Falling Slowly

Last Spring I attended a music recital at an academy for musically gifted young students in Denver.

The program offered everything from opera to jazz and culminated with a poignant rendition of a song called "Falling Slowly".

The piece was beautifully preformed as a duet by two of the academy's faculty members and was accompanied by the sweet sound of a tenor ukulele.

I was so impressed by the sound the came out of that ukulele that I promised myself I'd learn to play that music or die trying.  Well, it's been 5 months now and I'm dying trying.  Being a novice ukuleleist, this project has proven to be challenging to say the least.

But isn't it strangely unexplainable how there are certain songs which come along every so often and just blow your mind with their perfect combination of lyrics and melody? Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is one of those songs, along with several of Adele's creations, and I can't leave Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe" of my list.

So now I've included "Falling Slowly" to my list, for it is a song that has compelled me to joyfully work far beyond my abilities.

Of course - you may already know all this - but after I first heard the music in Denver, I did some research and found that the song came out of a low budget, foreign indie film called Once - a movie that took around 3 weeks to film on a $100,000 budget about an street musician working in Dublin, Ireland. Along the way the movie and the song have won myriad awards on the international scene and in particular, the song won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture, Original Song.

Wow, "Falling Slowly" came out of nowhere and won an Oscar!

Now recall this was a really low budget, small time, foreign, independent film. Basically one of hundreds produced and distributed every year.

But there was evidently something very special about this story for in 2012 it was transformed into a musical production on Broadway (yes-Broadway) and was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning 8 of those nominations including Best Musical.

Now that's an amazing rags to riches story. Should I say "only in America"? (Although it was written and produced in Ireland)

Check out the video below of the song "Falling Slowly" written and preformed in harmonious collaboration by Glen Hasard and Marketa Irglova.  After hearing it you too may want to include it in your musical repertoire if you haven't already!

But for now - enjoy. . . . .

September - Favorite Things

Here it is the end of September and time for some favorites of the month.   Included are links, when available, for additional information about the items. I hope you find some things in the list that you too enjoyed in September.  Let me know what you think.

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~ Bon Appetite Magazine ~

Years and years and years ago this magazine first inspired me to appreciate really good food.  Always interesting with imaginative recipes, now the September issue has announced that Luce Italian Restaurant in Portland (pronounced LOO-chay), is one of the 10 Best New Restaurants in the country for their brilliant Italian cooking. Congrats to Luce and Portland.

Pink Martini’s A Retrospective is the first compilation album by the American group, released in 2011 the album contains twenty-one tracks from six studio albums. What can I say, I love Pink Martini and their funky international style. They are just another example of Portland's really cool, but ever so slightly off-beat vibe.

Albacore Tuna Roast– grilled on a bed of Rosemary branches. The fleet is in, buy albacore tuna fresh from the Oregon Coast now.  It's the best September has to offer.  

Dahlias - Real dazzlers in September!

Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Goat Feta Cheese Salad - Some kind of wonderful!

Left Coast Cellars 2006 Heritage Pinot Noir. An exceptional wine fermented by native yeast in French oak and aged for 34 months, this wine has every component to age for a future generation. Elegant and structured; decant to serve now or age upwards of 15 years.
(only 30 cases remain).  My favorite for very special occasions and the very best company (dear old friends and family).

~ Portland Race for the Cure ~ 

The Race which took place September 16th raises significant funds and awareness for the breast cancer movement. It was a time to celebrate survivors and their families while working toward the promise of ending breast cancer forever.

~ Finding Portland ~  

You really should take a look at this time lapse video which is beautifully composed. It captures  the City of Roses in a most creative style.   If you like Portland, you’ll love this video - created by Uncage the Soul Productions.

Pumpkin Vase - Flowers, shrubs, and fruits can be arranged in a hollowed out pumpkin vase.  Perfect for October or November (you can use other members of the squash family also, depending on space and color scheme).  This and other stylish centerpiece ideas (and great pumpkin recipes) come from Holiday Pumpkins by Georgeanne Brennan, Jennifer Barry Design.



Here we come October !  Evelyn

Remember:  Buy local when you can!

Labor Day at Redhawk

The world outside of the Willamette Valley should know more about the incredible wine industry that flourishes within.  

With over 200 working wineries between Portland to Eugene I wonder if anyone is ever more than 15 minutes from a winery that produces some of the world's best wines.  Impressive, given that wine production in the WV didn't get started until 1960.  

