I think that my friend, Catherine, snuck crack into the frosting.
I think I had about 8. In retrospect, it was not a wise decision, but at the time it felt so right.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
cupcakes!
Coconut Lime Cupcakes.
I think that my friend, Catherine, snuck crack into the frosting.
I think I had about 8. In retrospect, it was not a wise decision, but at the time it felt so right.
I think that my friend, Catherine, snuck crack into the frosting.
I think I had about 8. In retrospect, it was not a wise decision, but at the time it felt so right.
Monday, September 1, 2008
To be a mountaineer...
When performing a quick google search for "Jon Krakauer" just to check the spelling on accounta a previous blog entry, I saw the first line about him on Wikipedia and it read, "Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer..." and I thought to myself: Wow. A mountaineer. it'd be so bad-ass to have that at the top of your resumé. I mean, you could have the lamest job in existance, but tag "mountaineer" to it and you'd be the bees' knees to just about anybody. Imagine if you were Mr. H. Smith, chartered accountant of Stanford, Massachusets. Dull as your unkept silver cutlery, right? But Mr. H. Smith, chartered accountant and fully qualified mountaineer... woo! Sign me up! But now I feel like I'm walking into and episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, so let's change directions ever so slightly.
After chartered accountant mountaineers, I wondered, what could be an even less respectable, more unexpected career pairing? I then thought: prostitute-mountaineer! That'd be a sight to see! The Swiss would surely dig it.
Desperately trying to find a way to tack this on to my own resumé in a relavent manner, I realized, "Hey. I've climbed mountains before. Loads. Fuck, I've even climbed an Alp!" Then I wondered, How did this Krakauer character get "mountaineer" tacked onto his name? Okay, he did climb Mt. Everest and wrote a book about it. It's called "Into Thin Air" and I read it* a number of years ago. It's hard work, that, even if you've got all your Sherpas and gear and oxygen. But wouldn't a ton of people like him (including myself) climb such ominous precipices as that if allotted the time and vast sums of money? How high does the peak have to be in order for you to achieve such a level of coolness? I'll continue to remain bemused about this injustice until I come to the bottom of it. The bottom being the end of this blog post.
*read: listened to it on tape
EDA: omg. this must be set on US time because I wrote the post about the Dom last night and this one this morning; not each on Sept 1. even though it doesn't say, I have written a post for Sept 2.
After chartered accountant mountaineers, I wondered, what could be an even less respectable, more unexpected career pairing? I then thought: prostitute-mountaineer! That'd be a sight to see! The Swiss would surely dig it.
Desperately trying to find a way to tack this on to my own resumé in a relavent manner, I realized, "Hey. I've climbed mountains before. Loads. Fuck, I've even climbed an Alp!" Then I wondered, How did this Krakauer character get "mountaineer" tacked onto his name? Okay, he did climb Mt. Everest and wrote a book about it. It's called "Into Thin Air" and I read it* a number of years ago. It's hard work, that, even if you've got all your Sherpas and gear and oxygen. But wouldn't a ton of people like him (including myself) climb such ominous precipices as that if allotted the time and vast sums of money? How high does the peak have to be in order for you to achieve such a level of coolness? I'll continue to remain bemused about this injustice until I come to the bottom of it. The bottom being the end of this blog post.
*read: listened to it on tape
EDA: omg. this must be set on US time because I wrote the post about the Dom last night and this one this morning; not each on Sept 1. even though it doesn't say, I have written a post for Sept 2.
Aachener Dom
The Aachener Dom (the cathedral in Aachen) is the freakin' best. Whenever I evaluate the beauty of a cathedral that I'm visitng, it has to be more beautiful than All Saints in Sewanee. The Aachener Dom is much more magnificent.
It's cool because the 1st part of it was built in 700AD by Charlemagne (charles the great or whatever) and it was built in an octogonal shape. There's other cool additions to it that are really pretty. The inside has this cool black and white marble thing going for it in the arches and there's lots of fun stories to go with the whole thing. One being that the black and white marble thing was used when modeling the throne room of Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings. No, that's not on Wikipedia. I learned that from watching LOTR extra footage DVDs. Yes, I know I'm a dork.
black and white arches like in Lord Denathor's throne room.
