Disaster Kitchen

101

2012-01-11T20:22:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure whether I feel more inspired or depressed by this... but I am sure I want to keep wearing sunscreen every day.

The 101 project

Awakening

2012-01-10T22:23:00.000-06:00

There are plenty of bad ways to awaken. On a Tuesday, thinking it's Saturday. To the sound of water dripping from your ceiling. I submit, however, that one of the worst is to the sound of mice chewing through the carpet in your bedroom.

Oh, yes.

David had sealed all the radiator pipes going through the hardwood floors, but we hadn't worried about the bedroom, as the carpet tightly enclosed the pipes and seemed quite tough. Not too tough for mice, though, apparently!

The sound of fibers snapping, presumably between sharp rodent teeth, awakened me (not generally an easy task) at about 4am. I rolled over, saw David moving, and mumbled, "Do you hear that? I think it's mice." It was, at least to my sleep-besotted brain, a terrible, nerve-grating noise, which sounded like the mice were destroying the very foundations of our home. When David would stomp on the floor, the snapping would stop momentarily, though it quickly resumed with the same fervor. Confident the problem was in capable hands, however, I rolled back over and fell asleep. (David, who sleeps more lightly than I, couldn't, and was unfortunately awake for the next few hours. He reports that a mouse did make it into the bedroom--and into my closet.)

David discovered that there were gaps between the floor and the wall that had been covered by the carpet, so tonight he filled those, too. I did see one mouse today, down in the basement--close to poison the neighbor had set out.

With my luck, it will probably die amidst my storage boxes.

On a happier note, tonight I made an awesome dinner: soba noodles with cilantro-spinach pesto, salt and pepper tofu (with red bell pepper), and steamed broccoli. And then, because I'm trying to look less ribsy, most of a carton of Ben & Jerry's (the perfect chaser to an otherwise vegan meal). We couldn't find the camera, so you'll have to just trust me on this one, but it was bright, festive, and completely delicious.

Mice

2012-01-09T21:51:00.002-06:00

Yes, mice.

Sigh.

So... quite awhile ago our neighbors spilled a bag of birdseed in the basement, and didn't get it cleaned up until recently. I had told them the extremely abbreviated version of the Mouse Wars horror stories, but I must not have been convincing enough, because the birdseed, and the mice whose tails I would see darting away from it when I went down there to do laundry, stuck around. I figured the first floor was a barrier between us and the vermin, and that the neighbors would get serious when they were invaded.

Apparently that happened sometime last week, and I feel both sad for them and a bit distraught that they were providing the mouse buffet for so long.

Anyway, yesterday, the invaders made it to our floor, apparently via the radiator pipes. David saw one, and went to the hardware store for steel wool and expanding foam. Although our current place is far better sealed than the last one, it is still a century old, and it looks like the mice were using those radiator pipes as their private heated highways, entering through the gap in the hardwood floor. (Also! I just remembered what David told me yesterday: that when our neighbor saw where the mice were entering the basement, he mixed up cement to seal up the hole. The mice tunneled through the wet cement. They are a surprisingly formidable enemy, for one so small, incompetent, and incontinent.)

So. David plugged up the holes. (The Small Dog was also very interested in the expanding foam; his sniffing around resulted in a little moustache that appears to be semi-permanent.)

But then, last night, I saw a fat little mouse running along the living room wall by the radiator. I shrieked, and may have continued shrieking each time the mouse moved, as David (drawn by the noise) and I stalked it as it ran to the other radiator before disappearing behind the fridge.

I ended up staying up really late as I prepared for today's first day of classes, and as I sat alone in the otherwise silent house, I could hear mouse-y scratchings behind me in the darkness. It finally appeared again, returning to the radiator and those newly-sealed pipes before running under a chair. I opened the front door, hoping to shoo it out, but it disappeared. I tried again when the mouse reemerged (all the while, maintaining what I considered an admirable silence!), but it disappeared into the office. Unable to find it, I--resignedly but determinedly--walked down to the basement and retrieved my store of mouse traps.

I set one with peanut butter, left it just outside the office, and headed to bed, leaving David a warning note. He reported this morning that the trap had its intended effect; the fact that I didn't have to witness it or bear away the results is just one more reason I love that man.

There have been no sightings today, and we're crossing our fingers that the one we saw was just a lone individual who had the misfortune of being on the wrong side (our side) of the new seals. Yeah. Fingers crossed.

On a happier note, it has been ridiculously warm here recently; today was sunny and nearly 50°! I ran errands on my bicycle this afternoon, and it was euphoric.

Also, this is Disaster Kitchen post #777--auspicious!

Christmas Cards

2011-12-31T17:02:00.000-06:00

This year, as particularly Alert readers may have noticed, I didn't post my customary Christmas card notice. Then again, since I abruptly stopped posting anything three weeks into NaBloPoMo, it might not have been particularly surprising.

In any case, I did send out cards this year, but they went to people whose addresses I already had. I ended up having my cards professionally printed this year, and although I got a steal of a deal on them, I didn't think I could afford to expand my list much this year.* As it was, I had to have an extra one printed for me at Kinko's. Oh, but, yeah! I totally recommend Picaboo for card printing. Envelopes are even included, so with the deal I got, it was actually cheaper to have Picaboo print my cards than to do the photo-printing, card stock-buying, and envelope-procuring on my own (let alone much easier than the cutting and glue-sticking).

Ordinarily, of course, I show the previous year's card when I solicit this year's requests. Since I didn't get that done this year, though, I'll just show you last year's and tell you now that if you send me your address (disasterkitchen ((at)) gmail.com) now, I'll send you next year's:

As you may have noticed (with cards from 2009, 2008, and 2007 for reference), the cards have just gotten more elaborate and generally weirder. This year's is the weirdest yet, but I won't post it here until next year.

Meanwhile, several of you Alert Readers also sent fantastically creative cards this year! I do admit to loving the ones with adorable children/babies, and even the ones with cute couples, but quite possibly my favorite was Bog Lemming Superstar's. It took the non-traditional Christmas card to truly new heights, which I'll let her share if she so desires. Well done, I say.

So. I'm still sort of pretending it's the holidays--partly because about 3am yesterday I woke up with my every-two-to-three-years stomach bug** and spent nearly all day in bed, and have today been similarly low on productivity (and eating). The thought of gearing up for a semester that will include TA-ing (and teaching sections) for one class, teaching another two online, and, ideally, finishing my dissertation, is tiring even at full-strength. So, for at least one more day, happy holidays!

*See also: not blogging.
**Vegetarians are thankfully not very food poisoning prone

Idol

2011-11-22T23:42:00.001-06:00

Last night I dreamed that Billy Idol was a very charming, slightly older, African American gentleman who had come to my (church? high school? workplace?) to give some sort of (presentation? concert?). In waking life, I own his Greatest Hits, but in the dream I was convinced that it was Rebel Yell.

It was one of my less bizarre and disturbing dreams in recent memory.

Late

2011-11-21T23:57:00.001-06:00

It's odd to me that when I'm the only one in the house, it takes me longer to get to bed. You'd think that with fewer distractions, I'd be in bed earlier, but it never seems to work that way.

Tonight I went to dinner and a movie* with a friend, and then we yakked for close to an hour while we were parked at the curb outside my house. Then I needed to finish hemming the skirt I made this weekend(!) and want to wear tomorrow, and that took quite a while.

Tomorrow evening I teach, but I also need to run several errands before I leave town early Wednesday. That flight is at 6 a.m., which doesn't give me much time at all between when I get home from teaching and when I leave for the airport the next morning. Since I plan to spend as much of that time as possible sleeping, I have a very full day ahead of me tomorrow.

So! Off to bed.

*I may say which one later

Failing

2011-11-20T08:02:00.001-06:00

This morning I am feeling like a tiny bit of a failure. I think I'll blame it all on the snow that fell yesterday.

Snow yesterday afternoon

I failed to go to yoga this morning because I didn't feel like navigating the snowy roads. This is particularly embarrassing because only about two inches fell yesterday. It was apparently on top of freezing rain, though, rendering the streets a bit treacherous. I say apparently, however, because (failing!) I haven't even been outside since I got home from yoga yesterday morning. Anyway, I didn't feel like risking it for my non-favorite instructor this morning--though I'll almost certainly risk it for brunch with friends later.

I also failed at NaBloPoMo daily posting. I realized this morning that I had entirely forgotten to post yesterday, despite the fact that I had totally planned what I was going to do. Maybe it was because I'd thought about it so much that I forgot to actually do it? Maybe I'll blame the snow.

Here is a happier picture on which to end:
David carrying Bruno in the laundry basket

Finally. I may be failing to keep myself well, based on the sore throat I woke up with this morning. As it seems to be disappearing as I drink my tea, however, maybe it's just due to... breathing cold air all night?

SNOW, I SHAKE MY FIST AT YOU!

Friday

2011-11-18T23:35:00.001-06:00

Tonight:

Sushi (veggie for me, of course) at Masu in Northeast

Bonfire with the downstairs neighbors (we're still snow-free here... at least until tomorrow)

Final

2011-11-17T22:20:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow, I teach my last class at the for-profit institution that will remain nameless.

I look forward to having my Fridays back!

Dialogue

2011-11-16T22:15:00.001-06:00

David: "It's 10:00. Have you started your blog yet?"

Ahh, November. You and your antics.

Minutes later...

David: "Hey, are you working on that blog?"
Me: "I just logged into Blogger. But I don't know what to say."
David: "That. 'I don't know what to say. Goodnight.'"

Apparently it's bedtime. Goodnight!

Ideas

2011-11-15T22:42:00.001-06:00

Sometimes, I come up with ideas for my survey class that I'm pretty proud of. I like the project where I have the students team up and design a logo for an assigned period we've studied. I like the ones where they research an assigned topic and then give a creative presentation to the class. I like playing Jeopardy! with review questions (although this works much better with a smaller class than with 60!).

But today, I struck what may be pedagogical gold: instead of showing a 30-minute supplemental video in class, I let them go early and made watching the video on their own time (it's on YouTube) optional for extra credit. Granted, the ones who want the points will be e-mailing me their responses, so it's a bit more work for me. But I got to leave almost an hour earlier than usual! And since I have such a long drive home, I may have been even happier about it than my students were (and they were plenty happy).

On my drive home, the moon was huge and pumpkin-colored, with dark wisps of cloud fluttering across it in a way that made it look quintessentially Halloweenesque. Growing up in the Northwest, I remember being baffled by descriptions of the moon as red or even orange; the most I ever saw it was yellowish, or maybe slightly peachy. But in the Midwest, we definitely have that full-on harvest moon thing going. What about you Northwesters? Do you ever see the moon as orange or red, or am I just imagining a geographically paler moon from my youth?

Date

2011-11-14T22:48:00.001-06:00

Tonight David and I hit up Cheap Date Night at one of the many venues that make Mpls so awesome: the restaurant/bar/theater/bowling alley Bryant Lake Bowl. We were actually doubling with one of my good friends and her new man-friend, so it was especially exciting. We all had fabulous squash ravioli in tomato sauce (there are two menu options for the cheap date, vegetarian and carnivorous, and even though they are carnivores, they went for the ravioli over the chicken something-or-other). My friend credited me with being the reason for her choosing the squash! This makes me unreasonably happy.

After our carrot cake (for David and me) and flourless chocolate torte (for them), we bowled--part of the date night deal. David is an excellent bowler. I am a terrible bowler, but make up for what I lack in style (and points) with enthusiasm!

But now it is late. I teach tomorrow (only three meetings left!), and am not prepared, so it should be a good time. Thankfully I'll have several hours in the morning and early afternoon to get myself ready.

Oh, also! Here are my words of wisdom for the day: if you are in doubt, at all, ask the bus driver. Otherwise, like me, afraid to look dumb/convinced that the campus connector must stop at the student union, you might, like me, end up on a bus ride to Saint Paul and back, miss your 8:00 appointment, and lose an hour of your morning. And THEN won't you look dumb, when you get off the bus at the same place you got on, an hour ago. Seriously. Five years on this campus, and a little (massive) road construction (and complete restructuring of the shuttle routes) totally threw me off. Sigh.

Profit

2011-11-12T22:42:00.001-06:00

So this fall I've been teaching an Art Appreciation class at a for-profit college. I feel very conflicted about this, because I really think their model is despicable. Ideals about what one can accomplish, what knowledge one can impart and creativity one can inspire fade fairly quickly in an environment where half one's students are functionally illiterate. What's worse is that this college is happily taking their money (federal student loans most, if not all, of it) without any apparent consideration of whether the students can read, speak English, or consider the implications of the debt they'll be incurring--even if they can miraculously get a degree and a job out of the deal.

And I'm complicit in the system! I can tell myself that at least I'm offering them quality instruction--but much of the time, even when I'm dumbing it way down, I don't know how much they're actually getting. I have all sorts of lofty ideas about teaching students how to see, but as I said, those tend to fade quickly.

Anyway, I was just going to mention how I had to teach today instead of yesterday because of the holiday--information I only learned, from my students, LAST Friday. So today we got one hour into class before we got kicked out, by the class that regularly meets there on Saturdays--surprise! Two of my students also had to leave their own Saturday class early to come to mine.

However, it's clear that this school has much more significant problems than their poor scheduling and communication. As I said, the whole model is broken. I do love my students, but I'll be glad to be done.

Toe

2011-11-11T22:18:00.001-06:00

Hey, remember my bum toe? Weirdly, I don't seem to have talked about it here all that much--probably because it's too depressing. That, and before NaBloPoMo I was hardly blogging at all.

Well. It was hurting a lot: when I ran, obviously (though I was hardly doing that any more, thanks to the pain), but also when I walked, when I stood, when I woke up in the morning, at the end of the day... It hurt all the time, and the joint was red and swollen.

I saw an orthopedic surgeon, who said the only solution for me was surgery. He also said that although he would do his best to preserve the joint, if he couldn't save it, fusion would be the only option. I had to be okay with waking up from surgery with that joint fused: he didn't want any tears. Ahem. Apparently this has been a problem with former patients? I can appreciate his honesty, but I didn't love the approach.

I was pretty bummed about the surgery thing, but was in so much pain, and so much more bummed about not being able to run (the surgeon did say he had fusion patients who had run their best marathons post-surgery) that I still thought I'd have to go for it.

Before I did, though, I decided, at my dad's urging, to see a podiatrist.

Not being able to run, and being in constant pain, was making me really depressed, so it took quite a while to set that appointment up, but I finally did it.

The podiatrist was much more personable, and he told me that my hallux rigidus* was in an early stage and would likely respond well to conservative treatment--no need for surgery, at this point.

That was super encouraging! I was excited to see how the inserts he made for me, and wearing my running shoes all the time, would make my feet feel.

They made them feel a little better--but not much. So I went back, and he adjusted the inserts again. Better yet, he prescribed physical therapy, which ended up being the most effective solution to date. In addition to having the toe stretched and adjusted, and learning new exercises and stretches, I received transdermal acetic acid via iontophoresis. Although it raised tiny blisters on my skin every time we did it, it significantly reduced the pain and swelling in the joint. I was so happy to have found something that worked!

My toe got so much better that after a few weeks my PT suggested we stop and see how things went on their own. As it happened, my toe went back to bad about a week after my last acetic acid treatment. And because I was back in pain, and super bummed, it took me a long time to make another appointment (see above).

But I did. I went back to the podiatrist on October 20 and told him that even though I was wearing comfy shoes with his inserts, and wasn't even running, my foot was still driving me crazy. So he suggested a cortisone shot, which is one more thing to try before considering surgery (surgeries that he described as far more minor than what the orthopod had mentioned!).

He gave me a shot of anaesthetic on top of my foot, and then stuck a thin needle right into the joint. It did hurt, but it was over quickly, and I was able to walk right out of the office afterward. The joint, full as it was of extra fluid, felt stiff for a while, but soon felt amazing. I didn't feel any pain at all! I actually laughed out loud at myself when I realized that was because the anaesthetic was still doing its work. When that wore off, my toe hurt, worse than before. I limped around for the rest of the day. It still hurt on the 21st, but by the 22nd, it was feeling significantly better.

