Today ...

Cheers!

Let the holidays begin!

My work days for this calendar year are officially over!

Our company is closed that week between Christmas and New Year's, which is pretty great. So. Color me on vacation!

Yesssss ...

Done in by "Frosty"

Was in a drugstore yesterday looking for some supplies when I happened to notice the music blasting over their stereo ... an exceptionally ghastly version of "Frosty the Snowman".

I mean, hearing holiday music in stores is kind of unavoidable at the moment, but there are lots of arrangements of these songs that are pretty good.

This version of "Frosty" was not.

I set my jaw and tried to ignore it, but as much as I tried to focus on my errand, the hideous song just bored its way into my brain until I couldn't take it anymore. I fled, errand incomplete but sanity intact.

I wonder how many other shoppers are thwarted not by things being out of stock but by appalling music driving them out into the streets with their hands over their ears. Never mind the poor employees who have to listen to that all day, who probably aren't getting hazard pay but should.

The toothpaste purchase can definitely wait a few days!

The heat is on!

We made it to this past weekend before turning on the heat. It hadn't been that cold out overall, maybe a chilly day here and there, but then it would warm up again. Less so this time, and on Saturday Tom decided it was time.

Even wore my winter coat the first time yesterday! Must be (almost) winter ...

I'm trying to like coffee ...

But it's not going very well.

I'm a tea drinker, but apparently there are different health benefits to drinking coffee. So I decided to try a few different kinds.

The overall results average out to ... meh.

I've tried cheap coffees and not-so-cheap coffees. Medium roasts, dark roasts, espresso blends.
There was one French roast that was okay. The medium roasts all tasted awful, two others felt like I'd poured acid into my stomach, and yet another made me jumpy and tachycardic (which was not as much fun as it sounds).

My favorite so far? ... Hawaiian Kona coffee. Which isn't exactly available at Starbucks.

I'll probably try a few more here and there, but really ... I think I'm going to stick to tea.

Well, this was news to me!

I'd heard of "New England brown bread" before, but apparently I'd never had it before, until recently.

I was puzzled when I saw a big coffee can for sale at a farm stand that claimed to be brown bread with raisins. I asked Tom if what was in the can was pre-made batter or something, and he was stunned that I could ask such a thing!

So we bought a can!

For those of you who haven't had it -- you open the can and this cylinder of bread is in there. You have to tap it out.

Apparently it's not baked so much as steamed (I'm not totally clear on that part) which means it's great to heat up in the microwave (makes it really moist!). It tastes like molasses. Melt a bit of butter on it ... mmmm!

I'm sure none of this is news to all the New Englanders reading this (and probably others as well!) but it was definitely a nice thing to discover!

A slightly quicker way to cook a turkey

This is how it's done where we celebrate Thanksgiving ...

Verrrry, carefully, that's how!

Luis has been doing this for years now, so he isn't fussed by the cauldron of boiling peanut oil. He just has to lower it in ...

Slowly, slowly ...

... and voila.

A turkey big enough to feed twelve cooks alarmingly fast this way -- we'd already started the first course when the turkey took the plunge, and it was ready in very little time.

I don't eat much turkey, but I always go outside to watch him do this part.

Cute Florida fauna

So, we were in Orlando Florida for a couple days this past week visiting Tom's family. The houses we visited tended to be in subdivisions sort of like this:


Lots of nice, similar-looking houses all in their own neighborhood, many with a sparkling blue lake in the backyard. Pretty.

Tom and I had a walk around one such neighborhood. It was a bright sunny day, and we saw creatures we don't normally see up north.

Just out for a neighborhood stroll, like we were.

We had to walk around the lake, of course.



Wait, what was that splash?

Um ... is that a ... ??

Really?

Well, isn't he a cutie?

Um, yeah.

So all these perfectly manicured, charming, safe little communities have alligators in their pretty lakes. In their backyards. With no fences anywhere.

Really, I was glad to have seen one -- especially a small, timid one like this little fella. Might not have been so amusing if his mommy had been nearby, however (!!!).

