(g s tr -n m k)

Otherwise spelled gastronomic, it is a word that looks and sounds fancier than it needs to be.   Merriam-Webster says "1. the art or science of good eating. 2. : culinary customs or style."  We Chais travel a fair bit, and whether we travel south 45 miles or to Mexico, a lot of our energy and interest surrounds food and drink.  Maybe it's magnified by the fact that we live in a relatively unimaginative gastronomic region.  I wouldn't even say that we've had the 'best steaks ever' where we live now - and really, shouldn't we have?  Considering the location...well, regardless of that issue, we seek interesting and new food choices.  And we don't particularly discriminate - street tacos can be just as, or more amazing, than a $200 dinner.  So we'll be happy to report on our adventures of the stomach after returning from Las Vegas next week.  Viva!

For your brain and soul

"I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me--that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns." --Anne Lamott

One of the reasons I love my friend Shari - she finds these things and posts them for the world, and I so very much appreciate the clarity.  

My Bucket is going to Fill

It's decided.  I will create and pursue a Bucket List. 

Turns out, not everyone knows what a Bucket List is.  Let's get a shared definition going before we begin.

From UrbanDictionary.com:  "A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket"."

Hmm.  Not sure if I'm a huge fan of this definition.  I might rather think of this list as "A list of things to do while I enjoy a full and interesting life."  It isn't so much that I want to beat death to something, but that I'd like to have some mini-goals that might or might not have age-based limits.

On the radio this week, a woman said something about the fact that she was not implying that the pecan pie her mother made was an easy feat.  I thought, I've never made a pecan pie.  I want to make a pecan pie.  Not because I want to eat it, but because I want to have made something that could be considered difficult by the average amateur cook.  Push outside the comfort zone, so to speak.  And I have recently realized that my comfort zone is...well....teeny tiny.  Like, Rhode Island tiny.  Dust mite, invisible to the naked human eye, tiny.  And I am no longer satisfied with Rhode Island.  I'd like to have New Jersey, at least. And then expand to Vermont, perhaps. 

So here we go.  I haven't yet decided the exact format of the weekly or more frequent entries, but I am excited about this topic and the voyage in general. 

What is to become of the blog?

I'm still stumped as to which topic should be the focus of my blogging.  Food?  Travel?  Certainly not daily life; talk about a boring topic.  A few of my friends seem to make daily blogging really work - but I'm not so sure that I am that interesting.  Or that I can make everyday topics that interesting.  Of late, I love food, and I love travel.  Both topics seem blog-worthy, and both are limited according to the annual financial picture.   So perhaps, we'll do both.  Fill in the blanks depending on the week.