Shel Graves' Sensorium

Taste: winter green tamale pie-jalapenos, paprika, oregano Sight: she flops face down, seal-like into the snow, snow seal; what a Twinkie looks like Sound: snow pattering on leaves; snow crunching underfoot; scrunch, squansh, deep, wet snow Touch: the coolness pressed to my back, still not too old to make a snow angel Smell: snow, crisp, cool; smoky patchouli Extra: an athlete, running- The Fast Life of Oscar Pistorius Grateful for: warmth, thick clothing

Taste: greens-steamed spinach, steamed kale; melting, tender, roasted broccoli Sight: traditional style, pale gold drapes, a striped burnished gold chair, heavy wood furnishings, a tilting floor—a 1909 hotel; sparkly tush— a woman crosses the street in jeans; baggy jeans, faded orange and baby blue striped sweater and fox-ear knit cap—a male college student Sound: beeping monitors Touch: an icy hand on a warm forehead; a belly sated by greens—eating for volume Smell: hospital smell—purell and fresh paint; garlic roasted vegetables upon walking in the door Extra: A room of her own and — a comfortable writing chair, more bookshelves, a good printer, laptop, Scrivener software, Duotrope for submission tracking; a lost black and white collie in Disneyland Grateful for:  cold extremities, mom found my icy hand on her forehead soothing after surgery, "It's like an ice pack — with love."

Taste: black eyed-pea fritters with hot pepper sauce from Vegan Soul Kitchen   by Bryant Terry Sight: elderly animals Sound: the husky shifting slide of the file cabinet Touch: soft clean fur Smell: chlorine; fried chicken; celeriac Extra: "Their home! Their home! They had lost it! Grief, despair, rage, overwhelmed him...Only think what he had suffered for that house — what miseries they had all suffered for it— the price they had paid for it!" — The Jungle , Upton Sinclair . Sinclair used the proceeds from The Jungle to start Helicon Hall, a utopian community in New Jersey  Grateful for:   Health, a strong immune system, flu shots

Instead of a resolution, I pick a guideword for the year ahead — this year — homemade. Last year's word was compassion. With a shift in perception, there are many things that can be made at home instead of purchased in spendy packets and jars — kettle corn, peanut sauce, salad dressings, dog food etc. etc. — I shall explore. In addition, homemade refers to other things I can make at home — writing projects — and a general focus on home and family and a little more down to earth and hands-on-ness to counterbalance big, ethereal ideas. I'm pretty sure I'll be influenced by more of those vegan and gluten-free bloggers I follow on Twitter with this word. Not sure what reading this word might conjure up, however.

I added a new category "grateful for" to the sensorium late last year. Clearly, considering the long list of Tastes of the Year , I am grateful for plentiful and nourishing food. I am also grateful for inspiring people including: men with the last name farmer  Gene Baur  and  Paul Farmer ; wise women writers Margaret Atwood, Carol Emshwiller, Ursula K. LeGuin; influential thinker Peter Singer and runner Ruth Heidrich; and local heroes Sister Georgette and Karen Guzak .

This was my favorite line of literature this year:   "Moooooowwyn! Oh wonderful moooooowwwwyyn!"  from  Carmen Dog by Carol Emshwiller. I read The Mount , Carmen Dog and her short story collection this year and named Emshwiller my 2011 Author of the Year . Other favorites: "I don’t like what the moon is supposed to do./Confuse me, ovulate me,/ spoon-feed me longing." —  “I’m Over the Moon ,"  Brenda Shaughnessy "Poverty afflicts everything in the end... Love, friendship, the chance to dream, how you live, with whom you live." — Air , Geoff Ryman "I am amazed, I have been amazed as long as I can remember, and I shall die, most certainly in a state of incredulous amazement, at this remarkable world." — a Utopian in A Modern Utopia "...yet see how elastic our stiff prejudices grow when love once comes to bend them." —  Moby Dick,  Herman Melville "Human understanding is fallible, and we see through a glass, ...

I got a lot out of going to WisCon and wrote about it at length in " Why WisCon? A Quest: Utopia Found! "

Hands down: It goes to the garlic and basil aroma of Pizza Pi from very early in 2011.

A new occupation: learning to play the cello and feeling the vibration of the C string at heart center. Some ongoing favorites: shake it, dice rolls — weekly gaming; whiskers to ear — rescue dogs; the hand-heart connection — hospice volunteering.

Cello — I started out the year taking lessons (see also: Touch of the Year ) — cello played well vibrates beautifully, played improperly it sounds like a McDonald's bound cow or a slaughtering of seagulls — and drew inspiration from cellists such as  Jacqueline Du Pre . • I wept to the soundtrack to " Never Let Me Go " by  Rachel Portman. • Seattle Arts and Lectures: Tracy Kidder talked about his   "nebbish locations" at Benaroya Hall and  Joyce Carol Oates   said   "There's a tradition there that you are relating to, it's not as if you are suddenly waking up in the morning with an attack of psychosis and just start writing." in an interview I watched before hearing her speak.  • Lungs , Florence and the Machine • Congratulations to  The Break Up  —  signed this year by Metropolis, they threw a free CD release party.  Also, enjoyed Komor Kommando's "Das Oontz" and the punishing dance of  Straftanz  ...

•  Beautiful fruits and vegetables arrived each week from Klesick Family Farm (see also: Tastes of the Year ) and provided the most beautiful salad of purple kale, yellow bell pepper, red grape tomatoes, pale green cucumber, and brown sesame seeds. • Shopping in a local market, I found a dragonfruit-green with pinked spikes. • At Cafe Flora , a cornmeal waffle (see also:  Tastes of the Year ) was gorgeously plated with an orange nasturtium atop a spread of glistening apricot confiture . • My fearful rescue shelties Storm and Trooper looked funny hiding under a chair and then beautiful sitting upon it with me as they grew more confident. • Leonora Carrington died in May of this year. I enjoyed her surrealist art and also re-read The Hearing Trumpet and her short story " The Debutante ".  • At the farmer's market, I enjoyed "Kraken" and "Colossus" fiber art by Briana Knight .  • I loved the cover of Margaret Atwood...

A banner year of fabulous vegan and gluten-free food! 2011 started out a bit rough with a family member ill in Seattle, but there were upsides  — lots of game and movie nights and being close to Pizza Pi (see also: Smell of the Year ) for take out. A discovery in home-cooking:  miracles can be wrought with raw cashew nuts (vegan alfredo sauce and banana creme pie). A friend cooked me dinner: walnuts, dried cranberries, romaine leaf with sesame-ginger dressing; rice pasta with sundried tomatoes, zucchini, olives, artichoke hearts; coconut ice cream and vegan, gluten-free brownies; red wine Who knew there was such good eating in Madison, Wisconsin? At WisCon , I enjoyed:   today's tarkari: grilled zucchini, garlic, Ajwain seeds and fried mustard at Himal Chuli ; popcorn, fresh rolls and orange-carrot juice from a street vendor, and a free plate of tasty beans and greens from The Dandelion Food Cart . Trying restaurants in Seattle when it is a bit of a ...