I guess it's just one of those things you're totally used to when you live there. No one we told about the alligator seemed particular fussed, so apparently they all coexist just fine.

It would certainly explain why we didn't see anyone swimming in any of the lakes!

Cookie madness

Tom has been on a baking binge. Not being one to stand in the way of genius, I've been along for the ride. Baked within the last month:

* Oatmeal-cranberry-walnut cookies (2 batches, though much of the second batch fed his coworkers)
* A batch of great soft pumpkin cookies (hi Colette!)
* Two batches of snickerdoodles (though Tom is still trying to get the best recipe for these, each try is still very tasty)
* Chocolate chocolate-chunk-walnut (baked this weekend, and currently in the kitchen)

The oatmeal-cranberry-walnuts (or OCWs, as we've nicknamed them) are the current favorites.

On a dreary, chilly weekend (like the one we just had) it is all too easy to put away half a dozen of them as they come out of the oven ... sugar high much? Naah ...

Maple detour

Syrup, that is.

Last weekend, Tom and I drove out to a maple farm. I'd always seen this vendor at the farmer's market, and it was a good day for a drive.

So we set out to find them.


This is a much more modest operation than the other farms we'd been to lately. It was built and run by a very hardy couple, just the two of them. They've got a small country store, filled with all kinds of maple foods -- infused cooking oils, jams, candies, coated walnuts and pecans, and of course syrup in all different sized bottles.

Janice, one of the owners, gave us a short tour, and showed us the sugar house.

See the tubes?
Janice pointed out that instead of taps in every tree, they ran tubes that lead the sap to where they need it to be. Saves carrying buckets!

There are two very friendly dogs, Molly and Jack, who demanded to be played with.

Shameless, the two of them.

Tom had no choice!

We were impressed with what the two of them have accomplished, and bought a bunch of jams, maple-coated walnuts, honey, and maple candy.

Head of the Charles

The Head of the Charles Regatta is this weekend, which draws a huge college-age crowd from all over.



As with any kind of river festival, there has to be the usual fair food.


Actually, there were lots of places giving away free samples -- ice cream, pizza slices, granola bars, cereal, coffee, fruit drinks, potato chips. I don't remember so much free stuff from other years, but the past couple Regattas the weather has been kind of nasty so I've not really gone down there.

But today was beautiful, and seemed like a perfect day to be rowing -- not hot, not cold, no freezing wind or rain in your face.


I'm still full from the free pizza and ice cream ... oh, and the kettle corn ... (I only got a small bag of kettle corn this time ... major self control!)

And after the cider doughnuts ...

... we continued on up to Rockport.


It was basically sunny where we were, but we could see rainstorms in the distance over the water.

Maybe you can just make it out, but behind me, on the tip of land furthest to the left, is a lighthouse.

Um ... see it? Kind of?

I only mention it because it took us awhile to figure out that it's on a little island -- even though it looks like it's just on the coast line. So it's hard to get a closer view of it. Maybe we'll find some random dirt road that gets us a clearer view of it someday, but for now ... that's as close as we can get!

We hung out at the end of the pier awhile.




Since we had a car full of cider doughnuts, we refrained from raiding the candy store, and just had a late lunch and strolled the shops.


Yeah ...

Cider doughnuts!

Tom and I had been meaning to visit Brooksby Farm for awhile, and this weekend we finally made it!

Granted, apple-picking season is over with, but that's okay. It was a gorgeous autumn day, and there were a lot of people there enjoying the farm.




Of course we had to say hi to the animals.

You were expecting maybe cows and pigs?

But really, the farm store was the best part! All kinds of great produce, including about ten different varieties of apples, but there was also the best ever hot apple cider ...

... which Tom is enjoying here!

But the main attraction? The apple cider doughnuts!

Ohohoho, wow! These are not like other doughnuts, okay? They are the perfect texture, a little crispy on the outside and moist and cakey on the inside, flavored with their amazing apple cider ... mmmmmm ...

