Miss Tattman's Year in Review Pt II- in which we meet the gentlemen....

 Part I here.

From left to right; Mr. Cushing (the Dreadful Cousin, hereafter referred to as the D.C.), Mr. Tumbusch, Mr. Ramsey, and the Doctor

Portrait by Toni Tumbusch. 

August 23, 181—

My Dearest Emily,

My Aunt and Uncle Downward and I have arrived safely in New York, where my uncle informs us we shall spend nearly a month before returning (all without the D.C., thank goodness, but more on that later). I was sorry to spend so little time in your part of the country, but it was most cheerfully spent for all that!

Uncle Downward. 

Portrait by Stephen Jacobson.

I was so pleased to finally observe all those dear folk whom you had written to me about in their natural habitat, as it were. Mr. and Mrs. Hedgewood are just as you have made them out, and it is clear that Mr. H. especially regards you as his own dear child. As for Mister Ramsey, he is as dear and kind as I fully expected, and you were right about his delightful wit!  

Mr. Ramsey immortalized.

My cousin is everything and nothing I expected. I was surprised to find you so well acquainted. I must say, it is rather a hard thing to find one’s ally and one’s intended foe at parley before one arrives on the field! He was exceedingly attentive to me during my entire stay- despite my repeated assurances that such devotion to familial duty was not necessary. He met me promptly upon my arrival, and insisted upon repairing to lodgings he had reserved that I might rest, then poured more tea into my poor stomach than I believe I had room for. I am surprised it was not running out my ears. The entire journey to Nashville I swear his gaze scarcely left me - a most vigilant jailor, I must say!

At the ball I actually had to remind the man that proper manners dictate I dance with more than just the one partner. Luckily Mister Ramsey was there to rescue me for a dance, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. I suppose one might find the D.C.s attention charming, had it not been predetermined that the man is Dreadful. However under the circumstances I must say it vexed me very much!

The Dreadful Cousin....being annoyingly affable and charming...

For all that I will admit the man has a keen and sensitive mind, which did provide some relief and give us things to talk of. He is a great reader, and supplied me with many books. A most peculiar man, all in all.

There was one last person whom I was most pleased to finally make an acquaintance with. Your Doctor has finally materialized off the pages of your letters and proven himself to be just as handsome and  and dignified in reality as you made him out to be. I must say, my dear, that he pleased me very much. He was a fine dancer, and a most enjoyable conversation partner. In particular, he seemed keen to hear stories of our lives growing up, and was, I believe, most happy for all intelligence I could be prevailed upon to provide about my dear Emily. 

The Doctor enjoys a civilized respite after his labors. 

Portrait by Toni Tumbusch 

My cousin informs me that the Doctor is well liked among all those whom he serves with and attends upon, though of late the he has been of a strange and taciturn mood......... yet he did not seem so afflicted when we were all met together. I have taken a keen interest in him, and shall be most  interested to see how the matter sits when I return from New York next month........

Until then I remain,

Your Faithful Eliza

N.B. My Aunt and Uncle send their love, as does Mrs. Collier via post. 

I'm ok. Really.

So last night I went to a lovely ball with my handsome man and some of our friends. And they are our friends, a small corps of folks whom I have gotten to know over the last few months, plus my dear Maggie and her beloved. During the evening, several of these lovely folks came up and asked me how I was doing. In a very serious, lovely way, clearly saying 'Seriously, how are you doing? you're not betraying our friend if you are freaked to shit, it's cool, we still love you." I really appreciated it, but it was kind of hard to explain how really o.k. I actually am.

I know it seems like I should be pretty overwhelmed. There was one moment in the middle of the night about two weeks ago, where it just hit me 'holy shit, my whole life is 2300 miles away!". Not in a panic way so much as just "like, whoa.....". But otherwise, really, seriously, truly- it's fine. All in all, it really just feels like I moved to a new town. One with tons of cool brick buildings, because you can do that in a place where they aren't gonna fall down.

It doesn't really seem like it's all so far away. It's partly just Facebook, etc- I mean, I'm still in contact with everyone like 24/7. Also, really, it's not like I used to get out that much anyway. Especially this last semester, I really was kind of a hermit. Here, I get to live with my best friend and partner. And I love every minute.

This was the right time in my life to do this. I just finished my master's degree, this was a perfect transition point. In the weeks before I left, I kept looking around at my life; I loved where I lived, my snug little attic in the Haight. But what if I had stayed? What would I be doing right now? Probably sitting up there, desperately searching for some kind of job, adrift, doing nothing. Here, I have actually started my teaching career. And living somewhere new and building a new life feels good.