Since then, it has been great! I do still feel it sometimes, especially after yoga or after a spell in non-sensible shoes. Occasionally it will pop, too, but it rarely hurts significantly. In fact, it's almost like having a normal foot again! I can hardly express how wonderful this is, and what a relief it is to not have foot pain gnawing at the back of my mind all the time. I haven't tried running on it yet, but feel very optimistic about the possibility!

It's unclear how long the shot will be effective, and he said it's not the sort of thing he generally likes to repeat. However, I've talked to people whose cortisone shots have lasted them years. I'm hoping that's the case for me, too!

Wow. That got long.

*Have I mentioned that that's my diagnosis? Latin for stiff big toe.

Touchpad

2011-11-10T22:07:00.001-06:00

Touchpad en abyme (in its case)

So, forever ago, when HP announced it was killing its previously $500 tablet PC and liquidating the remaining models for $99, David got really excited. So excited he got me excited, too. A lightweight tablet, with a beautiful screen, built in camera, video chat capabilities, etc. Plug in a portable keyboard and it's basically a laptop--and even lighter than a netbook! An e-reader that, unlike my Kindle (which I've also grown to love--a story for another time) was backlit, for ease of reading in bed.

When David decided to try to get one, I suggested he get two! I mean, seriously, $99?

One of those was for me, btw. There was no way he needed THREE tablet PCs.

It took him pretty much an entire Sunday of clicking refresh on the swamped HP site, inching through the checkout process, but he got it done! We waited weeks and weeks for them to arrive, but they finally came. I'm blogging from mine right now.

PAINSTAKINGLY TAPPED ON MY HP TOUCHPAD, WHICH WAS TOTALLY WORTH ALL $99.

Pancake

2011-11-09T22:30:00.001-06:00

Recently, I've been making German pancakes almost every weekend. We were getting half a dozen eggs in our CSA every week until two weeks ago(!), so the ingredients were always on hand. The recipe is also ridiculously easy: throw everything into the blender, bake for 35 minutes, and you're golden.

Alton Brown's recipe (I use regular sugar + vanilla, rather than vanilla sugar; regular salt; and soymilk)

David has gotten rather tired of them, though, and even my passion is cooling, so I'll try to find a different delicious brunch staple. Any ideas?

Tuesdays

2011-11-08T23:09:00.000-06:00

Tuesdays, I teach in Mankato.

I usually spend the first eight hours of the day prepping for class--occasionally less if it's material I'm especially comfortable with. (The class I'm teaching is Survey I, cave paintings to cathedrals, so I usually need a significant refresher. Also, I'm sort of obsessive about my PowerPoints.)

Then I drive 82 miles, which takes a little less than two hours, depending on traffic.

Then I teach for three hours. Tonight I had it somewhat easier because I showed a 50 minute film, but I'd had to prepare an earlier quiz to go along with it, so all I really saved was my voice.

Finally, after questions from students and packing up, I drive home.

Tuesdays are long.

Cake Pops

2011-11-07T23:20:00.000-06:00

In response to my last post, Mari asked about my recipe for cake pops, so I thought I'd give a quick rundown.

Hastily decorated party cake pops

Bakerella's basic formula is super simple: bake a cake, crumble it up, mash in frosting, form into balls, insert sticks and dip into candy. I think this is her most detailed tutorial.

The first time I tried this, I made several mistakes:

I bought some Fancy Deluxe Super Moist cake mix that called for something like half a cup of oil; even though I didn't add that much, the cake was still kind of greasy--probably fine for regular eating, but not great for cake pops. The second time, I bought a cheap store brand cake. Much better!
I used Wilton's white candy melts, which had a dreadful, hypersweet cheap candy flavor. The second time around, I used their chocolate ones, which were far better; they tasted like candy I would actually want to eat.
I used homemade cream cheese frosting at nearly full strength sweetness. Paired with the white candy shell, that was way too sweet. The second time around, I whipped the frosting left over from my first attempt--maybe a cup?--with another block of Neufchatel and some more vanilla. That made for a less sweet frosting and a far tastier pop.
I didn't let the balls chill sufficiently before dipping them, and this is probably the most important thing. If they're not nice and cold--the second time, mine were pretty much frozen--the candy coating won't stick well. I had mine in the freezer for probably at least an hour before dipping them, and I wouldn't go with any less than that.

The second time, thanks to the knowledge gained from my first failure, things went much better. The pops actually tasted good--rich, more like dense brownies or even truffles, but good--and were superfun to eat. I wish I'd had a bit more time to decorate them; as it was, after all that fussiness, I was really pressed for time, and ended up slapping on some extra cream cheese frosting piped from a Zip-lock bag. I think I did all 31 (I think that's the number I ended up with, unintentionally!) in about four minutes.

They were a fair amount of work, but a big hit--so festive! I'd love to give them another try sometime, and do fun decorations. There is lots more inspiration over at Bakerella; check it out!

Golden

2011-11-06T22:53:00.000-06:00

August 31st was my golden birthday, so I threw myself a party. I'd been wanting to have a party on the lawn of this house pretty much since we moved in; I may actually have been scheming about it even before the snow melted.

When August finally rolled around, I sent out invitations on sparkly gold paper left over from our moving announcements. I discovered cake pops and was inspired to make other foods on sticks: caprese salad skewers with garden cherry tomatoes, garden basil, and fresh mozzarella pearls; Greek salad skewers with garden cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta; and fruit skewers with pineapple, grapes, and strawberries. In the non-stick category, we had Martha's carrot-ginger mini-cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting; hummus with pita and crudités; and sparkling cocktails.

I set everything up on cream and gold tablecloths I'd found at the thrift store, with little gold napkins. We had golden balloons, candles in ornamented jars and lots of hanging lights--strands of regular mini white lights, some tiny Japanese paper lanterns, and even a random strand of spiky Ikea lights.

But! They don't call my Kitchen a Disaster for nothing. I spent all morning and afternoon cooking, baking, and running last minute errands, and David and our downstairs neighbor did yeomen's duty getting lights strung, and still things were crazy until right up to party time. Our other neighbor came up to lend me a hand with frosting cupcakes, and then they both did skewer duty. At one point, all four of us were in the kitchen when we heard a crash; investigation revealed that Brrrrrruno had managed to knock over a tray of cupcakes and consume at least one, liner and all, before we were able to separate them!**

At 15 minutes before the time listed on the invitations, I left my tireless helpers in the kitchen to throw on some make up and my party dress. I was still making little labels for the food and drinks tables when the first guests showed up! So. I don't have many pictures at all, which makes me very sad, because it was such a beautiful party.

It really was. The little lights made everything feel remarkably festive. It was a lovely evening, and the rather brisk breeze was countered by a roaring fire in the fire pit. There were girls in party dresses*** and tasty treats and lovely music, thanks to an iPod Hi-Fi boombox we found at the thrift store for $19 (2006 retail price $349. Oh yeah!).

Anyway, here are the pictures I do have. Try to imagine everything golden and sparkly, the way it is in my memory!

*Which I had to make twice, because the first batch tasted and looked pretty bad
**For weeks afterward when he would come up to our apartment, he would lick the floor and rug at the site of the crash.
***I wore my dress from a few Halloweens ago; how many chances does a girl have to wear a dress like that, anyway?

Pests

2011-11-05T23:27:00.002-05:00

Brian posted today about a close encounter with a mouse, one closer--and funnier!--than many of my tales of the historic Mouse Wars. As I was looking through a few of those stories earlier today, I found some that I could definitely laugh at, and others that still seriously creeped me out. Of all the things I don't miss about the old place, the vermin are high on the list.

However, last night we came home to another horrifying pest: a house centipede. Seriously, these things are awful. According to Wikipedia, they can have up to fifteen pairs of legs. (Wikipedia also includes this charming quote of 1902, credited to entomologist C.L. Marlatt):

It may often be seen darting across floors with very great speed, occasionally stopping suddenly and remaining absolutely motionless, presently to resume its rapid movements, often darting directly at inmates of the house, particularly women, evidently with a desire to conceal itself beneath their dresses, and thus creating much consternation.

I'm pretty sure they're the grossest bug I've ever seen, and that's counting Louisiana cockroaches and Borneo cicadas. We were indeed consternated to find one waiting for us on our dining room wall when we returned from an evening out with friends.

I'm sparing you the close-up of the house centipede;
you can just see it as a dark blur here.

This is the second one we've encountered in this apartment; the last one so disturbed us that we used the vacuum to avoid having to touch it. Because we have one of those lightweight models, without a hose, David lifted the whole thing up above his head to aspirate the foul creature--which, thankfully, worked.

Last night, though, David just smashed it with a paper towel, and I Windexed the wall afterward. Ewwww.

Thinking about that as I read Brian's post and some of my old ones, I wondered whether I'd rather have house centipedes or mice. No question, really: as gross as they are, I'll take the arthropods any day--though I really, really, really hope I don't have to.

Already...

2011-11-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

...I'm starting to run out of things to say. Things, in any case, I feel inspired enough to "say" by tapping the screen on my TouchPad (I just mentioned my new technology AGAIN! Story on it coming soon). It makes blogging from bed much easier, but not enough easier that I'm willing to tap out that story now.

Cheeseball

2011-11-03T23:01:00.001-05:00

I made a cheese ball for a Halloween get-together at our neighbors' last Friday night.

It was really simple: Neufchatel cheese, a shredded colby/jack cheese mix, some green onions, and part of a packet of Ranch dressing (not dip) mix. I stirred it together, rolled it into a ball and left it in the fridge (in nonstick-sprayed plastic wrap) to chill for a few hours. Before the party, I shaped it into a rough pumpkin and stuck the stem of a bell pepper on top.

I'd been inspired by a photo of tiny pumpkin-shaped cheese balls (with pretzel stems and adorable parsley leaves!), but decided one big pumpkin made much better sense on my rushed schedule.

The Royal We

2011-11-02T23:15:00.001-05:00

Primping before going out.

This year for Halloween, David and I went as a royal couple: we were Prince and Princess Leia.

I had wanted to be Prince since last November or so, when we watched Purple Rain for the first time and I was seized with inspiration.

Getting into character. (See my eye pencil side burns?)

My hair was even more Prince-ly then, and he wears pretty amazing eyeliner, so I thought it would be perfect. David came up with the Princess Leia counterpart.

I was able to find almost all the ingredients for my costume at our local St. Vinny's: studded pleather pants, a giant purple men's blazer, and gauzy ruffled curtains.

Raw materials: pleather pants, curtains, and a purple suit coat.

I bought silver pyramid studs at StudsandSpikes.com (no joke!) and "shooties" (this is a thing?) at Target.

I ended up putting in a pretty ridiculous amount of work on the costume. The pants were the easiest part: two quick seams up the legs to make them skinny. The shirt was more involved; I attached the ruffle to the collar of a short-sleeved white button down, built up a tall neck, made sleeves with more ruffles at the wrists, and even sewed on pearly buttons.

The giant blazer in its original state.

The jacket, though, was definitely the hardest. I thought I could get away with quick seams up the sides and down the sleeves, but that looked funny, so I ended up taking off the sleeves, shortening the shoulders, and reattaching them.

Mid-destruction

I even tacked part of the lining (which I'd had to take out first thing to access the structural seams) back in. It was good sewing practice but not something I'd readily take on again anytime soon.

I started out by actually studding these, then ended up borrowing my neighbor's hot glue gun and attaching them that way.

The results, though? Totally worth it.

David and his cinnamon buns.

David suggested that maybe instead of Princess Leia, he should just go as a ghost.

Oh! I also sewed David's costume, from this amazingly helpful tutorial. I did the hood and everything. Also crazy. The buns he found online.

Exhausted but still fierce after the party.

NABLOPOMO!

2011-11-01T23:11:00.000-05:00

It's November again (what? already?), and so, as is my habit at this time of year, I'm once again attempting 30 posts in 30 days with National Blog Posting Month. I must admit I'm off to a less than stellar start, writing this post at 11pm after a long evening of teaching (though maybe I can get some credit for doing so on my new Touchpad, from bed?), but hopefully future posts will be a bit more thoughtful and substantive.

As usual, I invite all of you blogging Alert Readers (if I have any left!) to join me in this endeavor. AnGloPhOne (auto-corrected; 'can't figure out how to change it back) is much more fun with friends. Here's to an inspiring November!

Summer Eating II

2011-08-07T18:46:00.000-05:00

Cherry tomatoes ripening in(/taking over) the garden

Dragon carrots!

David preparing asparagus for grilling

Hobo packets with dragon carrots, CSA green beans and sweet corn, potatoes and onions

Waiting for the grill to heat

David managing the grill

Goldfinch?

Caprese! (I reduced an entire bottle of balsamic for dinner with the Wonders; we have lots, to put on everything!) Garden basil and CSA tomato (our big ones aren't ripe yet). And Maldon flaked sea salt!

Summer Eating (& Entertaining Vegans II)

2011-07-30T15:10:00.000-05:00

Me in a surprisingly non-disastrous-looking kitchen

Last night we had the Wonders (the entertaining vegans!) over for dinner again. Bradley, who is better at blogging than I am, has already posted about it here. I was quite pleased with how dinner turned out: lemony hummus with crudités (dragon carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers from our garden!--and some celery) and Holy Land olives to start, and then herby sweet corn arepas Minnow-style* with a few tiny chioggia beets from our garden. The Wonders brought over an amazing raw cobbler (recipe linked at Bradley's blog) and some nice wine to round it all out. Sadly, the only photographic documentation of the event is a picture David snapped as I was still cooking!

Here are a few things I did manage to photograph before eating--some of the other garden- and CSA-inspired meals we've been enjoying this summer:

One of my favorite summer sandwiches: whole grain bagel topped with Neufchatel cheese, garden lettuce, cucumbers (not from our garden yet, at that point), and Vegetable Delight seasoning.

Shortcake with CSA strawberries and biscuits from scratch.**

Corn on the cob with pizza buns (toasted English muffins, homemade sauce, and pearl mozzarella, browned under the broiler and then topped with garden basil)

Roasted vegetables inspired by a kohlrabi in our CSA box: kohlrabi, onion, potatoes, dragon carrots, cherry tomatoes, and fresh corn, tossed with olive oil and garlic and topped with Maldon flaked sea salt. Served with salads of CSA greens and CSA garden peas (and a wedge of aged gouda!).

Corn on the cob with spicy kidney bean burgers and a basil/garlic/yogurt dip. I'd link to the burger recipe, but I didn't really follow it. Beans, oats, almonds, a couple of CSA eggs, seasonings... I was working with what I had in the cupboards!


Brunch this morning: a scramble with CSA eggs; Neufchatel cheese; and garden basil, cherry tomatoes, chives, and green onion.

It's been pretty hot and humid around here recently, so I haven't been doing quite as much cooking as I might like to--but it'll be cold again soon enough, so I can't complain too much. And in the meantime, the delicious produce keeps flowing! Our garden is a bit of a jungle recently, though slightly less so since we chopped down the massive, bolted cilantro and the surprise sunflower (I planted a "butterfly mix" in one of our square feet, and it grew some really tall flowers!) that had been shading the smaller plants. The tomatoes, though, are starting to riot!

*I used this arepas recipe, using soy milk, omitting the cheese, and substituting EVOO and some seasonings for the margarine. I topped them with Boca's vegan sausage crumbled, sauteed red bell peppers, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. The Minnow includes spinach, and I'd hoped to serve ours with garden greens on the side, but they've gotten bitter with the heat (and neglect).

**The "from scratch" recipe on this page is amazing, and almost as easy as Bisquick biscuits (which are surprisingly disappointing after eating these!). I cut the recipe into thirds and bake two large biscuits, using soy milk and grating in frozen butter (my mom's trick!) instead of messing with a pastry cutter (which I don't have). I also don't bother sifting or mixing the milk and vanilla separately.

