desert spirit's fire!: poetry party 41

desert spirit's fire!: poetry party 41

desert spirit's fire!: favorite music 5

desert spirit's fire!: favorite music 5

autumnal 5

autumnal 5 on the revgals

I love SingingOwl's intro:

There is something so nostalgic about this time of year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. The nights grow cooler, crops are harvested, for some of us the leaves are beginning to change colors. The scent of smoke is in the air, pumpkins are in the stores (or on wagons, or in roadside stands for those of us in the country). I'm thinking of putting away my summer clothes and pulling out the sweaters. And I have a tub of Fall-themed items that my husband just lugged up from the basement. I'm looking for my scarecrow.

And I have a scarecrow, too! I bought it at one of the Christmas Tree Shops on Cape Cod and it is so cute it stays in a living room corner all year round.

1. So many memories of the falling time of the year, but maybe especially taking a trek to Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts or to Julian, California to buy pumpkins and apples along the way and probably enjoy a hearty lunch or dinner at our destination, too. Remembering and anticipating Autumn smells like apple pies, crisps, and cobblers.

I also truly love going back to school rituals of buying clothes, notebooks, papers, pens, pencils and other supplies and the way it always feels like the new beginning it truly is.

2. I love corduroy pants (typically jean-styled) and skirts, in any and all colors, but especially camel, brown, rust and burgundy. Sweaters, too, ideally bright or intense multicolors. I do not care for the convention of switching to dark, sober, somber hues when the days grow colder and shorter and still for the life of me do not understand why or even when almost everyone started wearing so much black so much of the time, even in high summer and even at weddings. Did they or do they imagine black makes them look thinner and smaller? About favorite fall clothes, in New England and in the Intermountain West I loved knowing I had to have a warm jacket or parka on hand for the cold mornings that inevitably would arrive.

3. Campfire experiences camping out with a tent-trailer, occasionally in a rented cabin with friends or youth groups almost all year round, but in the fall was particularly fun because of the need to be sure we stayed warm enough. There always were plentiful nature trails and places to ride our bicycles along with meals that warmed us up and always were especially delicious and nourishing and filling.

4. Favorite thing again has to be the sense of new beginnings that in many ways functions like Easter, a feast of resurrected new life more halfway through the liturgical year though not quite to Advent yet, but I also love the way Advent begins during the season of autumn in the northern hemisphere.

5. What changes am I anticipating at this seasonal and calendrical marker? Something has to change and I cannot do life on my own, though of necessity I've been trying to do so.

Bonus: for an autumn food, it has to be anything apple and/or pumpkin, preferably baked, ideally with a crust.

Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest. Jeremiah 5:23b

Thanks SingingOwl and thanks, Jeremiah!

recharged/recharging 5

recharged / recharging 5 on the revgals

today Sally has given us 5 to consider...as she wonders, "what/ who gives you energy?"

1. it has been far too long since any person or community who encourages me and celebrates my presence and gifts has been in my life...I'm in deep waters no human can navigate alone. Although I consistently come out as a moderate E on the Kiersey/Myers Briggs, I believe I'm really an X who sources both in- and externally, but without having confidence people who know me and trust me with their own lives are there for me, I'm finding being alone with my own pain and isolation increasingly intolerable.

2. music from J.S. Bach, the 5th evangelist, as well as Beethoven (I've blogged this lots of times), especially symphonies 1, 2, 4 and 7. And oh, I love playing his piano sonatas, though I'm still stuck at 27 of the 32 total. However, most of the time I turn on the radio to enjoy some oldies and some current songs.

3. regarding scripture, it's not so much stories that bring me hope, refreshment and encouragement, but many of the psalms and Paul, particularly Romans.

4. these days it would have to be a bracing walk, though in times past I used to love passing time with friends, wherever, whenever. But what else? Worship! Many Sundays and most Wednesday evenings I've been worshiping with an ELCA congregation whose style we'd call evangelical catholic. The church's historic liturgy, reflectively performed by an assembly that clearly desires and chooses to be there and when we celebrate eucharist, proclamation of the gospel completely devoid of cute stories and anecdotes has become very healing for me, though I'm well aware of my continuing search for a congregation where I can participate reasonably to the extent of my gifts, education and experience (and no, despite everything, I still have no regrets whatsoever about not continuing in authorized ministry).