This is progress. This is my life moving forward, and it really does feel good. So, do I miss everyone like crazy? Of course I do. But I am good.

Really. I promise :-)

Potato, Mushroom and Kale Soup

So it's been some time since I actually posted anything cooking related, but here we go. I have made this soup before, and I really like the combination of things. I also added rice for the first time this time, and like it.

All ingredient portions are estimates, you can add as much or as little as you want! I also tend to go insane and make a GIANT pot of soup- you may wish to exercise more restraint ;-)

1 yellow onion- I really wanted to use a leek, but I couldn't find a store that would sell me just one, and there is no way I will use three leeks before they go bad. Grumble, grumble...
2 big portabella mushrooms, or most of a pack of small ones.
2-4 regular brown potatoes, depending on size and preference.
1 bunch of kale
1/2 cup rice
10 cups water - most recipes for soup tend to say 4-6 or some tiny ass amount, but I want more soup than that, and this is America, DAMNIT!
olive oil- enough to coat the bottom of your pot to saute the mushrooms and onions, and maybe springle a bit on top.
thyme- lots
oregano- some
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste- I usually put in a moderate amount and figure people can add however much they want. It's harder to take it out than put it in.

Chop the onions and mushrooms to desired size, and saute them in the bottom of your soup pot with the olive oil. The olive oil will form your broth base, so don't be stingy. I throw the mushrooms and onions in together instead of the onions first because the mushrooms take awhile and I like onions to still have some substance. If you were so lucky as to obtain a single goddmaned leek to use,  you might want to give that a little while first before adding mushrooms.

Make sure the mushrooms are cooked through before you add the rest of the ingredients, because they will not cook well just by simmering. If they aren't done before you add the water, it will be very hard to get them done.

All of this should create a nice, juicy pile of deliciousness while you chop the potatoes and pull the kale off the stalks. You can add the salt and pepper here, then the water,rice and potatoes, and other spices and bring to a boil then simmer. This should take about 15-20 minutes to simmer.

Nom nom, kale...

Add the kale 5-7 minutes before you want to be done- it doesn't need to cook nearly as long, and you don't want to totally kill it, it tastes better fresher. To prepare it, just rip it off the hard stalks in the center and rip into medium sized piece, then drop them on in. It will look like a lot before you cook it, but just remember it will cook down a bit.

This tasted good last night, though the broth was even better today.

Miss Tattman's Year in Review - Part I

A selection of Miss Tattman's letters to Miss Waterman in the preceding months....

Photo by Judy Potter

April 30, 181--

My dearest Emily, 

I write to you with what you will assume to be a heavy heart, but one which I must assure you has been lightened immensely. The long-ill engagement is now officially dead. I shall never be Mrs. John Harrington, and for that I must say I heave a sigh of great relief! What is more, I have been bought off, and handsomely at that! I have a healthy sum all of my own, plus a respectable annuity. I feel as though I have gone through a great trial and come out clean. I am to have the best of both worlds- the independent fortune of a widow, without ever having to go through the pains of marriage. May I live and die an old maid from here on out, I shall be quite a happy one. Indeed, I think I can safely promise you never again to fall in love.

                                Ever your faithful friend,

                                                                Elizabeth Tattman

Miss Waterman corresponds with Miss Tattman.

Photo by Toni Tumbusch.

June 5, 181--

Emily,

It is all settled, I am to come and join my dear girl in the wilds of America! Father has finally consented to the trip........... Until then, I am so ready to be done with Bristol, where my finally broken engagement is such a story of interest, that I have applied to Miss Jessica to allow me refuge with her in Surrey once more.

I shall take your advice about love under consideration, but I am afraid you may find me a hopeless case. I am too fond of my newly found freedom to even think of another entanglement. And you must remember that by now I am quite an old maid, and settled in my contrary ways.

Of course, I do not expect my friends to live by the same creed. I think, in fact, that I may safely assume that my dear Emily will not be following Beatrice and I to the gates of Hell....And yet neither do I fear losing her to some wild American…… Or perhaps I am merely indulging in fancy, since I have not had the ability to see you with my own eyes for so long. In either case, I know you will forgive your dear Eliza.

Your loving friend,

                                Elizabeth

P.S. There is one proviso attached to my American Adventure- I am to have my third cousin, Mr. Cushing, serve as my escort once I land. He settled there last year after his ship was dry docked or some such calamity. 

I confess I approach the arrangement with a certain dread. The last time I saw him I was a mere twelve and he fourteen, and I certainly felt he used my would-be girlish devotion most cruelly. However I shall endeavor not to let it ruin my spirits, and I believe with your help we may devise several schemes for eluding and outwitting my would-be jailor. 