The chain holding the chandalier in the center of the octagon (pictured above) looks like it's the same size going all the way up. That's because each link is made a little thicker and a little stronger to give it that illusion (and to hold it up, I'm sure).
Here's my favoirite story about the Aachener Dom:
When the Dom was built, it was apparently so expensive to build that the people of Aachen had to make a deal with the devil in order to get it built. The devil was promised the soul of the first person who entered the completed church. Because it was a catherdral, it would be christened by the bishop and for the ceremony, he must be the first one to enter. Of course the devil thought that he was getting a great deal out of this bargain. But the people tricked the devil and sent a wolf into the church first. The devil was furious and ran to the church, but the doors were shut just in time.
It is said that the devil's thumb got stuck in the door and when you look closely at the doors, you can find his thumb. In the huge door handles, there is kind-of a thumb contructed from metal hidden where you would need to put your hand in to open the gigantic doors, if they were open-able.
Wikipedia has a lot to say about der Aachener Dom, too.
The Dom is totally pimped out with gold.
I was pretty efficient today. There's this thing called Schützenfest (an old hunting festival that's now all lame march parades. as you might guess, I'm not interested in celebrating it.) going on right now, so the kids didn't have school. The mom stayed home, though, so I didn't have to look after them. Instead I did about 5hrs worth of laundry and ironing (the fam's, not mine!). I also made two collages, went on a run, read some book (I'm reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. It's really well written! and also Le Petit Nicolas en francais, bien sûr!!) and I didn't fuck around on the internet except for a few e-mails answered, but that's all. Okay, maybe I wasn't so efficient, but the laundry really was a lot.
Do I use brackets too much? I could try footnotes. I like footnotes. It always feels like I'm finding something while reading.
It's cool because the 1st part of it was built in 700AD by Charlemagne (charles the great or whatever) and it was built in an octogonal shape. There's other cool additions to it that are really pretty. The inside has this cool black and white marble thing going for it in the arches and there's lots of fun stories to go with the whole thing. One being that the black and white marble thing was used when modeling the throne room of Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings. No, that's not on Wikipedia. I learned that from watching LOTR extra footage DVDs. Yes, I know I'm a dork.
black and white arches like in Lord Denathor's throne room.
The chain holding the chandalier in the center of the octagon (pictured above) looks like it's the same size going all the way up. That's because each link is made a little thicker and a little stronger to give it that illusion (and to hold it up, I'm sure).
Here's my favoirite story about the Aachener Dom:
When the Dom was built, it was apparently so expensive to build that the people of Aachen had to make a deal with the devil in order to get it built. The devil was promised the soul of the first person who entered the completed church. Because it was a catherdral, it would be christened by the bishop and for the ceremony, he must be the first one to enter. Of course the devil thought that he was getting a great deal out of this bargain. But the people tricked the devil and sent a wolf into the church first. The devil was furious and ran to the church, but the doors were shut just in time.
It is said that the devil's thumb got stuck in the door and when you look closely at the doors, you can find his thumb. In the huge door handles, there is kind-of a thumb contructed from metal hidden where you would need to put your hand in to open the gigantic doors, if they were open-able.
Wikipedia has a lot to say about der Aachener Dom, too.
The Dom is totally pimped out with gold.
I was pretty efficient today. There's this thing called Schützenfest (an old hunting festival that's now all lame march parades. as you might guess, I'm not interested in celebrating it.) going on right now, so the kids didn't have school. The mom stayed home, though, so I didn't have to look after them. Instead I did about 5hrs worth of laundry and ironing (the fam's, not mine!). I also made two collages, went on a run, read some book (I'm reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. It's really well written! and also Le Petit Nicolas en francais, bien sûr!!) and I didn't fuck around on the internet except for a few e-mails answered, but that's all. Okay, maybe I wasn't so efficient, but the laundry really was a lot.
