Daruma

The little, cockeyed guy pictured above has been keeping me focused lately. He is a Daruma wish doll. A couple of good friends gave him to me as a gift of encouragement as I entered a time of change - ­a shift in my career. I had not heard of the Daruma until I saw one at Hatch, a seasonal pop-up shop in Durham, and have seen them at a variety of places since. I grew fond of the concept as I learned more about the idea behind it.

Traditionally shaped so that they return upright if knocked over, the small Darumas recover as needed and rise to success. The Japanese talisman of good luck involves several steps in perusing a goal or wish. First, the individual identifies a goal, and signifies intent, by filling in one eye. In this instance the goal is to make this career shift successfully. The one-eyed Daruma is then placed in a visible area to serve a dual-purpose. One, as a reminder to keep working towards the goal until it is realized. And two, so the Daruma’s stare can also focus on the goal. Once the goal is accomplished the second eye is filled in. The resulting, two-eyed doll a symbol of accomplishment.

The idea of identifying a goal, and giving it a tangible form has grown on me.  So much so that this little guy has taken on a life of his own. I imagine, when he is not focusing on the goal at hand, he is outside hiking through the grass and hanging out in the trees. I am very much looking forward to filling in the other eye, patting the little guy on the head, and saying “thank you” for all the hard work before setting him free in the wooded, back yard.  

Strawberry Milk

I like milk. A lot. I remember, as a kid, my dad going to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk for dinner. He had to return to the store because the milk had disappeared before it was time to prepare the meal. The taste for milk remained into adulthood. Liz just laughed the first time she saw me pour Hershey’s chocolate syrup directly into the half-gallon jug, instead of a glass.

When not using it for gravy, or dunking a cookie into it, my go-to has normally been a large container filled with Hershey’s syrup and milk. I say “normally” because I recently made the mistake of looking at the ingredients. Now, I can look past some less-than-natural ingredients in favor of some tasty flavors, but when the first two ingredients I am adding to my beloved milk are high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup, I have to take a moment to reassess the situation.

In an effort to find a more natural flavoring for my milk, I spiraled down a deep, delicious rabbit hole before emerging pumped to prep a simple strawberry syrup. While I wouldn’t tout it as “healthy”, I would consider it more natural than its store-bought counterpart. In fact, it only has 4 ingredients. Strawberries, sugar, water, and vanilla. Ok, maybe a few more ingredients if you count those that made up the vanilla - vanilla beans soaked in spiced rum. Nonetheless, when combined, reduced, and strained the result is the beautiful blood red nectar of the gods. When mixed with milk, and raised to the lips, the clouds open followed by a chorus of hallelujah.

As Liz succinctly put it, “Mmm, it tastes like melted strawberry ice cream”. “Try some more. The strawberries taste like strawberries, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberries… We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”

Monuts Donuts

Having previously sold their sweet and savory goods from a modified tricycle, Monuts Donuts is approaching the one-year anniversary of their shop on Parish Street. With a line that consistently reaches the door, you know that what they are selling is worth waiting for (or getting there early for).

Everyone raves over the thoughtful, delicious breakfast bagel sandwiches, and while I visually admire them each time the Monuts everything bagel has been the staple of every one of my visits. Toasted everything bagel, with cream cheese, and a Maple Bacon Bourbon donut. Toasted everything bagel, with cream cheese, and a Chocolate Earl Grey donut. Toasted everything bagel, with cream cheese, and a Banana Cardamom Walnut Donut. Wash it down with a mismatched mug of coffee or a box of chocolate milk, or both, and all is well with the world.

Liz is a connoisseur of everything bagels, and I’ve joined her for that ride with no complaints. While the standard everything bagel has big onion and garlic flavors, Monuts takes a more subtle approach (and more effective in my opinion). The “everything” is definitely there, but not in a sand-blasted-with-seasoning way. And my favorite part, the bit of cayenne that warms the mouth before giving the taste buds a gentle slap on the way by. 

I say all that to simply give a heads up to anyone who comes to visit Liz and me from out of town. When you arrive, just go ahead and assume that you will end up at Monuts.

Cabe Lands Trails

The weather has been temperamental lately. Not in a threatening Oklahoma-like way, but in a way that tends to happen when spring begins trying to push winter out. It may be freezing, snowy, rainy, and downright warm all within the same week. It is on those intermittent warm days that we try to make it outside.

Last week it was the Cole Mill Trail along the Eno River. And most recently we visited another area of the river, the Cabe Lands Trails, for the first time. It was interesting to discover that the area is part of the Mountain-to-Sea trail. Once complete, the trail looks to run from the smoky Mountains to the Atlantic coast. Not quite ready for that kind of commitment Liz and I stuck with the Cabe Lands Trail and the Quarry Trail. The first took us to the banks of the Eno River, and the latter to the old rock quarry.

Because it was a weekday afternoon the trails were empty. It was nice to be seemingly removed from the beating heart of Durham, and hear only the river running, the birds chirping, and the rustling of small animals in the dry leaves. Next time we will have to explore the ruins of an old grist mill, as well as the Cabe family cemetery, we have since heard about.