Don't blink, you'll miss it....

Life moves so fast. Cleaning through my text message inbox, I realize it was less than two months ago that Alis, Alison and I were taking our comps. All those intense months of studying, coming down to four hours of incredibly intense writing. At one point just to break the tension I reached over and poked Alison, silently doing our impression of the 'Sphere of Domesticity'. Silent laughter ensued, followed by more intense writing. After that, we headed out for beers and Chinese food in West Portal, free with the knowledge that we had done our part and it was behind us.

And then began the waiting for the call. I had been silently, secretly hoping to get distinction, even though I knew Europeanists rarely did. It is totally meaningless, mind you- doesn't go on your transcript or let you graduate with honors, but when the call finally came and it turned out I had actually done it, it was incredibly satisfying.

I really loved my graduate work, even though in the beginning it seemed overwhelming, and new, and like I would never get to where I wanted to be. And then there I was, finishing on top, and with a job to boot.This is the second time I have graduated with a job, and this time it is actually 'what I want to do', teaching at a community college. This is what I went to school to do, and I am doing it. Mind you, I am only an adjunct, teaching one section, so the pay is well, hysterical. However it is still deeply satisfying. After my first class, I actually had a student come up and say to me 'I never liked history before, but this is interesting!".

There is still so much more to do and figure out- I need a second part time job, I need to decide what further educational goals I want to pursue. However for right now it's enough to stop and take a moment to truly appreciate what I have done. I am extremely satisfied and proud of myself. These moments in life are rare, and I mean to enjoy it :-)

Ask and I shall receive!

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Home Stretch

Ok, so, where were we- right, New Mexico! We woke up in the morning to a beautiful blanket of snow.

This was also the joyous occasion of 'Amy's first snow brushing experience' :-p

Also, the back window was especially cranky about pushing its way up against all the stuff shoved in the back in the cold that morning. 

From there, we headed into Texas. Now, I am very ready to believe that it is probably unfair to judge a state solely by what you see by the interstate. Goodness knows if anyone only saw California by I-5, they would walk away with a pretty miserable opinion of the place. Alls I'm gonna say is, we have never in our lives seen so many abandoned structures and vehicles as littered the sides of 40 going through that place. 

I think somewhere in there we stopped in Oklahoma for some Subway and a bottle of champagne, this being New Years Eve (more on that later). Which brings up an important aspect of this trip;

Food- Now, it's pretty bad when for three days, your 'healthy' option for food has been Subway. I don't think either of us ever wants to eat there again as long as we live. I think I also had more McDonald's hashbrowns over this trip than in the last year. All supplemented by apples, cup noodles and pb&j; basically all the highlights of a second grader's bag lunch menu.

Yum....?

When we finally got back late on the following day, drained of all energy, and finished unloading the car, we still somehow still found the energy to go out and get some vegetables for a goddamn salad. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted in my life. 

New Year's Eve evening found us in Missouri. It took us awhile to realize that we were in Missouri, because it turns out Missouri doesn't want you to know. Seriously. Every other state has a huge welcome sign. "Arizona welcomes YOU!" "Welcome to Texas, have a gun!" etc. I think Oklahoma's was a little run down, but it was still there, and gosh darn it, I appreciated the sentiment!  Not Missouri. We only finally realized we were there when we looked down and saw the mile markers had started over. There isn't actually a visitors center until you are literally about halfway through the state. It also took us forever to even find a motel, but eventually we did find yet another offbrand cheap awesome place in a mega truckstop-type town. 

And there my beloved and I settled in to ring in the New Year together. With this

It was labeled 'Fine California Sparkling Wine', and cost like a dollar less than Korbel. So very many lessons were learned that night, like, who knew 'champagne' could be that color? Or have that taste? Most important lesson of all, when in doubt, JUST GET THE DAMN KORBEL.

Other New Year's Eve highlights included....

We found this emergency plan especially amusing since this was the first floor, and the door just opened out onto the parking lot. ie, 'Open this door and leave. Done'.

This is a painting and ship's wheel Maggie left with me two years ago. Theoretically I was going to ship them to her, but I was always a little worried about doing it safely and within budget. Finally found another solution :-) 

They came in with us to decorate the room on New Year's. 

It was a lovely New Year's, spent with my amazing, beloved partner and companion. It certainly wasn't part of The Plan, but I wouldn't have wanted to ring in 2013 any other way.

The next day, we packed up, drove through Illinois and Indiana, and finally, at long last, on into Kentucky, to our lovely new home. Pictures to follow as soon as we can get it mildly presentable. For now, think of it kind of like this

(No, not with the kids!  we've only been gone for like three weeks ;-) )