5. at this moment I need recharging to such an extreme degree I never would or could have imagined anyone could reach this point, but I am happy to write a prayer "to finish this weeks Friday Five...."

Holy God, You have chosen to come to us in brokenness and You have chosen the brokenness of the cross as Your fullest self-revelation. You created all the universes, yet You know each of us and choose each one of us as the paradoxical vessel of Your continuing Self-revelation. But at the same time You call and draw us into community where we can be honoured and cherished, participate and grow. In these years and hours in which I need to acknowledge the pieces still have not come together and rewoven, more than anything else, I beg, please, entreat and implore You to show me the community of Your current choice for me.

In Jesus' name...amen!

wild animal 5

wild animal 5 on the revgals site

mompriest asks, "For this Friday Five, share with us a wild animal story from your life. Or if you've never had such an encounter share with us your five favorite animals, and why. Bonus for videos and photos!"

and I'm lovin' this one; I've experienced no wild animal encounters that I can recall, but I have a lot of favorite critters, so here's a sampling:

1. big cats beauty, mystery, variety, independence, dignity, a sense of self beholden to no one...

2. little cats beauty, mystery, variety, independence, dignity, a sense of self beholden to no one...

3. giraffes style, quirkiness, speechlessness...

4. elephants intelligence, socialness, expressiveness...

5. horses beauty, heart, loyalty, mystery...

50 fun things

1. a new notebook
2. InDesign CS4
3. #ffcc66
4. a flurry of country colors
5. Santa Ana winds
6. patchwork quilts
7. beach sand
8. prairies and plains
9. [especially camel] corduroy
10. daybreak

11. painted furniture
12. fireworks!
13. blackberries [and the brambles that hold them]
14. vanilla
15. cooper black
16. fajita burritos
17. mechanical action organs
18. brightly decorated stoneware
19. cmd + z
20. flip-flops

21. cotton cargos [pants, shorts and skirts]
22. desert southwest
23. rhubarb cobbler

24. first light
25. excellent exegesis
26. Beethoven sonatas
27. crashing waves
28. fresh creamery butter
29. big cats
30. little cats

31. sunrise
32. varalaksami threads
33. colorblocked anything
34. french horn
35. coconut pineapple ice cream
36. dial soap
37. warm winter sweaters
38. Utah
39. salad!
40. new beginnings

41. helvetica bold
42. nachos
43. "how crayolas are made"
44. espaghettis
45. red sox nation!
46. gmail themes
47. cucumbers! make my salads and sandwiches taste so fresh
48. dawn
49. vespers: magnificat
50. city lights

soundtracks of our lives 5

soundtracks of our lives 5 on the RevGals site

Mary Beth brings us today's timely talkin' 'bout topic:

"The sad news of Michael Jackson's untimely death has me thinking about music and its effects on us - individually, as cultures, as generations. Let's think about the soundtracks of our lives..."

1) as a child I mostly heard standard-issue classical and top 40 playing in the background, nothing especially esoteric.

2) no particular song says "high school" when I hear it, but sort of on my own I'd started listening to music that had an edge of social consciousness as well as that era's top 40 and alternative music. by then studio recording was making huge and imaginative advances! it's too early to think of any title at the moment, but you get the idea. in high school I also started serious piano lessons...

3) my favorite music lift me up from a down day tends to be either something profound like a Beethoven Symphony (esp 1, 2, 4 or 7) or an energetic oldie like Dire Straits' "Walk of Life" or Huey Lewis and the News' "Power of Love." The von Karajan Beethoven performances seem to have stayed on YouTube despite the newer policy of shorter videos and due to the way favorites keep disappearing I'm not linking to my current Walk of Life or Power of Love fave, but you get the idea.

4) just one, only a single favorite performer of all time? a few: Tracy Chapman, Jewel Kilcher, Boston Symphony Orchestra...

5) my favorite style of music for worship remains just about everything with the exceptions of most 19th century hymnody and the usually popular tunes of Taizé. For my bonus I'm linking to this vid that has been rocking my world every since I first heard it. The Northwest Missouri State University Tower Choir...

Let Everything that hath Breath, Praise the Lord!

"you and I must make a pact; we must bring salvation back - just call my name and I'll be there..."

5 about moving and changing

moving and changing on the revgals...