Crema

2011-07-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, David and a friend and I biked to a cafe about a mile and a half from our house, called Crema. We had brunch on their uber-charming patio, and then, because it was so irresistible, we had some homemade ice cream from their impressive display. Since then, David and I have been back there twice for frozen treats.

Tonight, we stopped in after dinner at the Minnow. We shared a triple scoop(!): strawberry basil sorbet, topped, at the scooper's recommendation, with banana ice cream and pineapple mango basil sorbet. It was amazing. I'm not a huge banana fan, but the ice cream tasted like banana bread batter smells--buttery and creamy and delicious. The pineapple mango chaser had just the right amount of fruity tang--plus the clean, herby hint of basil.

"This place is as good as the Patisserie!" I gushed.
"It's better," David said.
"Better?" I asked.
"It's not in Walla Walla!"

When I recovered from laughing, I said, "I would blog that--but half the people who read my blog live in Walla Walla!"

David didn't care, and here I've gone and blogged it. Walla Walla people, I love you! I love your patisserie! And when you come visit me here in Mpls, I'll take you to Crema and you can judge its wonders for yourself!

Brrrruno!

2011-07-01T22:06:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday our downstairs neighbors brought home a puppy! He is a tiny beagle, just seven weeks old, and his name is Bruno (with a properly Spanish rolled R). He is adorable, and although he has a tendency to try to chew anything he comes in contact with, including my fingers, I'm pretty smitten. Here are two videos David shot on his phone.

Tuesday

2011-06-28T21:49:00.002-05:00

Perfect Summer Tuesday Date Night:
Thanks to David for the pictures, off his phone!

1. Ride the Greenway to the Longfellow Grill for sweet potato fries and an apéritif

Longfellow

2. Bike to the Birchwood Cafe for dinner (black bean quinoa burger) and dessert (cornmeal cobbler with peaches and berries)

Bike bridge at sunset

3. Bike to B & E's to pick up this week's CSA share (eggs, Romaine, and strawberries!)

On the Greenway

First carrot!

4. Ride home, admire the garden, and eat the season's first dragon carrot!

Summer Weekends III

2011-06-26T22:27:00.002-05:00

Another festival! This weekend was Pride. As I've mentioned before, I somehow didn't grow up watching parades, so I'm making up for lost time.

Lipstick art car and flamingo bike

Pride is an especially fun and flashy one, and the spectator-watching is as good as the parade itself! (Thanks to David for the pictures, from his phone.)

Yay for our city council!

Another cool thing was that a lot of politicians (and pretty much all of the important ones) showed up, and some of them, like our uber-cool representative Keith Ellison and silver fox mayor R.T. Rybak, were very high energy, running around and slapping high-fives with the crowd. I had also read that although past Pride parades have tended to be rather corporate (something still in evidence today, although I still think it's pretty awesome to see employees from Wells Fargo, Macy's, etc.--tame, flaming, and everywhere in between, along with their kids and families--marching in this parade), this one tried to focus more on advocacy and rights. Ah! Found the link.*

One of the more colorful floats

David and I biked to the parade, after I did yoga this morning and whipped up breakfast, including these delicious muffins (with CSA rhubarb; I made the first batch of these muffins yesterday, but before that had never cooked with rhubarb at all!). After the parade, we went with friends to further festivities in the park, where we managed to get sunburned (me through 50 spf on my face!) and so exhausted that after our ride home we napped for a couple of hours. Fun times!

Here's a picture David took earlier in the weekend, playing Rock Band with friends. I like it because you can totally tell how much fun I'm having.

*If you're only going to read one of these links, though, read the one about R.T.'s take on the Pride parade!

Birthday

2011-06-23T21:22:00.000-05:00

Lighting the neon crazy candles

Yesterday was David's birthday. He didn't let me plan a party, but he did let me put candles on the apricot cheesecake (with strawberry apricot sauce!) that I made him, and invite the neighbors and one other friend up to share it. Compromise!

Summer Weekends II

2011-06-19T21:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a busy day in Minneapolis--Rock the Garden, Twins Game, and the Stone Arch Festival. But it rained all day, so David and I pretty much stayed inside and ate (a fruit pizza with a shortbread crust for brunch, and egg, potato, and black bean burritos in homemade tortillas for lunch). We did get out for a film in the evening: Super 8, which I thought hit the summer-movie mark solidly, with a deft mix of thrills, impressive acting, nostalgic period details, and a great soundtrack.

Today, though, was warmer and dryer, so we biked to the Birchwood for brunch and then over to the second day of the festival. It was pretty crowded--bigger than I remember from my first year here.* David spotted a few friends we hadn't seen in several weeks, though, so that was a highlight. The other highlight was walking down to the north/east bank of the Mississippi at the base of the Stone Arch bridge. I'd never been down there, and the views of the bottom of the massive bridge, and the city skyline across the river, were definitely worth the climb down (and back up) the humidity- and moss-slicked wooden steps on legs sore from this morning's hot yoga.

*Wow; rereading that entry was a weird blast from the past.

April's Visit

2011-06-15T21:01:00.178-05:00

Fun times at home

So last month, my seester came to visit us! It was her first time in Mpls and her first time visiting me in my own home in 10 years (I know!). She flew in on a Wednesday afternoon and didn't have to leave until the next Tuesday evening, so we got to fit in lots of fun and fancy things, like seeing a play at the Guthrie and going to a Twins game, and also slow and quotidian things like eating at home.

Seesters!

The day she got in was gorgeous, so we ate on the patio at Old Arizona and then had coffee on the patio at the Bad Waitress. We drove around town a little bit, met David at his office and walked down by the river, and had dinner at the French Meadow.

Birchwood biking brunch

April on David's bike over the Mississippi

Thursday, we rode downtown with David so we could have his car, and afterward we drove out to Nicollet Island and around St. Anthony Main before coming home to change and get the bikes for a long ride. We rode to the Birchwood and had breakfast there (this stunningly delicious tofu scramble with carrots, spinach, and a tomato coulis, plus a scone and an orange chocolate bread pudding!) before riding all over town: across the river, to Saint Paul, around Lake Calhoun, and along the Greenway. April was totally a trooper. David was able to come home early, so we picked him up and had dinner at home--sweet potato fries and black beans and rice with all the toppings. That evening was warm, so we drove down to St. Anthony Main, where we walked out to the falls and then had dessert at the Aster Cafe.

Friday was rainy, but we had David's car again, so I took April on an impromptu "Sketchy Minneapolis tour," which most out-of-towners' visits, alas, are too short to include. We started at Chicago Lake Liquors to pick up champagne for mimosas for the next day's brunch, and although Chicago Lake is far less sketchy at 10 a.m. on a Friday than it is at 10 p.m., we definitely go for the prices rather than the ambiance. After that was the St. Vincent de Paul*, where we found eight glass plates and a mini muffin tin for about $3! Then we got pedicures at a little strip mall place. Afterward, we popped home to change and then to yoga in uptown. We got David, had a quick dinner at home, and then went to Arsenic and Old Lace at the Guthrie, followed by fries at Town Hall.

Surrey with the fringe on top

St. Anthony Main

Saturday morning the brunch club met at our house for coconut macadamia nut waffles with homemade coconut syrup, lightly dressed greens, hashbrowns, fresh fruit, and pineapple mimosas. Afterward, the afternoon was sunny and shockingly warm, so April and David and I went to Minnehaha Falls, where we rented a surrey. It was the first time we'd ever done that, but it was such ridiculous fun that we'll doubtless do it again. We got home just in time to get dinner ready for another social occasion, this time with the downstairs neighbors. We did farfalle in a light cream sauce with cherry tomatoes, snow peas, and fresh basil; roasted asparagus; salad; and rosemary asiago bread (not homemade); with individual molten lava cakes with fresh strawberries for dessert.

Sweet potato fries at the Longellow

Sunday I introduced April to hot yoga, and she did splendidly! Afterward we had brunch at the Red Stag, where our table by the window provided a great view of a crashing Midwestern thunderstorm. In the evening we met one of my friends at the Fancy Theater for Water for Elephants, which I found pretty disappointing.

Lilacs at the arboretum

At Target Field for the Twins

Mill City

Monday, I made vegan waffles with fresh strawberries and Nutella and then we drove out to the arboretum in Chaska while listening to Abraham's new CD on repeat. (Have you heard this album yet? It's amazing. Seriously.) On the way back we stopped at Opitz Outlet, home of 70% Off Retail! We got David, had dinner at the Longfellow Grill, and then went to the Twins game. It was an ideal night for outdoor baseball: clear, warm, and perfect! They were even playing the Mariners, though David and I, at least, were rooting for the home team--who lost in the bottom of the 10th. Sigh.

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Tuesday was April's last day, and I made French toast that we ate with leftover macadamia nuts and coconut syrup. It was kind of gray and chilly, but we went downtown and poked around the shops and skyways. We stopped by the Walker sculpture garden on the way back, and drove around the Kenwood neighborhood and the lakes admiring the architecture. Then April had to pack and leave, but we eased the pain with homemade pico de gallo and episodes of Arrested Development before heading for the airport.

Whew! That was long. I guess I was just inspired by re-reading my account of Hathor's visit; I enjoyed the descriptions of all the things we'd eaten, in particular, even if you all didn't!

Some of the sites and activities doubtless sound familiar from descriptions of other visits, but there's always something new--often discovered for the first time with the visitor--so book your trip today!

*I love this place, but it really is sketchy. When we bought our table and David's desk, one of the workers offered us a discount deal, arranged a somewhat shady home delivery in his friend's truck, and then asked for (and received, because we're softies) a tip.

Summer Weekends

2011-06-12T21:18:00.144-05:00

Arnold Palmers--the drink of summer!

David at Old Arizona

Me at Old Arizona

Northern Spark
Last weekend was the Northern Spark Festival, a dusk-to-dawn celebration of art held at various locations around the Cities. It was also unbelievably gorgeous, with cloudless skies and temps in the lower 80s. David and I biked to one of our favorite patios (Old Arizona) for dinner, then to another favorite patio (Black Forest) a few blocks away to meet up with a friend and plan our festival approach.

Plotting our festival course

The three of us biked downtown, arriving at the Stone Arch Bridge in time for the opening festivities. Minneapolitans love their summer and their summer festivals, and everything we visited--outdoor installations, interactive pieces, performances, galleries, and more--was extremely well-attended.

We headed for home around 1:00 a.m., after the line to a piece we'd hoped to see downtown was too long to be borne in our exhausted state, but things appeared to still be hopping. We only made it to a fraction of the venues, but what we saw was very engaging, made even better by the shared experience of seeing it against the background of the city, shared with such a large community.

On the Stone Arch Bridge

Crowds at the opening ceremony

City lights reflected in the Mississippi

Open Streets

Pedestrian bridge on the just-established River Lake Greenway

This weekend was another inaugural festival, the Open Streets "ciclovía" on 20 blocks of Lyndale Avenue. For four hours, between 10:00 and 2:00, those two miles were blocked to automobile traffic and opened to throngs of bikers, skaters, and walkers--in surprisingly large crowds, especially as today was quite cool and overcast.

My new T-shirt

Along that stretch, restaurants, boutiques, and cafes opened their doors and set up sidewalk displays and there were performances by musicians and artists. There were also booths and games by various groups, including a reverse race (who could go most slowly without putting a foot down) and homemade ice cream (churned by pedal power on the back of a bike riding the strip!) by our beloved Nice Ride.

David by the rolling bandstand

For such a simple concept, it was almost unbelievably fun. Hipsters, dirty hippies, young families, seniors on cruisers, and everything in between swarmed the streets together, mingling happily with the officers who guarded the

At the southern end of the strip

intersections. We saw a chain of six recumbent bikes, linked to each other and peddling happily along like a many-wheeled caterpillar, and two bikes pulling a platform with a band performing live music--a piano, drums, and bass! Getting to ride along such a fun part of the city, without having to dodge cars, and surrounded by so many fellow citizens and bikers, filled me with so much happiness that I may have gotten a wee bit teary.

Hydrant drinking fountain

As I told David, it was two of the things I enjoy most about running marathons--getting to see the city from the unusual and intriguing viewpoint of the street, and the sense of shared community--but without the pain of actually having to run.

Pictures from yesterday (which was sunnier and warmer!)

Brunch at the Aster Cafe (patio!)

David and his bike at the downtown farmers' market post-brunch

Snapping the city skyline on the ride home

Heading home after an evening ride

Seasonal Eatin'

2011-06-11T16:21:00.093-05:00

This summer, I did something I've wanted to try for a long time: joined a CSA! Our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share is from Trumpeter Swan Farm, which is about 50 miles northwest of us and makes weekly deliveries to my friend E's house (eight blocks from us). E and I went halvsies on a full share (designed to feed a family of four or five, I think), and she did the research on finding this one for us. It was a great find; it includes a dozen eggs/week, includes some fruit (strawberries, raspberries, and more) and delivers weekly over six months(!).

The season has started slowly (right up until our recent hot temps, we'd had a cold, wet spring), so our shares so far haven't been very big and early on were supplemented with canned goods from the farm. However, recently they've been picking up, and we've had a lot of asparagus, some green onions, radishes (which I tried, but ultimately failed, to eat), and most recently spinach.

I enjoyed designing the following meal around the most recent delivery:

Spinach salads with rounds of fresh local chèvre (encrusted in freshly ground pepper), dried cranberries, and spiced candied nuts

Roasted asparagus on a bed of fettuccine in a lemon-scented light cream sauce with CSA green onions and garden chives

Crème brûlée (using lots of those farm-fresh eggs, and local dairy), brûléed somewhat less than successfully under the broiler)

The asparagus (which ranged significantly in size this last batch!) I roasted using David's mom's technique: drizzle washed, snapped asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt (seriously, I love this salt!) and/or lemon pepper (which, sadly, I don't have, though a little lemon zest can be nice). Pop into 400° oven for 5-10 minutes (depending on size of stalks); flip and continue roasting another 5-10 minutes, until just fork tender. This time around I pulled the smaller stalks out halfway through and let the larger ones cook longer, but it's not usually a problem.

And here are the crèmes, out of the oven but still in their water baths, prior to their burnt sugar topping.

The next day, since we'd eaten all the asparagus, I caramelized onions, threw the rest of the spinach in with them to sautee down a bit, and then added that to the fettuccine, which I reheated with some of the leftover chèvre for an even more decadent dish. Delicious!

I look forward to the CSA inspiring many more dinners to come. What are your favorite seasonal dishes?

Garden

2011-06-08T21:31:00.098-05:00

This spring, David and I put in two raised beds following the Square Foot Gardening method. Unfortunately, the boxes also served as the Squirrel Salad Bar until we enclosed them with ugly chicken wire cages, which is why the right box (enclosed several weeks after the left) is a bit stunted. Both seem to be recovering, though, and our recent hot weather (following a couple of weeks of thunderstorms) has been perfect for growing.

I tried to label the images directly, but as that didn't work for me, you can use this chart for reference:

Left Box:
1, 2: Beefsteak tomatoes
3, 4: Roma tomatoes
5: Dragon tongue beans (heirloom)
6, 7, 9, 10, 11: Sweet Genovese Basil (heirloom)
8, 12: Cilantro
9: Garlic chives (sharing with some basil)
13, 16: Marigolds
14, 15: Dragon Carrots (heirloom)

Right Box:
1: Chewed-down cherry tomatoes
2: Replacement cherry tomatoes
3: Zucchini (you can't see it in the picture, taken this morning, but by this afternoon the seedling had surfaced!)
4: Cucumbers (heirloom)
5, 8, 14: Beets (heirloom)
6, 7, 10: Lettuces (heirloom)
9, 11, 12: Onions (heirloom)
13: Nasturtiums
15: Butterfly garden flower mix
16: Gerbera daisy

Actually, on the right box, I'm not exactly sure what's where. I'm a bit afraid I planted beets and onions on top of each other. I was pretty distraught when the rodents dug up the seeds and chewed the tops off the seedlings that had thus far managed to survive. I was so distraught, in fact, that when I texted David to inform him of their acts of destruction, he immediately went online and ordered an electric fence kit ($24)("delivers a mild but memorable shock"). We haven't set up the electric fence yet, though, as the chicken wire alone seems to be working so far. Our squirrels might be nefarious, but they are also apparently lazy.