Do I use brackets too much? I could try footnotes. I like footnotes. It always feels like I'm finding something while reading.
Friday, August 29, 2008
And now I just made soup
Spicy Peanut Eggplant Soup
It's in Isa&Terry's Veganomicon, but I got it from their website.
You all remember how to crimp, right?
It's in Isa&Terry's Veganomicon, but I got it from their website.
You all remember how to crimp, right?
What I think about while ironing
Lord, it's only 3 days into month of blogging and I'm running out of shit to share.
I used to listen to This American Life while doing my weekly ironing, but I don't have access to that in the laundry room right now (I should work on those "free podcast" things, though) so I think a lot to myself and here are just a few things I think about:
1) People I would like to meet and the clever things I'd say to them. I think about this entirely too often, actually, and it's sort-of an embarassing statement. I love planning the day that I'll be on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, for instance.
2) What I'll make for breakfast/lunch/dinner.
3) Funny things that Simon (the 5 yr old I care for) says. Like the other day when we were going to a friend's house and they weren't answering the door, so he says, "Well, they're either not there or they're dead." It was totally matter of fact and I was in stitches. I really like re-thinking the funny things that everyone says, which leaves me laughing out loud all alone and if people come by, they probably think I'm crazy. They may not be wrong.
4) How and Why I need to loose weight. (#2 seems to negate this...)
5) What I'm going to spend my next pay check on. Namely a large trip.
Does anyone else share my feels on any of this?
I leave you with a beautiful photo of some Jerk Seitan from Vegan with a Vengance. Except it's TVP; just as good.
I used to listen to This American Life while doing my weekly ironing, but I don't have access to that in the laundry room right now (I should work on those "free podcast" things, though) so I think a lot to myself and here are just a few things I think about:
1) People I would like to meet and the clever things I'd say to them. I think about this entirely too often, actually, and it's sort-of an embarassing statement. I love planning the day that I'll be on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, for instance.
2) What I'll make for breakfast/lunch/dinner.
3) Funny things that Simon (the 5 yr old I care for) says. Like the other day when we were going to a friend's house and they weren't answering the door, so he says, "Well, they're either not there or they're dead." It was totally matter of fact and I was in stitches. I really like re-thinking the funny things that everyone says, which leaves me laughing out loud all alone and if people come by, they probably think I'm crazy. They may not be wrong.
4) How and Why I need to loose weight. (#2 seems to negate this...)
5) What I'm going to spend my next pay check on. Namely a large trip.
Does anyone else share my feels on any of this?
I leave you with a beautiful photo of some Jerk Seitan from Vegan with a Vengance. Except it's TVP; just as good.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Green Thai Curry
I can never seem to follow a recipe precisely. Maybe it's just more fun to deviate a little from the rules. Below is the version of Green Thai Curry from VwaV that I made last night. My host father really enjoyed it. My host mother didn't try it because it was nose-runningly spicy. I guess not everyone digs clear nasal passages.
The proper veggies for this recipe are red onion and red pepper. That doesn't feel very thai to me, though, but nor does canned corn seem very thai so who am I kidding? I made the curry photographed below a couple months ago (with snap peas, orange pepper and fresh basil). I actually liked it a lot better. I really wasn't missing out without the onion, tofu or peanut oil. I think next time there'll be rice noodles, eggplant and yellow pepper (yellow purely for asthetic reasons).
Moral! Everyone can make a curry! And everyone could use a little nose run. I buy my green curry paste from the local aisian grocer. There's also red and yellow, but they've sometimes got fish in 'em. Just sauté some veggies and throw them in with some coconut milk (I like to buy mine in small packages of 5-8oz, which the Americans probably cannot do) and a spoonful of curry paste. Just be careful how much curry paste you add. A little can go a long way.
The proper veggies for this recipe are red onion and red pepper. That doesn't feel very thai to me, though, but nor does canned corn seem very thai so who am I kidding? I made the curry photographed below a couple months ago (with snap peas, orange pepper and fresh basil). I actually liked it a lot better. I really wasn't missing out without the onion, tofu or peanut oil. I think next time there'll be rice noodles, eggplant and yellow pepper (yellow purely for asthetic reasons).