We grabbed one apiece, while they were still warm, just to taste them ... and then it was very clear that we needed to get a bag of them.

This bag had six in it yesterday. Heh.

The rest of them won't last long, believe me. Ten seconds in the microwave and ... delicious!

Tom and I recommend them!

Dessert on Friday night ...

... looked like this.

The Dessert Sampler from Finale ...

Um, yeah. In our defense, we didn't actually eat it all at once. We've ordered this dessert twice before and managed to finish it, and we both nearly went into sugar comas. Having learned our lesson, this time we ate the treats that needed to be eaten right away, and took the rest home. We might finish the last of it tonight.

It's a very fun thing to order, though.

OH on a bus ...

Uttered by five-year-old boy, sitting next to me on a packed Sunday inbound bus making frequent stops:

"How many times is this bus gonna STOP?!"

Then, seeing me looking at him, he squirmed a little and added:

"I was just saying that to myself."

I know exactly how you feel, little dude.

Choosing your words when translating ...

From the manual of my new Lowa boots:

Before using new shoes, the leather or textile material should first be impregnated.

... Sure, Lowa. I'll ... get right on that.

Sneaky little alternate meanings ...

Nature hike weekends

Tom and I explored Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary last weekend. We'd never been there before and we really liked it.

There's a great boardwalk over a marsh, perfect for watching birds and other water critters.




It was cool because there were a lot of different habitats in a small space -- there was this marsh, there was a great wooded area with all kinds of birds, as well as meadow and ponds and just some pine woods to stroll through.

Boardwalks make an area more fun for some reason.

See what I mean?

Definitely a place to see again, especially in springtime!

Footie!

Last weekend, I got to see my first Aussie Rules Football (Footie) game since I was last in Australia.


One of my coworkers plays on the Boston Demons (sister team to the Melbourne Demons, as you can see by the shirts). Otherwise, I never would have known this league even existed! The sport isn't exactly on most people's radar here in the US, but it's a blast to watch (but I wouldn't want to play it myself! Yikes!).

The game's sort of a mix of rugby and soccer played on a cricket oval, but that doesn't quite describe it. There's lots of kicking, but no passing (though you can punch the ball to a teammate).

(This guy's just about to punt the ball down the field to a teammate)

A team scores by getting the ball between sets of goal posts. And it is definitely a contact sport.

Ouch!

(the random soccer net on the edge of the field was just put there to get it out of the way!)

There were definitely more players than spectators at the games (this wasn't the MCG, to put it mildly -- even though they did sell the meat pies!).

It was the first time Tom had seen this sport played, and I think he enjoyed it. It was definitely fun for me! Though next time, we'll probably pass on the meat pies (!!).

Labor Day Weekend

This picture kind of sums it up.



Mellow. Peaceful. Calm. Restful.

There was sleeping, guitar-playing, strolling in Rockport (hence the above photo), cookie-baking (okay, Tom did that part), reading, resting. Chillin'.

Verrrry nice.

WaterFire

Tom and I drove down to Providence yesterday to see WaterFire, a very mellow outdoor event -- I would even call it a ceremony -- that happens every two weeks during the summer. This was the last WaterFire event until October, and it was a really good day for it.

Near sunset, people all gather near the river.



See the pyres in the water? After sunset, people come along in boats and light them with torches. And before long, the scene looks like this.



The pyres run fairly far along the river, and people are everywhere. There are also speakers hung along the banks and gentle, mellowing music is piped through.

One unexpected part of the evening -- sometimes, a recognizable opera aria would be played over the speakers, and a singer with a torchbearer would appear out of nowhere and sing along to the music. Tom knew all the operas (he's an opera buff whether he likes to admit it or not!) and could always tell me the composer and the show it was from. The singers were all excellent, and it's probably the most I've enjoyed hearing opera music.

(The torch bearer had a tough job here, too!)

Tom and I strolled the river, stopping to listen to the occasional aria when a singer appeared nearby. The crowd was very content and peaceful, almost reverent.



We really enjoyed the evening. I recommend it.