going to eat that evening. 

We simply set the table and waited for dinner to arrive between 6:00 and 6:30.  

It was, and continues to be, a sensational concept.  One worth considering at any age or stage.  

Remember, it could be as easy as exchanging your favorite soup.  Who wouldn't be delighted not to have to slice and dice your way through the day?

Bees in our garden, part 2

Who would have guessed how incredibly educational/interesting this could be. It was great fun being with Oliver on both occasions, harvesting and processing.  And I've been tasting on my own.  I do not want to know how much I've consumed.

Here's the most recent video with Oliver. And all that our bees produced.  Wow.  Thank you, incredibly busy/hard-working beeeeeeings. 

Heather's How To: Honey Harvesting

Still working on Honey Harvest, part 2 with Oliver.  Meanwhile, here's Heather.  You'll love the juxtaposition of Heather's and Oliver's operations!  Love them both.  I think I could actually do Heather's harvesting.  

Every time I work on editing, I have to have a spoonful of honey.  It is so incredibly delicious.  

Beginning beekeeping

I had been looking forward so much to honey collecting that I totally missed the far more important aspects of beekeeping.  I have a much better understanding of and appreciation for the work that is involved.  Both by the bees and the beekeepers.

Thank you, Oliver.  I am so incredibly delighted that we are hosting several hives.

More info ASAP.

Hey, we have a hive!

Our bumper crop of apples was the direct result of adding bees to our garden this year. Just as many, if not twice this amount, left on the trees!

Apple pies, apple turnovers, apple crisp, apple sauce, rustic apple tarts...

Next: We're suiting up, having a look at our hives and harvesting the honey!  Stay tuned.

Another reminder

I know, I know.  You don't want to think about this.  Neither did I.  BUT I finally stocked up.  And I feel much better.  I know you will, too.

It simply makes sense to set aside some Earthquake preparedness supplies.

Thinking ahead: Thanksgiving is a perfect time to recycle still-fresh foods to various soup kitchens and to replenish your own supplies for another year.

Just a reminder.  With you and your family in mind. 

Ahhhhhhh-mazing.

Silhouettes again.

My other top pick:

Tough decision tonight.  One hour earlier than usual.  So much talent tucked away in our country.

And YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!, he won!  What a story. 

The Right Stuff!

It looked so easy. 

So effortless. 

So much fun. 

And it was. 

Until I crashed. 

Stop laughing.

Today's intent was to write about pushing the envelope.  Now, after watching several instructional videos, I see that my focus should have been more about reading the manual first. 

Turns out that it is relatively easy and it is great fun. Once you know how to dismount. 

 No, not a regular bike. Something much more exciting. 

Something like this:

One son assessed his recent ride as “a mix of fun and fear!”  He, too, had not read the manual nor he watched the instructional video.  Genes.  Or the fact that I didn't tell him either existed. 

If you see me lying by the side of the road, please set me back up and send me home, ok?  Good. Thanks. 

Meanwhile, I need a little more practice before I take on the hills as the following video demonstrates. Hey, we used to think that walking this Sharon Height's hill was an accomplishment!!! These people have definitely taking our morning hike to a new level.

Feeling the fear and doing it anyway. This time with a helmet and some actual knowledge.  And maybe one of those inflatable Sumo Suits.

Absolutely lovely