Moral! Everyone can make a curry! And everyone could use a little nose run. I buy my green curry paste from the local aisian grocer. There's also red and yellow, but they've sometimes got fish in 'em. Just sauté some veggies and throw them in with some coconut milk (I like to buy mine in small packages of 5-8oz, which the Americans probably cannot do) and a spoonful of curry paste. Just be careful how much curry paste you add. A little can go a long way.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The day I climbed an Alp!
Me and Dad were staying in Zurich, about an hour away from the legendary Alps. On Saturday, when Zurich was having a huge street parade, we decided to check it to Chur (pronounced like you're making a loogie with "ooher" on the end), nestled in an alpen valley and the oldest city in Switzerland. We got there and decided to take this ski lift kinda thing 3/4 of the way up, walk around up there, then walk back down.
Dad taking on that mtn like a rockstar.
Well, when we got there and saw all the restaurants and old people and paved roads we were kinda like, "Damn! What a tourist trap!" Then we saw signs that indicated something that looked like, "Mountain Summit 30min walk." We decided that we'd go have a look.
The walk started out so magically. The paved roads and tourists ended and forest type changed from pine and aspen to fur. We walked through quiet choruses of cow bells and fields of low brush filled with flowers. Then we got above the tree line and were like, "woah this is cool!" then more like, "woah I'm tired" and then words didn't work anymore and we could only think to ourselves, "just keep on truckin. keep on truckin."
me not feeling well at 2,200m (about 7,200ft)
I know that this is the internet and anyone can read this and I shouldn't say what I'm about to say BUT I will anyway. I have consumed certain substances entirely legally in the Netherlands (A tiny hint for American friends: the capital of this nation is Amsterdam.), where it is legal to obtain and consume certain substances in designated coffee shops. With all that rigorous work and the thin air, I must say that it felt just like I'd consumed a bit too much of a certain substance. No joke.
When me and Dad tried to get to the tip top summit (where the photos are, we're surrounded by three small hills), the wind hit us hard and we got really cold and realized "we're really high!" (literally and figuratively), so we went right back down, had a banana and some water, took victory shots, and headed back down for an elevation that would help clear our heads. When we got back to the ski lift thing, 3hours after we started (yup. 30min hike. sure.), we met this older couple in their late sixties or so that had just completed the same hike. Go them!, but now we're lame.
Dad taking on that mtn like a rockstar.
Well, when we got there and saw all the restaurants and old people and paved roads we were kinda like, "Damn! What a tourist trap!" Then we saw signs that indicated something that looked like, "Mountain Summit 30min walk." We decided that we'd go have a look.
The walk started out so magically. The paved roads and tourists ended and forest type changed from pine and aspen to fur. We walked through quiet choruses of cow bells and fields of low brush filled with flowers. Then we got above the tree line and were like, "woah this is cool!" then more like, "woah I'm tired" and then words didn't work anymore and we could only think to ourselves, "just keep on truckin. keep on truckin."
me not feeling well at 2,200m (about 7,200ft)
I know that this is the internet and anyone can read this and I shouldn't say what I'm about to say BUT I will anyway. I have consumed certain substances entirely legally in the Netherlands (A tiny hint for American friends: the capital of this nation is Amsterdam.), where it is legal to obtain and consume certain substances in designated coffee shops. With all that rigorous work and the thin air, I must say that it felt just like I'd consumed a bit too much of a certain substance. No joke.
When me and Dad tried to get to the tip top summit (where the photos are, we're surrounded by three small hills), the wind hit us hard and we got really cold and realized "we're really high!" (literally and figuratively), so we went right back down, had a banana and some water, took victory shots, and headed back down for an elevation that would help clear our heads. When we got back to the ski lift thing, 3hours after we started (yup. 30min hike. sure.), we met this older couple in their late sixties or so that had just completed the same hike. Go them!, but now we're lame.
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