I've replanted the lettuces they destroyed (there were four per square, including some lovely purple varieties that were apparently particularly delectable), but they don't seem to be coming up with any speed. The smaller cucumber is also a re-plant. And for some reason the basil also seems to be slow--maybe just because I'm so anxious for it to be producing abundantly. The cilantro (from starts) really is producing abundantly, and we've eaten from it several times.

I hope to keep you updated with photos of lovely foliage and produce from the SFGs; fingers crossed!

Excessive

2011-06-07T17:02:00.037-05:00

Today we set a daily temperature record here in the Twin Cities, after narrowly missing one yesterday with a high of 97°. Yesterday, they were only predicting that today would be 97°, though both days prompted "Excessive Heat Warnings," a phrase that for some reason makes me giggle. Really, when you live in a place that has seven months of winter, can any weather phenomenon really be labeled "excessive"?

David informs me that, incredibly, the Twin Cities was the hottest place in the nation today--the only location with triple-digit temperatures. Apparently we ultimately hit 103°, the hottest day on record here in 23 years.

Thankfully, David recently purchased a portable air conditioning unit the size of a dorm fridge. Recently it's been earning its keep.

California

2011-06-01T20:35:00.021-05:00

Well hello there, abandoned blog. I've lost track of all the things I've intended to post about here, but among them are:

Trip to California last weekend
My sister's visit the week before that
Trip to Hawaii before that
The garden! (/squirrel salad bar)
M's wedding (on a BOAT)
And even my new pillow shams

So. Here are a few of the California pictures!

Throwing pottery on the back porch

The brothers relaxing

Siblings in the back seat

El Burrito!

David & me at graduation

Becca at graduation

The siblings after graduation

Martin in his dashing ascot

The graduates

Becca and Hoosteen graduated from dental school, and it was very inspiring. Very inspiring to finish my own doctorate, that is, and to have my family come for a big party! It's time to get this dissertation done.

Phone Dump

2011-04-17T19:03:00.010-05:00

So today was the brunch for our carni-/omnivorous friends, who just returned from Ecuador and whose kitties we had been watching in their absence. They showed us photos from Ecuador, and we showed them photos of their kitties!

We had my mom's baked eggs, rosemary roasted potatoes à la David, blueberry muffins, pineapple mimosas, coffee, and fresh fruit. Smashing!

As I was pulling kitty photos off my phone to show here, I found some others.

This is a Fruit Loops-infused panna cotta David and I had at Bryant Lake Bowl last May, complete with a Fruit Loops cookie and raspberry sauce. It was actually kind of amazing.
Downtown on a glorious May day:
Biking on the Greenway in June:"Trogdor Sez..." at the Bryant Lake Dunn Bros:
Giant PEAS! (Wow!)
Stop sign at my old corner, December:
Corner of 26th and Stevens, December:
Welcome sign to our new neighborhood, February:
View from the plane back from Indianapolis,* March:
Epic amounts of accumulated snow in our new backyard, 2/22. It stayed (most of it, anyway) until about three weeks ago. Now it's all gone!
The Greenway, early January.
I include this photo just by way of mentioning that four weeks ago, while there was still snow (though not this much), I was walking across the Greenway on a bridge like those shown when I pulled my phone out to check the time. I was on my way to yoga, and dropped the phone back into the pocket of my fleece as I hurried onward to the studio. Only, when I patted my pocket, the phone wasn't there. When I looked behind me on the bridge, the phone wasn't there. When I looked over the bridge, down onto the Greenway, I finally saw my phone--submerged in a semi-frozen puddle far below.

I contemplated leaving it for dead, or at least for later. Realizing, however, that such would certainly seal its fate--and that it would be far more difficult to locate an hour and a half later, when the sun would have set [should the cell miraculously not have permanently expired during class]--I decided to slide down the icy bank to retrieve it. I waded into the large and icy puddle and laughed as I slipped back up the bank and continued on to class. (I had slipped and fallen down the bank and was rather wet, but figured that as it was a class I always leave soaked in sweat and condensation anyway, it wouldn't much matter.)

The phone was flickering ominously when I pulled it out, and I tried vainly to turn it off using the button before I finally wised up and pulled out the battery. I stashed phone and battery in (securely zipped) separate pockets, and let them dry until morning. In the morning, the phone worked, though it did give me a brief scare when the display suddenly stopped working. However, full function returned after further drying and a hard reset, and it continues--almost unbelievably after its 2.5 year tenure--to work as well as ever (by which I mean it still tends to reset its own ringer volume, make calls and try to access the Internet from my pocket, and generally drive me crazy). The screen was slightly fogged for several days, but even that has disappeared, leaving no trace of its misadventures.

I'm glad it survived.

*Did I ever mention that trip here? I don't think I did. My grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last month, and I was able to use a miles flight to join them, my aunt and uncle, my cousin and her husband, and my dad, who had flown from the Northwest for the occasion.

Entertaining Vegans

2011-04-14T20:24:00.005-05:00

Last Friday night, we had the Wonders over for dinner, and I enjoyed planning an entirely vegan menu. Bradley, who is much better at blogging than am I, wrote about it here. The only thing he forgot was the steamed broccoli and carrots. The thing I forgot was the edamame that was to have been our appetizer. (David and I did eat edamame tonight, made extra special with my new Maldon salt*)!

Sunday morning, we had the downstairs neighbors up for a distinctly non-vegan brunch--red potato and caramelized onion quiche, Swedish fruit soup, and mini-croissants.

This coming weekend, we're having another couple of friends over for brunch--she a historical quasi-vegetarian, and he a devoted carnivore. Weekend before last, they had us, and another vegetarian-ish couple, over for brunch, and she made a really nice cheesy egg dish with green chilies that pleased even the carnivore. I will try to do as much (and welcome, as always, suggestions!).

The new table has been inspiring, apparently, for entertaining. I'm sorry it hasn't been more inspiring for blogging, so far; I really will try to do better.

*This is the most amazing, lightly crunchy, flaked sea salt. SaltWorks has the best price I've seen--and they're offering free shipping.

We've Moved!

2011-03-25T22:30:00.012-05:00

This is the moving announcement card I sent out several weeks ago (photo kindly supplied by Ellen, who snapped it post-postal service journey).

I don't have a picture of the back, but it involved a line drawing of a dirigible... oh! And there was sort of a little seal or stamp:

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, the old place flooded one too many times for me. (There are those who would argue that even once was one too many, but the rent and location were both excellent, and I do hate moving.)

What we found is the top floor of a duplex owned by a terribly charming young couple who just bought the place in October. It was remodeled before they bought it, so our kitchen and bathroom are brand new, as is the carpet in the bedroom and tiny office. (Ordinarily I try to avoid carpet, but I'm actually quite liking it here.) The kitchen is big enough to fit multiple cooks(!), there's a private garage, and there's free laundry in the basement. It's all very exciting.

Here are a few pictures:

I'm still in the process of decorating (and, admittedly, unpacking!), but things are coming together. I re-covered a bunch of pillows last week, so I'll try to post some pictures of those.

Oh! A bonus picture:
This is the St. Vincent de Paul dining set that I'd been "monitoring" in my last post and finally bought last weekend (set for brunch with the downstairs neighbors + friend). I haven't done anything to it yet, including reupholstering the chairs (aside from cleaning/disinfecting it and some Old English Scratch Cover). It's a fairly nice wood, but the tabletop is quite scarred, so I'm debating various options for improving it (including the trusty black spray paint method, which, as I believe Adrianna has addressed, can be quite addictive.) The great thing about the table is that it has two drop-down leaves, so it can be tucked away under the window when we're not entertaining, and can expand to fit six or more. Good times.

Chair

2011-03-07T21:33:00.004-06:00

Things about which I should have blogged by now:

Wedding On A Boat
The Move
Moving in
Housewarming party

That should about cover the flybys, right?

For now, here's a chair, to match my new writing desk. I found it at Saver's with a $7.99 price tag, but it rang up at $4.31. Score! The cashier told me it would be .99 if I waited until the next day, but I figured the extra $3 was worth it to have it in my possession immediately.

I took off the seat, lightly sanded it, spray-painted with two light coats of semi-gloss black spray paint (enough so that the brown of the wood barely shows through), recovered the seat with upholstery fabric I found yesterday at my favorite fabric warehouse, and put it back together. David helped.

I got enough fabric to reupholster the seats of the dining set that we don't yet have, but which I am hoping to find--one cheap, but with potential! I saw a contender at the St. Vincent De Paul this weekend, and am sort of monitoring the situation.

Anyway, the chair is not a super-dramatic update, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'd been looking for a bolder, more geometric upholstery pattern, but fell in love with the tiny bubbles on this one. When I got it home, I realized it might be simultaneously too posh and too boring... but for the present I think it works fine.

Watery

2011-01-27T21:59:00.002-06:00

The ceiling started leaking again on Tuesday, and then again today. Tuesday my landlord had sent me an e-mail to warn me that they were clearing snow in preparation for the mythical re-tarring to occur sometime later in the week and that the dripping might start again--though for the last time. Today, my only warning was an ominous dripping sound (and these days anything that slightly resembles that noise sends me into spasms, much like anything evoking a scritch or scrabble did during the height of the Mouse Wars) and some damp clothing in the closet. The Tuesday before that, the dripping had actually awakened us, at 5:40 a.m. We heard the drops splashing on the closet floor, but it turns out the pantry was flooding far worse. There's nothing quite like spending one's first hour of wakefulness removing all the contents of one's pantry onto the already meager surfaces remaining in the kitchen.

That day I started searching for apartments in earnest.

The good news is, we found one! We're planning to move weekend after next.

This weekend, we're going to be On A Boat! My dear friend M is getting married, and I'm thrilled to be heading out there to celebrate with her. Especially thrilling? 50 degree temperature gain. Oh, yes. I can't even communicate how ready I am to trade in views of endless snowbanks for ones of water and sand. Minneapolis has been more or less monochrome for the past two months, at least, so I am SO ready for some color (though not, of course, on my own skin!).

I can't wait!

Things That Are Awesome VIII

2011-01-15T13:50:00.009-06:00

Things That Are Awesome VIII (the winter edition):

Fleece sheets. Before David's parents bought us these for Christmas, I didn't even know they existed. I've had flannel sheets for years, but these blow those out of the water on the warmth front. They're basically very soft, thin fleece blankets, sewn into a standard sheet set configuration, and they are amazing. When they're pre-heated with the electric blanket, climbing between them is like curling up in a teddy bear's warm innards. Delightful.
Smartwool muffler. This was another Christmas present, this one from my sister. It is the heaviest, nicest scarf I've ever owned--made of soft merino wool, and thick and "tall" enough that it sits structurally on my shoulders and covers my face (as you can see in the picture to the left; for the photo from this earlier post, I had pulled it down only for as long as it took to take the photo [promptly numbing everything below my eyes]). It is wonderful!
Flannel neck-warmer. David's sister Becca made this for me for Christmas, and I've never gotten so many compliments on an accessory! I'm hoping she adds them to her Esty shop so that I can direct interested parties there. This picture doesn't actually show it all that well--but does show one of the Brand New People I met over Christmas (Brian and Liesl's!), and the lovely arm warmers David bought me. Since I wear the neck-warmer all the time, you'll probably see it soon in another picture, anyway.
Winter pedicure! I've mentioned the hour-long, $15 pedicures at my local beauty school. The lovely warm soak and scrubbing felt extra-special yesterday, even though I had to put my Smartwool socks and big boots on and trudge back to the car through the snow. Those toes are coming out in two weeks, though, when we head to Orlando for Mandy's wedding! Saint Paul College is also where I get the sunscreen I mentioned last time, and this stuff:
Pevonia Botanica Problematic Skin Care Cream. Oh, yes, my skin is problematic--or was, until I found this moisturizer (paired with CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser alternating with Pevonia's Phyto-Gel Cleanser). These products (except for the CeraVe, which I found myself) were all recommended by the aestheicians at SPC--where I can get them at approximately 25% or more off retail. Even so, they cost more than I've been used to paying for skin care products, but are so worth it for the results: namely, my skin looking and feeling the best it has in many, many years. Combined with periodic facials, they seem to actively calm and improve my skin (versus the treatments I've tried over the years, many of them dermatologist-prescribed, that aggressively dry or otherwise aggravate it in the name of controlling break-outs). I moisturize twice daily with the cream (over a drop or two of SkinCeuticals' Hydrating B-5 gel if I'm flaky [which can happen here in the winter!]; keeping my skin hydrated and calmed seems to work better for me than any other "treatments." Or maybe, after two decades of it, I've finally just (mostly) outgrown my acne; who knows.
J Crew's winter sale. 40% off of all sale items with code MUSTHAVE. For real! The web store wasn't applying my discount, so I called customer service--and was given free shipping for my "trouble"! I got $265 worth of (originally-priced merchandise) for a fraction of that. Deal ends tomorrow, though, so hurry!

What are your Awesome Things this winter?

Sunscreen

2011-01-13T21:36:00.006-06:00

It may seem silly to be discussing sunscreen in the middle of winter, but here in Mpls, anyway, the sun is shining (and reflecting off the snow everywhere), and the small amount of skin that's uncovered still needs to be protected.

As a pale person, with at least partially red hair, a tendency to freckle, and a familial history of skin cancer, I know that it's especially important for me to wear sunscreen daily. However, I haven't always been particularly good at it, mostly because said pale skin is also morbidly sensitive and tends to break out at the mere thought of new chemicals. I've tried any number of drugstore moisturizers with SPF, and last year, at the recommendation of my aesthetician,* sprung for SkinCeuticals' Ultimate Defense moisturizing sunscreen.

However, although that product was definitely superior to others I'd tried, I still felt like it left me looking and feeling somewhat greasy--and had a suspicion that it might be responsible for the stubborn whiteheads I couldn't quite clear up. I found myself not wearing it as consistently as I should, and so when I was back at the clinic this spring, I asked if they had any other recommendations.

As it happened, they did: another SkinCeuticals product, recently released, called Sheer Physical UV Defense. This sunscreen is hands-down the most amazing sunscreen I've ever tried--and in the running for most amazing skincare product generally. It's in a small bottle (TSA-approved!), and you shake it (hearing the little agitator ball rattle around, like in spray paint) before applying the liquid to your face in small sections. The "mattifying fluid" absorbs instantly and easily, leaving a beautifully smooth surface that's perfect whether or not you apply make up over it. My skin doesn't even seem to notice it's there, which is saying a lot. Best of all, because it's not in the least bit greasy and even seems to improve the look of my make up, I really do wear it every day.

It's definitely not a steal, but for me it's worth it knowing that my skin doesn't react to it and that I'll actually wear it daily, the way I'm supposed to. Especially if you have fussy skin and have been avoiding daily sunscreen for that reason, I highly recommend it!

*Really she's one of the instructors at Saint Paul College, where students give $15 facials as part of their curriculum, but I've been going for long enough that she recognizes me and talks to me about my skin and product suggestions.

Leak-y

2011-01-12T21:28:00.004-06:00

Here is the quick version of this winter's installation of the Leak Saga, in bullets!

Wednesday night (12/22), having attended an ill-advised but nonetheless enjoyable showing of Billy Elliot The Musical with a friend, and having found walking home from downtown to be quicker than waiting for a bus, I was beginning, at approximately midnight, to pack for the next morning's 6:30 flight when I noticed that the leak in my closet had gotten worse, soaking a section of clothing--including ones I'd wanted to take.

