Zinta Aistars's Blog, page 33
September 4, 2012
Grit, Glitch, Gap: A Perfect Union
by Zinta Aistars
(based on a wedding toast to my daughter Lorena and son-in-law Derek, 9.1.12)
September 1, 2012
The bride was late. The wedding was at noon on Saturday, September 1, and the bride was still in the van, her uncle Steve at the wheel, speeding through Chicago streets as much as one can speed through busy city streets, north along Lake Shore Drive, and the clock on the dashboard blinked: 12:01.
I sat just behind her, the photographer beside me, the bride's grandmother beside the...
(based on a wedding toast to my daughter Lorena and son-in-law Derek, 9.1.12)
September 1, 2012The bride was late. The wedding was at noon on Saturday, September 1, and the bride was still in the van, her uncle Steve at the wheel, speeding through Chicago streets as much as one can speed through busy city streets, north along Lake Shore Drive, and the clock on the dashboard blinked: 12:01.
I sat just behind her, the photographer beside me, the bride's grandmother beside the...
August 26, 2012
PĪRĀGI
by Zinta Aistars
PĪRĀGI
3/4 cup milk1/4 cup butter, softened2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons of sugar1 envelope dry yeast1/4 cup warm water2 eggs, beaten 3 cups flour1 pound bacon, diced 1/2 medium onion, dicedsalt and pepper to taste
Heat milk to almost boiling. Remove from heat and add butter and salt. Allow to cool, add sugar.In a small bowl, prepare dry yeast in warm water and allow to expand. Add to milk mixture.Add one beaten egg to milk mixture, then add flour one cup at a time....
PĪRĀGI
3/4 cup milk1/4 cup butter, softened2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons of sugar1 envelope dry yeast1/4 cup warm water2 eggs, beaten 3 cups flour1 pound bacon, diced 1/2 medium onion, dicedsalt and pepper to taste
Heat milk to almost boiling. Remove from heat and add butter and salt. Allow to cool, add sugar.In a small bowl, prepare dry yeast in warm water and allow to expand. Add to milk mixture.Add one beaten egg to milk mixture, then add flour one cup at a time....
August 24, 2012
Skuky
by Zinta Aistars
Lorena all grown up but still swinging
Comes that moment that all parents stand slapped and stunned, asking: "But when? When did my baby grow up?"
Wasn't it just a moment ago that I was pushing her on a swing? Little Blondie, gold pig tails flying, round cheeks rosy with giggly grins?
It's been some time now since I started to see my baby girl as a grown woman. She's wise. She's strong. She's a survivor. She's accomplished. I am as inclined to go to her for advice as she i...
Lorena all grown up but still swingingComes that moment that all parents stand slapped and stunned, asking: "But when? When did my baby grow up?"
Wasn't it just a moment ago that I was pushing her on a swing? Little Blondie, gold pig tails flying, round cheeks rosy with giggly grins?
It's been some time now since I started to see my baby girl as a grown woman. She's wise. She's strong. She's a survivor. She's accomplished. I am as inclined to go to her for advice as she i...
August 18, 2012
You, Here
1
Absolute silence.
But no. It takes a moment for the ears to lose their inability to hear. A moment to disperse the sirens, the blaring horns, the constant human chatter, the unending simmer of sprawl, houses upon houses and buildings upon buildings and roads crossing roads, buzz and bump and blather, cacophony never ending. The ears become deaf. Cauliflower ears boxed useless by NOISE.
A moment of sitting still here. Just a moment, and the ears shyly begin to open again. Deafness dissolves. An...
August 17, 2012
Southwest Michigan's Second Wave: Walnut Hill Farm
This week's issue of Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media: "It could have been a corporate hog farm. Instead thousands of roses bloom in Bangor. Zinta Aistars talks to Joyce Latta and Tom Conklin about the flowers that flourish in Southwest Michigan."
Tom Conklin and Joyce Latta at Walnut Hill Farm (photo by Erik Holladay) Roses are blooming big business at Walnut Hill FarmThursday, August 16, 2012 Approaching Walnut Hill Farm, about two miles south of...
Tom Conklin and Joyce Latta at Walnut Hill Farm (photo by Erik Holladay) Roses are blooming big business at Walnut Hill FarmThursday, August 16, 2012 Approaching Walnut Hill Farm, about two miles south of...