This is from Sally, and I'm taking it as being about moving house and I'm writing in pentecostal red for the fire that purifies along with the wind that blows out the old, brings in the new. I love to move! On one Friday 5 one of the questions was how many times we'd moved and I've done it lots.

1. one thing (only one?) I cannot possibly part with is...my stack of academic transcripts and letters of call. But there also are quite a few dishes and decorations I'd absolutely have to take with me, too.

2. for a gladly leave behind I'll choose the bathroom towels that have been washed lots of times and faded too much to look fresh. Also, replacing them is not very expensive, making giving them away to the local vet an excellent choice (they go through lots and lots and bleach them every time they wash them, so they always welcome more).

3. to prepare for a move, my

a.practical tactics include list, list, and more lists. Deciding and acquiring more boxes and packing material than I think I'll need. Label everything carefully, too. When I moved from City of History to the Intermountain West I used a professional mover, but my scheme still was almost the same.
b. and the spiritual emotional lists, lists, and even more lists.

4. in a new place I first try to find locally owned, less-expensive restaurants; the nearest mall, and the library. Go outside and walk randomly; go for a drive and check out the lay of the land, get accustomed to this new to me territory.

5. typically I settle in easily and take a whole lot of time to get acclimated. For an example of this both/and...I love the excitement of acquiring the few things you always seem to need in a new place, rediscovering a few things I'd almost forgotten I had, waking up in a new place and tweaking my morning routine and rearranging new to me spaces. However, I also tend to be almost consumed or at least concerned by memories of the place I recently lived and just left.

poetry party 35: light and shadow

poetry party 36


comment: this actually is Christine's poetry party 36; my numbering was incorrect because I'd forgotten I hadn't played last time.

Abbey of the Arts Invitation to Poetry: poetry party 36

Christine asks us to consider, "In the brilliant light of days growing longer, what do we encounter in the shadows that may have been hidden to us before? What do you discover in the interplay between shadow and light?"

lights, brights, shadows, opaques...

as an artist
every day I consider degrees of
opacity transparency
shimmers of revelation
to include in each design project
80% opacity or
20% transparency
and which colors to use

as a person
every day I consider
degrees of transparency and opacity
to present to the world
80% opacity or 20% translucence
a colorless hint of an outline of a self-revealing

but sometimes grace intervenes
spirits away the shadows
and I show far more
than intended
and the end result is just fine

bug life 5

a bug's life friday 5 on the RevGals site

everyone knows about timeliness and timelessness, and Sophia introduces today's 5 by recollecting:

As I was walking the beach today, I was surprised and delighted to find it swarming with ladybugs. The sweet little red beetles are one of my favorite insects and also my daughter's blogname...In that spirit, this week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!

Here's my almost insta-play for today:

1. I'm not sure if I use any particular regional terminology, but I was born in the Deep South and essentially grew up in New England with grandparents raised in Michigan and Mississippi, who often referred to farms they'd had in Nebraska and North Carolina, so lately I've been wondering how on earth they got to New England. Therefore, Ladybugs and Pillbugs and this is the first time I've heard about Jesus bugs or water skeeters.
2. spiders I can't peacefully co-exist with get transported outside.
3. butterflies and ladybugs and dragonflies are my favorite insects for today.
4. least favorite? none...ummm...better make that "cockroaches." My grandmother clearly let me know about the complex and essential interrelatedness and interdependence of all creation.
5. good bug stories and anecdotes! For starters, today I'm wearing ladybug earrings. Also, although I last saw my apparently recently-deceased biological father when I was about 5, he had a PhD in entomology and worked as an entomologist for the US Forest Service. My aforementioned grandmother, one of the more curious, knowledgeable and well-informed people I've ever known was 8th grade educated but frequently said she would have become an entomologist if she'd had an opportunity to continue her education. My final vignette is bitter memories of the gorgeous, complex bug project I worked so hard on in HS biology and that the teacher insisted on holding on to almost forever. She refused to return anyone's project, but told us if we came back to visit in 10 years or so she might give them back.