It had started earlier in the afternoon, at which point I had called my landlord, who is used to me--and presumably every other tenant of his older properties--calling about this at least twice a year, generally around the time the precipitation changes forms (rain to snow to rain, etc.). I put down buckets and he said he'd send someone over.
I flew to Seattle Thursday morning, with the unexpected drama of the terrifyingly long security line and attendant close call on making my flight erasing any thoughts of flooding.
David flew in the next morning, Christmas Eve, and we had a fantastic holiday weekend with my family!
David flew back on the red-eye Sunday night/Monday morning, and as he tells it, made it to the far corner of the bed, about to turn on the light (a pull-cord model in the middle of the room) when he felt the water through his socks.
Apparently, the leak had worsened, overflowed the receptacles, and flooded the bedroom floor.
He had planned to go into work that day, but instead found himself calling in, mopping up the mess, and moving all of the furniture except the bed frame (but including the mattress) into the next rooms.
The leak had spread from the closet threshold and was apparently dripping into nearly the middle of the room.
Thankfully, it didn't get the mattress at all. It also barely touched my books, thanks mostly to a watercolor pad sitting atop the bookshelf in that room, which acted as a sponge. We'd already moved a lot of the stuff in the closet out, and since the floor is so uneven, the under-bed storage was also spared.
The floor, sadly, was pretty warped; each board now bows in the center, so although it's not visible except to close inspection, you can clearly feel the ridges when you walk on it.
David camped out in the living room for the next few days, sleeping on the couch.
At one point while I was in Walla Walla, the neighbor whose apartment is directly below mine texted me to mention that the flooding in his apartment had gotten worse, wondering about ours.
When I called David, he was already at the apartment cleaning up again, having received the same message.
The renewed flooding was apparently due to a thaw that swept the city, warming it up to a balmy 36 and causing a plague of ice dams.
The flooding stopped due to a combination of the workmen clearing the ~2' of snow off the roof, breaking up the ice dams, putting down some tarps, and the weather cooling off again.
When I got home a few days later, the mattress was propped against the living room windows, the bookshelf and two dressers were in the middle room, and my clothes were hanging all over the apartment.
I spent the next week cleaning, organizing, moving the furniture back in, doing massive loads of laundry at the laundromat, and sorting through piles of papers that had either gotten wet or just turned up in the shuffle.
Now everything feels pretty good!
I saw my landlord today (we're on the third day of a new, and relatively very minor, saga of him replacing the light fixture in the bathroom [yet another pull-cord model, but this one mounted on a vertical surface, and the cord of which pulls out every 1.5 years and requires complete replacement]), and he assured me that hot tar in the spring would fix the problem for at least another year.
I hope so, because even though David was sending me renters' applications to the complex down the street, I'd really rather not move before I leave town.*
Here's hoping!

*Though it would be soooo nice to have more than three square feet of kitchen counter space... on-site laundry... a nice, reliable management company...

1/11/11

2011-01-11T21:19:00.004-06:00

Last Tuesday, when I noticed that it was the 4th of January and that I hadn't blogged since the 4th of December, I resolved to post something. Needless to say, I failed to do so.

But anyway, I'm back! I guess sometimes a date is enough of a motivation.

I was in the Northwest for about 10 days over the holidays and had a really excellent time. I flew into and out of Seattle, but in between also got to visit W2 and Portland. Among other things, I got to hang out with old friends and family, meet two brand-new babies, see my favorite mountains, and cook and consume lots and lots of delicious food.

Now I'm back, where it's all the predictable old things (cold, snowy, sunny when it's not snowing) and also delightful new ones (fleece sheets! hot yoga in the WINTER!). It's getting late now, but speaking of things I came back to, next time remind me to tell you the Tale of The Leaking ("It's a Natural Disaster!") Roof. Good times.

Christmas Cards

2010-12-04T15:33:00.005-06:00

Guys! It's that time of year again--Christmas card time! David and I are going to brave the eight inches of snow that fell in yesterday's Winter Storm to go pick up a Christmas tree, which is the component I've been waiting for to put this year's cards together.

Anyway, you know the drill: if you send me your mailing address, I'll send you a real-live, in-person, homemade Christmas card, no strings attached (obviously). If you were on my list last year, you're probably on it again this year anyway--though it never hurts to remind me (especially if you're no longer at your former address!). Addresses go to disasterkitchen ((at)) gmail.com.

Here is last year's design:

This year's, of course, is a surprise--so send me your address!

NaBluhhhh

2010-11-30T22:47:00.003-06:00

It's the last day of NaBloPoMo, and I'm done for another year! I missed three days this time around, which I think is a dubious new record for me. I'm glad to have attempted it--and glad it's over.

Past the Future

2010-11-29T22:12:00.003-06:00

Here's a picture I found as I was going through old folders earlier today: David and me in the Abraham shirts Brother Rockstar sent us.

Oh! I'm back in Minneapolis, after a relatively uneventful, though long, bus ride home.

Now I must sleep.

Bob's Your Uncle

2010-11-27T21:21:00.002-06:00

Actually, Bob's my uncle, and he took this photo of my grandparents and me this afternoon in his and my aunt Lyn's living room. It's been great getting to spend time with them this weekend.

Family

2010-11-26T21:24:00.003-06:00

I found this photo, of all the cousins on my dad's side, circa 1987, in my grandma's photo album this afternoon.

Spending an inordinate amount of time downloading and installing drivers that would allow Little Lappy to communicate with my grandpa's scanner was absolutely worth being able to keep this little gem and others.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T15:10:00.004-06:00

This is my pie! The crust is rather ugly, but my grandma said her mother used to say that the sheen (which the lappy webcam actually did manage to capture) was the sign of a good pumpkin pie. It certainly was tasty! Our old family recipe (off the Libby's can) didn't fail me (and neither did David's mom's crust recipe--rolled out with the rolling pin* that belonged to my great-grandfather the baker).

The pie was just one facet of a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my grandparents and aunt and uncle: totally worth Bus Adventurin'!

*The Google tells me it's a style known as a French rolling pin--just a bar, without handles. I loved it!

Stationed

2010-11-24T20:16:00.004-06:00

I forgot to mention yesterday that the main reason waiting for the bus is worse than being on the bus is that you have to stand in a frequently-jumped (or perhaps it just appears so, with all the "saved" spaces) line, with no guarantee that you'll actually get on the bus, since Greyhound tickets only guarantee you a seat on that route at some point, and not necessarily for your requested reservation. However, they have a new feature called Priority Boarding that is both a total racket (paying an extra $5 for a ticket I've already purchased?!) and a complete lifesaver ($5 for peace of mind that you're guaranteed a seat on the bus, not having to stand in a long line, and first shot at the "extra legroom" seats). And, really, when you're getting from Mpls to Chicago for a mere $25 anyway, that extra $5 is more than worth it.

Anyway, that was last night. This morning I got to spend a few hours in the Chicago Greyhound station. Our driver got us into Chicago almost two hours early, which I can definitely see being beneficial under certain circumstances--but not when it means two hours sitting in the Chicago Greyhound station instead of sleeping on the Greyhound bus, with its warmer temperatures, comfier seats, and quieter environment. (Our driver was a total superstar, I thought, for calling out people whose music he could hear through their headphones and asking them to turn it down, making it an especially quiet and pleasant ride.) It would have been one thing had those two extra hours come at a useful time of day, but since they were between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m., there was little else to do but sit in the station and wait for my 7:00 MegaBus (which doesn't have a station of its own and is a few blocks away near Union Station).

I foggily picked out a seat and got out my Kindle, only to be interrupted by the bellowing of a woman on a bench several yards from me. "Are we on?" she demanded. I quickly glanced over at her and thought I saw her wearing earbuds, which I assumed meant she was on the phone with someone. A few minutes later, in her rather deep, insistent, and equally loud voice, she repeated, "Are we on, America? Are. We. On!"

America, I assumed, must be her daughter, whom the woman seemed to find almost unbearably stupid, and who was doing the talking during the woman's long pauses. Her tone was certainly no-nonsense, and bordered on big tent revival preacherly; it definitely carried through the station.

And then: "I can't produce. God took that ability from me two years ago. Anybody who makes me try to produce will get killed!" Her voice rose into an emphatic growl at this last pronouncement, and I wondered if that were the sort of threat that would merit security intervention. I still thought she might be on the phone, but was increasingly convinced that she was also crazy. (I remember someone pointing out recently that it's much harder to tell the crazy from the sane these days, since we all walk around talking to ourselves--on our mobile devices.)

"They... gave me... the wrong... type of blood!"

And then the statement that erased any doubt about her sanity: "They are idiots if they think they can make blood from Kool-Aid!" That raised a small, knowing chuckle from the station. Ahh, she's just a crazy person--maybe with a sense of humor?

I returned to my reading and when I looked up later, she was gone. She reappeared some time later, tying a blue sweatshirt securely around the waist of her puffy brown coat.

Then I got up, popped my contacts in and brushed my teeth, and headed out of the station to get onto my next bus.

It Starts

2010-11-23T19:35:00.003-06:00

Epic Bus Journey 2010 starts in 70 minutes, so I'm heading out the door to the Greyhound station! David has kindly offered to keep me company, which is really generous; the worst part of the trip, in my experience (other than uneven temperatures, as has cursed me on various MegaBus trips [about which I believe I've written here, but lack the time to reference directly]), is waiting in the station.

I'll try to post tomorrow! In the meantime, feel free to send good, soothing, happy-travel vibes my way--and good, soothing, happy-travel vibes to those of you who will also be traveling in the next few days!

Holidays

2010-11-22T22:27:00.005-06:00

In less than 24 hours, I'll be on a bus headed for Indianapolis. As I mentioned earlier, I'm excited to get out of town and see that part of the family, if somewhat less thrilled about the very long bus ride.

I've also been informed that I'm in charge of the pie for Thanksgiving dinner. I've only made one full pie in my entire life, and that was only a few weeks ago, so it should be exciting! I'm going to try traditional pumpkin. I was assigned pie duty because apparently I have a reputation for being a good cook; I told David that was kind of like saying, "You run marathons; you should join our wrestling team!" Still, successful pie-making seems like a grown-up Badge of Honor (so many of which I still seem to be lacking; one gets so few points for graduate degrees, for instance), so I'm hoping it works out.

Anyway, our weatherman is saying that tomorrow's supposed to be the best day for travel, as Wednesday will bring more precipitation of some sort (we had more freezing rain, topped by snow, today). David will be flying that day, so I'm hoping he gets out without incident. Wednesday has been designated a day of protest against the TSA's new invasive "security" measures, so that may also add to the drama.

Apparently one way to protest is to not fly, and, as you know, I'm all over that.

Ice

2010-11-21T20:09:00.004-06:00

So I was telling Hathor yesterday that I hadn't missed a day of NaBloPoMo since the second day... and then I missed yesterday. Sigh.

Last night David and I went to a friend's birthday party in Northeast, leaving at about 9:15 after having spent most of the afternoon inside after morning errands (one of which was my attempt to go to yoga, but turning around and coming home after not being able to find free parking, running late, and not having my wallet!). The weather was chilly when we headed out, but otherwise unremarkable.

During the party, though, we began to get freezing rain. I got a text from a friend who had intended to come, but on her way had spun 720° on the freeway as she tried to change lanes! She and her car had been unscathed, but she had made her way back home for the night and wanted to let us know how bad it was out.

When the party broke up and we headed outside, everything was covered in a layer of ice. David and I shuffle-slid our way to his car, where we were greeted by a group of kids in a circle in the middle of the road, doing a sort of black-ice dance involving a sort of sliding shuffle-step, some sort of chanting, and laughing. As he scraped the ice off all the windows, the kids exuberantly continued to slip, slide and fall. They were still there as we very slowly pulled away from the curb and very slowly made our way home.

Thankfully, it was literally a straight shot there--just two turns at the last two blocks--and almost entirely flat. David drove very carefully, and we made it home without sliding into anything or being slid into (pedestrians the likeliest culprits).

And today I haven't left the house. A friend came over for brunch and a long chat, and I stepped onto the back porch for a glimpse of a cardinal, but that's it! Hopefully the roads will be clear by tomorrow morning... though there's also a prediction of some more snow.

Harry Potter

2010-11-19T21:56:00.003-06:00

(Every time I hear or say "Harry Potter," I think of this video.)

So, David and I just got back from watching the penultimate Harry Potter movie. If you've been hanging around these parts long, you may recall that I read the books for the first time just a couple of years ago. (Also, wow: how did my life get stuck in this weird repetitive loop where I spend every winter grading papers and moping? At least in 2007 I still got to escape to California for a few weeks...)

I hadn't watched any of the movies before I read the books, and many of the movies I didn't even see until last summer. Anyway, I enjoyed them, and saw #6 when it hit the theaters last summer.

The Deathly Hallows, tonight, was more of the same, and generally an enjoyable diversion--although I was disappointed to see almost everyone looking older and rather pudge. (I'm pretty sure the rest of the audience was just disappointed that part two doesn't come out until next summer.) I thought that the latter was noticeable in the very slow pace, which at times felt gratuitous; there are long stretches I'm sure would have hit the editing room floor had they been more pressed for time.

As it was, the movie was 2.5 hours long, so I'm glad we hit the earlier showing. Thankfully, the theater wasn't even crowded, and in fact was surprisingly empty, which suited me fine. We ran into a couple of friends in the lobby and sat together, which was fun.

Bullets

2010-11-18T20:48:00.004-06:00

Today we finally hit Winter Cold here; it was 19° with the windchill.
I know that in a month or two, 19° will sound balmy.
We haven't had more than a sprinkle of snow since our storm last weekend, but winter seems here to stay.
It's hard to believe I ran in shorts just over a week ago.
It's also a little hard to believe the news I just got from my credit card: the fees for things like late payments are going down!
In fact, if the payment due is less than $100, they won't charge you a fee at all.
Is that you, Obama?!
I bought this sweater today at Gap, in blue.
It was 40% off and I had a Groupon.
I've never owned a cowl sweater, and I love how cozy this one is; the cowl neck is huge!
Unfortunately, it's pretty itchy. I need to find
In between that bullet and this one, I searched for, and found, a base layer that I hope will work.
I'd been wanting a long-sleeved silk layer for this winter; I just ordered this one (with a free shipping coupon code!) in black.
I am a huge fan of silky baselayers in cold weather; they make winter here so much more bearable.
Seriously. World of difference.

Grading

2010-11-17T22:10:00.004-06:00

Uh-hmmmmmmm.

I spent all day grading exams and am about halfway done. The first half always takes longer than the second half, but I still write too many comments and generally take too long on all of them. I comfort myself with the fact that for their third and final exam, since we're not even returning them, I won't have to write any comments. And, really, by that point I pretty much know which students are going to fall into which grade brackets--so I'll only have to skim the exams for my overachievers, at least. Unfortunately, I also know I'll take too long on those, since I always picture my B and C students studying and trying really hard in a last-ditch effort for the final... but then they score as their usual B and C selves. There are rarely surprises.

I am also slightly comforted by the fact that after I returned their first exams, one of my students actually thanked me, in section that day, in front of the rest of the class, for the notes I'd written, and said they'd been helpful. That never happens, and it was really validating. In fact, did I already blog about that here? I know I thought about it, because it was such a rare flash of encouragement.
I don't enjoy grading under any circumstances, but I will say it's more enjoyable to grade papers and tests for which one has designed the assignment. Grading another professor's assignments, by his or her standards, is always a challenge. One more reason I'm ready to be done with this degree.

Blahg

2010-11-16T22:12:00.002-06:00

Oh, NaBloPoMo, how tiresome you begin to seem, barely more than halfway through the month! I am not at all sure I'm cut out for daily blogging.

I submitted my fellowship application yesterday, and today my students took their second exams, so a tall pile of blue books awaits me.

What I really need to do is draft another chapter so I have something to present to dissertation workshop in a mere three weeks.

That's about all I've got today.

Microcosm

2010-11-15T19:45:00.002-06:00

I boarded the 18 bus outside the public library. As usual that far up Nicollet, it was nearly empty, and I sat by the window in the first non-priority row of seats. Two African-American women sat in the bank of three seats in front of me, perpendicular to mine. The one nearest me carried an infant, whom she partially unswathed from a huge bundle of blankets, so that just her little fleece-hatted head was visible.

