Poetry Post, A random act of poetry

Poetry Post, NW Yamhill, McMinnville, Oregon

Walking four or five mile each day around McMinnville allows you to learn the little idiosyncrasies of each neighborhood, each street and sometimes individual yards.  A couple of days ago toward the end of our walk  we found ourselves walking down NW Yamhill. There was a Poetry Post.   Two or three years ago I had read about Poetry Posts in Portland neighborhoods in the The Oregonian.  Ever since I thought it would be great to put one up in our McMinnville yard, when we finally move in. We stopped to read the poem.

Portland, being Portland, the Poetry Post idea has expanded across neighborhoods.  Laura Foster in her blog  Portland Walks and Urban Hikes talks about touring the many Poetry Posts around Portland.  Yes there is an 'App' and map for finding Posts in Portland.

The poem was by Emma Wheeler Wilcox.  The poem was her most famous  'Solitude' .  As we stood there the poem seemed to lift us from ourselves. The first four lines,
 "Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone; 
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own."  stopped us.

We stood on the sidewalk and read the entire poem aloud alternating every four lines.

We walked away from reading feeling we had been given a gift, a gift of kindness, a gift of unexpected poetry.  Our world and McMinnville was a better place.  

Do It Yourself: Pork Chops to Ham Hocks

Lisbon, Portugal Meat Shop

When we were in Portugal a few years ago we discovered meat for sale did not have to be fattened down in styrofoam trays with clear plastic wrap like in our local supermarkets.  We feel fortunate to be living in the Yamhill County, Carlton and McMinnville, Oregon area because along with the emergence of vineyards and wineries, it has a "foodie" focus.  Food is a big part of our culture here.

Maybe it is our personal experiences as native Oregonians growing up in a time when it was okay and kind of expected that friends and families would cut up their own deer, elk, beef or hog and put it in the freezer, we were excited when we heard the Friends of the   McMinnville Public Library Explore Oregon Series was going to feature a talk by Chef Eric Ferguson of Nick's Italian Cafe  and Fino in Fondo.

We thought Eric was going to give a straight ahead discussion of the Fino in Fondo Italian sausage process.  When we talked with Eric a few days before his Explore Oregon presentation he told us he planned on cutting up a half a pig.  Okay.  The Library was an interesting venue for cutting up a pig.

Eric did a great job of explaining what he was doing and why.  He demonstrated various cuts and he gave advice from holding a knife to where to cut.  He made wonderful suggestions for cooking various cuts.

He was asked if the Italian style sausages he makes a Fino in Fondo are raw.  He explained the sausages are ground meat, spices, good bacteria stuffed into casings and fermented.  The Italian style sausages are not cooked, they are fermented product like wine.

Eric is eloquent in his enthusiasm for food and the need to be connected to the food we eat.