I think that response also qualifies for an answer to the Bonus question: share a poem, song, quotation, etc. about insects.

poetry party 34: illustrated!

poetry party 34: gifts of creation

Abbey of the Arts: poetry party 34


Christine invites us "to write poems in honor of the gift of earth and the ways God is revealed to you through stone or mountain, flower or fruit. Let this be your hymn of praise to creation." I added a title to one of my favorite photographs of Nick's backyard garden in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood: poetry party 34

Gifts of Creation

these plants remind me
life is persistent
they tell me I share history
with Nick
with the city of Boston
with the ground
with all creation
with the entire people of God
everywhere in every time

these plants remind me
easter dawn rises
from the heart of the earth
resurrection happens after death

these plants remind me
the ground holds nutrients
that generate life

this image reminds me
the land has nurtured my own gifts
by providing a place
and physical stuff

this image reminds me
creation does not discriminate
but freely offers life to all

these plants remind me
the church is moving into
the green and growing season
called ordinary time

poetry party 33

Abbey of the Arts Poetry Party 33


Christine observes,

...We celebrate Easter for a full 50 days, days that slowly grow longer in the Northern hemisphere and more vibrant as the blossoming of the world unfolds around us. ... I invite you to write a poem (or other form of reflection) about what your practices of resurrected life might look like. How would it feel to really embody resurrected life in your own being? If you made a commitment for the Easter season to complement your Lenten commitment, where is the invitation you discover?

practicing resurrection
living "as if" it is Easter
being and basking
in the subtle sheen of
early Easter dawn
that always surprises

but this is Easter
this is Pentecost
this is the reign of the Spirit of Life!

Christ has died;
Christ is Risen;
Christ will come again.

how do we forget so quickly and easily?
how do we keep living "as if?"
how do we follow the Risen One?

remember the witness of scripture...
"while it was still dark, the stone was rolled away!"

pudding 5

from Songbird we have today's (hasty) pudding 5

1. I really love puddings of almost every kind: chocolate, fudge, vanilla, pistachio, bread, rice, tapioca...

2. in terms of the class blanc mange variety, cooked is way better but instant or a Hunt Club or Kraft's pre-made is fine, too

3. corn pudding or figgy pudding? both, but bread pudding is my most favorite

4. I've never finger painted with pudding

5. what is the matter with A. A. Milne's Mary Jane? she doesn't want pudding at all! she wants her namesake Marijuana!

no bonus from me today, but later on I'll try to retrieve and post my fave bread pudding recipe.

King of Glory, King of Peace

King of glory, King of peace,
I will love thee;
and that love may never cease,
I will move thee.
Thou hast granted my request,
thou hast heard me;
thou didst note my working breast,
thou hast spared me.

Wherefore with my utmost art
I will sing thee,
and the cream of all my heart
I will bring thee.
Though my sins against me cried,
thou didst clear me;
and alone, when they replied,
thou didst hear me.

Seven whole days, not one in seven,
I will praise thee;
in my heart, though not in heaven,
I can raise thee.
Small it is, in this poor sort
to enroll thee:
e'en eternity's too short
to extol thee.

George Herbert, published posthumously in The Temple, 1633

poetry party 32: from dust to dust

abbey of the arts poetry party 32


from dust to dust

Ash Wednesday
cascading memories
Mississippi Delta dirt
Nana's zinnias
daffodils springing from Salem soil
on to the university greenhouse
begonias in living room flowerpots
digging troughs for tulips on 5th avenue
Heather's perennials
Nick's greenery
condo complex landscape committee
Ash Wednesday
liturgy and another memory
I am dust and
starlight and
golden
Jesus takes us back to the garden

poetry party 31

Abbey of the Arts Poetry Party 31, and on Monday Christine greeted us with, "Happy Feast of Imbolc, St. Brigid's Day, Candlemas, and Groundhog Day!"

I especially love her intro:

Imbolc is a Celtic feast that is cross-quarter day, meaning it is the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. The sun marks the four Quarter Days of the year (the Solstices and Equinoxes) and the midpoints are the cross-quarter days. In some cultures today is the official beginning of spring.

As the days slowly lengthen and the sun makes her way higher in the sky, the ground beneath our feet begins to thaw. The earth softens and the seeds deep below stir in the darkness. The word "imbolc" means "in the belly." The earth's belly is beginning to awaken, new life is stirring, seeds are sprouting forth. So even though many of you reading this may not see the signs of spring anywhere, they are there beneath the ground.