August 16, 2012
Couldn't Be Bothered
by Zinta Aistars
Learning better habits from my old chow pup, Guinnez
Busy day ahead, three interviews to do, but, as always, I begin it with a walk to the garden, harvesting seven tomatoes today and basil for a lunch salad, then circle around to the pond, where, as always, I begin my day by taking a moment to be fully aware of my many blessings ... thank You.
The three interviews this afternoon: recording an author interview with George Dila at WMUK radio; interviewing the instructor of t...
Learning better habits from my old chow pup, GuinnezBusy day ahead, three interviews to do, but, as always, I begin it with a walk to the garden, harvesting seven tomatoes today and basil for a lunch salad, then circle around to the pond, where, as always, I begin my day by taking a moment to be fully aware of my many blessings ... thank You.
The three interviews this afternoon: recording an author interview with George Dila at WMUK radio; interviewing the instructor of t...
August 12, 2012
Spirit of Place
by Zinta Aistars
As I putz around the old farmhouse at Z Acres preparing for afternoon guests, I think I feel the arms of the place opening up for an embrace. It's not just me that enjoys greeting friends and
Z Word
clients to this place ... Z Acres does, too.
We like our quiet time, the door closing softly behind us, the gate clicking shut, the very limbs of the trees drawing around and encircling protectively, but there is a time for all things. Other voices, other faces, other steps enter i...
As I putz around the old farmhouse at Z Acres preparing for afternoon guests, I think I feel the arms of the place opening up for an embrace. It's not just me that enjoys greeting friends and
Z Word
clients to this place ... Z Acres does, too. We like our quiet time, the door closing softly behind us, the gate clicking shut, the very limbs of the trees drawing around and encircling protectively, but there is a time for all things. Other voices, other faces, other steps enter i...
August 8, 2012
Clams Have Nothing on Me
by Zinta Aistars
Enjoying a moment at Z AcresI am as happy as a clam, yes, that happy, and probably, when shells are all busted open, my pearl shines even brighter.
Even Mondays are shiny, and that's a first. No alarm going off, jangling my senses awake; just me, done with sleep, gently rolling out of bed and into the day. That alone can make the freelance lifestyle worthwhile.
Busy, busy, however, is still the rule of the day. I haven't been doing this long enough to tell if it will hit a hig...
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Enjoying a moment at Z AcresI am as happy as a clam, yes, that happy, and probably, when shells are all busted open, my pearl shines even brighter. Even Mondays are shiny, and that's a first. No alarm going off, jangling my senses awake; just me, done with sleep, gently rolling out of bed and into the day. That alone can make the freelance lifestyle worthwhile.
Busy, busy, however, is still the rule of the day. I haven't been doing this long enough to tell if it will hit a hig...
August 2, 2012
The Guilt of Bliss and the Bliss of Letting It Go
by Zinta Aistars
My corner office at Z AcresI hadn't had a vacation since May 2011, when my sister and I took our parents up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to mark their 60th wedding anniversary. We all still talked about this trip; it was wonderful and memorable in every way.
But that was a respectable while ago, and I hadn't had a day off since. That included most holidays, as my last stint, working on a Great Place to Work application for a global company headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan...
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My corner office at Z AcresI hadn't had a vacation since May 2011, when my sister and I took our parents up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to mark their 60th wedding anniversary. We all still talked about this trip; it was wonderful and memorable in every way. But that was a respectable while ago, and I hadn't had a day off since. That included most holidays, as my last stint, working on a Great Place to Work application for a global company headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan...
Michigan Author Michael Delp: Our Interview on WMUK 102.1 FM
From the WMUK 102.1 FM website:
Michigan author Michael Delp on learning to see the world as a writer
(Photo: Wayne St. Univ.)Michigan author Michael Delp writes poetry, essays, and short fiction, mostly about his almost spiritual experiences with nature and the Great Lakes.
Michael Delp is almost more of a fisherman than a writer. Delp says fishing helps him to visualize the world like an animal, to look at the details in nature. He says one of his goals is to see more acutely as a writer.
Rea...
Michigan author Michael Delp on learning to see the world as a writer
(Photo: Wayne St. Univ.)Michigan author Michael Delp writes poetry, essays, and short fiction, mostly about his almost spiritual experiences with nature and the Great Lakes. Michael Delp is almost more of a fisherman than a writer. Delp says fishing helps him to visualize the world like an animal, to look at the details in nature. He says one of his goals is to see more acutely as a writer.
Rea...