As everyone in the WV knows pinot noir is king, chardonnay is queen and then there's lively, fresh and fruity pinot gris.

Being at the same latitude (45th parallel) as the Burgundy region of France, the WV has a similar climate where the glamorous, fabulous pinot noir grapes thrive. Happily we are becoming highly regarded for our production of truly great pinots.  In fact the prestigious International Pinot Noir Celebration takes place every summer on the Linfield College campus in McMinnville. More than 60 American and international pinot noir producers are on hand at the three day event to celebrate pinot noir and pair it with the absolutely most incredible northwest cuisine.

With Labor Day weekend comes winery events and celebrations all over the valley. This year, we visited Redhawk Vineyard and Winery which is just down the road in West Salem. Oregon wineries are generally unpretentious and laid back and Redhawk is no exception.  The tasting room is pretty casual so that you feel comfortable to drop in for a tasting, a bit of food, relax and enjoy the entertainment.  For $10 Red Hawk offered a generous tasting of 8 different wines plus a surprisingly wonderful barrel tasting of their 2011 estate pinot noir.  It was good!

As has become expected at Oregon wineries, we were serenaded by the toe tapping music of Joni Harms, Female Western Swing Artist of the Year.  And she was great!  

The food was plentiful   -  very tasty smoked sausages, homemade smoked salmon patè and topped off by their signature BBQ tri tip. 

Resident pal at Redhawk

The Redhawk Vineyard and Winery is just outside the city limits of West Salem. Their hilltop setting captures the beauty of the rural Oregon wine country. Although Labor Day was a bit hazy, the views of the valley, the Cascades and Mt. Hood can be spectacular.   John & Betty Pataccoli, who own and run the vineyard and winery, are committed to producing small quantities of high quality, yet affordable wines.

If you would like more information about the Oregon Wine Industry the Oregon Wine Board has a terrific web site: http://www.oregonwine.org/Home/

Life is good - bye for now!  Evelyn

August - Favorite Things

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and notice that publishing lists of things for one reason or another is a useful and effective way of conveying to your audience things you want them to know about.

I kind of liked the idea and have decided to start making a list on a month by month basis of great stuff.  So here is my first list.  Included are links, when available, for additional information about the items. I hope you find some things in the list that you too enjoyed in August.  Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear from you and know if you have a "favorite" thing about August.

Favorite Things ~ August (it's a short list, I'm just getting started)

~ Queen Anne's Lace ~ Tomato Bread Salad ~ My Antonia ~ Goat Cheese  ~ Cape Kiwanda ~ Blackberry Jam ~ Basil Pesto ~ Perserving Summer's Bounty ~ Rain Valley Soap ~ My Life ~

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Queen Anns Lace ~ Like blackberries, it grows everywhere in Oregon in August - in the city, in the country, on the roadside, and on the hillside.  It's really very beautiful, kind of like a snowflake in the middle of summer.  Makes a nice bouquet too!

Tomato Bread Salad - One of the best of many ways to enjoy summer's homegrown tomatoes.  

My Antonia - A great American novel by Willa Cather first published in 1918 which realistically depicts frontier life and the settling of the American prairie. Great summer re-read. 

Goat Cheese Cookbook  - Authored by Maggie Foard, there are over 60 farm-fresh recipes for appetizers, breakfast, lunch and dinner using various forms of goat cheese.  Each recipe is beautifully photographed and well thought out for perfect results.

Cape Kiwanda - The family favorite.  We never stop climbing the mountain at Cape Kiwanda!

Blackberry Jam - Plan, pick, and process.  My favorite jam always.

Betty the Cat – A loyal companion this month.

Basil Pesto - Perfect August addition to pasta, veggies, pizza.  Yum.

Preserving Summer’s Bounty - A "how to" book authored by the very credible Rondale Food Center. Everything you need to know about preserving food from harvesting, canning, pickling, drying, juicing, to root cellaring.

Rain Valley Soap - Wonderfully luxurious, lubricating soap handcrafted in Portland.

My Life – Ukulele king Jake Shimabukuro released a brief but completely delightful EP of six classic songs by a wide variety of artists (Judy Garland, Cyndi Lauper, two by the Beatles, Sarah McLachlan, even Led Zeppelin).  My favorite "In My Life"  is a wonderful rendition of the Beatles classic.

Life is good - bye for now!  Evelyn

REMEMBER:  Buy Local When You Can!