I watched bundled people shuffle along the sidewalks in rubber boots and sensible shoes.

At 9th, which is always a busy stop, the bus started to fill up. One man asked the bus driver how she was doing, and she replied that she was "blessed." He laughed loudly as he took his transfer and said that was a good answer. A statuesque young woman partially undraped herself from the priority seat on the other side of the bus from me so that an elderly woman carrying bags could sit there.

At the next stop, with the bus almost entirely full, the bus driver called out that she needed a seat up front, and a middle-aged woman vacated one of the priority seats. A man carrying a cane and squinting through thick round glasses shuffled to the seat and sat down.

At the stop after that, things got even more crowded. A large, shabby white man wearing a bright orange knit cap and laden with stuff got onto the bus. It was clear that he wanted a priority seat, and he did appear to meet the criteria, which he would later list aloud: he was a senior, with a disability. It was equally clear that the two women in front of me did not intend to relinquish any of the three they were occupying. He stood in front of them, holding the overhead rail, while they sniggered and made faces.

When possible, I avoid riding the bus at that time of the afternoon precisely to avoid this sort of uncomfortable crowding: no one relishes close contact with strangers, particularly not when they're wrapped in swinging bundles and a clear cloud of crazy. I usually sit with my backpack on my lap, shoulders squeezed up to make space, and try to distract myself with the view out the window. None of us likes it, but we all want to get where we're going as painlessly as possible, so we deal with it.

As the bus moved forward and it was clear the women in front of him were laughing at him more and more loudly and were displeased with his presence, the man began a litany of complaints: "I've had two heart attacks and a pulmonary embolism and now I have diabetes and have poor circulation in my leg!" They were unfazed. "I am on coumadin! If I fall down, I could die of internal bleeding!"

"You back the $*(% up or I'll give you internal bleeding right now! I will beat you!" the older of the two women said.

"I could kick you out of this seat, if I wanted to--"

"You just try and kick me out! I'd like to see you try!"

"I have a disability, and I could kick you out--"

As the bus moved forward, a water bottle strapped to the man swung forward, and the woman shoved it away.

"Don't you touch my stuff!" the man roared, raising his voice for the first time, and the woman rose from her seat to shout back, "Keep your stuff out of my face!"

She grabbed her bag and began to dig through it, saying, "Okay, I'm going to get my magic $#*^ out and make you back up..."

"What, do you have a gun in there?" he asked.

"No, I don't have a gun! But I have something else..."

"I'm going to call the police!" he said. "I'm going to call the police, don't you touch me..."

"I'll give you internal bleeding..."

Another woman standing at the front of the bus joined in. "This is because they're black, isn't it? You wouldn't be doing this is they were white!"

"This isn't racial!" he protested. "I'm not racist, I just want to sit down!"

The young mother, who had been talking into her cell phone, giving a running commentary on the "bum" in front of them, ripped into him. "You need to leave her alone and talk respectfully to this woman! She hasn't done anything to you, so you need to behave like a decent human being! Now you need to stop &#$%ing talking to her and leave her the &#(% alone!" She started quietly, but ended shouting in righteous indignation, clearly pleased with her performance, which drew appreciative chuckles.

We had stopped again, and the tall young man sitting beside me, who could barely fold his legs up in front of him to clear the aisle grabbed his girlfriend and said, "Come on, baby, we can walk--it's only a few blocks from here." They left, freeing two seats, and the people crowded near the front pointed out the open spaces. The man squeezed through and sank down beside me. I stared out the window.

A few blocks later, the two women rose to leave. So did the man beside me. "Oh, is this your stop? Guess who else is getting off here!" he said.

Despite her earlier threats to beat him, as they got off the bus, the older of the two women said dismissively, "We're not going to hurt him. We're just going to go our own way."

The man, however, did not appear comforted, and asked the driver to call the police. She said she was required to do so when asked by a passenger, and so we sat there, waiting. The bus cleared out as people got off. Another 18 stopped behind us, and passengers from our bus transferred. I stayed where I was, and as the other bus passed us, saw that it was, as expected, packed to the doors.

Eventually the driver told the man that the police would be there momentarily, and we pulled away again. At my stop eight blocks later, the driver was still so flustered that she didn't notice me at the back door and had to slam on the brakes, already partway into traffic, to let me out after several of us shouted "Back door!"

"Sorry," she said. "My bad."

This story doesn't have a point, exactly. The bus is frequently crowded, and is usually carrying a mix of crazies, the exhausted, and occasionally the loudly obnoxious. This isn't the first time I've seen the cops called; the last time I saw the officers pull a man off the bus who (loudly) couldn't understand why the business card he was holding wasn't a bus transfer. It's not always bad, and sometimes it's even fun: last week my jovial driver announced the stops in a sort of late-night DJ voice.

There's a fair amount of crazy in the world, and a fair amount of really unfair life circumstances, too. The city bus provides a more concentrated sample of each than one might ordinarily encounter, and in a necessarily intimate setting.

I found myself angry at the two apparently able-bodied women on the bus for not being grown-ups: for not sharing, for picking on someone who was clearly physically and mentally challenged, and for exposing that baby girl to all of it. I was angry about the playing of the race card, which seemed unfair and uncalled for, and angry that this is what the discussion of race looks like in America. But I didn't say anything.

Applying

2010-11-14T21:54:00.002-06:00

I hate pretty much all applications, but I think fellowship applications top the list--partly because at this point in my educational career, the people against whom I am competing for these fellowships are Very Impressive Indeed, and although I don't want to compete against the alarmingly qualified and terrifying Them, I do want money to finish my dissertation and be done with that business. The other reason fellowship applications are awful is that one is forced to sound as Very Impressive as possible, whilst one is increasingly convinced of one's inadequacy generally (and especially against the imagined competition).

The fellowship application that I hope is that last I submit as a doctoral candidate* is due tomorrow. It has been especially fussy, with seven online pages of details, asking for things like a description of my commitment to women's activities and organizations and of awards I've won. This one is also unique in that it charges a $40 submission fee, which is particularly ironic, I think, given that one must also provide a "clear statement of financial need." I've already spent close to $30 on postage and transcripts from all my graduate work.

Siiiiiiigh.

*Assuming I can actually finish the degree, I am sure that this will not be my last fellowship application, because it just doesn't stop. I've somehow selected a career path that seems to involve asking for money, and other things, all the time, because there is no money in the field. There was some, and still is for those who got in about 40 years ago, but the rest is gone.

Snow

2010-11-13T23:15:00.003-06:00

We had our first winter storm here today. I pretty much just stayed in and cooked and ate: roasted sweet and regular potatoes, fried eggs, cinnamon toast sticks, and coffee for breakfast; spicy lentils, baked potatoes, and salad for lunch; and toasted cheese sandwiches and pears for dinner.

That's pretty much the perfect snow day, in my opinion: nowhere to have to go, even for ingredients.

I did take a walk in the afternoon, to get out of the house, but it was entirely voluntary.

Clumsy

2010-11-12T22:51:00.005-06:00

I somehow managed to break not one but two bowls today. The first was a cereal bowl, full of my breakfast (nine-grain and applesauce!), as I was heading out the door.* I don't remember it slipping from my grip, but I do remember it hitting the hardwood floor and exploding in a four-foot radius.

The second was a Pyrex mixing bowl I'd had for at least 10 years, which I dropped as I was trying to extricate a colander that was nested inside a salad bowl inside the Pyrex bowl. All three fell together from the low shelf; the glass salad bowl survived, but the mixing bowl shattered into tiny shards. David said out loud what I'd been thinking: I thought those things were indestructible!

Unbelievable bad luck, book-ending the day. The first droppage ruined breakfast (though I did grab a sad and only semi-consolatory bowl of cold cereal), but the second, thankfully, had little impact on dinner (spicy peanut soba noodles with steamed broccoli and carrots).

So, sigh. I'd mopped the floor in between the two incidents, partly to remove the last of the applesauce and fragments, so it felt like adding insult to injury to have my clean floor again covered in dangerous shards.

*Several months ago, I dropped a bowl of oatmeal and blueberries right at the downstairs door, as I tried unsuccessfully to maneuver it open with overloaded hands; this morning's drop occurred as I was figuratively, rather than literally, heading out the door: I was in the middle of the room, not even reaching for a handle!

Thursday

2010-11-11T22:13:00.003-06:00

I've got nothing tonight. So here's a teaser from the album I still need to post of David's parents' visit.

Running*

2010-11-10T21:51:00.004-06:00

Today I ran in shorts. Shorts! We hit 68° here today. By the time I was home from dissertation workshop and ready to head out, it was looking ready to storm, so I threw a long-sleeved shirt over my tank top. The rain held off, though, and I didn't need the extra shirt at all. In fact, I sweated. This weather is kind of freaking me out.

It's also great, though, because I really needed the run. I hadn't run since the Monster Dash, and was starting to feel crazy. I know they make drugs for this sort of thing, and I support their use, but I also know that a few miles spent getting my heart rate up does wonders for my mental state and doesn't require any troublesome prescriptions or appointments. Unfortunately, it's not side-effect free; my foot is pretty sore at the moment, and I've been hungry all night.

Hungry I can handle--and appreciate!--but the foot is troubling. How am I going to outrun the crazies on a broken foot?

*The title of the post reminds me of a costume I saw at the Monster Half: a refrigerator!

Bussin'

2010-11-09T21:05:00.004-06:00

So I just booked my Thanksgiving travel. David is flying out to the Northwest, but as much as I wanted to join him, I just couldn't quite afford it. (Have you looked at airfares recently? They're ridiculous!)

Instead, I'm going to visit my Indiana relatives, with whom I spent Thanksgivings and the other odd long weekend when I was at school in Ohio, but whom I see far less regularly these days; it never fails to surprise me quite how far my corner of the Midwest is from their corner of it!

I'll be taking a couple of overnight buses (one going and one coming), which still mostly seems like a pretty good idea, for how affordable and relatively convenient they are. I'm a good sleeper, so it makes sense to me to travel then, when I wouldn't be accomplishing anything else during that time anyway. And the non-sleeping hours are prime reading time!

Unfortunately, as I was looking into the reserved seat option on Greyhound (which, it turns out, isn't actually available in my travel area anyway), I came across a few online reviews that reminded me of quite how horrific Greyhound travel can be. Still, overall my experiences have been decent enough that I'm willing to give it another go. I'm young, sleep like a brick, and am looking forward to seeing family I haven't spent time with in more than a year. If nothing else, you know it'll be good blog fodder.

X-ray

2010-11-08T22:12:00.004-06:00

Google informs me that today is the 115th anniversary of the discovery of the X-ray. In commemoration, or something, here is an X-ray of my malfunctioning foot, complete with helpful arrow pointing out the "one little problem. That little guy right there."
This image was taken in April; I think we X-rayed it for the first time in January. Seeing a very visible cause for the continuing pain in my foot was simultaneously relieving and disturbing. Happy anniversary, X-ray.

DST

2010-11-07T18:04:00.002-06:00

So Daylight Savings Time isn't all bad.

I had time before my usual 8am Sunday hot yoga to put together my sister's amazing cherry peach bread pudding so that it was ready when I got back. David and I had gone to the 9:40 showing of Get Low at the Riverview last night (which I thought was quite good), so the extra hour of sleep was decidedly welcome (as was the sunshine).

Of course, the fact that it was pretty much entirely dark here by 5:00 is a bummer. But before darkness fell, David and I made the most of an unseasonably warm day by packing a picnic and Nice Ride-ing around town. The Nice Rides go away for winter at 10pm tonight, so we tried to hit as many stops as we could today as a sort of last hurrah. We ate our sandwiches in the warm sunshine in Gold Medal Park, where we could hear the roar of the dome a few blocks away as the Vikings tied, and then in overtime won, their game.

Certainly gaining an hour in the fall is nicer than losing one in the spring, but overall I don't care for it. The evenings were already feeling long and dark, and although more daylight in the morning is nice, the whole thing mostly just feels like the knell of impending, interminable winter. (Which, I do realize, sounds somewhat ironic given today's jauntings about in the 65° sunshine, of which we've enjoyed an unseasonable amount already this autumn.)

At least I don't have kids to worry about! Good luck to those of you who have to deal with their schedules!

Halloween

2010-11-06T20:15:00.004-05:00

Those of you who are my FaceBook friends have already seen it, but here is what David and I wore for Halloween. I was Marla Singer, and he was Dr. Tobias Fünke.

Unlike last year, for which we really schemed, these costumes came together at pretty much the last minute. Fun times.

Pasta

2010-11-05T22:52:00.006-05:00

Suddenly it got late, so here, briefly, is last night's pasta recipe, which I'm calling

Quasi-Vegan Rotini Arrabbiata!

In a generous splash of olive oil, sautee a small onion, chopped, with two peeled carrots, also chopped. Add a bit of salt, freshly ground pepper, and a few good shakes of cayenne. When onions become transparent, throw in a small amount of water and a bay leaf and boil until carrots are tender. Add a can of tomato sauce (I used Hunt's) and some dried oregano and basil. Allow to simmer for a while, then toss in two or three cloves of minced garlic. Simmer a while longer, then remove bay leaf and use immersion blender to puree it all up. Add more cayenne if it needs more heat. I had a few tablespoons of leftover heavy whipping cream, so I threw that in, but the sauce tasted surprisingly buttery before I added any dairy--maybe the carrots?

Toss with al dente rotini (I used one box, and it was about perfect) and eat! Hearty, delicious, and full of fiber and vitamins. I made it with the extra fiber white pasta (Ronzoni Smart Taste), and it didn't seem to knock me out like pasta with tomato sauce sometimes does. A salad would have been perfect, but we made due with frozen peas.

It was so quick and easy to make with what is so often already in my cupboards and fridge that I'm sure I'll be returning to this recipe repeatedly!

Thursday

2010-11-04T20:06:00.004-05:00

I've had U2's "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" in my head since about 7:00 this morning, when I caught myself thinking, "I can't believe the news today..."

I am filled with impotent rage toward the electorate. Rage!

Minnesota will probably elect a Democratic governor (there will be another Exciting Recount!), but have elected a Republican senate for the first time in 38 years, as well as turned over power in the House. Minnesota. It makes me want to weep. And Russ Feingold! Erin shared this link, which pretty much summarizes what's wrong with this country. Incredibly, embarrassingly, willfully obtusely wrong.

The one thing in which I find some solace is that it appears to have been mostly old, grumpy people who turned out, and not at all a representative cross section of the populace. (The apathy of my generation is small comfort, but it does suggest that there is still hope if they'd get off their bums and/or start paying attention.) This is the article I found as I was looking for a reference to support my claim about the voters' demographic stats; I thought it was pretty great.

Anyway, there are happier things to blog about: my great trip to Lincoln, including time with good friends and their adorable children; the delicious pasta I made for dinner tonight, using just what I happened to have lying around; last weekend's Monster Dash half marathon; and, still, David's parents' visit. But those will have to wait.

My rage is tired and wants to go to bed.

Failed

2010-11-03T14:19:00.002-05:00

So I've set a new personal record for failing at NaBloPoMo: a single day! I really did try to get online and blog, but couldn't convince the wireless Internet to talk to me and was too tired to keep trying.

In any case, I'm spending my last few minutes in Lincoln at the Mill (pictured here, sort of, thanks to Little Lappy's webam) before heading back to Omaha to return my rental car and fly home.

It has been a great trip (though admittedly more because of the lovely weather, marvelous friends, and enjoyable city than because of stellar research accomplishments), and, as always, it's a bit sad to leave. More when I return!

700

2010-11-01T20:39:00.002-05:00

This is my 700th post here. It's also my first of yet another NaBloPoMo!

Frighteningly early tomorrow morning, I'm flying to Nebraska for a whirlwind research trip (I get back late Wednesday night), so I'm heading to bed momentarily.

Since I'll be out of state tomorrow, I voted absentee for the first time. I had picked up my ballot more than a week ago, but failed to get it mailed back in time. This afternoon, then, I went to City Hall for the first time, located the election office, and dropped it off. I already felt pretty proud of myself for accomplishing my civic duty, but what really made it worth the trip was realizing that the inside of City Hall looks like this.