Candlemas and Imbolc are traditionally a time to look forward. I invite you to write a poem to help notice what the new life stirring within your own belly feels like or the stirring in the world around you deep beneath the frozen ground.

days of future present

parched ground cracks
slurp up today's
early february hint-of-spring rains
that soften the soil for fertile seeds

the earth opens wide
for a surprise of new life
my feet slip in every direction
my belly and my brain feel seasick

like cross-quarter days
neither fully the last season
nor wholly the next one
being on any threshold
makes maintaining any sort of balance
more than uncertain...

the pointer sisters sang "jump for my love"*
the liminal can't hold us steady where we used to live,
so I'm telling us to jump in!
I am the one, you are the one, we are the ones...
heaven on earth waits here at the door

then jump for the love,
for the life of the world
so jump into spring
jump into easter
jump into spring!
*"Jump (for my love)" written by Steve Mitchell, Marti Sharron & Gary Skardina; performed by The Pointer Sisters

HGTV 5

Will smama brings us today's 5 about my "home past, present or future..." and given my passion for and preoccupation with color, line, pattern, design and related, I figured this would be a great day to play.

1) If you could, what room in the place you are currently living would you redo first?
My kitchen (please see #4) is okay, but that's what I'd change first. Or maybe non-BR, non-LR floors, though they're also within more than acceptable limits (see #5).

2) What is the most hideous feature/color/decor item you have ever seen in a home?
Although I can't cite anything specific, I remember ROTFLOL so many times checking out various living spaces, almost aghast that anyone would imagine renting such a place. Including comments from managers such as, "this is where that girl was murdered—I'm sure you read about it."

3) What feature do you most covet? Do you have it? If not, is it within reach?
A deck and possibly a yard! Those features cannot happen where I am (hey, I don't even have the balcony about half the units in this complex possess!), but if I decided or was able to acquire one of the duplexes that are so popular around here, many of them already have or have the potential for a deck plus really nice landscaping whilst remaining quite urban in sensibility.

4) Your kitchen - love it or hate it? Why?
Inbetween both. It was in moderate condition with newish appliances when I moved in, and many coats of medium golden yellow paint to cover the ultra dark green cabinets helped a lot, as did the sideboard I got very on sale (with free shipping!) at JC Penney, something I totally prefer to all built-ins. But walking around the 3 floors of this complex I notice how lovely many of the upgraded kitchens are, though I don't at all care for the more formal ones with dark wood, etc.

5) Here is $10,000 and you HAVE to spend it on the place you are living now. What do you do?
Having already gotten rid of all the relatively new, medium gray carpet (as well as the high-end electrolux vacuum someone had given me) that was here when I moved in and replaced it with oak laminate in the bedrooms, and wonderful (really!) sheet vinyl in the LR, I'd begin with stone or tile floors to integrate the rest of this about 1400 square feet all on 1 floor from kitchen to DR, through halls into both bathrooms. Although the bathrooms are okay and I detest tub baths, or soaking, I'd also upgrade and modernize the bathrooms, more for appearance than function.

For my own bonus I'll mention I've (re-)painted all the bedrooms and LR non-white and also repainted all the paintable furniture in a huge variety of hues; I LOVE painted furniture! I'm passing on the ugly bathroom tile bonus, since I have no need to cringe again today...thanks, Will smama!

poetry party 30

poetry party 30 - wings/taking flight

As always, Christine hints at a possible focus and direction:

"In the US, today is of course Martin Luther King, Jr. day ...And tomorrow is Inauguration Day... So I invite you to enter into the image below. ...Write a poem about the process or the moment, or perhaps in honor of the significance of this day or tomorrow. (Photo taken at St. Bart’s church in NYC last spring)"

the angel
an ev-angelical
a messenger
"good newser"
announces fear not
to us has arrived a God-spell
a whispered do not be afraid
lift every voice and sing
our new day begins!

tabouli.

• cucumber, diced
• several roma tomatoes, diced (remove seeds if you’re not lazy); I often use halved grape or quartered cherry tomatoes, too
• Parsley, finely chopped 1/2 to 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup bulghur wheat
• 1 or 2 or 3 or 7 or 8 green onion(s) that some people insist on calling scallions...
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• allspice (optional)
• cinnamon (optional)
• salt?

Pour hot water over the bulghur and let soak until soft and most of the water has been absorbed. Mix the diced veggies and then add the bulghur and mix some more, add lemon juice and olive oil to get the right flavor and consistency. Add the spice(s) and salt and mix a bit more. Refrigerate, eat and enjoy.

poetry party 29

abbey of the arts: epiphanies!