I'm not quite as fired up about this year's elections as I was about the last go-round, but I am pretty upset that the party that has stone-walled the entire agenda of a president who actually did have a mandate, and made (in retrospect misguided, but certainly earnest) attempts at compromise and bipartisanship may well be rewarded for their nefarious efforts. I thought this article, upon which I stumbled as a link in someone's shared item, summed up well my thoughts on the current state of affairs.

Anyway, whatever your opinion on the state of affairs, I encourage you, as always, to get out there and vote! Don't let the crazy 15% have all the say.

Dashing

2010-10-29T21:34:00.003-05:00

Things I have done to prepare for tomorrow's Monster Dash Half Marathon:
1. Purchased rainbow-striped thigh-high socks
2. Purchased rainbow-striped fingerless gloves/arm warmers
3. Purchased rainbow-striped hats (though, sadly, they only shipped one of them)
4. Attended the race expo and picked up my chip and shirt
5. Made cinnamon rolls for eating afterward

I haven't actually run since the Twin Cities Marathon (unless you count a dash to the Asian grocery store earlier this week; I did put on running shoes and run there--and back, carrying cans of coconut milk). I've been... conserving my energy. Resting up. Carb loading!

Anyway, when a friend who had also run TCM this year (after running her very first marathon with me two years ago) told me that she had the perfect costume idea for the Monster Dash and that we had to do it, I couldn't resist. We're going as a Double Rainbow! So intense!

Stormy Weather

2010-10-26T21:49:00.003-05:00

David and I had just started eating dinner this evening when the wind storms that had been raging all day knocked the power out. There was a little bit of daylight left, so we lit a bunch of candles, finished eating, and called the power company to report the outage. They estimated we'd be back up by 8:30, so we decided to carry on our plans for the evening, just without electricity.

(Aside: when I lived in Auburn, where I spent my last two years of grade school and four years of high school, we lost our power all the time. Not because we had crazy weather, necessarily;* more because we apparently had a spectacularly unstable power grid. The slightest wind storm would cause a blackout. [When I lived in Nebraska, where they have tornadoes, we lost power ONCE: when a tree fell on the power lines right outside the house. They had us back up and running within a couple of hours.] Anyway, in Auburn it was rather festive, because we would light a fire in the fireplace and maybe make soup on it, and generally have a jolly time. Tonight was the first time I remember having a nighttime power loss since then, and I realized once again how we're living in THE FUTURE. Not only were we able to call the power company on our cell phones, but David could still get the Internet on his phone, my gas furnace still worked to heat the place, and I was able to use both my stove top and my oven! I guess the latter two are not so much living in the future as using natural gas... but whatever.)

Our evening plans involved making an apple crisp from the box of Honeycrisps my mom sent out with David's parents, so we just baked it by candlelight. We'd peeled too many apples to fit into the crisp, so I peeled a few more and made a big pot of applesauce.

And then--back to living in the future--we started a movie on David's netbook, which has a most impressive battery.

Anyway, our lights are back up again, after an hour more than estimated of candlelit living. It was actually quite delightful.

*though this notable exception comes to mind

Pumpkin II

2010-10-25T20:58:00.004-05:00

Guys! You left such kind responses on the last pumpkin post! As for the question of whether it's real, and actually a pumpkin, here is an image of it alongside the one that was originally supposed to be my portrait but failed miserably. Now the latter is a slightly more traditional jack-o-lantern, although all you can see here is its gaping maw.
Oh, and here is one with flash, where the magic disappears!

As far as the how, I used a photo of David taken in strong light and used photo-editing software to heighten the contrast even more. I printed it out at the size I wanted, taped it to the pumpkin, and then transferred the outlines using a thumbtack. From there, I tried to leave the darkest areas entirely intact, cut clear through for bright white, and carve into the flesh for an attempt at gray tones. Actually, the only place I ended up cutting the whole way through was the forehead, partly out of a desire for stability. My tools were a paring knife and a grapefruit spoon; I think it would be easier with proper carving tools!

It's also easier when the pumpkin wall is as uniform as possible and relatively thin--maybe an inch and a half. You want some thickness for stability, but you don't want to bury your knife to the handle and only see the very tip sticking through the other side (as happened to me when I first inherited the hollowed pumpkin from David!).

It's a bit fussy, but the results when you put a candle in it and turn out the lights are awfully nifty.

Pumpkin

2010-10-24T21:48:00.003-05:00

I carved a pumpkin, for the first time in recent memory!
It's not perfect, but I got tired of working on it. I hadn't tried anything like it before--except a miserably failed attempt at my own portrait, just prior--so I'm reasonably pleased.

David's parents were here this weekend, and we had a most excellent time, despite the fact that our record-setting 28-day stretch of dry weather ended with rain on Saturday and more today. Pictures to follow!

Procrastiblog

2010-10-17T19:37:00.007-05:00

I'm trying to finish the first chapter of my dissertation, which is kind of an exciting thing to write, since being able to finish a chapter does bode well for being able to finish the dissertation.

It's writing here that I'm "finishing the chapter," though, that's exciting; the writing of the chapter itself is not so great. I'm trying to get as much done as possible so I can give it to my workshop group tomorrow, for discussion on Wednesday. I don't technically have to give them the entire chapter or anything, but, as I mentioned before, having a chapter done--or done enough to give to my adviser, anyway--is a pretty thrilling prospect (as is getting to on new material! Woo!).

Anyway, I never shared pictures from my birthday, which I celebrated in Florence with Italian friends the Cocos. It was marvelous! More procrastiblogging opportunities will almost certainly arise soon, in which case maybe I'll try to catch you up on the last part of that trip.

Autumn

2010-10-11T20:22:00.005-05:00

Last week was absolutely unbelievable here, with nothing but sunshine and highs in the 70s and 80s (87° on Friday!). Today hit 80° and the rest of the week is supposed to be somewhat cooler, but still sunny. You may recall that four years ago, it snowed on October 11, so this is a very welcome reprieve, especially as our September was decidedly chillier than usual.

The last Sunday of the month was lovely, though--sunny and warm enough to want to be outside, but with a distinctly autumnal crispness to the air. David and I decided to go to Stillwater (where I also ran a half marathon several weeks ago). We visited an apple orchard just outside of town, which was unfortunately rather swamped and overpriced (though it didn't stop us from stocking up on apples and other apple-related treats), and then downtown Stillwater.

We called David's mom on the way back and got her apple pie recipe. I had made a personal-sized apple pie in Home Ec my freshman year of high school, but nothing since then, and never a full pie. My results weren't terribly pretty, but were thankfully highly edible! If we get another shot at some of that crisper autumnal weather, I'd definitely like to visit another orchard (I've had good tips on one near White Bear Lake, where I ran the 20-mile again this year) and try another pie!

10-10-10

2010-10-10T21:48:00.007-05:00

Obviously, I have been a blogging failure of late, of which my mom specifically called yesterday to remind me (hi Mom!).

I've been distracted by any number of wonderful things, about which I'll hopefully post--probably when I'm sufficiently interested in avoiding non-wonderful things, such as the piles of midterm exams my students are taking on Tuesday.

In the meantime: Marathon! I ran my fourth Twin Cities Marathon last Sunday. I did the first 17 miles with my very speedy running buddy, who was doing her first ever marathon, before I couldn't keep up. I ended up finishing in 4:37, which I just realized (thanks to the wonder of the Internet) is actually my second fastest marathon time. Speedy finished about half an hour before me, which is sort of heartbreaking, but she's so amazing I can't be bitter.

I think this is the link to the album of pictures I posted on FaceBook.

Leaving Europe

2010-09-06T06:21:00.004-05:00

So I've definitely fallen off the update wagon recently, which is kind of a pity since the tales are always fresher and more interesting when they're recent--and it's lots less work for me to remember exactly what happened!

In fact, the past few days have been rather a blur, between my birthday in Florence, a whirlwind Venice visit and then overnight train to Linz, the Ars Electronica Festival itself, and then getting myself back here to Frankfurt. I'll post

more details later, but for now I'm at the gate for my flight home, again via Reykjavik (though with a far shorter layover), and we'll be boarding momentarily.

It's going to be a long day; my flight out of here is at 2:00 p.m., and although I'm scheduled to arrive in Mpls at 5:55 p.m. tonight, I'll be spending much more than four hours in the air! School--and with it my TA gig--starts tomorrow, so it should be an interesting week.

Roma

2010-08-30T01:55:00.005-05:00

After seven and a half years away (a fact I've been continually doubting, recalculating, and regretting) I am back in Italy!

David and I flew out of Hahn at 6:10 yesterday morning on RyanAir, which I think is pretty much the Greyhound of the skies, but which got us into Rome-Ciampino by about 8:00 and into Rome proper a short bus ride later.

We experienced mild Italian Hotel Disaster upon arrival, but decided to stow our bags at the train station and explore the city before trying again. We toured the Colosseum and then headed over to the Basilica San Pietro (stopping beforehand for pizza--I had potato!), where we decided to go up to the Cupola. Despite having been to St. Peter's a few times, I'd never climbed to the top. It was AMAZING. Amazing! We took all stairs instead of getting the elevator part way, and it was a serious workout; we passed a few people who had to stop and wheeze on the steep stairs beyond the elevator.
But the top was so, so worth it, with incredible views of the interior of the dome, and then, from the lantern, 360° cool and breezy views of the city.

We returned to Termini, figured out our hotel, rested a bit, and then headed out for dinner and what I called the moonlight fountain tour, hitting several baroque water features on our way to the main attraction, Fontana Trevi and San Crispino gelato! Amazing.

I'm finishing up breakfast in our hotel at the moment, and in a short while we'll catch our train to my beloved Firenze. Being back feels good.

Blue Lagoon, Frankfurt,& Büchenbeuren

2010-08-28T10:42:00.008-05:00

Tonight we are in Büchenbeuren, which is a small village near the "Frankfurt"-Hahn airport. Ordinarily it's an approximately two-hour bus ride from Real Frankfurt--though ours was longer for some reason apparently explained in German while I was sleeping--which David and I used productively to nap. I would wake up occasionally to really gorgeous verdantly pastoral splashes of German countryside, but would be unable to keep my eyes open.

Our adorable tiny hotel, from which I write, is a welcome change after last night's sketchiest of hostels, of which I will only say: I am too old to be insulted by the surly German youth acting as

receptionist AND sleep on a bunk bed in a dorm room with four [large, male] strangers.

(Thankfully the breakfast this morning was genuinely fantastic, with plentiful rolls to top with cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes (or Nutella!); muesli; fruit juices; and unlimited coffee.)

We spent the morning poking around Frankfurt, to which I had never been and which is a striking combination of the very old (or at least remnants thereof, after the bombings they took in the war) and the commercial new.

This weekend was also the big Museum Festival, which we didn't know about before booking our trip, but made our time there even more enjoyable, with long stretches of tents along both sides of the river, selling a variety of food, jewelery, and art.

Ah! But before we even got into Frankfurt yesterday, we spent a really lovely layover in Reykjavic, where we did make it to the Blue Lagoon Spa!

It was a quick and easy bus ride from the airport, and we were both able to rent towels and swim suits to enjoy the thermally-heated, silica-clouded, ice-blue waters of the large pool.

It was a brisk day, so steam rose off the water and especially from a central vent around which bathers concentrated, but didn't get -too- close, to avoid being scalded! There were pots of silica mud to smear and let dry on your face, which tightened and smoothed the skin when it was rinsed off.

After a wonderfully warming and relaxing dip, David and I enjoyed leisurely sandwiches in the cafe and strolled around the volcanic landscape before catching our bus back to the airport. Best layover ever.

Now we're headed to "the next village over," where the local restaurant will apparently come pick us up to dine there. It's an Argentinian steak house, but the menu lists an impressive array of vegetarian sides, so I'm excited about some quasi-authentic German eating! Edit: We just got back, and I am stuffed. They made us these great "mixed plates" of the vegetarian options, which included the best baked potato I've eaten in my life. That sounds silly, but it was amazing!

Reykjavik

2010-08-27T03:37:00.004-05:00

We made it Reykjavik! Surprisingly, it's only a 5.5 hour direct flight from Mpls, an hour or so of which I spent chatting with our cool seatmate, and the rest of the time making uncomfortable attempts at sleep.

So now David and I are in the airport, where he's taking a powernap after breakfast and I'm taking care of business via airport wifi (not cheap, but hopefully not too extravagant; I haven't really figured out the exchange rate yet...).

I'm lobbying to go to the Blue Lagoon Spa before we catch our connection to Frankfurt later this afternoon; I guess we'll see!

Europa

2010-08-26T16:52:00.004-05:00

Guys!

We're leaving in, like, eight minutes for Europe. I'm not sure I've actually mentioned the trip here; I've failed to mention quite a lot of things.

In any case, I've been adjured by relatives to post updates and pictures from our travels, and we're taking David's little lappy, so I will try!

The itinerary is: Frankfurt (by way of a 10-hour layover in Reykjavik), Roma, Firenze, Venezia, Vienna (but only because the overnight train to Linz was booked), Linz. Linz is where I'll be attending the art festival that is the research portion of this trip. I get back Monday night before I have to teach on Tuesday.

And we're off!

Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger...

2010-08-16T21:25:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, I ran my first Gopher to Badger Half Marathon (so called because it starts in Minnesota and finishes in Wisconsin; friendly rivalry and all that). It was a pretty brutal run, unfortunately--hot, humid, and hilly, with a 70°/94% humidity start at 8:00 and a finish nearly 10° warmer and almost as humid. Worse, the water stops were few, far between, and unprepared; at one, runners were dipping their own cups into open pitchers of water!

Still, I finished--10 minutes slower than my hoped-for time, completely exhausted, and a teensy bit sunburned, but glad to be done with another long run. The weekend before that, I ran my 15 by myself, around the lakes, with about as much water access (from fountains) as a girl could want. (It was also significantly cooler, since I started approximately an hour and a half earlier!) Next weekend, therefore, I'm forgoing the organized race (though there is one in town--the inaugural 13.1 series race, which looks like a Rock 'n' Roll knock-off) for a quiet tour of the lakes with my running buddy.

This is easily the best running city I've ever lived in. I love that from my place I can run through varied residential and commercial territory to Lake of the Isles, around it and Lake Calhoun, around Lake Harriet, and back, along the Greenway, for a perfect 13 miles. For longer or shorter distances, I can just add or subtract a lake, or spend a bit more time on the Greenway. There are even fountains and restrooms conveniently located around the lakes. And if I feel like mixing it up, there are also always the trails along either side of the Mississippi.

Granted, there's generally snow on the ground 6-7 months out of the year here... but they do plow the trails!

Montréal Deux

2010-08-15T13:44:00.006-05:00

Internets, Montreal was awesome. It was unlike any other city I've seen; the closest equation I've been able to come up with is Portland + New Orleans + Amsterdam (or, rather, my imagination of the latter, as I've never been there!).

A few things, I apparently lucked out on: the weather was sunny, and relatively cool and dry (with the exception, naturally, of the quite warm and humid Tuesday, the day I climbed Mont-Royal); I was able to find good vegetarian food (which the city's tradition of French cuisine can apparently make challenging); and my hotel was in what appeared to be the coolest part of the city (the hip, young, Plateau).

The city was highly walkable--compact and with good sidewalks--but there was also excellent public transportation (I bussed from and back to the airport, and once the two miles back to my hotel from downtown). Had I been so inclined, there were also ubiquitous "Bixi" bikes, apparently a direct equivalent to Mpls' Nice Rides, but far more extensive (and with what looked to be a bike-friendlier infrastructure, with lots of dedicated lanes and conscientious drivers).

The architecture was consistently charming, not only in the historic, distinctly French, Vieux Montreal, but in the residential areas of the Plateau and elsewhere. There were a few free-standing mansions, but the majority of the residential areas seemed to consist of block-long rows of houses sharing walls, with exterior staircases leading from the street to the second and occasionally third floor. There were lots of very French balconies (frequently with bikes locked to them!) and lots of flowers. Montreal's citizens seem clearly--and deservedly--very proud to live there.

Wednesday morning I went to the studio to see the pieces and afterward had lunch with the artist's assistant and the latter's boyfriend, who is an artist and currently the pieces' conservationist. That afternoon I wrote and then had dinner at a vegan restaurant, Aux Vivres, which reminded me of Native Foods in California and was completely delicious with an adorable back patio.

Thursday I walked through downtown and Chinatown to Vieux Montreal, explored the quays, and then hit the DHC/ART gallery to see their Jenny Holzer exhibition/installation. After that I headed to the "Mac," the Musee d'Art Contemporain, which wasn't amazing but did have a cool music video exhibit. Thursday night I dined with my new pals the assistant and conservationist at a chic bistro in Little Italy, where we lingered over dinner and dessert until 11:00. We cabbed back to their neighborhood, and from there I walked the 15 minutes or so back to my hotel, feeling completely safe even at so late an hour--particularly because lots of people were still out and about, enjoying the beautiful evening.

It's probably crazy talk--kind of like how when it's sunny in Seattle and thus one of the most beautiful places on earth, I think about moving back--but I could see myself maybe living there. Maybe. I still have to figure out how their winters really compare to ours!

Here are more photos; click here to see larger versions and/or leave comments:

Montréal

2010-08-10T20:03:00.005-05:00

So I'm in Montréal this week, where tomorrow, if all goes as planned, I'll get to experience the two artworks I've been trying to see for more than a year! I got here Monday evening, and took today to explore part of the city.

I did a 15-mile training run on Saturday, and rode Urban Assault the next day, so I was already pretty sore before I decided to hoof it around town. I started out (after a walk to the studio where I have my appointment tomorrow) with a climb up Mont Royal, the highest point in the city and conveniently located in its own massive park across from my hotel. If I'd been smart enough to stay on the nicely graveled trails, it would have been a slightly longer, but certainly less strenuous hike; instead, I somehow ended up scrambling straight up a good chunk of the wooded hillside, on "trails" that petered out into nothing but rocks and mud. I was both a sweaty mess, and terribly relieved, when I hit the proper path again near the summit, and stayed on it for the rest of my time in the park.

I ended up going down the opposite side of the mountain, heading through downtown and touring the Musée des Beaux-Arts on my way back to my hotel. I have lots of pictures that I'll try to share here (though sadly I can't get them to upload on David's little lappy). I also have lots of Urban Assault pix, which those of you on Facebook may already have discovered, but at the moment I am thoroughly exhausted. I don't know how many miles I walked and hiked today, but it felt considerable on my sore legs and feet.

Tomorrow's the big day for seeing the artwork, so I'm off to bed!

Flugtag!

2010-07-26T16:14:00.006-05:00

This year, St. Paul was one of the four locations for Red Bull's annual Flugtag event, in which contestants compete in teams to launch the farthest-flying, most creative, human-powered flying machine, with the greatest amount of showmanship. Several months ago when David found out it was coming to our neighborhood, we thought it would be pretty great to go watch it.

At brunch with my running buddy and her partner after our 13.1 mile run Saturday morning, the four of us debated whether or not to go. David and I had thought until a few days beforehand that it would be held at Lake Harriet, an easy bike ride from home, before discovering that it was actually at Harriet Island--a doable, but much longer, bike ride. Oops.

However, our friends had information that a mutual friend, house-sitting his mom's condo for the weekend, was having a little Flugtag party, from a deck in direct view of the Flugtag action. We decided to drag our tired selves over there to join the fun for a couple of hours.

I'm glad we went! Traffic on the way over was horrifying (the Twin Cities have been shutting down stretches of both freeways many weekends this summer for construction, packing already overcrowded surface streets), and parking was even worse, but our friend's location really was great, with a view of the ramp from which the crafts launched over (and into!) the Mississippi and the crowds on the island behind them.

We missed the first few flights, and most of us were, tragically, in the condo kitchen when a huge roar went up from the crowd for the tenth team in line. When we piled onto the deck to see what had happened, we saw a fantastic-looking WWII bomber-style glider in the Mississippi, with its pilot triumphantly paddling his arms out the side. It turned out to be the world record setting craft, trouncing the previous record (set in Austria in 1995) of 195 feet (and the U.S. record, set in Nashville, with a flying banjo, of only 155 feet), with a 207 foot flight!

This three-minute video of the highlights is great if you have the time; otherwise, you must check out the video below of the record-setter, with volume if at all possible: the announcer's unabashed and delighted hooting is my favorite part. Just before the video cuts to the crowd at about 15', you can see, at the left edge of the frame, the condos from which we were watching.

Mississippi

2010-07-23T10:35:00.004-05:00

David shot all the video and images in the little video below with his phone, and then he edited them and set them to music* because he is awesome like that (shhhh, you'll embarrass him):

I sound a little crazy even to myself saying it, because I do know that it will be literally 100 degrees cooler in a few months (and because even today, one of the nicer ones recently, the heat and humidity in the apartment will be vitality-sapping), but I love this place. I love living here, and it bears celebrating.

*Ratatat!

Mumsie & Dad's Visit

2010-07-20T20:50:00.002-05:00

Guys, I am ridiculously behind. My parents were out here nearly a month ago and I still haven't posted about our adventures.

Here are a few highlights of the long weekend:

The superfantastic salads Mom and I ate at the French Meadow after I picked her up from the airport on Friday and our subsequent drive around the Chain of Lakes
The unbelievable storm Friday night that sent torrents of thigh-deep water rushing through the street along the south side of my block--which, naturally, David and I decided to go run through. There was totally an impromptu neighborhood block party, with people taking pictures, helping push out stalled cars, and dodging trashcans swept up by the current.
Dad joining my running buddy and me on the first four miles of our nine-mile run (he did two more and met us back at home)
Visiting Minnehaha Falls and exploring new hiking trails (some of them unfortunately a bit soggy from the previous day's storm)
Watching the USA-Ghana game at Pancho Villa (where Dad insisted on cheering for Ghana! I was disappointed with the outcome, but admit that it was quite the entertaining match)
Dinner at Loring Pasta Bar to celebrate Mom's birthday--with a balcony table that afforded fantastic views of the restaurant and kitchen
Five-course Sunday brunch at the historic Nicollet Island Inn to celebrate Mom and Dad's birthdays
Explorations of old Saint Anthony Main, the Stone Arch Bridge, Mill Ruins Park, and the Guthrie Theater
Downtown St. Paul, their side of the river, and milkshakes and fries at Mickey's Diner
Riding brand new Nice Ride bikes around the lakes and to the Walker Sculpture Garden
Walking around Loring Park and downtown in absolutely stunning weather (and the urchin who befriended Mom as she walked around the gardens)
Touring the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Thankfully David snapped quite a few shots with his camera phone, as I only remembered to take the proper camera a few times. You can view the entire gallery, with captions, here.

Friday

2010-07-16T14:12:00.004-05:00

So here's a question: if it's Friday afternoon and I'm sitting in my office, unsuccessfully trying to write (and have been doing so [unsuccessfully trying to write] for the past... oh... seven hours, aside from nap and lunch breaks and maybe the Thursday LA Times Crossword), waiting for a ride home that may not come for one, two, or three hours,* is writing words on my blog preferable to not writing words on my dissertation?

Clearly I have decided it is--and hope it prompts some inspiration on the latter.

In any case, I am looking forward to the weekend. Tonight David and I are attending an "On A Boat"-themed birthday party, and though, sadly, no actual boats will be involved, I think it will be fun.

Tomorrow night we're seeing Band of Horses at the State Theater downtown. (Last weekend we were watching this video, which features the band's song "The Funeral." David mentioned that he'd like to see them live sometime, and I wondered out loud if they were coming to town soon. We googled it, and not only were they on tour, they were coming to Mpls in seven days, tickets were still available, and the box office [thank goodness there are still occasionally ways around Ticketmaster's extortion] opened in 15 minutes. Win!)

I'm also supposed to do a long run with a friend tomorrow morning--12 miles. I'm slightly less enthused about this, mostly as it's supposed to hit 90° tomorrow. We'll head out early to avoid as much heat as possible, but that will also mean leaving the (non-) boating party early to head to bed (and throwing off my usual pre-run blueberry pancakes ritual).

Then Sunday we're heading to Inception with friends. I'll also probably do hot yoga, which I'm realizing I haven't mentioned here, but have found sufficiently wonderful to pull me out of bed and into the studio before 8 a.m. most Sunday mornings, and will describe at some point.

I remember an item on a personality inventory I saw years ago having to do with whether one preferred to have one's weekend scheduled or open. I like flexibility, but I also like looking forward to a string of fun things.

My office window overlooks a sort of quadrangle on campus, flanked by ivy-covered buildings and intersected by sidewalks. This week I have seen it overrun by elementary school kids from the natural history museum's summer camp program; filled with maintenance vehicles from all over campus (apparently for some facilities meeting?); and at the moment, a first, hosting a swimsuit-clad couple tanning on beach towels. They seem either unaware or unconcerned about their very public display, but then, who would be working on a Friday afternoon this gorgeous, anyway?

Who indeed.

*I'm not a good wait-er in general, but indefinite waits slay me.

Summer Movies

2010-07-07T20:43:00.005-05:00

As far as I'm concerned, it's been summer here since May, when we had our first day in the 90s. Since summer movies are starting earlier and earlier, too, I don't think it's too early to at least get started on a summer movie round-up. I've hit quite a lot of them already, a fact not unrelated to our muggy summer.

Iron Man 2
I liked the first Iron Man,* and I liked this one too, if not quite as much. I find Robert Downey, Jr. quite charming, which is probably most of the reason. The sequel kept the same tone as the first one, and was basically more of the same fun.

Robin Hood
I had really low expectations of this one, after its less-than-stellar reviews, which is probably the main reason I didn't hate it. I did roll my eyes a few times, but unlike my friends with unnaturally elevated expectations, I found it satisfactorily entertaining, if too long and with the ordinarily celestial Cate Blanchett in quite the horrifying wig.

Clash of the Titans
Again, my expectations of this one were low. Really low. So I didn't hate it. Brainless entertainment.

Micmacs
This film I actually had been looking forward to, after seeing in the preview that it was by the director of Amélie (probably my favorite movie of all time) and shared several of the same cast members. It too was a tiny bit too long, and the plot a bit too tortuous for subtitle-reading, but it was visually delightful, very clever, and, predictably, uberquirky. Bonus: when an arms-dealing bad guy gloats to his small son that he had given a speech in which he compared himself to Rimbaud, the little guy pauses dubiously and tells him he needs to work out. The somewhat-chagrined father replies, "Rimbaud, not Rambo!"

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Apparently I hadn't set my expectations quite low enough for this one, liking Jake Gyllenhaal and having read a positive Time review. I would have walked out early--especially since, despite my hooded fleece and long jeans, I was chatteringly cold in a theater approximately 30 degrees colder than the evening's heat--but David wanted to stick it out. Alfred Molina was a small consolation in a dreadfully long, loud, and clicheed abomination that not even Jake's pretty eyes could save.

Date Night
I love Tina Fey and Steve Carrell, and they were mostly funny and charming in a movie that was nonetheless too long and ridiculously implausible. A shirtless Mark Wahlberg was also a pleasant diversion, as was a (scruffy) James Franco. There were a few clever bits, but it's probably telling that my favorite parts were the outtakes during and after the credits. And, uh, actually, I just re-watched them on YouTube... and, yeah, not that funny. Although, the different accents they do starting at about 1:11 are pretty awesome.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Again, low expectations paid off! If you wonder why I have anything to do with these films, you can read my review of the books here. Also: Robert Pattinson. I thought they did a good job with what appears to be an ever-increasing budget, and appreciated the relative reduction in both Bella's sulky poutiness and scenes so cheesy they unintentionally make the entire audience laugh out loud (remember how in New Moon, when Bella crashes the bike, the first thing Jacob does is take his shirt off?). Apparently Breaking Dawn (book 4) is in production; I have no idea what they're going to do with that one.

Knight and Day
Oh boy. For all his totally whacked-out craziness, I still like Tom Cruise, and wanted to like this movie. But I didn't. It was too long, too loud, too cheesy, and way too unbelievable, with too many changes in location, clothing, and personality--in sum, too ridiculous for even a summer Action Comedy Adventure. It was nice to see Cruise back in action-hero form, but mostly it just made me want to re-watch the Mission(s):Impossible.

*When I went looking for that link, I discovered that I posted that summer movie review exactly two years ago today. Also, I thought that four was a lot of summer movies to have seen by that point in the summer.

Flat

2010-07-06T20:20:00.004-05:00

Tonight I made a nice pasta salad for dinner--brown rice rotini, red bell pepper, sweet onion, English cucumber, baby carrots, broccoli florets, ripe green olives, feta, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Then I thought it would be a good idea to bake strawberry shortcakes, even though, after boiling the pasta, it was already about 95° in my kitchen.

This is what somehow happened.

We ate them anyway.

Fireworks

2010-07-05T21:03:00.003-05:00

Here is a camera phone video of last night's fireworks:*

I didn't get to bed all that late last night, but this afternoon, limp with the continuing humidity, I passed out on my couch and slept for two hours straight, awakening damp and disoriented. I'm still feeling uninspired. Thus, a fireworks video is what you get.

*Assuming it eventually uploads; at the moment it's still not up.

Edit: The video is up, but the sound is terrible. I suggest muting it.

Summer!

2010-07-04T20:49:00.003-05:00

OHHH, Internets, it's been a long time. Sorry about that. I've kept meaning to blog--about the World Cup, my parents' visit, books, summer movies, aged gouda (ohmygoodness, aged gouda!), marathon training, David's birthday, summer biking, and more--but have been a bit too distracted by the aforementioned (or, you know, lazy) to actually write about them.

At the moment I am sequestered in the bedroom, where my little window unit is valiantly wheezing out artificially cooled air, and in which I have been sealing myself at intervals today, following short bursts of activity in the more sauna-like parts of the house. It only cooled down to about 79° overnight last night, and although this morning did dip briefly into the 75° range after the oppressive humidity melted into rain showers, my heat-retaining second floor apartment has remained rather steamy all day.

However, I think it is beginning to cool outside, and should be fairly comfortable for the fireworks tonight. A friend and I will be biking to Gold Medal Park to watch those; I'm excited, because I haven't properly viewed a city's fireworks display since I was last here for the summer, three years ago. David's flight back from visiting his family gets in at 11:25, which should give me plenty of time to get home, switch my bike out for his car, and retrieve him.

The sun is setting, so I'm off!

Defrostness is Unnecessary

2010-06-14T21:48:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures for you: detail of a bag of edamame, and David at work on the new Royal.

Disaster Kitchen

101

Awakening

Mice

Christmas Cards

Idol

Late

Failing

Friday

Final

Dialogue

Ideas

Date

Meta

Profit

Toe

Touchpad

Pancake

Tuesdays

Cake Pops

Golden

Pests

Already...

Cheeseball

The Royal We

NABLOPOMO!

Summer Eating II

Summer Eating (& Entertaining Vegans II)

Crema

Brrrruno!

Tuesday

Summer Weekends III

Birthday

Summer Weekends II

April's Visit

Summer Weekends

Seasonal Eatin'

Garden

Excessive

California

Phone Dump

Entertaining Vegans

We've Moved!

Chair

Watery

Things That Are Awesome VIII

Sunscreen

Leak-y

1/11/11

Christmas Cards

NaBluhhhh

Past the Future

Bob's Your Uncle

Family

Thanksgiving

Stationed

It Starts

Holidays

Ice

Harry Potter

Bullets

Grading

Blahg

Microcosm

Applying

Snow

Clumsy

Thursday

Running*

Bussin'

X-ray

DST

Halloween

Pasta

Thursday

Failed

700

Dashing

Stormy Weather

Pumpkin II