Christine suggests: What if this year one of your resolutions was to create enough space for epiphanies to happen? What if you made a commitment to slow down enough to see the shimmering web of connections that exists everywhere, just waiting for us to notice? I invite you to write a poem this week in celebration of epiphanies, of new beginnings, of new ways of seeing. You can write directly from the image below, which was taken on a very foggy morning in Seattle, or let it simply allow intuitive connections to stir.

today I'm prosaically thinking of possibilities

We hear about the power of all kinds of webs and networks; for instance, maybe I can't put out my hand and touch you directly but I can touch my neighbor who in turn can reach and touch you...like ripples from the stone thrown into still water, life begets life begets life. But in business, creative and professional worlds sometimes it looks as if the higher on the food chain consume and kill those lower ones rather than touching and healing them.

The world wide web has become part of everyday, an inter-net intertwining countless lives, birthing new named communities amidst pervasive anonymity and alienation. How many once strangers have become friends? What ideas have we exchanged? What dreams have we helped each other recognize and grow?

Holding a web close to my face I can focus on a discrete part of a whole. Viewing through the net at arm's length I clearly see separate facets containing countless variation within its own bounded yet interconnected space.

Pancakes Friday 5

RevGals Pancakes Friday 5

Today seemed like a good day to play the 2nd Friday 5 of this new year 2009 and besides, I love the subject, from Sophia. I'm going for both real and ideal examples.

1. Scratch or mix? Buttermilk or plain?
real: Bisquick or any kind of buttermilk mix and
ideal: 1/2 buttermilk, 1/2 buckwheat (both mixes)

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in?
real: pure and simple and
ideal: cultivated or wild blueberries mixed in

3. For breakfast or for dinner?
real: anytime of any day for any meal or snack and
ideal: breakfast or brunch

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish?
real: Country Kitchen or Eggo or similar syrup and
ideal: Grade B Vermont Maple Syrup (a preference that marks me as an outlander) plus lots of lightly cooked bacon. Whipped cream is a nice addition and a whole lot of sweet cream butter goes without saying in either case

5. Favorite pancake restaurant?
real: any restaurant or eating establishment anywhere and
ideal: we don't have them locally, but I always enjoyed the Village Inn when I lived in Utah and when I visit Arizona

spaghetti salad

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. bottle Italian salad dressing
• 1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing (dry)
• 1 large tomato (chopped)
• 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 red onion (chopped)
• 1 8 ounce? 12 ounce? 16 ounce? (not sure) package pasta (cooked to taste)
• 1 can sliced olives—choose your own size

Preparation:

• Cook pasta and drain (do not rinse)
• Sprinkle the dry Good Seasons dressing over the pasta and mix well
• Add chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions and sliced olives; mix well
• Toss entire mixture with 1/2 bottle Italian dressing and coat all ingredients thoroughly
• Cover and refrigerate
• Toss again just before serving with additional dressing (if needed)

Additional Advice:

• Make up the night before so everything can marinate well
• Sprinkle and mix in Parmesan or Romano cheese to add extra flavor

pizza salad

You can alter and improvise this basic recipe I first discovered at the grocery store deli counter; when I turned out to be about the only person who ever bought it the deli folks gave me the recipe so I could make it myself, then a while later I found a similar one on an Italian salad dressing jar! Make it however you desire according to taste and available ingredients, but the main thing is to assemble it – except for the cheese – at least 24 hours ahead of time. This is one of my favorite things to take to a potluck and I like to save a serving for myself and eat it about a week later, though I'd never take anything that aged to a polite gathering!

ingredients

• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red pell pepper
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper (I vary the peppers according to current price)
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 container cherry or grape tomatoes–cut each into halves or quarters
• 1 or 2 4-ounce cans of sliced black olives
• 1/4 ellbee sliced pepperoni (optional)
• Italian salad dressing

assembly

slice all the above ingredients either coarse or fine, but for appearance and mouth-feel I'd advise being consistent; pour on Italian dressing, toss, cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

before serving or taking to event, drain excess Italian dressing, add and toss to blend well:

shredded mozzarella cheese - I buy it already shredded in those bags and use about 1/2 of the bag (not sure what weight, but not the giant size—maybe 4 or 6 oz.) per regular-size salad

1/3 cup grated parmesan or parmesan and romano cheese